Japanese language education in India

Japanese language education in India has experienced a boom in the early 21st century, helping it to begin to catch up with foreign languages more traditionally popular among Indians, such as French and German. A 2006 survey by the Japan Foundation showed 369 teachers teaching 11,011 students at 106 different institutions; the number of students nearly doubled since the 2005 survey.[1][2]

History

Origins

The earliest Japanese language courses in India were established in the 1950s; the Ministry of Defence began offering a course through their affiliated language school in 1954, Visva-Bharati (Santiniketan) established a Japanese department in 1954 which made it the first university in India to introduce Japanese language courses.[3][4] while the Japan-India Cooperation Association in Mumbai set up a Japanese class in 1958. The University of Delhi established their Japan Studies Centre in 1969, the University of Pune established a course in the language in 1977, and New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University began to offer a doctorate in the language beginning in 1982. However, the language did not enjoy much popularity until the late 1990s.[2] The growth of interest in the Japanese language took place in a short time, in spite of government inaction from both the Japanese and Indian side. The Japanese government-funded Japan Foundation, an organisation for the promotion of Japanese culture, opened an office in New Delhi in 1993, its first on the Indian subcontinent; however, its budget constituted only 2% of the Foundation's global expenditures, as compared to 15.1% for East Asia and 20.4% for Southeast Asia. Then-Finance Minister of India Manmohan Singh suggested as early as 1997 that India needed 10,000 of its citizens to be fluent in Japanese; however, little concrete action was taken to achieve this goal.[5]

Education and industry

As a result of the lack of government action, the private sector were forced to take the lead in Japanese language education. The majority of Japanese language teaching in the country is conducted by non-school institutions, while government schools have lagged behind the demand for the language; only 20% of Japanese language students study it in the course of their primary or secondary education, or in university.[2] Business process outsourcing and information technology companies are responsible for much of this; as companies in India take aim at the Japan market, they have increased their recruitment of Japanese-speaking individuals and offering internal training courses in the language to their employees.[6]

Pune has grown to become a major centre of Japanese language education in India, surpassing larger cities such as Mumbai and Kolkata despite their late start relative to the rest of the country. The first Japanese language teachers came to the city in the 1970s; the University of Pune established a Japanese language course in 1977 and upgraded it to a full department in 1978.[2][7] As such, the city was well-positioned to begin capturing Japanese business when India's information technology boom began. As early as 2004, software exports to Japan made up 12% of Pune's then-US$1 billion software industry.[8] As of 2007, 70 Japanese teachers are estimated to work in the city; it is also the home of the country's branch of the Japanese Language Teachers' Association. The similarity between Japanese grammar and that of Marathi is mentioned as a factor by some Pune residents in easing their study of the language.[7]

South India, though traditionally a leader in the information technology sector which is driving so much of the demand for Japanese speakers, has actually lagged behind the country when it comes to teaching the language. Bangalore University established a course in the language, but unlike the University of Pune or Jawaharlal Nehru University, it has done little to promote the language.[9] The Japanese Language Proficiency Test was not even offered in south India until 2000, when a test centre was established in Chennai; the test was first offered in Bangalore in 2007.[10][11] The entire Japanese teaching and translation industry in Southern India was estimated to produce revenues of only Rs. 1 million (US$21,000 at then-current exchange rates) as of 2003, with only 12 schools teaching the language.[9]

Shortfall

Despite the increase in the number of Indians studying Japanese, there remains a major shortfall relative to the needs of industry; for example, in the translation business, there are 100 jobs available for every 20 candidates. The Japanese government is working with organisations in India to address the shortfall, and aims to expand the number of Indian students learning Japanese to 30,000 by 2012.[12] In 2006, the Central Board of Secondary Education announced plans to introduce a syllabus for Japanese language teaching, making Japanese the first East Asian language to be offered as part of the curriculum in Indian secondary schools. The emphasis will be on the spoken language, rather than the written; according to the syllabus, kanji would not be taught until class VIII.[13]

Standardised testing

JLPT examinees in India
Year City Examinees by Level
L1 L2 L3 L4 Total
2006[14] Chennai 33 208 628 855 1724
Kolkata 1 31 87 141 260
New Delhi 48 292 534 395 1269
Pune 76 383 715 939 2113
2005[15] Chennai 26 136 326 645 1133
Kolkata 7 24 67 110 208
New Delhi 42 195 384 254 875
Pune 66 394 675 725 1860
2004[16] Chennai 41 168 298 500 1007
Kolkata 2 28 68 87 185
New Delhi 37 170 254 209 670
Pune 63 373 663 928 2027
2003[17] Chennai 26 136 326 645 1133
Kolkata 2 25 59 63 149
New Delhi 37 156 230 191 614
Pune 61 322 636 852 1941
2002 Chennai Data missing
Kolkata Data missing
New Delhi Data missing
Pune Data missing
2001[18] Chennai 2 50 140 385 577
Kolkata 1 14 61 94 170
New Delhi 32 121 134 131 418
Pune 20 157 371 405 953
2000[11] Chennai 10 23 89 197 319
Kolkata 1 17 37 74 129
New Delhi 11 94 136 120 361
Pune 21 139 280 311 751
1999[19] Kolkata 1 2 50 86 139
New Delhi 10 97 119 126 352
Pune 23 142 377 393 935
1998[19] Kolkata - - - - 192
New Delhi - - - - 446
Pune - - - - 698

The Japanese Language Proficiency Test is offered in four Indian cities as of 2006; the most recently added test site was that in Chennai, where the examination was first held in 2000.[11][14] The Level 4 examination, aimed at beginning students with fewer than 150 contact hours of instruction, is the most widely attempted; numbers decrease at higher levels. The number of examinees quadrupled between 1998 and 2006. Chennai had the fastest growth in the number of examinees during that period, while Kolkata was slowest.[14][19] JETRO also offer their Business Japanese Language Test in Bangalore, Mumbai, and New Delhi; in 2006, 147 people attempted the examination, forming about 7.7% of all overseas examinees. 94% of all Indian examinees scored 410 points or less out of 800, as compared to 70% of all overseas examinees.[20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "インド (India)", 2005年海外日本語教育機関調査結果 (Results of the 1999 survey of overseas Japanese language educational institutions), Japan Foundation, 2005, retrieved 2008-01-10
  2. 1 2 3 4 "インド (India)", 2004年海外日本語教育機関調査結果 (Results of the 2006 survey of overseas Japanese language educational institutions) (in Japanese), Japan Foundation, 2006, retrieved 2008-01-10
  3. ↑ Kongari, Neera. George, P.A., ed. Changing Trends in Japanese Language Education in India in the Context of Globalisation. Northern Book Centre. p. 277. ISBN 9788172112905.
  4. ↑ Keeni, Geeta. "Development of the Japanese Department at Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, West Bengal" (PDF). Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  5. ↑ Jain, Purnendra (2000), "Will the Sun Ever Shine in South Asia", in Söderberg, Marie; Reader, Ian, Japanese Influences and Presences in Asia, Routledge, pp. 187–213, ISBN 0-7007-1110-4
  6. ↑ "インドに日本語教育ブーム (The Japanese language education boom in India)", Nihon Keizai Shimbun (in Japanese), 2006-12-13, retrieved 2008-01-10
  7. 1 2 Mane, Anuradha (2007-07-07), "When it comes to Japanese, Pune steals a march over metros", Indian Express, retrieved 2008-01-11
  8. ↑ Thakur, Gaurav (2004-02-18), "Sayonara USA, Hello Japan", The Times of India, retrieved 2008-01-11
  9. 1 2 Subramani, L. (2003-02-07), "Japanese offers Indians a new challenge", Asia Times, retrieved 2008-03-23
  10. ↑ "List of Local Host Institutions of JLPT", Info for JLPT 2007, The Japan Foundation, June 2007, archived from the original on 2008-02-01, retrieved 2008-03-23
  11. 1 2 3 The 2000 Japanese-Language Proficiency Test Number of Examinees by Sites, The Japan Foundation, 2001-02-07, archived from the original on 2003-04-07, retrieved 2006-12-03
  12. ↑ Bhosale, Jayashree (2007-11-02), "Companies scouting for Japanese and German translators", The Economic Times, retrieved 2008-01-11
  13. ↑ Paul, John L. (2006-04-24), "Growing yen for the Japanese language", The Hindu, Chennai, India, retrieved 2008-01-11
  14. 1 2 3 Japanese Language Proficiency Test 2006: Summary of the Results (PDF), Japan Educational Exchanges and Services, The Japan Foundation, 2006, archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-10, retrieved 2007-08-22
  15. ↑ Japanese Language Proficiency Test 2005: Summary of the Results (PDF), Japan Educational Exchanges and Services, The Japan Foundation, 2005, archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-01-06, retrieved 2006-12-01
  16. ↑ Japanese Language Proficiency Test 2004: Summary of the Results (PDF), Japan Educational Exchanges and Services, The Japan Foundation, 2004, archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-08-27, retrieved 2006-12-03
  17. ↑ Japanese Language Proficiency Test 2003: Summary of the Results (PDF), Japan Educational Exchanges and Services, The Japan Foundation, 2003, archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-11-17, retrieved 2006-12-03
  18. ↑ The 2001 Japanese-Language Proficiency Test Number of Examinees by Sites, The Japan Foundation, 2002-02-14, archived from the original on 2003-04-07, retrieved 2006-12-03
  19. 1 2 3 The 1999 Japanese-Language Proficiency Test Number of Examinees by Sites, The Japan Foundation, 2000-02-07, archived from the original on June 27, 2001, retrieved 2006-12-13
  20. ↑ 13th JLRT (2006): A Summary Report (PDF), Japan External Trade Organization, 2006, archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27, retrieved 2006-12-01

Further reading

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