Globalization and Language teaching

Several parts of Kubota’s article on Globalization and ELT in Japan stood out to me. The first one is “although kokusaika literally means internationalization, it often implies  Westernization or, more specifically, Americanization with a focus on learning English while championing and essentializing the Japanese culture” (Kubota 602). It would seem more beneficial for kokusaika to be more inclusive Brazilians and the Portuguese language. However, it seems that the influx of non-English speaking immigrants has only increased the desire to learn English and “Americanize.” This is evidenced by the three testimonials of Japanese born women mentioned in the article. Mrs Honma’s and Mrs Nakai’s infatuation with English and how they stress the importance of learning despite the fact that it is there job to effectively interact with Portuguese speaking peoples. Unfortunately, though I can’t say for sure as I don’t have personal experience with the culture, it appears that these women represent the views of the majority of the population. They are hard to blame, though, because they are part of a framework that keeps “local people from fully affirming linguistic and ethnic diversity” (Kubota 614). As a result the native languages and cultures of Japan’s rising minority groups is being threatened, and, unless attitudes change, they will probably disappear.

Reiko’s interview brought up a point that has been discussed in class—namely the emphasis placed on native speakers. (aka white middle class speakers). She rightly believes at teaching “that she is better than unskilled native speakers,” but she can’t change parents wish to have there students trained by a native. Ironically, most native-speakers of English don’t speak what is considered by most people to be “native English.” Moreover, many non-native speakers have a better grasp on the grammar and linguistic nature of the language because they have had to study it objectively over time.  A native speaker may have taken some grammar classes in high school or college, but wouldn’t have nearly as much expertise in communicating how English actually works, especially if he or she is monolingual. All the same, communicating this fact to people who want to learn or want their children to learn native English is a difficult task.

The tendency of some Japanese to value white middle class discourses over the discourse of other people groups is interesting because many middle class white American’s have a similar obsession with mainstream Japanese culture. I am curious to what exactly makes certain cultures more attractive to people than others. For instance, there isn’t much said about Zimbabwean culture in the American, yet I doubt Zimbabweans are culturally deprived. With this said I really don’t have any concrete ideas as to why, except that certain culture are often looked upon as uncivilized or primitive.