The Necessity of Establishing the Concept of “Learner’s Mother Tongue” as an Object of Japanese Language Education

Abstract

　　This study aims to point out the problem that “national language” has been the object of Japanese language education, and to set up the perspective of “learners’ mother tongue” as the target of learning and practice of Japanese language education. To achieve this goal, the view of “mother tongue” in Japanese language education research and practice was examined using the method of discourse analysis. As a result, it became clear that the conventional view of “mother tongue” in Japanese language education is strongly influenced by institutional and academic frameworks and lacks a focus on the diversity of learners. In addition, some previous studies have pointed out the need to break away from the conventional view of “mother tongue” based on academic regulations and to identify “mother tongue” from the accumulation of learners’ language experiences. Based on the above, this study proposes the concept of “learner’s mother tongue” as an alternative perspective to the conventional view of “mother tongue”.