Collaborative Learning Project of Foreign Caregivers and University Students in Japanese Language Teacher Training Program:

Focusing on their Awareness through the Project

Abstract

This paper reports on a collaborative learning project involving two foreign caregivers and ten university students in a Japanese language teacher training program. The project aims to enhance the students’ understanding of foreign caregivers and to facilitate discussions about nursing care. In this project, university students interviewed foreign caregivers about their work and collaborated to create a leaflet. Through the project, the foreign caregivers developed confidence by expressing their work experiences in Japanese. Meanwhile, the university students’ perception of foreign caregivers changed positively, and they gained a detailed understanding of the caregivers’ experiences. This project provided an opportunity for them to think about and discuss social issues as fellow citizens.