Difficulties in Teaching Japanese Language in the Middle East : Teachers' opinions at the regional seminar

本稿は、これまで情報の少なかった中東地域の日本語教育における現状と課題について報告を行う。中東各地から日本語教師が集まった中東日本語教育セミナーの内容をもとに、日本語教育を行う上での困難点を中心にまとめた。教師の意見には26項目の問題が表され、日本人教師が海外で様々な困難を感じている様子が見られた。指摘された問題のうち、中東地域に特徴的なものとして宗教や政治に関するものが挙げられ、日本人教師が海外で効果的に日本語教育を行うためには、現地の事情や異文化を理解することの重要性が確認された。また、教師自身の未熟さによる問題もあり、地域セミナーの内容についても再検討する必要のあることが示唆された。海外で、特に孤立しがちな地域の教師が、他の教師と悩みを共有し情報交換することを通じて精神的に支えられる。そのためには、地域ネットワークなどの場が形成されることの必要性が改めて認識された。This paper reports the situation and problems of teaching Japanese in the Middle East region, where only little information has been given so far. It reports the contents of the 'Middle East Japanese education seminar', which Japanese teachers in the Middle East attended and discussed over the theme of 'difficulties in teaching Japanese in the Middle East' in. There mentioned 26 kinds of difficulties in the seminar. By categorizing these 26 problems, it revealed that 'learner related' and 'teacher related' problems are the most common noticed in the Middle East, which disagrees with the results of the report "Current Report on Japanese-Language Education around the Globe" (2006). Besides, the matters related to religion and politics were often mentioned, which are considered as specific features of the Middle East. The religion, Islam, gives much influence to the thoughts and the customs of the people in the region and it also influences the Japanese learning, such as their learning style, motivation, activities in the class, etc. For the effective teaching abroad, it is important for the teachers to have good knowledge of the culture and conditions of the region, and to build a network which makes it easier to exchange information