Using Community-based Instruction to Promote Language Affiliation: Findings from Japanese Language Learners

A major challenge of the foreign language context, and teaching less commonly taught languages in specific, is engaging learners in the target culture and promoting meaningful use of the foreign language. This study demonstrates how community-based instruction, in the form of ethnographic observatio...

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Main Author: Vera E. W. Hanaoka
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages 2016-10-01
Series:Journal of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.ncolctl.org/files/jncolctl-vol-20/Using%20Community-based%20Instruction%20to%20Pro-mote%20Language%20Affiliation%3A%20Findings%20from%20Japanese%20Language%20Learners.pdf
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author Vera E. W. Hanaoka
author_facet Vera E. W. Hanaoka
author_sort Vera E. W. Hanaoka
collection DOAJ
description A major challenge of the foreign language context, and teaching less commonly taught languages in specific, is engaging learners in the target culture and promoting meaningful use of the foreign language. This study demonstrates how community-based instruction, in the form of ethnographic observations and interviews and service learning, can promote learner’s language affiliation — a sense of identification with the target culture and language. As a result of interactions with the local target language community made possible by the community-based assignments, university-level Japanese language learners gained an understanding of the target culture based on their individual experiences. By engaging with a community of Japanese speakers, learners saw how Japanese language skills and an understanding of Japanese culture are relevant to their lives. Heritage learners felt a strengthened sense of belonging to the wider Japanese community.
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spelling doaj.art-5bc09c68206b4fdda02db2ad4448d8d92022-12-22T00:09:21ZengNational Council of Less Commonly Taught LanguagesJournal of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages1930-90311930-90312016-10-0120Using Community-based Instruction to Promote Language Affiliation: Findings from Japanese Language LearnersVera E. W. Hanaoka0University of Hawai‘iA major challenge of the foreign language context, and teaching less commonly taught languages in specific, is engaging learners in the target culture and promoting meaningful use of the foreign language. This study demonstrates how community-based instruction, in the form of ethnographic observations and interviews and service learning, can promote learner’s language affiliation — a sense of identification with the target culture and language. As a result of interactions with the local target language community made possible by the community-based assignments, university-level Japanese language learners gained an understanding of the target culture based on their individual experiences. By engaging with a community of Japanese speakers, learners saw how Japanese language skills and an understanding of Japanese culture are relevant to their lives. Heritage learners felt a strengthened sense of belonging to the wider Japanese community.http://www.ncolctl.org/files/jncolctl-vol-20/Using%20Community-based%20Instruction%20to%20Pro-mote%20Language%20Affiliation%3A%20Findings%20from%20Japanese%20Language%20Learners.pdfcommunity-based instructionlearner as ethnographerservice learninglanguage affiliation
spellingShingle Vera E. W. Hanaoka
Using Community-based Instruction to Promote Language Affiliation: Findings from Japanese Language Learners
Journal of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages
community-based instruction
learner as ethnographer
service learning
language affiliation
title Using Community-based Instruction to Promote Language Affiliation: Findings from Japanese Language Learners
title_full Using Community-based Instruction to Promote Language Affiliation: Findings from Japanese Language Learners
title_fullStr Using Community-based Instruction to Promote Language Affiliation: Findings from Japanese Language Learners
title_full_unstemmed Using Community-based Instruction to Promote Language Affiliation: Findings from Japanese Language Learners
title_short Using Community-based Instruction to Promote Language Affiliation: Findings from Japanese Language Learners
title_sort using community based instruction to promote language affiliation findings from japanese language learners
topic community-based instruction
learner as ethnographer
service learning
language affiliation
url http://www.ncolctl.org/files/jncolctl-vol-20/Using%20Community-based%20Instruction%20to%20Pro-mote%20Language%20Affiliation%3A%20Findings%20from%20Japanese%20Language%20Learners.pdf
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