RILCA Talk: Implementing English in Japan’s Primary Schools: Policy, Pedagogy, and Teacher Self-Efficacy
Speaker: Associate Professor Dr.Peter Andrew Ferguson, University of Kindai, Japan
Date: 22 August 2025
Time: 13.30 - 15.30

Venue: Nat Pamornpravat Room, RILCA and Zoom

Abstract
This talk examines the evolving landscape of English education in Japan’s primary schools, where English was introduced as a compulsory subject only 2020. Drawing on policy analysis and recent research on teacher self-efficacy, the session explores the tensions between government directives, competing ideologies favouring communicative language teaching (CLT), and the persistence of more traditional, form-focused approaches. Attention will be given to how foreign language education is conceptualized in Japan and the implications this has for instructional goals. The discussion will highlight the challenges elementary school teachers face in implementing these mandates, including limited training, uneven resources, and varying levels of confidence in teaching English. The session aims to provide a nuanced understanding of how policy, ideology, and teacher agency shape the realities of foreign language instruction in Japan's schooling system.

Register: https://forms.gle/FHi7TyxpXC5RSwx18