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Constructing, Reconstructing and Reclaiming Learner Identities

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This book focuses on the experiences of 1.5 generation Filipinos in Japan, charting their educational experiences in both the Philippines and Japan. The participants use their educational histories...
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  • 16 September 2025
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This book focuses on the experiences of 1.5 generation Filipinos in Japan, charting their life histories and educational experiences in both the Philippines and Japan. Against a background of transnational migrations between both countries, and varying levels of Japanese as a Second Language and educational support for immigrant/non-Japanese speaking children in Japanese schools, the author uses a narrative, life history approach to consider how the participants use their educational histories and learner identities as intangible resources upon which they drew to overcome the structural and cultural differences in the teaching–learning environments they encountered in Japanese schools. The book ends by recounting the participants’ regained sense of confidence as learners upon entering university, where they reclaim their learner identities as active participants in the classroom, with several receiving awards for academic excellence.

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Price: $149.95
Pages: 241
Publisher: Channel View Publications
Imprint: Multilingual Matters
Series: New Perspectives on Language and Education
Publication Date: 16 September 2025
Trim Size: 9.20 X 6.15 in
ISBN: 9781800415430
Format: Hardcover
BISACs: LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General, Bilingualism and multilingualism, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Emigration & Immigration, LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Study & Teaching, Language teaching and learning: second or additional languages, Migration, immigration and emigration
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Ellen Preston Motohashi, as a researcher, professor, and caring mentor, has produced agentic portrayals of her Filipino students in Japan who (re)construct learner identities while navigating hardships growing up transnationally. This beautifully written book models a humanizing approach to research and inspires educators to foster inclusive and culturally responsive learning spaces where immigrant students can shine.

Ellen Preston Motohashi is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Dokkyo University, Japan. Her research focuses on education for immigrant students and students from linguistic and cultural minorities.

Acknowledgments
Prologue

Part 1

Chapter 1. Introduction

Chapter 2.  Japan’s Diverse Populations: Ethnic Minorities, Immigrants and a Rapidly Changing Social Landscape

Chapter 3. Japanese in the Philippines, Filipinos in Japan and Schooling in the Philippines

Chapter 4. Ethnically, Racially and Linguistically Diverse Students in Japanese Schools: An Overview

Part 2

Preface

Chapter 5. Participant Narrative Portraits: Life and Schooling in the Philippines and Beyond

Chapter 6. Experiences of School and Learning in Japan: The Good, the Bad and the In-between

Chapter 7. Coming Full Circle - University Life: Back on Top and Bringing Things to a Close

Epilogue: The Where I Am from Poems

References

Index