Nurturing young Japanese researchers through North American model of TESOL program : Possibilities and challenges

英语在日本社会被认为很重要，但日本研究生需要的不仅仅是语言能力，要想与世界各地说英语的学生比肩。因此，我们推出了一个导师计划（Smith & Davidson, 1992），为日本TESOL专业的研究生提供会议演讲、期刊出版、教学，最重要的是进行研究。本研究记录并探讨师徒关系对日本杰出青年学者发展的影响。自2007年10月至2011年3月，共有13名日本学生（男8名，女5名）和4名教师参加了该项目。本研究采用定性研究方法，如叙述探究（Connelly & Clandinin, 1990; 2000）、行动研究（Nunan,1990; 1992）、自学（Loughran et al., 2004）和民族志观察（Hammersley & Atkinson, 1995）来记录教师和学生的学习。学生们从小就提高了理解和欣赏作为一名语言教师和应用语言学家意味着什么的意识。同样，教师能够跟随学生成为学者的过程，产生新的理解和指导意义。该计划可能是昂贵的，需要教师和学生的努力（Kira & Kitano, 2008），但它的影响对那些将使日本成为国际学术舞台上一个独特而强大的研究国家的人有着深远而持久的影响。

English is deemed important in Japanese society, but Japanese graduate students need more than language proficiency to perform on par with English-speaking students worldwide. For this reason, a mentorship program (Smith & Davidson, 1992) was introduced to provide Japanese graduate students majoring in TESOL to assist them with conference presentations, journal publishing, teaching, and most importantly with conducting research. This study documented and explored the effects such mentorship has on the development of prominent young Japanese scholars.Thirteen Japanese students (8 males, 5 females) and four instructors have participated in the program since October 2007 to March 2011. This study used qualitative research methods such as narrative inquiry (Connelly & Clandinin, 1990 ; 2000), action research (Nunan,1990 ; 1992), self-study (Loughran et al., 2004), and ethnographic observation (Hammersley & Atkinson, 1995) to document the instructors' and the students' learning.The students heightened their awareness from an early stage as to understanding and appreciating what it means to be a language teacher as well as an applied linguist. Similarly, the instructors were able to follow students' process in becoming academics, giving rise to new understandings and implications for guidance. The program may be costly and demands efforts on the part of both the instructors and students (Kira & Kitano, 2008), but its effects have far-reaching and long-lasting influences on those who will be making Japan a distinct and strong research nation within international academic arena.