What is the future of Japan that Japanese language education will play a role in?

The number of foreign workers in Japan is increasing year by year, and a 2019 analysis of foreign employment by companies by the Cabinet Office found that communication issues, such as "problems with Japanese language ability" and "concerns about communicating with Japanese employees," accounted for 491 TP3T of challenges faced by companies.
Even in the educational field, we are increasingly hearing about the learning problems of children who have not yet mastered the Japanese language.We will hear from teachers on the front lines about the current situation and measures for Japanese language education for the increasing number of foreign students and residents, as well as future challenges, and consider how to support Japanese language education, starting with "Universal Fonts" and "Easy Japanese."

Event Overview

Date and Time

Sunday, December 11, 2022 13:00~14:30

format

Free online event (Zoom)*Those who apply will be provided with an archived video at a later date.

Recommended for:

• Those who are involved in multicultural coexistence and international exchange (municipalities and support organizations)
• Those who are involved in Japanese language education
• Those who support international students
• Those who are working on easy Japanese
• Those who are working to attract businesses to local governments

Speakers

Associate Professor, Nagasaki Junior College　
Ms. Chie Iwasaki

Assistant Director, Career Development Division, Sojo University
Special Researcher, Regional Economic Research Institute, Public Interest Foundation
Kazunori MaedaMr. Kazunori Maeda

Kumamoto University Faculty of Education Special Needs Education School
Mr. Masataka Goto

program

Part 1: Lecture"Early Japanese Language Learners and Writing: Between Digital and Analog - Interim Report of the Demonstration Experiment" 

Seminar held on May 29, 2022He spoke about the importance of typefaces in the acquisition of Japanese language by international students, and a trend emerged in which UD fonts are effective in the relationship between Japanese language education and fonts. This time, he will be presenting an interim report on a demonstration experiment in which Japanese language learners participated, based on a survey of a larger number of subjects. 

Lecturer
● Chie Iwasaki

Part 2: Panel discussion"The future of Japanese language education as told by three people on the front lines"

Professor Iwasaki, who teaches international students aiming to find employment in Japan, Professor Maeda, who supports connecting international students with companies, and Professor Goto, who supports teaching materials that are expected to be used in Japanese language education, will each discuss the challenges they face in their different fields and their proposed solutions.

Panelists
● Chie Iwasaki ● Kazunori Maeda ● Masaaki Goto

Introduction of speakers and panelists

Associate Professor, Nagasaki Junior College　Chie Iwasaki(Iwasaki Chie)

Appearance part: Part 1 and Part 2

profile

Specializing in comparative sociocultural studies, she has been conducting "Easy Japanese Training" for Sasebo City Hall employees since 2020 as part of her efforts to promote "Easy Japanese for Resident Support." She is also dedicated to research and language education support for the realization of multicultural coexistence, including "The Right to Learn for Children with Foreign Connections" and "Language Activities and Bibliobattle."

Assistant Director, Career Development Division, Sojo University　Special Researcher, Regional Economic Research Institute, Public Interest Foundation　Kazunori MaedaMr. Kazunori Maeda

Appearance part: Part 2

profile

While providing career support to international students at the university, he also serves as a lecturer at seminars related to the employment of foreigners for local governments such as Kumamoto Prefecture, Kumamoto City, and Kitakyushu City. As part of the 2022 Kumamoto Prefecture Foreigner Activity Promotion Support Project, he is in charge of planning and teaching courses on cross-cultural understanding and easy Japanese language for companies. 

Kumamoto University Faculty of Education Special Needs Education SchoolMr. Masataka Goto

Appearance part: Part 2

profile

He is a teacher at the Special Needs School attached to the Faculty of Education at Kumamoto University. In 2019, he founded the "Teach U" was launched and exceeded 1.5 million hits in October 2022. Recently, it has been widely used in the field of Japanese language education around the world. Digital Agency"Good Digital Award" 2022 Category Excellence Award (Education Category)Awarded. Toyokazu Mizuuchi and Masataka Goto, eds.Special Needs Education: Practical Guide to Using One Device per Student - Independent Activities and Other Editions / Subject-Centered Edition"

Related Articles

Please also see past seminar reports on Japanese language education and UD digital textbook fonts.

[Education Day 29th] Supporting foreigners as residents ~ "Easy Japanese" and UD fonts ~

Towards a society of coexistence, it is important to provide high-quality education to diverse people and to ensure that they receive the information they need to live. At the end of May 2022, the online events will be held on Education Day, which will focus on the acquisition of languages other than one's native language and UD fonts, and on Local Government Day, which will focus on the acquisition of languages other than one's native language.

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▲Mr. Iwasaki and Mr. Maeda spoke at the event entitled "Supporting Foreigners as Residents - Easy Japanese and Universal Design Fonts."

UD Font 4 Days Online Seminar Report

We held a total of four online seminars under the theme of "The World of Universal Design Fonts: Communicating and Learning." We report on the online seminars, in which experts we have met through our activities spoke about the cutting edge of "learning" through Universal Design fonts.

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▲Mr. Goto appeared on stage during Day 2, "What are the benefits of UD fonts used in educational settings?"

UD Font Seminar 2021 [Seminar Report Day 2 | July 31st]

Morisawa held an online UD font seminar for three days from July to August 2021, inviting people who actively use UD fonts in the field of education. The seminar focused on English education from elementary school to university, with the theme of "Aiming for high-quality education that leaves no one behind."

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▲Mr. Iwasaki spoke at the event entitled "The Role of UD Digital Textbook Fonts in Second Language Education: English for Japanese Students and Japanese for International Students."

[Special release of training video] Training session for Japanese language teachers that brings out the appeal of UD fonts, as only Morisawa can convey it

Under the theme of "Considering the diversity of learners," a training session on "Universal Design Fonts" and "Communicative Layout" was held for Japanese language teachers as part of a series of events run by the Japan Foundation Mexico Cultural Center. UD fonts are becoming more widely recognized and utilized in the Japanese language education world.

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▲ Training introduction for Japanese language teachers