As English language education becomes the focus of great concern in recent years due to demand for globally competent workforce, teaching methodologies developed abroad are increasingly being adopted and incorporated into English language instruction in Japan. These methodologies imported from foreign countries call for more active interaction in the target language than previous methods. This caused a shift away from the traditional way of teaching English in Japan, which is based on teaching English grammar in Japanese. This new approach increases the opportunities for English teachers to perform their English in front of their students. However, despite the fact that active use of English is strongly recommended, the number of English teachers conducting classes mostly in English is much lower compared to classes where English is not used for instructions by the English teachers (MEXT, 2018). This study focuses on the psychological aspects of English teachers to explore the potential causes that may prevent English teachers from using English in front of their students.

Four Japanese teachers of English at junior high schools or high schools were interviewed for the study. Their ages ranged from 24 to 58 (M=39.5 years). The years of working as an English teacher ranged from 1 to 36 (M=16.25 years). Also, two of the teachers work at private combined junior high school and high schools whereas the other two teachers work at a public junior high school. Interviews were conducted in Japanese and lasted approximately for one hour each. They were recorded and transcribed verbatim.

Preliminary research has revealed the following three themes: (1) Native-speakerism, (2) fear of making mistakes, and (3) length of experience of matters. First, Native-speakerism was seen where the focus is put on how native-like the speech of the teachers should be, rather than accepting English to have less native-like accents. Second, fear of making mistakes was common in new teachers who have worked as an English teacher for less than 4 years. Their view can be summarized as, “Teachers should not make mistakes”. Lastly, experienced English teachers who have been working as English teachers for more than 25 years had more tolerant views toward various themes such as Native-speakerism and fear of making mistakes than new teachers. Discussions will include how English teachers should perceive English in order to control their language anxiety to make English classes more effective.

Reference Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. (2018). Heisei 30 nenndo “Eigo-kyoiku jisshi jokyo chosa” gaiyo. Retrieved from https://www.mext.go.jp/content/20200710-mxt_kyoiku01-100000661_2.pdf.