Japanese Language Education Symposium - Abstracts
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Language socialization in Japanese as a lingua franca:
Exchanging movie critiques in a virtual classroom
Yuko Miyazoe-Wong (Obirin University, Japan)
The study reports on a movie based e-mail project involving 52 Japanese-speaking participants from multicultural backgrounds who were undergraduate and postgraduate students at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HKPU) and Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan (TUT).
Since the end of 1980’s, various computer-mediated (CMC) projects linking Japanese learners and native speakers have been reported. Some of the merits include expansion of opportunities in authentic Japanese interaction, Japanese language teacher training and intercultural understanding. However, some project adopting tasks such as compositions and questionnaire surveys report that the exchanged content tends to be rather superficial, when participants fail to show their involvement in given topics which might be either uninteresting and/or culturally sensitive.
Minimizing the reported problems, the present study adopted two new features. Firstly, tasks were designed in which participants view one of the two movies (“Go” and “Water Boys”), exchanged their critiques via email and produced essays based on the exchanges. Secondly, international students of six nationalities were included to break the native-nonnative dichotomy among them.
Analysis of the data collected from emails, essays and feedback suggests some positive outcomes. Movie-based tasks were effective in facilitating all participants’ active involvement in authentic and in-depth discussions regarding socio-cultural issues of Japan, even on such delicate topics as cultural-specific jokes and racial discrimination, since movies seemed to function as “buffers”. The international students played crucial roles in creating objective and multicultural perspectives, and providing all participants with benefits from the internationally extended Japanese speech community, where Japanese language functioned as a lingua franca. The project can be evaluated as a “language socialization” activity which would effectively integrate various education disciplines such as Japanese language education (L2 socialization), intercultural education (L1/L2 socialization) and global education (L1/L2 socialization).
Internet Chat and Japanese Language Learning
Sarah E. Pasfield-Neofitou (Monash University)
Online chat can create a natural context for learner independence and second language acquisition. However, as a developing variety of interaction, Internet chat has unique linguistic and interactional features that are distinct from either oral or written communication. Furthermore, it appears that there have been very few studies of chat examining naturally occurring “authentic interaction” where participants are motivated by reasons other than teacher-directed language learning to participate in chat conversations. This study examines the characteristics of social Japanese – English intercultural Internet chat, the ways in which learners use this medium as an opportunity to communicate in their target language, and the strategies chat participants utilize.
Naturalistic data was gathered from five Australian advanced learners of Japanese, and their five Japanese chat partners, in the form of chat logs, collected over the period of a month, and follow-up interviews, both face-to-face, and over the internet. Participants identified turn management, code switching, error correction, issues of identity, computer literacy and symbolic interaction, among others, as areas of concern or interest. Conversation analysis was used to discover numerous linguistic and interactional features in the ten chat logs collected, in terms of turn-taking, language features, and features linked to computer literacy and amount of experience in using chat. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings for learners, teachers and researchers.
Opportunities for L2 Use and L2 Learning in Japanese Language Learners’ Social Networks
Naomi Kurata (Monash University)
There have been a significant number of studies that highlight the importance of learners’ exposure to their L2 in out-of-class contexts (Stoller, Hodges, & Kimbrough 1995; van Lier 1996; Archangeli 1999; Yorozu 2001). The majority of these studies, however, regard learners’ access to interactional opportunities in L2 in these contexts as unproblematic. Therefore, very few of them have been concerned with the social factors that affect the construction of these opportunities. In addition, limited studies into L2 use and L2 learning in the informal environment of language learners’ social networks have been conducted, in particular, in foreign language learning settings.
This study examines L2 use and L2 learning of Japanese language learners studying at an Australian university in their social network contexts. The study utilises sociocultural theory originating from the work of Vygotsky (1978). Various constructs from this theory, including the zone of proximal development (ZPD), have been applied increasingly to L2 learning research in the past decade as the theory provides a constructive lens through which to view cognition without isolating it from social context and/or human agency. Grounded within this framework, the current study focuses on the opportunities for L2 use/learning occurring in the learners’ social networks and how these opportunities are socially constructed.
Utilising ethnographic interviews with learners as well as their natural interactional data, such as on-line chat scripts and audio-recorded conversations, I have found that a number of types of opportunities for L2 use/learning were co-constructed, including Japanese interlocutors’ linguistic assistance. However, the findings of this study also reveal that it is not easy for some learners to create these opportunities. Drawing on the construct of activity (Wertsch 1985), multiple goals were found to be held by the learners and their Japanese interlocutors during their interactions and these goals, together with various personal and social conditions, seemed to affect the construction of opportunities for L2 use/learning.
Debates, Developments and Directions: Setting the Goals for Japanese Language EducationRobyn Spence-Brown (Monash University)
As the world changes, language educators are continually challenged to adapt their teaching goals and methods. This paper will examine the debates and developments which are setting the agenda for foreign language education in other English speaking countries such as the US and the UK, as well as developments in Japan and in Australia, and explore their significance for the teaching and learning of Japanese.
‘Children Crossing Borders’ in Japan and their Implications for Japanese Society
Ikuo Kawakami (Waseda University, Japan)
As a result of the rapid increase in the number of children coming from other countries, schools in Japan have become increasingly multicultural and multi-ethnic. This phenomenon has impacted on Japanese schools in various ways and raised numerous problems in local areas around the country.
In this presentation, I will firstly explain the current situation of foreign residents in Japan and the reasons for the rapid increase of new-comers in the past decade. Secondly, I will analyze the problems faced by new-comer children, particularly those who need Japanese language assistance at school. Thirdly, I will examine government policies regarding these children and the implementation of such policies. Fourthly, I will introduce some new challenges arising from this issue and finally I will discuss the implications for Japanese society as well as Japanese language education.
Language Socialisation of the Second Generation Japanese in an Australian Academic Context
Kuniko Yoshimitsu (Monash University)
The study is concerned with the language socialization of the second generation Japanese (sons and daughters of Japanese parents and also of inter-cultural marriage partners) who are of university age, and focuses upon their Japanese language socialisation in an Australian academic context. The aim of the study is not only to provide a descriptive account of the language socialisation processes of the second generation Japanese, but also to engage in a more critical evaluation of the context of Japanese language socialisation from the perspective of developing (acquiring) and maintaining Japanese by means of their social interaction and cognitive experiences. Language socialisation views learning as developing the capability to participate in a discourse community which involves developing one’s voice, identity, and agency in a language/culture (Duff 2003, 2007). The main participants in this study are second generation Japanese students who are enrolled in an advanced level Japanese language course at an Australian university. The study focuses on micro-level language socialisation situations of these students. In-depth case studies in which the process and the context of language socialisation are examined will ultimately address the question of what facilitates or hinders their process of language socialisation or re-socialisation in Australia.
Japanese Interpreting and Translation at an Australian university
Hiroko Hashimoto and Masato Takimoto (Monash University)
Over the past five years, the authors have been responsible for designing and delivering an advanced-level Japanese language subject that is taught mainly through interpreting and translation to a total of approximately 200 students. Because of the bilingual nature of the subject, it has attracted background speakers and Japanese native speakers as well as traditional language learners, which reflects a current trend of LOTE education in Australia. Though translation and interpreting have become less important in modern language classrooms, we argue that teaching translation and interpreting contributes to students’ ‘conceptual learning’ (Liddicoat, 2007), which appears to have long-lasting impact on students for many years. We would like to discuss the possibility of applying the framework of Intercultural Language Learning to our project.
Motivation of Learners of Japanese
Dr Sato Van Aacken (University of New England)
The study reports on the motivation of learners of Japanese in four universities, focusing specifically on: 1) the diversity of motivation in the process of language learning; 2) motivation as a predictor of academic achievement; 3) the dichotomous instrumental/ integrative paradigm; and 4) a comparison of the degree of motivation among the universities. Three out of four universities did not show significant differences in the degree of motivation within an academic year. However, the outcomes were varied depending on the universities in comparing motivation among students enrolled in different course levels. Positive motivation and anxiety were found to be the best predictors of academic achievement. With regard to the integrative/ instrumental dichotomy, neither element was seen as a better predictor. This research identifies a contrast: the type of institution where students studied, i.e. in prestigious, competitive institutions in urban areas or in standard non-competitive institutions in rural districts, greatly influenced the factors motivating the learners. In addition, assessment methods may also affect learner motivation.