Paper short abstract:

This study described Japanese language education and learning practices for Japanese studies/Japanology in European higher education and explored these practices' future outlook in the framework of adult learning. This research focused especially on Japanese language learning as lifelong learning.

Paper long abstract:

　This study described Japanese language education and learning practices for Japanese studies/Japanology in European higher education institutions and explored these practices' future outlook in the framework of adult learning.

　This research focused especially on Japanese language learning as lifelong learning. The European Commission has incorporated an action plan for "Encouraging schools and training institutions in using efficient teaching and training methods and motivating continuation of language learning at a later stage of life" (AJE-CEFR Project, 2016). The Council of Europe and European Union education policies also refer to language learning as lifelong learning. Assuming lifelong learning as continuous from childhood through late life, students in European higher education institutions are in the process of lifelong learning. In recent years, the learner population has become increasingly diversified, and learning styles not falling under the conventional higher education framework―such as autonomous learning through the Internet and composite learning combining social activities and informal learning―have been reported. Learning in such styles must also be embraced in a comprehensive discussion on lifelong learning.

Miwa (2011) discovered the possibility that adult learning practices cultivated through day-to-day experiences can be a theoretical and practical basis for lifelong learning theories. Therefore, this study attempts to describe Japanese language education and learning in recent Japanese studies/Japanology, using approaches based on the adult learning framework advocated by Miwa (2011).

The outlook of future Japanese language education and learning was explored in terms of the concept of learners as defined by CEFR and materialization of learning by "social agents."

Paper short abstract:

The study concentrates on the motivation of students majoring in teaching Japanese in Germany. Students will be interviewed on their motivation as learners as well as on their motivation to become teachers. Findings will be related to motivation theories and other surveys.

Paper long abstract:

Learner motivation is an important factor for success in foreign language learning and has thus been researched for several languages. Some of these studies concentrate primarily on students' motives for studying a foreign language (Busse & Williams 2010, Schmidt 2016), while others focus on how teachers can enhance their students' perseverence (McEown et al. 2014).

My study considers motivation on the base of the definition given by Dörnyei & Ushioda (2011: 4), i.e. not only as a choice to learn Japanese, but also as persistence in learning Japanese and the effort expended on learning Japanese. On the other hand, learning is also influenced by the learner's environment (e.g. impact of the teacher, the curriculum, the peer group). Thus, teacher motivation is also assumed to be an important facet of learner motivation (cf. Müller & Hanfstingl 2010: 5). In the actual study, I will explore the motivation of students enrolled in a Japanese teaching education program in Germany. This approach should allow for an evaluation of both learning and teaching motivation. The study aims at investigating the actual motives of the students in comparison to earlier quantitative motivational studies related to other languages and will give evidence for Dörnyei's (2009: 29) concept of the Ideal L2 Self, Ought-to L2 Self and L2 Learning Experience as well as for the teacher's role as facilitator of motivation in order to attain this Ideal Self.

References

• Busse, V. & M. Williams: Why German? Motivation of students studying German at English universities. The Language Learning Journal, 38:1, 67-85.

• Dörnyei, Z. & E. Ushioda (2011): Teaching and Researching Motivation. Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd..

• Dörnyei, Z.: The L2 Motivational Self System. Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (ed. by Z. Dörnyei), 9-42.

• McEown, M. et al. (2014): Students' self-determined and integrative orientations and teachers' motivational support in a JFL context. System 45, 227-241.

• Müller, Florian & Barbara Hanfstingl (2010): Teaching motivation. JERO 2:2, 5-8.

• Schmidt, G. (2016): Motivation zum Fremdsprachenstudium in einem englischsprachigen Land: Das Beispiel Australien. Fremdsprachen lernen und lehren 45: 2, 62-77.

Paper short abstract:

The process of learning the Japanese language inside and outside of the classroom by learners of Japanese in France was explored, and the factors leading to continuous learning were examined from the perspectives of motivation and multilingual, multicultural identity construction.

Paper long abstract:

Purpose of research: As part of a study profiling students majoring in Japanese in a French university, the process of learning the Japanese language inside and outside of the classroom was explored, and the factors leading to the continuous learning of the Japanese language were examined from the perspectives of motivation and identity. Learner motivation plays an important role in the process of identity construction, based on learners' notions of "how I want to be and who I want to become."

Previous research: Various studies on motivation have been conducted in second language acquisition research and educational psychology. However, in recent years, the limitations of individualized approaches have been highlighted. Norton (2000) introduced the concept of "investment" based on ideas from Bourdieu, replacing the notion of language learning motivation with the concept of investment in the identity the learner is trying to create. The concept of identity has also been emphasized in the CEFR standards. According to Norton, identity is a pluralistic, diverse, and dynamic awareness of the self that only arises through negotiations with others. Previous work by the present author has confirmed that learners' self-reflection, which is done through social interactions, has an impact on their language learning and identity construction.

Research method: In addition to qualitative narrative research, which is an effective way of approaching the processes of learners' identity construction related to language learning, an analysis was performed on the results of a survey and student outputs. Since the 2014 academic year, more than 30 people have been interviewed, and close to 300 people have responded to a web survey.

Research results: The results clarified on what it means to learn Japanese in France from the perspectives of the learner's construction of a multilingual, multicultural identity. Learner motivation is linked with the environment and experience, and the construction of an identity through interaction leads to continuous learning. This should steer us toward reconsidering the role of education and pursuing educational practices that enable interactions that connect people and societies.