Paper short abstract:

In the videoconferencing for Japanese language learning and cross-cultural understanding, differences in knowledge and learning of the Japanese language and culture can hinder dialogue when the class is working together. This paper discusses how to make a community more participatory and democratic.

Paper long abstract:

This presentation analyzes the progress of cross-cultural understanding and understanding of others in video conferencing (VC) and the dialogue in class communities. VC is an ICT-based learning activity that has been carried out between Kanazawa University in Japan and Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University in Turkey since 2011. It has been executed not only as a cross-cultural exchange using Japanese, which is the target language for Turkish Japanese language learners but also as an activity leading to "deep learning" (Matsushita 2015), that makes them think about themselves and the others. The practice of VC in 2019 was positioned in the class, and 15 Japanese students and 32 Turkish students were divided into 3 groups, and 4 meetings (Every other week for 45 minutes) and forums on the web (LMS) were utilized, and continuous exchange of dialogue and text message was carried out for about 2 months. The students set themes such as "Marriage" "Education" and "Religion" and discussed the situation in each other's countries and what they thought about it.

The analysis of class discussions and questionnaires showed that some participants were interested not only in cross-cultural awareness such as country and ethnicity but also in themselves and in the opinions and ideas of the participants in the partner country. From this, it became clear that it was "deep learning" that reached not only the country and culture but also the individual level of self and others. On the other hand, we found that some of the participants were hesitant to speak or gave up because they were more concerned about the Japanese language skills and knowledge of other participants in their own community (class) rather than about the other country. In VC, cross-cultural understanding through contact with other communities (countries, ethnicities, etc.) tends to be the focus, but there are also many internal problems of the community (class) when engaging in activities as a unit, as well as the individuality and self-direction of participants. Therefore, we would like to discuss how to design learning activities in VC to make it a democratic place where individual students can easily speak.