Negotiating Indigenous Values with Anglo-American Cultures in ELT in Japan: A Case of EIL Philosophy in the Expanding Circle

Abstract

This chapter looks into the negotiations between indigenous Japanese values and Anglo-American cultures the teaching of English in Japan, evident in such areas as methodologies, materials, and models. While World Englishes studies thus far tend to assume that learners of English in the Expanding Circle such as Japan, unlike their Outer Circle counterparts, have no choice but to accept an imported model of English with little chance of adapting it to their own needs, the Japanese have long been struggling to accommodate English to their indigenous cultural values so that they could adequately express themselves in international communication. In the present chapter, evidence of Japanisation of pedagogies, textbooks, and language models for English language teaching is discussed along with its future prospects as a case study of English as an International Language (EIL) for the Expanding Circle.