The IAFOR Journal of Language Learning
Volume 2 – Issue – I

The IAFOR Journal of Language Learning
Volume 2 – Issue – I

The IAFOR Journal of Language Learning
Volume 2 – Issue – I

An increasing number of international students, whose teaching and learning practices are very
different from that of the UK, is studying in the U.K. This study poses the question of whether
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is the most optimum language teaching approach
in today’s multicultural society regardless of cultural differences. The Japanese teaching
method (Japanisation) was presented as an alternative teaching method to CLT, and the study
investigates any impacts on multicultural students in Japanese language teaching at a university
in the South of England.
The study was conducted for one semester using two classes in 2009/2010. Two teaching
methods, Japanisation and CLT, were applied. The concept of Japanisation is drawn from the
study of the Japanese car manufacturing industry and transferred to the language teaching
context. Three tests provided quantitative data to generate data. The quantitative results showed
that there was no statistically significant difference between the two teaching methods
regarding the attainment in the first two tests. However, Japanisation was associated with
significantly higher results in the final test, compared with CLT.
The implication of this study is embedding elements of Japanisation and Japanese educational
culture in the Japanese language teaching will possibly enhance students’ learning of reading
and written skills. Those who develop the teaching curriculum are encouraged at a strategic
level to examine other educational cultures and teaching practices from non-Anglophone
countries and assess how they may be combined with CLT to reflect new international
characteristics of teaching and learning environments.
Keywords: culture, higher education, Japanese language teaching, multicultural

Dr. Ebru Melek Koç