Interactions beyond the inner circle: a language partner program at a Japanese university

In 2013, the Japanese government announced the Super Global Universities policy, which aims to increase the number of foreign teachers and students in Japanese tertiary education, and to double the number of doctorates in English. From this, it can therefore be assumed that English will be playing a greater role in the education of Japanese university students, either as language study, the language for subject content, or for social interactions on campus. This qualitative descriptive study using content analysis investigates a pedagogical approach that involves promoting awareness of World Englishes and a tolerance towards them through a one-to-one language partner program involving Japanese university students and a range of international students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. In doing so, it provides an insight into not only the positive attitudes Japanese university students have towards World Englishes, but also the differing perceptions they have of non-native speakers of English in a language learning context. This study also evaluates the one-to-one program from the learners’ perspective, and provides an account of their experiences and suggestions on how it can be improved.