Japanese Language Learning Awareness and Strategies: A Study on Malaysian Academia

Abstract

Learning of foreign language has been emphasized in the national Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015 – 2025. Numerous foreign language classes have been offered in Malaysian public universities to drive the initiative. Japanese language has emerged as the most popular foreign language among Malaysian learners due to supportive national policies, frequent interactions between both countries, and positive social perception. Intriguingly, most Malaysian learners have demonstrated basic level of Japanese language. According to our survey, only 1% demonstrated advanced level of writing proficiency, 2.9% demonstrate advanced level of reading proficiency, and 3.8% demonstrated medical and advanced level of speaking proficiency. However, it is unsure whether the lack of awareness or absence of effective learning strategies have contributed to the stalemate. In this study, the level of awareness and learning strategies have been performed on Malaysian academia. The results showed that Malaysian academia lack a consciousness on the available of Japanese language learning resources (2.7238±1.1468). Besides, it is found out digital learning strategy has emerged as the best learning option (p ≤ 0.05) compared to other conventional learning strategies. Based on the results, future studies should investigate the contemporary foreign language learning strategies in the digitalization age.