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The shifting perception of Japanese BELF users towards English: a case study

  • Akiko Otsu

    Akiko Otsu is Lecturer at the Department of English Language, Faculty of Foreign Languages, Daito Bunka University, Japan. Her current research interests include English as a lingua franca (ELF), English as a business lingua franca (BELF), English language teaching, paying special attention to the discrepancy between English taught in the classroom and ELF used in the workplace.

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Published/Copyright: June 11, 2019
Journal of English as a Lingua Franca
From the journal Journal of English as a Lingua Franca Volume 8 Issue 1

Abstract

This paper examines attitudes of Japanese business people towards English by interviewing Japanese construction company employees working on international projects in Asian countries, where English is used as a lingua franca (ELF). The engineers took part in an intensive English course provided by their company before being transferred to overseas offices. Conducting individual/focus-group interviews multiple times during and after the English course, the study sheds light on the participants’ ambivalent and shifting perception of the language, which has both communicative and identifying function in different contexts of use. While these BELF (English as a business lingua franca) users were more content-focused and critical about a teacher’s form-focused approach during the intensive English language training, they are likely to identify more with native-speakers’ English rather than with their own English communication in BELF environments. The paper discusses that there are two reasons for their adherence to “standard” English, referring to the impact of “standard” English ideology (Cogo 2015, 2016b; Seidlhofer 2011, 2018) and social power (French and Raven 1959) that their interlocutors possess. First, the participants are constrained by their past learning experience as EFL (English as a foreign language) learners (Iino and Murata 2016) with little exposure to varieties of English other than the Inner Circle English models (Kachru 1992). Second, they believe in the advantage of using “correct” or “proper” English in producing a good image of their company or themselves. More specifically, while the participants regard English predominantly as a tool to fulfil their communicative goals when working with interlocutors who have relatively less power (e.g. subordinates, subcontractors), they feel that they need to speak “proper” English when communicating with people with more power and authority (e.g. superiors, clients), because they believe it is more relevant and accepted by the wider public. In other words, the result shows how the “standard” English ideology is deep-seated in the workplace communication discourse.

摘要

本論文は、日本のビジネスピープルの英語に対する態度を、英語が共通語 (ELF) として使われているアジア諸国での国際プロジェクトに従事する日本の建設会社社員へのインタビューにより検証する。これらのエンジニア達は、海外オフィスに異動になる前に、会社が提供する集中英語研修に参加した。この英語研修期間中および終了後、個別／フォーカスグループ・インタビューを複数回行うことにより、本研究は参加者の相反し変遷する英語認識を浮き彫りにする。これらの BELF（ビジネスの共通語としての英語）使用者は、英語集中研修の間は、コミュニケーションの内容を重視し、インストラクターによる文法重視の授業に批判的であった一方、BELF 環境下では自らの英語コミュニケーションよりもネイティブスピーカーの話す英語に自己同定する傾向が見られた。本論文は、「標準」英語が支持される２つの理由を、「標準」英語イデオロギー (Cogo 2015, 2016b; Seidlhofer 2011, 2018) および対話者の持つ社会的パワー (French and Raven 1959) に言及しながら論じる。第一に、エンジニアたちは、インナーサークルの英語モデル( Kachru 1992 )以外の英語変種にほとんど接触することなく、英語を外国語 (EFL) として学んだ経験に縛られている (Iino and Murata 2016) ことが挙げられる。第二に、彼らは自分または会社の良いイメージを作り出すために、「正しい」または「きちんとした」英語を使う方が有利だと考えている。より具体的に言うと、エンジニアたちは、部下や下請け業者のように比較的自分より力の弱い相手と仕事をする際は、英語を主にコミュニケーションのための道具とみなす一方で、自分より力や権威のある相手（上司、顧客等）と接する際には、「きちんとした」英語がより適切かつ広く一般に受け入れられていると信じ、話す必要を感じている。換言すると、この結果は、職場でのコミュニケーションのディスコースに、「標準」英語イデオロギーが深く根差していることを示している。

Keywords: English as a lingua franca (ELF); English as a business lingua franca (BELF); attitudes; language ideology; power relationship; Japanese business people
キーワード: 共通語としての英語; ビジネスの共通語としての英語; 態度; 言語イデオロギー; 力関係; 日本人ビジネスピープル

About the author

Akiko Otsu

Akiko Otsu is Lecturer at the Department of English Language, Faculty of Foreign Languages, Daito Bunka University, Japan. Her current research interests include English as a lingua franca (ELF), English as a business lingua franca (BELF), English language teaching, paying special attention to the discrepancy between English taught in the classroom and ELF used in the workplace.

Acknowledgements

I am very grateful to the readers and editors for their insightful and constructive suggestions to improve this paper.

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Published Online: 2019-06-11
Published in Print: 2019-06-26

© 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Editorials
  3. My JELF Odyssey
  4. An ELF-ography
  5. Articles
  6. Communication strategies employed by low-proficiency users: Possibilities for ELF-informed pedagogy
  7. Receptive multilingualism versus ELF: How well do Slovenes understand Croatian compared to Croatian speakers’ English?
  8. The shifting perception of Japanese BELF users towards English: a case study
  9. ELF and migrant categorization at family clinics in Finland
  10. “Late dividends of the British Empire”: Language ideologies and the native/non-native question in online newspaper comments
  11. Book Reviews
  12. MacKenzie, Ian: Language Contact and the Future of English
  13. Sherman, Tamah Jiří Nekvapil: English in Business and Commerce: Interactions and Policies: English in Europe, Volume 5
  14. Rabe, Frank: Englischsprachiges Schreiben und Publizieren in verschiedenen Fachkulturen: Wie deutschsprachige Forscher mit der Anglisierung der Wissenschaftskommunikation umgehen
  15. Tieken-Boon van Ostade, Ingrid: English Usage Guides. History, Advice, Attitudes
  16. Editors’ Note
  17. JELF peer reviewers 2012–2018 – a big THANK YOU!
https://doi.org/10.1515/jelf-2019-2004
Keywords for this article
English as a lingua franca (ELF); English as a business lingua franca (BELF); attitudes; language ideology; power relationship; Japanese business people

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Editorials
  3. My JELF Odyssey
  4. An ELF-ography
  5. Articles
  6. Communication strategies employed by low-proficiency users: Possibilities for ELF-informed pedagogy
  7. Receptive multilingualism versus ELF: How well do Slovenes understand Croatian compared to Croatian speakers’ English?
  8. The shifting perception of Japanese BELF users towards English: a case study
  9. ELF and migrant categorization at family clinics in Finland
  10. “Late dividends of the British Empire”: Language ideologies and the native/non-native question in online newspaper comments
  11. Book Reviews
  12. MacKenzie, Ian: Language Contact and the Future of English
  13. Sherman, Tamah Jiří Nekvapil: English in Business and Commerce: Interactions and Policies: English in Europe, Volume 5
  14. Rabe, Frank: Englischsprachiges Schreiben und Publizieren in verschiedenen Fachkulturen: Wie deutschsprachige Forscher mit der Anglisierung der Wissenschaftskommunikation umgehen
  15. Tieken-Boon van Ostade, Ingrid: English Usage Guides. History, Advice, Attitudes
  16. Editors’ Note
  17. JELF peer reviewers 2012–2018 – a big THANK YOU!
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