「教養日本語」の履修理由についての一考察 -韓国の4年制大学の非専攻学習者を中心に-

Abstract

This study takes the first step in primary research on Japanese language learner needs by investigating the reasons for enrolling in General Education Japanese classes. Two hundred and twenty-eight university students were given a 40 question survey to understand their reasons for enrolling in a general education Japanese class. The results, analyzed using a chi-squared test, showed 10 questions with more「あてはまる」 responses and 21 questions with more 「あてはまらない」responses, at a significance level of 5%. (１)The most popular reasons for taking the class were not the commonly expected answers such as ‘to be able to read books in Japanese’ or ‘to be able to watch Japanese movies without subtitles’, but rather interest in the Japanese language and culture inspired by a large body of information on Japan already obtained through the internet. (２)Another important reason was to gain skills necessary on a global stage. (３)Other reasons included the ease of becoming more proficient in Japanese, cited by students with previous learning experience, and the pleasure of learning a new language. It is hoped that the results of this study would contribute to a reassessment of the existing ‘General Education Japanese’ program, and its subsequent revision. It is also expected to be used as source data for looking into a new program with cultural elements as well as answering the question, “What should the content of linguistic study in ‘General Education Japanese’ be?”