Speaker
Description
The purpose of this presentation is to understand the lived experience of EFL teachers (N = 4) who have been teaching an English-medium instruction course on Japanese culture and university students (N = 19) who have taken the course. The critical multicultural learning objectives of the course were based on cultural knowledge, cultural self-awareness, and cultural competence. The findings were framed, analyzed, and interpreted within critical multiculturalism grounded in home culture (Zhang & Lütge, 2023).
Abstract section 4: Outcomes/results
The teachers engaged their students in discussions about customs, identity, and values as a Japanese person. They thought that the course helped students become cultural representatives who could explain the less visible elements of their culture. The students said that despite their familiarity with the topics, reading articles about Japan in English or gathering data from non-Japanese people eased their transition into becoming intracultural researchers who could see their culture as an outsider and an insider. This study illustrated that the course facilitated the creation of critical cultural beings with improved English proficiency, cultural knowledge, cultural self-awareness, and cultural competence.
Abstract section 1: Relevance
English-medium instruction (EMI) courses that are expected to raise students’ English proficiency, content knowledge, and intercultural awareness have become more common in Japanese higher education institutions (HEIs) (Galloway et al., 2017). With the implementation of 10-year post-pandemic policies that are intended to increase the number of international students studying at Japanese universities and Japanese students going abroad, EMI courses are necessary to accommodate international students who may not have acquired Japanese language skills to study at Japanese HEIs and to prepare Japanese students with intercultural communication skills and English proficiency skills for studying abroad (Goh et al., 2024).
Abstract section 2: Contribution/research questions
The research questions were as follows:
1. What are the goals and objectives of teachers and students of teaching or taking an EMI course on Japanese culture?
2. What are the challenges teachers and students experience from teaching or taking an EMI course on Japanese culture?
3. How does the course foster cultural self-awareness (intracultural learning) and cultural competence (intercultural learning)?
Abstract section 3: Content/method
EFL teachers (N = 4) were interviewed about their lived experience of teaching an EMI course on Japanese culture based on cultural knowledge, cultural self-awareness (intracultural learning), and cultural competence (intercultural learning). The Japanese university students (N = 19) filled out an online survey about their motivations, perceptions, and lived experience of studying their home culture with other Japanese students. The findings were situated within the framework of critical multiculturalism (Zhang & Lütge, 2023).
Abstract section 5: References
Galloway, N., Kriukow, J., & Numajiri, T. (2017). Internationalisation, higher education and the growing demand for English: An investigation into the English medium of instruction (EMI) movement in China and Japan. The British Council. https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/79051481/h035_eltra_internationalisation_he_and_the_growing_demand_for_english_a4_final_web.pdf
Goh, M., Akiba, H., Yonezawa, Y., Hirai, T., & Horie, M. (2024). Developing intercultural competence through internationalizing higher education: Case studies of three Japanese universities. Journal of Contemporary East Asia Studies, 13(1), 62-90. https://doi.org/10.1080/24761028.2025.2469950
Zhang, X., & Lütge, C. (2023). Home culture and its effects on English as a lingua franca communication: Voices from Chinese students at a United Kingdom university. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, Article e1057315. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1057315
| Title | Raising Intercultural Awareness in Content-Based EFL Classes |
|---|---|
| Teaching Context | College and university education |