ASPECTS OF INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE IN JAPAN AND RELATED ISSUES IN EFL EDUCATION
ASPECTS OF INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE IN JAPAN AND RELATED ISSUES IN EFL EDUCATION

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this article is to present recent research on intercultural communication in Japan and its deep connection to certain characteristics of the Japanese mindset, as well as some issues in the formation of intercultural competence through English language education in Japanese high schools. Certain aspects of the use of English in Japan – katakana English, that is the use of a foreign language to make Japanese words, or juken eigo, that is English education oriented not towards communicative language teaching but only towards making the foreign language an entrance exam subject – suggest that intercultural communication is still a desideratum for the attainment of which there is much work to do. The present article is the first of a series that will present our research in this field.

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