Intercultural Communication Studies XVII: 2 2008 Houghton Harmony versus Critical Cultural Awareness: A Case Study of Intercultural Language Education in Japan

The development of critical cultural awareness is an important objective of foreign language education aimed at nurturing intercultural communicative competence. What particular challenges does the development of critical cultural awareness present to Japanese students of English as a foreign language socialized in a culture that values harmony? What learning outcomes can be expected? A complex case study was conducted to examine the development of critical cultural awareness in intercultural language education in a tertiary education context in Japan. Qualitative data were gathered over a nine-month period from thirty-six student participants and myself as teacher-researcher to examine the impact of three separate courses of English language study all aimed at developing critical cultural awareness in students. Data gathered from student participants indicate that the importance of harmony had been underestimated and certain learning outcomes had been unanticipated by the teacher-researcher in the initial conceptualization of the study. This paper will present relevant data in context and consider the implications for the development of critical cultural awareness in intercultural language education