Designing an educational programme with a view to developing students' competence to work in multicultural workplaces in rural areas: A case study in Niigata

• Project/Area Number: 16K13257
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Foreign language education
• Research Institution: Niigata University
• Principal Investigator: Yamada Yoko 新潟大学, 人文社会科学系, 准教授 (10388473)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 李 健泳 新潟大学, 人文社会科学系, 教授 (60212685) ; 澤村 明 新潟大学, 人文社会科学系, 教授 (40334643) ; 岸 保行 新潟大学, 人文社会科学系, 准教授 (50454088)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2018)
• Budget Amount: ¥2,990,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥690,000); Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000); Fiscal Year 2017: ¥780,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥180,000); Fiscal Year 2016: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000)
• Keywords: マルチカルチャーな職場 / 異文化コミュニケーション能力 / 異文化間能力 / 外国語学習への動機づけ / 異文化コミュニケーション / 地域活性化 / 英語

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In order to gain a better understanding of characteristics of multicultural workplaces in rural areas of Japan, this study conducted a questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews. A close examination of the results obtained from the survey and interviews provides us with some insights into competence necessary to work in multicultural workplaces in rural areas.
By designing an educational programme to develop the competence and practising it, this study shows the validity of the programme and research questions left for further study.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、地方における異文化コミュニケーションについて、主にマルチカルチャーな職場に焦点をあて調査・分析した。本研究は、これまで異文化コミュニケーション研究において注目されてこなかった地方における異文化コミュニケーションへの学術的関心を高めるものであり、研究の深化につながる。また、異文化コミュニケーション能力の向上を図り、地域活性化に必要な人材を育成するという、地域社会のニーズに応えるための一助となる。

Research Products

• [Journal Article] Japanese and Overseas Employees' Perceptions of Intercultural Communication: Insights for Designing an Educational Programme (2019)
  • Author(s): Yoko Yamada and Yasuyuki Kishi
  • Journal Title: 新潟大学経済論集 Volume: 106 Pages: 19-30
  • NAID: 120006763722
  • Open Access
• [Presentation] The relationship between students’ language learning and intercultural competence in Japan’s rural areas (2019)
  • Author(s): Yoko Yamada
  • Organizer: Language, Identity and Education in Multilingual Contexts (LIEMC19)
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Characteristics of Multicultural Workplaces in Local Companies in Japan (2018)
  • Author(s): Yoko Yamada, Yasuyuki Kishi, Akira Sawamura and Gunyung Lee
  • Organizer: The European Conference on Education 2018
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Students' Intercultural Communication Competence in Rural Areas of Japan (2018)
  • Author(s): Yoko Yamada, Gunyung Lee, Akira Sawamura, Yasuyuki Kishi
  • Organizer: The IAFOR International Conference on Education - Hawaii (IICEHawaii2018)
  • Int'l Joint Research