Staff Profiles

Modules taught

 Undergraduate

• Japanese 2 A
• Japanese 2 B
• Japanese Oral Skills
• Japanese Translation: Theory and Practice
• Japanese 4 B
• Advanced Japanese Communication (Honours Component)
• Japan through Contemporary Texts (Honours Component)

 

Hanako completed her BA on Hispanic Studies and MA on Theoretical Linguistics at Sophia University in Tokyo. Her research interest at the time was first language acquisition, in particular, how Spanish-speaking children acquired Spanish pronouns. Her interests gradually shifted to how non-native adults learned Japanese and she completed her PhD on Applied Linguistics at Universidad Complutense de Madrid. 

Currently, her research interests are on the specifics of Japanese grammar, in particular where Japanese is the first foreign language for the learner. She is also interested in the development of intercultural competence through the study abroad.  

Research group membership

Applied Linguistics Research Group

 

Journal articles

• Fujino H, 'L2 learners’ perceptions of grammar: the case of JFL learners in the UK'
  Language Learning Journal 49 (3) (2019) pp.343-357
  ISSN: 0957-1736 eISSN: 1753-2167
  Abstract

  This study reports on the findings of a questionnaire administered to 93 students studying Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) at British universities, focusing on their views of the role of grammar in their learning of Japanese. Learners’ views are important because mismatches with their teachers’ views can affect their learning negatively. Following previous studies, the learners in this study, who were at upper-beginner to lower-intermediate levels, valued formal instruction and wanted teachers to give detailed explanations on grammar. In particular, their views suggested that they seek greater understanding of the semantic and pragmatic features of new grammatical structures. We suggest that particularly in the case of a ‘less familiar’ language such as Japanese, anglophone learners can benefit from a ‘focus on forms’ approach that incorporates different learning processes such as pattern recognition and making associations, alongside a ‘focus on form’ approach that assists their understanding of how the target grammatical structures are used in context.
  

  Website 
• Fujino H, '初級日本語におけるMoodleを使ったリスニングクイズの実践報告 = On the Practice of Listening Quizzes Using Moodle in Beginner-level Japanese'
  BATJ Journal x (17) (2016) pp.1-10
  ISSN: 1477-4704 eISSN: 2398-953X
  Abstract

  This article reports on the practice of listening quizzes using Moodle that has been done in the Japanese language programme at Oxford Brookes University. It discusses the usefulness of the virtual learning environment (VLE) and the listening ability of upper-beginner Japanese language learners. The quizzes were carried out in an upper-beginner course and a total of 112 students participated. The study used the results generated by Moodle to analyse how students coped with the quizzes. It also analysed them with the results of the listening tests and that of the final examination, which were employed as indications of the students’ listening ability and their grammatical and lexical competence respectively. The findings showed that a quarter of the students’ listening ability had not improved despite the fact that they were doing the quizzes regularly. It also showed that for one third of the students, their grammatical and lexical competence was higher than their listening ability and that many of them had not done the quizzes regularly. From the above findings and drawing upon previous studies, this study suggests that listening instructions focusing on listening strategies are necessary for students struggling with listening, in particular, for those whose listening skills do not show as much improvement as would be expected given their regular practice. It also claims that VLE is an effective tool, not only for monitoring how a large number of students cope with listening tasks, but also for supporting their autonomous learning and the teaching of listening strategies. 
  

  Website 

Book chapters

• McConachy T, Fujino H, 'Negotiating politeness practices and interpersonal connections in L2 Japanese: Insights from study abroad narratives' in Troy McConachy and Anthony J. Liddicoat (ed.), Teaching and Learning Second Language Pragmatics for Intercultural Understanding, Routledge (2022)
  ISBN: 9780367555788
  Abstract

  The incorporation of an intercultural perspective into teaching and learning takes on particular importance for teachers who hope to develop attentive and reflective learners that can enhance their pragmatic abilities and deepen intercultural understanding before, during, and after study abroad. One of the main challenges and opportunities for language learners in a new cultural environment is learning to navigate the routines of L2 social interaction and politeness practices necessary for establishing oneself as a legitimate social actor and forming meaningful interpersonal connections. This can be particularly difficult when there is significant divergence between learners’ self-presentation strategies and understandings of politeness associated with their first language and those that are prevalent in the new cultural environment. This paper reports on a study examining the ways in which L2 Japanese learners from the UK made sense of their experience of politeness within the context of forming interpersonal connections during study abroad in Japan. It presents narrative accounts based on interviews with university students who studied at a partner institution in Japan for 9-12 months. Our analysis focuses on the ways that learners not only attempted to understand the cultural significance of politeness forms according to contextual norms but also actively incorporated their knowledge of other languages and cultures into their understandings of politeness.
  

  Website 

Conference papers

• Fujino H, Hagiwara J, Nishizawa K, Morimoto K, Oeda Y, '英国における日本語教育の再考―異文化理解をめぐる学習者及び日本語教師の意識調査から = Revisiting Japanese Language Education in the UK: A survey on learners’ and teachers’ perceptions regarding intercultural understanding'
  (2018)
  Abstract

  世界のグローバル化に伴い、以前にも増して異なる文化や価値観を持つ人々が共生するようになり、外国 語教育では単に言語を的確に使えるだけではなく、相手の文化を理解し、自己の文化との違いを受け入れる 能力、つまり異文化間コミュニケーション能力（intercultural communicative competence, ICC）が求められる ようになった（Byram et al. 2013）。英国の高等教育においても、人の移動が頻繁になりかつ世界情勢が不安 定な中にあって、異文化に対する寛容性や関心の高い人材を育てるための教育がますます強く望まれるよう になった（Bothwell 2016）。しかし、言語教育の実践では、未だに言語とコミュニケーションを中心とした 授業が行われている場合が多い（Byram et al. 2013）。また、異文化間能力（intercultural competence, IC）は必 ずしも自然に身につくわけではないとも言われており、意識的なトレーニングの必要性が唱えられている （Behrnd & Porzelt 2012）。 本発表は、英国の日本語教育の現場においてどの程度 IC 及び ICC の養成が意識されているかに関する基 礎的調査の報告である。英国で活躍している日本語教師（n=34）と日本語を専攻し、日本に留学した経験の ある大学学部生（n=38）に彼らの動機や異文化理解に関する意識、日本語教師または話者としての社会的貢 献について、オンラインアンケートを行い、詳細な記述を求めた。Byram（1997）の ICC モデルに照らし合 わせて学生回答者のコメントを分析した結果、全体として“critical cultural awareness”の不足が目立った。自 らを異文化に対する寛容性が高いと評価した学生が多かったものの、その根拠として挙げられた理由から は、異文化理解への自己認識にかなりの差が見られた。また、英国の大学の「多文化コミュニティー」とし ての側面に対する認識が高いとはいえないことが窺えた。一方教師は、英国の大学の「多文化コミュニ ティー」としての側面に対する認識は高く、日本語教育の実践の場が、異文化理解能力開発のために有益な 教育効果をもたらすことを十分理解していることがデータから観察された。しかし、「多言語多文化社会を 意識した教育を行っているか」という問いに対しては、具体的な教育実践に言及した回答が少なく、日本文 化について紹介する際に自己の文化と照らし合わせて話し合う程度で IC 及び ICC の養成がカリキュラムに 含まれている場合は少ないことが分かった。つまり、教師のビリーフと実践の間には乖離が見られた。 以上の結果を踏まえ、英国における日本語教育の現場で IC 及び ICC を高めるために何ができるかを考え たい。= With the advance of globalisation we are living in an increasingly diverse society where people with different cultures and values coexist. Foreign language education has also taken a ‘cultural turn’ (Byram et al. 2013) by which, in addition to learning to use the target language accurately and appropriately, gaining intercultural communicative competence (ICC), i.e., understanding and accepting other cultures, has become a central theme. In the age of international mobility and instability, it became required in higher education in the UK to train students to be tolerant and be interested in other cultures (Bothwell 2016). In reality, however, language and communication continue to be the main focus in many language classrooms and ICC has not been integrated as one of the learning objectives (Byram et al. 2013). Studies have also shown that intercultural competence (IC) does not always develop naturally through the experience of studying abroad, and suggest the need for intercultural training prior to studying abroad (Behrnd & Porzelt 2012). This study is a fundamental research on the awareness of IC and ICC in Japanese Language education in the UK. An online questionnaire was administered to each group. The questions focused on their motives for teaching or learning Japanese, how they perceived IC and ICC and what they thought their contribution to society was. Some questions asked the participants to explain in detail and a total of 34 teachers and 38 university students, who are majoring in Japanese and have studied abroad in Japan, participated. The results from analysing the student questionnaire using Byram’s ICC Model (1997) showed that in general many of the students lacked “critical cultural awareness”. Although many of them thought that they were tolerant to other cultures, there was a big difference in their self-awareness to IC. The results also showed that many of the students did not recognize British Universities as a ‘multicultural society’. The results from analysing the teacher questionnaire showed that many recognized British Universities as a ‘multicultural society’ and fully understood that the classrooms of Japanese language education could improve IC and ICC effectively. However, to the question, ‘Are you teaching students to have an awareness of our multilingual or multicultural society?’ only a few teachers provided concrete examples of IC and ICC related teaching, and few curricula included the training of IC and ICC. That is, there was a separation of teachers’ belief and actual teaching. Based on the results above, we would like to consider what we can do in order to improve IC and ICC for Japanese language education in the UK.
  

  Website 
• Fujino H, '教科書の会話練習の活用と文法学習について = On Grammar Learning and the Use of Textbook Dialogues'
  20 (2016)
  Abstract Japanese language textbooks include a variety of model dialogues that show examples of how the grammar presented in the lesson can be used in conversation. However, the substitution exercises provided in most cases have not been proven to be effective in enabling learners to apply the grammar to new situations.  Other activities commonly carried out in the classroom follow the communicative approach or the action-based approach, where the main focus is the content of the conversation. That is, in contrast to written exercises such as drills, where the objective is clearly set to the learning of grammar, it is not the case for conversation exercises.
  In this study, I present the results of a questionnaire on the perception of Japanese grammar administered to approximately 100 Japanese language learners from beginner to intermediate levels in 5 universities in the UK and show that learners associate speaking activities with grammar learning much more than teachers do. Through a discussion on how we could change our teaching methods to accommodate learners’ expectations more, I claim that corrective feedback by the teacher plays an important role.
   Website 
• Fujino H, '日本語学習者による文法認識について―英国の A2 レベル学習者の場合 = Learners' perception of Japanese grammar: A case study of A2 level learners in UK'
  (2015)
  ISSN: 1745-7165
  
• Fujino H, '格助詞「に」の習得過程と評価について = On the Acquisition Process and Evaluation of the Particle "Ni"'
  (2014)
  ISSN: 1745-7165
  

Fujino, Hanako (2013). The Acquisition of Japanese Nominal Modifying Constructions. Cambridge
Scholars Publishing. Cambridge, UK. ISBN 978-1-4438-4751-3

Membership of professional bodies

Reviewer of National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) 2017

External Examiner for University of Portsmouth from 2017

Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) since January 2017

Member of British Association of Applied Linguistics (BAAL) since 2015

Member of British Association of Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language (BATJ) since 2013

Member of Association of Japanese Language Teachers in Europe (AJE) since 2009

Conferences

 Conferences organised (as member of the steering committee)

• Brookes Learning and Teaching Conference 2018.
• Brookes Learning and Teaching Conference 2017.
• ‘The 17th Symposium on Japanese Language Education in Europe’, hosted by the Japan Foundation, Madrid Spain, 5-7th September 2013.
• ‘The 2nd Symposium of the Association of Japanese Language Teachers in Spain’, hosted by the Japan Foundation, Barcelona Spain, 28-29th June 2012.
• ‘The 1st Symposium of the Association of Japanese Language Teachers in Spain’, hosted by the Japan Foundation, Madrid Spain, 18-19th June 2010.

 

Further information

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanako-fujino-832881b5/