Compared to other countries in Asia, Japan was late at implementing English as a foreign language in its public elementary school system. Only in 2020, did Japan’s Ministry of Education lower the starting age of foreign language activities to Grade 3 and make English an academic subject from Grade 5. This presentation will discuss findings from a 3-year case study at three public elementary schools in Japan. Utilizing ethnography of language policy, fieldwork consisted of document analysis, interviews with stakeholders across the education system, and classroom observations. A critical analysis of the new elementary school Course of Study policy revealed that a neoliberal ideology of globalization now frames elementary school English as necessary for sustained socioeconomic development. This new conceptualization has replaced an earlier discourse of elementary school EFL being part of international awareness and understanding. It also presents a challenge to traditional ideas of elementary school education and national identity. Interview data with national-level policymakers and advisors revealed they faced several challenges as they tried to balance competing discourses and articulate important pedagogical concepts while having their voices heard. Some of these struggles were external power relations between the Ministry of Finance and the business community imposing control and influence, while other conflicts were internal political battles within the Ministry of Education for the resource of lesson time. These issues created problems for schools and teachers as they appropriated policy in classrooms and resisted certain changes to the new English curriculum.

Authors:
Peter Ferguson, Kindai University, Japan

About the Presenter(s)
Peter Ferguson is an associate professor for the Faculty of Languages and Education in the College of Economics at Kindai University (Japan).

See this presentation on the full schedule – Saturday Schedule

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