Japanese Culture Events in Bulgaria and Their Role in the Motivation of Japanese Language Learners

Authors:

Pages: 171-182
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/YTVL8095

Abstract:

The present paper focuses on: 1) The Japanese culture and language events in Bulgaria and 2) The correlation between those and the motivation of the Japanese language learners. The connection between 1) and 2) is revealed through an analysis of data taken from a workshop on Methodology of teaching Japanese as a second language which was organized in 2018 at Veliko Tarnovo University. The discussion is carried on from the point of view of the Japanese language lecturers who participated in the above mentioned initiative. According to the Japanese language lecturers there is a great variety of Japanese culture and language events organized every year by each of the participant institutions. They aim not only at popularizing Japanese culture, but also at stimulating the interest of the Japanese language learners. Through the direct participation in such initiatives the learners are encouraged to develop different language, cultural and intercultural skills and competencies and to study autonomously. The research pointed out that there is definitely a firm relation between those events and the motivation of the Japanese language learners. The events with the strongest effect on the motivation process are: Japanese culture festivals, speech contests, Japanese universities’ scholarships and the opportunity to study in Japan, the communication with the native speakers, etc.

Keywords:

Japanese culture; Japanese language; Japanese culture events; methodology; motivation; Japanese language learners.

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