「言語スキル」向上が目的の教科における日本語 イマージョン教育の役割と教育条件

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to prove how the Japanese immersion program helps its students to improve their Japanese language ability, and what sort of educational conditions are preferred on the spot also, through the questionnaire survey. The research targets 49 students, either in junior or senior year of K University’s undergraduate level, asking for their opinions based on their own experiences regarding the courses taught in Japanese. Good side and bad side, areas to require improvement, how it could be developed in the future, and so on. The result shows that the most expected role of Japanese immersion education is the “improvement of Japanese language proficiency”, while the merit of “concentrated study environment” is also mentioned, and many thought it could certainly help “to increase the motivation for studying Japanese”. Many of these students agree that teacher’s ability to control the class is the most important factor for successful immersion education. Investment on tangible systems cannot be ignored also, since there are some references on the university’s facilities to support the immersion program. Last but not the least, are some references regarding to learners themselves. Opinions on the effect of Japanese immersion program varies depending on the specification of Japanese language related courses, such as conversation, reading, grammar and composition. Thus if the expected roles and the educational conditions could successfully be mixed and matched, the realization of effective immersion education would be easier Large number of students are noticeably against the introduction of immersion education in the beginning level classrooms. This fact makes us to recognize the importance of exchanging information and suggestions to ameliorate the situations of these classrooms. Needless to mention though, trainings to polish teachers’ teaching skill is considered mandatory for the better immersion education.