Connotations of Japanese Returnee English Maintenance & Usage.

IATEFL, Glasgow 2012 Connotations of Japanese Returnee English Maintenance & Usage. • Carol Begg • Kanda University of International Studies • carol-b@kanda.kuis.ac.jp

Outline Returnees / Kikokusei 帰国生 & “Returnee Problem” Study Results: Quantitative Results: Qualitative & Connotations Questions

Interdependence / Amae • Indicated and supported through verbal & non-verbal communication. Japan “...a complex web of mutual obligations and responsibilities...” (Rohlen, LeTendre, 1996: 119),

Returnee / Kikokusei 帰国生 • The word entered the Japanese lexicon in the 1970s • Criteria differ across governmental departments & educational facilities • Only commonality is the lack of agency in the sojourn Kikokushijo 帰　国　子　女 return country girl boy/child

The Returnee Problem / 帰国生　問題 "When Japanese leave Japan, their membership is suspended. Every year they are away, re-entry as members of the group ... becomes more difficult. It is particularly difficult if after reentry they betray their exposure to foreign ways, which reminds others of the severing of bonds. Re-entry raises questions of identity that can be silenced only by strict conformity and virtual denial of the foreign experience." Ching Lin Pang. 2000: 171 Ambassadors Victims Privileged Elite

Returnee / Kikokusei 帰国生 • Acquire the communicative norms of the host country/countries • Perceived fluency & native-like pronunciation • International perspective, ‘critical’ of ‘home’ country • Direct/Indirect styles • Eye contact

The Returnee Problem / 帰国生　問題 • Social • Education Expectations • Nationality / Labels • “Can’t read the air” (Kejime) • Relationships & Language • English Ability • Japanese Ability • Different learning styles • Kanno - differentiated reintegration & assimilation

The Returnee Problem / 帰国生　問題 • Educational programmes 1980s • Readjustment - Japanese society • Remedial - Japanese Language ‘peeling off the foreignness' (gaikoku hagashi) ひらがなカタカナ漢字 Romanji

The Study • Stakeholder expectations: 帰国生

The Study • Aims • What role(s) does English play for Returnees? • What does it mean to the individual? • How is it perceived collectively? • Is English ability more symbolic or practical?

Website & Online questionnaire English & 日本語 1 Former Students Returnee Schools Social Networks Multiple choice / Likert scale Sentence completion 2 18+ Researcher as removed as possible Participants self-labelled Anonymous Voluntary Open-ended questions for qualitative responses The Study • Method

Usage • Usage Groups • Native Users Native User as Optimal for Improvement Native-like proficiency is important

Qualitative Data: Connotations Utility Internationalism Identity

Utility & Advantage • Exams & Education • Jobs & International Business • English is just a tool to pass entrance exams for universities for kikokusei.... they can take exams much easier than normal high school students have to take. • For me, English is a capital to surpass my competitors in different occasions of society. Ability to speak English is highly valued in Japanese society, but not all English learners can obtain that.

English in the Japanese Institution • English needs to be objective and quantifiable. • The “educatio-examination system” (Mc Veigh. 2002) • Tests become ordinary educational activities and are accepted as the norm. (Horio. 1988. O’Donnell. 2005)

Internationalism & Transformation • For me English is... • ... a thing that connects me with other cultures. • ... a language that completely changed my life by letting me see the whole wide world. • ... a language tool and something which keeps me international than being national. Whenever I speak English, it is a great chance to express my ideas which could not be expressed in my mother-tongue

English & Internationalism • Foreign Teachers - JET, ALTs • Foreign Students • Study abroad programmes • International Studies • An international person is ‘someone who interacts with foreigners in a natural way but does not forget that he is Japanese’ (Ching Lin Pang. 2000)

Identity • For Kikokusei, English is... • For me English is... • ... a necessity. One key factor that sets us apart from other students. • ... part of who I am • ... one of the parts of my identity. When I speak English, I feel like I am different from me speaking Japanese • ... it is part of who I am. English helps me express the other part of me that I cannot express in Japanese.

Language as group membership • Kikokusei identity is constantly challenged - Pronunciation, Reticence. • Their identity is unique as Kikokusei (Sasagawa, Toyoda & Sakano). • Not unusual or wrong for bilinguals to have different identities in each language. (Pavlenko. 2006.) • The classroom is a compound bilingual space - the languages present should be seen as intertwined not exclusive. (Van der Meiji, Zhao 2010) • Bilingualism should be celebrated not penalised. (Kanno. 2000)

Glocal Teaching. Learner Goals. • Successful bilingual programmes strengthen students’ sense of worth, identity and value of their own culture. (Montero-Sieburth, Perez. 1987) • Labels admit & exclude: TCK, Internationalism, Transcultural/Transnational • Unique to the context • Unique to the individual

carol-b@kanda.kuis.ac.jp

Connotations of Japanese Returnee English Maintenance & Usage.