Imagined communities of English use in JET Programme teaching materials

What is it about?

Visualizing oneself joining imagined communities of target language (TL) use represents a potent motivation for language study. This project responded by investigating how participants in the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme foster imagined communities of English use among learners. Results of a content analysis of 5079 JET teaching materials indicated that most (2783) actually involved language practice divorced from social connections. The remainder ran the gamut from lessons in which social group information was tangential and not connected to particular language to a smaller number in which connections between language and potential future social group participation were strong. These results suggest that the possibility of leveraging connections between language and social group participation to promote imagined communities of TL use among learners is possible within the JET paradigm and that this avenue for learner motivation could be further exploited. Given the importance of these findings for motivation coupled with the adoption of initiatives similar to JET across Asia, these results have implications both within and beyond the JET Programme.

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Photo by Peggy Anke on Unsplash

Photo by Peggy Anke on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This research is important because promoting links between language and imagined communities of language use can motivate learners and prepares them for real-world language use.