THE INFLUENCE OF CULTURE IN THE INTERPRETATION OF JAPANESE LANGUAGE INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

Abstract

The mastery of any foreign language is affected by several factors, among them the cultural environment in which the language learning takes place. In an attempt to reinforce the language learning process, instructors of foreign language often make use of language instructional materials to enable students engage in motivating, appealing and interactive learning activities. The content of such instructional materials must be interpreted easily and accurately if they are to be effective. A major impediment in interpretation of instructional materials is the socio-cultural barrier which may interfere with the learner’s ability to decode the intended meaning in the content of the instructional materials. This hinders the achievement of the language lesson objectives. This paper discusses the influence of cultural elements on interpretation of the information in Japanese Language Instructional Materials (JLIM) by Kenyan students. This paper is based on the results of a pilot study carried out among college Japanese students in Kenya. It attempts to establish the influence and impact of culture on the interpretation of the Japanese language instructional materials by the Kenyan students. It is part of an ongoing research aimed at identifying the factors influencing the mastery of the Japanese language among Kenyan students. Theresearch is guided by schema theory, which describes the process by which readers refer to their own background knowledge in order to comprehend new information. The learners of Japanese language were subjected to some instructional materials and asked to answer several questions designed to establish their interpretation of the materials. Teir responses were compared with what is expected from the Japanese cultural context. Data was collected through a questionnaire. The results of the study show that unfamiliar cultural elements in the instructional materials negatively influence the interpretation of information. It is therefore recommended that the design of language instructional materials should take into consideration the culture of the learners.