Journal of Japanese Language Teaching
Online ISSN : 2424-2039
Print ISSN : 0389-4037
ISSN-L : 0389-4037
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Volume 138
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FEATURED ISSUE: Japanese Language Education and Multicultural Co-existence
Featured Article
  • Multicultural Coexistence and Support for Community-Based Japanese Language Education
    Aiming for the Deployment of a Practical Sustainable Collaboration
    Hiroshi NOYAMA
    2008 Volume 138 Pages 4-13
    Published: 2008
    Released on J-STAGE: October 30, 2022
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.20721/nihongokyoiku.138.0_4
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    In this paper I first make clear what I mean by "multicultural coexistence". Next I review what we can learn from previous research on multiculural coexistence and support for community-based Japanese language education, and situate such support in terms of national policy for Japanese language education. Then I show what can be gleaned from the unfolding of the Plan for the Promotion of Multicultural Coexistence put forth by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and from recent measures taken by local authorities, and give a general view of policies and measures implemented by The Agency for Cultural Affairs to enhance support for community-based teaching and learning of Japanese. Next I briefly describe the policy shift of 2007, which may be seen as a watershed in support for community-based Japanese language education, as well as developments that have taken place within the prefectures and municipalities, and I introduce examples of practical sustainable collaboration realized through Japanese language. Finally I point out the importance of fostering and retaining coordinators who can make such collaboration possible, and preview how such support will progress in the future.
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  • Voluntary Citizens' Activities Supporting Japanese Language Acquisition
    Koichi NISHIGUCHI
    2008 Volume 138 Pages 24-32
    Published: 2008
    Released on J-STAGE: October 30, 2022
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.20721/nihongokyoiku.138.0_24
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    The acquisition of Japanese language by participating foreign residents is surely an integral element of the local Japanese language class supported by voluntary citizens. However, supporting their acquisition of the language cannot be simply equated with teaching it. If we look at other countries' second language education programs for temporary visitors or new residents, we will notice that they pay as much attention to language for conversation as to language for daily life. The ability to converse with other people is essential for anybody who wishes to live a culturally rich life. Second language learners in natural settings very often acquire the kind of ability that is needed for conversation through continuous personal contacts with a limited number of the speakers of the target language. The local Japanese language class can provide foreign residents who visit the class with very suitable conditions for natural acquisition to happen. Although it may call for special attention from both the citizen volunteers who speak Japanese and foreign residents who are acquiring it to manage a conversation within a limited repertoire of Japanese, an environment for natural acquisition is automatically created through regular contacts in the class as far as the participating citizens interact, without a particular intention to teach the language, with participating foreign residents as equal members of the community.
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  • Admission of Immigrants and Language Education in Germany
    Focusing on German Language Education
    Fumiya HIRATAKA
    2008 Volume 138 Pages 43-52
    Published: 2008
    Released on J-STAGE: October 30, 2022
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.20721/nihongokyoiku.138.0_43
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    In the first half of this paper I review the history of the admission of immigrants to Germany, and discuss the transformations seen in language education aimed at immigrants. In the second half I deal with three topics that particularly illuminate the present conditions of Teaching German as a Second Language. First I discuss the German language programs aimed at pre-school immigrant children which are attracting great attention recently, taking the program in the state of Hessen as an example. Next I discuss policies for assisting elementary and middle school students with German, focusing on the state of Niedersachsen. Finally I discuss the integrated German course for immigrants that was established in response to the Immigration Law of 2005 as an example of German language education aimed at adults. This course consists of 600 hours of language instruction supplemented by a 45 hour orientation course on German society. The Immigration Law declares that a wide variety of players should be involved in the integration of immigrants into German society, including religious organizations and the Aliens Authorities.
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REGULAR ISSUE
Research Papers
  • The Use of Japanese Filler ano and sono
    Hayato DAIKUHARA
    2008 Volume 138 Pages 53-62
    Published: 2008
    Released on J-STAGE: October 30, 2022
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.20721/nihongokyoiku.138.0_53
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    It has been often discussed that teachers should teach Japanese fillers to students. In order to do so, it is important that teachers understand the use of fillers. This paper discusses the use of two Japanese fillers ano and sono. First, I propose a hypothesis that these fillers are grammaticalized from demonstratives and the characteristics of demonstratives are preserved in these fillers. Then, I examine this hypothesis by using two kinds of data: questionnaire and corpus data. The results were as follows: 1) As expected under the hypothesis, the conditions for the use of filler sono are similar to those of demonstratives. On the other hand, against the expectation, filler ano no longer retains the characteristics of demonstratives and their conditions for the use are hardly restricted; 2) The uses of filler sono are classified into three: the re-state use, the inference use, the indefinite use, and each use has a unique communicative effect; 3) The indefinite use of sono cannot be substituted by ano.
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  • An Analysis of the Closing Section of Business Telephone Conversations
    Focusing on how Learners of Japanese in China (JFL) Deal with Complaints
    Akiko HATTORI
    2008 Volume 138 Pages 63-72
    Published: 2008
    Released on J-STAGE: October 30, 2022
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.20721/nihongokyoiku.138.0_63
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    This paper investigates the closing section of business telephone conversations by learners who are studying business Japanese in China (JFL).

    The closing section of telephone conversation was focused on because of its importance in maintaining good business relations. This survey was carried out using a role play of a complaint scene. The points of analysis, based on problems pointed out by previous studies, are as follows:

    (1) Will JFL be able to understand the meta message that appears to introduce the closing?

    (2) What kind of expression of leave-taking will appear in the utterance

    (3) Is the final confirmation of the closing able to be done smoothly?

    The above three points were analyzed through comparison with native speakers of Japanese. It was found that JFL either tend not to be able to follow the steps in the closing section, ending the conversation abruptly, or are unable to end the conversation. Moreover, it appeared that some cases go without leave-taking, and in other cases similar characteristic expressions were observed. From these findings, this paper supports the conclusions of the previous studies and, in addition, suggests the possibility of a difference in the socio-cultural norms for leave-taking.

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Survey Articles
  • Variations of the Japanese Deontic Expressions and Tendencies in Their Appearance as Revealed through the Results of a Study of Their Actual Use
    Madoka KONISHI
    2008 Volume 138 Pages 73-82
    Published: 2008
    Released on J-STAGE: October 30, 2022
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.20721/nihongokyoiku.138.0_73
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    In recent years, the need for grammatical descriptions suited for communication activities and the demand for research into the actual use of the Japanese language are growing. From the above point of view, this paper chooses the deontic expressions, such as nakereba naranai 'have to', and formulates a grammatical description. Furthermore, it investigates the tendencies in the appearance of variations of these expressions within a corpus. In addition, it demonstrates the vagueness of the terms "spoken language" (hanashi-kotoba) and "written language" (kaki-kotoba). In order to avoid their vagueness, it categorizes data from the corpus used in the study by the following three extralinguistic factors: Medium, Situation, Interaction with the Listener, and analyzes the frequency of appearance of each variation of the deontic expressions.

    The results of the research can be summarized as follows:

    (1) nakya ikenai appears with high probability in the spoken medium.

    (2) nakereba naranai is used as an almost fixed expression in the written medium.

    (3) In the spoken medium, the frequency of nai to is higher than that of nakute wa ikenai which is included in the list of expressions tested in the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test.

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  • Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language: Katakana and its Implementation in the Syllabus
    Eriko NAKAYAMA, Masataka JINNOUCHI, Rika KIRYU, Naoko MIYAKE
    2008 Volume 138 Pages 83-91
    Published: 2008
    Released on J-STAGE: October 30, 2022
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.20721/nihongokyoiku.138.0_83
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    In this paper, based on the results of investigations at the classroom level, we highlight a number of problems surrounding the teaching of katakana characters and katakana vocabulary within Japanese language teaching as a whole. Teachers in almost all the institutions surveyed, in contrast to the time spent on the writing of hiragana and kanji and their related vocabulary, were found to devote very little time to the teaching of katakana vocabulary and characters. Katakana vocabulary was only taught as and when it appeared in teaching materials. This may be thought to be at the root of learners' difficulties with katakana characters and vocabulary, and the source of the need that is felt for the introduction of more katakana-directed teaching. Several factors stand behind the present reality: first, an insufficient appreciation among teachers that katakana vocabulary is indeed authentic Japanese; second, the disproportionately small amount of katakana vocabulary in the syllabus compared to its prevalence in real life; and third, an imbalance in the attention paid to katakana characters and vocabulary in teachers' manuals and reference books. It is our contention that there is an urgent need to bring teachers to an awareness that katakana instruction as it stands does not reflect the state of contemporary Japanese, and that it is high time to develop appropriate teaching methods and materials.
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Practical Articles
  • The Effect of the Jigsaw Learning Method on the Academic Performance of Postgraduate Students in China
    Yuriko SUNAKAWA, Guirong ZHU
    2008 Volume 138 Pages 92-101
    Published: 2008
    Released on J-STAGE: October 30, 2022
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.20721/nihongokyoiku.138.0_92
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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    Education for students majoring in foreign languages at Chinese universities aims to improve the students' language skills rather than their academic competence. Most postgraduate students who specialize in Japanese studies used to be undergraduates who majored in Japanese. Therefore they are used to a 'passive' and 'self-study' learning style, and find it difficult to acquire academic communicative competence based on active and co-operative research attitudes. This paper is a report of experimental practice of the jigsaw learning method, which we used with postgraduate students in China in order to improve their academic performance. We used the jigsaw learning method for academic activities such as reading, discussion, and presentation. We analyzed the students' answers to questionnaires we had them complete after the course. The results of the analysis are as follows: Most of the students were satisfied with the improvement in their academic communicative competence and recognized the importance of co-operative and active research attitudes. Class management issues such as the timetable, the selection of papers for the reading activities, and the teacher's involvement in the students' activities were problematic, but we found the jigsaw learning method to be an effective way to make students aware of the importance of active and co-operative research attitudes.
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  • Effects of Composition Idea Support Using an "Idea Sheet"
    Midori YOSHIDA
    2008 Volume 138 Pages 102-111
    Published: 2008
    Released on J-STAGE: October 30, 2022
    DOIhttps://doi.org/10.20721/nihongokyoiku.138.0_102
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    Learners who are not good at writing often do not know what to write. Therefore, the author developed a task sheet for assistance in developing ideas: an "idea sheet". The sheet enables learners to visualize their thoughts and subsequently expand their ideas by giving them a framework within which to inscribe their thoughts. This study was designed to verify the effects of activities for inscribing ideas using the idea sheet. All 29 subjects were Chinese students, of whom 17 were classified into an experimental group and 12 into a control group. First, subjects of both groups were asked to write the first composition as a preliminary examination. Next, only the experimental group subjects were asked to do an idea activity using the idea sheet. Then all subjects of both groups were asked to write the second composition. To elucidate the effects of the idea sheet, a two-way factor analysis was conducted of variance for the results of the experimental versus the control group, against the first versus the second composition. Results showed effects such as improved scores related to content (logical consistency) and increased numbers of sentence clauses used.
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