Chapter 1: Foreign Popular Media:Boon or Bane for Peaceful Educational Outcomes in Japanese University EFL Learning Contexts?

Worldwide, students are required to learn English as a second or foreign language (ESL or EFL, respectively) at pre-tertiary education levels.

In Japan, students receive eight years of compulsory English education prior to university matriculation (Fukuda, 2010). This means that after taking a year or two of English classes at university, the typical Japanese student will have ultimately been exposed to roughly a decade’s worth of what may be termed filtered language and cultural content (FLCC).

This content is considered filtered because, much the same as in other institutional second or foreign language (L2/FL) teaching and learning situations, the students’ English classes present them with formal aspects of English and English language culture (EELC) that are pre-selected because they are deemed appropriate for promoting educational goals (e.g., increasing students’ knowledge and language abilities). Language classes, therefore, become sheltered havens from undesirable aspects extant in the target language and culture (e.g., expressions of violence, vulgar language) that run contrary to underlying institutional and educator goals of establishing and maintaining peace and harmony with others, and as such, are not incorporated into curricula.