Using Pre-Test for Assessing Familiarity With Japanese Culture of Foreign Students During Japanese Communication Class

After over two years into the pandemic, international student mobility is still not recovered in Japan and many of the exchange activities with students at foreign universities are still being conducted online. In 2022, we conducted an online summer school for foreign students from abroad to learn about up-to-date scientific research trends as well as to introduce basic knowledge about the history, culture, society, and lifestyle of Japan, as well as communication style with people in Japan. We designed a pretest covering various aspects of Japanese culture. The test was applied to a group of 60 participants, from whom 36 completed it during the set time. From the test results, the participants tended to show a good understanding of tangible items such as food, customs, weather, and modern appliances, while the more abstract items such as traditional sites, social values, and work culture seemed to be more difficult for them. The test also helped to get the participants to reveal their interests in Japanese culture. In short, applying such a pretest seems to be a good tool for the teacher to explore the level of knowledge and the need of students, and therefore to adjust the content in class accordingly.

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