Affective Factors Socializing Malaysians into Japanese Cultural Patterns

Authors: Rokiah Paee (Universiti Malaysia Sarawak), Roslina Mamat (Universiti Putra Malaysia)
Speakers: Rokiah Paee
Strand: Language, Community, Ethnicity
Session Type: General Session

Abstract

This study examines the motivation of Malaysian undergraduate learners of Japanese. Data gathered from 24 beginning Japanese language learners from five public universities were collected via semi-structured interviews, analyzed, and categorized thematically. The findings were categorized into three main themes: Desire to learn Japanese, Attitude toward learning Japanese, and Effort in learning Japanese. Most of the learners show a high desire to learn the Japanese language in which some of them tried several times to register for the course due to the limited quota. The learners used various positive adjectives such as enjoyable, fun, comfortable, interesting, good, relaxed, challenging, practical, look forward, and less stressful to describe their feelings towards their Japanese language class. Furthermore, the learners put a lot of effort into their learning by utilizing various materials to engage with a wide range of Japanese-related activities and experiences in and beyond the classroom.

Keywords: motivation, Malaysian public universities, Japanese language learners, Undergraduates, language other than English (LOTE)