2022 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Integrating foreign workers through Japanese language skills
| Project/Area Number |
20K00695
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| Research Institution | University of Tsukuba |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
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| Keywords | life-long learning / integration / language skills |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
During the third year of the project (FY2022), an in-person oral presentation was made at the 25th Japanese Language Education Symposium of the Association of Japanese Language Teachers in Europe (AJE), and subsequently a report has been submitted to AJE for the symposium proceedings to appear in May 2023. For the details, refer to part 10 below.
The researcher has continued collecting data related to the immigrant situation in Belgium (country of comparison). Of particular interest is the “Agentschap Integratie en Inburgering” (Agency for Civic Integration) originated by the Flemish government but run by independently. Further, preliminary contact has been made with the city of Turnhout in Belgium to discuss its policies and support strategies regarding immigrants. For this, an ethics review board application will be submitted. This is currently under preparation.
Also, in order to conduct the planned motivation survey, the researcher has continued trying to contact several local authorities to request cooperation.
However, the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has created an apparent reluctance towards participation approval.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
4: Progress in research has been delayed.
Reason
Similarly to the previous years of the project, the Covid-19 pandemic has made it impossible to conduct fieldwork. In addition, the extra workload due to online classes and related course material preparation continue to take away time and possibilities to conduct sufficient research.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
As indicated as an expectation in the report for the FY 2021, the researcher has extended the research project with one year. In FY2023, the planned surveys will be submitted for review by the University's ethics review board. Upon approval, the surveys will be conducted and analyzed. In addition, valuable data is expected from interviews with the city of Turnhout in Belgium. For these, an ethics review board application is under preparation in order to proceed with the interviews in September 2023.
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| Causes of Carryover |
The budget for FY2022 was meant to buy equipment (PC, voice recorders, video camera, etc.) and conference participation. Due to the pandemic, the research is delayed. The researcher was able to participate in person at an overseas conference. However, travel expenses (airplane ticket) were not applied for because the conference took place during a time the researcher was already in Europe for personal reasons.
In FY 2023, the researcher will participate at an in-person conference and will further implement the research project in FY2023. Again, the "Incurring Amount" will be used in a responsible manner.
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