History of Japanese language education in University of Sakhalin Oblast:

Based on interviews with students who took the course close to the establishment period

Abstract

This study investigates the history of Japanese language education in Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, beginning in the late 1980s. Five research collaborators studying Japanese at Y University in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk were interviewed to explore the relationship between language learning and identity. Using the Trajectory Equifinality Approach, we found that there are four time segments before reaching the Equifinality Point [the established self in Japanese]. These four divisions comprise the period before entering university, that as a junior student after entering university, period as a senior student and years close to graduation, and period up to the Equifinality Point thereafter. The results of this study indicate that Japanese language education in Sakhalin Oblast should consider not only chronology but also continuity in the life of the individual in question.