Paper short abstract:

Based on the educational concepts of plurilingualism and pluriculturalism, this presentation explores the meaning of engagement in Japanese as a heritage language (JHL) to both parents and children by analyzing the outputs of the practices and studies in the Netherlands, Germany and Japan.

Paper long abstract:

In this panel, we focus and discuss on "Learning and teaching Japanese in Europe. Why? - Voices from the field -".

First, we explore based on a report from analyzing the outputs of the practices in the Netherlands. As Howard Gardner (2001) said in his book about multiple intelligences theory, language intelligence is not the only intelligence. Because children have different intelligences, it is possible for them to stimulate each other's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) through for example peer learning activities.

Second, we explore based on a report from analyzing the outputs of the practices in Germany. In the club, alternative ways to the conventional education of Japanese as a native language are being explored and practiced, aiming to respond to the actual state of children's learning. One such example is the adoption of "Can-Do Weekly Check at Home" (hereafter, the Check) since 2016, in which the parents' observations on children's learning are documented. By analyzing the Check and introducing other example practices, this presentation reflects on the meaning of engagement with Japanese as a heritage language to both parents and children.

Third, we explore and compare with examples practiced at a longitudinal studies in Japan. In this presentation (as a discussant) we investigate and discuss optimal educational approaches on relations between Japanese oral proficiency and language behavior in multicultural/multilingual society in Japan, based on a longitudinal studies: Japanese Brazilian students living in a concentrated area A (2007-2012). In the case of concentrated area A, we found that CLD students' social participation as bilingual teaching assistants, accelerated both their Japanese and Portuguese oral proficiencies, for example in usage of "noda" for the sustainability and attainability of paragraphs. In particular, from the point of social participation, we analyzed the importance of language environment as well as use of mother tongues and heritage languages.

Based on these findings, in Europe and Japan's developing multicultural/multilingual society, understanding the importance of promotion of constructing language environment for the CLD students, such as ethnolinguistic vitality as well as communication network , we foresee students' participation in the social (learning) environment and its optimization.