Fostering "Global Human Resources": A Study of Japanese English Teachers' Intercultural Competences and Perceptions toward Cultural Teaching in Three High Schools

Abstract

Since globalization is the prominent phenomenon of modern society, Japan has faced a new challenge: fostering individuals who possess skills and mindsets to live in the globalized world, “global human resources.” Although, understanding cultural difference is one of the global human resources’ criteria that Japanese government’s considers, they put weight only on teaching English. This research focused on disclosing current English teaching situations at three Japanese public high schools from an intercultural communication perspective by measuring teachers’ intercultural competence and conducting in-depth interviews. The results showed the schools’ academic level affects teachers’ capability of teaching cultural aspects in their classes because of the pressure of the college entrance examination. The more the school becomes centered on preparing students to get into universities, the less time teachers have to teach cultural aspects to students. As a suggestion to improve the situation, providing intercultural training within teaching courses for college curriculum could be recommended for future English teachers.