2022 Volume 25 Issue 1 Pages 24-38
The COVID-19 pandemic, which started at the beginning of the 2020 Japanese academic year, has caused many universities to switch to online classes, and students who were planning to study in Japan are now “studying abroad” online. Before the pandemic, remote exchange classes connecting overseas and Japanese students have been conducted in Japanese language education, and many practical reports and studies have been carried out. This paper outlines the achievements and significance of remote learning to date, and discusses the importance of a setting where students can participate in a community, even if it’s online. In addition, interviews were conducted with three students who studied abroad at Japanese universities, and their accounts were used to examine what they were looking for when they studied abroad and how they evaluated their studies in 2020. The results showed that the purpose of studying in Japan was to experience Japanese lifestyle, and that although they regarded the educational outcomes as positive, they found it difficult to build relationships and participate in the community. This study concludes that it is important to incorporate a system that promotes community participation as one of its multiple settings into online education.
