Towards Realization of Global Standards in Japanese Language Pedagogy

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Over the past years, the number of Japanese National universities hosting a short-term student exchange program (henceforth Tanpuro) has increased from 3 in 1995 to 28 in 2006, while the number of exchange partner universities linked to each host university has increased, a fact which resulted in greatly diversified expectations by participating students with different background in language, culture and education toward the Tanpuro Japanese language programs.We believe that Tanpuro Japanese language programs should provide participants with a coherent learning experience which guarantees the continuity of language learning prior, during and after participation in tanpuro. For this reason, Japanese language programs at tanpuro should strive towards accommodating such needs and expectations.In order to analyze the nature of such diversities, we conducted surveys in France and England on learners attitudes toward Japanese language learning. We analyzed the data by focusing on four aspects : the students'' motivation, their interests in Japan, their expectation for the Japanese language programs and their expectations towards the Year Abroad in Japan. The statistical analysis revealed both similarities and differences between the regions surveyed. To reinforce our argument, we also conducted similar surveys in Australia and New Zealand for further regional comparison.The regional differences between England and France were attributed to differences in education systems, different degrees of interest in popular-culture, degree of exposure to the Japanese culture and so forth.The above leads us to the conclusion that building a pedagogy network between Japanese programs on both sides enabling a systematic exchange of information on participants' curricular needs is essential for the maintenance of continuity and coherence in the students' learning experience of the Japanese language.