Intercultural competence, defined as the ability to understand and engage with linguistic and cultural difference, has become a critical attribute of the 21st century learner at school and university level in Japan and around the world. In the global flow of information across all imaginable fields of knowledge, Japanese university graduates are expected to become mobile professionals who have acquired proficiency in more than one language (mainly English) and culture to roam around freely across diverse geographical and cultural spaces with adaptability, agility, and confidence. Correspondingly, centres for language education and faculties for foreign studies have been created or improved to enhance the importance of acquiring competence in a foreign language. But the outcome is far from adequate as Japan’s English proficiency among non-English speaking countries has continued to drop in the last decade. This paper reviews the literature about foreign language learning and teaching at Japanese universities. It then presents the findings and discussions of a case study of second year to fourth year university students studying English as a foreign language from 2018 to 2022. Data was collected through open-ended questionnaires, interviews, focus groups and reflective journals. The hopes and aspirations of these foreign language students and the challenges they experienced are evaluated and critically discussed. The paper concludes by making recommendations about foreign language learning methodologies and strategies that could work in the Japanese context.

Authors:
Mico Poonoosamy, Josai International University, Japan

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Posted by Clive Staples Lewis

Last updated: 2023-02-23 23:45:00

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