ASSESSING STUDENTS MOTIVATION TO LEARN THE JAPANESE LANGUAGE AND STUDIES IN THE AGE OF GLOBALIZATION

Lelenkova Anna V.
Saint-Petersburg University, Saint Petersburg, Russia

ABSTRACT

At different times there has been a strong interest among the people of different nations in learning Japanese studies, including the Japanese language. Taking into account the realities of modern global world with its focus on the intercultural communication, the problem of the assessment of motivating factors in learning the foreign language and working out the proper teaching methodologies is being raised by educators. That is especially true for Japanese studies, as the Japanese people historically have been known as one of the most “closed” nations. This research is mostly based on the results of answers to the questionnaire for the students of St. Petersburg State University (Russia). According to the results one may indentify such motivational factors as strengthening political and economic relations between Japan and Russia and, thus, the increasing need for Japanese studies specialists; the increasing number of Japanese companies, as well as, joint Russian-Japanese ones, and targeting to work for it; continuing interest in Japan’s “pop-culture” phenomena; deepening cultural collaboration, such as making research on traditional art and translating literature etc. Although these factors correspond to some extent to 1990-s ones, it’s worth mentioning, that due to the new strategy in the foreign policy of Japan in the XXI century, there has been a trend to diversify and globalize relations with countries all over the world, providing an opportunity to its students and scholars to take part in different educational and research programs, concerning Japanese studies. Moreover, due to the realities of Globalization and Information Age, it has become easier to find out and apply for corresponding programs in other countries in order to cooperate with researchers abroad. Therefore, a variety of opportunities for international collaboration might also be a strong motivation for students to make a progress in their learning of Japanese studies.

KEYWORDS

The Japanese language, Motivating factors in Learning, Intercultural communication, Age of Globalization