Paper short abstract:

This study explored how students who are alumni of Japanese studies departments of universities in Eastern Europe and have recently started a career in Japanese language education become "Japanese language teachers".

Paper long abstract:

　Japanese studies have been flourishing in Eastern Europe. Based on the literature, Japanese language education aims to study and research Japanese studies. However, there has been no faculty development to enable Japanese language education to reach this academic goal (Bev, 2003). In recent years, Japanese language learners have developed diverse interests, such as anime, games, and idols. However, young Japanese language educators from Japanese studies departments, who will be responsible for the next generation of Japanese language learners, are frequently unaware of educational methods other than those they experienced as students. Ushikubo (2021) explored what qualifies a new teacher to be a Japanese language teacher, viewing the "deviant subjectivity" of Japanese language teachers as a problem created due to a structure that only utilizes Japanese language teaching skills that can meet the "needs" of diverse learners, without considering individual educational perspectives.

Based on the issues above, this study explored how students who are alumni of Japanese studies departments of universities in Eastern Europe and have recently started a career in Japanese language education become "Japanese language teachers," based on a personal interview survey.

　As part of a case study in Eastern Europe, unstructured interviews were conducted with three graduates of the Japanese Studies Department of a Hungarian university currently involved in Japanese language education. The interview data collected were coded using the thematic analysis method (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The written data was then coded, and these sentences were compared and organized into specific categories.

　The following related themes emerged as a result of the data analysis: "following the Japanese language education I have received,"; "Japanese studies scholars and teachers as role models,"; "Exploratory education conducted individually,"; and "desire for a different teaching community from NIHONJIN teachers." Based on these results, we highlight the need for a discussion regarding developing Japanese language educators in Eastern Europe.