Abstract
In a world of globalized communication and conflicts, it is critical for future generations in Japan to learn to build connections constructively and maintain respectful communities in English. Accordingly, elementary instruction was implemented whereby peace education content was integrated with the language of empathy from a peace linguistics perspective alongside linguistic politeness theory. Analysis found that the students learned local war-time history and developed compassion and awareness of diversity. Students’ communication in English was driven by a genuine desire to interact; although they were unable to formulate questions in English alone, their efforts were scaffolded by the teachers. The students’ learning can be attributed to fruitful collaboration across multiple subject areas and academic fields as well as between educators across various branches of education.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
The video (edited by Bo Wang) is accessible at: https://youtu.be/Kld11FuRZpU.
- 2.
Kamishibai is a traditional Japanese form of storytelling with large illustrated cards and voice performance.
- 3.
In a Japanese context, finishing elementary school (at age 11–12) is referred to as ‘graduation’ and celebrated through a formal ceremony.
- 4.
The English translation was first crafted by Ishihara, then translated back to Japanese by Orihashi without referring to the original data.
References
Asahi Shimbun. (1927, March 17). 皆さんこんにちは きのふ箱から出た青い目のミス・アメリカ [Hello everyone: Blue-eyed Miss America who came out of the box yesterday], p. 17.
Asahi Shimbun. (1988, February 27). 「青い目の人形外交」60年 [Sixty years of “blue-eyed doll diplomacy”], p. 29.
Bardovi-Harlig, K., & Dörnyei, Z. (1998). Do language learners recognize pragmatic violations? Pragmatic versus grammatical awareness in instructed L2 learning. TESOL Quarterly,32, 233–262.
Brown, P., & Levinson, S. (1987). Politeness: Some universals in language use. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cadet, D. (2013, October 1). Striking photos will change the way you see the average American. Black Voices. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/01/national-geographic-changing-face-of-america-photos_n_4024415.html.
Cates, K. (2017, October). The 1927 US-Japan friendship doll exchange. Global Issues in Language Education Newsletter, 16–21.
Crystal, D. (1999). The Penguin dictionary of language (2nd ed.). London: Penguin Books.
Friedrich, P. (2007). Language, negotiation and peace: The use of English in conflict resolution. London: Continuum.
Friedrich, P. (2013). Teaching language for peace. In C. Chappelle (Ed.), The encyclopedia of applied linguistics [online resource]. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Funderburg, L. (2013). The changing face of America. National Geographic, 224(4), 76–91.
Goffman, E. (1967). Interaction ritual: Essays on face-to-face behavior. New York: Pantheon.
Gomes de Matos, F. (2000). Harmonizing and humanizing political discourse: The contribution of peace linguists. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology,6(4), 339–344.
Gomes de Matos, F. (2012). Innovation in language teaching: A checklist. ABA Poster Series. Recife: ABA Global Education.
Gomes de Matos, F. (2013). Dignity: A multidimensional view. Lake Oswego, OR: Dignity Press.
Gomes de Matos, F. (2014). Language, peace, and conflict resolution. In P. T. Coleman, M. Deutsch, & E. C. Marcus (Eds.), The handbook of conflict resolution: Theory and practice (pp. 182–202). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Ishihara, N. (2017). Teaching pragmatics in support of learner subjectivity and global communicative needs: A peace linguistics perspective. Idee in Form@zione: Periodico per la formazione degli insegnanti: Professionalita docente ed efficacia educative. Organo Ufficiale dell’ Associazione Nazionale dei Formatori Insegnanti Supervisori (ANFIS), Italy, 6(5), 17–32.
Ishihara, N., & Cohen, A. D. (2010). Teaching and learning pragmatics: Where language and culture meet. Harlow: Pearson Education (Republished 2014, Abingdon: Routledge).
Kang, H.-S. (2008). Teaching in two languages: An elementary English language program in South Korea. In S. Dogancay-Aktuna & J. Hardman (Eds.), Global English teaching and teacher education: Praxis & possibility (pp. 131–145). Alexandria, VA: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages.
Lantolf, J. P., & Thorne, S. L. (2006). Sociocultural theory and the genesis of second language development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
LeBlanc, J. (2016). Compassionate English communication for diplomatic purposes. In P. Friedrich (Ed.), English for diplomatic purposes (pp. 42–74). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Lindner, E. (2009). Emotion and conflict: How human rights can dignify emotion and help us wage good conflict. Westport, CT: Praeger.
Lindner, E. (2016). The journey of humiliation and dignity, and the significance of the year 1757. Retrieved from http://www.humiliationstudies.org/documents/evelin/Significanceof1757.pdf.
Niezgoda, K., & Röver, C. (2001). Pragmatic and grammatical awareness: A function of the learning environment? In K. R. Rose & G. Kasper (Eds.), Pragmatics in language teaching (pp. 63–79). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Orihashi, T. (2016). 語らせる言語活動から語り出す言語活動へ ―青い目の人形を題材にして― [Improving English education: Change of focus from repetition and pattern practice to communication with motivation using ‘Japanese blue eyed doll’ story as a case study]. JES Journal, 16, 4–17.
Rosenberg, M. (2015). Nonviolent communication: A language of life (3rd ed.). Encinitas, CA: PuddleDancer Press.
Takahashi, T., & Beebe, L. M. (1986). ESL teachers’ evaluation of pragmatic vs. grammatical errors. CUNY Forum,12, 172–203.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Whitney, D., & Troston-Bloom, A. (2010). The power of appreciative inquiry: A practical guide to positive change (2nd ed.). Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ishihara, N., Orihashi, T., Clark, Z. (2019). Innovation in Elementary Classrooms: Integrating the Teaching of English, History and Peace Linguistics. In: Reinders, H., Ryan, S., Nakamura, S. (eds) Innovation in Language Teaching and Learning. New Language Learning and Teaching Environments. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12567-7_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12567-7_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-12566-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-12567-7
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)