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Japan takes down the barriers: The rise of English-medium instruction in Japan
By Anne-Marie Alderton, EL Gazette | April 2015
Source: http://www.elgazette.com/

Japanese universities are following the global trend towards internationalisation, incentivising its universities to use English as the medium of instruction with the aim of attracting international students as well as raising the standard of English used by domestic students.

Since 2008 Japan has implemented degree programmes taught through English-medium instruction (EMI). This project, Global 30, aims to have 300,000 international students in Japan by 2020. Thirteen leading universities were originally selected and receive government funding to run courses conducted in English, breaking barriers previously preventing international students from studying in Japan.

Currently 46 per cent of Japanese universities have introduced courses using foreign languages, mainly English, as the medium of instruction in order to improve their rankings and distinguish themselves from other institutions. Domestic students make up the majority of the student body on EMI programmes, reflecting the government’s focus on globalising the country’s students rather than attracting ones from abroad. According to a report in the Japan Times, Japan’s efforts to attract international students have been dwarfed by China, which hosts 8 per cent of the world’s international students. However, Japan’s pop culture is a selling point for overseas students, with nine tenths of them Asian. This has led some to argue that Japan is aiming to ‘Asianise’ rather than internationalise.

Preparing to study abroad, studying EMI courses and studying English modules on Japanese-medium courses are the main reasons that students take EAP classes in Japan, and these motivations affect how programmes should be designed and taught. EMI courses, though taught in English, conform to local academic norms, which raises the question of the relevance of the skills typically covered in EAP courses. Localising EAP programmes should therefore be encouraged in order to facilitate students undertaking these degree courses.

Code-switching is commonplace in the Japanese monolingual classroom, but the English-only policy of EAP programmes does not reflect the reality of language use in this environment. Teachers expect students to demonstrate awareness of both Japanese and international sources as well as understand the different approaches of Western and Japanese scholars. Students are expected to access these and integrate them into their work.

The teacher-oriented nature of classes in Japanese universities can also lead to a lack of creativity, flexibility and critical thinking --- integral skills for Western university-level academic writing. Natalie Gravillis of Rikkyo University in Tokyo states ‘Japanese students are very good at mastering what they are instructed to do, for example memorising or translating, but skills such as paraphrasing can be a problem as they are required to think independently.’

Various other issues with EMI courses are apparent. ‘Recruiting teachers with a suitable mix of qualifications, content specialisation, language skills and experience can prove difficult for universities,’ a former employee of Waseda University, Tokyo, said. Cultural sensitivities also affect learning on EMI programmes. Japanese students often need to overcome obstacles of anxiety caused by competitive situations and the risk of negative evaluation or losing face. Gravillis agrees that ‘whilst anxiety can be an issue in the Japanese classroom, it is also important for teachers to move away from traditional ideas and assumptions of students’ incapacity to participate actively in a classroom environment’.

The nature of lessons in Japanese academic environments means students tend not to question what they are taught, and there is a focus on developing receptive skills. This often results in students excelling in reading, writing and grammar, yet struggling with speaking and listening. Miyuki Kamiya, a former student of Tsuda college now undertaking a PhD in the UK, insists, ‘The best way to improve skills in English is by receiving as much input as possible from native speakers. In Japan, improving English but also maintaining the level is difficult due to the limited exposure to the language.’ Contrasting academic writing styles also present a challenge as ‘in Japanese, the way the argument is structured is different from English in terms of sentences and paragraphs, and consequently many students struggle with essay writing’.

(End of article)