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- Convenor:
-
Sei Miwa
(Tuebingen University)
Send message to Convenor
- Section:
- Japanese Language Teaching (AJE)
- Sessions:
- Friday 27 August, -
Time zone: Europe/Brussels
Short Abstract:
Claiming that teachers' self-cultivation in democratic citizenship are vital for shaping Japanese language teaching as Education for Democratic Citizenship (EDC), we explore materials for "Politische Bildung" in Germany and examine practices of Japanese language education as EDC.
Long Abstract:
Nearly 20 years have passed since the introduction of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). We could now say that language education based on the concept of plurilingualism and pluriculturalism has widely gained recognition as being effective. In Germany where education is aimed at realizing a society that is plurilingual, pluricultural and democratic, the educational philosophy of "Politische Bildung (political education)" for fostering democratic citizenship permeates throughout various learning settings, in particular, in the subject learning in secondary education. However, sufficient discussions are yet to be made to consider Japanese language education as plurilingual/pluricultural education and Education for Democratic Citizenship (hereinafter, EDC). In this panel, we will first overview EDC in german context and look closely at teaching materials for "Politische Bildung" in Germany to illuminate the characteristics of EDC. Then, we will examine some practices of Japanese language education as EDC and propose concrete ideas. Finally, in order to practice Japanese language education as EDC, we assert that co-learning among teachers and learners as well as self-cultivation of teachers themselves in democratic citizenship are vital and that these two elements will lead to both nurturing learners' democratic citizenship and empowering them to practice it.
The first presentation introduces the concept and practice of "Politische Bildung/Demokratiepädagogik (democracy education)" conducted in Germany as EDC. The second presentation provides an overview of educational materials designed for various types of learners in Germany to foster democratic citizenship. Here, the educational materials designed for three target groups, namely (1) children attending local schools, (2) young immigrants and refugees and (3) grown-up immigrants and refugees, will be examined, so as to illustrate the aims of EDC reflected in the materials. The third presentation introduces the outline of the teaching material production project that the presenter is currently working on, and an in-class practice using the trial version will be reported.
Through these three presentations, we will discuss interactively with the audience a variety of potentials that Japanese language education has to contribute to fostering plurilingual/pluricultural competencies and democratic citizenship.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Friday 27 August, 2021, -Paper short abstract:
An overview of EDC in German context is given. The role of Japanese language teachers derived from the principle of "Beutelsbach Consensus" of EDC will be discussed. I will present an ideal way of Japanese language education that contributes to democracy in Europe and to enrich learners' plurilingualism.
Paper long abstract:
In this presentation, after confirming the close relationship between language education and Education for Democratic Citizenship (hereinafter, EDC), an overview is given, of "Politische Bildung" and "Demokratiepädagogik" in Germany, which correspond to EDC. The role of Japanese language teachers - derived from the principle of "Beutelsbach Consensus" - will be discussed. In this way, I will present an ideal way of language education that contributes to democracy in Europe and Japanese language education that enriches learners' plurilingualism.
The Council of Europe's language education policy makes EDC an important principle. In Germany, reflecting on the lessons of the war, the Federal Agency for Civic Education (it was called another way that time) was established to promote values such as democracy, pluralism and tolerance among citizens. Even now, the Agency has had a great influence on "Politische Bildung" at school. In 1976 a standard of "Politische Bildung" called the “Beutelsbach Consensus” was established. Furthermore, "Demokratiepädagogik" was born from the field of pedagogy in early 2000 to confront the real social problems in Germany, including right-wing extremism. "Demokratiepädagogik" is also based on the “Beutelsbach Consensus”.
It consists of 3 principles: "principle of prohibition of overwhelming", "emphasis on controversial issues" and "student-oriented principle" (Kondo 2016). Byram (2008) also sees foreign language education as a way to develop intercultural skills through EDC and requires a certain criticality and political character from teachers themselves and their teaching.
In our practices we remove political taboos, suggest problems when they exist at all, and try to help learners form their own arguments. The dialogue between learners is generated from the democratic soil in the class, and the Japanese language ability is also promoted by activating it. Such Japanese language education can be considered as an ideal form to contribute to democracy in Europe and to enrich learners' plurilingualism.
Paper short abstract:
There are introduced three kinds of educational materials for “Politische Bildung” which are aimed at school-age children, young immigrants and refugees, as well as at immigrant and refugee adults in Germany. Through that, we clarify the aims of “Politische Bildung” and the importance of development of teachers’ own democratic citizenship.
Paper long abstract:
As mentioned in presentation 1, Germany has implemented the "Politische Bildung" which aims to strengthen democracy and form a peaceful society based on lessons learned from World War II. In this presentation, an overview is given about three kinds of educational materials for “Politische Bildung” based on the principle of the “Beutelsbach Consensus”, which clearly states that issues of “Politische Bildung” should be seen differently from “indoctrination” and set apart from a particular political standpoint. Through these materials, the aims of “Politische Bildung” are clarified, and it will be a stepping stone to the presentation 3, which shows examples of application to Japanese education.
The first material is meant for school-age children in Germany. These materials foster the ability of children, as social agents, to take the initiative in solving social problems and to think for themselves and make decisions.
The second material is for young immigrants and refugees. In addition to acquiring knowledge of politics, students can engage in a wide range of activities in stages, from basic questions such as "what is politics?" to creating opportunities to connect with others and form networking.
The third material is used in orientation courses aimed at enabling immigrant and refugee adults to coexist in their host country, Germany. The textbooks aim to foster an attitude of concern towards the country and its people, courage, as well as an attitude of expressing their intention, understanding others and having tolerance for others.
The aim of these materials is to develop the knowledge necessary for users to participate in society and politics autonomously, to view politics and social issues as "for oneself", to have an interest in different things and to understand various values, and to foster judgement and action. At the same time, it will be emphasized that it is important for teachers to develop their own democratic citizenship, to learn together with learners and to build a democratic foundation together.
Paper short abstract:
As Kondo (2009) points out, there are few resources for “Politische Bildung” in Japan, so we started to issue teaching materials focused on the “Beutelsbach Consensus”. The authors are in the process of revising the material. We will examine what the teacher paid attention to during the trial, what did not go well, and the voice of the learners.
Paper long abstract:
In order to incorporate “Politische Bildung” into Japanese language education, there are several possible approaches, such as (1) lectures and workshops, and (2) practice in the classroom. However, as Kondo (2009) points out, there are few resources for “Politische Bildung” in Japan, so classroom practice is not easy. So we set out to issue teaching materials.
We focused on the “Beutelsbach Consensus”, which we reported in Presentation 1. We chose content that matched the interests of the students, and incorporated activities to build up a dialogue with the purpose of accepting the existence of different opinions, taking care that the activities would not be indoctrinated by the teacher but would be acquired by the learners themselves. However, the question arose as to whether we as teachers have sufficient democratic citizenship. In order to solve this problem, it is necessary for the teachers themselves to make it a teaching tool for developing democratic citizenship with their learners, as claimed in Presentation 2.
Therefore, we did not prepare a teacher's manual, but divided the activity into multiple steps, specifying the goals of each activity, and structured the dialogue in a step-by-step manner. It is expected that the materials will not indoctrinate teachers, but that teachers will acquire democratic citizenship for themselves through their own practices. The contents were chosen from familiar topics and were designed to make the reader feel that everyday life is politics. It also focused on critical thinking. In particular, lessons 1 to 4 were developed with an emphasis on "cultivating teachers' democratic citizenship" with an emphasis on the expandability of "easy to difficult".
The authors are currently in the process of revising the material to verify that it can be used to help teachers and learners acquire democratic citizenship by themselves. It means that we authors of the materials try to avoid indoctrinating others, and also that they themselves are taking the initiative in cultivating democratic citizenship with the materials.
In the presentation, we will examine what the teacher paid attention to during the trial, what did not go well, and the voice of the learners.