Comparing the difficulty level of studying Japanese and Indo-European languages for undergraduate students with reasonable adjustments?

Abstract

A growing number of undergraduate students who choose to study the Japanese language as an elective subject in British universities have disabilities. This study aims to research the demographic profiles, academic performance, and types of Reasonable Adjustments (RA) needed among undergraduate students with mental health disabilities taking Japanese language courses. Nineteen undergraduate students in need of RA who studied Japanese Ab Initio to Japanese Advanced through Institution-wide Language Provision (IWLP) at a British university in South East England from 2017/18 to 2019/20 participated. Participants included foundation-year and first-year undergraduate students. According to the results of this study, almost one-fourth of the participating students either did not complete the course or did not pass it, implying that studying Japanese may present challenges for some students who need RAs. This study differs in its focus on the study of Japanese in the context of a British university. Keywords: Japanese language; Institution Wide Language Program (IWLP); language learning; reasonable adjustment.