1998 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
An investigation into written language teaching methodologies and development of KANJI teaching materials
| Project/Area Number |
08610243
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Educaion
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| Research Institution | TOKYO UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN STUDIES |
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Principal Investigator |
ZENNYOJI Toshiyuki 東京外国語大学, 留学生日本語教育センター, 助教授 (90226697)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
WATANABE Hiroshi 東京外国語大学, 留学生日本語教育センター, 助教授 (70237155)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1996 – 1998
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| Keywords | KANJI / methodology / KANJI cultural backgrounds / materials / written language / NON-KANJI cultural backgrounds |
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| Research Abstract |
Concerning the education of written languages around the world, we investigated the actual methodologies in use in approximately ten cases. In reference to our findings, we developed teaching materials for teaching KANJI effectively to students from NON-KANJI cultural backgrounds.
The actual methodologies in use for teaching written language in our sample confirmed our expectations. While in NON-KANJI dominated cultural areas, less than 50 letters are learnt within one year at most, in KANJI dominated cultural areas, at least 1000 characters (about 3500 in China) are taught over a period of 6 or 7 years. Even so, this does not signify the conclusion to the learners' language education.
When we think about methodologies in use for Japanese written language education for foreigners, we can easily observe that students from NON-KANJI cultural backgrounds are driven to despair by learning KANJI.We delineated through our teaching materials a methodology of teaching KANJI that was not vague, but lucid, methodical and compounding.
Besides this, we also experimented with teaching KANJI with computers, in order to create the most effective computer based teaching materials for the students from NON-KANJI cultural backgrounds. Those materials allow the learners to quickly memorize the shape and the meaning of KANJI, and at the same time develop an understanding of the etymological origin of KANJI, thus these materials are applicable not only for foreign learners but also for Japanese children.
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