Chapter 9: Insider/Outsider Perspectives: Utilizing Educator Funds of Knowledge to Explore 'Hidden Diversity' in University English Courses in Japan by Aiko Minematsu and Jenny Morgan
Abstract
In promoting intercultural, racial and ethnic understanding in English language classrooms in Japan, educators need to recognize the diverse lived knowledge of students. Such knowledge has been conceptualized as funds of knowledge, and although its utilization in classrooms has been discussed in the literature, not much has focused on how educators make use of their multiple identities and lived experiences in making pedagogical choices. Taking a duo-ethnographic approach, the authors explore how they strive to make use of their intersectional positionalities and funds of knowledge to raise awareness of the hidden diversity in their undergraduate content-based English courses. The chapter presents how educators can engage in dialogue and collegial interrogation to raise critical awareness of their own positionalities, and the authors invite other educators to engage in critical collegial discussion while taking on the challenging work of focusing on topics of diversity in the language classroom.
Supplements
About the Contributors
Aiko Minematsu is a lecturer at the Center for Language Education and Research at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. Her research interests include multilingual/multicultural education and teacher education. She holds an M.A. in TESOL from Teachers College Columbia University and a secondary school teaching license for foreign language education in Japan. She is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in Education in the Department of Learning and Instruction at University at Buffalo, State University, New York.
Jenny Morgan is a lecturer at the Center for Language Education and Research at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. She is a Chinese New Zealander born in Hong Kong and raised in a pakeha (White) family in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Jenny holds an MA TESOL degree from Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand, and her research interests include learner development, and teaching-learning for equity and social justice in content-based English courses.
Citation
Minematsu, A., & Morgan, J. (2023). Insider/outsider perspectives: Utilizing educator funds of knowledge to explore 'hidden diversity' in university English courses in Japan. In G. P. Glasgow (Ed.), Multiculturalism, language, and race in English education in Japan: Agency, pedagogy, and reckoning (pp. 228–249). Candlin & Mynard ePublishing. https://doi.org/10.47908/26/9
In promoting intercultural, racial and ethnic understanding in English language classrooms in Japan, educators need to recognize the diverse lived knowledge of students. Such knowledge has been conceptualized as funds of knowledge, and although its utilization in classrooms has been discussed in the literature, not much has focused on how educators make use of their multiple identities and lived experiences in making pedagogical choices. Taking a duo-ethnographic approach, the authors explore how they strive to make use of their intersectional positionalities and funds of knowledge to raise awareness of the hidden diversity in their undergraduate content-based English courses. The chapter presents how educators can engage in dialogue and collegial interrogation to raise critical awareness of their own positionalities, and the authors invite other educators to engage in critical collegial discussion while taking on the challenging work of focusing on topics of diversity in the language classroom.
Supplements
- Aiko’s Module – Personal Stories of Cultural Identities (pp. 233-23). Link to PDF
- Jenny’s Module – Ethnic Minority Community Stories (pp. 235-236). Link to PDF
- Instructional Materials for Aiko’s Lesson Sample (pp. 244-246). Link to PDF
- Instructional Materials for Jenny’s Lesson Sample (pp. 247-249). Link to PDF
- Reflections for Educators. Link to PDF
About the Contributors
Aiko Minematsu is a lecturer at the Center for Language Education and Research at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. Her research interests include multilingual/multicultural education and teacher education. She holds an M.A. in TESOL from Teachers College Columbia University and a secondary school teaching license for foreign language education in Japan. She is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in Education in the Department of Learning and Instruction at University at Buffalo, State University, New York.
Jenny Morgan is a lecturer at the Center for Language Education and Research at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. She is a Chinese New Zealander born in Hong Kong and raised in a pakeha (White) family in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Jenny holds an MA TESOL degree from Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand, and her research interests include learner development, and teaching-learning for equity and social justice in content-based English courses.
Citation
Minematsu, A., & Morgan, J. (2023). Insider/outsider perspectives: Utilizing educator funds of knowledge to explore 'hidden diversity' in university English courses in Japan. In G. P. Glasgow (Ed.), Multiculturalism, language, and race in English education in Japan: Agency, pedagogy, and reckoning (pp. 228–249). Candlin & Mynard ePublishing. https://doi.org/10.47908/26/9
Information About the Book
Title: Multiculturalism, Language, and Race in English Education in Japan: Agency, Pedagogy, and Reckoning
Editor: Gregory Paul Glasgow
Publication date: March 2023
Read more...
Title: Multiculturalism, Language, and Race in English Education in Japan: Agency, Pedagogy, and Reckoning
Editor: Gregory Paul Glasgow
Publication date: March 2023
Read more...