Springer English as Medium of Instruction in Japanese Higher Education: Presumption, Mirage or Bluff?

This book sets out to uncover and discuss the curricular, pedagogical as well as cultural-political issues relating to ideological contradictions inherent in the adoption of English as medium of instruction in Japanese education. Situating the Japanese adoption of EMI in contradicting discourses of outward globalization and inward Japaneseness, the book critiques the current trend, in which EMI merely serves as an ornamental and promotional function rather than a robust educational intervention.  Review “This is an insightful critical review of the project to expand the use of English in higher education in Japan. It is an in-depth exploration of the naivety of promoting ‘internationalization’ through changing the medium of instruction, and the contradictory pressures and conceptual confusions behind this flawed academic innovation. It goes beyond similar analysis of European higher education by revealing many of the causal factors behind this doomed project.” (Robert Phillipson, Professor Emeritus, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark) “Theoretically grounded and ethnographically rigorous, this account of the attempt of a university in Japan to implement English medium education (EMI) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP) in order to gain prestige and attract students provides a fascinating case study of how global forces of neoliberalism and commodification of English intersect with local isolationist national-language-based higher education practices. Provocative and insightful. Highly recommended.” (Angel Lin, Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong) From the Back Cover This book addresses the question of why Japanese universities would be offering courses taught in English instead of their longstanding use of Japanese as the language of instruction and academic inquiry.  Through an ideological deconstruction of the cultural-politics of such a move, it becomes apparent that what is advertised on university websites may not stand to close scrutiny or be as substantial as might be assumed. The author provides an analysis of power laden political and ideological challenges as they apply to the current surge of English-medium courses at Japanese universities and unveils the underlying presence of conceptual and systemic contradictions that appear to accompany this relatively novel and perplexing phenomenon. Written from the perspective of an insider in Japanese higher education, the book offers incisive perceptions as well as startling revelations of a system that is obliged to adapt to challenges that come with the low birth rate and the rapidly encroaching forces of globalization. About the Author Glenn Toh is an independent researcher who has, for thirty years, taught English in high schools and tertiary institutions as well as lectured on TESL/TEFL teacher training programmes in Australia, Brunei, Laos, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Japan.  He holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Australia, and maintains a keen interest in developments in language, discourse, ideology and power relations.