Japanese Language Course Research Articles

中村 純子・関 康平〔編著〕 『―「探究」と「概念」で学びが変わる！― 中学校国語科 国際バカロレアの授業づくり』

中村 純子・関 康平〔編著〕 『―「探究」と「概念」で学びが変わる！― 中学校国語科 国際バカロレアの授業づくり』

The writing center and international students in a Japanese university: a language management perspective

ABSTRACTOne of the institutional challenges of taking in large numbers of international graduate students is supporting their academic literacy skills. To accommodate a large population of international students, Japanese universities offer various services to support their academic studies and life-related issues, such as hiring international student advisors, offering Japanese language courses, and implementing peer-support programs. As a type of academic support for writing for international students, writing centers have caught the attention of universities in the last decade. To examine the institutional role of the writing center at a Japanese university, this study employs a language management lens to compare the beliefs and interests among administrators, tutors, and international students in improving international students’ Japanese writing. Interviews with the three groups of participants displayed incongruences between the administrators’ interests aligned with institutional goals, the educational philosophy of the writing center, and international students’ language learning needs. The findings point to the tutors' crucial role as language specialists who inform organized language management, and the necessity for collaboration between academic support units and faculty members in providing sufficient academic socialization environments for international students.

Minat Dan Motivasi Belajar Bahasa Jepang (Studi Kasus Terhadap Mahasiswa Jurusan Sastra Indonesia 2016/2017 FIB Undip)

(Title: Interest and Motivations in Japanese Learning) This article is the result of a case study for Japanese learners as the second foreign language. The large number of students taking Japanese language courses is the basis for this qualitative research. The respondent in this research was 70 Indonesian Literature students in 2016/2017. The purpose of this study research was to determine the interests and motivations of their interest in learning Japanese. There are four elements of interest and two types of motivation that are the focus of this research. With the questionnaire and interview methods, as a result it is known that the interest of the respondents is quite high based on the element of pleasure as the most answer. This element of pleasure includes the respondents' interest in the Japanese things such as anime,manga and festivals. In terms of motivation, it is indicated that the most of the respondent reason refers to type of integrative motivation. The emergence of that integrative motivation is based on their interest in the uniqueness of Japanese language and the attractiveness of Japanese cultural arts.

Positioning of Dialects in the Japanese Language Course

Positioning of Dialects in the Japanese Language Course

A portrait of Japanese popular culture fans who study Japanese at an Australian university: Motivation and activities beyond the classroom

Abstract This article presents a quantitative study with a focus on portraying Japanese Popular Culture (JPC) fans who take a Japanese language course at a university. Questionnaires were administered to students who were studying Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) at a multi-campus university in Australia. 247 participants (which accounts for an 85.6 per cent response rate) responded to questions concerning interest in studying Japanese, future motivation and out-of-class activities related to JPC. Further data regarding JPC consumption in retrospect and perceived benefits of JPC in studying Japanese were collected from those who identified themselves as JPC fans. It revealed that nearly three-quarters of the students were self-claimed JPC fans. While both fans and non-fans showed high interest in the language, interest in traditional culture and travel to Japan, fans revealed substantially higher motivation than non-fans in all other accounts, namely future motivation. Non-fans, however, showed relatively high motivation only in future employment. A prominent finding was that fans were exposed to Japanese language far more frequently outside the classroom than non-fans of JPC. The most popular activities for fans were watching anime, listening to J-pop music and playing video games. Reading ‘manga’ was also a frequent activity but they were reading translated ‘manga’. The findings suggest that future motivation associated with Japan and Japanese language is an important element in continuing Japanese language study. This article has implications for the role of popular culture in foreign language (FL) education, in particular when many FL learners are interested in popular culture like JPC.

Japanese Language Course as an Elective Unit in University - Case Study of K University in Daegu Metropolitan City -

Japanese Language Course as an Elective Unit in University - Case Study of K University in Daegu Metropolitan City -

Factor Structure of the Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory for Thai Students Learning Japanese.

The theoretical five-factor model for the 35-item Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) has rarely been examined empirically, despite its wide use to investigate language learning beliefs. This study examined the BALLI's dimensional structure with a sample of undergraduate students at a Thai university ( N = 537; male 43.4%, female 56.4%; age mean = 19.12 years), taking an elementary-level Japanese language course. Confirmatory factor analysis by M plus did not support Horwitz's theoretical model. While a five-factor model was identified from exploratory factor analysis, the combined items within each dimension were different from Horwitz's model. Thus, the original five-factor BALLI model was only partially supported. We were able to affirm the core aspects of language learning beliefs composed of eight BALLI items, and we offer a roadmap to develop the model.

Foreword

… multicultural education does not necessarily have to imply the study of foreign second languages but the former without the later is limited and will have difficulty in producing the results it often claims to want to achieve, i.e. tolerance, peace and cross-cultural understanding (Crozet et al., 1999). This volume of Acta Linguistica Asiatica is dedicated to the area of teaching Asian languages in non-native surroundings. It is our great pleasure to announce 9 research papers on language teaching and articulation covering a wide-area of Central and Eastern Europe. The papers show us a map of Asian language teaching sites, including secondary and tertiary education, and their background systems.In her work “Poučevanje tujih jezikov v slovenskem šolskem sistemu: prostor tudi za japonščino?”, which opens the present volume, Bronka STRAUS outlines the picture of Slovene educational system. The paper reminds us that language teaching when taught as a curricular course, must be incorporated into the country’s system.The article »Chinese as a Foreign Language in Slovene Upper Secondary Education and Outline of Curriculum Renewal«by Mateja PETROVČIČ proposes a dynamic curriculum reform in secondary education mostly but targets tertiary education as well.The next article, authored by Nagisa MORITOKI ŠKOF and named »Learner Motivation and Teaching Aims of Japanese Language Instruction in Slovenia«, discusses main aims and objectives to teaching Japanese at secondary level education, and looks into the ways of how to find the place for Japanese language teaching in Slovene language curricula.Kristina HMELJAK SANGAWA in her paper “Japanese Language Teaching at Tertiary Level in Slovenia: Past Experiences, Future Perspectives” gives an introduction to the history and contents of Japanese language teaching in tertiary education in Slovenia.Following are the two articles concern teaching Asian languages in Serbia. Ana JOVANOVIĆ’s research, entitled »Teaching Chinese at the University Level – Examples of Good Practices and Possibilities for Further Developments«, presents several cases of Chinese language teaching and articulation from primary all the way to tertiary education.On the other hand, »Current State of Japanese Language Education in Serbia and Proposal for Future Solutions« by Divna TRIČKOVIĆ’s similarly discusses the Japanese language courses and their present situation in secondary education. The author points out the need for a well-thought pick up of both the teacher and the textbook, and offers an exemplar from University of Beograd.The next two articles on teaching Asian languages in Romania concern articulation mainly. Angela DRAGAN in her work »Teaching Japanese Language in Tertiary and Secondary Education: State and Private Institutions in Romania« offers a perspective on articulation at tertiary level mainly, while on the other hand, Mariana LUNGU discusses it from the view of secondary education. The Ion Creanga National college in Bucharest is the only institution in Romania which provides Japanese language education at secondary level ongoing every year.The final article by Karmen FEHER MALAČIČ “Teaching of the Japanese and Chinese Language in Extracurricular Courses for Children, Adolescents and Adults in Slovenia” brings the story back to Slovenia in a form of a survey on teaching Asian languages as extracurricular subjects. The author considers the problems and perspectives that arise within such extracurricular course and at the same time shape language education within curricular course. Nagisa Moritoki Škof

Japanese Language Teaching at Tertiary Level in Slovenia: Past Experiences, Future Perspectives

Japanese language teaching does not have a very long tradition in Slovenia, yet the teaching of Japanese has significantly developed both in qualitative and in quantitative terms in the past 20 years. This paper presents an overview of past Japanese language courses and of the development of Japanese language instruction in Slovenia at various levels of instruction and in different institutional settings, pointing out changes in learner motivation, increasing accessibility of language learning resources, and the growth and diversification of (present and potential) Japanese language teachers. The paper concludes with some suggestions for further development and for an increased networking among Japanese language teachers and learners.

中級日本語聴解コンピュータ教材(IJLC)の開発と授業実践

中級日本語聴解コンピュータ教材(IJLC)の開発と授業実践

中国の大学日本語教育における「日本事情」の課題発表形式に関する一考査

中国の大学日本語教育における「日本事情」の課題発表形式に関する一考査

Evaluation of a Foreign Language Textbook Used in the Greater Boston Region: An Evaluation of a Japanese as a Foreign Language Textbook

Textbook materials continue to play an important role in foreign language teaching and learning classroom. Textbooks are significant because these materials are considered elements in the field of foreign language learning. Teachers are often engaged in the application of textbooks for common teaching goals. Although the significance of the application of textbooks is accepted, ideas on whether textbooks could assist or hinder the teaching–learning process seem polarizing. This study employed a Likert scale survey to collect data on the evaluation of Japanese for busy people I: Romanized version (3rd Edition), a Japanese language textbook for new learners. The survey checklist yielded a highly unusual result, that is, all the participants advocated the use of the textbook. This study was conducted in the Greater Boston region in Massachusetts, MA, USA. Upon investigation, over 30 language learning centers, nearly 20 postsecondary institutions, and above 20 secondary schools were determined to be offering Japanese language courses. A total of 49 participants responded to the survey. None of the participants provided negative comments about the textbook. In addition, over 90% of the participants believed that the textbook materials and exercises were organized, contemporary, and applicable.

The Impact of Flipped Online Kanji Instruction on Written Vocabulary Learning for Introductory and Intermediate Japanese Language Students

AbstractThis study explored the pedagogical benefits of flipped online kanji (i.e., Chinese characters used in Japanese) instruction integrated into college‐level introductory and intermediate Japanese language courses. Using a quasi‐experimental mixed design, the investigation looked at the effects of two instructional approaches: (1) a flip approach in which students learned new characters using online materials prior to class, and (2) the conventional (nonflip) approach in which in‐class lectures were followed by printed exercises. During the 2014–2015 academic year, a total of 46 students who were enrolled in introductory or intermediate courses learned 9 to 12 sets of 10 new kanji characters per semester through one lesson per week. Half of the lessons were taught in the flip format, and the other half were taught in the nonflip format. The results showed that introductory students scored better on postlesson tests in the flip condition than in the nonflip condition only for fall 2014 but not for spring 2015, whereas no statistically significant difference was observed for intermediate students. However, the students in both courses reported that online exercises helped them improve their kanji knowledge. Consequently, a substantial portion of kanji instruction can be shifted to self‐paced, semi‐structured online learning with no negative impact on instructional quality.

De Aomori ao Shuri: excertos do dialeto da língua japonesa

The Japanese territory, constituted by several mountainous islands, shows a wide variety of dialects, often unintelligible to other inhabitants of the country. Hoping to solve the dearth of material describing the variety of dialects found in Japan that may be useful to students of different universitylevel Japanese language courses in activity in Brazil, the following pages describe briefly some of the different aspects found among Japanese dialects in the archipelago. After the introduction of the concept of dialect, standard language, common language, and what the dialect divisions in Japan are, there is an explanation concerning language variation at the phonetic, phonological, and morphosyntactic levels of the language, as well as a sample of the Tsugaru and Tosa dialects.

Collaborative Learning in a Japanese Language Course

This article describes ethnographic action research that explored experiences of the first author and her undergraduate students as they engaged in collaborative learning (CL) activities in a university Japanese language course. The purpose of the study was to generate new practical knowledge of CL for her, so that she might subsequently improve her teaching practice. A thematic analysis of the interview and descriptive data revealed that the incorporation of CL helped promote a comfortable environment and reduce the effects of the hierarchical authority of the instructor. While facing new challenges, the class also co-constructed its own knowledge about the reading content, language concepts, and cultural matters by working as a collaborative group. These findings are represented in the form of a performative text that invites readers to actively engage with the study’s findings.

A study on a Teaching Method for the Students' Learning Motivation in Japanese Language Course - Focusing on a Mileage Incentive System-

A study on a Teaching Method for the Students' Learning Motivation in Japanese Language Course - Focusing on a Mileage Incentive System-

Development of Thai University Students’ Beliefs about Language Learning: A Longitudinal Study

Learners’ beliefs about language learning are considered very important, yet their developmental nature still remains mostly unexplored. The purpose was to examine how Thai students change their beliefs about language learning after learning the Japanese language in an 11-week elementary-level course. The study also explored the relationships between the learners’ beliefs and their achievements in language learning. Undergraduate students in a Thai university ( N = 73) completed a modified version of Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) developed by Horwitz at two different times; one before taking the Japanese language course (pre-course) and another after having completed the course (post-course). A significant increase at the dimensional level was identified in one of the five conceptual belief dimensions, while changes were also observed in another factor yet it was not statistically significant. Pearson product-moment correlations between the belief factorial mean scores and the participants’ Japanese and English achievement levels were not very strong, and most of them were not statistically significant. It appeared that the students’ experience of studying the Japanese language were related to the change of their beliefs about language learning in some factors, implying the beliefs’ mixed and complicated nature: some categories of the beliefs are modifiable and developed through learning, while others stable and unchangeable.

The effect of language experience on the ability of non-native listeners to identify Japanese phonemic length contrasts

This study investigated how language experience affects second-language (L2) listeners’ ability to perceive phonemic length contrasts in the face of stimulus variability. Native English-speaking learners of Japanese (N = 42) participated in an identification task in which the stimuli were Japanese words contrasting in vowel or consonant length, produced in isolation or embedded in a carrier sentence at slow, normal, or fast speaking rates, presented in a random order. Participants also received an Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI), developed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), to assess their Japanese proficiency on a 10-level scale. Results showed that identification accuracy as measured by d’ was weakly correlated with OPI level (r = 0.298), and moderately correlated with number of semesters enrolled in Japanese language courses (r = 0.401). Speaking rate significantly affected performance, but its effect differed by context. For word-in-isolation context, d' was highest at the normal rate, while for word-in-sentence context, d' was highest at the slow rate. However, the effect of speaking rate was not reduced as a function of OPI level or number of semesters in Japanese courses. Thus, language experience may not always strongly predict L2 speech perception. [Work supported by JSPS-KAKENHI, MIT-RLE and -Linguistics & Philosophy.]

Development of Teaching Materials and Utilization of Web 2.0 in Japanese Language Teaching and Learning

The Japanese language is among the international languages which are highly demanded in the education system in Malaysia, all the more so since the Look East Policy Program was launched in July 1981 by the 4th Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. Japanese language course has been offered at the National University of Malaysia (UKM) as early as 1975. The course uses the textbook Minna no Nihongo and Introduction to the Hiragana and Katakana Japanese Writing. However, the exclusive dependence on both textbooks has created a passive and teacher-centred learning environment. In line with the present development of information and communication technology, it is felt that an innovation in terms of Japanese language pedagogy should be carried out to balance the needs of the Internet (I is always capitalised) generation. The Net and digital generation is a social generation that actively communicates, cooperates, and connects using technology in the virtual realm. One of the technologies that can be utilised is by using Web 2.0 applications. Therefore, an eclectic method of intervention is needed by integrating and practising Web 2.0 elements to realise an educational environment and system that is even more conducive, modern and futuristic. This study focused on students taking the Japanese language course SKVA2723 at the School of Language Studies and Linguistics in UKM from February to December 2012 for 2 semesters. A total of one teacher and 55 students were involved in this study. The applications of Web 2.0 such as JING, Screencast.com, YouTube, OnlineNihongo website, and Wordpress were utilised in the teaching and learning of Japanese language. The period of learning for the Japanese language subject was four hours for fourteen weeks per semester. Through questionnaires, observations and tests conducted, the findings showed that the group of students who were exposed to the 2.0 applications showed more motivation, enthusiasm, excitement and higher scores compared to the group that was not exposed to the applications. The implication from this study is that the use of Jing can be applied to more complex kanji orthography, particularly those that require more than 10 strokes. It is hoped that applications such as Screencast.com, YouTube and Wordpress can inspire new ideas, encourage student-centred learning and can be shared with Japanese language and foreign language courses from other universities and other institutions.

Meaningful Learning in the Teaching of Culture: The Project Based Learning Approach

This paper reports on a collaborative effort taken by a team of three teacher educators in using the Project Based Learning (PBL) approach in the teaching of Japanese culture with the aim to investigate the presence of actual “meaningful learning” among 15 students of a 12-Week Preparatory Japanese Language course under a teacher training programme. The instrument used in the study was a blog created for the project and the data collected was a compilation of students’ reflection reports and messages about their learning experience uploaded onto the blog. The qualitative data was analysed using an adapted version of Jonassen’s 1999 rubric on meaningful learning attributes. Findings from this study showed a significant presence of meaningful learning attributes, namely constructive and authentic learning. This paper reaffirms project-based instruction as a viable and flexible alternative to traditional intensive coursework.