Case Study of Japanese Learning in Multicultural Learning Environment Where Different Students’ Expectations May Exist in Teaching and Learning

Sep 15, 2026

Uploaded by Violet

Study examines Japanese language teaching in a multicultural university classroom in southern England, where international students’ learning expectations differ from those in the UK. The research evaluates whether Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) remains the most effective approach, comparing it with Japanisation as an alternative instructional method. Conducted over one semester with 34 students, the study applies two methods and analyzes test data to determine learning outcomes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Teaching context and motivation

Theoretical framework for analysing Anglophone and Japanese teaching approaches

Framework of the study

Hofstede’s cultural dimensions

Case Study of Japanese Learning in Multicultural Learning Environment Where Different Students’Expectations May Exist in Teaching and Learning Junko Winch, University of Southampton, UK The European Conference on Language Learning 2014 Official Conference Proceedings Abstract The increasing number of international students whose teaching and learning practices are very different from the UK, is studying in the U.K. This study poses the question of whether Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is still the most effective and appropriate approach in today’s multicultural society regardless of cultural differences. The Japanese teaching method (Japanisation) was presented as an alternative teaching method to CLT, and the study investigates any impacts on multicultural students in Japanese language teaching at a university in the south of England. The study was conducted for one semester using two groups (total of 34 students) in 2009/2010 . Two teaching methods, Japanisation and CLT, were applied. The concept of Japanisation is drawn from the study of Japanese car manufacturing industries and transferred to the language teaching context. Three tests which provided quantitative data to generate data. The quantitative results showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the two teaching methods regarding the attainment in the first two tests. However, Japanisation was associated with significantly higher results in the final test, compared with CLT. The implication of this study is embedding elements of Japanisation and Japanese educational culture in the Japanese language teaching will possibly enhance students’learning of reading and writing skills. Those who develop the teaching curriculum are encouraged at a strategic level to examine other educational cultures and teaching practices from non-Anglophone countries and assess how they may be combined with CLT to reflect new international characteristics of teaching and learning environments. Key words: CLT; culture; effective language teaching; higher education; Japanese language teaching; multicultural iafor The International Academic Forum [www.iafor.org](www.iafor.org) Introduction Globalisation has brought changes to the monoculture societies. The UK is one of the countries which have a diverse ethnic population. The changes also had impact on higher education. British university campuses are filled with international students from all over the world. Japanese language teaching in this study is also a significant part of internationalisation in education. In a pilot study, less than half of the Japanese class were British and the remainder were Chinese, Egyptian, Latvian, Greek, French, Malaysian, Polish and Russian. This is a typical language classroom where teacher and students do not share the same educational culture. Teaching Japanese using the most popular Anglophone originated Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) method, I felt that this did not work well for some non-British students as they appeared to react somewhat differently from the British students. This experience made me formulate a hypothesis that CLT is only appropriate and effective for Anglophone students (Anglophone refers to USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand (NZ) within this paper) . The issues of applying CLT to non-British students were not addressed when studying this teaching method, leaving me unsure on how to handle the challenges experienced in the classroom. The next section discusses the framework of Anglophone and Japanese educational culture, which will help the understanding of the teaching methods used in the study, i.e. CLT and Japanisation. This is followed by methodology, data collection, data analysis, conclusions and implications. Theoretical framework for analysing Anglophone and Japanese teaching approaches Framework of the study The two teaching methods used in this study are Japanisation and CLT as representative o

FAQs

What is the main research question about CLT in a multicultural setting?

The study asks whether Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is still the most effective and appropriate approach for today’s multicultural society, regardless of cultural differences.

How does Japanisation differ from CLT in this study?

Japanisation is presented as an alternative method drawn from Japanese car manufacturing industry studies and adapted to language teaching, while CLT remains the Anglophone-origin approach used for comparison.

What were the key findings from the tests comparing the two teaching methods?

Quantitative results show no statistically significant difference between the methods in the first two tests, but Japanisation leads to significantly higher results in the final test.

Sep 15, 2026

Uploaded by Violet