Presentation Schedule
Linguacultural Citizenship and Glocal Competencies: Reimagining Language Policy in the Japanese University Classroom (101790)
Friday, 6 February 2026 15:30
Session: Poster Session
Room: Peridot Pre Function Area (Level 2)
Presentation Type: Poster Presentation
As the demand for glocal competencies—the ability to navigate both local and global cultural contexts—continues to grow, traditional international experiences such as study abroad and service learning remain out of reach for many students. Financial constraints, time limitations, and bureaucratic hurdles disproportionately exclude those from underrepresented or marginalised backgrounds. In response, this study explores how language learning, situated within a community-based language policy framework, can provide more equitable and accessible pathways to global engagement. Focusing on English as a language of internationalisation, the research critically asks whether English serves to facilitate or hinder meaningful interaction with other languages and cultures. A curriculum enactment model frames the classroom as a dynamic space where political, social, and educational factors converge—positioning learners not as passive recipients, but as active agents in shaping language practice and policy. The study employs the concept of linguistic citizenship to examine how language use can support democratic participation, intercultural understanding, and social inclusion. Adopting a linguacultural citizenship methodology, it investigates how Japanese university students engage in language policymaking through group-based inquiry and collaborative research. Participants explored their agency in negotiating meaning and shaping classroom language practices via interpretive and translational processes. Findings indicate a clear resistance to monolingual and utilitarian ideologies of English. Students expressed a strong desire for dialogical, relational approaches to language learning that reflect cultural complexity. By conceptualising curriculum as lived experience, this study highlights learners’ potential to challenge dominant discourses and enact transformative, inclusive language education.
Authors:
Robert Higgins, Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan
About the Presenter(s)
Dr Robert Higgins is a University Assistant Professor/Lecturer at Kwansei Gakuin in Japan
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