Teaching and Learning Yakuwarigo in a Formal Japanese Learning Context: Exploring the Potential

Yakuwarigo (role language) refers to forms of language which are associated with certain types of speakers and their attributes. Japanese people living in Japan are generally surrounded by yakuwarigo in their daily lives, as yakuwarigo is part of Japanese conversations in both the real world and virtual world (e.g., manga and anime). Yakuwarigo knowledge can therefore be considered as important knowledge for those who engage with Japanese communities. Despite this, yakuwarigo has not attracted much attention to date in the field of Japanese language education.

This study aims to investigate the yakuwarigo acquisition process of learners of Japanese in a formal learning setting and the impact of their knowledge gained through a series of yakuwarigo classes on their everyday lives. In order to address the research aims, a course comprising six yakuwarigo classes was designed, implemented and investigated for its effectiveness. The research was composed of three stages: 1. Preparation for the development of the yakuwarigo classes (questionnaire research with 18-25-year-old native Japanese speakers), 2. Development of the yakuwarigo classes (based on the teaching-learning cycle as a theoretical framework) and 3. Implementation of the yakuwarigo classes and individual interviews. The first two stages were preparation phases to address the research aims, and the data collected in the final stage was directly related to the purpose of the present study. Two learners of Japanese who were studying Japanese at an Australian university participated in the series of six yakuwarigo classes. Analysis of the data revealed a total of two themes.

(1) The participants’ acquisition of different types of yakuwarigo and knowledge of the attributes associated with their respective speakers was, in some cases, not sufficient for them to analyse examples of Japanese language use consistently and accurately by the end of the series of classes.

(2) The yakuwarigo classes nonetheless had a potential impact on the participants’ awareness of the “multi-layered” nature of images projected by the Japanese language, their ability to notice yakuwarigo, and their ability to learn new yakuwarigo and kyarakuta. The classes also appeared to influence the participants’ perception of Japanese, with implications for activities in their everyday life in which they engage through the Japanese language. 

The research findings suggest that teaching yakuwarigo in a formal learning context is useful for helping learners of Japanese who engage with Japanese communities, and thus provide new perspectives for the field of Japanese language education.