The History of English Education in Japan - Motivations, Attitudes and Methods

In today's globalised society English is vital to international communication and cooperation and English education therefore holds a central spot in education systems worldwide. In this thesis I look at the history of English education in Japan by analysing motivations for learning (or not learning) English, attitudes to English education and methods that have been utilised in teaching English throughout in Japan. I also introduce one teaching method that has recently caught on among Japanese universities as a suggestion to how English education in Japan might change in the future. As Japan opened up to the outside world as the Meiji period started in 1868, after an isolation policy that lasted for about 250 years, an English boom swept the nation. In order to get on equal terms with the then technological superior West a massive modernisation process was started. However, in the second half of the Meiji period nationalism started to emerge and as the patriotism grew, the interest for English decreased. These anti-English sentiments kept growing, affecting also education policies, until the end of the Second World War. During the American Occupation of Japan right after the war, the interest for English once again boomed and it has kept increasing, despite various historical events that has shocked the Japanese society. English education in Japan has often been accused of placing too much focus on word for word translation and memorisation of words and phrases, neglecting the communicative aspects of foreign language learning. The tradition with learning English for the sake of passing entrance exams to higher level of education has, as will be discussed, has been present in the Japanese educational system ever since English language education came on the agenda in the Meiji period and can still be seen in Japanese classrooms today. Despite various calls for and attempts to change the way English is taught in Japan through the history, changing this system has proved to be no easy task. Lately, self-access learning has been catching on in Japan, however, and the creation of centres dedicated to this kind of learning is hoped to help the English education in Japan evolve