Teaching Japanese to a multicultural student population

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, it is argued that, in language teaching, the traditional grammar-oriented approach emphasizing conscience learning and the communicative approach popular in recent years emphasizing subconscious acquisition are complementary rather than mutually exclusive to each other. An integrated approach which consists of four components, namely, grammatical competence, sociolinguistic competence, discourse competence and strategic competence, is adopted and its theoretical position and merits are discussed. Second, upon examining conditions under which language learning takes place, using the Japanese Language Program at the University of British Columbia as an example, the technicality, feasibility and practicality of applying the integrated theory at the elementary, intermediate and advanced levels are examined. Since the integrated approach is a modular one with different dimensions for flexibility and variety in use at different stages of learning, a smooth and efficient transition from lower levels to upper levels is possible. Not only will students acquire linguistic and communicative competency at the same time, their interest and awareness of the similarities and differences between the target culture and their own culture, be it a multi-cultural one, will also be enhanced.