ABSTRACT
In this chapter Iexamine how "otherness"-specifically. English and the presence of foreigners-ironically builds national identity among students. Japaneseness. as a powerful ideology embedded in an array of institutions, converts English and non-Japanese instructors into practices and people that reinforce Japanese identity (rather than positioning them as truly "other" knowledge forms and entities). I discuss how English is dissected and reassembled into a malformed creature that has little to do with communication but everything to do with sitting for exacting examinations and, as ironic as it may sound. demonstrating one's Japaneseness. The result of this maIformation is that students come to simulate the learning of English. In this chapter I also explore the implications of the "foreign instructor," who perfonns the role of the outsider coming to Japan and bearing knowledge of the Other. In the last section I briefly discuss "foreign daigaku" in Japan. BefoTe discussing the aforementioned issues, it is essential first to appreciate the salient role English plays in Japanese society and its linkages to "internationalism."
