Language ideology in JFL textbooks

Abstract

This study analyzes language ideology as it surfaces in Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) teaching materials. The perspective presented in selected materials is examined with respect to how the target language is portrayed. Furthermore, portrayals of foreign language learners and their relationship with Japanese are studied. It is argued that teaching materials propagate and thereby legitimize socially accepted knowledge, which has its origin in the educated middle class of urban centers. It is to their standards that the foreign language learner is expected to aspire. This ambitious learning objective, driven by ideological notions of what Japanese ought to be, is responsible for a strict focus on educated middle class views, activities and language use. At the same time, the learning objective reaffirms the domination of the native speaker over the language learner. The study concludes that foreign language education which aims at native-like proficiency inevitably results in unequal power relations between native speakers of Japanese and learners of Japanese as a foreign language.