Paper short abstract:

This poster presentation reports on a Japanese language class based on CBI that aimed to raise students' awareness of vulnerable people and issues behind the disaster. It is important to consider how to develop students' such attitudes in Japanese classes not only in Japan, but also in Europe.

Paper long abstract:

The word "intolerance" has become common over the past several years in Japan. There are concerns over the growing insularity of many countries around the world. However, attitudes of indifference and a lack of understanding build emotional walls between people and can lead to hate speech and tension. However, if we can understand vulnerable people and see from their perspective, we can build good relationships with different people and live together with respect for human diversity. Education can contribute greatly to this. Moreover, it is possible to improve language ability, foster understanding of vulnerable people, and see from other people's perspectives at the same time in Japanese language classes. This poster presentation thus reports on a Japanese class aimed to develop such attitudes based on content-based instruction (CBI). The Japanese class that this presentation reports on was for advanced learners, consisted of 11 learners from Korea, China and New Zealand. The major targets were undergraduate students, and the theme of the class was the Great East Japan Earthquake. The class aimed to improve the learners' Japanese language abilities through reading articles and books, watching videos, having discussions, and making presentations on the subject. The class also aimed to raise the students' awareness of issues by understanding the perspective of the affected people. The students were also allowed to make presentations and write reports about the problems in their own countries. This poster presentation details the changes observed in the students throughout the course through their writing and seeks the meaning of the practice of the class. It is important to consider how to develop students' abilities to understand vulnerable people and to see from their perspectives through Japanese classes to live together with respect for human diversity, not only in Japanese-language classes in Japan, but also in Japanese-language classes in Europe.