COMPLETION REPORT
Shifting motivations and 'Japanese postures' of Japanese language learners in China (1980-2010)
Dr. Gao Xue-Song （+1）
Associate Professor
The Faculty of Education
The University of Hong Kong
In light of the rising tensions between China and Japan, this study investigated what motivated Chinese learners tolearn Japanese in terms of Japanese postures (i.e. their attitudes towards or perceptions of Japanese culture andpeople). The study used a cross-sectional survey approach to examine 665 Japanese language learners’ Japanese
postures. The study explored whether the Japanese postures of participants who started learning Japanese atdifferent times in the last three decades in China varied. Despite the shifting Sino-Japanese relations and massive
anti-Japanese protests in recent years, this study did not find any statistically significant variations in theperceptions and attitudes of participants who had started learning the language at different times. 339 participants
claimed their perceptions and attitudes improved after they started learning Japanese regardless of the shifting
political and diplomatic relations between China and Japan. 230 of them claimed that their perceptions andattitudes remained same as when they had started learning Japanese. The analysis of qualitative data revealed that582 out of 665 participants made both positive and negative comments on cultural, environmental, social andpolitical aspects of the country as well as on Japanese people. Echoing the statistical findings, 405 participants,including 257 participants who have never been to Japan, made positive-only comments on Japan’s social, culturaland environmental conditions. Only a small number of negative comments were made by those who have neverbeen to Japan on Japan’s culture and politics. Qualitative answers also suggest that the participants changed theirimpressions about Japan changed after learning the language and having better knowledge of the country. Those
who had been to Japan were also found to have returned with improved perceptions of and attitudes towards
Japan. Further analysis identified that those who display positive Japanese postures are usually those who had indepth and extended engagement with the Japanese language, culture and people, suggesting the positive impactthat the learning of Japanese might have upon the participants’ Japanese postures. These findings confirm that thecritical role that learning a foreign language plays in promoting better intercultural dialogue and sustaining
goodwill among language learners towards the target community. For this reason, it is important for Japanese
language educators to promote ‘intercultural competence’ and ‘intercultural citizenship’ in the educational process‘International postures’ or ‘Japanese postures’ may be a useful conceptual tool to examine why and how learners
are motivated to learn particular languages and how language learning mediates their orientation towards target
language communities.

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Publication of the Results of Research Project:Verbal Presentation (Date, Venue, Name of Conference, Title of Presentation, Presenter, etc.)
August, 5th, 2015, Senri Life Science Centre, Osaka, the 55th Language, Education and Technology Association
Annual Conference (2015). Japan
Promoting Intercultural Understanding in Classrooms: Making a case for Japanese Language Learners in China
Xuesong Gao

Thesis (Name of Journal and its Date, Title and Author of Thesis, etc.)
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Book (Publisher and Date of the Book, Title and Author of the Book, etc.)
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