Resumen de Expanding-circle students learning ‘standard English’ in the outer-circle Asia
Drawing upon Kachru's concentric circles of English, the present study explores whether middle-class Japanese students who chose to study English solo at private language schools in Singapore diverge from many others who (wish to) study inner-circle English. The study is stimulated by the repeated interdisciplinary findings that, in spite of the scholarly discussion on World English(es)-mediated global identity, many Asian expanding-circle students, Japanese in particular, continue to define ‘intercultural communication’ as contact with inner-circle white native speakers of English and exhibit indifferent attitudes towards those who are not in the category (e.g. non-native English-speaking Asians studying/working in Japan). A questionnaire survey was conducted with 22 Japanese students and interview sessions with seven students, in addition to formal interviews with four administrative staff and three teachers. The findings, although limited in scale, tentatively suggest that Japanese sojourners in Asian-dominant, outer-circle Singapore are bounded by their yearning for inner-circle ‘standard English’ taught by European-looking native speakers of English even though many are found to develop friendships with local Singaporeans and other international students. The study also discusses the potential of Asian outer-circle contexts and the limitations of the literature knowledge base to challenge the hegemonic ‘global English’ ideology.
