Japanese Language Learners Research Articles

Intervention of industry education integration on students’ burnout in Japanese learning

Background Learning burnout refers to the behavioural states of boredom, frustration and depression that occur when students are not interested in learning behaviours but are unable to avoid them. It is influenced by learning attitudes, motivation and methods, and personality traits. Differences in language learning habits and the difficulty of learning Japanese vocabulary make students show more negative emotions when learning Japanese online and offline. Therefore, the study proposes a new way of teaching based on the perspective of industry-teaching integration to help improve the situation of learning burnout.Subjects and MethodsThis study takes Japanese language students with burnout as the research object. The subjects were divided into a teaching improvement group (regular classroom + industry-teaching integration mode) and a teaching routine group (regular teaching mode). The improvement group is a combination of Japanese language learning and social field practice projects. Data were collected on students’ burnout and emotions in the two teaching modes with the help of the Scale for the Evaluation of Mental Health (SCL-90) and the Learning Burnout Scale for University Students (LBUS).ResultsAfter the experimental intervention, there was a statistically significant difference in the burnout scale scores of the two groups of students (P<0.05), and the improved teaching model (regular classroom + industry-teaching integration mode) effectively alleviated the students’ burnout in Japanese language learning.ConclusionsThe teaching mode under the perspective of industry-teaching integration can effectively combine classroom teaching with professional practice, improve students’ learning burnout, and realize the regulation of their mental health.

Development of a motivational regulatory strategy scale for Indonesian learners of Japanese.

Opportunities for LOTE (Languages Other Than English) speakers to engage with their target language are limited, making it challenging to sustain motivation. The aim of this study is to develop and validate a scale for measuring motivational regulatory strategies among Japanese-language learners and investigate their relationship with motivational factors. This research specifically focuses on Indonesian learners of Japanese who have a non-Kanji (Chinese characters) background and are studying Japanese as a foreign language. The motivational regulatory strategies scale comprises six factors and has demonstrated adequate internal consistency and factor structure. The findings indicate a positive correlation between integrative motivation and these six strategies, suggesting that learners' integrative motivation may promote the adoption of these strategies. Furthermore, this study emphasizes the significance of the opportunity control strategy, where learners actively seek chances to expose themselves to their target language. Future research is recommended to implement the developed scale in educational settings. Conducting surveys that encompass learners from diverse cultural backgrounds and embarking on longitudinal studies should also be considered.

Students’ Perspective of Acceptable Online Learning Platforms for Japanese Language Skills Courses

This study aimed to determine which online learning platforms are suitable for Japanese language skills courses. By finding out the platforms, we were able to know which platforms were acceptable and unacceptable, as well as the primary factors and reasons behind them. Qualitative research was conducted to perform the study using open-ended questions and in-depth interviews. Interviews were conducted with first and second-year 132 Japanese language learners at one of the State University in Malang, Indonesia. Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA) software was used for data analysis to discuss, conclude and present in a structured manner. The results showed that the platforms used were acceptable because they were effective and efficient, easy to use, easy to understand the material, and in accordance with the learning character. Meanwhile, some platforms were declared unacceptable because trouble often occurred, less able to accept the material, difficult to interact with, challenging to use, and so on. The online platforms declared acceptable for Japanese language skills courses were Google Classroom, Google Form, Google Meet, Zoom Cloud Meeting, and WhatsApp Group (WAG). Especially for the Kaiwa and Choukai courses, apart from the platforms, Discord was also used. This study can be a reference for Japanese Language Instructure to choose the ideal platform to teach Japanese Language Skills in Online Classes.

Dialogic investigations: Motivation in Japanese language learning

Over the past 15 years, the L2 motivational self system (Dörnyei, 2005, 2009) has been a dominant framework in the field of second language (L2) motivation. Yet, since the model’s introduction, there has been a theoretical discordance between the two components associated with future self-images (the ideal L2 self and the ought-to L2 self) and the third component related to the actual process of learning (the L2 learning experience). To remedy this shortcoming, this study draws on Bakhtin’s (1981, 1986) theory of dialog. Bakhtin claims that any use of language is a dialog between self and others and that language is learned through the assimilation of speech genres used by others for similar purposes in typical situations of social communication. The analysis of interview data obtained from three Japanese-as-a-second-language learners shows how situation-specific and future-oriented motivations are related to each other. The learners’ engagement in dialog with imagined Japanese speakers is developed through their engagement in dialog with actual Japanese speakers, and regardless of whether the dialog is actual or imagined, the participants orient themselves to speech genres of the language that correspond to particular social contexts.

Effects of executive functions on consecutive interpreting for Chinese-Japanese unbalanced bilinguals.

Previous research on performance in interpreting has focused primarily on the influence of interpreting experience on executive functions, such as shifting, updating, and inhibition. However, limited research has explored the effects of executive functions on performance. Understanding how different executive functions affect interpreting performance can provide valuable insights for teaching methods. Therefore, the present study aims to examine the effects of executive functions on comprehension and output performance during bidirectional consecutive interpreting between Chinese and Japanese. This study involved 48 Chinese advanced Japanese language learners. Self-assessment results indicated that all participants were unbalanced bilingual individuals. All participants took part in consecutive interpreting, completed comprehension tests, and underwent executive function tests. Executive functions were assessed using the color-shape switching task, 1-back task, and Stroop task. Analysis using Bayesian linear regression revealed the following. (1) Updating exhibited a significant impact on both Japanese-to-Chinese and Chinese-to-Japanese interpreting, indicating that higher updating ability was associated with better interpreting performance. (2) Inhibition showed a significant effect on Japanese-to-Chinese interpreting performance, whereas the effect was not significant in Chinese-to-Japanese interpreting. (3) No significant effects of shifting were observed in either Japanese-to-Chinese or Chinese-to-Japanese interpreting. The results indicate that executive functions have different effects on the interpreting performance of unbalanced bilinguals, while these effects are also influenced by the direction of the source language. Based on these findings, it is recommended that executive function training should be included in interpreter teaching and training programs, with a specific focus on the updating and inhibition functions.

Difficulties in Comprehending Japanese Fukugoudoushi of the Japanese Language Learners from Indonesia

Compound verbs, or Fukugoudoushi in Japanese, are unique verbs formed by combining two or more verbs or free morphemes. The Japanese language has around 2,700 compound verbs used daily. According to Morita (1991)'s survey in "Reikai Kokugo Jiten," 11.4% of the documented words are verbs, with compound verbs accounting for 39.29%. Compound verb proficiency presents three hurdles, according to Matsuda (2004). These problems include comprehending the variables that control compound verb combination, distinguishing the nuanced meaning differences between single and compound verbs, and designing effective learning strategies to help achieve compound verb acquisition. In this study, researchers used written assessments, questionnaires, and interviews to determine the factors that affect Fukugoudoushi comprehension and how to remedy them. According to test results, students' difficulty understanding compound verb semantics can be categorized into the following categories:1) Compound verbs encompassing acquired and unacquired information. 2) Verb compounds with different frequency in spoken and written language. 3. Compound verbs for physical or intangible notions. The methods for understanding compound verbs are: Three compound verb interpretation strategies exist. First, understand each verb individually, starting with 1 and then 2. The noun nearest to a compound verb might also indicate its meaning. The second way to interpret compound verbs is to look at the sentence as a whole. Finally, the third method infers compound verb meanings from known verbs.

Japanese Language Learning Media in Indonesia at the High School/SMK/equivalent Level Curriculum K13 and Merdeka

The Japanese colonization of Indonesia, which lasted for three and a half years, had a profound impact on Indonesian history. With a time span not much longer than the Dutch colonization, the Japanese colonization had a major effect on Indonesia. It affected all aspects, including language. The interest in the Japanese language, and its inclusion in the Indonesian curriculum, cannot be separated from the history between Indonesia and Japan and the good bilateral relations between the two. The Japanese language as education is seen as a whole system that includes curriculum, materials, facilities, teacher-learners, teaching methodology, teaching media, and evaluation. This study aims to find out the Japanese language learning media in Indonesia at the Senior High School level and the equivalent to see how learning media can be done in learning a foreign language, namely Japanese. Data is collected using literature study techniques with descriptive-qualitative methods that describe data systematically and in detail to explore social phenomena or the real situation of Japanese language learning K13 Curriculum and Merdeka Curriculum at the SMA / SMK / equivalent level in the use of learning media. The results of the study state that mobile applications and device-based Japanese online dictionaries can be used for Japanese language learning at the SMA / SMK / equivalent level as basic or beginner level learners.

Representations of gender and sexual orientation over three editions of a Japanese language learning textbook series

This study analyses a popular commercial textbook series for learning Japanese as a second or foreign language (JSL/JFL) and investigates how its textual and visual representations of gender and sexual orientation have changed over the three editions published over the last 20 years. Examining the interplay of text and images, the longitudinal analysis reveals that heteronormative representations remain dominant across the three editions, while observing some changes in representation over time. For instance, derogatory depictions of LGBTQ+ people have been removed and – albeit limited – representations that give consideration to gender and sexual diversity have been incorporated. Such changing representations indicate how language, gender and sexuality ideologies in Japanese society intersect with the globalised contexts of JSL/JFL, and suggest that stratified ideological values regarding gender and sexuality are enmeshed with the commercial viability of textbook publishers.

ANALISIS PENGGUNAAN OMOIYARI HYOUGEN DALAM FILM COQUELICOT-ZAKA KARA KARYA SUTRADARA GOROU MIYAZAKI

Omoiyari hyougen is an expression of caution in speaking and paying attention to the interlocutor. However, there are still many people, especially Japanese language learners in Indonesia who do not really understand the importance of the purpose of omoiyari hyougen when talking with other speakers, especially with Japanese citizens. This study aims to describe the purpose of using omoiyari hyougen in the Coquelicot-Zaka Kara anime. This type of research is qualitative research with descriptive analysis method and data collection using listening technique, followed by free engagement speaking technique and note taking technique. The data of this research is utterances containing omoiyari hyougen and the data source used is the film Coquelicot-Zaka Kara. From the results of the study, it was found that there were 20 data of omoiyari hyougen which were divided into 5 objectives, namely: the goal of maintaining consensus was 1 data, optimizing the comfort of others as much as 6 data, social reciprocity as much as 11 data, intuitive communication as much as 1 data, and feelings of guilt as much as 1 data.

The Construction of Complex Sentences with Predicative Phrases of Transitive Verbs in Japanese Language Learners Utterances: A Transformational Generative Grammar Study

This research examines how fukubun (complex sentence) with transitive verbs is constructed in the utterance of Japanese language learners in universities. The fukubun constructions are described and analyzed through transformational generative grammar. This research method is descriptive-qualitative, with data collection techniques in the form of semi-structured interviews. Data analysis uses an analytical approach of transformational generative grammar, namely analysis of phrase structure rules and analysis of the transformation process. The results showed that there were 4 (four) types of B-derived constructs, namely: BB type, BB (1) type, BB (2) type, and BB (3) type. Among the four types of derivatives, type BB construction is dominant in the utterance of learners. This is indicated by the tendency to use the BB-type construction when describing various situations, even though the utterance events use various conjunctions. The dominance of the BB-type shows that the utterances by learners are still relatively simple because it only requires one object in the subordination clause and main clause. Furthermore, B fukubun found eight varieties of conjunctive transformation used in this type. All varieties of conjunctive transformation appeared in the BB-type construction, with relatively frequent use of causality, serial, selection/alternative, and temporal conjunctions. The T-process analysis shows several tendencies in the elementary transformation process in the utterance, namely the omission of the subject in both the subordination clause or the main clause, the merger of the subject or the predicate of the verb, whereas in causality conjunctive transformation learners showed a more varied and complex T-process.

The Speech realization of Hatsuon /ɴ/ by Korean learners of Japanese language: An analysis by spectrogram

The Speech realization of Hatsuon /ɴ/ by Korean learners of Japanese language: An analysis by spectrogram

Exploring Pronouncing English Sounds : Book Review For Japanese Language Learners

<p class="abstrak" align="center"><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p>A book review is an analytical description and analysis of a work of literature that evaluates the work's merits and shortcomings in terms of plot, style, and substance. The purpose of this study was to investigate how Japanese speakers pronounce the English language. 'English Pronunciation, Intonation, and Accent Reduction for Japanese Speakers' was written by Peggy Tharpe, M.A. TESOL, in 2021. In this book, she discusses the unique challenges that students face while learning a second language and offers advice on overcoming them. This study reviewed a book on methods for teaching English pronunciation using the library research approach. The writer employed data reduction techniques, including summarizing, highlighting key points, and focusing on basics to prepare the data for analysis. Then, based on the available data, which mostly consists of recorded materials, the writer presented the findings and drew conclusions. According to the results, this book is a valuable resource for those looking to teach or improve their students' English pronunciation, intonation, and accent reduction. This suggests that it was designed with native Japanese speakers in mind and may not be as effective for students of other languages. Those unfamiliar with phonetics or linguistics may find this book to be very technical. Thus, the statistics suggest that this book is a good choice for students learning English pronunciation.</p><p><strong>Keywords</strong><strong><em>: </em></strong>book review, pronunciation, english sounds</p><p class="abstrak" align="center"><strong>Abstrak </strong></p><p class="abstrak"><em>Resensi buku merupakan uraian analitis dan analisis suatu karya sastra dengan mempertimbangkan kelebihan dan kekurangan karya tersebut dari segi alur, gaya, dan substansi. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menyelidiki bagaimana penutur bahasa Jepang mengucapkan bahasa Inggris. Pengucapan, Intonasi, dan Pengurangan Aksen Bahasa Inggris untuk Penutur Bahasa Jepang ditulis oleh Peggy Tharpe M.A. TESOL, 2021. Di dalamnya, ia membahas tantangan unik yang dihadapi siswa saat mempelajari bahasa kedua dan menawarkan saran tentang cara mengatasinya. Penelitian ini mengulas buku tentang metode pengajaran pengucapan bahasa Inggris dengan menggunakan pendekatan penelitian perpustakaan. Penulis menggunakan teknik reduksi data termasuk merangkum, memilih poin, dan berkonsentrasi pada hal-hal mendasar agar data siap untuk dianalisis. Kemudian berdasarkan data yang tersedia yang sebagian besar berupa materi rekaman, penulis menggunakan penyajian data dan menarik kesimpulan. Hasilnya, buku ini adalah sumber yang bagus bagi mereka yang ingin mengajar atau meningkatkan pengucapan, intonasi, dan pengurangan aksen bahasa Inggris siswanya. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa ini dibuat dengan mempertimbangkan penutur asli bahasa Jepang dan mungkin tidak berfungsi dengan baik untuk pelajar bahasa lain. Mereka yang tidak terbiasa dengan fonetik atau linguistik mungkin menganggap buku ini sangat teknis. Oleh karena itu, statistik menunjukkan bahwa buku ini adalah pilihan yang baik bagi siswa yang belajar pengucapan bahasa Inggris.</em></p><p class="abstrak"><strong><em>Kata kunci:</em></strong><em> </em><em>r</em><em>esensi buku, </em><em>p</em><em>engucapan, </em><em>b</em><em>unyi </em><em>b</em><em>ahasa inggris</em></p>

Japanese language learning motivation through interaction with native speakers: A case study

Japanese language learning motivation through interaction with native speakers: A case study

Japan Government and NGOs Effort Towards Eliminating Racism in Japan

Japan faced racist issues and it impacts the society. Which is crucial since society play an important role in a country. Therefore are there any efforts coming from the government of Japan and NGOs to solve this problem? Knowing the efforts made by both governments and NGOs to combat racism could help increase accountability, transparency, and public trust in these organizations and the initiatives they undertake. The primary data in this study were obtained from the results of interviews conducted by the authors of the informants, while the secondary data was in the form of documents and journals that were relevant and could support the research. The government does provide facilities such as consulting services for foreigners to report racist acts they experienced. The government and NGOs initiate a campaign in the form of a billboard. It is considered not effective and has little impact. On the other hand, the Japanese government has begun to socialize by giving some advice to companies in Japan to provide a Japanese language learning medium to train foreign workers. Based on the results of the research, most of our informants stated that the efforts made by the Japanese government and NGOs aren’t enough. The Japanese government and NGOs should consider bigger efforts to eliminate racism in their society.

Pragmatic Transfer in Intermediate Japanese Learners' Apology Speech Act

This study aims to investigate the apology speech act strategy employed by Japanese language learners at the intermediate level and the pragmatic transfer from L1 to L2 that occurs. The data for this study were gathered using the Discourse Completion Test (DCT), which examined four apology situations focusing on the relationships with the interlocutors. The subjects of this study were 53 intermediate Japanese learners. The collected data were then classified into eight strategies or semantic formulas. The pragmatic transfer in the learner's expression was divided into pragmalinguistic transfer and sociopragmatic transfer. This study found that several factors were related to the pragmatic transfer. First, learners translate L1 phrases literally to the L2, which leads to pragmalinguistic transfer. Second, many variations and combinations in Japanese words and sentences are difficult compared with expressions in Indonesian, especially in the "kasu-kariru" and "motte iku-motte kuru" context. Third, applying a pragmatic function from L1 to the L2, which leads to sociopragmatic transfer. This study is expected to give reference in speech act study, and help understanding interlanguage pragmatic of second language learners.

ChatGPT as a Grammar Checker for Japanese English Language Learners: A Comparison with Grammarly and ProWritingAid

The introduction of ChatGPT by OpenAI in November 2022 has garnered much discussion and debate. The technology’s potential, which generates conversations in real-time using machine learning and natural language processing methods, has led to fears of job displacement (Lowrey, 2023) and student cheating (Mitchell, 2023; Cotton et al., 2023). However, the technology has not only brought fear, but also great expectations on the potential of the technology as a helpful educational aid (Ceres, 2023) and in expanding human potential (Hoffman, 2023). In this article, the use of ChatGPT is explored as a way to help students understand and improve their English grammar in comparison with Grammarly and ProWritingAid. A short text by a Japanese university is analyzed using Grammarly, ProWritingAid, and ChatGPT. The results found that, overall, ChatGPT provides the most helpful and best overall solution in helping Japanese English Language Learners (ELLs) with their grammar. Based on the results of the ChatGPT analysis, the application was introduced to first-year Japanese university students in a paragraph writing assignment. Questionnaire results on how students felt about the use of ChatGPT as a grammar-checker are presented.

Efforts to create teaching materials by Japanese level—Fukuoka Prefecture Japanese Learning Support Project Vol.1—

<p>福岡縣留學生支援中心營運協議會為在福岡縣內的大學等就讀的留學生，策劃了商務日語課程和面試對應練習，並提供在日本求職的輔導。在2020年7月31日（週五）至2020年9月18日（週五）每週五（共8次）為了因 COVID-19 而被限制外出的日語學習者提供了不同水平的日語學習教材及解說影片。感興趣的人可以在轉播時間透過電子郵件收到所需級別的學習教材。教材末尾附有問答講解，讓學習者在解題後可立即核對答案。為減輕獨自學習的顧慮，中心網站上公開了答案解說影片，讓有興趣的人觀看。教材涵蓋商務日語（相當於N1、N2）和生活用日語（相當於N3、N4）。</p> <p> </p><p>Fukuoka International Student Support Center Management Council plans business Japanese courses and interview preparation exercises for foreign stu-dents studying at universities in Fukuoka Prefecture, and provides job hunting counseling in Japan. From July 31, 2020 (Friday) to September 18, 2020 (Friday) Every Friday (8 times in total), Japanese language learning materials and explan-atory videos of different levels are provided for Japanese learners who are re-stricted from going out due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Interested parties can receive study materials for the desired level via email during broadcast times. There are question and answer explanations at the end of the textbook, so that learners can check the answers immediately after solving the questions. In order to alleviate the worries of studying alone, the center website has released a video explaining the answers for those who are interested to watch. The teaching ma-terials cover business Japanese (equivalent to N1, N2) and daily life Japanese (equivalent to N3, N4).</p> <p> </p>

Integration Policy and the Subjective Well-being of Immigrants—Using the Variation in Available Inclusive Services Across Local Governments

Delivering inclusive services to foreign residents is an important policy agenda, yet it is challenging when the preference for inclusive services is scarcely captured. This study examines the inclusion policy preferences of foreign residents through the association between welfare measures and variations in available inclusion efforts across municipalities in Japan. The situation in Japan presents a unique opportunity to examine the objective of this study in a context in which a comprehensive nationwide immigrant integration policy is absent and local governments have discretion as to which services to provide to foreign residents. This study found that reported welfare measures in the survey, such as satisfaction with the local government and the subjective well-being (SWB) of foreign residents, are positively associated with inclusive service availability. Further analysis indicates that assistance with accessing medical care and help with Japanese language learning opportunities are among the more relevant services sought by foreign residents.

The Assertive (Report and Statement) Speech Act Based on Politeness Strategy in Japanese Companies Communication

Japanese are known to have a very unique work culture. One of the characteristics of Japanese work culture is Hourensou. Hourensou is an important way of how you report to your superiors and colleagues in a Japanese business setting. This study aims to clarify how the practice of assertive (report and statement) speech act in Japanese between superiors to subordinates in the communication frame in Japanese companies. The methods in this study are case study, literature studies, focus group discussion, and interview of 20workers of Japanese Company in Indonesia, with various position from staff to manager. The results show that the practice of the assertive speech act and politeness strategy implemented between superiors to subordinates in Japanese companies. The results also show the similarity and differences between Indonesian and Japanese communication culture at work. The findings of the study have some pedagogical implications,especially to overcome the difficulties and language errors made by Japanese language learners. Beside that, this study also expected as an effort to improve communication skill from graduates of Japanese language education study programs in society, especially into Japanese companies or institutions that use Japanese language as a communication way

The Use of TikTok as Japanese Learning Media

In this technological era, social media has an important role in all fields. Various types of social media are used by the public, one of which is TikTok. TikTok's diverse video content provides benefits for its users. One type of video content that can be found on TikTok is learning video content that can be used as an alternative learning resource or learning media. One of the many learning video content found on TikTok is language learning video content. For example, Japanese language learning video content. The learning video content needs to be sorted first so that its use can be maximized. For this reason, this study aims to determine the type of learning and the level of Japanese language profiency contained in the Japanese language learning video content on TikTok. The method used in this study is a qualitative descriptive method which is providing detailed and factual data interpretation. Based on the research, there are 7 types of Japanese language learning (Aisatsu, Bunka, Bunpou, Goi, Kaiwa, Linguistics, and Moji) that can be found on TikTok video content. Meanwhile, the level of Japanese language proficiency that be found is level A1 to level B2 and level N5 to level N1.