Paper long abstract

As language learners become increasingly diverse and their learning environments continue to change, tandem learning has attracted growing attention within the language education since it emphasizes learner autonomy and reciprocity/mutual learning.

Tandem learning activities take various forms, including face-to-face and remote formats (Nishina 2011; Wakisaka 2020). Depending on the content of the activities and the degree of freedom involved, these can range from fully autonomous, learner-centred free activities (free tandem) to task-based activities (task-based tandem) in which teachers are involved (Cunico 2019).

The Japanese section at Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Stockholm University (hereafter SU), to which the author belongs, launched an online distance tandem program for the students who are studying Japanese at the department in the summer 2020 in collaboration with the university’s Language Resource Centre. The program was developed with reference to, for example, Cappellini et al. (2019), Koch (2017), Little & Brammerts (1996), and Kyushu University’s website “Guidelines for Tandem Learning”. Thus far, SU has conducted distance tandem programs with, among others, two partner institutions: Osaka University (hereafter OU) and the University of the Sacred Heart, Tokyo (hereafter USH). These collaborations focus on “Japanese and Swedish” and “Japanese and English” as the respective target languages and the program employs both “free tandem” and “task-based tandem” formats. For all activities, participants are asked to complete reflective logbooks and to respond to a final questionnaire upon completion of the program.

This presentation reports on a total of ten tandem program occasions: (A) five occasions conducted with OU from summer 2020 to autumn 2021 focusing on “Japanese and Swedish,” and (B) five occasions conducted with USH from autumn 2021 to spring 2025 focusing on “Japanese and English.” Based on a content analysis of the final questionnaire results ([A] SU: N = 42, OU: N = 38; [B] SU: N = 107, USH: N = 156), the report discusses the strengths and challenges of the distance tandem activities from two perspectives: (1) differences by language pairing (“Japanese vs. Swedish” and “Japanese vs. English”), and (2) differences by activity format (“free tandem” vs. “task-based tandem”).

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References

Little, D., & Brammerts, H. (Eds.) (1996). A Guide to Language Learning in Tandem via the

Internet. CLCS Occasional Paper, no. 46. Dublin: Trinity College.

Tardieu, C., & Horgues, C. (Eds.) (2019). Redefining Tandem Language

and Culture Learning in Higher Education. Routledge.

I

脇坂真彩子 (2015) 「タンデム学習ガイドライン」https://isc.kyushu-u.ac.jp/center/tandem/index.html（最終閲覧日：2026年4月18日）

Paper long abstract

The rapid advancement of AI technologies has significantly transformed the field of language education. In Japanese language education in particular, both teachers and learners are increasingly incorporating AI into their practices. However, in this period of transition, many teachers remain uncertain about how to effectively engage with these technologies.

While previous studies in Japanese language education have examined AI-assisted approaches to teaching and assessing specific skills, such as speaking and writing, little attention has been paid to the relationship between AI and the role of the teacher.

This study addresses this gap by investigating the use of AI among learners in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, focusing on three key questions: (1) how learners use AI in their studies; (2) the extent to which they trust and rely on AI; and (3) what they expect from teachers in the age of AI. Building on the findings, it further examines the role of teachers in the age of AI.

A questionnaire survey was conducted among Japanese language learners across proficiency levels, yielding 88 responses. Approximately half of the participants were university students majoring in Japanese, while around 40% were enrolled in general Japanese language courses. The findings indicate that more than half of the respondents use generative AI, primarily for reading support and basic sentence correction. However, over 60% reported low levels of trust in and reliance on AI.

Regarding expectations of teachers, learners emphasized the importance of sustaining motivation, responding flexibly to individual needs, and providing a human dimension to learning through the sharing of knowledge and experience. In addition, some respondents expressed a need for guidance in AI literacy.

Although a cautious attitude toward AI use is evident in this region, the spread of AI technologies appears to be irreversible. In this context, teachers are expected not only to act as coordinators of learning, but also to foster meaningful human connections grounded in lived experience, rather than merely presenting knowledge mechanically.

Paper long abstract

This presentation examines whether collaboratively designed and implemented Japanese language classes—developed jointly by teachers and students from lesson planning through delivery—can serve as a learning opportunity for both parties, and how such classes are received by participants, including their potential benefits. The case examined is the class “Japanese Game: Tea-Picking Song and Hand-Clapping Game,” conducted in April 2025 at the International Japanese Studies Camp ‘Gasshuku’ in Poland (hereafter, the Gasshuku).

As shown in the author’s previous study (Rządek 2026), the Gasshuku has evolved from a teacher-led format at its inception in 2009 into a student-led event. In Japanese language classes as well, coordination of class sessions has been gradually shifting from teachers to student organizers. In the early stages, teacher coordinators promoted inter-university collaboration by assigning several supporting teachers to each class instructor (Tanaka 2013). Building on this development, the present study focuses on the effectiveness of collaboration between teachers and students in planning and managing classes.

The case analyzed, “Japanese Game: Tea-Picking Song and Hand-Clapping Game,” was conducted on the morning of the first day of the Gasshuku and primarily targeted learners at the N5–N4 levels. However, explanations of the lyrics and quizzes were provided with translation by collaborating students, and the class was designed to be accessible to learners of all levels, as it also incorporated ice-breaking activities and content learning (traditional calendar markers in Japan).

The research methodology involves analysis of the entire process from lesson planning to implementation, teacher reflection, interviews with collaborating students, and questionnaire responses from participants. The results suggest that collaboration contributes to improved learning outcomes and satisfaction among teachers, collaborating students, and participants. At the same time, insufficient collaborative procedures—such as a lack of shared understanding of lesson objectives—were found to cause operational issues in classroom activities (e.g., difficulty in smoothly rotating partners during hand-clapping game, leading to ineffective ice-breaking).

(Word count for the Body part: 313 words)

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References

瓜生佳代・シュチェフラ，アレキサンドラ・マイヤー，スタニスワフ・チャスカ，アンナ（2010）「ポーランド、スロバキア、チェコの日本学科合同合宿の試み」『国際交流基金日本語教育紀要』第6号, pp.157-163．

ジョンデクなぎさ（2026）「ポーランド日本学国際合宿における学生の主体度についての一考察」『日本語教育連絡会議（2025）論文集Vol.38』, pp.119-123, https://renrakukaigi.kenkenpa.net/ronbun38.html（2026年4月2日）.

田中香織（2013）「国際日本学学生ワークショップにおける日本語授業」『日本語教育連絡会議論文集Vol.25』, pp.1-6， https://renrakukaigi.kenkenpa.net/ronbun25.html（2026年3月20日）.

Paper long abstract

This study examines how university students raised in multilingual environments make sense of their own experiences and abilities through dialogue in Japanese with peers who share similar backgrounds. Although the number of such students—including those who migrated to Japan with their families, children from international marriages, and returnees—has increased in Japanese universities, higher education remains dominated by a monolingual, Japanese-centered language ideology. As a result, students’ non-native-like proficiency in Japanese is often framed as a deficit, while their multilingual experiences are insufficiently recognized in educational practice. Although recent studies have increasingly focused on learners’ language awareness and plurilingual and pluricultural competence, concrete educational practices in Japanese universities remain limited.

Focusing on the importance of creating Japanese language education practices collaboratively with students, this study explores a dialogic approach that encourages learners to recognize and affirm their plurilingual and pluricultural competence. A dialogic project to co-create a pattern language was conducted with eight university students raised in multilingual environments at a Japanese university (Omori 2026).

The analysis focuses on students’ narratives produced during group-based dialogue sessions in which they shared their experiences. The data consist of audio and video recordings from six sessions (a total of seven hours). Drawing on Rappaport’s (1993) concept of community narratives, the analysis examines how students’ narratives were constructed and transformed through interaction. The findings demonstrate that values and abilities developed through experiences and struggles across multiple linguistic and cultural contexts were positively reinterpreted through the dynamic interplay between personal stories and community narratives. The study also shows that dialogue grounded in empathy for and acceptance of diversity itself constitutes an enactment of the students’ plurilingual and pluricultural competence. Furthermore, engaging with such narratives can prompt shifts in teachers’ views of language ability and educational practice.

This study represents a dialogic practice through which learners and teachers deepened their understanding of the self and others. The insights gained offer implications for Japanese language education in Europe and heritage Japanese education, where multilingual and multicultural environments are taken as a given.

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References

Rappaport, J. (1993). Narrative studies, personal stories, and identity transformation in the mutual help context. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 29(2), 239–256.

大森優（2026）「複数言語環境で育った学生とともに創るパターン・ランゲージ―多様な経験を強みとして自己肯定感を育む対話活動実践―」『神田外語大学紀要』38, pp.269-288.

Paper long abstract

This study examines how plurilingual users exercise leadership through Japanese within religious communities. The Catholic Church in Japan is a multicultural and multilingual religious community of approximately 800,000 people, with foreign believers accounting for about half of the total alongside 420,000 Japanese believers (Miyoshi, 2020). Today, community formation among believers from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds has become a key challenge. In this context, foreign missionaries who are plurilingual users act as pioneering practitioners.

In Japanese language education, studies on foreign missionaries have mainly focused on vocabulary and pragmatics as forms of professional Japanese (Harada & Imai, 2001, etc.), while limited attention has been paid to their roles in language use during religious practices and community management.

This presentation analyzes semi-structured interviews with five foreign missionaries (conducted between November 2022 and November 2024, lasting approximately 80 to 280 minutes each), focusing on their accounts of religious practices at their assigned locations. Focusing on the meaning-making of language use and leadership, a qualitative analysis was conducted using NVivo, following the coding approach proposed by Sato (2008). As a result, three analytical perspectives were inductively derived: (1) language use in religious rituals, (2) relational coordination in everyday pastoral work, and (3) community decision-making and management.

The analysis shows that missionaries draw on their plurilingual and pluricultural resources to mediate relationships within the parish through practices such as conducting multilingual masses, facilitating parish meetings, planning joint activities such as nativity plays and bazaars, and resolving friction among members who speak different languages. Consequently, religious discourse communities operate as linguistic communities that accommodate internal diversity despite differences in linguistic proficiency.

In light of the CEFR mediation framework, these findings highlight the importance of viewing mediation by plurilingual users not merely as interpersonal adjustment in learning settings, but as a community-level practice enacted by leaders to build inclusive spaces in which diverse members can participate in and sustain the community.

Paper long abstract

So far, plurilingualism and pluriculturalism have mainly been discussed in terms of how learners use their different language resources and combine their language abilities. However, language education still tends to assume an “autonomous individual,” and the ethical aspect — how people deal with and adjust differences in meaning in relationships — has not been fully discussed. In interactions with others who have different values and positions, understanding is not just about sending information, but about adjusting meaning within relationships.

This presentation argues that plurilingualism and pluriculturalism should not be seen only as a principle that values language diversity. Rather, it should be understood as an ethical practice in which people accept differences in meaning and continue to adjust them in relation to others. Therefore, language education needs to go beyond the idea of the “autonomous individual” and be rethought as an ethics based on dialogue and relationships.

This argument is explored through the concept of “mediation” in the CEFR Companion Volume (CEFR-CV) by the Council of Europe, and through an analysis of dialogues about life and death in medical and caregiving settings. In particular, the presentation looks at discussions about treatment decisions and life choices and examines how people build relationships while adjusting differences in understanding. These dialogues can be seen as practices of mediation that connect different meanings.

This presentation has two main points. First, it does not limit plurilingualism and pluriculturalism to communication between speakers of different languages, but also considers differences that appear even among speakers of the same language. Second, it connects the idea of mediation with the “ethics of care” discussed in medical, caregiving, and thanatology studies (e.g., Joan Tronto 2015/2020), and rethinks language education as an ethical practice.

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References

Council of Europe (2001) Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Cambridge University Press.

Council of Europe (2020) Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. -Companion volume.

トロント、ジョアン・C著、岡野八代訳・著（2015/2020）『ケアするのは誰か？―新しい民主主義のかたちへ』白澤社