This study explores the complex dynamics of akogare, a Japanese concept describing a strong attraction to something or someone unattainable. Prior research on the dynamics of akogare in English language learning studies has largely been limited to the consideration of Japanese women’s sexual or romantic desire for the West. The classical hypothesis of gendered akogare arising from this research has led to a disproportionate representation of akogare as Japanese women’s active sexualised agency. This study scrutinises narratives derived from semi-structured interviews with seven Japanese students, male and female, who participated in study abroad programmes in the UK. Drawing from theoretical understandings of ‘materiality’ and ‘space’, the analysis observes how multifaceted akogare circulates in a study abroad setting that is influenced by learners’ linguistic and gendered relations to the West. The analysis suggests that the study abroad setting serves as a multidimensional space to (re)construct oneself through the lens of akogare as a discerning English learner who asserts cognitive distance from Western hegemony.

中文翻译：

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留学作为憧れ流通的空间——日本大学生在英国留学经历的案例研究

这项研究探索了 akogare 的复杂动态，这是一个日本概念，描述了对某物或某人无法实现的强烈吸引力。先前关于 akogare 在英语学习研究中的动态的研究很大程度上仅限于考虑日本女性对西方的性欲或浪漫欲望。这项研究产生的性别化 akogare 的经典假设导致了 akogare 作为日本女性积极的性化机构的不成比例的代表。这项研究仔细审查了从对参加英国留学项目的七名日本学生（男性和女性）进行的半结构化访谈中得出的叙述。借鉴对“物质性”和“空间”的理论理解，该分析观察了多方面的 akogare 如何在受学习者与西方的语言和性别关系影响的留学环境中传播。分析表明，出国留学环境作为一个多维空间，通过 akogare 的镜头（重新）建构自己，作为一个断言与西方霸权认知距离的有眼光的英语学习者。