“I wonder why they don’t talk to us more”: Exploring interdisciplinarity in Japanese higher education

This paper investigated interdisciplinary attitudes within the English Language Teaching (ELT) department and across its boundaries, drawing upon case study research, conducted by means of questionnaires and follow up semi-structured interviews among ELT and non-ELT faculty in four Japanese colleges and universities in one prefecture. Three themes are argued as impacting upon the concept of interdisciplinarity: disciplinary cultures, collegiality, and collaboration among teachers both within the ELT department (intradisciplinarity) and across into other disciplines within the institution (interdisciplinarity). Findings suggest that interdisciplinarity suffers when strict hierarchies in an institution marginalize ELT practitioners irrespective of their full-time or part-time status. Additionally, institutional and personal constraints based upon real and perceived differences in disciplinary cultures appear to limit collaboration and collegiality. As a possible solution, the introduction of more content-based instruction in English and English for Specific Purposes courses is voiced as a possible means to improve interdisciplinary collaboration although such measures require institutional approval.