Japanese Language Education and Multiculturalism in the Context of Postcolonial Theory: Innovative Applications in the Classroom

本研究的目的是探讨后殖民理论如何使我们能够对日本学校中移民儿童的日语教育以及日本版的多元文化主义提出问题。后殖民研究已经认识到，在分析中包括不同文化和历史之间每个接触点的特殊性是非常重要的。“主导”文化适应移民的过程，以及每个文化接受、拒绝和与生活在其中的“他人”杂交的方式，都因接受国和被接受移民的独特历史和价值观而大不相同。作为该项目的一部分，对日语教育进行了深入的教学分析。教育学被广泛地定义为教学的方法和实践，是指学习的理论，以及这个过程如何影响学习者的社会，政治和心理发展。此外，对外国人日语教育的发展变化进行了历史回顾。研究发现，日语可以作为日本文化独特性的象征，外国人在理解日语并使用日语进行交流时，常常会感到困惑。日本语课堂观察已经进行。部分和正在进行的研究成果已在国际会议上发表和介绍。

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.