Abstract for the Keynote speech by Junko MAJIMA
AJE Symposium 2019, Belgrade
Globalization and its impact on local Japanese language teaching
The sheer number of people crossing borders in the world today has risen to such an extent that the word ‘globalization’ itself is beginning to sound banal. Japan is no exception to this border-crossing tendency. Although the Japanese government insists that it will not implement any official “immigration policy”, it is clear that Japanese society must grapple with the realities of coexisting with larger numbers of foreigners.
What is going on in the field of Japanese language teaching in Japan and abroad in this ‘Century of Migration’? How should we manage JSL/JFL situations in these new circumstances?
After looking at some thought-provoking local situations of language teaching, I would like to re-examine Market Fundamentalism in language education.
I would also like to talk about the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (Council of Europe, 2001) and its Companion Volume (CoE, 2018) to advance our discussions.
Some of the key concepts of the CEFR include “plurilingualism and pluriculturalism”, as well as “life-long learning” and “autonomous learning and learners”. Another important point in the framework is the recognition of learners’ partial abilities and that they need not aim to reach the level of native speakers. I will discuss Mediation in the CEFR-CV (Piccardo 2018), and the Action-oriented Approach (Piccard and North, 2019). CEFR has been dynamic in developing its scope (or field) in its significance and potential in, for example, Online and media language, and of Sign language in the era of inclusive education.
At this stage of globalization, it is important to consider how the needs of the present may have shifted from the days when learners were not so highly mobile. It is therefore crucial that we consider not only the “micro” perspective of learners and class management, but also the “macro” perspective in Japanese language teaching, which takes into account global changes and perspectives.
The Ministry of Education of the Republic of Serbia and the Faculty of Philology of the University of Belgrade have decided to sponsor the official course of the Serbian language and culture offered at the Minoh campus of the Osaka University starting the fall-winter semester 2019. The Graduate School of Language and Culture takes the course as a collaborative research project.The news was broadcast on the Prime-News in Serbia, and the video is attached below, which was also reported on the website of the Osaka University “News & Events” on September 13, 2019.