The purpose of this study is to examine in what ways Japanese university students’ obtained language identity in a Japanese EMI (English as medium of instruction) program would influence the students’ ways of negotiating their social position for language learning.
Students who have various backgrounds are enrolled in EMI program and Japanese students who have no overseas experiences are labeled as “jun-Japa” (“jun” literary meaning pure) (Iino&Murata 2016). As an English learner, jun-Japa students position themselves into a hierarchical pyramid based on their presence of overseas experiences and English proficiency, which makes them to position themselves at the bottom of the pyramid. This hierarchization is not unique in Japan but has also been studied in Asian context (Byun&Chu&Kim et al. 2011, Kubota 2016, Park 2009, Shim&Park 2008, Shin 2007). This positioning constrains jun-Japa’s desirable identity as a language learner because even though they have enrolled in the university to belong to an imagined community, they are hierarchically segmented. As a result, it makes jun-Japa students feel inferiority in their English proficiency compared to international students and returnees enrolled in EMI program.
Therefore, based on the concept of social imaginary this study examines how language policy in EMI program influences non-overseas experienced students’ ways in obtaining their identity, and how students cope with their undesirable position as a language learner when their obtained identity deviates from imagined identity.
From the thematic analysis of narratives of jun-Japan students, it was found that even though they have opportunities to mingle with students from various backgrounds, students persist in obtained mono-identity as “jun-Japa”. In other words, they still positioned themselves at the bottom of hierarchical pyramid, even though it is their undesirable position. From developing a fellowship or feeling despair towards homogenous identity group members (i.e. other jun-Japa students) they stick with
their reconstructed imaginary EMI community which emphasizes their obtained identity. The study results implicate an issue that EMI program’s diverse environment is not fully being utilized as a language learning resource by jun-Japa students. In EMI context, implemented segmentation policy should be reconsidered.
