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Accepted Poster
Description
In recent years, Japanese language education has expanded its aims from the development of linguistic competence alone to the cultivation of “intercultural citizenship” (Byram, 2013). From this perspective, examining language practices in corporate settings provides important insights into how language education can bridge school learning and participation in society, particularly in increasingly globalized workplaces. Drawing on Bourdieu’s (1991) concept of capital, this study investigates how a plurilingual employee in a global corporation mobilizes linguistic resources to generate multiple, interrelated forms of capital in professional contexts.
The participant is a Bulgarian national employed at a Japanese company in Japan, who speaks Bulgarian, Russian, English, and Japanese. He was selected from the respondents to a web-based questionnaire survey (n = 115) of former international students working in Japan, as he reported high job satisfaction in multilingual work environments. The questionnaire included 50 items on career choices, workplace challenges, interpersonal relationships, and future prospects. Based on the responses, two researchers conducted a semi-structured interview (approximately one hour), focusing on his language use and workplace experiences.
The analysis segmented the interview transcript into meaningful units and identified utterances related to internal experiences, interpersonal relationships, and institutional evaluation. These were coded using four categories derived from Bourdieu’s theory, as defined in this study: functional, mediating, relational, and symbolic capital. Their interrelationships and processes of capital transformation were then systematically examined.
The findings show that the participant strategically deploys Japanese and English within a plurilingual repertoire according to situational demands. Through this process, linguistic resources are transformed into interrelated forms of capital: functional capital as professional skills, mediating capital as intercultural coordination, symbolic capital as trust and legitimacy, and relational capital as professional networks. These forms are mutually convertible and shape the participant’s positioning and recognition in the workplace.
These findings suggest that Japanese language teachers should go beyond linguistic training and design classroom practices, such as role-play and interactional tasks, that enable learners to gain social recognition and trust in real-world contexts, thereby supporting their transition from classroom learning to professional participation.
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References
Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education, (pp. 241–258). Greenwood Press.
Bourdieu, P. (1991). Language and symbolic power. J. B. Thompson (Ed) ; G. Raymond & M. Adamson (Trans). Polity Press.
Byram, M. (2013). From foreign language education to education for intercultural citizenship. In M. Byram (Ed.), Language and culture in multilingual contexts, (pp.1-23). Routledge.
| Poster abstract in Japanese: | 職場における複言語話者の言語実践と資本形成 ―社会的承認とキャリア形成をめぐる事例分析― 横須賀 柳子（国士舘大学） 近年、日本語教育の目的は、単なる言語能力の習得から「異文化市民性」（Byram, 2013）の育成へと拡張している。 企業における言語実践を検証することは、学校と社会を結ぶ教育の役割を再考する上で重要な手がかりになる。 本発表では、グローバル企業に勤務する複言語話者が職場で、どのように言語資源を活用し、社会的関係や経済的資本を獲得しているかを、Bourdieu（1991）の資本概念に基づき明らかにする。 協力者はブルガリア出身の在日企業社員1名で、ブルガリア語、ロシア語、英語、日本語の話者である。 在日企業に勤務する元留学生社員を対象としたWEBアンケート調査（回答者115名）から、仕事満足度が高い者として選定した。 アンケートでは、日本での就職前後のキャリア選択、業務上の課題、人間関係、将来の展望などに関する50項目の質問をし、それに対する回答を基に研究者2名が半構造化インタビュー（約1時間）を実施した。 分析では、まず、インタビューの文字化データを意味的なまとまりをもつ発話単位に分節化し、内的経験、人間関係、制度的評価に関わる箇所を抽出した。 次に、Bourdieuの資本概念を言語実践に応用した「機能的資本」、「媒介的資本」、「関係的資本」、「象徴的資本」の4類型でコード化し、各資本の相互関係を精査した。 その結果、複言語話者は日本語・英語を中心とした複言語を選択的に用いながら、専門的言語・実用スキルといった「機能的資本」、異文化調整能力としての「媒介的資本」、地位や信頼に関わる「象徴的資本」、人的ネットワークとしての「関係的資本」を獲得し、それらを相互に転換しつつ職場内での位置づけを定めることが明らかになった。 日本語教師には言語技能の養成にとどまらず、実務場面を想定したロールプレイや対人調整活動を通じて、学習者が社会的評価や信頼を獲得できるような授業の工夫が求められることが示唆される。 参考文献 Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education, (pp. 241–258). Greenwood Press. Bourdieu, P. (1991). Language and symbolic power. J. B. Thompson (Ed); G. Raymond & M. Adamson (Trans). Polity Press. Byram, M. (2013). From foreign language education to education for intercultural citizenship. In M. Byram (Ed.), Language and culture in multilingual contexts, (pp.1-23). Routledge. |
Association of Japanese Language Education poster session 3
Session 1