Understanding the NS/NNS division of labor in the creation and assessment of a Japanese university English entrance exam
-
Charles Allen Brown
Charles Allen Brown works as an associate professor in the Research Faculty of International Media, Communication, and Tourism Studies at Hokkaido University, Japan. In his research, he draws upon critical pedagogy and ethnographic methods to understand the social consequences – especially those involving relations of power – associated with the institution of English education in East Asia.
Abstract
The native speaker (NS) traditionally enjoyed a powerful position in language education. Later, critical applied linguists came to question this situation, arguing for the value of the non-native speaking (NNS) teacher. Despite this, research documents the status retained by the NS in language education in Japan. The present study adds to this discussion through an examination of one case in which NS and NNS work side by side: creating and assessing an entrance exam for one university in Japan. Drawing upon ethnographic methods, I examine differences in the involvement of these two groups in these processes with a focus upon the beliefs about language associated with this division of labor. Rather than indicating a situation in which NS linguistic knowledge simply trumped that held by the Japanese faculty, results reveal a more nuanced situation: The Japanese faculty guided the NS to adapt their language to align with what they – the Japanese faculty – viewed as language appropriate for such an exam. This paper is significant in elaborating upon the relationship between the NS and NNS in language education while also shedding light on practices surrounding university entrance exams.
About the author
Charles Allen Brown works as an associate professor in the Research Faculty of International Media, Communication, and Tourism Studies at Hokkaido University, Japan. In his research, he draws upon critical pedagogy and ethnographic methods to understand the social consequences – especially those involving relations of power – associated with the institution of English education in East Asia.
References
Akiyoshi, A. 2010. Questioning the rationale for native speakers only in hiring practice: From parents’ perspective. Polyglossia 19. 13–25.Search in Google Scholar
Allen, D. 2016. Japanese cram schools and entrance exam washback. The Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics 3(1). 54–67.Search in Google Scholar
Amano, I. & G. Poole. 2005. The Japanese university in crisis. Higher Education 50. 685–711.10.1007/s10734-004-6372-ySearch in Google Scholar
Au, K. & K. Blake. 2003. Cultural identity and learning to teach in a diverse community findings from a collective case study. Journal of Teacher Education 54(3). 192–205.10.1177/0022487103054003002Search in Google Scholar
Benson, P. 2012. Learning to teach across borders: Mainland Chinese student English teachers in Hong Kong schools. Language Teaching Research 16(4). 483–499.10.1177/1362168812455589Search in Google Scholar
Brutt-Griffler, J. & K. K. Samimy. 2002) Transcending the nativeness paradigm. World Englishes 20 (1). 99–106.10.1111/1467-971X.00199Search in Google Scholar
Borg, M. 2004. Key concepts in ELT: The apprenticeship of observation. ELT Journal 58(3). 274–276.10.1093/elt/58.3.274Search in Google Scholar
Butler, Y. 2007. Factors associated with the notion that native speakers are ideal language teachers: An examination of elementary school teachers in Japan. JALT Journal 29(1). 7–40.10.37546/JALTJJ29.1-1Search in Google Scholar
Cheng, S. F. 2011. A historical analysis of the Chinese and English tests of the joint college entrance examinations in Taiwan from 1954 to 2008. Indiana & Pennsylvania: Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Indiana University of Pennsylvania.Search in Google Scholar
Choi, I. 2008. The impact of EFL testing in EFL education in Korea. Language Testing 25(1). 39–62.10.1177/0265532207083744Search in Google Scholar
Chomsky, N. 1965. The aspects of theory of syntax. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.10.21236/AD0616323Search in Google Scholar
Foster, E. 1973. “Exam Hell” in Japan. Change 5(6). 16–19.10.1080/00091383.1973.10568532Search in Google Scholar
Galloway, N. 2009. A critical analysis of the JET Programme. The Journal of Kanda University of International Studies 21. 169–207.6Search in Google Scholar
Glaser, B. 1978. Theoretical sensitivity: Advances in the methodology of grounded theory. Mill Valley, CA: Sociology Press.Search in Google Scholar
Glaser, B. G. & A. L. Strauss 1967. The discovery of grounded theory. New York: Aldine.Search in Google Scholar
Heyl, B. S. 2001. Ethnographic interviewing. In P. Atkinson, A. Coffey, S. Delamont & J. Lofland (eds.), Handbook of ethnography, 370–383. London, Thousand Oaks & New Delhi: Sage.10.4135/9781848608337.n25Search in Google Scholar
Hino, N. 1988. Nationalism and English as an international language: The history of English textbooks in Japan. World Englishes 7(3). 309–314. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-971X.1988.tb00240.xSearch in Google Scholar
Kachru, B. 2005. Asian Englishes beyond the canon. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.10.1515/9789882200104Search in Google Scholar
Kitao, K. & S. Tanaka. 2009. Characteristics of Japanese junior high school English textbooks: From the viewpoint of vocabulary and readability. Journal of Culture and Information Science 4(1). 1–10.Search in Google Scholar
Kubota, R. 2011. Learning a foreign language as leisure and consumption: Enjoyment, desire, and the business of Eikaiwa. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 14(4). 473–488.10.1080/13670050.2011.573069Search in Google Scholar
Mahboob, A. 2010. The NNEST lens: Nonnative English speakers in TESOL. Newcastle: Hodder Arnold.Search in Google Scholar
Matsuda, A. 2002. Representation of users and uses of English in beginning Japanese EFL textbooks. JALT Journal 24(2). 182–199.10.37546/JALTJJ24.2-5Search in Google Scholar
Merriam, S. 2009. Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation, 3rd edn. Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass.Search in Google Scholar
Miles, M. & A. Huberman. 2013. Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook, 3rd edn. London: Sage.Search in Google Scholar
Mischler, E. 1986. Research interviewing: Context and narrative. Cambridge, MA & London: Harvard University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Nishino, T. & M. Watanabe. 2008. Communication-oriented policies versus classroom realities in Japan. TESOL Quarterly 42(1). 133–138.10.1002/j.1545-7249.2008.tb00214.xSearch in Google Scholar
Phillipson, R. 1996. ELT: The native speaker’s burden. In T. Hedge & N. Whitney (eds.), Power, pedagogy & practice, 23–30. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Tajima, M. 2011. Ideological messages embedded in an EFL textbook. In A. Stewart (ed.), JALT2010 Conference Proceedings. Tokyo: JALT.Search in Google Scholar
Yamanaka, N. 2006. An evaluation of English textbooks in japan from the viewpoint of nations in the inner, outer, and expanding circles. JALT Journal 28(1). 57–76.10.37546/JALTJJ28.1-4Search in Google Scholar
© 2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Ethics-related practices in Internet-based applied linguistics research
- Predicting study success of international students
- Understanding classroom participation and identity negotiation: An undergraduate student’s L2 learning experiences in an English-medium university in Hong Kong
- Understanding the NS/NNS division of labor in the creation and assessment of a Japanese university English entrance exam
- To postpone or not to postpone? Examining access policy on early foreign language learning from second language acquisition and language planning and policy perspectives
- Developing awareness and use of compliments in the Chinese homestay: A longitudinal case study
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Ethics-related practices in Internet-based applied linguistics research
- Predicting study success of international students
- Understanding classroom participation and identity negotiation: An undergraduate student’s L2 learning experiences in an English-medium university in Hong Kong
- Understanding the NS/NNS division of labor in the creation and assessment of a Japanese university English entrance exam
- To postpone or not to postpone? Examining access policy on early foreign language learning from second language acquisition and language planning and policy perspectives
- Developing awareness and use of compliments in the Chinese homestay: A longitudinal case study
