Assessment of the Needs of Online Japanese Language Education and Learning
October, 2023

1. Purpose of the Survey

2. Survey Summary(1) Online survey (August-September 2023)

Increasing the number of students
wishing to study in Japan

Number ofQuestions

Number ofRespondents

1) Overseas Japanese Language
Instructors

16902) Overseas Students

153413) International Students in Japan

16109

Target Group◎ Future development of online Japanese
language educational content◎ Utilizing and sharing existing content
国内外で(2) Online and face-to-face interviews (July-September 2023)

Understanding the current status and needs ofhigher education institutions overseas.

i) Total of 13 locations of domestic institutions and overseas offices of the JapanFoundation (JF) and the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO)
ii) Total of 7 overseas universities where Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS)
has Global Japan Offices and Desksiii) Japanese Language Center for International Students (JLC) at TUFS

- How is existing content being promoted and utilized?
- What type of content is in demand?

4. Online Learning in Other Countries

3. Needs and Challenges for Studying in Japan○ Information and support required by prospective students- Information on careers and graduate school entrance exams- Basic Japanese language and other information related to life in
the early stages of study abroad etc.

In Future（2）Challenges○ EJU (only for regular undergraduate international students)- Difficulty in learning basic subjects in a short period of time after
arriving in Japan- Lack of information and educational content for preparation
before coming to Japan

Current Situation（1） Needs○ Purpose of studying in Japan- Developing Japanese language skills- Experiencing living abroad and cross-cultural exchange*There was also interest in career-building*The survey wasconducted mainly incountries/regions
where Japan is willingto accept moreinternational students
in the future.

Overseas Japanese language instructors

Students (overseas, international students)- Most institutions have experience in
conducting online classes.
- Use of reliable educational materials from
NHK, JF, etc. is common.
- Many instructors use “learning supportwebsites” and “video sites such as
YouTube channels.”- Many instructors use online classes as“supplements to face-to-face classes.”- Many students have used free online content(more than 70%).
- Few students have used paid content(approximately 20%).
- Many students have used apps for dictionaries andYouTube for grammar study.
- Few students have taken online classes outside ofclass.
- Wanting to understand through videos, not texts.

- Many instructors plan to adopt online
classes in the future according to necessity(more than 70%).
- Partial use of online classes.
- Use of Learning Management System(LMS).

- Approximately half of the respondents chose “mainly
face-to-face classes with some online classes” as themost effective learning style for Japanese.
- Emphasis on instructor and classmate interactions
in face-to-face classes.
- Online classes are effective enough depending on
how the class is taught and what is being learned.

○ Opportunities to use Japanese (overseas students)- Lack of opportunities to use the Japanese they have learned- Lack of opportunities to interact with native Japanese speakers
outside of school- Lack of educational materials and difficulty in obtaining them

Potential for further dissemination of online educational
materials and tools

5. Suggestions for the Future(1) Considerations and reference information for the development of
online teaching materials and tools○ Needs of Japanese language levels- High demand for elementary to intermediate level (low demand for intermediate toadvanced level).
○ Needs of content[By skill] - Overseas Japanese language instructors: Listening, Speaking- Students: Vocabulary, Listening[Examples]- Overall, many respondents want educational materials and learning tools for kanji.
- Overseas Japanese language instructors: Japanese culture, introduction to latest
Japanese news/trends, etc.
- Students: videos, apps, e-books, etc.
○ Preferences- Video materials should be “less than 10 minutes long.”- The largest number of respondents answered that they “will not pay for online learningmaterials and tools”.
*Students: “will not pay for online learning materials and tools” < “outright purchase(download)” + “flat rate.”- Students are more likely to use “outright purchase (download)” than “flat rate.”- “Quizzes, assignments, and final exams” are preferred.
○ Themes and learning styles that are likely to be of interest to overseas students- Trends do not matter so much.
- Japanese university students of the same generation / Latest trends of Japan. (overseasstudents)- Students prefer collaborative learning.
○ Needs for online Japanese language teaching materials/tools for instructors- Demand is high.
- Many instructors want to obtain up-to-date information on new teaching methods andclassroom practices.

(2) New content that should be created by universities○○○

Existing learning materials are sufficient for introductory toelementary level → Target is intermediate level and above.
Content in which universities excel → Content focused onacademic, business, and other fields

Content that only universities can produce → videos ofspecialized lectures in easy Japanese, learning materials dealingwith university-specific vocabularies & content incorporating theopinions of current university and international students(can also serve as a tool for promoting study abroad).

*Points to keep in mind for the dissemination of educational materials and tools- Having an image of a sufficient post-development operation and maintenance system.
- Setting up a system that enables real-time updating of content.
- For countries/regions where Internet access is poor, sufficient consideration should
be given to the form of provision, including the preparation of downloadable
educational materials.

(3) Publicity to overseas students and institutions○ Publicize from both instructors’ and students’ perspectives.
○ In addition to promotion on social media in local languages,
it is important to disseminate information by word of mouth andthrough instructors’ associations, mailing lists, as well as
through face-to-face events.
○ Devices to identify the characteristics of existing online
educational materials and tools, and the need to coordinate

learning materials in Japan.

Necessity of in-depth cooperation and collaboration among relevant ministries, universities, and institutions in order to promote study abroadin Japan.
J-MIRAI Measures: (1) Creation of opportunities to study abroad in Japan (2) Publicity and information dissemination (websites and other media) (3)Publicity and information dissemination (local activities) (4) Flexibility in requirements and procedures at the admission stage (5) Support during study
abroad in Japan and cooperation among universities.