Monthly Program

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MAY PROGRAM

Friday, May 21, 2004 7:00-9:00p.m.

PROGRAM:
Intercultural Experience and Cultural Identity Redefined:
The Case of Assistant Language Teachers in Japanese Schools

PRESENTER:
Akiko Asai, PhD, Assistant Professor, Caritas Woman's Junior College

PLACE:
Reitaku University Tokyo Kenkyu Center (Shinjuku i-Land Tower, 4th Floor)

LANGUAGE:
Japanese

FEE:
Members 1000Yen; Non-members 2000Yen

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
This study examines how ALTs' cultural identities are redefined in the different culture of Japanese schools. Hall (1977) regarded cultural identity as a subjective process in which an individual takes a "position" against representations (image, stereotypes, etc.) forced by the dominant society. This study reveals how positioning happens psychologically and how this process is related to contexts. This has not been revealed in preceding studies. How ALTs take positions in human relationships and in their jobs, and how they define their ethnicity is examined. Also examined is how ALTs' positioning processes are influenced by their relationships with JTEs, Japanese students, working environments, and macro-level factors such as history and international relations. Fieldwork was conducted for nineteen months, in which 43 ALTs and 32 JTEs were interviewed and 46 classes were observed in 19 middle schools. Data analysis was done qualitatively and quantitatively so that hypotheses were constructed in regard to the process of positioning.

PRESENTER:
Akiko Asai is teaching in the Communication and Culture Section at Caritas Woman's Junior College. She graduated from the Department of Speech and Communication at San Francisco State University and obtained an M. A. in Speech Communication under the supervision of the late Dr. Dean C. Barnlund. She has recently finished the doctoral course with a PhD in Cultural Psychology at the Human and Culture Research Center at Ochanomizu University, under the supervision of Dr. Yasuko Minoura. Her dissertation title is" Intercultural Experience and Cultural Identity Redefined: The Case of Assistant Language Teachers in Japanese Schools." In this presentation, Dr. Asai will share with us the main findings in her dissertation research.

How to get there?:
i-Land Tower can be accessed directly from Nishi-Shinjuku Station on the Marunouchi Line by following the underground path. From JR Shinjuku Station it is approximately a 10-minute walk. Once you get to the building, select an elevator that stops on the 4th floor. After you get off on the 4th floor, walk to the right until you get to the last door on your left.