2018 Volume 2018 Issue 28 Pages 752-792
Since its launch in 1965, the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV), one of Japan’s international cooperation programmes, has continuously dispatched Japanese language instructors to various countries and areas. As of February 2018, approximately 2,000 Japanese language instructors have been sent overseas to support Japanese-language education, as an official project under this programme. Yet, from the end of World War II to date, the Japanese government has not articulated its view on the purposes and guidelines for Japanese-language education in foreign countries. In addition, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the implementing body of the JOCV, does not have any specific guidelines for the teaching of the Japanese language. Scholars have expressed their concern for the future of Japanese-language education. In particular, they pointed out the Japanese government’s ambivalence regarding the purposes of Japanese language education in overseas, such as the government’s attempt to popularize Japanese language, and also the political intention to manipulate criticism from overseas, in order to encourage a favorable understanding of Japan.
Recently, our neighboring country has donated their language and cultural institutions to schools across the world. The quantitative research on the achievement of the domestic and overseas Japanese language education recorded by the Japan Foundation indicates an overall increase from 1979 to 2015, broken down as follows: Japanese teaching institution, 14.1 times; Japanese language instructors, 15.6 times; Japanese language learners, 28.7 times.
This paper aims to quantitatively and qualitatively record the achievements of three researchers, who served as JOCV Japanese-language instructors in Bulgaria, Jamaica and Vietnam respectively. Ten years has passed since the researchers completed their assignments. This study has an attempt to highlight the significance of government-funded JOCV’s Japanese-language education in overseas.
