Why I Am Studying Japanese: A National Survey Revealing the Voices of New Zealand Tertiary Students

Abstract

This article discusses findings from a nationwide survey of New Zealand tertiary-level students’ reasons for studying Japanese, their sense of satisfaction with the tertiary Japanese learning experience, and their future aspirations. The findings show that there are several aspects of students’ learning experiences which reflect a positive integrative orientation, while practical goals associated with the university learning context were also evident. The findings also suggest that the language learning context is multi-dimensional, supported by a number of different sources, both virtual and physical, as well as inside and outside the classroom. Furthermore,, students from different programs within each university, and those who had or had not studied Japanese prior to entering university, revealed different attitudes towards learning Japanese and different visions of their future. While the study found that the majority of students are satisfied with their current university courses and value formal learning over informal acquisition of language, our findings suggest that teachers should reconceptualise their teaching roles to embrace the wider language learning context available to our students.