Paper short abstract:

This presentation will discuss the role of "Easy Japanese" as a tool for teaching young learners of Japanese as a second language. We will discuss its current use within Japan, among the children of immigrants, and also its possible use in the context of Japanese teaching in Scotland.

Paper long abstract:

Japan is aiming for a sustainable multicultural society through its immigration policy. The most important thing in aiming for this is to provide support for language learning of the children of immigrants. The main reason for this is that, through studying, these children will be able to find employment and become members of Japanese society, just as Japanese children will (cf. Iori, 2016). "Easy Japanese" is regarded as a tool to help achieve this.

It was originally designed as a system that would enable the transfer of essential information for foreign residents without using difficult language. Easy Japanese may also help to achieve BICS and CALP, for young learners in the context of JSL (Japanese as a second language). In other words, this is a comprehensive grammatical syllabus (cf. Iori, 2015a, b) covering all levels from absolute beginners to advanced learners. It is most important for these children to be able to enter high school, and in order to do so, they need to be able to understand the textbooks of junior high school. Therefore, we are developing materials that are aimed at allowing young JSL learners to achieve this goal. This presentation will discuss the role of Easy Japanese in the Japanese language education of young JSL learners in Japan, and we will also consider the possible role of Easy Japanese within the context of Japanese teaching in Scotland and beyond.

References

庵功雄（2015a）「日本語学的知見から見た初級シラバス」（2015b）「日本語学的知見から見た中上級シラバス」庵功雄・山内博之編『データに基づく文法シラバス』くろしお出版

庵功雄（2016）『やさしい日本語―多文化共生社会へ』岩波新書