A Report on the Experiment of Mutual Understanding of Different Cultures : Its Implications for Japanese Language Teaching

Abstract

Language has been reinterpreted as social process (La Forge 1983: 1). All social practices can be seen as language. One of them is the pressing problem of culture shock experienced by foreign students and returnees to be solved at present in Japan. In general, culture shock proceeds through the four stages: honeymoon, embryonic, recovery and adaptation, which leads to mutual understanding of different cultures through intercultural communication.. In this sense, language is interpreted as social process. Thus, teaching culture is one crucial aspect of Japanese language teaching in Japan. The present experiment shows that overemphasis on more knowledge of intercultural differences doesn't necessarily lead to mutual understanding of different cultures in the true sense.