Language Education for Social Future: Language, Community, and Identity

Historically, the role of foreign or second language education was simply to serve the needs of a nation or community. But can language education bring about change within the community itself?

Shinji Sato, Director of the Japanese Language Programme at Princeton University, views the goal of language education as not merely to introduce a country’s standard language and culture, but also to encourage active participation as a full member of the community using the target language. Active participation involves critically examining cultural and societal rules, making an effort to succeed within these rules or even change the rules if necessary while negotiating with others, and taking responsibility as a member of the community. Critical thinking is an indispensable component of this process because it enables individuals to question existing frameworks and change them as needed, allowing us to create our own futures for ourselves and our communities.

In this talk, Sato will demonstrate examples of how to realise this vision by incorporating project-based activities such as the Social Issue Project and the Community Involvement Project into the existing curriculum, or creating a new curriculum such as Life and Careers. He will examine how foreign or second language education can influence the sociocultural and historical context in which it is located by analysing actual student works, students’ final reports, and survey about the projects. 

Participation fee: Free.   Language: English 英語
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