Aika Ishige will be defending her MA thesis on Friday, September 3rd at 5:00 pm (Pacific Time).
All are welcome to attend.
Zoom Link: https://ubc.zoom.us/j/7377354546?pwd=a05FK1hkbmVhR0VjRTZUVFh4OW9uZz09
Meeting ID: 737 735 4546
Passcode: 55555
Supervisory Committee:
Ling Shi (research supervisor), Ryuko Kubota, and Anna (Yanning) Dong
Title: Study Abroad in the Philippines: Discursive Production of its Legitimacy and Japanese EL Learners’ Desires
Abstract:
This study explores the diverse needs and wants from study abroad (SA) learners. Traditionally, learners pursue their SA in Western English-dominant countries (e.g., the U.S., Canada) for the immersive environments surrounded by native speakers of English. However, there is an increasing number of English language (EL) learners who choose their SA in Southeast Asia. The diversification of SA options itself is welcoming, but the construction of the SA in these non-Western, non-English-dominant countries has been problematic, for example, these countries are viewed as a less desirable, merely cheaper alternative to WEDCs. This thesis aims to shed light on the emerging phenomenon of SA in the Philippines sought by the Japanese EL learners, specifically focusing on the legitimacy of the SA contexts and the learners’ desires (re)shaped through their SA experience.
The thesis reports findings from multiple case studies of Japanese EL learners’ SA experience in the Philippines. Four Japanese adult EL learners were recruited for the case studies, and data were collaboratively generated between the researcher (myself) and the participants through pre-interview questionnaires, and two online interviews. Additional online documents, including eBooks, school websites, agency websites, and personal blogs, were also collected and analyzed.The data analyses were done through the concept of desire in TESOL, Deleuzian (i.e., Gilles Deleuze) perspectives, and the poststructural discourse analysis using three methods: transcription; two cycles of coding; and collaborative translation with two other researchers.
Document of analyses suggest that SA in the Philippines is legitimized through promotion of the Philippines as a cost-effective option; construction of its desirability specifically for ‘serious’ Japanese EL learners; delegitimization of SA in WEDCs; and utilization of ‘imagined Cebu’ to escape the stigmatized image of the Philippines among Japanese people. The analysis of the four participants’ SA experience illuminates that although they positively described their SA experience in the Philippines, they conceptualized their time in the Philippines merely as ‘a step’ to their following SA in Canada. The findings respond to a gap in the literature about practice and production of emerging SA in non-Western, non-English-dominant countries for English learning purposes. The study also sheds light on the analytical power of the concept of desire to explore global geoeconomic hierarchies reflected and reproduced through language learning.