2020 Volume 175 Pages 100-114
The greatest portion of Japanese language education outside Japan is that conducted in secondary schools. However, the number of studies in this field is still inadequate in Japan. This study analyzed research trends in 155 papers on Japanese language education at the secondary level overseas which are published in academic journals and bulletins issued by the Society for Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language and the Japan Foundation. As a result, the following three typical trends were discovered. Most of the reports are on (1) practices aiming for the attainment of education policy goals, (2) practices aiming to formulate a better education system, and (3) most of the investigations are carried out within the limits of areas where practices were conducted. At the same time, the analysis also revealed that there are very few studies aiming to develop theory for Japanese language education in secondary education by comprehensively reviewing practices spanning different areas, countries and policies. The author concludes by pointing out that it is necessary to develop a theory for Japanese language education for secondary education.
