Paper short abstract:

We report on a project to develop a Japanese textbook on the theme of SDGs written by students who are not majors in Japanese language education, enhancing their understanding of Japanese learners. We adopt qualitative analysis via semi-structured interviews to determine how change their believes.

Paper long abstract:

　There is much to be done to increase the number of people who understand Japanese language learners and Japanese language education. In particular, it must be desirable for young people to become familiar with Japanese language education. We report on a project to develop a Japanese language textbook on the theme of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) written by university students who are not majors in Japanese language education. The level of the textbook is intermediate, and the main activity is oral communication. The SDGs goals, themes, and activities of each section in each lesson are as follows.

Lesson 1, Goal 11: “Make Cities Safe, Resilient and Sustainable” - Speech

Lesson 2, Goal 1: “End Hunger” - Interviews

Lesson 3 Goal 6, 12, 14: “Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns;

in particular, sustainable management of water and sanitation” -Discussion

　In the project, we collaborated with other seminars that actually study the SDGs, leading to accurate descriptions, and we enhanced their understanding of Japanese language education through the discussions on how to describe Japanese for learners.

　To the best of our knowledge, there are no other examples of such an activity to improve understanding of Japanese language education while creating Japanese language learning materials. We believe that this project is very significant in this respect.

　Furthermore, we will adopt qualitative analysis via semi-structured interviews to determine how the students’ understanding of Japanese language education changed through analysing their beliefs of Japanese language variations. From this, we hope to clarify the positive changes in the attitudes towards Japanese language learners and language education, and to consider the possibility of creating a place for coexistence between learners and native speakers.

Paper short abstract:

We report the results of a "Survey of Japanese Language Education Needs for Job Hunting in Japan" based on semi-structured group interviews with Japanese university students and international students. We also discuss how their different needs can be reflected in online learning contents.

Paper long abstract:

This presentation aims to report the results of the "Survey of Japanese Language Education Needs for Job Hunting in Japan" based on semi-structured group interviews with university students including international students and conducted at a Japanese higher education institution. As part of the MEXT's efforts to support the creation of super global universities, the presenters’ institution, the University of Tsukuba, is currently leading the construction of Japan's first online international education platform, the Japan Virtual Campus (hereafter "JV-Campus"). Within the JV-Campus project, the Japanese Language Education Division at the University of Tsukuba is developing online teaching materials. The current presentation will report on one element of these materials, namely “Career Support Japanese.”

“Career Support Japanese” does not focus on language skills within the company after employment. We plan to provide content that will enable students to develop the skills necessary to find a job, such as 1) developing Japanese language skills, 2) gathering information on companies, and 3) understanding the differences between Japan and overseas regarding finding employment. In preparing learning materials, it is important to clarify the needs of Japanese language learners and their experiences going through the job-hunting process, as well as the difficulties faced by native speakers of Japanese. Therefore, in this study, we will interview Japanese language learners and native speakers of Japanese who have experienced job-hunting activities about their perceptions and reflections on what they need to do when job hunting, and clarify the similarities and differences in their needs for a more successful job search.

Based on the results of the interviews, we will compare our predictions and the actual interview data regarding (1) Japanese language proficiency for job hunting, (2) difficulties experienced in selecting job types and the handling of unclear sources of information, and (3) discrepancies between the schedule of job-hunting activities in Japan and abroad, and the lack of information on tests other than Japanese language tests. We will report on what kind of career support contents Japanese language learners require and how these needs can be reflected in online learning contents.

Paper short abstract:

The talk is on findings from a research project on Japanese language teaching in German secondary schools. After explaining the background conditions of JLT, e.g., core curriculum, we will focus on the results of the teacher interview data and discuss the findings as well as the problems and issues.

Paper long abstract:

Research on Japanese language teaching in European secondary schools has been the subject of numerous literature surveys and practice reports (e.g., Galan 2017, Knapp-Hartmann 2017, Matsuo 2018, Matsuo & Dudzus 2017, Ruddock 2018, Saito-Theuerzeit 2013, Trumpa et al. 2017, Trumpa & Unkel 2019, Unkel 2015), but it is safe to say that there is little multifaceted empirical research on teaching materials in German secondary schools. At the moment Japanese language teaching at German secondary schools is limited to one special type of school (i.e., the Gymnasium).

The aim of the research was to contribute to the development of the subject of 'Japanese as a foreign language' in secondary education and to gain a multi-perspective view and understanding of what kind of teaching materials are used and on what background, how the consistency with the state core curriculum is assessed, and what kind of teaching materials are required and desired.