The Issues of Sending Instructors for Assisting the Overseas Japanese-language Education: A Case Study of JOCV Aid to Tunisia

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the issuse of sending Japanese instructors for assisting overseas Japanese-language education through examining the case of Tunisia. Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) sent 24 teachers in total to Tunisia during 1977-1993. But this assistance was given up before its aims to establish local program and bring up local instructors were achieved, and the withdrawal of JOCV suspended Japanese-language education in this nation.

In the first part of this paper, the aid principal for overseas Japanese-language education is examined through reviewing the previous studies. The author presents the new aid principle that should aim at and contribute to every learner's welfare and interest. Then the case analysis figures out that the invalidation of the aid principle for the national interests led inevitably the close of Japanese-language education, caused by the deficient investigation into background of the aid before starting the project, the limit of JOCV operations and the lack of self-help effort on Tunisian side, apart from the fatal absence of social needs for the Japanese-language.

In the second part, the reasons why certain countries request Japanese-language instructors for the Japanese Government are explored and finally the issues for making instructors' teaching activities better and fruitful are discussed. The priamry consideration should be that the aid for overseas Japanese-language education must not seek after the quantitative spread for national interests, but the qualitative development, which first of all contribute to the welfare of individual learners. It is appropriate to endorse the thorough investigation before starting a project, the orientation and training for providing instructors with realistic expectation and the hearty consideration for various needs of Japanese-language.