Paper short abstract:

This study explores factors affecting motivation for inherited language education among Japanese-Dutch families. Children's spontaneous behavior and previous learning consolidation motivates parents, while facing effort-result discrepancy and conceptual differences lowers motivation.

Paper long abstract:

This research aims to identify the factors that influence the motivation of Japanese-Dutch parents to pass on their language and culture to their children, when they are minorities in their respective societies. Previous studies have focused on investigating the methods and motivations for children's language learning. However, inherited language is a language that parents want their children to learn, and it is recognized that this language learning is imposed on children. Japanese-Dutch is a minority language, and the inherited language is undervalued both at home and in society, as most parents can speak the local language to some extent. Therefore, many parents feel limited in motivating their children at home. The presenter is a parent of three children raised in a Japanese-Dutch household in Japan. On the other hand, Japanese parents living abroad have reported launching Japanese language classes with local Japanese parents. Although the purpose of the Japanese language class may be to increase children's motivation to learn the inherited language, it may be to support the motivation of parents who want their children to acquire the inherited language. Thus, it is assumed that supporting parents' motivation may influence children's acquisition of inherited language. In this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine Japanese-Dutch parents, and using the SCAT analysis proposed by Otani T. (2019), the factors that affect motivation were discussed based on theoretical descriptions. As a result, it was revealed that parents are motivated by discovering their children's spontaneous actions and the consolidation of past learning, but motivation decreases when faced with the discrepancy between effort and results or differences in concepts. It was also evident that teaching the inherited language in the home became more difficult as the children grew older, and that they repeatedly revised their own educational views along with their disappointment. On the other hand, it was implied that parents' involvement with social settings may support their beliefs and lead their children to become autonomous learners of their inherited language.

Otani T. Paradigm and Design of Qualitative Study: From Research Methodology to SCAT. Nagoya: The University of Nagoya Press;2019 (in Japanese).