Voice in EFL Education in a Japanese Context: Makiguchi's Perspectives in the Concept of “Voice”

Abstract

This theoretical article explores the Bakhtinian concept of voice from the perspective of Makiguchi's philosophy of value in the context of Japanese EFL (English as a Foreign Language) education. Bakhtin conceptualized a dialogic process of multiple voices within an individual or a society. For the conflict between different voices in a particular power relation to give rise to positive development of the individual or the society, authoritative discourse, a voice backed by authority, has to be dialogically challenged by internally persuasive discourse, a voice that is not supported by authority but which is persuasive to the individual. Makiguchi's theory of value resonates with this idea in that the relationship between the object (environment) and the subject (human life) must be dialogically grasped to create value. Arguing that the Japanese government and the business world serve as an authoritative discourse in Japanese EFL education, this article asserts that the learner's (subject) own voice as internally persuasive discourse has to dialogically interrogate the purpose of learning English as the object out of which the learner may create value. The article suggests that empirical research based on this theoretical framework should be deployed to investigate voices in Japanese EFL education.