ABSTRACT

This paper aims to show the complex overlapping and interaction with exogenous influences in the processes of national policymaking by analysing a case of policy borrowing in Japan. Specifically, it explores the political circumstances under which the Council of Europe Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) was introduced to foreign language education policy at the national government level in Japan. The results suggest that the CEFR was borrowed selectively as a practical solution to achieve prolonged educational and political agendas promoted by multiple actors such as academics, the Ministry of Education (MEXT), and a group of politicians and business associations. This study moreover shows that the CEFR borrowing occurred under manifold interplays between multiple global education trends and domestic needs for Japanese citizens to acquire a practical communicative command of English to strengthen their international economic competitiveness.

摘要

本文旨在通过分析日本的一个政策借贷案例，展示国家政策制定过程中复杂的重叠和与外生影响的相互作用。具体来说，它探讨了欧洲委员会欧洲共同语言参考框架的政治环境（CEFR）被引入日本国家政府层面的外语教育政策。结果表明，有选择地借用 CEFR 作为一种实用的解决方案，以实现由学术界、教育部 (MEXT) 以及一组政治家和商业协会等多个参与者推动的长期教育和政治议程。本研究还表明，CEFR 借用是在多种全球教育趋势和日本公民获得实用的英语交际能力以增强其国际经济竞争力的国内需求之间的多重相互作用下发生的。