scholarly journals Analyzing cultural expatriates' attitudes toward “Englishnization” using dynamic topic modeling

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Ziyuan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Language Policy ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Corporate Culture ◽  
Topic Modeling ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Work Practices ◽  
English Only ◽  
Perceptions Of Leadership ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Corporate Language

Several Japanese multinational corporations (MNCs) have recently adopted an English-only policy known as “Englishnization”. This study examines the impact of this policy using computer-assisted text analysis to investigate changes in cultural expatriates’ perceptions of Japanese work practices and values over time. Cultural expatriates are a significant but underexplored outcome of globalization. Despite the recent proliferation of studies on the internationalization of Japanese MNCs, few studies have focused on cultural expatriates' perceptions of corporate language policy in social media texts. This study analyzes a corpus of 208 posts from Rakuten, a Japanese MNC, on Glassdoor from 2009 to 2020. The findings suggest that these posts can be divided into three content groups: the threat of a foreign corporate culture, embracing the Rakuten way, and perceptions of leadership and marginalized status. Further, the posts reveal how Rakuten’s corporate language policy, as an instrument of internal internationalization, impacts external internationalization. The dynamics of “Englishnization’’ reveal a pressing issue facing Rakuten: namely, how to balance multinational cohesion with monolingualism and multiculturalism. This paper aims to demonstrate that dynamic topic modeling could enhance our understanding of the manner in which cultural expatriates and the English-only policy affect the internationalization of Japanese MNCs. It contributes to the literature by examining cultural expatriates’ perceptions of Japanese work practices and values from a diachronic perspective.

Impacts and implications of English as the corporate official language policy: A case in Japan

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-129
Author(s):  
Saeko Ozawa Ujiie
Keyword(s):  
Language Policy ◽  
Foreign Market ◽  
Official Language ◽  
English Only ◽  
Common Solution ◽  
Corporate Official ◽  
Multilingual Learning ◽  
Japanese Employees ◽  
Japanese Speaker ◽  
Corporate Language

AbstractIncreasing numbers of corporations are now operating across national borders as a result of globalization. The “language barrier” is the first and foremost challenge they encounter when starting a business in a foreign market, and many companies are trying to solve the problem by adopting a common corporate language. Using English as an official corporate language is the most common solution for those corporations. The present study explored the impacts of English as a corporate official language policy implemented at a company, a rapidly developed high profile IT Company with 20,000 employees, in Japan, a country often perceived to be relatively monolingual and monocultural. When I started studying the company, I first found that the company’s motive to use English as the official corporate language was different from other instances of corporate language policy making I had come across. In previous studies (e.g., Feely & Harzing 2003; Marschan-Piekkari, Welch, & Welch 1999), the companies implemented common corporate language to solve problems caused by language barriers between employees with diverse linguistic backgrounds. However, the company in this study implemented the corporate language policy to prepare for globalization and recruit talents globally. When the company introduced the English-only language policy, most of the employees of the company were Japanese. Therefore, at the time of implementing the language policy, there was no compelling reason for them to use English. The language policy did not work effectively except for a few departments with non-Japanese employees who spoke different first languages. English functioned as a lingua franca in those departments with multinational employees. The findings indicate that for NNESs (non-native English speakers) to communicate with each other in English, the environment has to be more multilingual, less dominated by a single first language. Although almost all Japanese citizens are required to take intensive English courses in compulsory schoolings, the average level of English proficiency is considered to be relatively low in the advanced economies. The present study indicates that it is not for linguistic competence but a lack of interaction with other ELF speakers. Therefore, for learners of ELF in an intensely monolingual society such as Japan to become competent communicators in ELF, providing multilingual learning environments would be more effective than the prevailing teaching practices of classroom learning in L1 Japanese speaker only environments.

scholarly journals Language policy and social change: A critical examination of the implementation of an English-only language policy in a Danish company

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 435-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorte Lønsmann ◽  
Janus Mortensen
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
Social Space ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
International Expansion ◽  
Global Business ◽  
English Only ◽  
Company Culture ◽  
Language Commodification ◽  
Corporate Language

AbstractThe article examines the introduction of English as a corporate language in a Danish consultancy company from a critical angle. Based on analyses of language policy documents and interviews with language policy makers in the company, we investigate the underlying assumptions of the policy-making process, and explore how the language policy functions as a means of exerting power beyond the domain of language. The article shows how the language policy is heavily influenced by the language ideology of English as the natural language in global business as well as by neoliberal ideals of international expansion. Drawing on the notion of language commodification, the article investigates how the language policy reconfigures the social space of the organisation. The analysis shows that while the language policy aims to change the company culture towards a more ‘global mindset’, it also effects social change by legitimising certain types of employees while marginalising others. (Language policy, social change, English as a corporate language, language ideologies, linguistic market, language commodification)*

“English is an unwritten rule here”

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 544-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guro R. Sanden ◽  
Anne Kankaanranta
Keyword(s):  
Language Policy ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Policy Formation ◽  
Management Style ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
Policy Document ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Common Reference ◽  
Unwritten Rule ◽  
Corporate Language

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of corporate language policies that are implemented without formal decision-making processes. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative case study based on three Scandinavian multinational corporations which use English as a common corporate language without formal language policy decisions. Findings Non-formalised language policies are found to be clearly distinct from formalised language policies in terms of language policy format, language policy focus, language policy formation, language planning agency and management style. Non-formalised language policies can represent a type of informal control, but the absence of a policy document leaves employees without a common reference point which may cause confusion and inter-collegial conflict. Originality/value The study offers a nuanced perspective on the role of language policies in corporate communication by demonstrating that language policies may come in a variety of different forms, also as implicit assumptions about language use. Findings reveal benefits and drawbacks of the different language policy approaches.

scholarly journals Content Analysis of Language-Sensitive Recruitment Influenced by Corporate Language Policy Using Topic Modeling

2021 ◽  
pp. 77-91
Author(s):  
Ziyuan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Language Policy ◽  
Text Analysis ◽  
Topic Modeling ◽  
English Language ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Language Management ◽  
Corporate Context ◽  
Textual Practice ◽  
Language Boundaries ◽  
Corporate Language

Language-sensitive recruitment is a language management tool frequently used by corporate organizations. However, its relationship with corporate policy is lacking; hence, this study aims to consider language-sensitive job advertisements from a computational text analysis perspective and explore the match (or mismatch) between language-sensitive recruitment (English, Japanese, or bilingual) and corporate language policy. This study uses corpus methods combined with topic modeling and text analysis to investigate the influence of corporate language policy on the textual practice of language-sensitive recruitment in a Japanese multinational corporation (MNC). This study finds a considerable discrepancy between recruitment needs and corporate language policy. It also finds that bilinguals still play a key role in crossing language boundaries 10 years post-mandate of the English language policy in this Japanese MNC. The study contributes to business language by exploring an additional scenario for linking language competency with actual recruitment needs. Thus, this study sheds light on the implementation of language-sensitive recruitment in a multilingual corporate context, affecting the communication patterns and recruitment tactics.

Translating Principles of Speech Science to Clinical Practice: Current and Future Trends in Craniofacial Disorders

2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Zajac
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Current Practice ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Behavioral Management ◽  
Single Word ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Speech Science ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Opinion Article

Abstract The purpose of this opinion article is to review the impact of the principles and technology of speech science on clinical practice in the area of craniofacial disorders. Current practice relative to (a) speech aerodynamic assessment, (b) computer-assisted single-word speech intelligibility testing, and (c) behavioral management of hypernasal resonance are reviewed. Future directions and/or refinement of each area are also identified. It is suggested that both challenging and rewarding times are in store for clinical researchers in craniofacial disorders.

Tolerance and Control. Developing a language policy for an EMI university in Uzbekistan

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 217-237
Author(s):  
Andrew Linn ◽  
Anastasiya Bezborodova ◽  
Saida Radjabzade
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
The Other ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
Language Ecology ◽  
English Only ◽  
English Medium Instruction ◽  
The One ◽  
And Control

AbstractThis article presents a practical project to develop a language policy for an English-Medium-Instruction university in Uzbekistan. Although the university is de facto English-only, it presents a complex language ecology, which in turn has led to confusion and disagreement about language use on campus. The project team investigated the experience, views and attitudes of over a thousand people, including faculty, students, administrative and maintenance staff, in order to arrive at a proposed policy which would serve the whole community, based on the principle of tolerance and pragmatism. After outlining the relevant language and educational context and setting out the methods and approach of the underpinning research project, the article goes on to present the key findings. One of the striking findings was an appetite for control and regulation of language behaviours. Language policies in Higher Education invariably fall down at the implementation stage because of a lack of will to follow through on their principles and their specific guidelines. Language policy in international business on the other hand is characterised by a control stage invariably lacking in language planning in education. Uzbekistan is a polity used to control measures following from policy implementation. The article concludes by suggesting that Higher Education in Central Asia may stand a better chance of seeing through language policies around English-Medium Instruction than, for example, in northern Europe, based on the tension between tolerance on the one hand and control on the other.

Accuracy development in L2 writing: Exploring the potential of computer-assisted unfocused indirect corrective feedback in an online EFL course

ReCALL ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Cédric Brudermann ◽  
Muriel Grosbois ◽  
Cédric Sarré
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Mathematics Students ◽  
Language Teacher Education ◽  
Writing Accuracy ◽  
Data Yield ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Error Types

Abstract In a previous study (Sarré, Grosbois & Brudermann, 2019), we explored the effects of various corrective feedback (CF) strategies on interlanguage development for the online component of a blended English as a foreign language (EFL) course we had designed and implemented. Our results showed that unfocused indirect CF (feedback on all error types through the provision of metalinguistic comments on the nature of the errors made) combined with extra computer-mediated micro-tasks was the most efficient CF type to foster writing accuracy development in our context. Following up on this study, this paper further explores the effects of this specific CF type on learners’ written accuracy development in an online EFL course designed for freshmen STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) students. In the online course under study, this specific CF type was experimented with different cohorts of STEM learners (N = 1,150) over a five-year period (from 2014 to 2019) and was computer-assisted: CF provision online by a human tutor was combined with predetermined CF comments. The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of this specific CF strategy on error types. In this respect, the data yield encouraging results in terms of writing accuracy development when learners benefit from this computer-assisted specific CF. This study thus helps to gain a better understanding of the role that CF plays in shaping students’ revision processes and could inform language (teacher) education regarding the use of digital tools for the development of foreign language accuracy and the issues related to online CF provision.

The Effect of Changes to Question Order on the Prevalence of ‘Sufficient’ Physical Activity in an Australian Population Survey

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 390-396
Author(s):  
Christine Hanley ◽  
Mitch J. Duncan ◽  
W. Kerry Mummery
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression ◽  
Total Activity ◽  
Order Effects ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Moderate Activity ◽  
Question Order ◽  
Recreational Walking ◽  
Cati Survey ◽  
The Impact

Background:Population surveys are frequently used to assess prevalence, correlates and health benefits of physical activity. However, nonsampling errors, such as question order effects, in surveys may lead to imprecision in self reported physical activity. This study examined the impact of modified question order in a commonly used physical activity questionnaire on the prevalence of sufficient physical activity.Methods:Data were obtained from a telephone survey of adults living in Queensland, Australia. A total of 1243 adults participated in the computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) survey conducted in July 2008 which included the Active Australia Questionnaire (AAQ) presented in traditional or modified order. Binary logistic regression analyses was used to examine relationships between question order and physical activity outcomes.Results:Significant relationships were found between question order and sufficient activity, recreational walking, moderate activity, vigorous activity, and total activity. Respondents who received the AAQ in modified order were more likely to be categorized as sufficiently active (OR = 1.28, 95% CI 1.01−1.60).Conclusions:This study highlights the importance of question order on estimates of self reported physical activity. This study has shown that changes in question order can lead to an increase in the proportion of participants classified as sufficiently active.

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