Dr. Blake Turnbull: "Uncovering the Bilingualism of Japan’s Linguistic Landscape: Here and Now"

Despite prevalent perceptions of the past, Japan is no longer the monolingual society it was once thought to be. Evidence of bilingualism (and multilingualism) can be seen throughout a variety of different communities, both international and local. Perhaps the most unrecognised of these groups of bilingual speakers is also the largest: Japanese people themselves. This talk will examine the evolving translingual linguistic landscape of Japan and argue in favour of an epistemological change concerning the bilingual status of Japanese people. It will also consider the importance of this status to Japanese EFL learners and how certain bilingual pedagogies, such as translanguaging, can work to leverage students' bilingualism and develop their holistic language competence overall.

Lauren Landsberry: "Communication Strategies, Cultural Transmission, and Identity for Families"

Many foreign parents living in Japan attempt to raise their children as bilingual and bicultural, and those who choose to do so recognize that it is imperative to have well thought- out strategies to foster their children’s linguistic competence, and to be intentional with activities that will further their children’s exposure to their dual heritage and cultures. Quantitative and qualitative data was obtained via an online questionnaire from 145 foreign mothers attempting bilingual and bicultural child-rearing. This presentation will focus on three of the specific areas of bilingualism and biculturalism covered in the questionnaire: communication strategies, cultural transmission, and identity. Results highlight the strategies of communication used by the parents develop their children’s languages and are analysed to identify the cultural activities to which their children are exposed. The presentation will also examine the cultural identity that the parents in the study prefer for their children.