Papers by Takunori Terasawa
Current issues in language planning, Jun 3, 2024
This paper examines recent reforms in English-language testing in Japan using a policy distractio... more This paper examines recent reforms in English-language testing in Japan using a policy distraction framework. We identify the term 'washback (effect)' and other related discourses as major distractors and investigate how 'washback' discourses have functioned as political slogans or catchphrases in policy deliberation processes and how they have diverted attention and resources from more essential issues. By analyzing advisory panel minutes and other policy documents, we demonstrate how policy distraction operates. Some committee members initially introduced 'washback' discourse in a deliberation meeting, citing studies on language testing. However, this discourse quickly became a political slogan, transforming into a dubious rationale for advocating the use of commercial four-skills English tests in university entrance exams. This 'washback' discourse led to policy distraction and the overlooking of more significant issues, such as class size reduction and the improvement of teachers' working conditions. Additionally, our analysis reveals underlying factors triggering this distraction, including Japanese ideological views on English education and budgetary austerity in education. We discuss the political and pedagogical implications of these findings, particularly regarding the identification of political distractions, their potential threat to teacher agency, and strategies for addressing and correcting these distractions to facilitate social change.
KATE Journal, 2023
This paper aims to identify the characteristics of English language teaching (ELT) research in Ja... more This paper aims to identify the characteristics of English language teaching (ELT) research in Japan. For this purpose, this study analyses conference abstracts from five domestic ELT associations (CELES, JACET, JALT, JASELE and KATE), two international ELT associations (AsiaTEFL and TESOL International Association) and Association for Japanese Language Education. Instead of interpretive coding techniques commonly used in previous studies, this study employs text mining-based content analysis to process a huge dataset for international and interdisciplinary comparisons. The Structural Topic Model analysis of over 7,000 abstracts reveals that domestic ELT associations (i.e. CELES, JASELE and KATE) in Japan tend to focus more on language analysis (e.g. grammar, cognitive mechanisms) and less on socially contextualised frameworks (e.g. language learner identity) than international ELT associations. In addition, researchers in the domestic ELT associations tend to employ frameworks that assume the Japanese education system but pay less attention to phenomena outside of this system. Based on these findings, this paper discusses the future directions of analysing academic trends in ELT.
This paper aims to identify the characteristics of English language teaching (ELT) research in Ja... more This paper aims to identify the characteristics of English language teaching (ELT) research in Japan. For this purpose, this study analyses conference abstracts from five domestic ELT associations (CELES, JACET, JALT, JASELE and KATE), two international ELT associations (AsiaTEFL and TESOL International Association) and Association for Japanese Language Education. Instead of interpretive coding techniques commonly used in previous studies, this study employs text mining-based content analysis to process a huge dataset for international and interdisciplinary comparisons. The Structural Topic Model analysis of over 7,000 abstracts reveals that domestic ELT associations (i.e. CELES, JASELE and KATE) in Japan tend to focus more on language analysis (e.g. grammar, cognitive mechanisms) and less on socially contextualised frameworks (e.g. language learner identity) than international ELT associations. In addition, researchers in the domestic ELT associations tend to employ frameworks that assume the Japanese education system but pay less attention to phenomena outside of this system. Based on these findings, this paper discusses the future directions of analysing academic trends in ELT.
The purpose of this paper is to examine how Foreign Language Activities (FLA), a primary English-... more The purpose of this paper is to examine how Foreign Language Activities (FLA), a primary English-teaching programme implemented in 2011, was formulated by the Central Council for Education (CCE) under the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). Previous work examined factors that promoted compulsory FLA, employing a macro framework, in which several socio-political factors (e.g., globalisation, public sentiment, and pressure from business leaders) contributed to the implementation of FLA. Although this framework can explain general trends in recent English-teaching reforms, however, it still remains unclear how FLA was chosen from many other possible options and embodied as a specific programme. To examine the formation process of the programme, this paper analyses the minutes of CCE and other subcommittees that discussed the implementation of FLA from 2004 to 2008 and reveals the factors affecting the decision-making process. The results thus show the following findings. First, the introduction of a mandatory English language programme was positively welcomed by most of the members of the Special Committee on Foreign Languages (SCFL), implying MEXT's 'entry control', under which supportive members were exclusively invited into the committee. Second, the School Curriculum Committee (SCC) members, unlike the SCFL members, did not always agree with the introduction, which created considerable conflicts within the committee. Third, both SCFL and SCC failed to reach consensus on other crucial issues, including curriculum design (e.g., whether it should be a formal subject), aims and goals, and instructors, complicating the policy process. Fourth, despite this tension, the introduction of the programme was finally acknowledged in 2008; this outcome can be attributed to MEXT's 'latent' initiative, which indirectly controlled the general direction by implicitly making a tentative proposal and reconciling different opinions within and across the committees.
本研究の目的は、著者の先行研究(「戦後日本社会における英語志向とジェンダー」『言語情報科学』11号、2013年)によって収集された英語に関する世論調査を分析することで、英語と国際化を結びつける意... more 本研究の目的は、著者の先行研究(「戦後日本社会における英語志向とジェンダー」『言語情報科学』11号、2013年)によって収集された英語に関する世論調査を分析することで、英語と国際化を結びつける意識の諸相・変遷を検討することである。日本社会における「英語と国際化」という論点は、日本国内外の先行研究で頻繁に検討されているが、世論を量的に検討した研究はまだない。そこで、本研究では、そのような設問を含む過去の世論調査を分析することで、量的な把握を試みる。分析の結果、国際化の方策として外国語力育成を選んだ人は、1980年代から90年代そして2000年にかけて、特に若い世代で大きく増加していることがわかった。しかも、この増加は、他の選択肢と比較しても際立ったものだった。この結果を踏まえ、国際化と英語習得を結びつける意識の浸透は、90年代のバブル崩壊・経済停滞が影響した可能性を議論した
Asian Englishes
Many applied linguists have attempted to quantify the number of English-speaking populations, bot... more Many applied linguists have attempted to quantify the number of English-speaking populations, both globally and in specific countries. However, thus far, those in East Asia have not been estimated through a robust technique. This paucity of estimation can be partly attributed to the lack of censuses or large-scale sociolinguistic surveys; nonetheless, other secondary data can be used for this purpose. This study analyses two nationally representative surveys conducted in China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan-the East Asian Social Survey (conducted in 2008 and 2018) and AsiaBarometer (2003-2008)-and estimates their English-speaking population. The results indicate that English speakers (those who evaluated themselves as having a fair or high level of English proficiency) account for approximately 10% of the population in China and Japan and approximately 20% in South Korea and Taiwan. Furthermore, English proficiency varied according to generation and educational level in all four jurisdictions. Based on these findings, this paper discusses cross-national variations of English-speaking populations in the four jurisdictions, the absolute number of speakers, its implications, and possible self-report biases and their assessment.
Bulletin of the School of Sociology, Kwansei Gakuin Univeristy, 2023
This paper presents the general findings of ‘The Survey of Japanese Workers' English Use: Second ... more This paper presents the general findings of ‘The Survey of Japanese Workers' English Use: Second Wave', conducted by the author in March 2022. The results are as follows: (1) The frequencies of international communication behaviour (English use, Japanese use with foreigners, and use of translation tools) ranged from an average of 0.6 to 16.0 times per year and from 3.7% to 33.9% in terms of the ratio of experience. (2) Despite the impact of the COVID19 pandemic on international mobility, the frequencies of international communication generally remained at the same level or increased slightly from 2019 to 2021. (3) Japanese people were inclined to overestimate the number of Japanese users of English and the frequency of communicating with native speakers of English. This suggests the workings of globalist and global language ideologies as well as native-speakerist ideologies. (4) The average TOEIC score among Japanese workers as a whole (including non-test-takers) was estimated at approximately 440 via a multiple imputation method. (5) Behaviours and perceptions about the English language (e.g. English use frequency, positive attitudes toward English learning and the view of English use among Japanese people) were influenced by various demographic, behavioural and attitudinal factors. For example, English proficiency and pro-globalisation attitudes showed straightforward effects, whereas age, gender and education level exhibited some complex effects. Key
International Journal of the Sociology of Language
This study aims to reveal the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the necessity of using English a... more This study aims to reveal the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the necessity of using English as an international language. For this purpose, this study conducted a web survey of Japanese workers, and statistically examined the extent to which the use of English increased or decreased after the outbreak. The findings are as follows. First, although some types of use decreased or increased, the majority did not show substantial changes. Second, the changes in English use were largely influenced by worker factors, such as types of occupation and employment (e.g. it declined typically among sales workers but not among the self-employed and freelancers), the degree of remote working (e.g. not being allowed to work remotely reduced it), and industry (e.g. it declined among workers in accommodation and real estate sectors but increased among public servants). These findings suggest the following implications: (1) non-decline in English use would suggest its resilience as an internationa...
Linguistics and Education
What made the primary English education in Japan different from the global trend? Policy process ... more What made the primary English education in Japan different from the global trend? Policy process analysis This paper aims to examine the policy process of implementing English education in primary schools in Japan, focusing on two reforms: (1) the introduction of a mandatory subject in 2011, emphasising cross-cultural experiences (rather than English skill development) and (2) the introduction of English as a formal subject in 2020. The paper investigates the underlying reasons for these policy changes through the two policy-process theories: windows-of-opportunity theory and historical institutionalism. Analysis of governmental documents revealed that (1) the 2011 reform can be considered a consequence of the path dependence effect accelerated by a peculiar reform in the 1990s, and (2) the 2020 reform can be attributed to a change in the political power balance within the government, originating from the late 1980s. These findings indicate that even some globally oriented policies like English education reform can be determined by historical/political conditions that are largely characterised as domestic, rather than global.
Kanto Koshin'etsu Eigo Kyoiku Gakkaishi, 2016
The purpose of this study is to examine the structure of positive and negative attitudes toward c... more The purpose of this study is to examine the structure of positive and negative attitudes toward compulsory English lessons in elementary schools (CELES). Although general public acceptance on an early start of English education is often deemed as a driving force which encouraged the government to implement CELES, there is little evidence for what this public acceptance was like. This study, therefore, examines what factors promoted or inhibited positive attitudes toward CELES by analyzing a large-scale attitude survey of parents, which was conducted in autumn 2006, just before the official announcement of the implementation of CELES. A structural equation modeling analysis revealed that positive attitudes toward CELES were promoted by expectations of positive effects of an early start of English teaching, anxiety about a less favorable condition for the introduction of English teaching, and experience of a struggle for learning English, whereas they were inhibited by anxiety about side effects of early English teaching. Based on these findings, this paper discusses the structure and mechanism of public opinion on early English teaching and its implication for English education policies.
Studies of Language and Cultural Education, 2017
This paper exalnilles Japanese workers ' needs to use English fbr occupational purposes ， employi... more This paper exalnilles Japanese workers ' needs to use English fbr occupational purposes ， employing a statistical analysis of several datasets f 士 om social surveys based on a random sample of the entire workforce in the country ． Although many policy makers ， business leaders ， and English language
The paper aims to systematically organize the debate surrounding English education in elementary ... more The paper aims to systematically organize the debate surrounding English education in elementary schools (EEES) that has taken place since the late 1990s and to provide implications for future discussions. Through a qualitative content analysis of the literature, the following findings were obtained. (1) Pro-EEES arguments can be classified into six patterns that are mutually different in terms of premise (i.e., perception of social situation, effectiveness of EEES, and educational goals). (2) Anti-EEES arguments can be classified into two broad categories, namely, “EEES is ineffective” (categorized into 9 types) and “EEES is harmful” (categorized into 10 types). (3) Despite the numerous issues raised in the debate, only a few issues have been enthusiastically discussed. The other issues have received little attention, in spite of the fact that some of them are highly problematic. (4) The conflict between the proponents and opponents of EEES frequently stems from a lack of empirical data rather than an irreconcilable difference in values. This finding suggests that researchers can, and should, play a more central role than previously expected in studying EEES by providing empirical evidence and rendering the discussion productive.
This study aims at revealing how Japanese people's needs to use English have changed in the late ... more This study aims at revealing how Japanese people's needs to use English have changed in the late 2000s by statistically analyzing Japanese General Social Surveys. The analyses revealed that the number of Japanese users of English generally decreased from 2006 to 2010. In particular, significant decrease was found in the use of English in the workplace and the use of English for entertainment. This general decrease in 2010 was probably yielded by the global recession which started in 2008, because large and significant decrease in the number of the users was recognized in a specific type of workers on whom the global recession had a strong impact. These workers included (1) male workers in their 30s and 40s, (2) workers engaged in restaurant industries and transportation industries, and (3) those working for a middle-sized corporation (i.e. a corporation with 30-299 employees). The opportunities to use English among these types of workers were likely to be strongly influenced by decrease in the number of foreign visitors, trade slumps, and structural changes of international transactions, all of which have been caused by the global recession. Based on these findings, this paper discusses the necessities of critical examination of a variety of discourses articulated by business communities and the government, which mistakenly assume consistent increase in the needs to use English in current Japanese society.
Current Issues in Language Planning
ABSTRACT This paper conducts a theoretical examination of an evidence-based approach (EBA) to res... more ABSTRACT This paper conducts a theoretical examination of an evidence-based approach (EBA) to research on language policy and language-in-education policy (LPLEP), as well as a methodological examination of the feasibility of evidence-based LPLEP research based on actual studies. Theoretical scrutiny, based on EBA’s core concepts—evidence hierarchy, internal validity, and external validity—presents a guideline that suggests what kinds of LPLEP evidence are better than others. Next, to examine how to make this type of research feasible, this paper discusses methodological issues based on two actual studies on the effectiveness of a primary school English language teaching programme implemented in Japan since the 2000s, selected because they had strong internal validity (by controlling for covariates) and external validity (by secondary analysis of a randomly extracted sample). Based on the theoretical and methodological examination, this paper claims that the EBA’s core concepts are fully applicable to applied linguistics and LPLEP research, providing meaningful information to researchers and policy-makers.
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 2016
ABSTRACT As English skills are being increasingly perceived as valuable human capital, an awarene... more ABSTRACT As English skills are being increasingly perceived as valuable human capital, an awareness of inequitable access to the acquisition of this ‘profitable’ language has developed. Although this allegedly unequal access, which can be referred to as the ‘English divide’, is a matter of concern to applied linguists, little research has been conducted on the historical transformation (or maintenance) of the English divide within a specific society. Therefore, this paper examines a historical change in the English divide in Japan as a highly industrialised country through statistical analysis of a large, population-based sample. Results revealed that, with Japan attaining various socioeconomic developments such as reduced income gaps and improvements in educational conditions, some forms of the English divide originating from material gaps have gradually decreased. In contrast, other forms of the English divide that are led by cultural disparities have not decreased at all. Based on these findings, I discuss the inevitable difficulties of tackling the English divide and suggest some possible solutions for creating substantive, rather than formal, equality in English language education.
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Papers by Takunori Terasawa
One of the distinctive features of this book is its analysis of large-scale and nationally representative samples (e.g. random sample data). This makes it possible to reveal the general picture of Japanese attitudes and behavior concerning the English language, providing new insights which the previous work failed to reveal. In particular, this book statistically examines the characteristics of Japanese speakers of English (Chapter 1), opportunities for access to English education (Chapter 2), cross-national comparison of English proficiency between the Japanese and other people from non-English speaking countries (Chapter 3), characteristics of Japanese users of English (Chapter 4), the present and past situations of English learning in Japan (Chapters 5 and 6, respectively), Japanese attitudes toward foreign languages other than English (Chapter 7), the necessity of using English in the workplace and recent trends in this regard (Chapters 8 and 9, respectively), the effects of English skills on earnings (Chapter 10), gender inequalities in opportunities to take advantage of English skills in the workplace (Chapter 11), characteristics of positive attitudes toward an early start of English education (Chapter 12), and the effects of early exposure to the English language on ultimate attainment of English skills (Chapter 13). Based on the results of these analyses, I discuss the importance of deep understanding of the realities of Japanese society when shaping policies of English education and its goals, which requires us to make conduct an alternative, social- and politically-oriented study of English education.
In spite of the fact that English in junior high schools in the new educational system started as an elective subject in 1947, the number of students who took this course grew every year. Consequently, in the late 1960s, almost all students studied English for more than three years, which signifies, so to speak, the birth of English as a de facto compulsory subject.
This situation, I revealed, was encouraged by a complicated interaction of a variety of factors. What is interesting here is that most of these factors were not dynamics directly relevant to the subject but were sociopolitical factors. In other words, the birth of English as a de facto compulsory subject was led by neither an increasing necessity for English language nor English language teachers’ actions to make the subject a compulsory one. Rather, it was promoted by a variety of social, political, and structural changes that occurred in the early years of the postwar era. They included (a) a radical reform of high school entrance examinations, (b) an increasing ratio of students advancing to high school, (c) an improvement in the student-teacher ratio after the graduation of the “baby-boom” generation, (d) an academic trend towards linguistics and English teaching research, (e) a dramatic change of the industrial structure, and (f) the diminishing of the liberal educational atmosphere which prevailed nationwide for several years after the war. Taking into account these findings, I concluded that a variety of sociopolitical factors constructed the self-evident assumption of English as a (de facto) subject.
• The findings are as follows:
o The frequencies of international communication behaviour (e.g. English use) ranged from an average of 0.6 to 16.0 times per year and from 3.7% to 33.9% in terms of the ratio of experience.
o The frequencies generally remained at the same level or increased slightly from 2019 to 2021.
o Japanese people tended to overestimate the number of Japanese users of English as well as the frequency of communicating with native speakers of English .
o The average TOEIC score among Japanese workers as a whole (including non-test-takers) was estimated at approximately 440 via a multiple imputation method.
o The behaviours and perceptions about the English language were influenced by a variety of demographic, behavioural and attitudinal factors (e.g. English proficiency and pro-globalisation attitudes).