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Paper short abstract:

This research clarify what factors inhibited spontaneous speech in a multicultural society. The result was that role-playing and shadowing set up in class were not enough to improve oral expression skills, without increasing spontaneous speech with TAs and others to reduce shyness.

Paper long abstract:

In Spain, there is a problem of insufficient conversational production activities, especially spontaneous speech, due to curriculum constraints. Mayuko Doi (2012) investigated the relationship between oral expression skills and emotional schemas such as 'I love Japan', but concluded that there wasn't any correlation.

The objective of this research is to clarify what factors inhibited spontaneous speech and show what is necessary to increase spontaneous speech (Nobuhiko Kato, 2021) in a multicultural society. The evidence is based on three oral tests and interviews with 17 students (learners) of the integral Japanese subject at a Spanish university, and interviews with Japanese TAs and teachers.

As a result of this research, the learners who improved the scores in the oral tests testified: "I was able to have spontaneous conversations in contact situations with the TA in class", "I actively engaged in spontaneous conversations outside class at social events with native speakers”, ”It was important to have a TA who was not a teacher but someone I could talk to easily and I felt comfortable with, in other words, someone like a friend”. Furthermore, a teacher who was in charge of the class testified that "Learners were able to express their opinions more actively when a TA was present".

As for factors hindering spontaneous speech, learners stated: "I couldn't speak because I didn't want to disrupt the rhythm of the class", "I was too shy to speak", and "I had not used Japanese for a while". Yukino Yamashita (2022) pointed out that reducing learners' anxiety, but shyness differs from anxiety. Shyness makes learners hesitate to speak in front of others.

Co-learning in Japanese language allows students to 'find commonalities rather than differences' with others (Kazuko Suematsu, 2014), thus, it is possible to expand human relationships that enable empowerment without hesitation even in a multicultural society.

In this study, it was found that role-playing and shadowing set up by a teacher in class, were not enough to improve oral expression skills, without increasing spontaneous speech with TAs and others to reduce shyness.

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Paper short abstract:

The presentation explores the teaching benefits of tsukkae, a type of disfluent utterance used by native Japanese speakers. It was found that learners of Japanese can acquire and use tsukkae, but not all learners’ utterances conveyed empathy and interactivity owing to its frequency and variation.

Paper long abstract:

To establish intercultural cohesion in Japan, it is necessary to transform learners’ Japanese speaking skills from being “understandable” to being “empathetic” to native speakers. We believe that teaching that transforms learner disfluency to native-speaker levels (Lickley 2015) is an effective method. Therefore, this presentation discussed teaching effects of disfluent utterances tsukkae (Sadanobu 2019)—that is, getting-stuck utterances—that are less commonly introduced to Japanese language education compared to fillers. In the presentation, a set of self-learning slides was made that includes two types of tsukkae as learning items— “break + continuation” and “prolongation + continuation”—which are commonly found in native speakers’ speech and are likely to be difficult for learners to acquire. It was designed for learners to provide an explanation of tsukkae forms with video examples by native speakers, to practice the prolongation and the break in short sentences with sample audio from native speakers and apply these skills in long sentences. This study included a total of six learners of Japanese language at a university in France who learned these skills with the set of slides. Consequently, we summarized the findings in the following two points: (1) the acquisition and application of tsukkae skills were confirmed in the learners’ speech, but (2) the way in which they applied tsukkae skills varied, and not all demonstrated a good balance of breaks and prolongations. The balance affects the levels of interactivity and empathy. In incorporating disfluent tsukkae into Japanese language education, it is suggested that it is necessary to explain the role and frequency of each tsukkae type.

References:

Lickley, Robin J. (2015) Fluency and disfluency. In Melissa A. Redford (ed.), The Handbook of Speech Production, pp. 445-474. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Sadanobu, Toshiyuki（2019）Bunsetsu-no Bumpo. Tokyo: Taishukan Shoten.

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Paper short abstract:

This research problematizes the positioning of “native” and “non-native” speakers from a learner’s perspective in a critical-transformative language education framework beyond proficiency levels, adopting a Japanese language workshop for high school students in Italy as a case study.

Paper long abstract:

This research investigates learners’ perception of native Japanese-speaking facilitators in a Japanese language workshop aimed at high school students in Italy. Qualitative data are to be collected by interviewing and administering a questionnaire to the participants in this workshop to ascertain whether the decision to involve native-speaking facilitators has to be considered essential, structurally or emotionally, to the learners’ needs and objectives for Japanese language education. The workshop was designed for high school students to choose as part of their mandatory curriculum and promoted as an opportunity for active language learning by participating in weekly meetings and an online forum to create a place for dialogue (Hosokawa 2004, Mariotti 2020a), discussing their interests in Japanese with university students and scholars as selected facilitators. Conceptualized as critical-transformative language education beyond proficiency levels (Mariotti 2020b), no prior Japanese language proficiency was required to participate. Considering such “level-free” context and the notion of its participants as aware of their positioning as responsible social actors (Hosokawa, Mariotti & Ichishima 2022), in line with the ideals of social cohesion and citizenship promoted by the Council of Europe (2020), this study discusses the introduction of native Japanese-speaking facilitators to the workshop as well as the reasons for their involvement as such, thus problematizing again the participants’ positioning in their “role” of “native” and “non-native” speakers from a learner’s perspective. In accordance with the objectives of the workshop approach, the results are expected to highlight the irrelevance of such “roles” in relation to this context of Japanese language education, in favor of a place for dialogue in which Japanese is spoken towards the reaching of a shared goal by all participants, for the building of equal relationships and ideology deconstruction.