Table Of ContentThis
thesis
has
been
approved
by
The
Honors
Tutorial
College
and
the
Department
of
Sociology
and
Anthropology
__________________________
Dr.
Haley
Duschinski
Professor,
Anthropology
Thesis
Advisor
___________________________
Dr.
Gene
Ammarell
DOS,
Honors
Tutorial
College
Anthropology
___________________________
Jeremy
Webster
Dean,
Honors
Tutorial
College
“OUTSIDE
PEOPLE”:
TREATMENT,
LANGUAGE
ACQUISITION,
IDENTITY,
AND
THE
FOREIGN
STUDENT
EXPERIENCE
IN
JAPAN
A
Thesis
Presented
to
The
Honors
Tutorial
College
Ohio
University
In
Partial
Fulfillment
of
the
Requirements
for
Graduation
from
the
Honors
Tutorial
College
with
the
degree
of
Bachelor
of
Arts
in
Anthropology
by
Camille
Scott
April
2014
Acknowledgements
I
would
like
to
thank
the
Honors
Tutorial
College
Dean’s
Research
and
Travel
Fund
and
the
Provost
Undergraduate
Research
Fund
for
providing
me
the
opportunity
to
fulfill
my
life-‐long
dream
of
studying
in
Japan.
Many
thanks
to
my
thesis
advisor
Dr.
Haley
Duschinski
for
supporting
me
through
all
phases
of
this
project,
both
rough
and
smooth,
and
for
offering
the
best
council
and
critiques
when
I
needed
them
most.
My
sincerest
gratitude
to
Dr.
Gene
Ammarell
for
advising
and
support,
Dr.
Chris
Thompson
for
inspiration,
Dr.
Charlie
Morgan
for
resources,
and
all
of
the
wonderful
people
in
the
Honor
Tutorial
College
Office
for
their
unwavering
support,
wise
council,
and
sympathetic
ears.
I
also
want
to
thank
my
boyfriend
Archie
Potter
for
providing
the
very
best
emotional
support
and
motivation,
even
though
he
was
working
on
his
own
thesis.
Without
all
of
these
people,
none
of
the
following
pages
would
have
been
possible.
Abstract
In
recent
years,
an
increasing
number
of
foreign
students
have
been
engaging
in
language
and
cultural
immersion
programs
in
Japan,
raising
issues
of
cross-‐
cultural
contact
and
exchange.
Japan's
enduring
cultural
nationalism
produces
an
ethnocentric
valuation
of
homogeneity,
thereby
affecting
the
ways
in
which
Japanese
natives
engage
with
and
respond
to
these
students.
This
paper
draws
on
two
months
of
ethnographic
research
at
two
Japanese
universities
to
examine
how
everyday,
culturally
embedded
nationalism
affects
the
experience,
identity,
and
language
instruction
of
western
nonnative
learners
of
Japanese
with
regards
to
the
institution,
the
instructors,
and
the
community
around
them.
This
discourse
on
issues
surrounding
the
presence
of
foreign
youth
in
a
nationalistic
society
has
application
for
discrimination
reforms
on
the
international
level.
Table
of
Contents
Chapter
1:
Introduction:
Welcome
to
the
Outside
Go,
Gaijin,
Go!.............................................................................................................1
Welcome
to
the
Outside..........................................................................................3
Project
Description
and
Aim..................................................................................4
Research
Questions..................................................................................................6
Research
Scope.........................................................................................................7
Literature
Review:
Japanese
Nationalism...........................................................8
Literature
Review:
Theoretical
Constructs......................................................12
Literature
Review:
Second
Language
Acquisition
and
Education..............16
Methodology...........................................................................................................18
Notes
on
Location..................................................................................................20
Personal
Relationship
to
Project........................................................................22
Significance.............................................................................................................23
Chapter
Overview..................................................................................................24
Chapter
2:
Background:
The
History
of
Japanese
Relations
with
Foreigners
Introduction............................................................................................................25
Early
History...........................................................................................................25
Contact
with
the
West,
Mistrust,
and
Withdrawal.........................................27
Opening
to
the
West..............................................................................................28
The
Meiji
Era
and
National
Insecurity..............................................................30
Foreigners
and
Today’s
Japan.............................................................................32
Conclusion...............................................................................................................33
Chapter
3:
The
Gaijin
Special:
Treatment
of
Foreign
Students
Soto
Ni
Youkoso!
Welcome
to
the
Outside!.......................................................35
The
Japanese-‐ness
of
it
all...................................................................................38
An
Overview:
What
to
Expect
When
You’re
Not
Expecting
It......................39
Special
Treatment:
The
Foreigner
Privilege
and
Help
for
the
Hapless
Gaijin........................................................................................................................41
Exploitation:
“Token”
Status...............................................................................43
Ignoring:
See
No
Gaijin,
Hear
No
Gaijin.............................................................45
Worship:
Cool
Foreigner
Syndrome..................................................................45
Harassment,
Segregation,
and
Awkwardness:
The
Funny,
the
Bad,
and
the
Ugly...........................................................................................................................46
Getting
a
Second
Opinion:
One
Informant
Among
Many..............................49
Focus
Group,
Daigaku
Study
Abroad:
Matt
in
Context...................................51
Conclusion...............................................................................................................55
Chapter
4:
Language:
Usage
and
Acquisition
Leggo
My
Keigo!.....................................................................................................57
Introduction............................................................................................................60
Classroom
Language
Usage.................................................................................61
Language
Abilities.................................................................................................63
Language
Usage
with
Foreigners.......................................................................65
Language
Usage
with
Native
Speakers.............................................................66
Language
Usage
with
Natives:
English..............................................................68
Language
Usage
with
Natives:
Japanese...........................................................69
Formality
in
Japanese...........................................................................................71
When
Addressed/Approached
by
Native
Speakers.......................................73
Native
Speakers’
Responses
to
Foreigners
Using
Japanese..........................75
Language
Attitudes...............................................................................................77
Daigaku
Focus
Group
Discussion.......................................................................77
Conclusion...............................................................................................................79
Chapter
5:
Identity:
Sense
of
Self
and
Defining
the
Foreigner
Experience
“That”
Foreigner:
The
Origin
of
Stereotypes...................................................82
Introduction:
Attitudes
Towards
Foreigners..................................................84
Being
Foreign
in
Japan.........................................................................................84
Hokudai:
Group
Relations
and
Dynamics.........................................................86
Meeting
Other
Foreigners....................................................................................88
Sense
of
Belonging/Othering..............................................................................91
Reflections
on
Gender..........................................................................................92
Reflections
on
Foreigner
Appearance
and
Aesthetics...................................94
Reflections
on
Self.................................................................................................95
Reflections
on
Country
and
Countrymen.........................................................96
Conclusion...............................................................................................................97
Chapter
6:
Conclusion:
Implications
and
Applications
Review.....................................................................................................................99
Theoretical
Constructs......................................................................................100
Treatment
of
Foreign
Students........................................................................101
Linguistic
Factors...............................................................................................102
Finale.....................................................................................................................103
Implications
and
Applications:
Moving
Forward........................................104
Appendix
A:
Terms
and
Definitions.............................................................................105
Appendix
B:
Bibliography..............................................................................................107
Chapter
1
Introduction:
Welcome
to
the
Outside!
Go,
Gaijin,
Go!
I
have
never
been
a
person
who
gets
nervous
easily.
However,
participating
in
a
reading
contest
in
front
of
the
upper-‐
level
administrators
at
a
Japanese
university
in
which
I
will
be
judged
on
pronunciation,
accent,
speed,
and
general
fluency
was
an
exception
to
that
rule,
an
exception
I
realized
too
late
to
turn
back.
Three
days
prior,
we
had
conducted
a
preliminary
round
in
our
small
15-‐
person
Japanese
class
in
the
summer
language
program,
from
which
our
sensei,
our
brave
Japanese
instructor
Ms.
Ozaki,
selected
three
people
to
go
on
compete
against
all
the
other
foreign
students
at
Hokudai.
I
agreed
to
participate,
largely
because
I
felt
the
need
to
prove
Americans
are
not
totally
useless,
a
feeling
that
had
been
haunting
me
in
class
for
a
few
days,
thanks
to
the
much
higher
Japanese
levels
of
the
passel
of
Chinese
girls
surrounding
me
at
most
times.
After
we
all
read
a
passage
in
front
of
the
class,
the
sensei
called
the
first
girl’s
name.
It
was
no
surprise
Shizui-‐san
was
going
on
to
the
next
round,
but
mine
was
the
next
name
to
be
called,
and
I
marveled
mildly
at
this.
The
class
clapped
politely,
and
my
two
Korean
friends
exclaimed
in
Japanese,
“Good
job,
Camille.
Good
luck!”
I
marveled
less
mildly
a
few
days
later
when
I
found
myself
in
a
large,
stadium-‐seating
classroom
mostly
full
of
students
and
teachers
for
the
competition.
As
I
stood
up
from
my
seat
when
my
name
was
called,
many
heads
turned
towards
me.
A
quiet
murmur
rippled
through
the
crowd
as
the
audience
realized
1
the
American
girl
was
about
to
compete.
A
few
days
earlier,
I
had
come
to
the
realization
that
I
was
the
only
non-‐Asian
female
for
miles;
I
was
a
rarity.
Suddenly,
people
began
clapping
and
were
still
clapping
when
I
reached
the
podium.
The
clapping
was
excessive
and
clearly
louder
and
more
enthusiastic
than
the
polite,
sporadic
pattering
of
clapping
hands
before
my
perhaps
15
Chinese
and
two
Korean
competitors
read.
I
looked
out
at
what
I
estimate
to
be
more
than
150
Japanese
and
Chinese
faces
in
addition
to
those
of
my
few
Korean
and
Thai
classmates
and
my
two
American
friends.
It
was
a
sea
of
clapping
hands.
I
giggled
nervously
and
looked
down
at
my
paper.
The
thunderous
applause
continued,
and
I
became
almost
indignant.
I
had
not
even
read
anything.
They
had
no
idea
how
good
I
was,
nor
did
I
suspect
it
mattered,
I
thought
bitterly.
My
only
choice
was
to
laugh
awkwardly,
covering
my
laughter
with
my
hand
as
is
culturally
appropriate,
and
wait.
When
the
applause
died
down,
I
began
to
read
the
anecdote
about
men
arguing
over
who
heard
the
first
birdsong
of
spring.
My
accent
and
pronunciation
is
good
for
an
American,
according
to
my
Japanese
friends,
but
I
had
a
few
incorrect
intonations
as
I
went
along.
I
finished
and
bowed
to
the
audience.
As
I
stepped
down
off
the
platform
to
return
to
my
seat,
the
sound
of
applause
was
obviously
and
embarrassingly
louder
than
the
applause
for
anyone
else
that
went
before
or
after
me.
For
a
fleeting
moment,
I
feel
deeply
embarrassed
solely
because
of
my
ethnicity.
2
There
was
a
short
break
while
the
judges
debated
our
performances.
When
they
returned,
one
of
the
judges
gave
a
brief
inspirational
speech
about
how
well
we
all
did
and
how
they
could
not
tell
whether
we
were
Japanese
or
not.
I
enjoyed
the
irony
in
this,
considering
the
spectacle
that
I
seemed
to
be.
There
were
also
words
of
encouragement,
reminders
that
we
could
always
be
better,
that
we
should
always
strive
to
be
better.
When
they
announced
winners,
they
announced
second
place,
then
first
and
then
third.
When
my
name
was
called
first,
I
had
still
not
sorted
out
what
happened.
It
then
seemed
to
occur
to
the
people
around
me
that
I
had
gotten
second
place.
The
applause
erupted
again,
and
I
was
made
to
return
to
the
stage
to
bow,
pose
for
photos,
and
receive
my
certificate
and
award
money
of
3000
yen,
or
30
dollars.
While
I
was
pleased
to
have
been
awarded
second,
the
way
I
had
been
treated
so
far
at
the
university
and
the
way
everyone
had
clapped
so
much
more
for
me
before
I
had
even
opened
my
mouth
made
me
question
the
award
I
held
in
my
hands.
Had
I
really
been
better
than
the
others
or
had
they
been
trying
to
appease
me
and
make
the
American
feel
good
about
herself?
I
remain
unsure.
Welcome
to
the
Outside
This
wildly
uncomfortable
and
somewhat
unsettling
experience
was
not
uncommon
for
me
when
I
spent
six
weeks
traveling,
researching,
studying
Japanese,
and
conducting
interviews
in
Japan
this
summer.
Japan
is
a
largely
ethnically
homogenous
country,
meaning
that
foreigners
stand
out,
for
better
or
for
worse.
The
Japanese
word
for
“foreigner”
itself
gives
some
insight
into
the
3
Description:language and cultural immersion programs in Japan, raising issues of cross-‐ Japanese natives engage with and respond to these students. be successful with Japanese language and culture simply because of their anthropology, Laura Ahearn, defines a goal of linguistic anthropology to be.
