On Goals of Language Education and Teacher Diversity: Beliefs and Experiences of Japanese-Language Educators in North America

Autor: Junko Mori, Atsushi Hasegawa, Jisuk Park, Kimiko Suzuki
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Japanese Language and Literature, Vol 54, Iss 2, Pp 267-304 (2020)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1536-7827
2326-4586
DOI: 10.5195/jll.2020.131
Popis: This article reports the results of the online survey on Japanese-language educators’ beliefs and experiences concerning their profession that we conducted in the fall of 2018. A total of 355 teachers in North America responded to the survey. The responses were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Quantitative data suggest that the survey respondents almost unanimously agreed on the importance of global and translingual/transcultural competence as a crucial goal for JFL education. However, the items concerning the legitimacy of language varieties (e.g., standard vs. regional dialects), the importance of accuracy (e.g., grammar, pronunciation), and the views on Japanese culture (e.g., emphasis on uniqueness) received rather conflicting responses from the participants. Moreover, qualitative comments brought up the issues of native-speakerism, nihonjinron, and heteronormativity ideologies as prevailing in JFL education. In short, the results illuminate both converging and diverging perspectives of the survey participants and contradictions or dilemmas between aspirational ideals and mundane practices.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals