English Language Teaching during Japan's Post-war Occupation

In 1945 Japan had to adjust very rapidly to sudden defeat, to the arrival of the American Occupation and to the encounter with the English language, together with a different outlook on many aspects of society and government. This scholarly book is based on in-depth interviews with people, now aged, who were school students at the time of the Occupation and who experienced first-hand this immense cultural change. The book considers the nature of the changing outlook, including democratization, the new role for the Japanese Emperor and all this represented for the place of tradition in Japanese life and the growing emphasis on individualism away from collectivism. It discusses the changing system of education itself, including new structures and new textbooks, and relates the feelings of the participants as they came to terms with defeat and the language and culture of the former enemy. Overall, the book provides a fascinating insight into a key period of Japanese history.

Mayumi Ohara obtained her doctorate at the University of Technology Sydney. John Buchanan is an Associate Professor of Education at the University of Technology Sydney.

List of Tables List of Figures Abbreviations PART 1: Context Chapter 1 The Scope of this Book Chapter 2 Setting the Scene PART 2: Historical Background Chapter 3 History of Foreign Language Education in Japan Chapter 4 Exploring the Historical Literature (1) Chapter 5 Exploring the Historical Literature (2) Chapter 6 Data Sources, Collection and Analysis PART 3: Interviews and Their Implications Chapter 7 The Interviews: What We Learned Chapter 8 Concluding Thoughts Appendix A Examples of Publications Appendix B School Systems Appendix C Lists of Japanese Names Translated into English Appendix D The Locations of the Middle Level Schools Attended by Participants (Except for Yoko) as well as Other Places Referred in the Book. Appendix E Summary of Warfare Between the Manchurian Incident and the Pacific War Appendix F Political Occurrences and the Periods of the Participants' Middle-level Schooling Appendix G The Numbers of English Majors in Hiroshima Arts and Sciences University and Hiroshima Higher Normal School Appendix H Employment of Foreign Teachers Appendix I Information on the Participants (Age Order) Appendix J Sample Interview Questions Appendix K The Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan Glossary Bibliography Index