Questionnaire Survey on the Need for Japanese in Work and the Evaluation of Business Japanese Proficiency:

the Comparison of Foreign Employees and Their Supervisors and Coworkers

Abstract

This study analyzes a questionnaire survey of foreign employees and their supervisors and coworkers regarding the degree of needs for Japanese in their work and their evaluation of their business Japanese proficiency. The results showed general agreement on which tasks required Japanese; however, for certain items, while foreign employees thought that Japanese was not necessary, their supervisors and coworkers required to perform in Japanese. Regarding the evaluation of abilities, there were items in which the foreign employees’ self-evaluations matched those of their supervisors and coworkers. However, in some items, significant differences.