17 The Future of English-Medium Instruction in Japan

The Englishization of Higher Education in Europe

“…It has also been reported that, considering the differences in practices and disciplinary literacy goals among disciplines, the idea of a possible uniform use of language is simplistic and fallacious (e.g., . Ethical implications for access to learning and research have also been reported (e.g., Lueg, 2018), especially for contexts where English has made fewer profound inroads in society (e.g., Kuwamura, 2018;Romaine, 2015;Tsuneyoshi, 2005). Additionally, there are indications in the research to show that students from higher classes are more likely to be socialized into reaping the benefits of an English-medium education, perpetrating mechanisms of elitism and social inequality (Lueg & Lueg, 2015).…”

Englishization as trap and lifeline

“…It has also been reported that, considering the differences in practices and disciplinary literacy goals among disciplines, the idea of a possible uniform use of language is simplistic and fallacious (e.g., . Ethical implications for access to learning and research have also been reported (e.g., Lueg, 2018), especially for contexts where English has made fewer profound inroads in society (e.g., Kuwamura, 2018;Romaine, 2015;Tsuneyoshi, 2005). Additionally, there are indications in the research to show that students from higher classes are more likely to be socialized into reaping the benefits of an English-medium education, perpetrating mechanisms of elitism and social inequality (Lueg & Lueg, 2015).…”

Recruiting for Japanese EMI Programs: Insights From Online Job Posts

“…They were early adopters of EMI and fully three-quarters of national universities now offer some EMI courses, as compared to approximately one-third each of public and private universities (MEXT, 2021). The relative underrepresentation of private universities in the sample may also be related to the trend seen at many private universities to expect existing faculty to take on EMI classes in addition to their previous workload in order to avoid new hiring (Brown, 2015;Kuwamura, 2018).…”

“…Despite these early worries, Japan has established EMI programs in a wide range of university settings and across the disciplinary spectrum and has somehow found the faculty needed to operate the programs successfully. Some attribute this to the rising number of Japanese faculty members with overseas credentials and more widespread recruitment of international faculty members (Ishikawa, 2011), others note the importance of foreign language-teaching faculty moving into EMI roles (Kuwamura, 2018;, and others point to Japanese faculty members taking on EMI classes as an additional, peripheral responsibility, not always by choice (Brown, 2017). However, in reality, a clear image of who is teaching in EMI programs in Japan has yet to emerge.…”