The Development of Oral Communication Skills: A Comparative Study of EU and Japanese University Students 2020 – 2021 EU Studies Diploma Programmes (EU-DPs) Yukiko JOZAKI (Student ID No. 3GS18005E) Research Paper Advisor: Narahiko INOUE 20th August, 2020 Abstract This paper presents a comparative analysis of English language competence of university students in Belgium and Japan in order to provide Japanese learners with suggestions on becoming independent and self-regulated learners in a global community. The paper aims to explore the challenges of Japanese university students in oral communication in English. A series of questionnaires were administered to three groups of university students in two countries (n=30, n=154, and n=26) to evaluate the students' self-assessment of their communication skills in English.
The surveys investigated oral production (speaking) and spoken interaction in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (CEFR), and oral communication strategy (OCS) use. The data were quantitatively analyzed to capture the English competence of the Japanese subjects in comparison with the Belgian subjects, and supplemental follow-up interview was conducted. The results show significant differences in overall English language competence between Belgian and Japanese students according to six scales presented by the CEFR, self-assessment of production and interaction activities, as well as specific OCS use according to Oral Communication Strategy Inventory (OCSI) (Nakatani, 2006). The findings reveal the general challenges Japanese university students face and how they view their English skills in the context of English as a lingua franca (ELF) in academia, as well as the impact of different roles of English in the two countries on students with different sociolinguistic backgrounds.
Keywords: CEFR, EFL, ELF, Plurilingualism, Oral Communication Strategy (OCS), Questionnaire Survey ii Table of Contents 1.1 Purpose of the paper ………………………………………………………………….1 Japanese university students’ low self-assessment of their English communication skills .2 Internationalization of Japanese universities …………………………………….1 Foreign language learning in Japan …………………………………………….2 The models of English ………………………………………………………….3 The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) …….1 Plurilingualism as a value of the CEFR ……………………………………14 1.2 Approaches of the CEFR ………………………………………………….3 Self-assessment and its application ……………………………………….4 Strategic behavior and studies in the field of strategy ………………………….2 Questionnaires for the Study …………………………………………………….1 Study 1: General Language Competence of Japanese University Students according to CEFR Scale 3.1 Purpose of Study 1 ………………………………………………………….2 Method of Study 1 ………………………………………………………….3 Findings of Study 1 ……………………………………………………….2 Study 2: Self-assessment on Two CEFR Activities: Oral Production (Speaking) and Spoken Interaction 3.1 Purpose of Study 2 …………………………………………………………….2 Method of Study 2 …………………………………………………………….3 Findings of Study 2 …………………………………………….3 Study 3: Oral Communication Strategy Use ……………………………………….1 Purpose of Study 3 …………………………………………………………….2 Method of Study 3 ………………………………………………………….3 Findings of Study 3 …………………………………………………………….1 Frequency of OCS use ………………………………………………….2 Frequency of speaking and listening strategy use ……………………….4 After the Survey Interview …………………………………………………………. Results and Discussion ………………………………………………………………….1 Survey 1 Research Question: How competent are the Japanese subjects in English based on the six CEFR scales? ……………………………….2 Survey 2 Research Question: How do the Belgian and Japanese subjects differ in their self-assessments of two CEFR communication activities? …….3 Survey 3 Research Question: How do the Belgian and Japanese subjects differ in their self-assessments of oral communication strategy (OCS) use? ……56 5.57 Acknowledgements References Appendix iv 1.1 Purpose of the paper This paper aims to examine the challenges and setbacks Japanese students face in their trajectory of learning English as a foreign language (EFL) or as a lingua franca (ELF) in higher education settings. In addition, the paper aims to explore suggestions to make students autonomous and confident language learners by examining self-evaluations of Japanese students and their counterparts in the EU. The survey was conducted at two national universities, one in Japan and one in a Dutch-speaking district in Belgium, where students belong to different sociolinguistic settings: monolingual and plurilingual.
The comparative survey between the Japanese subjects and their counterparts in the EU on English competence and strategies for handling communicative tasks allows the study to induce the sociolinguistic impact on foreign language acquisition. The preliminary survey for this research revealed that Japanese university students have low self-assessment of their speaking and listening skills. Accordingly, this paper analyzes how subjects in these two countries perceive their English language competence using targeted Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (CEFR) activities, as well as how they cope with speaking and listening tasks with oral communication strategy (OCS). This study aims to find out specific activities or challenges that lead Japanese learners to give a low self-assessment of their oral communication skills.1 Japanese university students’ low self-assessment of their English communication skills The study used a survey to examine English language competencies and self-assessment of Japanese students enrolled in undergraduate-level English language education.
This preliminary survey discovered that the students reported low self-evaluations of their English skills, in particular speaking and listening – skills that directly relate to communication activities. The subjects were asked to self-assess their English language skills in four categories – speaking, listening, writing, and reading – using a 6-level Likert scale (0 = very weak, 1 = weak, 2 = somewhat weak, 3 = somewhat strong, 4 = strong, 5 = very strong). Table 1 shows the mean values of the self-assessment by 183 first-year university students (Q-under). The result shows that the respondents generally recognize their respective English skills as weak rather than as strong, with mean values as follows: speaking: 1.
There is a notable lack of confidence in skills relevant to oral communication, speaking and listening, compared with the less interactive skills of reading and writing. The lowest value observed is for speaking skills, with a mean of 1. Table 1 The survey includes open-ended questions asking the students to explain their reason for the score they gave. Quite a number of students pointed out a lack of experience in speaking English, both inside and outside the classroom.
A social environment with less opportunity to speak English makes them feel insecure and less confident, even feel a sense of frustration or inferiority, when they communicate and interact in English. The subjects of the survey generally receive knowledge-intensive language education with the goal of passing entrance examinations for prestigious universities. The scores and responses regarding writing and reading skills show that the subjects have more positive opinions in these areas. Some comment that they are more accustomed to these skills through school curriculum and feel less time-pressured because the skills are not interactive.
Despite the low self-assessment of their speaking and listening skills, the majority of the students wish to be linguistically competitive and recognize the importance of English as a language for global communication and its dominance in the academia. These students may still be at the stage where they can learn the language autonomously and independently considering their academic history so far. The preliminary survey implies the significance of providing learners opportunities to practice language skills.2 Internationalization of Japanese universities Globalization and its rapid progress make higher education institutions face not only an acceleration of student mobility but also an increase in global competition among universities. Officials and educational 2 institutions are focusing on bringing international students and researchers to Japan and sending Japanese students and researchers abroad.
Universities are developing international courses and study abroad programs, setting up overseas offices to recruit eligible students, and promoting their institutions. All these efforts are aimed to boost Japanese universities’ global presence and the development and utilization of “global human resources.” This is a global trend observed not only in Japan but also in other Asian countries and EU member nations. Globalization is often discussed in line with the internationalization of higher education, where globalization and internationalization are often used interchangeably. The issue of internationalization of Japanese universities accompanies the issue of English language dominance in the academic community as a whole.
In the context of the internationalization of universities, providing a high level of English language education and instruction is key. Higher education institutions, therefore, are responsible for providing language programs, including English as a medium of instruction (EMI) classes, and opportunities for students to develop English competence by contributing to international journals, presenting at international conferences, engaging in discussions with their counterparts globally, and respecting the cultures of their fellow international students, in addition to traditional academic English teaching in the classroom. In addition, requirements for potential future global talent include English language competence. According to Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology - Japan (MEXT), the concept of global human resources includes qualities such as "1.
linguistic and communication skills; 2. self-direction and positiveness, a spirit for a challenge, cooperativeness and flexibility, a sense of responsibility and mission; and 3. understanding of other cultures and a sense of identity as a Japanese” (MEXT, 2011). As such, the Japanese government and MEXT built various efforts to internationalize Japan’s universities and foster global human resources to meet the needs of globalization (MEXT, 2014a: 68).
The efforts include Top Global University Project, Inter-University Exchange Project (Re-Inventing Japan Project), Global 30 Project, Go Global Japan, and Japan Revitalization Strategy (MEXT, 2011: 2014a: 2016: 2017). Japan aimed to increase the number of international students studying in Japan to 300,000 by 2020 (the Global 30) (MEXT, 2008). A series of government-led initiatives aim to provide Japanese university students more opportunities to foster communicative ability through actual use of English, to become aware of 3 the diversity of the global societies, and to feel the reality of English in the internationalized educational settings. English language learning in internationalized universities will require sociolinguistic knowledge and strategic communication skills, in addition to language competence.
Ota suggests the importance of international and intercultural content and dimension in the scope of internationalization of universities and proposes the definition of a term internationalization as “a multifaceted and multidimensional process integrating international, intercultural, and global content and dimensions into the functions and aims of higher education institutions and systems” (Ota, 2018: 92-23). This is partly because globalization encompasses diverse English use by people with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds as a lingua franca (ELF). The English language has more gravity as a common language than as a second (ESL) or a foreign language (EFL), as English has spread as a dominant global language or as the only means of communication (Seidlhofer, 2017). This is undoubtedly the case in academia.
Opening Japanese educational institutions to more international students and faculties fosters students’ linguistic and communicative competence and raises cultural awareness and identity. This is undeniably the right direction for both the country and the students. The significance of foreign language learning is not limited to learners’ linguistic competence. In this regard, the government policy reflects the importance of fostering learners’ multidimensional perspectives along with sociolinguistic knowledge and effective communication skills.
However, a brief review of government policies reveals the need for more research to understand learner preference and challenges in the learning process or communicative behavior in order to create effective policies and allow learners to benefit from the internationalization of universities.1 Foreign language learning in Japan Japanese students, in general, learn English as a foreign language (EFL) in school under the government curriculum guidelines through MEXT, with the exception of some private school with a special curriculum. Cohen states that, “Technically, learning a second language means that the language being learned is that which is spoken in the community in which it is being learned, while a foreign language is not spoken in the local community” Cohen (1998: 5). According to his definition, Japanese students learn English as a foreign 4 language (EFL) that is not spoken in their community; in other words, it is “not a part of everyday social or institutional communication” (Widdowson, 2016: 214). This generally means that the exposure to the target language is limited to specific settings, for instance, in classrooms.
The English language does not have an indispensable function in Japanese society so that learners usually do not have enough opportunity to use the language in their daily activities nor practice in real-life settings.