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Description

This presentation reports on a one-to-one advising practice conducted with an adult heritage Japanese learner who grew up in the United Kingdom. While English is the learner’s dominant language, Japanese, the mother’s first language, has been maintained and used as a heritage language within the family and community. Advising practice in Japanese language education remains limited, and few cases involving adult heritage Japanese learners have been reported. This practice aimed to promote autonomous learning by supporting reflection on Japanese language learning through advising sessions.

Although the learner possesses sufficient oral communicative ability in Japanese for everyday interactions, all formal education was in English, resulting in difficulties in reading and writing, particularly with kanji. The learner demonstrates strong motivation to use Japanese independently across all skills, including for future professional purposes. However, challenges were identified in using textbooks designed for second language learners, due to the limited availability of materials for adult heritage Japanese learners and the gap between listening and speaking skills and reading and writing skills.

In response to these challenges, advising sessions emphasizing reflection were conducted. These sessions supported the learner in articulating prior experiences and future goals, and in selecting learning content and learning methods autonomously. Through continued dialogue with the advisor, the learner was encouraged to reconsider learning priorities and to explore ways of reconstructing the learning process beyond a sole focus on kanji study. Recorded dialogues were analyzed for changes concerning learning goals, learning content, and learning methods.

The findings indicate that the learner, who initially focused on kanji study, reconceptualized Japanese learning in broader terms by including grammar, vocabulary, honorific expressions, and listening and speaking skills in addition to reading and writing, and began formulating learning plans more autonomously.

Although based on a single case, this practice provides an example of how adult heritage Japanese learners may approach learning in contexts where standard materials are not always suitable. This study offers pedagogical insights for Japanese language education and heritage language education, particularly regarding the role of advising in supporting reflection and learner autonomy among adult heritage language learners.