| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
KONDO Atsuko Univ.of Tokyo, College of Arts and Sciences, Professor, 大学院総合文化研究科, 教授 (90205550)
MARUYAMA Chika Yokohama National University, Foreign Student Center, Associate Professor, 留学生センター, 助教授 (30323942)
NOMIZU Tsutomu Nagoya University, Foreign Student Center, Professor, 留学生センター, 教授 (50175527)
泉 邦寿 上智大学, 外国語学部, 教授 (70053676)
馬越 徹 桜美林大学, 国際学研究科, 教授 (60000030)
KIBATA Yoichi Univ.of Tokyo, College of Arts and Sciences, Professor (10012501)
TAKADA Yasunori Univ.of Tokyo, College of Arts and Sciences, Professor (10116056)
|
|---|
| Budget Amount *help |
¥9,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥9,000,000)
Fiscal Year 2005: ¥3,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,000,000)
Fiscal Year 2004: ¥2,800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,800,000)
Fiscal Year 2003: ¥3,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,200,000)
|
|---|
| Research Abstract |
Despite the accusations of English imperialism, "English as a Global Language" is popular around the world. As such globalization of English continues, more countries are using English as an internationalization strategy for higher education and for education in general.
This study examined issues of internationalization, globalization, ethnicity, nationalism, domination, and the role of English from an interdisciplinary viewpoint.
The beginning of the series of projects that this study is a part of, first started a decade ago when the University of Tokyo, in 1994, following Kyushu University, became the second national university in Japan to erect a special short-term exchange program in the social sciences and humanities that consisted of lectures in English. The establishment of such programs in the 1990s in national universities, however, opened up many questions as it also created new possibilities of internationalization. Some of the core members of this project were among the foun
… More
ding members of such programs, and experienced the turmoil. The answers to the questions raised, were no where clear-cut. Both the debates for (e.g., English is the international language, it will allow students from different linguistic languages to study in Japan) and against (e.g., English is the language of neo-colonialism, it overburdens faculty) the use of English ran from the highly ideological, to the practical.
Such language issues touch at the heart of what English means in our highly globalized world. Language is a means of communication, but it is not just a tool of interaction. It is bound to the culture of a people, it can also be used as a means of domination, or exclusion, as well as inclusion, as the history of colonization well shows. The dilemma Japan, as a country where English is not the native language, faces in a world where English has become the common language in international politics, economy, and in science, is one which is shared in many variations by non-English speaking countries around the world.
This study brought together scholars from different disciplines to examine English in relation to such issues of internationalization/globalization, ethnicity, nationalism, and equity. The attempt was made to lay out the macro issues related to the spread of English (Ryoko Tsuneyoshi), and to examine symbolic examples of its usage in various countries. The case studies included the examination of Japanese higher education lectures using English as a medium of instruction, especially those related to study abroad programs as described above (Atsuko Kondo, Chika Maruyama, and Tsutomu Nomizu), and English activities in Japanese elementary schools (Ryoko Tsuneyoshi). A survey of faculty in three national universities was conducted to investigate their attitudes towards using English as a medium of instruction and to examine latent assumptions. Examples from South East Asia, especially Singapore (Ho Wah Kam) and Mayalsia (Rosnani Hashim) were examined, inviting foreign guests for an international symposium. Field research was conducted on case studies of Korea (Toru Umakoshi), also a country which uses a minority language. Field research was also conducted for the multi-linguistic experiment in the EU (Kunihisa Izumi). Less
|
