English education in Japan: an analysis of educational policy guidelines and their effects on high school English language education

<p dir="ltr">The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology issues national educational policy guidelines approximately once every ten years, with the last major revision being implemented in 2014. These guidelines explain the themes, content, goals, and textbooks to be used in Japanese junior and senior high schools. This thesis investigates students’ recollections and impressions regarding the potential translation of language education policy into textbooks and classroom practices. In this study, approximately 250 college first-year students were surveyed on their experiences in Japanese high school English classes. Furthermore, an analysis of a current ministry-approved textbook was also conducted to identify how closely the stated aims of the textbook align with the policy guidelines. Finally, a social discourse analysis was conducted on the same textbook to identify how the sociocultural values presented align with the themes of the policy guidelines. This study aims to give insight into the effectiveness of the policy guidelines as well as comment on the successes and failures of the implementation of the guidelines in the Japanese high school classroom.</p>