Online collaborative learning for Japanese language teachers and learners: developing intercultural competence

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24520592
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Japanese language education
• Research Institution: Ritsumeikan University
• Principal Investigator: Kitade Keiko 立命館大学, 文学部, 教授 (60368008)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): Kiyota Junko 立命館大学, 文学部, 教授 (30401582) ; Sakamoto Toshiko 立命館大学, 産業社会学部, 教授 (90331115) ; Mark Peterson 京都大学, 人間・環境学研究科, 准教授 (90361732)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 異文化接触 / 日本語教師 / 状況的学習 / 外国語学習者 / アイデンティティ / 主体性 / 共修

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The project has been carried out with both the research and practice perspectives. In order to address the development of the learners’ and teachers’ identity and their transformation process, the project employs “Trajectory Equifinality Approach (TEA)”, originally invented in cultural psychology. Examination with TEA enables to explore the language learners’ and teachers’ developments in related to the socio-cultural contexts along with their life trajectories. The findings suggest that the learning and teaching are social acts where how one can develop is based on one’s agency emerged within the socio-cultural contexts.
As for the intercultural learning model, the researcher suggests the intercultural co-learning practice, which enables the Japanese students and international students to learn from each other through the project-based learning. The learning model is based on the “team-based learning” and “finding common grounds” suggested in Australia.

Free Research Field

日本語教育