Perspectives: Toward the Development of Intercultural Communicative Competence: Theoretical and Pedagogical Implications for Japanese English Teachers

Abstract

Although CLT (Communicative Language Teaching) was introduced into Japanese English education in the mid-1980s under the initiative of the Monbukagakusho (the National Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture of Japan), the implementation of CLT has been challenging for Japanese English teachers. This article explores possible sources for the difficulties that CLT has caused in Japan. It examines factors such as Japanese sociocultural, political, and educational contexts that have significant influence on curricular innovation. This article further argues that the underlying assumptions of CLT that are based on the native-speaker competence model are not compatible with the contexts of Japanese English education because these assumptions include native-speaker competence as a primary goal of second language acquisition. Recognizing the current status of English as an international language, the authors propose an alternative model based on the notion of intercultural communicative competence (Alptekin, 2002) and discuss how the model of intercultural communicative competence can be applied to Japanese English education. １９８０年代半ばから、文部科学省の指導の下で日本の英語教育にコミュニカティブ・アプローチが導入されているが、コミニュカティブ・アプローチの実践は日本の英語教師にとって依然として困難な試みである。本論はコミュニカティブ・アプローチが日本にもたらしている問題の要因を探るために、カリキュラムの改変に影響を及ぼす日本の社会文化的、政治的、教育的状況を検討する。さらに、母国語話者のコミュニケーション能力を前提とするコミュニカティブ・アプローチは、ネイティブのコミュニケーション能力を第二外国語習得の主な目標とする点で日本の英語教育に適さないと論じる。最後に、現在英語が果たしている国際語としての役割を認識した上で、異文化コニュニケーション能力の概念に基づくモデルを新たに提案し、このモデルがどのように日本の英語教育に応用できるのかを検討する。

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