FLAVIA ROCHA FEIJO -
SANDRA TANAHASHI (Bunkyo Gakuin University)

A PROGRAM TO INCREASE ACCEPTANCE : GLOBAL ENGLISHES

English is seen as a subject of major importance by the Japanese government and it is taught in all elementary schools across Japan. However, the current English Language Teaching practice in Japan largely emphasizes native English and the curriculum does not allow for non-native English teachers or does it embrace cross-cultural understanding. Our presentation introduces our pioneering course called “Global Englishes” that was added to the curriculum of a Japanese university as a required one-year course for second year students. This course was created to increase students’ awareness of Global Englishes and promotes cross-cultural understanding. The class is taught by six teachers from countries where English is not the first language. Exposing students to different accents raises their awareness and acceptance of the diverse Englishes spoken by non-native English speakers, including themselves. This course is also designed to allow students to learn about the six teachers’ backgrounds. A survey conducted with 46 students showed that learning English from non-native English teachers: 1) gives students confidence communicating using their own English, 2) increases their curiosity and 3) broadens their knowledge of the world. The course also empowers non-native English teachers and opens doors for future teaching careers in Japan.

Flavia R. Feijo is an Assistant Professor at Bunkyou Gakuin University, Faculty of Business Administration in Tokyo, Japan. Prof. Feijo is also a Ph.D. candidate in Arts at the Department of Language and Information Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo.

Sandra Tanahashi has been teaching English in Japan for over 40 years. She is currently a Professor at Bunkyo Gakuin University (BGU), Faculty of Business Administration in Tokyo, Japan. She is the coordinator of the Global Englishes Course.