A Critical Analysis of Japanese Eikaiwa Within The Context of Linguistic Imperialism

Martin, P. (2006).
A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF JAPANESE EIKAIWA WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF LINGUISTIC IMPERIALISM
A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF JAPANESE EIKAIWA WITHIN THE

CONTEXT OF LINGUISTIC IMPERIALISM
CONTENTS
ABSTRACT
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 2: ENGLISH IN JAPAN

2.1: Historical context
2.2: Nihonjinron and kokusaika
2.3: Loan words
2.4: Eikaiwa
CHAPTER 3: NOTIONS OF LINGUISTIC IMPERIALISM

3.1: Linguistic imperialism
3.2: Standard English
3.3: Business English
3.4: Native speaker ability as pedagogic competence
CHAPTER 4: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF JAPANESE EIKAIWA

4.1: Methodology
4.2: Audiolingual method
4.3: Lessons offered
4.4: Lesson structure
4.5: Lesson analysis
4.6: Teacher perspectives
4.7: Student perspectives
4.8: The image of the teacher
4.9: Lobby talk
4.10: Self-study
4.11: The shy Asian
4.12: Sexual attraction as marketing tool
4.13: Implicit racism
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Training materials

Appendix B: Teacher essays
Appendix C: Student essays
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Martin, P. (2006). A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF JAPANESE EIKAIWA WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF LINGUISTIC IMPERIALISM
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to ascertain the cultural and pedagogic implications upon
English language learning within Japan of large, private Japanese language schools,
known as eikaiwa. The aim is to analyse whether such schools are constructs of
linguistic imperialism based around notions of cultural and linguistic domination, or
whether they are simply fulfilling a market led need for language education. A
qualitative study was conducted to elucidate student/teacher experiences through the
submission of open ended essays. This enables the presentation of a small social
group which can be used to analyse human experience within the corporate
educational framework.
Collected data suggests that despite rigid models of classroom methodology,

packaged and promoted for conformity, learners and teachers will often adapt
membership of the school to suit their own needs. Often this takes place outside of the
classroom where students use opportunities of socialisation in order to receive the
communicative practice possibly lacking within the classroom.
2
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
This study addresses two sides of an argument. The first is that Japanese eikaiwa are
perpetrators of linguistic imperialism, perpetuating false notions of Western culture
for financial gain at the expense of academic values and student/teacher needs. The
second is that they fulfil a market driven need for language education and that the
business methods and pedagogic styles of such establishments are in fact meeting a
commercial demand for such methods of teaching and cross cultural exchanges.
In order to study the phenomenon of eikaiwa and English in Japan firstly English
language learning will be presented in its historical context within Japanese society.
Notions of linguistic imperialism and appropriate literature will then be considered in
relation to the way in which language teaching has evolved and is maintained,
specifically in areas which are fundamental to the Japanese eikaiwa business model
such as audiolingual method, use of native English speakers as commodity, business
English classes, as well as the broader implications within English language teaching.
In the second section of this paper a detailed study of eikaiwa will be presented. A
qualitative comparative analysis of teachers and students has been carried out to
develop an understanding of the motivations, working practices and common goals of
teachers and students regarding their aims and practical experiences. Training
manuals and lesson plans provided to new teachers will be analysed to study business
practices, classroom methodology and corporate ideology in order to gauge the
motivations and needs of eikaiwa as corporate entities in relation to their duties as
academic providers. The enrolment and maintenance of student levels will be studied
to deduce whether financial concerns and student needs are compatible or whether
standards are driven by a need to constantly attract new business. If the latter is the
case are these aspects mutually exclusive or can they co-exist? Sales techniques and
notions of racial stereotyping will also be analysed in relation to the wider global ELT
market and whether it can be held responsible for the promotion of inequality. From
these sources a rich insight into the mindset of teachers, students and management can
be constructed which will be analysed in relation to academic theory and notions of
3
linguistic imperialism. A thorough account of the research methods and methodology

used to analyse this data will precede these studies. I have referenced all Japanese
words in the appropriate characters to avoid confusion with similar sounding words.
4
Chapter 2
ENGLISH IN JAPAN
2.1: Historical context
In order to understand how the present language policies of modern day commercial
language schools have come about let us first look briefly at the history of English
within Japanese society.
In 1853 English replaced Dutch as the main foreign language studied in Japan as a
result of America initiating trade relations. The perceived importance of English to
Japanese society was further pushed by intellectuals during the Meiji period between
1868-1912, so much so that in the late nineteenth century the first Minister of
Education, Arinori Mori, was an enthusiastic proponent that English should supplant
Japanese as the national language. This idea was again discussed in 1947 and 1950
when the politician Gakudo Ozaki put forward the idea that English should replace
Japanese (Kubota, 1998). In order to understand why this was deemed plausible we
must understand how English has been presented within Japan as the key to
internationalisation, not only of commerce, but also of the mind.
2.2: Nihonjinron and kokusaika
It is important to note two key concepts prevalent in the usage of English in Japan.
The first is nihonjinron (日本人論 ) which translates as the uniqueness of the
Japanese. The second is kokusaika (国際化) which means internationalisation.
Tanaka (1995) states that the term kokusaika has become particularly wide spread
since the 1980’s within business, government, offices, schools, and communities.
English has been emphasised as one of the key strategies to internationalise the
nation. Tanaka (ibid) also states that the spread of English within Japan has been
hastened by advances in mass communication enabling English to penetrate aspects of
daily life such as TV, radio, movies, and the internet.
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Tsuda (1990) describes a love/hate relationship often existing with English, that
nihonjinron is on occasion used to protect Japanese identity from post war
Westernisation and industrialisation. Tsuda (ibid) explains this perceived xenophobia
as being caused by ‘English allergy’, which is used to defend society from ‘English
addiction’. Kubota (1998) elaborates on this, ‘English allergy and xenophobic
attitudes reflect a reaction against excessive or unsuccessful attempts to acquire
English and identify with native speakers’ (p: 300). He goes on to point out the
dichotomy between nihonjinron and kokusaika:
It appears that nihonjinron as cultural nationalism and ‘English allergy’

prevent a spread of English. However, the discourse of kokusaika which is
closely affiliated with nihonjinron clearly represents an ideology that promotes
teaching and learning English.
(Kubota, 1998: 300)
Kubota (ibid) points out that although nihonjinron often advocates Japanese
uniqueness it is has also been used to suggest that English patterns of communication
are often ‘better’ than Japanese. To illustrate this he gives an example from Saisho
(1975):
…what is present in English but not in Japanese is logical and analytical

reasoning. English is equipped with functional expressions in this respect. It
may be a good idea to incorporate such features into Japanese.
…There are a small number of British and American people who have
mastered Japanese perfectly. Studying the Japanese language spoken and
written by them will be beneficial because it is structured by the English logic.
…These people express what average Japanese people do not think of in
excellent Japanese for us. This would be of help for expanding the range of
Japanese expressions…Their Japanese is rich in content, topics and
persuasiveness.
However, it is not advisable for the Japanese to speak English using the
Japanese logic because a higher level of logicalness as a communication tool
is required in using English, which is the world language.
(Saisho, 1975: 177-8; translated from Japanese)
It could be argued that the idea that English adds a new found logic to the Japanese
way of thinking could be applied to any person of any country learning any new
language. With each new language come new forms of expression not readily
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expressible to speakers of other languages. What Saisho seems to be suggesting is that

English will teach Japanese new forms of pragmatic competence which are
unavailable within the Japanese language system. Any language learner who has
absorbed themselves in a foreign culture may draw the conclusion that linguistic
ability alone is insufficient to replicate complex, culturally specific, social notions of
communication and behaviour within a society.
2.3: Loan words
Loan words are now common place in everyday life and are written in katakana (片仮
名) which are the Japanese characters used to write foreign words phonetically. Their
usage and increasing prevalence is a source of controversy leading to claims of
linguistic imperialism from within Japan. Commonly used katakana phrases include
phonetic transcriptions for things such as home help, short stay, day service, hospital
and many more. All of these terms can be expressed with Japanese equivalents
(Tsuda, 1990). Ishino (1996) points out that ‘in a recent survey it was claimed that
‘58% of Japanese respondents said that they had encountered loan words or foreign
words on TV or newspapers which they did not understand.’ (ibid, in Kubota 1998:
297)
The perceived need for learning English in order to accommodate these notions of
internationalisation has fuelled a huge demand for language schools which are
prevalent throughout Japan. These schools are known as eikaiwa.
2.4: Eikaiwa
During and after WWII America needed its soldiers to become proficient in the
languages of its allies and enemies alike. To this end the army method was developed.
This method became more commonly known as the audiolingual method and was a
derivative of the direct method commonly used at the end of the nineteenth century.
Whilst English and Western culture had been promoted in Japan since the Meiji
7
period, after WWII audiolingual method was adopted by post war language schools in
Japan known as eikaiwa (英会話). Eikaiwa means simply ‘English conversation’ but
has become synonymous with a particular kind of private language school in Japan.
Eikaiwa schools were an evolution of Japanese cram schools known as juku (学習
塾).
Nowadays within Japan there are a plethora of eikaiwa schools competing for
business. Nova, Geos, Aeon, Berlitz, ECC are some of the larger ones, with Nova in
particular having a huge presence within Japan, with schools often across the street
from one another. Alongside these large language corporations are hundreds of
smaller schools catering to those wishing to study English conversation with native
speakers. Whilst some of these companies have branches around the world others
maintain operations exclusively within Japan. From large cities to rural communities,
eikaiwa are almost everywhere. Eikaiwa are places where a largely mono-cultural
Japanese population can not just study English but meet and purportedly learn from,
predominantly Western, language instructors.
Large eikaiwa accept students of all ages, from babies to the elderly, and have lessons
advertised as catering to a wide variety of English learning needs including amongst
others TOEIC and TOEFL tuition, business English, communicative English and
grammar study. Today the largest eikaiwa, Nova, claims to have 60% of the market
with almost half a million students. With the high turnover of students it can be
estimated that the numbers of Japanese entering an eikaiwa to study within their
lifetimes may well be in the millions.
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Chapter 3
NOTIONS OF LINGUISTIC IMPERIALISM
3.1: Linguistic Imperialism
A working definition of English linguistic imperialism is that the dominance

of English is asserted and maintained by the establishment and continuous
reconstruction of structural and cultural inequalities between English and other
languages.
(Phillipson 1992: 47)
Within this definition of linguistic imperialism Phillipson (ibid) challenges what he

claims are the five main tenets of English language teaching. These he refers to as
fallacies:
1.English is best taught monolingually: monolingual fallacy.
2.The ideal teacher of English is a native speaker: native speaker fallacy.
3.The earlier English is taught the better the result: early start fallacy.
4.The more English is taught the better the result: maximum exposure fallacy.
5.If other languages are used much, standards of English will drop: subtractive
fallacy.
(Phillipson, 1992: 185-212)
Although this lists refers to English language teaching globally, it could be said that
eikaiwa have taken these notions and used them as a blueprint to market their
businesses. As such they are an interesting specimen with which to analyse notions of
linguistic imperialism.
Kachru (1997) singles out eikaiwa as perpetuators of linguistic imperialism in the

following way:
In our times eikaiwa is a unique example of cultural and psychological
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domination of the mind in which the ELT profession, by design, participated

and perhaps continues to participate. The major points of eikaiwa are:
1. it involves emotional attachment to and obsessive infatuation with Western,

especially American, culture (Tsuda 1992: 32);
2. it equates the ideal speaking partners with a white middle class American
(Lummis 1976: 10);
3. it elevates a particular type of native speaker position of cultural superiority

and cultivates specific attitudes toward the Caucasian race in general;
4. it represents the ideology and the structure of the subculture, which is racist
(Lummis 1976: 7)
5. It represents the idea of the native speaker, which in Lummis’s view (1976:
7), is mostly fraud; and
6. its use of the term 'native speaker' is exploited by business-oriented

language schools for financial exploitation."
(Kachru, 1997: 97-98)
These schools have been a major source of English language education over the
decades since American forces first set up military bases in the respective countries.
They can now be found in almost every city and town throughout Japan. It seems
peculiar however that the eikaiwa system is singled out for this description by Kachru.
Similar schools exist in Korea where they are known as hogwan (Korean: 학원) and
Kachru’s cited examples could hold at least partial truth for a majority of Centre
operated private language schools.
The formation of the British Council and its schools in particular could be said to
possibly follow similar lines. Philipson (ibid) asserts that with the formation of the
British Council national, economic and political interests were of primary importance.
He concludes that the British Council can be viewed as influencing educational
parameters within independent states. The independence of former colonies and the
apparent potential British loss of influence this may cause can be partially negated if
English becomes entrenched as a global second language. Philipson claims this is,
‘unquestionably neo-colonialist and operates within a framework of imperialism.’
(ibid: 152). It could be said eikaiwa and hogwan have merely followed this model for
10
financial gain by selling an idealised notion of the English speaking native and
Western culture.
3.2: Standard English
Eikaiwa lessons are based around pattern sentences and idealised pronunciation. Such
standardised forms of English taught in set phrases for the purposes of limited
international encounters are defended by Quirk (1985) who asserts:
The relatively narrow range of purposes for which the non-native needs to use
English (even in ESL countries) is arguably well catered for by a single
monochrome standard form that looks as good on paper as it sounds in speech.
(Quirk 1985: 6)
In relation to Japanese English conversation classes Lummis (1976) observed that

speaking to a student who has undergone such methods is not dissimilar to a
conversation between two tape recorders. That reciting fixed and standard sentences
removes a persons character from the communication whilst at the same time not
taking into account that the person being addressed is an individual and not merely
the stereotype of a foreigner, or gaijin (外人), which is carried in the students mind.
Lummis makes a clear distinction between what is marketed in Japan as English
conversation, and the process of using English to communicate:
‘English conversation’ has the quality of a slogan, in that it implies far more
than speaking in the English language…’English conversation’ offers not
simply language training but a world view. Learning ‘English conversation’ is
not the same as learning how to speak English…People don’t go to those
classes to learn language but to have a chance to meet a foreigner.
(Lummis, 1976: 1-2)
Quirk in his assertions seems to underestimate the significance of communication

between individuals, rather limiting them to functional exchanges of necessity. This
could be said to reduce communication to no more than a practical system for
questioning and answering and does not address the depth of human interaction which
is present in a large majority of intercultural exchanges. Quirk (1985) states that there
are only ‘dubious advantages in exposing the learner to a great variety of usage, no
11
part of which he will have time to master properly, little of which he will be called on
to exercise, all of which is embedded in a complex socio-linguistic matrix he cannot
be expected to understand’ (p: 6). This assumption does not seem to take into account
Dell Hymes (1972) notions of what should constitute communicative competence and
ignores the fact that many learners are already participants in a complex socio-
linguistic matrix. Surely facilitating learners to understand each other in terms other
than simple utterances is desirable for both speaker and listener. The danger is that
those whose only knowledge of language learning is through such monochrome
methods will retain the stereotypical ideas which pervade such methods even if their
linguistic ability is at an advanced level. Here Lummis (1976) describes just such an
encounter:
A man came up to me and asked, “Excuse me, may I speak to you in

English?”…Then he began to go through the standard list of questions:
Where are you from?

How long have you been in Japan?
Are you sightseeing?
Can you eat Japanese food?
Nothing he said was really addressed to me…He wasn’t speaking to me at all,

but to the stereotype which he carried in his mind. Nor was it him who was
speaking. The sentences he was reciting were in fixed and standard form and it
was difficult to believe that there was any relation between them and his own
character.
(Lummis, 1976: 11)
Judging from encounters such as these it could be put forward that two people
possessing good strategic competence, but without knowledge of each others
language are better able to communicate their true selves than those trained to recite
pattern sentences in appropriate situations. From my own teaching experience I found
that students who had well developed strategic competence but very little English
ability could communicate within the classroom in such a way that I never felt that I
was experiencing anything but that individual and that they did not view me as
anything but myself. Conversely when asked a string of questions recited verbatim in
perfect English the sense that one is merely a sounding board is palpable.
Trudgill (1999) also supports standardised English stating that it is, ‘by far the most
important dialect in the English-speaking world from a social, intellectual and cultural
12
point of view; and it does not have an associated accent’ (p: 123). Going on to claim
that the further down the social scale one goes, the more non-standard forms of
English will become.
Pennycook refutes Trudgill’s claims giving four main reasons:
1. It fails to problematise the notion of Standard English (SE) or to consider its

historical and ideological construction;
2. It considers spoken language as nothing more than the voiced equivalent of

written language;
3. It operates with a simplistic sociological stance that talks too easily of ‘the
most important dialect'’ or ‘further down the social scale’;
4. It fails to consider the social context of spoken language and thus that
accent cannot be so easily separated from dialect.
(Pennycook, 2000: 117)
As Standard English would seem to be so contentious even within native speaking

contexts how can it possibly be applied to ELT overseas? For example in Japan
cannot the fact that /L/ and /r/ are interchangeable in pronunciation and the common
dropping of articles be seen as variation just as much as an English native dialect?
What is the benefit of constantly drilling a notion of standard English pronunciation,
which is not even universally relevant in a native English environment?
3.3: Business English
One of the key reasons given for the mass adoption of English within Japan is that it
is an integral part of internationalisation, particularly in the global business world.
That English is used globally in business is not in question, but there are reasons to
question whether this should be the case. Takahashi (1991) argues that at international
conferences where English is the officially used language native speakers use this as
an excuse to separate native from non-native speakers of English and thus, as Tsuda
(1996) puts it, ‘indulge in their linguistic, psychological, communicative, and political
superiority.’ (p: 2)
13
To illustrate his observations of such conferences Takahashi (ibid) writes:
There is a great gap in the working knowledge of English between native

speakers and non-native speakers, especially those speakers whose mother
tongues are linguistically distant from English. Thus native speakers of
English intentionally try to push non-native speakers out of discussions by
making full use of tactics that stem from phonetic, idiomatic, syntactic, and
pragmatic characteristics unique only in English. For example, they step up
the speed of speech, use a large number of jargons and idioms, or make
utterances that are grammatically complex.
(Takahashi, 1991: 188-189)
This would seem to suggest that rather than being a truly international language of
business English is often used divisively to promote inequality. If a language is to be
truly a lingua franca of equality then native speakers must also be expected to adapt
their speech to a suitable standard of understanding rather than perceiving their innate
language ability as an advantage. Much capital and money is made globally from the
selling of classes and materials claiming to teach business English, itself arguably a
meaningless construct. Is this business being conducted on Wall Street? In London?
Does it involve selling apples in New York or the setting up of a factory in the
Australian Outback? If business English exists then surely it is as diverse as the
permutations of businesses and countries from which they are run? Perhaps an
appropriate business English should also be taught to native English speakers wishing
to participate in intercultural negotiations? Such classes could take into account the
‘Ideal Speech Situation’ as set out in Habbermas (1970):
1. All potential participants in discourse must have the same

chance to initiate discourses and to perpetuate them through
asking and answering questions, making and replying to
objections giving arguments and justifications, etc.
2. All participants in interaction must have the same chance to

express their feelings, intentions, attitude, etc.
3. All participants in interaction must have the same chance to

give orders, to permit, to forbid, to give and to receive promises,
etc; in short, there must be a reciprocity in behaviour and
expectations which exclude all privileges in the sense of one-
sidedly binding norms.
(Habbermas, 1970, summarised in Sensat, 1979: 27-28)
14
This could possibly go some way to addressing issues of English used to aid
intercultural communication rather than English being used to the advantage of native
speakers. In order for this to be possible native speakers should not be of the belief
that as English is being used they have no reason to study such communication skills,
thus putting the pressure onto non-native speakers to gain native speaker competence
in order to effectively compete.
3.4: Native speaker ability as pedagogic competence.
In Japan and many other countries often no teaching certification is required.

Teachers are often told they are qualified to teach purely on the basis that they are
native English speakers, the assumption being that native speakers are the best
teachers of English. Canagarajah (1999) points out that if native speakers are the best
teachers of English then this relegates all other non-native English teachers to second
best.
In reference to an advertisement for teachers to work in Japanese eikaiwa stressing

that no experience is necessary, Andy Kirkpatrick (2006) comments:
From a moral point of view, educational institutions should be under an

obligation to ensure that students are not exposed to untrained teachers. The
requirement in one of these examples that applicants “must like children” is
more disquieting than reassuring.
(Kirkpatrick, 2006: 1)
Eikaiwa argue that their teachers are indeed trained and that on top of this their main
qualification is their native English ability. Eikaiwa training usually consists of a few
days orientation in which basic concepts of audiolingual lesson planning and business
practices are introduced. These constructs may not be completely alien to Western
private language models. The difference would seem to be that in Japan these
practices are the accepted mainstream norm and not the hidden backstreet exception.
Whilst it could be claimed that other private language schools around the world may
follow not entirely dissimilar business models, many schools, particularly in Europe,
15
require at least an initial four week TEFL or CELTA pre-service certificate. Templar
(2004) however states that ‘the professionals emerging from these diploma mills are a
kind of pedagogical equivalent of the ‘30 day wonders’, instant lieutenants turned out
by the American Army in WWII.’ (p: 7)
Is the Western model so different from the instant teachers turned out by eikaiwa in
just a few days? In both cases it could be argued that it is the recruits native English
ability which is their biggest selling point regardless of whether the training was for
one week or four. Neither option would appear to equip a person for the
responsibilities of class management or provide the skills needed to imbibe competent
teaching skills. It could be said that in any other branch of academia this fast track
approach would be considered unethical and reckless if not illegal.
Chapter 4
A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF JAPANESE EIKAIWA
16
4.1: Methodology
To construct a rounded picture of the experiences of teaching and learning within an

eikaiwa several strategies have been utilised. Five native English speaking teachers,
one Japanese English teacher and five Japanese students were asked to write short
essays about their time working and studying within the same eikaiwa corporation.
The brief was that they may write anything about their time at the school in question,
any length, any relevant topics. The only prompting were the titles of the essays; ‘My
Experiences Teaching English,’ and ‘My Experiences Learning English.’ This was so
as not to limit initial feedback, enabling unconstrained response allowing candidates
freedom to give prominence to aspects which were most important to themselves and
which would perhaps not be addressed by a stringent set of questions. Using this
approach it is hoped candidates will give answers based on what they deem to be their
primary experiences and roles within the structure of the institution concerned. These
essays were followed up by supplementary questions to quantify and clarify
information.
Textual and comparative analysis has been used to ascertain patterns of thought and
practice from the different groups, and how these differ or have congruence with each
other in order to construct a sociological and ethnographic analysis of the institution.
These studies will be compared to literature and research relating to the themes which
are most prominent. The aim is to conduct comprehensive examination through cross
comparison of examples in order to analyse how the participants understand and
construct meaning from their experiences. Firstly eikaiwa lesson structure will be
looked at from the information contained within training manuals. This will be
followed by student and teacher responses relating to the perceived realities of the
lessons in order to compare the model from the practice. Appropriate ideologies and
working practices illuminated within the materials studied will be addressed as they
arise within the context of this study.
I am aware of the criticisms that this may fall into what has been criticised as the
‘interview society’ (Atkinson & Silverman, 1997; Gubrium & Holstein, 2002). The
17
suggestion by this is that ‘social and educational researchers, like the mass media and
their audiences, have become obsessed with the idea of revealing secret personal
realities behind public facades’ (Hammersley, 2003: 119). By allowing teachers and
students to give open ended feedback relating to their experiences it could be claimed
that ‘what people say in interviews is closely attuned to the local context, and is
driven by a preoccupation with self-presentation and/or with persuasion of others,
rather than being concerned primarily with presenting facts about the world’ (ibid:
120).
Whilst participants may wish to frame their words in ways which fall under these
criticisms, is a participants preoccupation with self-presentation and trying to get a
point across a bad thing? Surely this is all part and parcel of communication and to
not consider anything but cold data collection removes the humanity from a social
interaction. My purpose is to analyse interactions, experiences and motivation,
therefore the gathering of personalised essays is an effective way to achieve results
which reflect individual human responses encapsulating a more general view of how
participants view both their experiences and also the roles they have played within
these experiences.
If truth of statements is in doubt then it is possible to look for recurrent themes from
participants as a group and study documents and training manuals from eikaiwa
themselves in order to ascertain the validity of the point in question before dismissing
it. If false constructs are put forward then the reasons for such constructs are
themselves an interesting source of study. What is being looked for is what
Fairclough (1992) called the ‘intertextuality’ and ‘assumptions’ of the text. ‘What is
‘said’ in a text is ‘said’ against a background of what is unsaid, but taken as given.’
(Fairclough, 2003: 40)
The analysis is also based on emic and anthropological research due to my

employment at an eikaiwa in central Tokyo from the periods 2002 to 2004. During
this time I attended all of the orientation and training sessions discussed as well as all
facets of the everyday running of schools, teaching hundreds of classes and
constructing relationships with students and co-workers over a number of years. I will
refer to my own experiences in order to outline recurrent business practices which I
18
experienced but will take as impartial a view as possible when reviewing collected
data. Despite this the study is obviously motivated by my experience which will allow
an insiders empathy when interpreting collated essays and materials. A holistic
approach will be observed which seeks to take all data into consideration, realising
that there is no single reality and that all feedback and experience has meaning within
its own context, but that these accounts, descriptions, and analysis have been
expressed in terms of the conceptual schemes and categories that are regarded as
meaningful and appropriate by the members of the culture under study.
The company under analysis will not be named for ethical reasons and all names of
participants have been changed. The eikaiwa in question is one of the largest in Japan
and has been established for over 30 years with over 225 schools employing around
2000 Japanese staff and 500 native English speaking teachers. Whilst the student and
teacher observations are focused on a single eikaiwa company these viewpoints will
be contrasted with the broader notion and concept of large corporate language
institutions. The study is not intended to produce definitive results but to encapsulate
the experiences of a small social grouping within the wider context of eikaiwa.
4.2: Audiolingual method
19
Eikaiwa lesson structures are based almost entirely around audiolingual methodology.
This method is based around systematic presentation of L2 language structures which
begin simply and then become more complicated. These often take the form of drills
and pattern sentences which are repeated over and over again. The idea behind audio-
lingual methodology believed that language learning was fundamentally about the
formation of habits which could be taught by repeated practice. The method was
backed up by linguists claiming that, ‘foreign language learning is basically a
mechanical process of habit formation,’ (quoted in Rivers, 1964). Yule (1985) points
out that whilst it would be hard nowadays to find a psychologist or linguist to endorse
audiolingual teaching as effective methodology:
…versions of the audiolingual method are still very common in language

teaching. It’s critics point out that isolated practice in drilling language
patterns bears no resemblance to the interactional nature of actual use.
Moreover it can be incredibly boring.
(Yule, 1985: 193)
4.3: Lessons offered
There are two varieties of classes offered at the eikaiwa under study. The first are
known as round-up classes, these are the more expensive of the two due to reduced
class sizes and the relative importance with which grammar is seen to have on
language learning for Japanese students. The other variety are group lessons, these
classes are presented as helping with ones communication skills in real world
situations, with up to eight people in a class.
Round-up lesson
Below is information explaining the typical set up for a round-up lesson:
Number of students 5
Length of lesson 50 minutes
Cost per lesson 5,400 yen
Text School text + CD
Length of contract 4 or 6 months
20
Business efficiency 5 people = 27,000 yen
The complete round-up curriculum spans 10 books of increasing complexity, each of

which can be completed within a 4 to 6 month contract. After the course is over an
assessment is made as to whether the student is able to progress to the next book. This
means that the fastest a student could complete the entire series of books is 3 years
and 4 months. An incentive for taking a group lesson is that if a class is missed it can
be made up the same week or during the next cycle of classes. To qualify for this a
student must inform the staff just 10 minutes before class begins.
Group lesson
Here we have the same information for a group lesson:
Number of students 8
Length of lesson 50 minutes
Cost per lesson 2,200 yen
Text School text + CD
Length of contract 6, 8 or 12 months
Business efficiency 8 people = 17, 600 yen
Group classes comprise four courses spread over eight books, each book taking 6
months to complete. This would mean a series of classes spanning four years to
complete the course. Unlike round-up classes if a student is unable to attend a group
lesson they must give 24 hours notice and the lesson can only be made up that same
week.
4.4: Lesson structure
Here is the standard lesson plan for round up and group lessons. Lessons are
structured to strict time limits with a typical lesson comprising the following sections:
Warm up: 3 minutes
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1. This usually takes the form a short word game or activity. According to the
teachers guide the aim of the warm up is to help students make the transition
from Japanese to English. Teachers first model the activity and then students
follow the instruction.
Pre-Activity: 5 minutes
2. The purpose of the pre-activity is to show the teaching point in a real life
situation. Key phrases are elicited using picture cards, then a scene is acted out
and repeated using the teaching point. Scenarios are based upon situations
from that units dialogue section in the students text books.
Again teachers are asked to model the structure of the conversation which
students then repeat.
Lesson Body: 40 minutes

3. Listening: (6 minutes max.) – This is a simple listening exercise found in the
students text books. Purposes given for the exercise are to allow students to
hear the teaching point in a natural conversation, to develop their listening
skills and to provide them with the opportunity to hear different English
accents.
4. Teaching point and drills – Pattern sentences are displayed with words
missing. For example:
It’s on the __________ next to the ___________ .
Drill cards are then used for students to complete the sentences, in this case,
shelf/television, nightstand/bed.
Before drills begin the teacher is supposed to elicit and introduce relevant vocabulary
followed by the introduction of the pattern sentence. Repetition practice then begins
as follows:
i. Drill with cues showing
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ii. Drill with cues hidden

iii. Drill with pattern sentence hidden
iv. Repeat
5. Structured dialogue practice – Students listen to a recorded dialogue from

the class CD which incorporates the teaching points. The teacher then asks a
couple of simple comprehension questions before students read through the
dialogue with a partner. Students then repeat this exercise trying to maintain
eye contact with their partner. Finally students stand up and attempt to act out
the dialogue. After each reading students switch characters, this means the
dialogue is read through out loud a total of six times.
6. Dialogue expansion – A skeleton dialogue is put up mimicking the text book

dialogue. Students are given alternate situations in order to ‘reinforce the
context of the language’ (Appendix, A). Students are asked to brainstorm
situations in which they will be able to use the dialogue. The dialogue is then
acted out repeatedly with these variations.
7. Exercise (structured/controlled practice) – The exercise and expansion are

supposed to allow students to ‘manipulate the teaching point’ (Appendix A).
Drill cards are again used to in order to practice the teaching point again. This
may take the form of questions and answers such as:
A. Where is/are the ________ ?

B. It’s/They’re _________ .
8. Exercise expansion – Another skeleton dialogue is introduced which the

teacher has prepared. Here the exercise is repeated but now within a context to
‘show students how to use the teaching point with their own ideas and more
flexibility’ (Appendix A ). Many ideas are elicited and then the teacher models
the dialogue twice, taking on both A and B roles. Students then practice the
dialogue repeatedly. Gradually the teacher hides the skeleton dialogue until
students are using the entire dialogue and teaching points themselves.
23
Closing: 2 minutes
9. If time permits drill cards are reviewed and homework given.
The teaching manual then instructs the teacher to ‘congratulate and thank the
students’ (Appendix A).
4.5: Lesson analysis
This lesson structure applies to both grammar based lessons, which are focused
around a specific grammar point, and communicative lessons, which are focussed
around a specific situation. The major difference would appear to be in the marketing
of the classes. It is often suggested to students that they should study both a grammar
and a communicative class. Grammar classes are more expensive and contain fewer
students, a maximum of five, whilst communicative classes have a maximum of eight
students. By categorising the classes students can be encouraged to pay for two
separate classes, which in turn requires the purchasing of two separate sets of text
books and two sets of accompanying CD’s for each level of the course.
To emphasis the difference between how Japanese students may have studied in the
past teachers are encouraged to be active and energetic in their instruction, acting out
scenarios, role-play, using realia etc. These things are used to make the lesson as
entertaining and different from formal grammar based English classes as possible.
From a business point of few it can be assumed that getting a student to sign up for a
round-up lesson is the preferred option as the profit margins are significantly higher.
However Group lessons will mean potentially longer contracts. Ideally a student is
recommended to sign up for both round-up and group lessons. From the students
perspective the classes offered would appear almost entirely the same, both having
virtually identical teaching methods. The difference is fundamentally one of
marketing; one marketed as being based around a grammar teaching point with the
other based around a teaching point which is a communicative phrase or exchange.
These descriptions could arguably be could be considered nonsense. Any set phrase is
formed by specific grammar points and any grammar point used in speech will utilise
24
communication. The differences are in course description and text books, with round-
up books explaining grammar points in their note sections and group lesson books
focusing on cultural factors such as holidays, cooking and shopping trips abroad.
There would appear to be no flexibility for teachers within the confines of the rigid
lesson plans, with certain eikaiwa going as far as to have microphones and video
cameras in the classrooms to ensure that teachers are following the prescribed lesson
formula. It seems remarkable that such an evangelical approach to audiolingual
teaching should exist in the 21st century. Of course not all elements of audiolingual
method can be considered worthless, but for a multi-billion dollar organisation whose
business is language education to embrace so fully a methodology which has been
largely abandoned may seem peculiar. One of the reasons for this may be that the
method is easily picked up by teachers with no knowledge of language teaching.
4.6: Teachers perspectives
Despite audiolingual method being largely discredited in the academic world since the
60’s teachers comments suggest that a purely audiolingual approach can be of benefit:
I liked the structure of the lesson plans…I had enough freedom to play around
in the beginning and end sections, but the students had the comfort of knowing
what to expect for the rest of the class.
(Mary, Appendix B: 6)
This teachers comments suggest that despite the rigid school ethos once the classroom
door is closed the teacher acquires a level of autonomy which, if students are
receptive, will go unquestioned. The same teacher goes on to note that drills were
effective when she herself was studying Japanese:
Since I find drilling useful in learning Japanese, I think the drilling sections of
classes were useful even though a lot of teachers (and some students) hated it.
I could almost always feel satisfied that the students had spoken, read and
heard a lot of English.
25
Here we see an exhibited satisfaction with the lesson based upon the fact that students
had spoken for much of the time. This is possibly the main aim of the lesson as
perceived by the creators of the system, that students will be satisfied with speaking
English for the majority of the lesson in stark contrast to the formal written grammar
instruction which they are used to. However she also notes that many teachers and
students were unhappy with this method, possibly because of the intense repetition.
The only participating teacher to hold a TEFL certificate, conversely, expresses

dissatisfaction with the teaching methods:
Their lesson plans are small, bite sized English bits that most hardworking
students can work out on their own, but for some reason spend almost $50 a
pop to learn. It is not exactly the lessons themselves that discouraged me, but
the way the company outwardly promoted student growth, but inwardly
couldn't care less as long as there was money involved…they would hire
anyone with a heartbeat who spoke English. They did not have to speak well,
just speak. There were teachers at who were being taught English by the
students. What a waste of money that TEFL certificate turned out to be.
(Nathaniel, Appendix B: 14)
Another female teacher comments on her enjoyment of classes:
(Teaching) was rewarding and challenging…I tended to teach college students

and housewives in the mornings and businessmen in the evenings. The ideas
that they would come up with for conversations were so much fun.
(Melissa, Appendix B: 10)
By commenting on the ‘fun’ ideas students would come up with it can be assumed
that these classes were functioning not purely on a mechanical level of repetition. For
enjoyment to occur within class a level of interpersonal relations must have been
built, which suggests that communication between the teacher and her students went
beyond a standardised audiolingual lesson plan. From this we may assume that a
process was exchanged separate from strict guidelines and involving many aspects of
communicative competence which again suggests a degree of teacher autonomy from
the system.
4.7: Student perspectives
26
How does the pedagogic methodology and business model used translate to the
experiences of the students? If certain academics and teachers views are anything to
go by then students could be assumed to be linguistic tape recorders having their
cultural identity ripped out for profit and replaced by notions of Western linguistic
and cultural hegemony:
Japanese are OK for English grammar but very weak for actual English
conversation. When we chat with our friends there are many words and
phrases that are not taught at school. But such expressions and culture
difference is very fresh and effective for us to communicate with native
speakers.
(Tomoko, Appendix C: 3)
Here we can see a student referring to the native English speaking staff as ‘friends’
and it is clear that these cultural, communicative exchanges were of paramount
importance, with lessons mentioned hardly at all. The same student goes on to advise:
…conversation after class was very effective to remove students tension, and
by enjoying our conversation we understood our mutual culture difference and
very useful words and expressions. Such things are really what students
wanted to learn.
Here Tomoko is referring to the social activities that a class I taught took part in after
school. This was a class consisting of high level students from universities and
businesses. After class, which was the last of the day, the class would often go to the
izakaiya (居酒屋), the Japanese equivalent of a pub, for dinner and drinks. Whereas
for me this was a pleasant opportunity to unwind and socialise, from what Tomoko is
saying, she saw it as not simply this, but also as an opportunity to improve her
linguistic and cultural knowledge more effectively than was possible within the
confines of the classroom. These activities were certainly not a focussed attempt by
myself to remove tension and enable more effective language learning, I simply
enjoyed the students company. It is made clear that Tomoko however saw this as an
important part of her study.
The reasons given by Tomoko for the necessity of eikaiwa is a lack of opportunity to
speak English within other forms of Japanese English language study, that there is a
27
lack of focus on communicative ability within the Japanese education system.

However the need for eikaiwa is undermined by the fact that Tomoko does not see the
lessons as of particular importance, they are merely a preamble to the real lesson
which takes place informally after class.
Another student makes a similar statement:
One day I was talking with my teacher after class. I noticed that my skills had
improved to the extent that the conversation went smoothly. It may sound
cynical but it was the free conversation with teachers before and after the class
in the lobby that helped me practice speaking English effectively.
(Urara, Appendix C: 6)
This reiterates the importance to the student of being able to socialise with native
English speakers. Eikaiwa obviously understand this importance, hence the
importance placed on lobby talk which will be discussed later.
Here two more students describe their experiences and motivations:
Talking to native speakers is my good experience. This point is good to me

and people who learn English in Japan because we don’t have a lot of
opportunity.
(Tomomi, Appendix C: 9)
I could meet a lot of teachers from other countries…As long as I can study
English my life is positively happy
(Emi, Appendix C: 13)
A glaring omission in the students feedback was that no students went into any detail
about the effectiveness of lessons except one, to comment that she was bored in class
when compared to speaking with her teacher outside of class. From this sample of
students it would seem that eikaiwa are seen far more as a social club than a school.
Students do attend to study seriously, but this study does not seem to be focussed in
the classroom, nor on any materials available. It is based around interpersonal
relationships with native English speaking staff.
Whilst the comments of student and teacher participants show that there may indeed
be room within the language classroom for drills, to have lessons based entirely on
outdated methods, spanning an entire industry, would seem to be problematic. That
28
these lessons are often marketed as communicative language learning would appear to
be particularly unprincipled given that the audiolingual method could be said to be in
direct opposition to communicative language teaching (CLT).
4.8: The image of the teacher
29
An important part of the business of eikaiwa is the presentation of it’s corporate

image. As native English speakers are the major selling point of these schools the
behaviour and projected image would appear to be of paramount importance. Here we
can see a list given to new teachers regarding the companies expectations:
A first-rate teacher is…

• Someone who knows, understands, and fulfils his/her
role/responsibilities.
• Someone who understands the goals of the branch/company and works in
step with them.
• Someone who always looks up to others believing there is still something
to be learned.
• Someone who is able to motivate and satisfy his/her students.
• Someone who is outwardly friendly towards students and fellow
workers.
• Someone who is willing to admit his/her mistakes to his/her students.
• Someone who continues to increase his/her knowledge about teaching
and uses the knowledge to improve him/herself.
• Someone who is a good listener-the students really have a chance to
speak.
• Someone who always provides quality lessons-lessons which are twice
the value of what students pay for.
• Someone who always encourages students who come to class and
encourages outside study.
• Someone who gives individualised advice on how students can improve,
recognises that each student’s strengths and weaknesses are different,
and helps students to define and redefine a goal for study.
• Someone who maintains a professional appearance and realises the visual
impact it has for both registered students and prospective students.
• Someone who uses polite and appropriate language when speaking and
teaching.
• Someone whose facial expressions show a professional and friendly
attitude and do not exhibit negative feelings or indications of personal
problems.
• Someone who transfers a warm and caring feeling towards all students.
• Someone who takes the lead in making conversation with all branch
school students.
• Someone who escorts students out of the classroom and whenever
possible as far as the branch school entrance or elevator.
(Appendix A)
From reading this list it can be seen that an eikaiwa sees itself firmly in the service
and retail sector. No mention of teaching is made until point seven, ‘Someone who
30
continues to increase his/her knowledge about teaching and uses the knowledge to
improve him/herself.’ The statement is phrased in a way that does not place emphasis
on a teacher improving their teaching but on a teacher ambiguously improving him or
herself. With rigid lesson plans in place there would seem to be little room for
individuals to adapt a teaching method to their own notions of what constitutes a good
lesson. From the other points it appears that the encoded content within the text states
that a teachers primary role is to use these guidelines and their knowledge to
understand what the customer wants and what the business needs, the two facets
appearing to be mutually inseparable. Particular importance is placed on appearance
and an understanding of the company ethos. When teaching is specifically
emphasised it is the importance of ensuring that students feel the lesson was worth,
‘twice the price,’ of what they paid which is the lesson target above all other criteria.
It should be emphasised that within aspects of Japanese society a certain importance

is given to a persons public face, omote (表), and a persons private face, ura (裏). The
eikaiwa in listing the importance on facial expressions, appropriate language and
polite gestures are promoting the notion of a professional public face which is in
keeping with Japanese culture. Eikaiwa however promote their teachers for their
differences and students attend in the hope of perhaps glimpsing another culture. The
concept of omote and ura being tactically pushed onto teachers in order to fit into
notions of retail service may have the unwanted effect of alienating teachers and
confusing students. This could be compounded as it is doubtful whether many
teachers are aware of these cultural notions of behaviour and may see such company
requests as overbearing attempts at controlling behaviour. In trying to meet students
perceived needs the companies actions may in fact be having a negative impact on a
teachers expectations and wants.
To further guide teachers interactions with their students the training manual gives a
list of appropriate (A) and inappropriate (I) answers which teachers should give to
awkward questions which may be asked of them:
Q. Have you taught English before?
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I: You give the impression you have no qualifications to teach:

“I just graduated from university and this is my very first time to do any
teaching. I really have no experience.”
A: (If you have experience or special qualifications, share this information):

“I have a TEFL certificate, and I’ve taught English to people from many
countries.”
(If you have no experience you shouldn’t lie, but as a professional teacher, you
have to give an affirmative answer that will satisfy your students):
“I haven’t taught English before but I have a proper working visa for teaching
issued by the Ministry of Justice. Also before actually starting to teach, every
teacher goes through an intensive training program, which includes teaching
model lessons to real students.”
(Appendix A)
The wording, ‘If you have no experience you shouldn’t lie, but as a professional
teacher, you have to give an affirmative answer…’ appears particularly problematic.
An unqualified person with no experience is not a professional teacher. This wording
is arguably designed to perpetuate a myth which may fill the new recruit with a sense
of dignity about their position thus enabling them to legitimise the perpetuation of this
myth to their students, more from a sense of pride than from any factual grounds
relating to reality. Lummis (1976) addresses this tactic of eikaiwa directly, stating:
All the complex ethical problems are resolved by assuming an attitude of

cultural superiority. The unspoken assumption of most of these teachers is that
being in the presence of an American for an hour a week is in itself a privilege
worth paying for.
(Lummis, 1976: 2)
Being part of a disingenuous exchange within a commercial context may well feel
alien to many graduates who have their own ideas of what teaching is, based upon
their personal and academic experiences, and who believed that they were entering
into a similar teaching environment. If they feel that they are in fact salesmen who
facilitate language instruction this is likely to conflict with their assumptions and
possibly their ethics. Here a teacher expresses just such misgivings:
32
Welcome to the McDonaldo’s (sic) of English schooling. Personally I overly

dislike ingenuine (sic) people. I would have to say that the teacher trainers are
THE most ingenuine people I have ever met. The kicker was they wanted us to
be equally ingenuine. When I teach I like to be a real person. Thus from the
very start I knew I should have run.
(Nathaniel, Appendix B: 13 )
Nathaniel’s description of eikaiwa reflects Holbrow’s (2003) view of the

‘McDonaldisation of English’ within the commercial sector. That often commercial
concerns, packaging and presentation come before what is best for students and staff.
4.9: Lobby talk
A criticism laid at the feet of the global ELT industry is that it perpetuates cultural
stereotypes with the materials it uses and insidiously markets Western culture as an
ideal to be aimed for. Japan is largely a mono-cultural society and so the chance to
meet and practice communication with a foreigner is a rarity, particularly outside of
major cities. The training manual studied includes a page entitled ‘Lobby Talk’
(Appendix A) which suggests that Western culture is promoted from the moment a
student walks through the door. Lobby talk is the time a teacher spends in between
classes meeting and greeting students and prospective students. This is seen as highly
important by managerial staff as it can add to a students sense of value for money and
also promote a friendly environment where English native speakers are freely
available. Aside from the importance of lobby talk, the teaching manual states ways in
which students should be greeted:
• Students love to shake hands!!!

• High school students love high 5’s!!!
• Show them pictures of your family, friends, country or hometown.
(Appendix A)
High 5’s and shaking hands are clearly distinct from Japanese social norms and would
appear to perpetuate the marketed advantages of absorbing oneself into a new
surrogate cultural environment. Lummis (ibid) claims that the style of English
33
conversation taught in Japan can act as a kind of vicarious travel, ‘motivated by a

desire to escape at least in imagination the confines of one’s own society’ (p:6). Even
before a student enters into a classroom teachers are already asked to assume a role
akin to a cultural ring master shaking hands and giving high fives to students as they
go. This would seem to indicate that language acquisition is but one element in the
overall cultural milieu on offer.
That these exchanges may be forced and disingenuous suggests the exploitation of
emotional attachment. Selling the idea of a social club is one thing but instructing
teachers on how to talk, smile and greet students could be said reduce their role to that
of an escort agency employee. These exchanges are however often likely to be
genuine but are nevertheless exploited by the companies for profit and seen as a major
selling point.
4.10: Self-study
During an annual eikaiwa financial cycle there are times of the year when intake of
new students is significantly lower than at other times, typically in summer and
winter. Without the influx of new revenue needed to maintain a workable profit
margin, the concept of a self-study campaign is initiated. These campaigns vary from
school to school. During this time sales charts are placed in staff rooms illustrating
sales targets. School meetings with teachers are called, encouraging staff members to
participate in strategising the best ways in which to get students to sign up for these
self-study materials.
Campaigns comprise a number of materials, usually produced and manufactured by

the company, which are marketed intensely for several weeks during times of low
student intake. Teachers are told that after a class they must approach a student who
they feel is most susceptible or ‘in need’ of extra learning materials. The student must
be engaged in friendly conversation after class and during the course of the
conversation attention should be made to materials which may be of interest. The
student should then be compelled towards the school counter where often a Japanese
34
member of staff will encourage, with the aid of the teacher, the purchase of extra-
curricular language material.
A Japanese English teacher describes the experience of these campaigns on Japanese

staff:
Sales was a huge, huge pressure for both Japanese staff and Japanese teachers.
We had a weekly meeting where we only discussed how to make money.
(Minako, Appendix B: 20)
Workshops are provided for Western teachers before self-study campaigns where they
are taught how to approach, pitch, and close a sale. This is a basic sales technique
familiar to anyone who has worked on the shop floor within the retail sector. During
these workshops teachers are told to advise students on what they believe to be their
weak points. For every weak point there is a set of materials available for the student
to purchase in addition to the materials they have already purchased for their classes.
In order to maintain sales students are encouraged to finish their self-study courses in
an allotted time, often with the reward of a themed party at the end of the course. Self-
study tests are also given by teachers, typically involving a student memorising a
short dialogue and then repeating it with the teacher verbatim. The extra teacher
contact is used as a selling point for these courses, which can often be bought in high
street book stores for a fraction of the price. Meetings are held where teachers will
team up with Japanese staff members to look at the daily schedule in order to target
students likely to sign up. Two criteria looked for are:
i. students who have purchased before

ii. students who are not particularly strong minded.
If a particular student is fond of a particular teacher then that relationship is also used
in order to attempt a sale. Whilst such sales techniques are not unexpected in the
world of high street retail and door to door sales, is this an acceptable way to
encourage a person into spending high sums of money on what they most probably
believe to be a high standard of tuition? What are the moral implications when
teaching is placed so firmly in the marketplace?
35
The company undoubtedly makes a significant proportion of its revenue from sales of
self study materials. As these sales campaigns are seasonal it is likely that a new
teacher will be unaware of their importance until such a campaign arrives. It could be
seen to be unlikely that those who came to Japan to teach are fully aware of the
importance the dual role of salesman and teacher is to their job and indeed their future
employment with the company.
Of the teachers who took part in this study all complained about the sales aspect of
the job to a greater or lesser degree:
As much as staff and management may care about their students the fact
remains that business is business…Often a students constant buying of new
materials is of more relevance than whether or not they are actually learning
and progressing.
(Charles, Appendix B: 18)
At this teachers school teachers were made to place recommendation notes onto their
students attendance files:
The ‘self-study campaign’ was my least favourite part of the school year,
which was probably true for everyone. I am not a natural salesperson and
thought the items were overpriced…my strategy was to personalise the notes
we had to write…trying to mention one thing they did well and one thing they
could use improvement on, then asked them to ‘please consider’ a particular
item. I saw other teachers posting generic notes onto (their students) files.
The next teacher had a specific personal grievance about the manager of her school
which she applies to all management:
Managers tended to speak very little English, had little to know college
education and, due to the commission payment method, were very focused on
business. Sometimes I think they offended students by only focusing on
money.
Again the biggest criticism is from the only qualified teacher:
I was falling in love with my new home. My apartment was nice…I began
learning Japanese…However the job kept sucking life from me. Teaching in
36
itself is a wonderful profession…but when working at (an) eikaiwa,

annoyances eventually sap all interest in the teaching profession. Eikaiwa are
more interested in making a buck than supplying a quality education.
(Nathaniel, Appendix B: 13)
The fact that all teachers singled out self-study campaigns for criticism in an open
essay which could incorporate any experiences whatsoever suggests that they can be
considered a major negative factor in the overall experience of a teachers time within
this institution.
This would not seem to be a problem of cultural communication as it is often made

out to be, but simply a case of deception on the part of those that hire teachers from
overseas. This has the effect of alienating Japanese workers from native English
speaking workers due to the conflicting roles which they believe they are there to
enact. A Japanese manager comments:
Foreign teachers often feel an eikaiwa is not a school but rather a business;
that we (management) aren’t concerned with education. It’s difficult for many
foreigners to understand Japanese business practices because they aren’t
familiar with our culture.
(Eikaiwa manager, quoted in Bossaer, 2003: 16)
Here we see the eikaiwa manager using cultural difference to explain Western
teachers attitudes towards business. However it should be noted that these sales
campaigns are similar to many retail outlets in the West, with similar strategies
employed in countless Western companies. The animosity would seem to arise from
the fact that teachers were employed believing that teaching was to be the main focus
of their job. It could be argued that the perceived misrepresentation and possible fraud
which some teachers may feel has been perpetrated has little to do with cultural
difference, the grievance being in the fact that they feel they have relocated overseas
under false pretences.
That Western staff often baulk at the idea of sales is a major point of contention to
Japanese management who rely on these campaigns to stay in business, indeed it is
possible that Japanese staff members may lose their jobs if targets are not achieved.
There would appear to be resentment from both Japanese and Western staff often
creating a cultural divide. Western staff feel that they are being coerced into what they
37
perceive as underhand business practices whilst management and staff resent having
to carry the load of responsibility to meet their targets. It may be the case that fitting
the profile of a successful salesman will be far more beneficial to a teachers long term
contract renewal than fitting the profile of a traditional teacher.
A crucial point is that of the participating students, none mentioned these sales
campaigns once. This would seem to support the notion that students are under no
false assumptions regarding the nature and function of eikaiwa. A student here has the
very opposite view of eikaiwa working practices and has picked up on the
unhappiness of her teachers:
I think that (the school) was conscientious and reasonable…They were also
kind. They did not pressure us at all. My contract was a one year contract,
maybe 100,000 yen, very cheap!! I believe that our (Japanese) working
motivation is very much influenced by the corporate culture. So (the school)
have acquired teachers at a very low cost and sold the lessons at very
reasonable prices…I know many English teachers complain about their
schools.
Here again the student has cited possible cultural difference for teachers unhappiness
with the corporate nature of their job. Managers and students seem to be under no
illusions about the nature of the business, both are engaged in a commercial
negotiation from the very beginning, with this student remarking on the wonderful
deal she feels she has received regarding lesson pricing. Conflict arises with native
speaker teachers because they are unprepared for this commercial negotiation. It is
unlikely that teachers would have such hostility towards these business practices if
they were employed as door-to-door traders. But of course teachers have come to
Japan under the illusion that they will be part of an academic establishment, not that
they will be shop salesmen and women.
It could be said that many of the business practices employed by eikaiwa may seem to
be anathema to the sensibilities of those in the wider, professionalized world of ELT.
But are the aspects described here unique to eikaiwa or are they inherent in many
institutionalised private language environments around the world? Is there an element
of hypocrisy in criticisms levelled at private Japanese schools from foreign bodies
38
who may believe themselves to be superior whilst at the same time using similar
methods? The ELT industry is a multi-billion pound global business powered by book
sales, lessons, even the qualifications that train the English teachers are high price
products, all promoted vigorously by sales teams. The difference would seem to lie in
the fact that in many other contexts, particularly in Europe, these sales divisions are
entirely separate entities. The problems arising within eikaiwa can be attributed to a
blurring of the lines of responsibility regarding the differing areas of business and
academic roles.
4.11: The shy Asian
During initial orientation teachers are often told by trainers that the Japanese are ‘shy’
or ‘nervous’, that they have trouble speaking directly. One male teacher who
participated in this study comments about his Japanese students:
One of the biggest problems blocking their ability to actually produce speech
is simply their nervousness…..for the average Japanese person on the street,
talking to foreigners represents a particular challenge that they rarely feel they
are prepared for, even in casual conversation. This is particularly the case
when talking to Western foreigners…..Given the economic, military and
political strength of the West many Japanese see Western foreigners as
holding a stronger relative position in the scheme of things and may view their
lack of shyness (and oftentimes humility) as an indication of their ‘superior
position’.
(Charles, Appendix B: 16)
The assumption of this teacher is that Japanese view Westerners as ‘superior’ due to
economic and military powers and a perceived lack of shyness. Not only does this
suggest that Japanese feel inferior to Westerners but that they can indeed learn how to
communicate more effectively through studying Western models of communication.
This is the same line of thinking taken by Saisho (1976) and discussed in the
introduction to this paper which perceives Japanese communication as needing the
more open Western style of critical thinking. Whilst the teacher quoted here avoids
stating that he believes himself to actually be superior to Japanese there is an implicit
indication within stating that Japanese suffer from ‘nervousness’ and feelings of
39
inferiority which would indicate that the ability to point out these character flaws is in
itself indicative of a more open thought process.
A female teacher also notes the shy nature of her students:
In general, the men were more shy than I expected…..and the women were
more outgoing than I expected. Pretty much everyone was shy if I ran into
them outside class. I think they felt ‘ambushed’ into speaking English when
they weren't ready.
The view that Japanese are shy is echoed by common assumptions attributed to other
Asian countries. The three most common stereotypes within Asia are stated to be:
i. Asian students are obedient to authority.

ii. Asian students may lack critical thinking skills.
iii. Asians may be shy and unwilling to participate in classroom activity.
(Kumaravadivelu, 2003: 710)
In an investigation into classroom actions carried out by 38 ESL teachers at the

university of Hong Kong most claimed that low English proficiency, lack of
confidence, and fear of making mistakes, were the most common causes of student
reticence in class. None stated culture as a contributing factor, contradicting the
stereotype (Tsui 1996).
Stereotypes of Asian students would seem to hark back to those cited by the
Cyclopedia of Education published in New York in 1911:
There is nothing in the Chinese course of study in the way of mathematics or

science, or indeed any line of thought, which will tend to develop the thinking
faculties, such as reason or invention, and hence these faculties have lain
dormant in the Chinese mind. They have never invented anything. They have
stumbled upon most of the useful, practical appliances of life, and among
these are the compass, gunpowder, and printing, and, though noted for their
commercial astuteness have lacked all power to develop into a commercial
success.
(quoted in Pennycook, 2002: 100)
40
Here we see assumptions being made about Asians, albeit in a more direct and
offensive manner. Whilst it may be the case that the teachers describing their students
do not speak out of malice or with any intention to cause offence there could be said
to be an inherent colonial ideology which pervades statements regarding assumed
Asian thought processes and the assumed reasons behind them.
Littlewood claims that:
If Asian students do indeed adopt the passive classroom attitudes that are often
claimed, this is more likely to be a consequence of the educational contexts
that have been or are now provided for them, than of any inherent dispositions
of the students themselves.
(Littlewood, 2000: 33)
Indeed studies by Loughrin-Sacco (1992) and Young (1990) indicate that English
speaking North American students when compelled to only use a foreign language
experience debilitating levels of anxiety. Young’s (1990) study points out that North
American students claimed that talking in class was the activity which caused the
most stress, whilst Loughrin-Sacco’s (1992) ethnographic study within a class of
French language students noted that the act of speaking was the highest anxiety
causing activity for almost all students involved. U.S. students are also stated as
falling behind counterparts from around the world in using higher order, analytical,
and critical thinking skills, according to several cross comparative studies cited by
Halpern (1997).
From this we can deduce that it is not simply that Japanese are shy and unable to
communicate effectively with foreigners but that language learners throughout the
world suffer anxiety and reticence when expected to perform with a native speaker.
Native English speaking teachers in Japan may not have language learning
experiences of their own with which to compare their students behaviour. Even if they
do have language learning knowledge it is likely as Kumaravadivelu (2003) states,
that within their classes, ‘If and when they talk, they do so by freely using their L1,
English - a luxury that they can afford mainly because of the English language
competency of their foreign language teachers and the use of their L1 in teaching the
L2’ (p: 713).
4.12: Sexual attraction as marketing tool
41
When a prospective student arrives at a school every effort is made to make them feel
at home. Teachers are encouraged to greet them and bring coffee. The interview
process itself involves a Japanese member of staff pitching the courses available. A
Western teacher is then brought into the room to provide a level check and to further
encourage the prospective student to enrol, this typically takes around ten minutes.
When the Western teacher leaves the sale starts in earnest. Often interviews can last
three or four hours with prospective students facing a barrage of sales techniques,
including the option of finance offered by the school. There would seem to be no
difference between being interviewed for a place at an eikaiwa than there is being
given the hard sell at a used car dealership. In this case the used cars would seem to
be native English speaking language instructors.
Here a teacher describes how sexual attraction was often used in interviews in order
to secure contracts:
The manager would try to match up a male teacher for female students and a
female teacher for a male student…The manager told teachers to pretend that
they didn’t have a girlfriend/boyfriend to entice the student. She told me to use
my ‘love power’ to get the contract…The manager even told me to sit closer
in the interviews and flirt more.
(Samuel, Appendix B: 3)
As well as aiding the initial sign up process this exploitation of a students emotions
can also be used for purposes of sales campaigns and contract renewal. Intimate
relationships between teachers and students are commonplace. All participating
teachers except one stated that they were having, or had previously had, relationships
with students or Japanese staff, in one case leading to marriage:
I think that my experience was slightly different than the typical teacher because
not only did I date a student but I married him…While he never took my class,
we spoke in the lobby and at organized events. After being friends for 6 months
we started dating. A year after that, we got married. And 6 months later, we
moved together to the States. At first I felt weird about dating a student, but
after I found out that my manager was too, I felt more free. I told all the
employees about my relationship, but not the students.
Whilst it could be considered that relationships between adults will naturally occur
42
within a social environment the described efforts of management to actually market

Western teachers as available certainly enters ethically muddy water at the very least.
The exploitation of attraction and the marketing of a potential relationship with a
teacher as described could even be regarded as a form of implied prostitution, in this
case under the auspices of ‘love power’.
4.13: Implicit racism
Here a teacher describes the interview process at his school:
The official reason for doing an interview was to show the student what a
lesson might be like, in reality a lesson was nothing like the interview, and to
judge the level of the student so they can be placed in an appropriate
class…Firstly the aim was to get the prospective student to sign a contract, the
bigger the better. This often meant that the student would be persuaded over
up to four hours to sign up (the teacher interview lasted 20 minutes). There
was an element of hard sell. I was often told to try extra hard because the
school needed the contract…The manager selected the most suitable
interviewer for the student, this meant the first choice was a white teacher.
(Samuel, Appendix B: 3)
Here we can clearly see further desperate attempts by managers to acquire new
contracts at all costs. The implication of choosing a ‘white’ teacher would seem to
indicate a fundamentally racist practice. Are we to assume from this that teachers who
are black, hispanic or asian in appearance are to be considered less appealing for
students? This certainly reinforces the notion that as Lummis states:
…the subculture of ‘English conversation’…is racist in its hiring practices,

racist in its pay scale, racist in its advertising, and racist in the ideology put
forward in its textbooks and classrooms….the idea of the ‘native speaker’ is
mostly a fraud…language schools which are run as businesses are proud of
their ‘native speakers’. But the expression ‘native speaker’ is a code word for
‘white’.
(Lummis, 1976: 4)
Kumaravadivelu appears to recognise that stereotyping and racist assumptions may

well be common place within the ELT profession, but here seeks common ground in
understanding:
43
People everywhere practice it (stereotyping), knowingly or unknowingly. It is

an all pervasive phenomenon that affects gender, class, race, language,
religion, nationality, and ethnicity. We stereotype others, and others stereotype
us. We are all victims as well as victimisers.
(Kumaravadivelu, 2003: 715)
Of course the accusation of inadvertent stereotyping would seem less harmful than
that of deliberate racist practices. Whilst impossible to condone, we can seek to
understand in order to address the problem. In this instance it is the manager whose
job may be on the line if monthly expenses are not met at the branch, this may lead to
extraordinary measures to cut costs, acquire, and maintain contracts. If the manager
presumes a prospective student expects a white teacher and the consequence of not
signing the student up will contribute to failure in meeting monthly expenses, leading
to a reprimand from head office and possible dismissal, then it is easy to see that
faced with the alternative the manager will head for the teacher most likely to fit the
stereotypical example of an English teacher. It would seem to be the assumptions of
the global ELT market which can be blamed for perpetuating working practices and
student expectations which can lead to accusations of racism.
Interestingly the promotion of white, native speaking English teachers is questioned

here by a student:
I don't care about the nationality of English teachers because I think that English
is just a communication tool…if (teachers) are American or English but they are
foolish, I don't want such teachers. We want to understand the culture difference
or way of thinking, etc. from English teachers. So teachers from many kinds of
countries are preferable…there are many kinds of English speakers.
Accordingly, it is very important for us to express our opinion very clearly and
understand mutually with respect.
Here we see the student embracing kokusaika to truly mean internationalization, not
merely as code for Western culture. The student advocates the use of English merely
as a communicative tool with which she can work internationally and become aware
of a wide range of global cultures, not merely those of the West. Tomoko’s apparent
requirements in a teacher are that they should be broad minded rather than that they fit
a stereotypical image. Another student who has recently started studying at a rival
44
school where non-native speaking English teachers are employed describes her
experience with a Nigerian teacher:
At first, I felt uneasy when I talked with teachers from countries where
English is not the main language. However, as I got accustomed to their
pronunciation and intonation, I noticed that their nationality does not matter,
but their personality is the main factor to develop our conversation.
(Urara, Appendix B: 7)
These responses indicate a far greater understanding of intercultural communications

than the narrow confines which eikaiwa would seem to allow for.
45
Chapter 5
CONCLUSION
It would seem almost certainly true that the educational sub-genre of English
conversation within Japan idealises the native English teacher at the expense of
efficient methodology and local teaching knowledge. This is however an
oversimplification of the broader picture. It is certain that eikaiwa are in the business
of selling the opportunity to meet and speak with foreigners whilst academic
requirements take a back seat. However from the examples gathered it was clear that
teachers and students were engaging in communicative exchanges beyond the
confines of such methods. In fact it would appear that it is these extra curricular
communicative exchanges which students actually attend classes to take part in. In
observing such behaviour Kramsch notes:
Participants in the foreign language classroom create their own cultural

context by shaping the conditions of enunciation/communication and the
conditions of reception/interpretation of classroom discourse. With every turn-
at-talk, teachers either perpetuate or subvert the traditional culture of the
classroom.
(Kramsch, 1993: 48)
It would appear from the students who have provided feedback that this may often be
the case within their classroom context, that students may indeed shape the conditions
of the classroom for their own needs. This certainly does not fit into the stereotype of
Japanese students being passive recipients in regards to the learning process.
Assertions by academics that students go to eikaiwa simply to meet a foreigner can be
seen as condescending to those students who use the system as their only practical
way to practice language across cultural boundaries. Students and teachers may well
negotiate communicative methods within the classroom regardless of the stringent
audiolingual, drill based lessons they are attending and teaching.
What is interesting is that in almost all cases where professional teaching skills are
required native English teachers are sidelined. For example in the public school sector
native English speaking assistant language teachers (ALT’s) are often little more than
46
glorified tape recorders used to give examples of perceived notions of Western

pronunciation. Team teaching is often used with a fully qualified Japanese teacher
leading the lesson, and in almost every case any lesson which works towards the vital
end of year examinations is taught exclusively by Japanese teachers. In eikaiwa a
similar situation exists. For students who are absolute beginners Japanese teachers are
used almost exclusively. In my school it was also the Japanese teachers who taught
special classes aimed at increasing TOEIC and TOEFL scores. This seems to
contradict the prominence of what Phillipson labels the native speaker fallacy, that the
best teacher of English is a native speaker. Whilst native speakers are a key marketing
tool they are rarely taken seriously as proficient teachers outside the realms of English
conversation. Although Western, native English teachers are in demand it would
appear that within the academic hierarchy the unsuitability of most of the transient,
untrained, teachers visiting Japan, is fully acknowledged. This could however have
the negative effect that qualified native English speakers wishing to carve out a career
and settle in Japan may find it hard to be taken seriously as a teacher other than for
conversation classes which require little to no knowledge of teaching methodology or
practice outside the narrow confines of the audiolingual method. The idea of an
experienced teacher may well be viewed negatively by an industry that thrives on the
enthusiasm and pedagogic ignorance of its foreign staff. Experienced teachers bring
with them all kinds of expectations regarding pay, working conditions and classroom
methodology, none of which are catered for by the high turnover, business lead nature
of eikaiwa.
As is often said by students eikaiwa offer the opportunity to speak English in a society
which prizes examination scores based upon written grammar knowledge. That those
exams are often also Western constructs shows that there is in fact a duopoly of
influence from the West regarding Japanese English language education. The
relationship could be seen as symbiotic; TOEIC, TOEFL and entrance examinations
do not consider spoken ability but rather a stringent form of idealised grammar usage,
eikaiwa fill the gap this creates by offering to supplement written knowledge with
idealised English conversation. The English conversation and business models
presented by eikaiwa would appear to represent the antithesis of linguistic
imperialism as defined by Phillipson (1992). However teachers and students would
appear to be able to adapt around such constructs to develop degrees of
47
communicative autonomy amongst themselves. In some respects this may well be

why eikaiwa management seek to replace teachers after only a couple of years, as
teachers develop critical awareness of the system, so they may wish to change that
system.
Today eikaiwa would appear to exist almost unchanged in lesson structure since the
end of WWII as if the past sixty years of language teaching theory, development and
practice has bypassed eikaiwa completely. Whilst academics around the world look at
ways to further adapt CLT, in eikaiwa CLT has arguably yet to arrive. What is
marketed as communicative language teaching within the eikaiwa system is little
more than pattern sentence drills which are deemed appropriate for all classes and all
students at all levels of ability, harking back to the 1950’s. Whilst it can be argued
that certain eikaiwa methods have an academic basis, the limitations of solely using
these methods to allow for an army of unskilled teachers to quickly pick up a form of
classroom practice can be considered bizarre given the plethora of teaching manuals
produced since the 1960’s highlighting more complete and effective methods of
classroom practice.
The lack of influence by institutions such as the British Council, with it’s need for
CELTA and TEFL certificates for teachers at it’s accredited schools, can be explained
partially because the eikaiwa business is thriving. Such accreditation appears to be
unnecessary as it would have little to no financial advantage to eikaiwa in Japan and
would also complicate matters of hiring qualified staff. So whilst such accreditation is
used as a selling point for schools in Europe it has no caché within Japan.
Organisations which do provide accreditation such as Zengaikyo (Japanese
association for the promotion of foreign language education) are recognised by
prospective students, but whether or not these organisations have influence in
educational matters is questionable. The fact that Zengaikyo is an association
dedicated to the promotion of language education, rather than the maintaining of
standards of language education could be viewed as telling.
Eikaiwa are fundamentally a Japanese entity which have adopted Western ideals
which were imposed upon Japan. If they are indeed agents of linguistic and cultural
imperialism, and their inception, ideology and unchanging nature since American
48
occupation would certainly fit this profile as described by proponents of such theories,
they do at least contribute to the Japanese economy. This may be small consolation
however for the potentially harmful constructs which they would appear to promote.
Whilst students may well be satisfied with the service which eikaiwa provide it would
appear to do them a disservice to ignore advancements in language education over the
last forty years. It is the social aspect that students seem to enjoy most and it could be
argued that it is here and not in the classroom where students and teachers alike can
work on all the aspects of communicative competence which are sorely missing from
the standard eikaiwa lessons. The argument that these institutions are market driven
and simply meeting a demand is the same argument used by fast food corporations
and the tobacco industry when asked to defend the harm they cause. Can
conversational English also be viewed as an unhealthy and unnecessary addiction
with little real value? Phrases describing the commercialised global ELT market such
as ‘McDonaldisation’ (Holbrow, 2003) reflect these concerns and point out that,
‘education is being deformed ever more into a profit-driven business, marketised and
attuned to managerial values and standardised outcomes’ (Templar, 2004: 2).
It is however a great oversimplification, as well as insulting, to suggest that a narrow

profile of eikaiwa students exists, all seeking to escape their lives, who possess
elements of English linguistic competence but suffer from misguided infatuation with
the West. Students are from as wide a variety of backgrounds and experiences as there
are within Japanese society. Many have lived abroad for years, businessmen and
women seeking to improve TOEIC scores, house wives seeking a hobby, students
studying towards their entrance exams, the list goes on and on. It could be said that
many eikaiwa students are likely to have a more sophisticated concept of intercultural
communication and language learning than the inexperienced, largely mono-lingual
native English speakers that teach them.
Whilst eikaiwa and English conversation are but a sub-genre of language education in
Japan they are also the primary source of English tuition for possibly millions of
Japanese outside of high school. The unqualified teachers who teach there may go on
to teach at high schools and possibly university level with little to no pedagogic
knowledge other than sentence drills and the business knowledge which they have
acquired at their eikaiwa. Many of these institutions believe they are getting informed
49
tutors of CLT when in fact they will receive employees whose only knowledge of
teaching is based upon discredited methodology from the early to mid 20th century.
Although such teachers may well be sidelined, the impact of the corporate eikaiwa on
Japanese society and education cannot be underestimated. However, eikaiwa should
not be singled out for criticism as being uniquely un-academic and harmful, rather
they are symptomatic of English language study as cultural imposition which has
existed all over the world since English first began its global spread. Eikaiwa have
simply adapted the model, arguably placing profit before any notions of ethical or
academic concerns.
Similar global corporations are frequently cited as having dubious ethical practices,
that eikaiwa deal in education is a cause of particular concern given that they arguably
permeate many aspects of Japanese language education by association. It is up to the
Japanese government to legislate and enforce standards that private schools are
properly regulated and conform to specified educational requirements. The
stereotypes and hegemonic language structures implicit within eikaiwa do not exist in
a vacuum, they would appear to be endemic of the larger global ELT industry and
exist to such an extent in Japan because of a lack of regulation in what is essentially
an entirely commercial sector ruled by the market place rather than educational
concerns. Students who participated in this study were able to acquire communicative
language practice in spite of, rather than because of, the Japanese eikaiwa model. As a
result they could be viewed as empowering themselves somewhat from the constructs
of cultural and linguistic domination which eikaiwa may, wittingly or unwittingly,
impose through their homogenised blueprint of language teaching.
50
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Appendix A
54
Training Materials
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
Appendix B
Teacher Essays
“My Experiences Teaching English”
64
Profile
Name: Samuel
Age: 25
Nationality: British
65
I tried teaching in Ghana and liked it but got no money. I looked for a job in
England after my degree but lost interest after a year so I went to Japan.
I spent about a year and a half working at Aeon Akabane, in Tokyo. Overall I loved
5 working and living there, although I wouldn’t say that my job was “teaching” as most
Europeans understand the term. My role included salesman, interviewer, cleaner,
advertising assistant (well, folding flyers for at least a few hours a week), entertaining
and some drill style teaching. I think this is not necessarily a flaw in the private
language school system, as it provides the service that many of the students (perhaps
10 more accurately described as members) really want. Most people who came to Aeon
were looking for much more than learning how to speak English. It provide an escape
from the office or home life, a special and expensive social club that gives members a
chance to meet, preferably white, foreigners. For some students they genuinely
wanted to learn English, but I am not sure of the effectiveness of unqualified teachers
15 and some of the materials used.
Probably the two strangest things I encountered while “teaching” were the mixed
teacher/salesman role and interviewing. The combination of salesman and teacher
brings up some clear ethical questions which I won’t go into. The interviewing is
20 perhaps more surprising and interesting. The official reason for doing an interview
was to show the student what a lesson might be like (in reality a lesson was nothing
like the interview) and to judge the level of the student so they can be placed in an
appropriate class. However the situations in which the interviews were conducted and
the true aims were significantly different from this. Firstly the aim was to get the
25 prospective student to sign a contract, the bigger the better. This often meant that the
student would be persuaded for up to four hours to sign up (the teacher interviews
lasted a mere 20 minutes). There was more than an element of hard sell. I was often
told to try extra hard because the school needed the contract.
I found the interviews got stranger the more I found out about them…. The manager
30 selected the most suitable interviewer for the student, this meant the first choice was a
white teacher. The manager would also try to match up a male teacher for female
students and a female teacher for a male student. This is were things got very strange.
The manager told teachers to pretend that they didn’t have a girlfriend/boyfriend to
entice the student. She told me to use my “love power” to get the contract. The idea
66
35 being to make the teacher appear as available as possible to the student. The manager
even told me to sit closer in the interviews and flirt more.
67
Profile
Name: Mary
Age: 33
Nationality: US citizen
68
I was ready to quit my job in the States but didn't want to go right into another similar
position, so teaching English in Japan was a chance to shake up my life a bit. I had
been attracted to the country's culture and art for a long time but wanted to be able to
spend some serious time there, not just a two-week vacation.
5
Teaching was mostly a positive experience for me, especially as I gained more
confidence -- one week of training gives you the basics but doesn't make you feel
"ready for anything."
10 My first school didn't have a lot of high-level (native-English-teacher-taught) classes,

so I had time to worry about every little thing and never got the hang of interviewing
prospective students. Even there, though, many students said they were sad to see me
leave and that they had enjoyed my classes, so I think just showing students you care
means a lot.
15
After I finished my first contract and transferred to a school closer to my brother's
Navy base, I had a much bigger workload and subsequently didn't have time to get
anxious. I also got tons of teaching and interview practice that boosted my
confidence. And I liked not being the only foreigner, even though our different
20 teaching styles sometimes rubbed one another the wrong way. Being the only
foreigner at my first school was pretty isolating and also made it hard to take more
then one vacation day at a time -- the source of my one and only (polite) battle with
management.
25 I actually liked the structure of the lesson plans -- more so after we got an improved
set of textbooks. I had enough freedom to play around in the beginning and end
sections, but the students had the comfort of knowing what to expect for the rest of
the class. Since I find drilling helpful in learning Japanese, I think the drilling portion
of most classes was useful even though a lot of the foreign teachers (and some
30 students) hated that part. I could almost always feel satisfied that my students had
spoken, read and heard a lot of English by the end of each class. I have never taken a
Japanese class in the United States that contained as much speaking and variety.
At both schools I got along well with the staff, except for the aforementioned dust-up
69
35 over vacation time that ended with me declaring I would not take two of my vacation
days if I could take the other three in a row -- making up the missed classes later.
Most of the Japanese teachers at that school didn't take all their vacation time either,
so in a way I guess it was like working for a high-powered company anywhere where
using all your lunch break or vacation time is frowned on. They were however very
40 kind in helping me settle in and always happy to help me improve my Japanese or
learn more about Japan.
Nagoya is a more conservative and less international city than the Yokohama area,
which meant I had to be a more quiet, conservative version of myself to fit in. I
45 surprised my manager once with a burst of Americanness -- I was getting some tea
when she said, "Mary, this is my dog." I looked down at a long piece of yarn she was
holding in her hand and followed it to the tiniest miniature dachsund I had ever seen
(she had brought it to work because it was a little sick). I let out an exclamation of
surprise -- "Oh!" -- that scared my manager. She started to stammer, "I'm sorry, I did
50 not know you didn't like dogs..." but I was already on the floor petting the animal in
delight.
My second school's staff and Japanese teachers spoke a lot of English and many of
them had lived abroad, so I could show them more of my sense of humor and not feel
55 like as much of an outsider. Another example of that is that at my first school the
Japanese teachers were called "sensei" by their fellow teachers and the staff, but I was
addressed only by my first name. I'm guessing that was mostly because they felt a
Japanese term shouldn't be used for a non-Japanese person, but I did feel more
accepted at my second school where all the teachers were called "sensei." Perhaps if I
60 had been a more confident teacher at my first school?
Since the staffs at both schools worked quite hard and I know was not paid as much as
the teachers, helping them out went a long way toward a pleasant office atmosphere. I
had always considered myself a conscientious worker, but I learned a lot in Japan
65 about picking your battles and being a team player. I think the fact that this wasn't my
first job -- I had been out of school and working for more than eight years before I
went to Japan -- made me more mature than some of the younger foreign teachers and
also made me aware of what I good deal I had in being paid to do something I wasn't
70
really qualified for.

70
The "self-study campaign" was my least favorite part of the school year, which was
probably true for everyone. I am not a natural salesperson and thought the items were
overpriced. I still believe they could have sold a lot more, and left students feeling
happier about their purchases, by dropping the prices by a third or more. But since it
75 had to be done, my strategy was to personalize the notes we had to write on the backs
of our students' catalogs.
I printed each letter using their name and trying to mention one thing they did well
and one thing they could use improvement on, then asked them to "please consider" a
80 particular item. I saw other teachers pasting copies of a generic note onto their
catalogs and then writing in the students' name and the suggested item, which didn't
seem to work as well -- I wasn't the top teacher at my school, but I outsold the
teachers who used that method.
85 In general, the men were more shy than I expected (especially in Nagoya) and the
women were more outgoing than I expected. Pretty much everyone was shy if I ran
into them outside class -- think they felt "ambushed" into speaking English when they
weren't ready.
90 I hung out socially with a few female students and mixed groups, and in Nagoya I had
two "dates" with a male student a little younger than me who was leaving AEON and
Japan for a homestay in England.
95 In general my time as an eikaiwa no kyooshi was a fantastic experience I would

recommend to anyone who is open minded and ready to put in the effort necessary to
succeed.
71
Profile
Name: Melissa
Age: 24
72
I had wanted to move to Japan since I was in high school. We had an exchange
student from Hiroshima and she really turned me on to Japanese culture and language.
While working on my BA, I roomed with another Japanese girl who told me about
eikaiwa. She suggested that I check the internet to see what schools were available.
5 AEON was the first one to pop up, so I applied.
Working for AEON was rewarding and challenging. I loved my students. I tended to
teach college students and housewives in the day time and business men in the
evenings. The college students were my favorites. The ideas that they would come
10 up with for conversations were so much fun.
Then, my second year, I also had some children’s classes. The older kids were great
(age 5 and above). They were so excited to learn and fun to work with. The younger
children were tough. They couldn’t understand why I didn’t speak Japanese and
15 behaved like animals. They were also the only age group that I had no training for
teaching.
My other complaint about AEON was the managers. Managers tended to speak very
little English, had little or no college education, and due to the commission payment
20 method, were very focused on business. Sometimes I think they offended students by
only focusing on money. My manager and I did not get along at all.
However, the Japanese teachers did have experience speaking English and working
with people from other countries. While there were a few misunderstandings, overall
25 the relationship between the Japanese teachers and the non-Japanese teachers was
great. We often spent time together outside of school and really learned a lot from
each other.
I also had the opportunity to do voice acting for some of AEON’s at-home study
30 material. This experience taught me a lot about the text book creation process and my
students were excited to listen to the CD’s.
I think that my experience was slightly different than the typical teacher because not
only did a date a student (not cool in the eyes of the head office), but I married him.
73
35 We met in the elevator that went to my school. While he never took my class, we
spoke in the lobby and at organized events. After being friends for 6 months we
started dating. A year after that, we got married. And 6 months later, we moved
together to the States.
40 And we`ve lived happily ever after :)
Most of my students were really shy, but all students were eager to study. Especially
the housewives seemed to feel really empowered by learning English. The younger
kids were uncontrollable. A few old business men were creepy and seemed to be
45 there for the wrong reasons, but I`d say only 2 out of the almost 200 students I
had. The college students were my favorite. They were fun, made jokes, and learned
so fast!
Mitsu is the only student that I dated, but before we got together, there was another
50 student that I think I would have dated were it not for Mitsu. At first I felt weird
about dating a student, but after I found out that my manager was too, I felt more
free. I told all the AEON employees about my relationship, but not the
students...except for a few that I was close with and swore them to secrecy. I also
believe that Japanese men are great in bed and every American woman should give it
55 a try! (are you going to include that in your paper?)
74
Profile
Name: Nathaniel
Age: 27
Nationality: US Citizen
75
I wanted to teach English after finishing college. While getting my TEFL certificate,
my teaching partner was a Japanese woman studying to be an English teacher. She
recommended that I go to Japan. So I went to Japan. The 2 years I spent in Japan were
both amazing and mind-numbing. I loved living in Japan. Of course, there were times
5 where being a foreigner became a serious nescience, but the positives of life in Japan
outweighed the negatives. While in Japan I met great people, enjoyed wonderful, if
not, peculiar culinary dishes, and studied and used a fascinating language. I have been
out of the county now for about 8 months and I think about it everyday, and miss it
thoroughly. I fell in love with Japan.
10 On all levels but one I was completely satisfied with my experience. For lack of a
better term, my "job" was 90% unsatisfying and was ultimately the reason for leaving
Japan. Had my occupation in Japan been one that I could endure longer, I would
probably still be there today. The fact that I stayed on for 2 years proves how much
the enjoyment of living in Japan outweighed even the most unfulfilling of work
15 experiences.
Before leaving for Japan I received my TEFL certificate and had some teaching
experience teaching students from Turkey, Japan, Korea, France and other countries. I
taught practice classes and took on a private student. Unfortunately, none of this was
needed for my job in Japan.
20 I worked for Aeon. Overall, I have to say that my experience with them was less than
satisfactory. From the very first day of training I realized what I got myself into. The
moment I laid eyes on the genki gameshow hosts I realized this was a sham. Welcome
to the McDonanldo's of English schooling. Personally, I overly dislike ingenuine
people. I would have to say that the trainers at Aeon are THE most ingenuine people I
25 have ever met. And the kicker was, they wanted us to be equally as ingenuine in our
classes. When I teach, I like to be a real person. Thus, from the very start, I knew I
should have run.
I stuck with it though. Some of the people I met at training and some of the teachers I
met at my new school were good people. And I was falling in love with my new
30 home. My apartment was nice and it was located across a wonderful park. I began
learning Japanese and trying to use it whenever possible. My colleagues and I began
76
to take nice long lunches with mandatory Starbucks engagements. I was slowly, but
surely, beginning to get comfortable with my new home.
However, the job kept sucking life from me. Teaching in and of itself is a wonderful
35 profession. It is very satisfying when you see a student learn from you. The actual
teaching was good, but when working at Aeon, or any other Eikaiwa I assume, there
are many more annoyances one must endure that eventually tap all interest in the
teaching profession. At least, that is what happened to me.
First of all, eikaiwa are much more interested in making a buck than supplying a
40 quality education. Their lesson plans are small, bite sized English bits that most
hardworking students can work out on their own, but for some reason spend almost
$50 a pop to learn. It is not exactly the lessons themselves that discouraged me, but
the way the company outwardly promoted student growth, but inwardly couldn't care
less as long as there was money involved.
45 Another thing that took away from my teaching experience with Aeon was the sales
aspect of the job. The company expected you to be a teacher and a salesman all in the
same 50 minutes. For me, that was just impossible. There was no way I could look a
student in the eye after being their teacher and try to sell them way overpriced books.
And to add insult to injury, the company offered no compensation for sales attempts
50 by the foreign staff. There was no incentive at all.
The final major thing that I did not like about Aeon was the fact that they would hire
anyone with a heartbeat who spoke English. They did not have to speak well, just
speak. There were teachers at Aeon who were being taught English by the students.
What a waste of money that TEFL certificate turned out to be.
55 What I should have done was left Aeon after my initial contract and went to work at a
junior high or high school. While that would have held a different set of challenges, at
least it would have been real. I would not have had to endure the corporate bullshit,
and I would not have had to sell anything or be abnormally genki. Oh well. I did
enjoy my time in Japan, and if I every have a skill I can take over there other than
60 teaching English, I would love to spend more time there.
77
Profile
Name: Charles
Age: 27
78
I've been an English teacher for approximately six years now, roughly five of which
was spent in Japan. Thus far, it's been an interesting experience to say the least, and
after spending so much time here, I still find myself asking the same question that I've
heard posted time and time again by those that come here: Why is it that people in
5 Japan have such a hard time speaking English?
I've come to deduct that, like any complex question, the answer itself may not be
particularly difficult, but involves looking at it from more than one angle. I think
there's a myriad of factors that come into play in facilitating the difficulties that
10 Japanese people face in communicating in English, but in particular, culture, lack of
easy opportunity to talk and the Eikaiwa system itself all constitute major reasons. I'll
describe each in detail as follows:
As aforementioned, the first major factor that creates difficulty in Japanese people's
15 ability to communicate in English is culture. As anyone who has ever been there will
tell you, (in particular in Tokyo), Japanese people are notoriously shy and cautious
around people that they don't know. Being able to both think in, and produce speech
in a foreign language requires a great deal of mental effort, and as a function of that,
as with excellence in anything, mental relaxation is the key to quick and accurate
20 responses. Japanese people are all required to study English for 6 years in Junior High
School, and in general, they all have a working base of grammar, and are capable of
conveying and understanding meaning through reading and writing. One of the
biggest problems blocking their ability to actually produce speech is simply their
nervousness. Anyone who's ever given a speech can tell you how much more difficult
25 it is to produce when you are shy (even if you know the material), and for the average
Japanese person on the street, talking to foreigners represents a particular challenge
that they rarely feel they are prepared for; even if just in casual conversation. This is
particularly the case when talking to western foreigners. Although economically,
Japan is relatively egalitarian, socially most people are either oriented towards
30 looking up or looking down at people; not simply seeing them as being in the same
position on the social ladder. Given the economic, military, and political strength of
the west, many Japanese see Western foreigners as holding a stronger relative position
in the scheme of things, and may view their lack of shyness (and oftentimes humility)
as an indication of their 'superior position'.
79
35
At the same time however, it is equally likely that a great deal of this shyness simply
stems from lack of exposure and the uncertainty that comes with dealing with
someone who looks, walks, talks, and acts completely different from you. This brings
us to our next factor; lack of opportunity to speak. As aforementioned, mental
40 relaxation is a key attribute to effective and quick thinking, both of which are
necessary for language production. Unfortunately however, the only way to develop it
is through enough repetition and practice that one's mind can learn what factors to
take into account in making decisions, and what factors not to concern itself with,
thereby allowing it to relax and hone it's processes. In the case of Japanese language
45 learners this offers a particular challenge in terms of the fact that for the average
person, there are very few opportunities to get this repetition at home. This is further
complicated by the fact that those foreigners living in Japan- in an attempt to make
things 'easier' for them- will oftentimes speak to them in broken English themselves,
thereby depriving them of the only interactive model they have available as what
50 natural English is supposed to sound like. Although travelling abroad in search of
opportunities to speak naturally may be a viable option for some, they may still be
hindered by the aforementioned nervousness they feel around Western foreigners, and
many will settle into groups of other travelling Japanese so as to avoid the need to
communicate individually at all.
55
This may not particularly be the case when travelling to other areas in Asia (where
Japan holds the strongest relative position), but at the same time, in the speaking
opportunities presented by communicating with others who learned English as a
foreign language, key elements such as accurate grammar and pronunciation may or
60 may not be present, even if the person whom they are communicating with is capable
of a greater level of articulation in English.
This, of course, leads Japanese students of EFL to their last available resource, the
'Eikaiwa', or English conversation school. Having worked extensively at a myriad of
65 Eikaiwa in Tokyo, I can attest to the fact that they can truly give Japanese students the
simple practice of speech that they very much need to improve. Unfortunately
however, oftentimes, the function of the demand being higher than the supply
necessitates they may also be staffed by people with little to no education in the field
80
of English teaching (or even in education in general), and the models of learning that
70 they put forth may or may not be entirely accurate. (Take, for example how may
Eikaiwa texts have face-to-face dialogs that start with the word 'Hello'. In English,
hello is a telephone word and is rarely, if ever used when native speakers greet each
other).
75 Another problem facing English learners at Eikaiwas is the fact that, as much as staff
and management may care about their students, the fact remains that business is
business. As such, and as a function of the fact they have to remain competitive with
other schools, oftentimes a students' constant buying of new materials is of more
relevance than that business than whether or not they are actually learning and
80 progressing at a pace that is suitable for them. As any Eikaiwa teacher will tell you,
students may be advanced to a higher class before they are even competent with the
text, grammar or functions that they are given, leaving it to teachers to find the
delicate balance of keeping things moving for the capable students while still slowing
things down enough so as not to leave the low ability students behind.
85
What is the solution to all these problems?? I'll leave that for the next essay.
81
Profile
Name: Minako
Age: 28
Nationality: Japanese
I found there was a huge difference between JPN teachers and management staff.
Most of (more than 80%???) the JPN teachers had certain overseas experiences. So it
was very helpful for me to have colleagues like Yuko(lived in the U.S. for 5 years)
and Sali (lived in the U.S. for 4 years). That was because they know both Japanese
and foreign culture. Perhaps you have realized that the Japanese way of thinking is
pretty different from Europe and America. For example, JPN believe in the lifetime
employment system and many of the JPN staff want it for their job but people like
Yuko and I didn't feel it was important.
JPN teachers are more experienced with foreign culture and people but some of them
couldn't or didn't want to get along with foreign teachers. Those JPN teachers insist
that they don't understand why they have to take care of the foreign teachers
especially outside of the school such as hospitals. I guess it wasn't easy for JPN staff
to communicate with foreign teachers because of their language skill and cultural
background.
Sales was a huge pressure for both JPN staff and JPN teachers. As you know, we had
a weekly meeting where we ONLY discuss how to make money.
I didn't have any difficulties doing interviews with prospectives. It sure is a pressure
for new teachers but once I was used to judge the level of the students it was actually
quite helpful for my teaching.
83
Appendix C
Student Essays
“My Experiences Learning English”
84
Profile
Name: Tomoko
Age: 50
85
The atmosphere in class made us relaxed and enjoy chatting very interesting and very
important matters. We can study English Grammar/Use of English by ourselves;
because Japanese entrance examination is very hard; so many Japanese are O.K. for
English usage; but very weak for actual English conversation. When we chat with our
5 friends; there are many many words, and phrase that are not taught at school. But
such expression and culture difference is very fresh and effective for us to
communicate with native speakers. In addition, it is much more wonderful for us to
know one other totally. The biggest effect of your lesson including after class is
relaxed atomosphere!! I recommend you to write that you tried to focus on the
10 conversation after your class because it was very effective and significant to remove
their tension for English and by enjoying our conversation we understood our mutual
culture difference and very useful words, and expression and such things is really
Japanese students wanted to learn.
15 I think that AEON was conscientious/reasonable because we could use our contracted
lessons in no limitation. I remember they are standing in the reservation desk; and told
us where our class was. They were also kind. They did not pressure me at all. My
contract was 1-year contract maybe, JPY100,000, very cheap!! But I did not like
AEON's restroom; it was terrible!!
20
I think that every Eikaiwa School is not same as AEON. But very similar condition..
There are many foreign companies and we are working with native speakers. So we
are not satisfied with just only native Englsish teacher;if they have no
stock(intelligence, knowledge, sensitive feeling, etc.,) we will be disgusted. So
25 depending upon the English levels, what students needs/wants for their teachers are
extremely different.
I believe that our working motivation is very much influenced by the corporate
culture and working conditions. So AEON have used teacher by very cheap cost and
30 sold the lesson very at very reasonable price. If they get many students, even if it is
not expensive lessons, they will be profitable. But I felt 50minutes lesson for 5-6
people had just limitation. In order to strengthen English ability more and more, it is
very short time to do debate/presentation, and so on. So many students who like
speaking English but have no opportunities to speak English surrounding their
86
35 circumstances choose AEON. Recently I went to Inter school; for interpreter training,
its lesson charge was so expensive and we had many, many assignments; but very
practical and useful for interpreter. So depending upon the English level, students
choose their appropriate school.
40 Then why AEON methods are O.K. in Japan? I think that it is due to Japanese
English Education problems. As you know, in Japan, entrance examination for
university/even high school are very, very difficult and for that examination
EIKAIWA is not needed. Just only English Grammar/high-level reading ability/etc.
So Japanese Education are lack of communication ability in English. High-level
45 private school are pressured to make many students enter very famous university; so
they take many, many hours for training for Entrance Examination. Even now it has
not been changed. So schools like AEON are needed. I know many English teachers
complains about their schools. So most of teachers have side works. Advanced class
students are absolutely not satisfied with travelers. And they will move to other
50 school...
I don't care about the nationality of English teacher because I think that English is just
only communication tool. We can study English Grammar by ourselves and even if
they are American or English teacher but they are very foolish or rude or lack of
55 sensitiviy; I don't want such teachers. We want to understand the culture difference or
way of thinking, etc. form English teachers. So teachers from many kinds of
countries are preferable. Actually, English has been changed in each countries.
English is a kind of tool; not everything. Now I am working with American staff; and
they are very kind and friendly, supportive; so I am very inspired and encouraged by
60 them very often. I realized that there are many types of Americans, of course. So it is
very dangerous for us to learn by similar type of teachers because there are many
kinds of English speakers. Accordingly, it is very important for us to express our
opinion very clearly and understand mutually with respect. It is the same as basic
human relation
65
87
Profile
Name: Urara
Age: 29
88
I joined this law firm in April 1999 and wanted to take Eikaiwa lessons to improve
my English skills with a focus on speaking and listening.
The reasons why I chose AEON were as follows:

5
1. AEON is a member of Zengaikyo (Japan Association for the promotion of foreign
language education);
2. I took 6-month course at AEON Tokorozawa with a discount of 5 - 10% when I
was a college student, so I knew how it was like.;
10 3. Round-up lesson system (5 students at the maximum / 100% attendance secured)
seemed attractive;
4. Ikebukuro is very convenient to get home after the lesson; and
5. All teachers are well educated and take care of their students on a relatively long-
term basis (not on a tourist visa).
15
Overall, I think AEON is successful in attracting students and its each
system/curriculum is working well. In particular, the fixed class system is effective
since it can reduce the time to introduce each other in the lesson.
20 In a higher level class, I enjoyed talking with the fixed classmates and teacher; we
spent a lot of time in discussions with the help of our teacher.
One day when I was talking with my teacher after the class, I noticed that my skills
improved to the extent that the conversation went smoothly. It may sound cynical,
25 but it was the free conversation with teachers before/after the class at the lobby that
helped me practice speaking English effectively.
After that, I frequently felt bored during the lesson, and wanted to take a more
advanced class, which would be helpful to me.
30
I talked with one of the staff members and accepted his advice to move to another
class.
To my disappointment, the level of the class was lower than that of my previous class,
89
35 though the teacher was unchanged. In addition, it turned out that there were no
makeup lessons if I missed the class, and sometimes we had 6 students or more in a
Round-up lesson. I realized that "5 students at the maximum / 100% attendance
secured" would not be guaranteed; as a result, I left the school.
40 I did not expect to terminate the contract with AEON so suddenly, but I appreciate the
lessons they provided to me. I really enjoyed learning English at AEON Ikebukuro,
but quit in October 2005 due to several problems mishandled by AEON staff (not
teachers).
45 After that, I joined GABA which provides students with private lessons. We can
select teachers and lessons on the website and give feedback about each lesson. I
have met 40 - 50 teachers including Nigerians and Israeli citizen who studied in the
United States. Some of them speak English with a strong accent, but it's GABA's
policy to give students opportunities to get accustomed to various pronunciation and
50 dialects.
I felt uneasy when I talked with teachers from countries where English is not the main
language. However, as I got accustomed to their pronunciation and intonation, I
noticed that their nationality does not matter, but their personality is the main factor to
55 develop our conversation. For example, the Nigerian teacher I mentioned is relatively
cynical, so I think it is challenging to be with him friendly all the time.
*** END ***

60
90
Profile
Name: Tomomi
Age: 25
91
Talking to native speaker is my good experience at Aeon. This point is good to me

and people who learning English in Japan. Because we don't have a lot of opportunity
and situation in our Japanese life. Now, I’ve been learning English under Japanese
teacher. He is so good and he knows my week points. so my grammar level is getting
5 better...maybe. But I’m not 100% satisfied with speaking and communication.
92
Profile
Name: Mika
Age: 33
93
When I was at Aeon, I took classes for discussion and reading. At a discussion class,
we received a handout about a certain topic beforehand. It was our homework to read
the article until a class began. At the class, we discussed about the topic. We practiced
to tell a teacher and classmates our own opinion in English. When we made mistakes,
5 a teacher corrected. Also, when we didn't know how to say some words or phrases in
English, a teacher taught them. So, it was a very good class for us to learn English
vocabularies and phrases, too.
At a reading class, we used a textbook named "In the News". In the textbook, there
10 were news articles. Our homework was to read an article. If we had questions about
vocabularies and phrases, or had sentences we didn't understand, we asked a teacher
at class. Then, we did some exercises to find out how much we understood the
article, as well as vocabularies and idioms which appeared in the article.
15 That's all I can remember...
94
Profile
Name: Emi
Age: 30
95
It has passed about four years since I began to study English at AEON. I liked
English classes when I was a junior high school and a high school student. Especially
I liked grammer classes. I was not good at speaking English then. But one day, I
came to think that I tried to speak English. I began to go to AEON with such a simple
5 reason. At AEON, I could meet a lot of teachers from other countries and classmates
so far. The teachers and the staffs in AEON always support me on how to study
English and on mind as well. So I can think of my vision for my future. When I went
to Hawaii to study English, I got to some great teachers and lots of sudents from
overseas. In Hawaii, I could study English with the classmates and I could learn some
10 various thoughts from the classmates in English. The experience that I could got some
interesting ideas from the international students who live in different countries was
really precious for me. As I study English, I could meet a lot of people who have a
similar purpose each other and I could talk with them in English. Now I'm taking a
discussion class in AEON and I always enjoy speaking English. My English
15 experience is kind of young. But even if I can't tell mmy opinion very well, I think
that it's really important to try to tell something to the other person. Some people
hesitate to speak because of no confidence, but I believe that the only way that I can
tell my opinion and my feeling or something directly is SPEAKING. As long as I can
study English, my life is positively happy.
96
97

A Critical Analysis of Japanese Eikaiwa Within The Context of Linguistic Imperialism

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A Critical Analysis of Japanese Eikaiwa Within The Context of Linguistic Imperialism

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Martin, P. (2006).

A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF JAPANESE EIKAIWA WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF LINGUISTIC IMPERIALISM

A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF JAPANESE EIKAIWA WITHIN THE

CHAPTER 2: ENGLISH IN JAPAN

CHAPTER 3: NOTIONS OF LINGUISTIC IMPERIALISM

CHAPTER 4: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF JAPANESE EIKAIWA

Appendix A: Training materials

Collected data suggests that despite rigid models of classroom methodology,

linguistic imperialism. A thorough account of the research methods and methodology

2.1: Historical context

2.2: Nihonjinron and kokusaika

It appears that nihonjinron as cultural nationalism and ‘English allergy’

…what is present in English but not in Japanese is logical and analytical

(Saisho, 1975: 177-8; translated from Japanese)

expressible to speakers of other languages. What Saisho seems to be suggesting is that

2.3: Loan words

NOTIONS OF LINGUISTIC IMPERIALISM

3.1: Linguistic Imperialism

A working definition of English linguistic imperialism is that the dominance

Within this definition of linguistic imperialism Phillipson (ibid) challenges what he

1.English is best taught monolingually: monolingual fallacy.

2.The ideal teacher of English is a native speaker: native speaker fallacy.

(Phillipson, 1992: 185-212)

Kachru (1997) singles out eikaiwa as perpetuators of linguistic imperialism in the

In our times eikaiwa is a unique example of cultural and psychological

domination of the mind in which the ELT profession, by design, participated

1. it involves emotional attachment to and obsessive infatuation with Western,

3. it elevates a particular type of native speaker position of cultural superiority

6. its use of the term 'native speaker' is exploited by business-oriented

(Kachru, 1997: 97-98)

3.2: Standard English

In relation to Japanese English conversation classes Lummis (1976) observed that

Quirk in his assertions seems to underestimate the significance of communication

A man came up to me and asked, “Excuse me, may I speak to you in

Where are you from?

Nothing he said was really addressed to me…He wasn’t speaking to me at all,

Pennycook refutes Trudgill’s claims giving four main reasons:

1. It fails to problematise the notion of Standard English (SE) or to consider its

2. It considers spoken language as nothing more than the voiced equivalent of

As Standard English would seem to be so contentious even within native speaking

3.3: Business English

To illustrate his observations of such conferences Takahashi (ibid) writes:

There is a great gap in the working knowledge of English between native

1. All potential participants in discourse must have the same

2. All participants in interaction must have the same chance to

3. All participants in interaction must have the same chance to

3.4: Native speaker ability as pedagogic competence.

In Japan and many other countries often no teaching certification is required.

In reference to an advertisement for teachers to work in Japanese eikaiwa stressing

From a moral point of view, educational institutions should be under an

To construct a rounded picture of the experiences of teaching and learning within an

The analysis is also based on emic and anthropological research due to my

4.2: Audiolingual method

…versions of the audiolingual method are still very common in language

4.3: Lessons offered

Business efficiency 5 people = 27,000 yen

The complete round-up curriculum spans 10 books of increasing complexity, each of

4.4: Lesson structure

Warm up: 3 minutes

Lesson Body: 40 minutes

It’s on the __________ next to the ___________ .

i. Drill with cues showing

ii. Drill with cues hidden

It’s on the next to the _ .