Native-Speakerism in Japan: Intergroup Dynamics in Foreign Language Education

by Stephanie Ann Houghton (Editor), Damian J. Rivers (Editor)

Overview

The relative status of native and non-native speaker language teachers within educational institutions has long been an issue worldwide but until recently, the voices of teachers articulating their own concerns have been rare. Existing work has tended to focus upon the position of non-native teachers and their struggle against unfavourable comparisons with their native-speaker counterparts. However, more recently, native-speaker language teachers have also been placed in the academic spotlight as interest grows in language-based forms of prejudice such as ‘native-speakerism’ – a dominant ideology prevalent within the Japanese context of English language education. This innovative volume explores wide-ranging issues related to native-speakerism as it manifests itself in the Japanese and Italian educational contexts to show how native-speaker teachers can also be the targets of multifarious forms of prejudice and discrimination in the workplace.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781847698681
Publisher:	Multilingual Matters Ltd.
Publication date:	02/19/2013
Series:	Multilingual Matters , #151
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Stephanie A. Houghton is an Associate Professor in Intercultural Communication at Saga University, Japan. She holds a PhD in Education from Durham University, UK. She is author of Intercultural Dialogue in Practice, co-author of Developing Criticality through Foreign Language Education (with Etsuko Yamada), and co-editor of Becoming Intercultural: Inside and Outside the Classroom (with Yau Tsai).

Damian J. Rivers holds an MSc in Social Psychology, an MA in Applied Linguistics, and a PhD in Applied Linguistics/Sociolinguistics from the University of Leicester, UK. He is currently an Associate Professor at Osaka Universityand undertakes research into intergroup dynamics in foreign language education.

Table of Contents

Tables and Figures viii

List of Acronyms ix

Acknowledgements x

Introduction: Redefining Native-Speakerism Stephanie Ann Houghton Damian J. Rivers 1

Part 1 Native-Speakerism: Shifting to a Postmodern Paradigm

1 'Native Speaker' Teachers and Cultural Belief Adrian Holliday 17

Part 2 'Native Speaker' Teachers in Workplace Conflict

2 (Dis)Integration of Mother Tongue Teachers in Italian Universities: Human Rights Abuses and the Quest for Equal Treatment in the European Single Market David Petrie 29

3 Kumamoto General Union vs. the Prefectural University of Kumamoto: Reviewing the Decision Rendered by the Kumamoto District Court Kirk Masden 42

4 The Overthrow of the Foreign Lecturer Position, and its Aftermath Stephanie Ann Houghton 60

5 Institutionalized Native-Speakerism: Voices of Dissent and Acts of Resistance Damian J. Rivers 75

6 Negotiating a Professional Identity: Non-Japanese Teachers of English in Pre-Tertiary Education in Japan Joe Geluso 92

7 Forming Pathways of Belonging: Social Inclusion for Teachers Abroad Joseph Falout 105

Part 3 Employment Policies and Patterns in Japanese Tertiary and Secondary Education

8 Communicative English in Japan and 'Native Speakers of English' Ryoko Tsuneyoshi 119

9 Hiring Criteria for Japanese University English-Teaching Faculty Blake E. Hayes 132

10 On the (Outskirts of TESOL Networks of Homophily: Substantive Citizenship in Japan Salem Kim Hicks 147

11 The Construction of the 'Native Speaker' in Japan's Educational Polities for TEFL Kayoko Hashimoto 159

12 The Meaning of Japan's Role of Professional Foreigner Evan Heimlich 169

Part 4 Native-Speakerism as a Multi-Faceted and Contemporary Social Phenomenon

13 Scrutinizing the Native Speaker as Referent, Entity and Project Glenn Toh 183

14 Racialized Native Speakers: Voices of Japanese American English Language Professionals Ryuko Kubota Donna Fujimoto 196

15 Native-Speakerism through English-Only Policies: Teachers, Students and the Changing Face of Japan Jennifer Yphantides 207

Part 5 Native-Speakerism from Socio-Historical Viewpoints

16 Changing Perceptions? A Variationist Sociolinguistic Perspective on Native Speaker Ideologies and Standard English in Japan Robert M. McKenzie 219

17 Ideologies of Nativism and Linguistic Globalization Philip Seargeant 231

18 The Native Speaker Language Teacher: Through Time and Space Martine Derivry-Plard 243

References 256

Index 282

Editorial Reviews

Is the English Native Speaker a political or a linguistic concept? Native Speakerism in Japan persuades us that it is political. Houghton and Rivers have assembled a powerful group of ELT professionals with first-hand experience of Japan and Italy who argue convincingly that native speakerism always has racist and gendered overtones.

Alan Davies

This excellent book constitutes a significant contribution to the critical study of language education. The concept of native-speakerism, based in an ideology of deficiency as well as an extremely questionable bifurcation of 'native speakers' and 'non-native speakers', is shown to be a far more complex process in which native speakers of English are both empowered and disempowered simultaneously.

Timothy Reagan