Benefits and issues: Visitor sessions with pre-intermediate learners of japanese

Abstract

In recent years, the number of Japanese language students in tertiary institutions in New Zealand has gradually decreased (Ogino, 2015), and Japanese departments have experienced budget and staff cuts. As a consequence of these losses, tertiary educators are required to effectively and efficiently conduct the same duties (if not more), but with fewer resources. Accordingly, demand for teaching-learning strategies that require minimal preparation has increased. Visitor sessions (VS) could be a creative answer to this demand, while also having significant benefits for the language learners. This study demonstrates how VS work in our institution, and may give insightful suggestions to other language educators in New Zealand who wish to incorporate VS into their curricula.