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The Modes of Governmentality in Language Education: Blog Activities in a Japanese-as-a-Foreign-Language Classroom

The Modes of Governmentality in Language Education: Blog Activities in a Japanese-as-a-Foreign-Language Classroom

Neriko Doerr, Shinji Sato
Copyright: © 2011 |Pages: 19
ISBN13: 9781609602062|ISBN10: 1609602064|EISBN13: 9781609602086
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60960-206-2.ch009
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MLA

Doerr, Neriko, and Shinji Sato. "The Modes of Governmentality in Language Education: Blog Activities in a Japanese-as-a-Foreign-Language Classroom." Interactive Media Use and Youth: Learning, Knowledge Exchange and Behavior, edited by Elza Dunkels, et al., IGI Global, 2011, pp. 149-167. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-60960-206-2.ch009

APA

Doerr, N. & Sato, S. (2011). The Modes of Governmentality in Language Education: Blog Activities in a Japanese-as-a-Foreign-Language Classroom. In E. Dunkels, G. Franberg, & C. Hallgren (Eds.), Interactive Media Use and Youth: Learning, Knowledge Exchange and Behavior (pp. 149-167). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-60960-206-2.ch009

Chicago

Doerr, Neriko, and Shinji Sato. "The Modes of Governmentality in Language Education: Blog Activities in a Japanese-as-a-Foreign-Language Classroom." In Interactive Media Use and Youth: Learning, Knowledge Exchange and Behavior, edited by Elza Dunkels, Gun-Marie Franberg, and Camilla Hallgren, 149-167. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2011. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-60960-206-2.ch009

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Abstract

This chapter discusses the validity of incorporating blog activities in language education classes as an equalizing practice. The authors examine blog activities aimed at providing a way for foreign language learners to communicate in a space free from any teacher-student hierarchy as part of a Japanese-as-a-Foreign-Language class at a university in the United States. The authors show that a teacher-student hierarchy still seeps into the blog space, albeit in a different form. Using Michel Foucault’s notion of modes of governmentality, they analyze how the blog’s postings and readers’ comments define the space of a particular blog by evoking modes of governmentality of schooling and of “native” vs. “non-native” speakers. They suggest the importance of acknowledging the existence of relations of dominance in what was initially perceived to be a power-free online space and encourage educators who use blogs in classes to involve learners in the understanding and transformation of such relations of dominance.

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