A manutenção do espanhol e a consciência linguística das crianças peruanas no Japão: um experimento de aulas de língua espanhola (amigos espaneses) no empoderamento da identidade

Abstract

Japan has experienced a growth in its foreign population during the last two decades. In many ways, the growth has brought diversity to Japanese culture, education, and communities. During the first decade especially, educators did not have specialized training and struggled teaching culturally and linguistically diverse children. Although the situation has been improving for both teachers and children, it is still difficult for children to maintain their first languages and cultural identity in Japan. One reason for this difficulty is that governmental support tends to emphasize language education at early stages, and there is a lack of understanding of the importance of nurturing bilingual children in the public educational system. This paper examines how heritage language program can empower minority children in Japan.