The role of foreign language requirements in Japanese university students’ first-year success

What is it about?

This project addressed the role of foreign language (FL) classes in a successful first-year student experience at one Japanese university. I assessed six dimensions of this experience: Match between high school FL classes and university FL classes, role of first-year FL course grades for academic progress, role of first-year FL classes in later studies, students’ attitudes toward the classes, promotion of language learning, and the success of these classes in fostering international peer interactions. Employing a mixed methods approach with one year of on-site fieldwork, I observed 78 FL classes, interviewed 40 students, five university and nine high school FL teachers, and analyzed teaching materials, homework, and student grades from 58 FL classes. Results indicated that, although these classes did not detract from students’ overall academic goals mainly due to the classes’ modest aims and lack of connections to later academic work, they largely failed to promote robust language learning, positive affect, and international peer interaction. This study especially indicates the need for improved connections between high school English and college-level EMI courses. Also, students with previous costly English learning opportunities fared better in English classes which suggests the importance of greater attention to equity in language education.

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Why is it important?

The first year of higher education is a critical time for students. Since foreign language requirements represent a mainstay of the first-year experience for students in Japanese higher education, it is important to better understand the role that such classes have in their first-year success. In light of the fact that little scholarship has examined this issue in Japan - coupled with the increase in the role of foreign language study in the form of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) in Japanese higher education - this research is especially important. The results indicated that Japanese students who had access to often expensive supplemental English education flourished in the EMI classes while others struggled. This suggests that EMI in Japanese higher education may be serving to reinscribe relations of social power as those with more resources are able to transform them into EMI success.