A Branding-Tool for Japanese University English Language Programs
Introduction This paper is divided into two parts. In Part 1, I will discuss some basic ideas from marketing and branding. Then in Part 2, I will provide a conceptual overview of an English-as-a-foreign language (EFL) resource website based on content-based instructional (CBI) methods. This paper is relevant to educational marketing administrators, second language instructors, web developers, media production specialists, and publishers or anyone involved in the language education industry and its peripheral industries. This might seem like a broad target audience, but what I hope to communicate through this modest paper is that those in the educational field need to seriously consider the fact that educational institutions operate on a business foundation, and to effectively tackle issues that involve the promotion and competitiveness of an organization, ideas from the above sectors need to be considered. Branding is not only about changing the color of a logo or changing locations. The re-branding of a university, a faculty, or a department takes large to small-scale changes / additions / transformations and other processes needed to adapt to the current market situation. Incidentally, I believe that this paper will indirectly inform and clarify how emerging technologies and trends in the “digital-visual-app / i-everything culture” can be woven into the educational setting; specifically, into EFL materials. As with all technologies and trends, the status quo is temporary; thus, in order to “future proof” or still be relevant in a couple of years, the concepts described in this paper are not meant to be set in stone. Unlike an obsolete personal computer, the concepts in this paper are meant to be shapeless, formless, malleable, and constantly open to modifications.
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