Linguistic approaches to equal participation in multicultural classrooms

Yasashii Nihongo and plurilingual resources

Abstract

This report discusses multicultural classes conducted in English, where international and Japanese students studied together. Psychological language barriers among the non-native speakers were evident, and the author focused on addressing these challenges. The first strategy was the introduction of a semi-bilingual approach, incorporating English as a Lingua Franca and Yasashii Nihongo. Both methods consider the needs of disadvantaged language users and aim for equal participation of all language users. Subsequently, a project utilizing the students’ plurilingual resources was introduced. Although equal participation was not fully achieved, the students broadened their perspectives on language accommodation strategies. The report also implies the future agenda of further exploring effective approaches to overcome language barriers.