Positioning foreign English language teachers in the Japanese university context

Abstract

This study employs positioning theory to explore the experiences of adjunct foreign English language teachers (AFELT) in the Japanese university sector. The research is located in the broad internationalisation discourse and considers AFELT positions as ‘foreign’ teachers at a time when the Japanese university sector is aiming to increase internationalisation. The data were drawn from focus groups and interviews with 43 AFELT who between them were teaching across 66 universities in Kansai. Three subject positions emerged from their reflections on their experience: commodification, disempowerment and desideration. The usefulness of positioning theory to interrogate higher education internationalisation discourse is discussed.

Keywords:

• positioning
• teacher identity
• internationalisation
• global thirty
• Japanese higher education