JALT CUE Conference 2011: Foreign Language Motivation in Japan July 2–3, 2011, Tokyo Gakuen University

Foreign language motivation research in Japan: An ‘insider’ perspective from outside Japan

Ema Ushioda Centre for Applied Linguistics, University of Warwick

An ‘insider’ from outside Japan A Japanese born & educated in Ireland Teaching English in Tokyo (1982–5) Winchester Shoei College, UK (1985–90) Interest in affective side of language learning Graduate studies in Dublin (1990–95) Primary interest in L2 motivation Foreign language motivation: Current a vibrant research field Four books on L2 motivation within last five years:

• Nakata 2006 • Dörnyei & Ushioda (eds) 2009 • Dörnyei & Ushioda 2011 • Murray, Gao & Lamb (eds) 2011

& Ushioda (ed.) in preparation Impact of globalization and global English? Traditional concept of integrative motivation

L1 culture/community L2 learner TL culture/community Globalization & impact of global English Impact on how we theorize L2 motivation:

• Reconceptualizing integrativeness as an internal process of identification within the self-concept (Dörnyei 2005)

Linking L2 motivation with self and identity: • Motivation, Language Identity and the L2 Self (Dörnyei &

Ushioda 2009) • Identity, Motivation and Autonomy in Language Learning

(Murray et al. 2011) Pedagogical & educational issues Impact of English on:

• Educational policy & curricula • High stakes gatekeeping exams • Professional job market • Other foreign languages

Impact on L2 motivation literature Local issues of foreign language motivation in different educational contexts Growing empirical literature on L2 motivation and demotivation from ‘problematic’ Japanese educational context English language education in Japan ‘permanent sense of crisis’ (Ryan 2009a) English in high school:

• Exam hell • English for exams (juken eigo)

English at university: • Four years of ‘leisure-land’ (Clark 2010) • ‘Motivational wasteland’ (Berwick & Ross 1989)

Foreign language motivation in Japan: Three areas of research inquiry

1. Analysing demotivation, its definitions, causes, factors

2. Investigating how motivation changes through different stages of education and learning experience

3. Exploring what English and learning English mean for students (self, identities, goals, values)

L2 demotivation Japan leads the field in this area of inquiry Teacher variables – complex perspectives Defining demotivation

• External factors only (Dörnyei 2001) • Learner-internal factors as mediating influences (Sakai &

Kikuchi 2009; Falout et al. 2009) Pedagogical implications

• developing a sense of purpose, inner resources, self-regulatory strategies (Carpenter et al. 2008)

Students’ motivational trajectories Elementary school

• Compulsory English from April 2011 Junior & senior high school

• English for exams • Grammar, reading, vocabulary

University • ‘leisure-land’ • English communication skills

Investigating motivational change Japanese students’ educational experiences and development of L2 motivation

• Nakata 2006 L2 motivation at different stages of education

• Ryan 2009b L2 motivation and language learning histories

• Carpenter et al. 2009 • Shibuya 2010

Longitudinal studies of L2 motivation • Nitta & Asano 2010

Critical role of initial motivational states and learning experiences What English & learning English mean for Japanese students Self, identities, goals, values Transition to university:

• ‘Learning English for exams’ no longer provides obvious rationale

• Loss of learning purpose and disorientation (Warrington & Jeffrey 2005)

Historical & cultural legacy Japan’s complex & ambivalent relationship with western world Self-imposed isolation (sakoku) Post-war westernization Internationalization (kokusaika) Discourses of Japanese uniqueness (Nihonjinron)

Resonates with current L2 motivation themes and perspectives (globalization, global English, self-and-identity theories) Foreign language motivation research in Japan: Contributing to reshaping L2 motivation theory Questioning the relevance of integrative motivation in the Japanese context (Irie 2003) Proposing alternative concepts

• international orientation (Nakata 1995) • international posture (Yashima 2000, 2002)

Impact of Japan-based research on the development of Dörnyei’s (2005) L2 Motivational Self System

Focus on student voice & agency Teachers’ perceptions of student motivation and strategies for working with this motivation

• Cowie & Sakui 2011 Student voice, agency and active participation in transforming educational practice

• Murphey et al. 2009

Concluding remarks Globalization and global English

• Retheorizing L2 motivation • Local practical concerns for student motivation

Foreign language motivation research in Japan • Educationally grounded, problem-focused, locally driven

research agenda • Locally produced insights have global relevance for

advancing current thinking

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