2021 Volume 179 Pages 31-46
This article highlights the lived experience of a foreign scientific researcher who practiced and built an academic career in Japan. Ms. A, a European native, completed an English-based doctoral degree at a Japanese university graduate school and worked as a tenured faculty member at a university in Japan. Researchers conducted unstructured interviews to examine Ms. Aʼs experience during her actual practice related to the Japanese language. Ms. A revealed that she experienced difficulties in communicating with people during work, classes, and research activities due to her low proficiency in the Japanese language. She also mentioned feelings of marginality while participating in communities of practice that went beyond her competency in the Japanese language and of stress when she had to request assistance from her Japanese colleagues. Based on Ms. Aʼs case, this study suggests that the discourse about “carrying out research in English” did not lead to effective transaction, because she could not fully participate in discussions using the Japanese language. Moreover, it highlights the possible existence of a structure pertaining to the acceptance of foreign researchers in Japan, that is, the institutions in question rely on individual qualities and efforts of such researchers to fully participate in the research community.
