A Study of Minority Language Children in Japan : Acquisition of Japanese as a Second Language and Their Environment Factors

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This study aims at accumulating basic data of minority language children's acquisition of Japanese and their environmental factors, and also aims at elucidating the relationship between acquisition of Japanese and the factors of children as learners. In order to achieve these aims, we conducted (1) surveys of learning environment, (2) surveys of classroom interactions, and (3) surveys on consciousness of linguistic competence and language learning and surveys on linguistic behaviors.Surveys (1)-(3) were conducted on various groups of minority language children learning Japanese in Japan and overseas. In (1), we collected documents and information of standard syllabi, curriculum guidelines, textbooks and so on in the U.S., Canada, Australia and South Korea, where education of Japanese as a second language (especially in primary and secondary education) and foreign language education are actively conducted. Utilizing the result, we compiled a database of textbooks. In (2), we made an eth … More nographical study of a class in a junior high school in Japan, in which we analyzed the teacher's messages in newsletters and other communication to explore the students' linguistic socialization process. In (3), we analyzed the data accumulated by the National Institute of Japanese Language on minority language children's linguistic competence (conversation, listening comprehension and reading comprehension). As for Japanese conversation, we specified the characteristics of discourse for basic language skills with accuracy as a component, interpersonal skills with contextual support and cognitive language ability without contextual support, and compiled a corpus to be utilized as basic materials for the studies of bilingualism and second language acquisition.With these multidimensional surveys, we have acquired data and materials which should be the basis for curriculum development and improvement of teaching materials in Japanese education for minority language children with a wide variety of backgrounds. Less