Identity, Gender and Teaching English in Japan

Diane Hawley Nagatomo

• Publisher: Multilingual Matters
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781783095223
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: English Language
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

How do teachers who have chosen to settle down in one country manage the difficulties of living and teaching English in that country? How do they develop and sustain their careers, and what factors shape their identity? This book answers these questions by investigating the personal and professional identity development of ten Western women who teach English in various educational contexts in Japan, all of whom have Japanese spouses. The book covers issues of interracial relationships, expatriation, equality and employment practices as well as the broader topics of gender and identity. The book also provides a useful overview of English language teaching and learning in Japan.

1 Introduction

English Language Learning and Teaching in Japan

English language teaching (ELT) in Japan and its surrounding industries is a multibillion-yen business. It is taught and studied in formal educational contexts, such as primary, secondary and tertiary institutions, as well as in informal educational contexts, such as eikaiwa (English conversation) schools, community centers, and people’s homes. Those studying English range in age from toddlers to senior citizens (Ministry of Trade and Industry, 2005, 2015).

In formal educational contexts, at least through secondary schools, English is generally a required subject, and it is accorded great importance because of its gate-keeping role in entrance exams (e.g. LoCastro, 1996). Through English exams (and those of other academic subjects), students gain access to secondary and tertiary institutions that will determine the course of their lives. In other words, the higher the level schools students are able to enter and ultimately graduate from, the brighter their futures are likely to be (e.g. Honda, 2004; Ishida, 1993; Kariya & Rosenbaum, 1987; McCormick, 1988; Okano & Tsuchiya, 1999; Ono, 2001, 2003). Therefore, priority in schools is often given to teaching eigo (English language), which focuses on the structure of English for juken (English for entrance examination) purposes, and these classes are mainly taught by Japanese English teachers.

Despite recent recommendations by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) for teachers to teach in English and to focus more on communication, attention is mainly on providing grammatical explanations about English in Japanese. Teachers often have students translate English sentences into Japanese because of beliefs that such skills are necessary for passing the exams mentioned above (e.g. Butler & Iino, 2005; Gorsuch, 1999, 2000, 2001; Nishino & Watanabe, 2008; Nishino, 2011; Sato, 2002).

Nowadays, most private and public elementary and secondary schools have some communication-based classes. These classes usually have foreign¹ teachers acting as assistants to Japanese English teachers or, in some cases, teaching alone. However, these classes are often viewed more as a means for students to touch English than to actually learn how to speak it. In most cases, teachers, parents and students attach greater importance to classes that are believed to provide greater educational opportunities to the students (e.g. Geluso, 2013; Law, 1995; Sato, 2002).

English is also an important subject in tertiary education, and it is taught by both foreign and Japanese teachers². Foreign teachers usually teach communication-based classes, and Japanese teachers teach English-related subjects such as literature or linguistics (e.g. Fraser, 2011; Whitsed & Wright, 2011). Although at this stage there is no longer any need to conduct English classes as if students would be taking entrance exams, many Japanese teachers who do teach English language in university teach in ways that mirror those that are used in high school (Nagatomo, 2011, 2012a).

English is also studied informally and voluntarily in eikaiwa schools. The reasons why students enroll (or students’ parents have them enroll) in such institutions vary. Some believe that to master English it is essential to supplement the English that is taught in schools, which is widely acknowledged to be insufficient. Others may study English because of concrete educational and/or career goals. But there are also many who have no clear purpose for studying English other than having a general liking for the language and/or for cultures of the English-speaking world. A key point of eikaiwa school attendance, regardless of students’ intentions, is the opportunity to learn English as taught by a foreign (especially a Western) teacher (e.g. Bailey, 2006, 2007; Kubota, 2011; Mizuta, 2009; Takahashi, 2013).

As with any educational system, whether it is formal or informal, the teachers are its heart. What the students learn is highly dependent upon the teachers, regardless of whether or not they are native speakers or nonnative speakers of English or whether or not they are Japanese or non-Japanese. What individual teachers know, think and believe about teaching has been found to be of great importance in mainstream education (e.g. Clandinin, 1985, 1986; Elbaz, 1983; Shulman, 1986), as well as in foreign language education (e.g. Clark, 2009; Fichtner & Chapman, 2011; Gatbonton, 1999; Golembek, 1998; Nagatomo, 2011, 2012a; Phan Le Ha, 2008; Tsang, 2004; Tsui, 2007; Woods, 1997). It is now understood that English-language teachers are not teaching machines that merely apply an appropriate methodology in a classroom for students to absorb (Nunan, 1988; Nunan & Richards, 1995); they bring to the classroom their own sense of identity, and this shapes both teaching and learning.

In Japan, as mentioned above, both native and nonnative English–speaking teachers teach English to Japanese language learners. However, as we shall see throughout this book, the historical, cultural and legal roles of these teachers, and their pedagogical styles, differ. In fact, attitudes surrounding English in Japan taught by Japanese and non-Japanese teachers have led to parallel modes of English language learning: eigo and eikaiwa. Because these two types of learning are generally not in sync with each other, a cohesive English-language education system has not yet been successfully established, and English-language education in Japan has been, and continues to be, highly criticized (e.g. Harasawa, 1974; Imamura, 1978; Law, 1995; Mizuta, 2009).

In order to understand more about these two pedagogical systems and the teachers that work in them, it is necessary to examine the teachers. The focus of this book is on those teachers who mainly engage in what could be called the more communicative side of English language teaching in Japan – that is, the foreign teachers.

See the World and Teach English Abroad

Japan is not the only country that has both native English-speaking and nonnative English-speaking teachers. In fact, because English-language proficiency is viewed as an essential skill, it is studied and taught in classrooms over the world.³ The teaching of English as a second/foreign language generally follows two types of pedagogical practices. The first is that which has evolved from the ‘Inner Circle’ countries (Canagarajah, 1999; Kachru, 1985, 1992), such as Britain, Australasia and North America, which Holliday (1994) calls BANA countries. There, the focus is mainly on theories and methodologies that have been developed in the West. BANA teachers are generally native English speakers or those who have studied in BANA countries. The second is that which has evolved from countries where English is not spoken but is taught as a foreign language (EFL) by teachers who are natives of those countries in their own tertiary, secondary and primary (TESEP) educational institutions. The methodologies employed by those teaching in TESEP contexts have usually been locally developed and adapted for the purposes of those countries (e.g. Holliday, 1994; Phan Le Ha, 2008).

Many language learners throughout the world wish to study English with native English speakers, and as a result, many native English speakers from BANA countries have found work teaching English in TESEP countries. Some teachers have taken EFL/ESL (English as a foreign language/English as a second language) teaching courses prior to departure for these countries, but others have not (e.g. Caesar & Bueno, 2003; Neilsen, 2009).

People often seek ELT employment abroad because of an interest in foreign cultures and/or a desire to see the world (e.g. Johnston, 1997, 1999; Neilsen, Gitsaki & Honan, 2007; Neilsen, 2009, 2011). Work can be easily found in the Middle East, the Far East and Latin American countries. In general, remuneration for language teaching is related to the supply of and demand for teachers, and it is higher in countries that are considered difficult to live in (such as Saudi Arabia) than those countries that are considered pleasant to live in (such as the south of Spain) (Neilsen, 2009).

Although native English–speaking teachers often enjoy greater prestige and greater opportunities in ESL contexts than nonnative English–speaking teachers do (e.g. Braine, 1999a, 1999b; Kamhi-Stein, 2004; Rampton, 1990; Tang, 1997), this is not always the case in EFL contexts. Neilsen (2009: 46–48) for example, described how precarious expatriate ELT teachers’ employment actually is and how they are often marginalized: In Brunei, one Afro-Caribbean British woman was dismissed after four years of employment for ‘not being British enough’; in Sweden, foreign EFL teachers were paid substantially less than Swedish teachers for doing the same work; in Italy, foreign teachers were downgraded to ‘non-teaching staff’ while Italian graduate students were upgraded to tenured positions. As we shall see throughout this book, such issues are also problematic for foreign teachers in Japan.

Few ESL/EFL teachers remain in the field permanently because it is ‘an unstable, marginalized, impermanent occupation’ (Johnston, 1997: 707). Some who began teaching as a means to support travel or to have overseas experiences move into entirely different professions. Others quit because of the low salaries and the low status associated with the field. In fact, salaries and benefits are usually less for teachers in both ESL and EFL settings than they are for those teaching mainstream subjects. In addition, language schools, which are generally private for-profit commercial businesses, often exploit EFL teachers because of the constant supply of eager new teachers willing to replace them. When working abroad, EFL teachers often have no recourse in the case of discriminatory treatment or shady employment practices, and they often feel marginalized due to unstable employment contracts and unpredictable conditions (Neilsen, 2009, 2011). Those who do remain often travel from country to country as what Neilsen (2009: 49) considers culturally adept global nomads. He says,

The kind of person who continues to work in ELT must then be flexible, have a high tolerance for change in life circumstances. ELT is largely a market-based field with few or no support structures in place for the teacher working away from home.

It is true that those living abroad need to have flexibility and a capacity to accept the challenges of constant uncertainty. But many teachers, particularly those who have migrated to another country, are not, as Neilsen writes above, necessarily working away from home. Many are at home, albeit a newly adopted one.

Thus, my general question that guides this book is the following: how do teachers who have chosen to settle down in one country manage the surrounding difficulties of living and teaching English in that country? If personal and professional difficulties arise for temporary sojourners, they can always move to greener teaching pastures, or they can even return to their home countries. Such mobility, however, is not possible for all teachers engaged in language teaching abroad, especially if deep personal and professional roots have been established in their new country.

Rationale and Motivation for the Study

The purpose of this book is to explore the personal and professional identity development of one group of foreign English language teachers (EFL) in Japan who have chosen to live in Japan permanently: Western women with Japanese spouses. Most of the women in this study began their lives in Japan as language teachers who had planned to stay only for a few years. Through marriage to Japanese nationals, however, they have essentially become permanent migrants. As the wives and mothers of Japanese citizens, they now have a stake in Japan and they have established deep roots. And while they are not entirely outsiders to the local communities in which they live, they are not exactly insiders either.

It is true that Western men with Japanese spouses also have deep roots and they are also members of their communities. As we shall see later in this book, both Western men and women share many professional difficulties as foreign English teachers in Japan. However, Western women also need to contend with societal gendered constraints that shape the lives of all women in Japan because, according to Liddle and Nakajima (2000: 317), women’s place in society is defined ‘primarily by their relationship to domesticity, reproduction and the family’. Attitudes that men are supposed to work for money and women are supposed to support that work from the home front are carried over into attitudes toward Western women teaching and living in Japan. These attitudes are not only seen in Japanese people but in some instances in Western men living in Japan as well (e.g. Appleby, 2014; Kobayashi, 2014; Nagatomo, 2014, 2015).

Statistically speaking, there are more Western men married to Japanese women (89%) than there are Western women married to Japanese men (11%) (Yamamoto, 2010). One of the reasons for this, as we shall see in Chapter 4, is that Japanese men have not been considered such a good catches for Western women because of negative stereotypes. Nonetheless, such marriages are not all that rare either, and many of those women with Japanese husbands do teach English. In fact, I am also one such woman. I have been teaching English in Japan for 36 years (31 of those years in tertiary education) and I have been married to a Japanese national for 35 years.

Therefore, the motivation for this study stems partly from my personal experiences, but it also comes from witnessing the resilience and struggles of other foreign women teaching English in Japan who are also in the same boat, so to speak. As a member of the Association of Foreign Wives of Japanese (AFWJ), a support group for foreign women with Japanese spouses founded in 1969 with nearly 500 members, I have heard stories (in person and in online discussion groups) describing the members’ personal and professional difficulties and their large and small triumphs. It is certainly not easy to navigate the gendered waters of being a wife and mother in Japan as a foreigner while at the same time trying to establish and maintain a career as an English teacher.

As a qualitative researcher, I became more and more curious as to how these women manage their personal and professional lives and what impact these women have on the English abilities of the students that they teach. Some of these women live and work in such remote areas that it is hard to imagine their students would ever have the opportunity to use English outside of their classes. Thus, I decided to investigate this group of teachers more systematically.

In 2011, I constructed a survey that asked foreign female teachers in Japan about their personal and professional circumstances and posted it to Survey Monkey. Through snowball sampling, I collected usable data⁴ from 191 female respondents (143 with Japanese spouses and 48 without Japanese spouses) from 15 different countries. Part...