Japanese Language Proficiency Test Research Articles

Revitalization Of Learning Loss in Moji level Intermediate of Japanese Language Education Program Brawijaya University

This study explores the learning loss experienced at the Moji Intermediate level within the Japanese Language Education Study Program during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over a period of two years, traditional face-to-face learning was replaced by online instruction, which affected the implementation of certain learning stages, such as kanji writing exercises conducted in the classroom. This research aims to identify the extent of learning loss during online learning, specifically with kanji writing skills at the Moji Intermediate level. A descriptive qualitative method was used, comparing course grades from both online and offline learning periods. According to Rajesh, Hasibuan, Susanto, Solihat et al. (2022), while learning loss has been widely studied with various approaches, few have addressed its impact on specific courses, particularly in Japanese language education. The findings reveal that online learning significantly reduced students' kanji writing abilities. As a result, teachers must adopt new strategies to compensate for this gap and ensure that students perform well on the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), which is essential for graduation from the Japanese Language Education Study Program.

Informal learning of Japanese as a foreign language through watching anime

ABSTRACT With the rise of global interest in anime among young adults, several studies have examined the acquisition of Japanese through watching anime in formal settings; however, studies focusing on learners with no formal training in Japanese are scarce. The present study focuses on this latter population of anime viewers and examines their L2 listening development and whether it is impacted by years of viewing and anime genre. This study also investigates the extent to which relevant vocabulary can be incidentally acquired from watching anime. Native English-speaking anime viewers in the US, who had never formally studied Japanese, completed a questionnaire and took the listening comprehension portion of the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test. They also viewed 12 subtitled episodes of an action/adventure anime series and took pre-tests and post-tests assessing meaning-recall of 40 relevant target words. 38% of the viewers correctly answered at least half of the questions on the listening test, yet years of viewing and anime genre appeared to have no significant impact on the listening scores. The vocabulary post-test also showed significant learning gains. These findings emphasise the potential benefits of extensive viewing – more specifically anime viewing – in L2 development, even in the absence of formal language study.

Readiness of the 4th Semester Japanese Grammar Syllabus in Accomplishing the Learning Targets on MBKM Curriculum at Jakarta State University

This study aims to find out how the suitability between the Bunpo IV syllabus is currently used with the language learning target in the Japanese Language Education Study Program at Jakarta State University which is based on the MBKM curriculum also known as Merdeka Belajar Curriculum. The curriculum is following the MBKM Curriculum listed in Permendikbud No. 3 of 2020. The regulation said that students have the right to study outside of the campus after completing 4 semesters. Therefore, students can choose internship programs abroad or in the country, as well as participate in student exchange programs The offers for internships are numerous, so it raises the interest of students to join it. But behind the enthusiasm of students for this Merdeka Belajar program, there is a concern that the learning targets of students who take part in the internship program, especially language courses, will decrease and not meet the target of learning study program itself. The main goal of the graduation requires students to pass the Japanese Language Proficiency Test ( JLPT) level N3, before taking the thesis exam. Bunpou IV is a course that contains grammar level IV or equivalent intermediate level, this course is quite related and has become the foundation of other language courses. The material provided up to Bunpo IV is equivalent to the Japanese language skills in JLPT N3 which is the requirement for graduating from the study program. This study is part of research and development (R&D) with a mixed quantitative and qualitative approach. Especially for the first year of research, the approach used is a qualitative approach through document analysis currently used in the Bunpou IV course. The technique used in collecting data is records and archival review of syllabus, teaching materials, and JLPT N3 simulation results. From the JLPT simulation results, it was found that student readiness to pass JLPT N3 had only reached 23.5%. Of the respondents who did not pass, it was found that 9.8% did not pass the Moji Goi section (letters and vocabulary), 47.06% did not pass the Bunpo Dokkai section (grammar and reading comprehension), and 23.53% did not pass the Choukai section (listening comprehension). From this result, we know that it is necessary to re-evaluate and conduct the development study of syllabus of the Bunpo IV course based on the Merdeka Belajar Curriculum in the Japanese Language Education Study Program, FBS UNJ. Keywords: MBKM curriculum, Bunpo IV, JLPT N3

Matching of Japanese Listening Test Dialogues and Anime Scene Dialogues based on Zero-shot Attribute Classification

Matching of Japanese Listening Test Dialogues and Anime Scene Dialogues based on Zero-shot Attribute Classification

Prospects of integration of virtual assistants in the process of teaching speaking to the beginner learners of the Japanese language

Problem statement . Most Japanese textbooks and methodical materials do not contain enough exercises for training productive skills of the students. Japanese Language Proficiency Test also does not include parts dedicated to writing and speaking abilities, which leads to teachers not paying attention to the development of these skills and students not being able to properly evaluate their level of performance. As a method of simplifying and making this training more engaging and motivating, virtual assistants, or intelligent personal assistants (IPA), can be introduced. The purposes of this research are to explore the ways of using the technology of virtual assistants to reenforce speaking performance of the beginner students in Japanese as a foreign language and to evaluate the technology’s readiness for integration. Methodology . In a pedagogical experiment took part 12 first-year students (10 female and 2 male), who attended a Japanese language class at the School of Young Philologist at the Faculty of Philology of Lomonosov Moscow State University, where they used Google Assistant for studying Japanese from December 2021 to April 2022 and then in September 2022. The analysis of theory and methodology, generalization of crucial scientific papers on the studied problem, processing of results were applied. Results. Personal assistant Google Assistant can be advised for training speaking among beginner learners. It can be applied in the form of four main types of exercises: asking for data, giving instructions to IPA, express desires (“wishlist”), conducting a dialog with a robot. Issues that can cause difficulties to students were listed. The results of the questionnaire revealed that students were grateful to have an opportunity to train speaking with a Japanese native speaker in a form of a virtual assistant and could easier track their progress. Conclusion. The use of the Google Assistant in the process of teaching speaking to the beginner learners of the Japanese language at the initial level is seen as highly promising and can be recommended for implementation in the educational process.

Visual-auditory perception of prosodic focus in Japanese by native and non-native speakers.

Speech communication is multi-sensory in nature. Seeing a speaker's head and face movements may significantly influence the listeners' speech processing, especially when the auditory information is not clear enough. However, research on the visual-auditory integration speech processing has left prosodic perception less well investigated than segmental perception. Furthermore, while native Japanese speakers tend to use less visual cues in segmental perception than in other western languages, to what extent the visual cues are used in Japanese focus perception by the native and non-native listeners remains unknown. To fill in these gaps, we test focus perception in Japanese among native Japanese speakers and Cantonese speakers who learn Japanese, using auditory-only and auditory-visual sentences as stimuli. Thirty native Tokyo Japanese speakers and thirty Cantonese-speaking Japanese learners who had passed the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test with level N2 or N3 were asked to judge the naturalness of 28 question-answer pairs made up of broad focus eliciting questions and three-word answers carrying broad focus, or contrastive or non-contrastive narrow focus on the middle object words. Question-answer pairs were presented in two sensory modalities, auditory-only and visual-auditory modalities in two separate experimental sessions. Both the Japanese and Cantonese groups showed weak integration of visual cues in the judgement of naturalness. Visual-auditory modality only significantly influenced Japanese participants' perception when the questions and answers were mismatched, but when the answers carried non-contrastive narrow focus, the visual cues impeded rather than facilitated their judgement. Also, the influences of specific visual cues like the displacement of eyebrows or head movements of both Japanese and Cantonese participants' responses were only significant when the questions and answers were mismatched. While Japanese participants consistently relied on the left eyebrow for focus perception, the Cantonese participants referred to head movements more often. The lack of visual-auditory integration in Japanese speaking population found in segmental perception also exist in prosodic perception of focus. Not much foreign language effects has been found among the Cantonese-speaking learners either, suggesting a limited use of facial expressions in focus marking by native and non-native Japanese speakers. Overall, the present findings indicate that the integration of visual cues in perception of focus may be specific to languages rather than universal, adding to our understanding of multisensory speech perception.

Students' Learning Autonomy: A Case Study of Undergraduate Course of Japanese Language Program.

This research aimed to determine the impact of the effectiveness in the application of an independent method of teaching students on their progress in achieving a certain level of Japanese. The study used key methods that implied the experimental involvement of 60 3rd- and 4th-year American and Chinese students with the N3 and N2 levels of Japanese to pass a simplified version of the international JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) after applying the autonomy learning methodology. The analysis and processing of the experimental exam results were performed using the Microsoft Excel program and derivation of the average statistical percentage of the number of points scored at each stage of the N3 and N2 exams. The results of the study and the test scores led to the conclusion that the most difficult tasks for American students are those in writing and reading. On the other hand, Chinese students have difficulties in listening and speaking Japanese over linguistic phonetic differences and complex grammar compared to Chinese. Referring to the N2 group of American and Chinese students, their scores are somewhat equal due to the total complexity of this level, which requires utmost care for all four skills of foreign language learning. The present findings can serve as auxiliary material for the educational sphere in terms of an individual approach in autonomy learning to more effectively study Japanese and obtain positive results when passing the JLPT test.

Mapping Japanese Language Proficiency Test Needs for Vocational Students Based on Industrial World Demand

Currently, it is hoped that the Indonesian government will be able to meet the industry needs for vocational graduates at the university level. This study aims to map the need for Japanese language proficiency tests for vocational students based on the demands of the industrial world. In addition, this study also investigates how the industry demands the Japanese language skills of vocational students. The data was collected through a survey conducted on eight foreign companies that employ employees with Japanese language skills. This research shows that the industry's need for Japanese language proficiency tests is still very high. Specifically, the industry requires graduates with business communication skills in Japanese and graduates who have mastery of the vocabulary of industrial terminology. It is a challenge for vocational graduates, so there is continuity between vocational graduates and the needs of the industrial world. In addition, English language and soft skills, the ability to work in teams, and high integrity are still needed in the industrial world.

Evaluating Facebook as aids for learning Japanese: learners' perspectives

PurposeThis study analyses the advantages and weaknesses of using Facebook to aid the learning of Japanese as a foreign language.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data from 100 Hong Kong Japanese language learners (who are generally fluent in Chinese and English), ranging from total amateur to advanced learners (Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) qualified at different levels).FindingsThe authors' results suggest that the advantages of using Facebook to help learn Japanese include: (1) serving as a free-of-charge, casual, and convenient learning platform; (2) enriching learners' knowledge beyond the language learning and (3) encouraging interactive and collaborative learning with other users for practicing the language. However, the low credibility and unstructured educational materials posted on Facebook and being easily distracted by other Facebook feeds are the major weaknesses of learning a language through Facebook. Furthermore, the authors' result shows that Facebook is especially effective for Japanese learning when learners fall into either one of the following groups: young, female, or intermediate (N2/3) learners.Originality/valueScant studies focus on the aid of learning Japanese via Facebook, especially Hong Kong learners' perceptions, or generally in the East. Therefore, this study aims to fill this research gap. The authors' findings will facilitate the students, teachers, and language institutions from Hong Kong and other countries to improve the students' effectiveness in learning and teaching Japanese.

THE MODEL OF BIPA LISTENING EVALUATION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE DESIGN OF LISTENING EVALUATION

In this paper, an analysis of the results of the evaluation of Indonesian language proficiency for foreign speakers is presented. The development of a standardized Indonesian language for foreign speakers (Bahasa Indonesia bagi Penutur Asing - BIPA) evaluation tool is currently considered very important. Currently, the existing evaluation tools are still made partially depending on the needs of institutions that provide the Indonesian language program for foreign speakers (BIPA). In addition, this need is also driven by the need for foreign speakers to measure their proficiency in Indonesian. Although there is an Indonesian Language Proficiency Test (UKBI) as an evaluation tool in Indonesia, UKBI is considered not in accordance with the needs of measuring the Indonesian language proficiency of foreign speakers because UKBI is still used to measure the Indonesian language skills of native speakers. This has become one of the problems in the field of evaluation of the Indonesian language, especially BIPA. The language evaluation tool used to measure a person’s foreign language proficiency always begins with a listening proficiency test. Listening is considered the gateway to other language proficiency. The solution to this problem is to analyze listening evaluation tools in foreign languages that are used continuously and continuously, such as the Test of English for International Communication (TOIEC), the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), and Diplôme d'études en langue française (DELF), which represents three continents; American, Asian, and European spoken by Indonesian speakers. This study used a descriptive method to solve this research problem. The results of this study describe the profile of the listening proficiency evaluation tool in foreign and Indonesian languages in three ways: 1) speakers (speaker stimulus presenter), 2) content, and 3) audio. Furthermore, the results of this analysis can also be used as the basis for developing the BIPA listening competency evaluation model.

Development of Japanese Language Proficiency to Upgrade Manpower for Working Abroad

This research aims to 1) Survey the in the interest of Japan and Japanese of manpower who want to go out for work abroad in Phetchabun province and 2) To enhance the Japanese language ability to upgrade the manpower to go to work abroad in Phetchabun Province. The research sample consisted of 15 people in Phetchabun province who were about to go out for working abroad. The research instruments were 1) a test of Japanese language consisting of 30 multiple-choice test items for pre-testing and post-testing 2) a questionnaire on the interest of the manpower in Phetchabun province who were about to go out for working abroad, and 3) six online Japanese language lessons. Data were statistically analyzed using the mean, standard, and t-test. The results of the research showed that 1. Regarding interest information of the about to work aboard manpower in Phetchabun province, there are opinions about the importance of the Japanese language in which the opinions on the roles and importance of the Japanese language to work in foreign countries are at a high level ( = 3.81, S.D. = 0.89) 2. Japanese language ability of the sample group before studying the Japanese language online content consisting of 6 lessons. The average score of the Japanese language proficiency test of the sample group before the study of Japanese online content was 50.89 points, which is higher than the average of the 6 points before the study of Japanese language content which is equal to 24.23 points and the average difference between the after and before the study of the 6 Japanese lessons equal to 24.23 points (Sig.=0.000 < 0.01) indicating that the knowledge on the Japanese language of the sample group after the experiment was significantly higher than that before the experiment with statistical significance of 0.01.

Text genres, readability and readers’ comprehensibility

This study applies mathematical linguistics to explore the association between text genres, readability and readers’ comprehensibility. The target readers are students from Korea, Thailand and China, studying in Japanese universities, pursuing 20 different disciplines. Japanese is their third language, and all students have passed the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test Level 1. The textbook’s readability and readers’ comprehensibility are measured at two levels using two metrics. Mean dependency distance (MDD) is employed for measuring syntactic diversity; moving-average morphological richness (MAMR) and moving-average mean size of paradigm (MAMSP) are calculated for measuring lexicon diversity. The findings indicate that in terms of lexical diversity, textbooks of humanities seem simpler than natural science and engineering. In syntactic complexity, the textbook of informatics shows the simplest structure while that of social welfare presents the highest. Text genres relate to a textbook’s readability and eventually influence readers’ comprehensibility. Moreover, lexical diversity is not corelated to syntactic complexity.

PENGENALAN BUDAYA JEPANG DAN PENGUATAN KEMAMPUAN BAHASA JEPANG MELALUI JLPT PADA SISWA MAN 1 PASURUAN

Japanese is one of the foreign languages that many students learn in Indonesia, including at MAN 1 Pasuruan. Students of MAN 1 Pasuruan have a great curiosity about Japanese culture, especially about the lives of Japanese high school students, shodou 'Japanese calligraphy', Japanese language, and JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test). However, learning Japanese at MAN 1 Pasuruan has limited learning time, so that during learning hours it is more focused on teaching basic Japanese, while teaching about Japanese culture and JLPT is still very necessary. Therefore, this community service activity aims to increase students' understanding and interest in Japanese culture and language so that students can measure their own learning success and Japanese language skills with JLPT test. This community service activities were carried out at MAN 1 Pasuruan using a blended method which was attended by 50 students (40 students via online and 10 students via offline) from class X Language, XI Language, and XII Language by introducing Japanese high school life, simulations of JLPT test, as well as demonstrations and shodou workshops by native speakers and experts who expert in their fields. The high activity and enthusiasm of students shows that this community service program is very much needed by MAN 1 Pasuruan to accommodate the needs and to increase students' interest in learning Japanese language and culture that has been learned during teaching and learning activities in class.

Application of Differentiated Instruction on Japanese Language Proficiency Test to Build Students’ Awareness of Lifelong Learning

Along with the rapid development of technology and the occurrence of education 4.0, lifelong learning ability becomes an important element in 21st century learning. Lifelong learning ability consists of the ability to develop strategies and evaluate one’s own learning, to improve knowledge, skills, and competence, so that continuous and sustainability learning habit can be built. By applying lifelong learning, students can evaluate their own learning, recognize their weaknesses and strengths, so that they can design the right learning model for the development of their knowledge. The ability to do lifelong learning is very important to be mastered by a student, so the teacher should introduce this learning model to student. On the other hand, as teacher we also conduct classroom / group learning that the differences in student’s ability may vary in one class. It needs to be facilitated by designing student personal learning (Differentiated Instruction / DI) to maximize student outcome. This paper discusses how DI strategies that implemented in Japanese Language Proficiency Test: Intermediate Level (Noryoku Shiken III) courses can build student awareness of lifelong learning. The participant of this research is the student from Japanese Language Proficiency Test: Intermediate Level (Noryoku Shiken III) class in Japanese Department, in a private university in Jakarta. The result of this research is after applying DI, a good progress was seen in each student towards the achievement of JLPT N3 grades, and can create independent learning habits, so students can sustain this learning habits even after finishing this subject.

Can Japanese Learners Pass the JLPT N3 by Reading A3! Visual Novel?

A visual novel is a reading media in the form of conversations between characters shown in a static anime style that attracts readers to continue reading it. Equipped with audio in Japanese and translation in English, it is estimated that visual novels can be used as an exciting learning media for students. This study aims to determine the possibility of visual novels, which are usually used as a game for entertainment purposes, as a medium for learning Japanese to pass the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test). The method used in this stusdy is a quantitative method to find the matching vocabularies, with a listening and note-taking method for data collection. The data analyzed here is a conversation transcript of some chapters of A3! visual novel and JLPT 2018 questions ranging from N5 to N3 level. The A3! visual novel data are grouped according to the JLPT's four linguistic aspects: Moji goi, bunpou, dokkai, and choukai, at each level (N5 to N3). The analysis results show that the visual novel A3! can be used as a strengthening medium for students to pass the JLPT from N5 to N3.

How Prior Knowledge Affects Visual Attention of Japanese Mimicry and Onomatopoeia and Learning Outcomes: Evidence from Virtual Reality Eye Tracking

According to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, “achieving inclusive and quality education for all”, foreign language learning has come to be seen as a process of integrating sustainable development into the socio-cultural aspects of education and learning. The aim of this study was to employ virtual reality (VR) eye tracker to examine how students with different levels of prior knowledge process visual behaviors for Japanese Mimicry and Onomatopoeia (MIO) while learning Japanese as a second foreign language. A total of 20 students studying at the Department of Applied Japanese at the university of Southern Taiwan were recruited. Based on the Japanese language proficiency test (JLPT) level, 20 participants were divided into high prior knowledge group (levels N1–N3) with 7 participants, and low prior knowledge group (level N4 or below) with 13 participants. The learning stimuli materials were created by Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) development tool to design a 3D virtual MIO paradise, including 5 theme amusement parks. Through a VR eye tracker, participants’ visual behaviors were tracked and recorded based on 24 different regions of interest (ROIs) (i.e., ROI1–ROI24). This was done to discuss the distribution of visual attention in terms of different ROIs of each theme amusement park based on four eye movement indicators, including latency of first fixation (LFF), duration of first fixation (DFF), total fixation durations (TFD), and fixation counts (FC). Each ROI of the two groups were then compared. In addition, a heat zone map was also generated to show the overall visual distribution of each group. After the experiment, based on the eye movement indicators and test scores in the pre-test and post-test phases, statistical analysis was used to examine and evaluate the differences in visual attention and learning outcomes. The results revealed that the gaze sequences of the two prior knowledge groups gazing at the ROIs in theme parks were different, except for the gaze sequence in the circus theme park. Different prior knowledge groups exhibited differences in visual attention in the ROIs fixated on in each amusement park. Additionally, in terms of TFD and FC of different groups in each amusement park, there was no significant difference except in ROI10, ROI16, and ROI18. Moreover, after receiving cognitive comprehension processes introduced in the VR-simulated MIO scenes, students from both groups achieved higher post-test scores compared with pre-test scores, and such differences had statistical significance. In conclusion, the implications of VR eye movement analysis on developing students’ competence related to learning Japanese and cross-cultural aspects, compatible with sustainable development, were presented.

인공지능에 의한 일본어 텍스트 생성 및 일본어능력시험 난이도 분석 시스템 개발 연구

인공지능에 의한 일본어 텍스트 생성 및 일본어능력시험 난이도 분석 시스템 개발 연구

Alternatif Model Alat Evaluasi Kemahiran Menyimak Bahasa Indonesia bagi Penutur Asing Berlandaskan Alat Evaluasi Bahasa Asing

In this paper, we will discuss the design of the Indonesian language evaluation model for foreign speakers (BIPA), in particular the listening proficiency evaluation model. Listening proficiency evaluation tool is considered important because listening is a parameter for a foreign speaker to master other language skills. At this time, the presentation of the listening proficiency test for the Indonesian language proficiency test (UKBI) is considered difficult for foreign speakers to follow. The solution to overcome this problem is to design a listening proficiency evaluation tool based on the results of analysis of foreign language evaluation tools such as the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test), America by analyzing the listening competency evaluation tool from TOIEC (Test of English for International Communication), and Europe with analyzing the DELF listening competency evaluation tool (Diplome d'Etudes en Langue Francaise / Diploma in French Language Studies). The results of the study on the evaluation tool became an alternative basis for designing a model for evaluating listening proficiency in Indonesian for foreign speakers. This study aims to describe the design of the listening evaluation tool in Indonesian for foreign speakers. The data that will be produced in this research is in the form of an alternative lattice evaluation tool for listening proficiency in Indonesian for foreign speakers.

Some doubts on the efficacy of the new blue-collar visas in Japan

Some doubts on the efficacy of the new blue-collar visas in Japan

Understanding the Use of O and Ga Particles in Japanese Sentences for Japanese Language Learners

Joshi or particle is a class of words that cannot change the form, other than that Joshi cannot stand itself. Joshi must be attached to another class of words to gain meaning. In the Japanese language, one of the joshi groups that can connect noun and noun or noun and verb or adjective called the kakujoshi category, two of them are o and ga particles. One of the functions of o and ga particles have the same function as an object marker; many Japanese language learners still have difficulty in using o and ga particles as an objective marker. This research is how Japanese language learners' understanding of using o and ga particles in Japanese sentences. The method used the quantitative and questionnaire technique. This research concludes that many respondents have passed the advanced level in the Japanese language proficiency test, and need more than two years for study. However, the understanding of Japanese learners in the use of o and ga particles are still at the intermediate level.