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研究ノート

A Tour Guide Course Incorporating CLIL Approaches－To Motivate Students to Learn about Japanese Culture
YOKONO, Narumi(Kanazawa Seiryo University Women’s Junior College)

1. Introduction
According to the White Paper on Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism inJapan (MLIT, 2020), Japan embarked on a path toward becoming a “tourism-oriented
country” with the enactment of the Tourism Basic Law in 1963. Subsequently, it
launched the “Visit Japan Campaign” in 2003 as a nationwide strategic initiative todramatically increase inbound tourists to Japan. In recent years, Japanese pop culture
centering on anime, manga, and games has captured the hearts of young people
around the world; notably, it seems as if Japonisme—the popularity of Japanese art
centering on ukiyo-e and crafts in the Western countries in the nineteenth
century—has made a comeback. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan was brimmingwith international tourists who had a craving for Japanese culture and wished toexperience it firsthand. Coupled with the designation of Washoku as a UNESCO
Intangible Cultural Asset in 2013, Japanese cuisines were also whetting the appetitesof many people from around the world. However, there are also concerns theseinterests remain superficial, and a deeper and wider understanding is required tofoster a true appreciation of Japanese culture, which boasts a long and establishedhistory. In this regard, the Cultural Agency (2009, p. 1) said in its 2009 report “If themultilayered culture that has accumulated throughout Japan's long history is
disseminated to the world more broadly and diversely, more people will come to know
about Japan and its culture. In this way, we are convinced that many more people
overseas will gain a lasting interest in, understanding of, and admiration for Japanand Japanese culture.”
To make the above vision a reality, the Japanese people should first gain knowledge of
their own culture and be able to talk about it in English, which is more than everconsidered to be a global language of communication. The importance and necessity ofEnglish education in enhancing communication skills has been promoted for a longtime and it seems to have shown some progress. Yet, education that focuses on
Japanese culture has not received enough attention. As such, more efforts are needed

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YOKONO, Narumi

to improve the situation.
This paper reports on some of the attempts made in line with this goal in the course,“English for Tour Guiding.” Specifically, tour guides are professionals who disseminate
the culture of the country to inbound tourists. They must have advanced foreign
language skills and a high level of knowledge related to tourism such as history,geography, and culture. Therefore, they are sometimes called “tourism ambassadors”
or “people’s diplomats” who work as mediators between different cultures. In 2018, thelaw concerning tour guides was revised, and the qualification of “Licensed Guide
Interpreters” was changed from a business exclusive to a name-exclusive one. What
this indicates is that even those who do not have a national license can conduct tours;
therefore, if given a chance, students can work as tour guides for a fee. As expoundedby Dewey (1938), “learning by doing” is an educational approach in which students areengaged in a kind of hands-on experience that is tailored to their needs. The change
could provide a great opportunity to put into practice what they have learned.
The next chapter compares the two teaching methods English for SpecificPurposes (ESP) and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) to consider
what kind of teaching method is best suited for the above objectives.
2. ESP and CLIL approaches
For a long time, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has been used to achieve the goalof providing students in a specific field with the language they need to function as
professionals. This section first provides an overview of the difference between ESP
and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and then the necessity ofincorporating CLIL approaches in the course.
ESP emerged in the 1960s as demand increased to suit the needs of learners who
studied a particular discipline. It aimed to help mostly tertiary-level or adult students
acquire discipline-specific knowledge and communication skills in a professionalsetting (Sundrajun, 2022; Tzoannopoulou, 2015). Sidorenko et al. (2022, p. 36)
presented a definition where ESP methodology combines three things: teachingspecific English to learners who will use it in a particular setting to achieve a practical
purpose. On the other hand, in CLIL, which gained prominence later, in the 1990s,
language is not the only primary focus. It is dual-focused and the language learning
process is intertwined with the acquisition of subject-specific knowledge. While themain aim of ESP remains language proficiency and communication within the specificfield, CLIL attaches more importance to content (Cauli, 2021). This difference isA Tour Guide Course Incorporating CLIL Approaches－To Motivate Students to Learn about Japanese Culture

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reflected in teachers’ attitudes with CLIL teachers prioritizing content and ESP
teachers dividing time more equally between content and language knowledge
development (Yang, 2016). However, ESP and CLIL have several features in common
such as language learning based on needs, the use of context and content from subjects,
and communicative teaching and learning (Dalton-Puffer & Smit, 2013). In addition,
Sidorenko et al. (2022) compare ESP and CLIL components in a structured way as seenin Table 1, although they claim that these two approaches have a common goal with
only divergence in focus and that the relations between them require more research.
Table 1. ESP and CLIL Components (Adapted from Sidorenko et al., 2022, p. 38)
ESP

CLIL

Aim

Focus on language: to meet the specific Dual focus: learning subject matter
content through the medium of alinguistic needs of a particularforeign language or learning a foreign
discipline
language by studying subject-matter
content

Content

Content comes from the students’ fieldof study.
Content is used to develop linguisticcompetencies.
Students are familiar with the content.

Specific content and the needed
linguistic competence to communicate
in a foreign language.
Content determines the language to belearned.

Language

Vocabulary, grammar, register, genres,
pragmatic, and discursive features.
Usage of the language in a specificcontext.
Content is often adapted to thelearners’ proficiency level.

Language is a tool for learning andcommunicating content.
Content-led modalities.
Language is needed to convey content.

Teacher

Language expert teachers

They are content experts with anappropriate level of language
proficiency.

Students

They want to improve their English in They want to learn the content andimprove their foreign language
a certain professional field of study;
also, they may know the content better competence.
than a teacher.

LessonForeign language classes

This is not a language class in the
traditional understanding as well as
not a typical subject class (level oflanguage fluency may have an impact
on the scope of the content).

In the case of a conventional tour guide ESP class, it would be assumed the students
are taught guiding-specific vocabulary, commonly used useful phrases, and then somemodel scenarios between a tour guide and tourists depending on typical scenes such as

78

YOKONO, Narumi“in a duty-free shop” or “in a restaurant.” It seems that the primary goal of such acourse is to provide students with a certain English proficiency level in the target
situation. There is no doubt that ESP is a very practical way of learning and the kindof information and expressions that are used in those contexts are an absolute“must-learn” for a tour guide on the job. It could be said this suffices to achieve the aimof ESP: “to meet specific linguistic needs of a particular discipline” (Sidorenko et al.,2022, p. 38).
However, considering the primary goal of teaching Japanese culture to help students
gain knowledge and spread the charm and attraction of Japanese culture, thetraditional design of language-focused ESP classes was considered insufficient for thiscourse. Although all of the students in this class are native Japanese and have lived inJapan since their birth, they lack deep knowledge about the Japanese culture required
for them to work as tour guides. Therefore, rather than teachers lecturing on Japaneseculture, courses should provide opportunities for students to research and explore
Japanese culture on their own so that they can discover its attractions for themselves.
Based on the definition presented in Table 1, the course is quite different from theconventional ESP class concerning the following: 1) Aim: the aim is not primarily
language learning; 2) Content: students are not familiar with the content; 3)Language: Content is not adapted to the learner’s proficiency level; 4) Teacher: theinstructor is not only a language teacher but also a content teacher, since she is anational licensed guide; and 5) Lesson: the lesson is not a foreign language class but
mainly a class to learn Japanese culture.
This approach is more beneficial for students as it incorporates elements of CLIL,
places more emphasis on content, and fosters autonomy through students' own
exploratory learning. Tzoannopoulou (2016) noted that in CLIL classes students’cognitive processing should be activated, thereby leading to the development of theirthinking skills along with language. In addition, their intercultural awareness isenhanced through learning about other cultures. While she acknowledged that CLIL
was developed along the same line as ESP, she also highlighted some key differences:“CLIL is mostly a content-driven approach where content-led objectives are of equal orsometimes of more importance to language learning objectives, whereas ESP islanguage-led and language learning objectives constitute the driving force”(Tzoannopoulou, 2016, p. 4).
Next, the paper presents how attempts to incorporate CLIL approaches into the course

A Tour Guide Course Incorporating CLIL Approaches－To Motivate Students to Learn about Japanese Culture79

design were made by focusing more on the acquisition of knowledge in Japaneseculture.
3. Course design

3-1 Participants and setting
The “English for Tour Guiding” course started in 2022 as one of the specialized subjects
for junior and senior students in the faculty of humanities at a private university inJapan. All of the twenty-five students had completed the EAP (English for Academic
Purposes) courses before enrolling in this class; moreover, some of them also had takensuch elective ESP subjects as “Media English,” “English in Tourism,” “Writing for
Business” and “Practical Speaking for Business” according to their interests. The
proficiency levels of the students were scored between TOEIC 500 to 905 (6 students:
500–590; 12 students: 600–690; 4 students: 700–790; 1 student: 905, 2 students: NA),
which is equivalent to the CEFR B1-B2 level.
The goals of the subject were to promote the students’ deep and extensive
understanding of Japanese culture and society and to develop their ability tocommunicate it to the level of a professional tour guide.
The course had two parts: 1) learning about major tourist attraction sites in the areaand 2) learning about Japanese culture. Notably, the term “Japanese culture” issometimes used in a narrow sense to refer to standard items like the traditional
performing arts; however, in this paper, this term is inclusively used about thelifestyles, thinking, and everyday aspects of the Japanese people. In particular, it
entails food, clothing, language, beliefs, religion, and everything else that may bepassed down from generation to generation.
The first part not only dealt with practical information for tourists such astransportation or souvenirs, but it also focused on knowledge about the history or
culture of each travel spot, thus, it had much in common with the second part.
However, because of space limitations, this paper only focuses on the second part,
Japanese culture. Although “culture” contains diverse fields, a limited number of
topics and sub-topics were selected in consultation with the students, some of whichwere suggested by the students themselves. Table 2 presents the list of contents
covered in the second part of the course.

YOKONO, Narumi

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Table 2. Topics covered in the second part of the course
Week

Topic

Sub-topic

1

History

The Emperor system, Samurai warriors, Ninja

2

Architecture

Japanese castles, Japanese architectural style
Japanese gardens

3

Food

Japanese cuisines, Japanese sake
Japanese Buddhist cuisines (Shojin-ryori)
Japanese traditional multi-course dinner (Kaiseki-ryori)

4

Religion

Temples and shrines, Funerals, Buddhist statues

Traditional culture (1)Festivals, Bonsai, Kimono

5

Traditional culture (2)Tea ceremony, Kabuki, Sumo, Judo, Gold leaf

6

Pop culture /other topics

Anime and manga, Enka, Fashion, Insects

3-2 The class procedures
Each class consisted of four components: 1) vocabulary reviews, 2) presentations by thestudents, 3) a Q&A session with feedback and discussion based on the presentations, 4)a short interpretation practice, and 5) role-play practice.
1) Vocabulary reviews
At the beginning of each class, words that are specific to Japanese culture werereviewed by way of a vocabulary quiz.
2) Presentations by the students
Each student was assigned to one of the aspects of Japanese culture from Table 2 inadvance. After exploring online and offline authentic materials to gather enoughknowledge, they put together an approximately 10-minute presentation as if they werea tour guide talking to inbound tourists who were visiting Japan with little priorknowledge about the country. They were advised to give an easy yet deep explanation
for the visitors to understand. They were required to satisfy the interest and curiosityof those travelers seeking a cultural experience in a country that has a different
culture from their own. The students were asked to give an informative and in-depth
presentation but were advised to refrain from interjecting a series of dates or thenames of historical figures which were considered common knowledge to Japanesenatives. Finally, each student was later asked to evaluate their performance.
Unfortunately, the practicum with actual tourists had to be canceled due to COVID-19
restrictions.
3) Q&A session and discussion
Probably the most challenging part of a tour guide’s job is to have to answer any kindof questions from tourists. In this session, students practiced for such occasions. The

A Tour Guide Course Incorporating CLIL Approaches－To Motivate Students to Learn about Japanese Culture81

students in the audience were given a chance to ask any question they may have hadin the course of the presentation. They were instructed to assume they were inboundtourists and give comments or ask a question from the viewpoint of foreigners;
specifically, they should put themselves in the foreign tourists’ shoes and should nottake anything they know for granted. The instructor also asked some questions tocheck the presenters’ depth of knowledge and also gave supplementary explanations.
As an example of the student activities, one student gave a presentation on Japanesegardens. It was composed of the following: 1) the difference between Western andJapanese gardens; 2) the classification of Japanese gardens concerning the use ofwater in them; 3) their history, and 4) the three greatest gardens in Japan (seeAppendix A. for part of the presentation). In a Q&A session that followed, somequestions such as the purpose of the creation of dry landscape gardens were asked, andthen the concept of “shakkei,” literally translated as “borrowing of scenery”—or
integrating the surrounding sceneries into the gardens—was explained by the teacher
as a follow-up. The session worked as a forum for interaction and further learning,
thereby enhancing the knowledge of both the presenters and the other students. In thethird week of the presentations about Japanese food, two international students fromIndonesia and Taiwan, who were studying at the university, were invited to the classand they were also actively engaged in the Q&A session. One of the questions fromthem was about a “Sugiyama cedar ball”, hung up in the eaves of Japanese sakebreweries to announce the start of a new sake production season.
4) Interpretation practice
The job of a tour guide includes translating a wide variety of announcements,
instructions, explanations, and so on, given by such people as curators, hotel
clerks/managers, shop assistants/managers, and even nurses/doctors. Therefore,
interpretation is an important skill that tour guides must learn; as such, the shortpractice of Japanese-to-English interpretation was implemented in each class.
5) Role-play practice and writing assignment
Finally, in this session, students were given a chance to turn knowledge into practiceby way of taking on the role of a tour guide as well as an inbound tourist. For example,
a tour guide had to answer a question from a French tourist about the conceptual
difference between Japanese and French gardens. This was conducted with a pair ofstudents in which one played the role of a tour guide and the other was a tourist. To
perform this activity, students need to utilize the knowledge they learned concerning
the difference and state it in their own words. In another case, they had to solve apractical task. In a Japanese inn, it is customary for a nakai-san, “room attendant”, tofreely enter a guest room to serve dinner, make a bed, etc.; yet, some tourists from

YOKONO, Narumi

82

abroad might find it uncomfortable and unsafe. In the activity, the students needed tothink about the best solution by thinking it through and using their ingenuity whilestill showing their hospitality and using polite language. After role-playing in class,the students were asked to create a written dialog as homework (See Appendix B).

3-3 The 4Cs incorporated in the course
As a summary, Table 3 shows the teaching principles of CLIL depicted in the 4Cs(content, communication, cognition, and community/culture) which are incorporated
into the course.
Table 3. The 4Cs incorporated in the course
Content

Learning about our own culture and country—history, culture,
pop culture, etc.
Cross-cultural understanding
Learning about some major tourist spots in the local areas

Communication(Language
knowledge/language use)

Language knowledge: Learning English words specific toJapanese culture and society
Language skills: Gathering information about Japanese culture(reading, translating, writing), Giving presentations (explaining,
asking questions, answering questions)

Cognition

Awareness of our own culture
Intercultural awarenessLearning to cope with different values and perspectives

Community/Culture

Pair work/Group work
Interaction with international students
Interaction with inbound tourists (*It was not made possible dueto the COVID-19 pandemic.)

3-4 The questionnaire survey
The questionnaire survey was conducted after the course to obtain an understanding ofthese two things: 1) the students’ perception toward communicating about Japaneseculture in English and 2) how they evaluated their performance.
4. Results of the students’ questionnaires

4-1 The results of the questionnaire on communicating about Japanese culture
The first question asked about the reason for taking the course. Figure 1 shows only
three of the respondents were interested in Japanese culture at the time they decided
to take the course.

A Tour Guide Course Incorporating CLIL Approaches－To Motivate Students to Learn about Japanese Culture

83

Figure 1. What are the reasons for taking the course? (n = 25)
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

The second question asked about their attitudes toward Japanese culture. The
question was whether they think Japanese people must be able to communicate(transmit) about Japan in English to people in other countries or to foreign nationals.
The respondents chose their answers from a five-point Likert scale. Notably, 72% ofthem (18 out of 25 people) chose “Agree” or “Somewhat agree.”Figure 2. The necessity of communicating about
Japan in English (n = 25)
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

Then, it was put to the respondents who answered “Agree” or “Somewhat agree,” what
aspect of Japan should be communicated to people overseas and visitors to Japan.
Subsequently, “Japanese traditional culture” and “Japanese food culture” were at the
top of the list, followed by “Japanese history,” reflecting the general trend.

YOKONO, Narumi

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Figure 3. What aspects of Japanese culture must be
communicated (n = 25, multiple choices allowed)
Japanese traditional culture
Religions in Japan
Japanese architecture and gardens
Japanese history
Japanese geography and climate
Japanese politics and economy
Japanese annual functions
Japanese food culture

0

5

10

15

The next question asked whether they became better able to communicate about six ofthe aspects above that they thought were important. The graph below shows thepercentage of the students who answered, “Agree,” “Somewhat agree,” “Neither agree
nor disagree,” “Somewhat disagree,” or “Disagree.” In each category, the number of
respondents who answered “Agree” was still very small, but when combined with those
who chose “Somewhat agree,” in two of the categories that they considered important,more than half of them (52% in Japanese traditional culture, 68% in Japanese foodculture) answered positively.
Figure 4. The self-evaluated ability to communicate about
Japanese culture
Japanese traditional culture.
Japanese history.
Japanese geography and climate
Japanese politics and economy
Japanese annual functions
Japanese food culture
0%

Agree
Neither agree nor disagree
Disagree

20%

40%

60%

80% 100%

Somewhat agree
Somewhat disagree

A Tour Guide Course Incorporating CLIL Approaches－To Motivate Students to Learn about Japanese Culture

85

The last two questions in this section were about motivation at the end of the course.
Almost all of the students showed a high degree of motivation concerning bothstatements. In fact, 96% of them answered, “I need more practice communicating
about Japan in English, and I want to practice.” Also, 92% of them answered:“Communicating about Japan in English is very interesting.”
Figure 5. Motivation toward communicating about Japaneseculture in English

I need more practicecommunicating about Japan inEnglish, and I want to practice.

Communicating about Japan inEnglish is very interesting.
0%

20%

40%

60%

Agree

Somewhat agree

Neither agree or disgree

Somewhat disagree

80% 100%

DisagreeFinally, regarding the open-ended question about communicating about Japaneseculture, they expressed their feelings about how difficult it was for them. Many
mentioned a lack of knowledge as well as that of vocabulary and command of English.
One student wrote, “I was able to learn about Japanese culture in depth and realized
my lack of knowledge.” Another noted, “Some things are so obvious to us that when weare asked, we are very confused because we cannot explain well.” Another pointed out,
“I believe that English is not the only skill needed. When we try to convey what wetake for granted to people who do not live in Japan, I think it important how
objectively we can view Japan.”

4-2 The results of the questionnaire about self-evaluation of students’ presentations
This section shows the results of the questionnaire about self-evaluation the students
made on a scale of 1 through 5. Accordingly, this is how they rated themselves in termsof fulfilling each of the following requirements: 1) “The presentations were creative

86

YOKONO, Narumi

and original.” 2) “The message and concepts conveyed were expressed in aneasy-to-understand manner.” 3) “I was able to devise ways to provide information fromthe perspective of foreign tourists.” 4) “I paid attention to eye contact, voice volume,etc., and was able to deliver my presentation well.” 5) “I was able to give a presentation
without reading the manuscript.” Finally, 6) “I was able to handle questions in a Q&A
session.” (1: Disagree, 2: Somewhat disagree, 3: Neutral, 4: Somewhat agree, 5: Agree).
Figure 6. Self-evaluation of students’ presentations
Creative & originalEasy to understand concepts andmessages
Comprehensible for foreign
tourists
Good delivery
Not reading a manuscript
Good handling of questions
0%
5

4

3

20%

40%

2

1

60%

80% 100%

Regarding originality and creativity, nearly 90% of the respondents (Agree: 36%;
Somewhat agree: 52%) agreed, showing their confidence in the content of theirpresentation. As to whether the message and concepts to convey were expressed in aneasy-to-understand manner, 84% of the students (Agree: 32%; Somewhat agree: 52%)
answered in the affirmative. About the way of presenting information appropriate fortourists from overseas, 84% of them responded favorably again.
Their self-evaluation about the delivery of the presentation was higher than expected(Agree 12%; Somewhat agree: 48%), but not as high as the first three questions
concerning the content; so, it suggests that good delivery takes a little more gettingused to. The percentage further fell with the next question asking whether they wereable to give a presentation without reading the manuscript. In this question, 12% of
the students chose “disagree.” When combined, about half of the students (Neutral:
16%; Somewhat disagree: 20%; Disagree: 12%) did not perform satisfactorily, despite
the guidance from the instructor not to read the script.
The last criterion in self-evaluation was whether they were able to handle questions inA Tour Guide Course Incorporating CLIL Approaches－To Motivate Students to Learn about Japanese Culture87

a Q&A session. Only about half of the students (Agree: 8%; Somewhat agree: 40%)agreed in this regard. As in the preceding criteria, a large percentage of the students(Neither agree nor disagree: 28%; Somewhat disagree: 16%; Disagree: 8%) answered in
the negative. Some of them were seen to be stuck for an answer or had no readyanswer.
Related to their overall performance, the additional question asked about the activities
they thought were effective in improving their language proficiency. As such,“Presentations” stood up among the others with 13 answers.
Figure 7. The effectiveness of the activities in terms of language
improvement (n = 25)

Interpretation practiceDialog creation (in writing as
homework)
Dialog creation (in class)
Q&A sessions
Presentations
Vocabulary quizes
0

5

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Discussion

The first part of the questionnaire showed that the students were interested incommunicating about Japanese culture through English and they felt eager to practice
it further, despite their lack of interest at the beginning. The self-evaluation of theirability to communicate about Japanese culture was also high, though to a varying
degree according to the topics. They realized they needed more knowledge andlanguage skills to properly explain Japanese culture to foreign nationals. Also, theyreferred to the difficulty in explaining something too familiar for them to be
consciously noticed to tourists from overseas, who might consider it unusual and evenpeculiar. For example, there is sumo wrestling. Many Japanese people never thought
about the reason sumo wrestlers toss so much salt up in the air at their matches.
Subsequently, by doing some research the students learned it is to purify the ring andpray for the deities; moreover, they were amazed to know an impressive 50 kg of salt isYOKONO, Narumi

88

used per day.
The second part of the questionnaire revealed the students gave quite a highevaluation of their performance in terms of their presentation contents. This indicates
they successfully gathered proper knowledge from the authentic materials, analyzed it,
and structured it creatively so they could convey their concepts and messages in a waythat tourists from abroad would easily understand. This requires critical thinking andcreativity, and also high language skills. Many students chose “presentations” as themost effective activity which enhanced their language ability. Contrary to the
expectation, however, only one person answered “Q&A session” as effective; yet, one
student commented that they were glad the instructor gave a lot of feedback on theirpresentations and responses in the session. The most challenging part of the tour
guide’s job is answering any questions from tourists. Therefore, the session was meant
to be a good practice in handling any unexpected or difficult questions.
6

Conclusion

This paper demonstrates that the incorporation of the 4C's in Content and Language
Integrated Learning (CLIL) is essential for achieving in-depth knowledge about
Japanese culture. Additionally, it highlights how CLIL approaches empower students
to learn autonomously, raise awareness and understanding of Japanese culture, andenhance their motivation to delve deeper into it.
In hindsight, several aspects could have been handled differently. For instance, as
mentioned earlier, the planned guiding activities were not feasible due to COVID-19;
consequently, most activities remained confined to the classroom setting. In an
attempt to address this limitation, two international students were invited toparticipate in one of the classes. However, despite this effort, it cannot be denied thatthe impact was somewhat limited. Furthermore, a more robust emphasis oncollaborative group work or project-based learning should have been implemented toachieve a broader spectrum of interaction goals.
Nonetheless, it is evident that incorporating CLIL approaches yields significant
benefits for students. These approaches prompt students to discover previously
overlooked aspects of their own culture. By taking on the role of tour guides who
explain Japanese culture to tourists from overseas, their learning experiences are
significantly enriched. The questionnaire results clearly indicate the students'
eagerness to explore Japanese culture further and the imperative to engage in morepractice. Moreover, students are compelled to consider how best to convey their culture

A Tour Guide Course Incorporating CLIL Approaches－To Motivate Students to Learn about Japanese Culture89

to overseas tourists whose cultural backgrounds, and thus their levels of generalknowledge about Japan and Japanese culture, differ from their own. This promotesintercultural awareness and occasionally necessitates that students adapt tocontrasting values and perspectives. When students are confronted with suchsituations (even in role-playing scenarios), they must formulate convincing
explanations and realize that their culture is not universal, leading to a broadening of
their perspectives. These effects would not have been possible without the inclusion of
CLIL approaches, wherein content itself becomes the central focus, thereby promotingintercultural awareness. While focusing more on content in an English for SpecificPurposes (ESP) class may enhance language skills related to that specific content area,
it cannot fully replicate the integrated approach and depth of content knowledge
achieved through CLIL. There exists a pressing need for initiatives aimed atpromoting Japanese culture abroad and developing individuals capable of contributing
to these efforts. CLIL approaches are undoubtedly instrumental in achieving theseobjectives.
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A Tour Guide Course Incorporating CLIL Approaches－To Motivate Students to Learn about Japanese Culture

Appendix A. Examples of part of a student’s presentation slides

91

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Appendix B. Dialogs between a tourist and a guide about Japanese and French
gardens created by students (copied as is without any correction, or modification).
[Example 1]
Tourist: The Japanese gardens are very different from my country’s French gardens.
What is the concept behind those?
Tour guide: As you said, Japanese gardens are different from Western gardens. The
main characteristic is curved forms and asymmetry. One of the reasons is thatJapanese gardens are modeled after natural landscapes. Originally, when thelandscaping culture came to Japan from the continent, rectangular ponds andfountains were created, but straight lines were less common as Japanesegardens began to express respect for nature, religion, and thought in an
abstract manner and developed on their own. In addition, Japanese gardens
have also been in vogue in different periods and have quite different
characteristics. If you want to know detailed characteristics depending on the
period, please do not hesitate to ask me.
[Example 2]
Tourist: Japanese gardens are quite different from my country, French gardens. Whatkind of concept is it made?
Tour guide: The Japanese garden is characterized by its shape and left-rightasymmetry. It imitates nature and represents the beauty of nature thatchanges with the seasons. It builds a pond to look like a sea, grows moss on an
artificial hill to make it look like a wild mountain or represents a mountainthat stands out with large and small stonework. Therefore, it is a garden bornfrom contact with nature. On the other hand, the French garden, which is oneof the styles of Western gardens, has a symmetrical design with many straightlines, and represents an artificial and orderly beauty. In addition, flower beds
and trees are planted regularly, and fountains shape the beauty bycontradicting the flow of water. Therefore, it is a garden that reproduces
artificial beauty.