Development and Expansion of "Learning Nursing Care Vocabulary in Easy Japanese"

Targeting Foreign Care Workers who will Take the National Examination for Certified Care Workers

Abstract

Amidst labor shortages in the nursing care sector, the acceptance of foreign care workers in Japan has grown increasingly. Additionally, the establishment of acceptance frameworks, such as EPA care worker candidates, "nursing care" status of residence, technical intern trainees, and specified skills, has resulted in the diversification and multinationalization of the nursing care workforce. It is crucial for foreign workers to pass the national examination which is conducted in Japanese and become certified care workers to sustain their employment in Japan. Therefore, the authors developed "Learning Nursing Care Vocabulary in Easy Japanese" as a web-based learning material for foreign care workers to learn technical terms for passing the national examination. One of the key features of this material is that it uses easy Japanese (plain Japanese) to explain technical terms, with an emphasis on making learning possible regardless of the learner's native language or cultural background. The website is equipped with functions such as multilingual search and tag filtering, and can be used in a variety of ways. This paper describes the website's creation process, including vocabulary selection, and explanation in easy Japanese, translation, website development, and other issues. It also discusses the website's content expansion and its future development.