Network for Supporting Education of Foreign Children During Covid-19: Language Assessments as a Tool for Promoting Community Integration

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4312/ala.11.2.33-50

Keywords:

online learning, foreign children, dialogic language assessment for Japanese as a second language, basic interpersonal communication skills, cognitive academic language

Abstract

The rising number of foreign residents in Japan has caused the number of children with foreign backgrounds in Japanese schools to increase. The present Japanese education system does not adequately support children whose mother language is not Japanese, and their educational problems have turned into social issues. We have conducted an action research project in collaboration with several schools and one university to determine how to develop a support system through online media that would soften the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We argue that language assessment is the key to driving the project and sharing the results of the assessment analysis with all project participants works effectively to promote collaboration between schools, families, and the university.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Cummins, J. (1979). Cognitive/academic language proficiency, linguistic interdependence, the optimum age question and some other matters. Working Papers on Bilingualism, 19, 121–129.

Furukawa, A., Koike A., Osawa, S., Ishihara, G., Ito, R., Sakamoto, K., Sato, Y., & Taguchi, K. (2016). The development of Nihongo Step: A framework for Japanese language assessment for foreign students. Journal of Center for International Education and Research, Gunma University, 15, 49–62.

Kawakami, I. (2011). “Idō suru kodomotachi” no kotobano kyōikugaku. Tokyo: Kuroshio Publishers.

Kojima, Y. (2016). Gaikokujin no shūgaku to husyūgaku; syakai de “mienai” kodomotachi. Osaka: Osaka University Press.

Krashen, S., & Brown, C. L. (2007). What is academic language proficiency? STETS Language & Communication Review, 6(1), 1–5. http://www.sdkrashen.com/content/articles/krashen_brown_alp.pdf

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. (2014). Dialogic language assessment for Japanese as a second language. https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/clarinet/003/1345413.htm

Nakajima, K. (2010). Maruchi ringaru kyōiku eno syōtai: gengo shigen toshiteno Nihonjin・gaikokujin nensyōsya. Tokyo: Hitsuji Syobo.

Osada, Y., Matsusaki, H., Sawada, H., Iriyama, M., & Yoshida, T. (2021). Analysis of “certificate program for the development of Japanese language learning supporters” within the University of Tsukuba. Bulletin of Institute of Education University of Tsukuba, 45(2), 1–13.

Sakurai, C. (2018). Gaikoku ni Rūtsu wo motsu kodomono Bairingaru dokusyoryoku no hattatsu. Osaka: Osaka University Press.

Sawada, H., Matsuzaki, H., & Iriyama, M. (2021). Issues concerning support for foreign students in Tsukuba City and educational cooperation with local communities. Journal of Japanese Language Teaching, 36, 23–32.

Shimada, K. (2014). Teijyū gaikokujin nitaisuru ōdanchosa de miete kita koto: OPI wo tōshite “mizukara no koe wo hassuru koto” wo mezasu. Journal of the Japanese Association of Language Proficiency, 2, 30–49.

Downloads

Published

30.07.2021

How to Cite

Sawada, H., & Inoue, R. (2021). Network for Supporting Education of Foreign Children During Covid-19: Language Assessments as a Tool for Promoting Community Integration. Acta Linguistica Asiatica, 11(2), 33–50. https://doi.org/10.4312/ala.11.2.33-50

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 2 (2021)

Section

Research articles

License

Copyright (c) 2021 Hiroko Sawada, Rizu Inoue

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors are confirming that they are the authors of the submitting article, which will be published online in journal Acta Linguistica Asiatica by Ljubljana University Press, Faculty of Arts (University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts, Aškerčeva 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia). Author’s name will be evident in the article in journal. All decisions regarding layout and distribution of the work are in hands of the publisher.
  2. Authors guarantee that the work is their own original creation and does not infringe any statutory or common-law copyright or any proprietary right of any third party. In case of claims by third parties, authors commit their self to defend the interests of the publisher, and shall cover any potential costs.
  3. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  4. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  5. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.