skip to main content

Study in Japan and the Motivation of Japanese Language Learners in Higher Educational Institutions in Indonesia

Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia

Received: 15 Oct 2020; Revised: 9 Nov 2020; Accepted: 29 Nov 2020; Published: 1 Dec 2020.
Open Access Copyright (c) 2020 IZUMI under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/.

Citation Format:
Abstract
The number of Japanese learners in Indonesia ranks the second largest in the world after China. In addition to great interest in Japanese popular culture products, such as anime and manga, the enthusiasm of Japanese learners to study in Japan has become one of the main motivations for learning the Japanese language. The changing in educational policy implemented by the Japanese government has also offered a new possibility for study in Japan. This study aims to explain how the motivation to study in Japan was cultivated through the process of Japanese language learning in higher educational institutions in Indonesia. Researchers collected data using a set of a questionnaire distributed to Japanese language learners at designated universities and interviews with some of the respondents. This study focused on three issues: factors that motivate students to choose Japanese language study programs in university, language skills that learners want to develop in university, and their interest in studying in Japan. The result showed that interest in the Japanese language was the primary motivation for many learners to continue their study in higher educational institutions. The ability to communicate with native Japanese speakers was a significant achievement for a Japanese learner, but at the same time, it was a difficult task to achieve. Study in Japan provided an opportunity for learners to improve their Japanese language skills and to gain experience in Japan. These things were expected to increase the value of learners’ cultural capital and access to previously unobtainable resources.
Fulltext View|Download
Keywords: Study in Japan; Japanese Language Learning; Learners’ Motivation; Higher Educational Institution

Article Metrics:

  1. Arikawa, T. (2016). Nihon ryuugaku no ethnography: Indonesia-jin ryuugakusei no 20 nen [Ethnography of Studying in Japan: 20 Years of Indonesian International Students]. Osaka: Osaka University Press
  2. Asian Development Bank (ADB) Institute. (2014). Labor migration, skills and student mobility in Asia. Tokyo: ADB Institute
  3. Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J.G. Richardson (Ed.) Handbook of theory of research for the sociology of education, 241-258. New York: Greenwood Press
  4. Darvin, R., & Norton, B. (2015). Identity and a model of investment in applied linguistics. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 35, 64-84. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190514000191
  5. Djafri, F. (2016). A study on the motivational change of Japanese learning in higher educational institution: Narratives of Indonesian Japanese Learners. Transcommunication, 3 (2), 1-21
  6. Djafri, F. (2018). Analisis naratif pada proses pembelajaran bahasa Jepang di perguruan tinggi dan pengaruhnya terhadap pilihan masa depan pembelajar setelah lulus. Jurnal Lingua Applicata, 1 (2), 105-122. https://doi.org/10.22146/jla.34516
  7. Eder, J., Smith, W.W., & Pitts, R.E. (2010). Exploring factors influencing student study abroad destination choice. Journal of Teaching in Travel and Tourism, 10 (3), 232-250. https://doi.org/10.1080/15313220.2010.503534
  8. Furukawa, Y., Kitani, N., & Nunoo, K. (2015). Indonesia no koukou, daigaku Nihongo kyoushi e no shitsumonshi chousa ni miru Nihongo gakushuu no imizuke no henka [The changing meaning of learning Japanese language as seen in the questionnaire survey for high schools' and universities' Japanese teachers in Indonesia]. Kokusai Kouryuu Kikin Nihongo Kyouiku Kiyou [The Japan Foundation Japanese Language Education Bulletin], 11, 7-19
  9. Ikegami, S. (2009). Guroobaru jidai no Nihon ryuugaku: Nihon no ryuugakusei ukeire to Indonesiajin ryuugakusei [Studying in Japan during the Globalization Era: Japanese Acceptance of Foreign Students and Indonesian International Students]. In M. Okushima (Ed.). Nihon no Indonesiajin shakai: Kokusai idou to kyousei no kadai [Indonesian Society in Japan: Issues of International Migration and Symbiosis], 48-68. Tokyo: Akashi Shoten
  10. Japan Foundation. (2017). Survey report on Japanese-language education abroad 2015. Tokyo: Japan Foundation
  11. Japan Foundation. (2020). Survey report on Japanese-language education abroad 2018. Tokyo: Japan Foundation
  12. Japan Students Service Organization/JASSO. (2017). Gaikokujin ryuugakusei zaiseki joukyou chousa [Survey on enrollment status of foreign students]. https://www.jasso.go.jp/about/statistics/index.html
  13. Kobari, N. (2014). Penelitian dasar terhadap motivasi mahasiswa yang memilih keahlian pendidikan bahasa Jepang [Preliminary research on the motivation of students who choose Japanese language education skills]. Jurnal Bahasa dan Sastra [Jurnal of Language and Literature], 14 (2), 117-130
  14. Lam, J.M.S., Ariffin, A.A.M., & Ahmad, A.H. (2011). Edutourism: Exploring the push-pull factors in selecting a university. International Journal of Business and Society, 12 (1), 63-78
  15. Llewellyn-Smith, C., & McCabe, V.S. (2008). What is the attraction for exchange students: The host destination or host university? Empirical evidence from a study of an Australian university. International Journal of Tourism Research, 10 (6), 593-607. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.692
  16. Massey, J., & Burrow, J. (2012). Coming to Canada to study: Factors that influence student's decisions to participate in international exchange. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 43 (1), 83-100. https://doi.org/10.1515/jsarp-2012-6177
  17. Mihi-Ramirez, A., & Kumpikaite, V. (2014). Economics reason for migration from point of view of students. Proceeding of 2nd World Conference on Business, Economics and Management 2013. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 109, 522-526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.12.500
  18. Norton, B. (2013). Identity and language learning: Extending the conversation. 2nd ed. Bristol: Multilingual Matters
  19. Sato, Y. (2010). Nihon no ryuugakusei seisaku no hyouka: Jinzai yousei, yuukou sokushin, keizai kouka no shiten kara [Evaluation of Japan's foreign student policy: From the perspective of human resources, development, friendship promotion and economic effect]. Tokyo: Toshindo
  20. Sato, Y. (2016). Vietnam, Nepal-jin ryuugakusei no tokuchou to zouka no haikei: Recruit to ukeire ni atatte no ruiten [Characteristics and push-pull factors of Vietnamese and Nepalese students: Points to be kept in mind in their recruitment and acceptance]. Web Magazine Ryuugaku Kouryuu [International Study Exchange], 63, 12-23
  21. Shao, C. (2008). Japanese policies and international students in Japan. Proceedings from ASAA 2008: 17th Biennial Conference of the Asian Studies Association of Australia. Melbourne, 1-3 July. http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/mai/files/2012/07/chunfenshao.pdf
  22. Shiho, K. (2015). Gaikokujin ryuugakusei no ukeire to arubaito ni kansuru kinnen no keikou ni tsuite [Recent Trends Concerning the Acceptance of Foreign Students and Part-time Job]. Nihon Roudou Kenkyuu Zasshi [Journal of Japan Labor Research], 662, 98-115
  23. Sison, M.D., and Brennan, L. (2012). Students as global citizens: Strategies for mobilizing studies abroad. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 22 (2), pp. 167-181. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841241.2012.736884
  24. Toyoshima, N. (2011). Consuming Japan: The consumption of Japanese cultural products in Thailand. Doctoral Thesis. Tokyo: Waseda University
  25. Toyoshima, N. (2013). Emergent processes of language acquisition: Japanese language learning and the consumption of Japanese cultural products in Thailand. Southeast Asian Studies, 2 (2), 285-321. https://doi.org/10.20495/seas.2.2_285
  26. Varghese, N.V. (2008). Globalization of higher education and cross-border student mobility. Paris: UNESCO-International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP)
  27. Wahidati, L., & Kharismawati, M. (2018). Pengaruh konsumsi anime dan manga terhadap pembelajaran budaya dan bahasa Jepang. Izumi, 7 (1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.14710/izumi.7.1.1-10

Last update:

  1. Exploring Perceived Speaking Skills, Motives, and Communication Needs of Undergraduate Students Studying Japanese Language

    Nam Hoang Tran, Katya Marinova, Van Hong Nghiem. Education Sciences, 13 (6), 2023. doi: 10.3390/educsci13060550

Last update: 2024-11-20 20:50:13

No citation recorded.