2019 Volume 17 Pages 71-87
This study is to analyse the change of awareness about Japanese language and citizenship of a Japanese language learner “Ali” (pseudonym) from pre-conflict era to post-conflict era, who had moved to Sweden as a refugee, through interview data. The researcher conducted the interviews from March 2011 to January 2017, before and after the start of the Syrian crisis. During the interviews, “Ali” indicated that Japanese language would (1) enhance his future job opportunity, (2) achieve the development of his cross-border relationship, (3) gain recognition as one human being, and (4) change the society and his surroundings. In addition, “Ali” was strategically planning to establish the new relationship which surpass the nation state framework, while utilise the nation state framework to broaden prospect of his future career. He also flexibly implicated boundaries of language, nationality, and ethnicity to seek improvement of his surroundings, and develop citizenship. This finding leads to the conclusion that the foreign language would play an important role in individual＇s life and became an effective tool to develop their sense of citizenship.
