Paper short abstract:

This presentation highlights our intermediate Japanese program designed for the learners to think critically and express the thoughts effectively in the everyday as well as academic contexts. The second stage of our medium-term research will be discussed based on the qualitative analysis method.

Paper long abstract:

In recent years, goalposts for Japanese learning widened to include 'ability to think,' self-expression, and social participation, in addition to simple 'language ability.' Popularity of activities and courses with relevant objectives attests that the learners' focus has shifted from the language itself to 'leaners´ empowerment' by understanding a new language and applying it for social interaction. Aiming to cater for such needs, we are in process of revising our intermediate course at the University of Duisburg-Essen.

This paper summarizes the second stage of our medium-term research with the focus on the following two points.

(1) Our university makes it mandatory to study in Japan for a year after completion of first four semesters. We aim to maintain continuity of our Japanese program and outside learning. The ultimate objective is, therefore, to promote students' ability to think more critically and to communicate more assertively gradually before / during / after the study in Japan about the societies in which they participate. This time the results of our students' questionnaires and interviews conducted during their stay in Japan (the second stage) are analyzed to see changes in their social awareness and communication ability.

(2) These students took the redesigned theme-oriented course in the fourth semester last year (the first stage) and one of the points to reflect on was the students' sense of resistance and bewilderment at the beginning. This was due to the fact that such a course was suddenly introduced in the fourth semester in which reading, discussions, compositions and presentation about the pre-selected themes were integrated. To improve this point, in the third semester for the following generation, rapid reading (scanning and skimming), reading comprehension, and compositions about the pre-selected themes are offered once a week along with the grammar-oriented elementary courses. The examples of activities on a specific theme and the analysis of the results of our student questionnaires are presented. Besides, the students are compared with those from last year regarding the acceptance degree of the theme-oriented course when they start taking it in the fourth semester.