English Language Education in Japan

Negotiating Global Transformation and Local Innovation
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-032-97778-2
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 238 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Reihe: Routledge Research in Language Education

Edited by two experienced educational sociolinguists with over two decades of teaching experience in Japanese universities, this volume aims to fill the gap in the literature on how educators, curriculum developers, and textbook writers in Japanese contexts are navigating the recent geopolitical, economic, technological, and sociocultural changes affecting the world.

Featuring contributions from both emerging and established scholars, this volume is divided into four sections: the incorporation of multilingualism into the Japanese EFL classroom, digitization and innovation, diversity and representation in educational materials, and initiatives to promote intercultural exchange inside and outside the language classroom. By addressing these issues, the book provides practitioners knowledge and strategic orientations that can inform their engagement with ongoing transformations within a system in which possibilities for change may emerge, but only contingently and unevenly. The volume offers refreshing perspectives on the evolving landscape of language teaching and learning, engaging with specific topical areas and offering practical pedagogical insights regarding bridging the ever-elusive theory-practice divide.

This is an essential volume to read for educators, teacher trainers, policymakers and researchers in the field of English education, as well as those interested in innovative practices taking place in the Japanese English education system. Though the volume is centred on the Japanese context, international readers will definitely benefit from a comprehensive examination of not only how the interplay between global and local forces can shape English language policy and praxis but also the practical challenges stakeholders experience when attempting to navigate these complex changes and the structural and cultural constraints that affect them.

Zielgruppe

Academic, Postgraduate, and Undergraduate Advanced

Autoren/Hrsg.

Glasgow, Gregory Paul

Matikainen, Tiina

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Fremdsprachenerwerb und -didaktik
• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Lehrerausbildung, Unterricht & Didaktik Allgemeine Didaktik Literatur, Deutsch, Fremdsprachen (Unterricht & Didaktik)

Inhaltsverzeichnis

English Language Education in Japan in an Era of Transformation and Uncertainty

Gregory Paul Glasgow and Tiina Matikainen

PART I Multilingualism in English Education

1. Translanguaging in Japanese EFL Education: Transformational Potentials

Blake Turnbull

2. What are we Missing? Turning a Bi/Plurilingual Lens to EFL in Japan

Mayo Oyama and Daniel Roy Pearce

3. World Englishes in a Japanese Prefectural University: Promoting Linguistic Diversity in the Classroom

Patrick Chin Leong Ng

PART II

Technology and Digital Innovation

4. Innovative Policies for Integrating Digital Technology in English Education in Japanese Primary Schools

Yuko Goto Butler

5. Asynchronous Video-Based Virtual Exchanges Between Taiwanese and Japanese Elementary School EFL Learners

Mark Christianson

6. Bringing Global Englishes to the Classroom: Taking Students Beyond the Textbook Using Online Listening Practice Materials

Tomoyuki Kawashima

PART III

Representation in Ministry-Approved Textbooks

7. Diversity and Social Justice in English Language Education: An Analysis of Japanese Junior High School English Language Textbooks

Mieko Yamada

8. Evaluating Representations of Gender and Sexual Diversity in Elementary School English Textbooks in Japan

Yuzuko Nagashima and Luke Lawrence

PART IV

Intercultural Exchange Within and Beyond the EFL Classroom

9. Filipino Assistant Language Teachers Only: Innovation and Consequent Diversity Issues in Japan’s Public Elementary Schools

Yoko Kobayashi

10. Exploring the Impact of Linguacultural Diversity on Domestic and International Students’ Positional Identities in an English-Taught Program

Miki Shibata and Ryuichi Sato

11. Japanese Students Learning English as a Lingua Franca through Study Abroad in Global Contexts

Risa Ikeda

Beyond Pedagogy: Agency, Structure, and the Limits of Change in Japanese EFL Education

Jérémie Bouchard

Über Autor(innen)

Gregory Paul Glasgow is Professor of Applied Linguistics in the Faculty of Foreign Languages at Kanda University of International Studies, Japan.

Tiina Matikainen is Professor of English Language Education in the College of Tourism and Hospitality Management at Tamagawa University, Japan.