Paper short abstract:

This presentation aims to contribute to discussion as a class activity for pre-intermediate learners. Four points positively evaluated by the learners who took the pre-intermediate Japanese discussion class and the characteristics of discussion development observed in the class will be shared.

Paper long abstract:

Discussion can play an important role for a society where people live in harmony with each other, as it provides an opportunity to embrace diverse ways of thinking and promote mutual understanding and respect. However, there are a certain number of people who feel that they are not good at discussion and it is a natural phenomenon that they can be passive particularly when a discussion is held in a language other than their first language.

The exploratory survey for the pre-intermediate Japanese discussion class at our institution indicated that half of the learners, 8 out of 16, had a passive view on discussion in Japanese as a class activity. On the other hand, most of them answered, via the survey after 7 Japanese discussion lessons, that discussion was beneficial and should be incorporated even for pre-intermediate class. This poster presentation aims to contribute to discussion as a class activity for pre-intermediate learners, by sharing the points that were positively evaluated by the learners who took the pre-intermediate Japanese discussion class in the academic year of 2022/2023 and the characteristics of discussion development observed among the Japanese pre-intermediate learners.

The questionnaire survey at the end of the course showed that 1) the use of a preparation sheet and a reflection sheet, 2) the practical and collaborative activity form, 3) the atmosphere that respected subjectivity and diversity, and 4) the visualization of the content discussed were positively evaluated. Presumably, these had a positive effect on the changes in the learners’ awareness of discussion in Japanese. In addition, the discussion data recorded at the end of the course was analysed using Patterns of Discussion Unfolding (Maruno, Ikuta & Hori, 2001). As a result, 4 patterns were observed: Redundant Pattern and Stand-still Pattern that discussion lacks depth, Zigzag Pattern that discussion sometimes deepens but gets back to the point before or jumps to another, and Diverging Pattern that each point of view deepens but cannot be converged. Informing learners about these tendencies and causes will be meaningful to improve their discussion skills in Japanese and discussion class for pre-intermediate learners.