Challenges and Prospects for Instructor Training in Japanese Language Schools

Shared Learning and Networking

Abstract

Training for instructors at Japanese language schools in the past had been left up to individual schools, with few resources available for peer support among instructors at different schools. Later, due to increased awareness on the part of schools and instructors of the need for such support, more attention was paid to improving the quality of teaching, and progress was made in establishing networking among schools leading to great changes in the accepted methods and actual practice of instructor training. However, in recent years students learning Japanese at these schools have greatly increased in number, and problems with the current training methods have appeared.

Accordingly, this paper identifies the distinctive characteristics of Japanese language schools, provides an overview of how instructor training developed in this context, and clarifies the challenges we are facing today. Further, we examine instructor training in Japanese language schools based on a report issued in March 2018 by the Agency for Cultural Affairs entitled “Nihongo kyōiku no yōsei kenshū no arikata ni tuite”. For instructor training to be effective there must be shared practice based on dialog, as well as coordination and collaboration with other institutions and other fields. This paper makes four proposals centering on this coordination.