Policy borrowing of the Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR) in Japan: an analysis of the interplay between global education trends and national policymaking

Abstract

This paper aims to show the complex overlapping and interaction with exogenous influences in the processes of national policymaking by analysing a case of policy borrowing in Japan. Specifically, it explores the political circumstances under which the Council of Europe Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) was introduced to foreign language education policy at the national government level in Japan. The results suggest that the CEFR was borrowed selectively as a practical solution to achieve prolonged educational and political agendas promoted by multiple actors such as academics, the Ministry of Education (MEXT), and a group of politicians and business associations. This study moreover shows that the CEFR borrowing occurred under manifold interplays between multiple global education trends and domestic needs for Japanese citizens to acquire a practical communicative command of English to strengthen their international economic competitiveness.

The Application of Language Proficiency Scales in Education Context: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Despite the potential in education, to ensure the successful implementation of LPS, trainers, teachers, testers, and raters alike, all the stakeholders should update their knowledge and information, improve their language skills, and take their responsibilities; the government should make more effort (Aziz et al, 2018). The application of LPS in education is a systematic project supported by wide-ranging stakeholders and updated concepts and behaviors; it calls for capturing political interests, developing contextualized relevant resources, and providing sufficient teacher training (Nishimura-Sahi, 2020).…”

“…This research adopted the PRISMA systematic review method for an in-depth review of 48 articles regarding how different stakeholders use LPS in the education domain and the effect of applying LPS. The findings revealed that policymakers used LPS selectively to backbone their education decisions and reforms (Nishimura-Sahi, 2020). The adoption of CEFR should consider specific social contexts, such as language ecology, streamed schooling, the national curriculum, ongoing exam reform, and concrete economic and political situation (Nguyen & Hamid, 2021).…”

“…The studies in Table 4 showed the adaptation of CEFR in different countries. Nishimura-Sahi (2020) analyzed the educational trends and domestic needs for practical communicative proficiency in English to increase Japan’s economic competitiveness on the global stage. The CEFR-Japan was developed and successfully implemented by assembling various actors-government officers, researchers, commercial actors, administrators, and teachers.…”

Reflecting on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, and Assessment (CEFR) in the Indonesian Context

“…Excellent examples of how CEFR has been systematically adapted and impacted on a national level are the cases of Japan (Negishi, 2022;Negishi et al, 2013;Nishimura-Sahi, 2022), and other Asian countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam (Foley, 2019a(Foley, , 2019b(Foley, , 2022. The cases show that CEFR has been influential in Asian countries to inform language education policy nationwide.…”