Third-Party Language Contact Situations and Their Potential for the Teaching of Japanese as a Foreign Language

Abstract

With the spread of globalization, multilingualism and multiculturalism are accelerated. The goal of this paper is twofold. The first is to introduce one particular facet of language use among Japanese learners in contemporary Japanese society. Another goal is to look at the relationship between this kind of language use and the teaching of Japanese as a foreign language. After summarizing the main points regarding "contact situation", a concept derived from post-modernism, I present a case study which shows how learners of Japanese try to improve both their everyday language use and, eventually, overall living standard in Japan by actively participating in contact situations. In particular, I focus on Japanese language contact situations among foreigners, as this type of contact situation seems to play an important role in supporting the learners' everyday use of the Japanese language in Japan. This paper will also discuss the potential of these so-called "third-party language contact situations" for the teaching of Japanese as a foreign language in post-modern Japanese society.