2022 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Japanese Language Education and Multiculturalism in the Context of Postcolonial Theory: Innovative Applications in the Classroom
| Project/Area Number |
21K02294
|
|---|
| Research Institution | Utsunomiya University |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
戚 傑 宇都宮大学, 国際学部, 教授 (50359585)
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
|
| Keywords | Multiculturalism / Multicultural education / Postcolonial studies / Pedagogy / JSL / Immigration |
|---|
| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
The purpose of this project to is to consider how postcolonial theory can enable us to problematize Japanese language education for immigrant children in Japanese schools and the Japanese version of multiculturalism. Postcolonial studies have come to recognize the saliency of including the particularities of each point of contact between different cultures and histories in analysis. The processes by which “dominant” cultures adapt to the presence of immigrants in their midst, and the ways in which each of them embrace, reject, and hybridize with the “others” who are living among them is very different depending on the unique histories and values of the receiving nations, as well as those of the immigrants being received. In-depth pedagogical analysis of Japanese language education has been conducted as part of this project. Pedagogy is broadly defined as the method and practice of teaching, and refers to theories of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Furthermore, historical reviews of the development and changes of Japanese language education for foreigners have been undertaken. It was found that the Japanese language can be used as a symbol of the uniqueness of Japanese culture, and often results in bewilderment when foreigners can understand and interact using the Japanese language. Japanese language class observations have been conducted. Partial and in progress research outcomes have been published and presented at international conferences.
|
| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
The research project has been conducted as described, and its current status is as planned.
|
| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
In the year of 2023, this research will be concluded and will propose several rational immigration policies and Japanese language teaching pedagogies. The research outcomes will be delivered at national/international conferences and published in academic journals. Japan is economically privileged to attract immigrants and could be viewed as a “metropolis,” Japan has a unique way of attempting to limit and control the ways that “foreign” groups bring “difference” into its midst. This research will examine how “difference” can affect and contribute to Japanese society.
|
| Causes of Carryover |
Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and travel restrictions, I had to present the outcomes of this research virtually at the 67th Comparative and International Educational Conference held in Washington, D.C., USA. Therefore, there are remaining travel funds.
|
