Design for a Japanese Language Learning Environment for Foreign Children : A Support Model Targeting an Area Diffusely Populated with Foreign Residents

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The purpose of this study was to investigate possibilities for language learning environment design for children of foreign nationalities in a region such as Toyama, where the population of foreign residents is diffused over a wide area. Involving the participation of a wide variety of people with the opportunity or inclination to work with foreign children, this study worked to promote collaborative efforts between people irrespective of their nationality or social/professional role, and to coordinate supportive measures that would otherwise be conducted separately in different areas. To further the goals of this study, a translation materials production project was initiated, and the ways in which project members interacted with each other in actual activities were recorded, analyzed, and examined. In addition, Which Language do you Study from? Japanese? Your Native Language?, a selection of translated materials complementing an elementary school level Japanese language textbook, was … More published on March 30, 2011. We believe that this study succeeded, to some extent, in preventing isolation between the various elements of the community involved in supporting foreign children.The results achieved by this study are as follows : (1) To overcome the inconveniences experienced in regions with a diffuse population of foreign students, a web site was created to act as the locus of a "virtual community" ; however, only very limited results were seen. A mailing list functioned as an alternative measure. (2) In the translation materials production project, it was observed that all participating members were able to play a part in the project, which allowed them to find value in the process of translating, and also enabled them to make adjustments in their various stances to better suit their association with foreign students. (3) By translating materials into their native language, project members were able to rediscover their native cultural and linguistic identity, which led to an improved sense of empowerment. (4) A tentative model for Japanese language learning support for foreign children in regions with diffuse foreign resident populations was drafted. Less