Diversity, Inclusion, and Professionalism in Japanese Language Education: Introduction to the Special Section

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/jll.2020.125

Abstract

Diversity and inclusion have become a major concern in academic and professional institutions in recent years. As educators, we are responsible for creating environments where a diverse population of students can communicate beyond differences and learn from each other. While this educational mission is widely recognized, we have not sufficiently examined the extent to which a culture of diversity and inclusion has been fostered and actually practiced within our professional community. The current special section aims to facilitate dialogs on this topic among Japanese-language educators by sharing the results of an online survey conducted in 2018 and featuring commentaries prepared by twelve individuals who have contributed to Japanese language education in North America in different capacities. This introductory articleprovides a brief overview of the backgrounds and motivations for this special section and outlines its organization.

Author Biographies

Junko Mori, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Junko Mori is Professor of Japanese language and linguistics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. By using conversation analysis as a central framework, she has investigated the relationship between linguistic structures and organizations of social interaction, classroom discourse, and intercultural communication. Her recent studies address issues concerning diversity and inclusion manifested in various professional communities and workplaces.

Atsushi Hasegawa, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Atsushi Hasegawa is Assistant Professor of Japanese Language and Linguistics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on Japanese language, sociolinguistics, and applied linguistics. His research interests include language pedagogy, classroom interaction, and language socialization in various multilingual contexts. 

References

References

ACTFL. 2019. Diversity and Inclusion in World Language Teaching & Learning. https://www.actfl.org/news/position-statements/diversity-and-inclusion-world-language-teaching-learning. Accessed December 16, 2019.

Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan. 2019. Nihongo kyooiku no suishin nikansuru hooritsu nituite (On the Japanese Language Education Promotion Bill). https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunka_gyosei/shokan_horei/other/suishin_houritsu/index.html. Accessed January 18, 2020.

Bhattacharya, Usree, Lei Jiang, Suresh Canagarajah. 2019. Race, Representation, and Diversity in the American Association for Applied Linguistics. Applied Linguistics, amz003, https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amz003.

Canagarajah, Suresh. 2013. Translingual Practice: Global Englishes and Cosmopolitan Relations. New York, NY: Routledge.

Hawkins, Margaret R. and Junko Mori. 2018. Considering ‘Trans-’ Perspectives in Language Theories and Practices. Applied Linguistics, 39(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amx056.

Japan Foundation. 2017a. Survey Report on Japanese-language Education Abroad 2015. https://www.jpf.go.jp/j/project/japanese/survey/result/dl/survey_2015/Report_all_e.pdf. Accessed July 13, 2019.

Japan Foundation. 2017b. Survey on Japanese-Language Education Abroad. https://www.jpf.go.jp/j/project/japanese/survey/area/country/2017/usa.html Accessed January 14, 2020.

Kramsch, Claire. 2019. Educating the Global Citizen or the Global Consumer? Language Teaching, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444819000363.

Kubota, Ryuko and Elizabeth R. Miller. 2017. Re-Examining and Re-Envisioning Criticality in Language Studies: Theories and Praxis. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies 14: 129–157.

Li, Wei. 2018. Translanguaging as a Practical Theory of Language, Applied Linguistics, 39(1), 9-30. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amx039.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). 2019. Japan Welcomes Foreign Human Resources. https://www.mofa.go.jp/files/000459527.pdf. Accessed January 14, 2020.

Miura, Akira. 1990. America shakai niokeru nihongokyooiku no tenkai (Development of Japanese Language Education in American Society). Nihongo Kyooiku, 70, 21-33.

Modern Language Association. 2005. Final Report MLA Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity and Tolerance. https://www.mla.org/content/download/2970/80234/comm_diversitytolerance.pdf. Accessed January 14, 2020.

Moody, Stephen. 2014. ‘‘Well, I’m a Gaijin’’: Constructing Identity through English and Humor in the International Workplace. Journal of Pragmatics 60, 75-88.

Noda, Mari. 2014. America no kootookyooiku kikan niokeru nihongo kyooiku (Japanese Language Instruction in American Higher Education). https://www.aatj.org/resources/publications/book/HigherEd_Noda.pdf. Accessed January 14, 2020.

Pennycook, Alastair and Emi Otsuji. 2018. The Translingual Advantage: Metrolingual Student Repertoires. Plurilingualism in Teaching and Learning: Complexities Across Contexts ed. Julie Choi and Sue Ollerhead, 71-88. New York: Routledge.

Tsurutani, Chiharu. 2012. Evaluation of Speakers with Foreign-Accented Speech in Japan: the Effect of Accent Produced by English Native Speakers. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 33(6), 589-603.

Samuel, Yoshiko Y. 1987. A Survey of the Status of Native and Non-Native Instructors of Japanese in Higher Education in North America. The Journal of the Association of Teachers of Japanese, 21(2) 133-147.

Downloads

Published

2020-09-25

Issue

Vol. 54 No. 2 (2020): Japanese Language and Literature

Section

SPECIAL SECTION LANGUAGE AND PEDAGOGY

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. The Author retains copyright in the Work, where the term “Work” shall include all digital objects that may result in subsequent electronic publication or distribution.
  2. Upon acceptance of the Work, the author shall grant to the Publisher the right of first publication of the Work.
  3. The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Licenseor its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
    1. Attribution—other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site;
    with the understanding that the above condition can be waived with permission from the Author and that where the Work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
  4. The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  5. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a pre-publication manuscript (but not the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
  6. Upon Publisher’s request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author’s own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
  7. The Author represents and warrants that:
    1. the Work is the Author’s original work;
    2. the Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
    3. the Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
    4. the Work has not previously been published;
    5. the Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
    6. the Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
  8. The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from Author’s breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 6 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher’s use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.
  9. The Author agrees to digitally sign the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version of the Work.