NPTEL Introduces Japanese course in Hindi

Ms. Vatsala Misra is in talks with the NPTEL Team on her new initiative of offering a  Japanese course in Hindi medium; Japani Bhasha – Saral swaroop (Japanese course taught in Hindi). Ms. Vatsala, who learned her Japanese as a Foreign language at Tokyo University, has been teaching the Japanese language at the Foreign Languages Program of IIT Kanpur for more than 25 years.

Learn more about this course: https://onlinecourses.nptel.ac.in/noc22_hs68/preview

The Japanese language that is taught in Hindi medium is a unique course. What is the motivation for taking this course?

Vatsala Misra: As you know, the course is coming up in January 2022. I have done this course in Hindi for several reasons.  I first introduced a Japanese course in 2014 for NPTEL Phase 1, and that was in English, which was well received and that gave me the confidence to do more. Then, I have also worked directly with students from rural areas under a larger umbrella of what can be called skill development – where the young people wanted to study Japanese and go to Japan to work in their chosen fields. While teaching them, I  realized that though there is a lot of material, videos, and supplementary material available in English,  not much is available in Hindi. And then, there are students from the villages who may not know enough  English to access and use the material available in English. At that time, I thought of doing something for them. I started the present course in Hindi keeping these students in mind. This particular course has one more benefit, and that is that it is easy to learn Japanese through Hindi. Though I cannot say much about other Indian languages, The Japanese syntax is very close to our Hindi syntax which makes Japanese learning easier for Hindi speakers.  That is also a big reason to develop the course in  Hindi.

“I have also worked directly with students from rural areas under a larger umbrella of what can be called  skill development – where  the young people wanted to study Japanese and go to Japan to work in their chosen fields.”

When it comes to analyzing the proficiency of foreign languages, there is a structure where different levels: A1, A2 up to C2 would represent a particular level of proficiency. Through your courses, what are the levels a student would be achieving at the end of the course?

Vatsala Misra: Yes, there are different levels. When it comes to Japanese, two things should be noted. One is that we are learning  Japanese in a non-Japanese environment. So, the students are actually not exposed to Japanese beyond a certain level.  The other thing is that though language learning has script learning an essential and integral part, given the difficulties and complexities of the Japanese script,  I have chosen to focus on students being able to converse at the end of the course. With my experience, I realized that when you are able to do even a little bit of conversation, it gives a person a lot of confidence to go further.

The level in this course is the introductory level and with a few intermediate-level concepts being included. . But the primary concentration is on proficiency in basic conversation within 3 months, which is a short time span. In the course, I would like to go slowly, giving them the confidence to converse. We should remember that students are learning a new language to which they have never been exposed. And learning those new sounds, those new words is difficult. The issue is compounded when it comes to Japanese, which uses 3 different scripts simultaneously. Not only that, we have a script that is pictographic which creates a lot of problems for Indian students, as we are simply not used to that idea most of the time. This makes the reading part very difficult. Therefore, in the initial course, more emphasis is given to conversation before  going to  reading and writing, which also goes on alongside

The environment of learning a new language is very important. We would not be able to create the environment of  Japan in the class in one hour.  So, for them, we have to go gradually, step by step. I hope that they will be able to speak a little after 3 months. And that in turn, I hope,  would also help them and motivate them to learn more. Basically, through the course, I want to go forward and generate some kind of interest within the students.

I could also mention that if the students are sincere and put in some effort on their part, I am confident that they will be able to clear the N5 level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, the JLPT, which is an international standard – much like TOEFL is for English proficiency.

Do you have any plans to create an intermediate level or advanced level in this same structure (Japanese course in Hindi medium)

Vatsala Misra:  Let me begin by briefly talking about motivating factors for Japanese language courses. Besides joining a company,  or going for higher studies,  another major factor is the  Japanese animations, which students want to watch. With the limited knowledge they gain through these courses, they may not be able to appreciate Japanese literature, but I hope it will help them get started.

When you go to Japan, when you work in a Japanese company; it requires a certain level of knowledge of Japanese. It is almost essential and for that, you need to clear some Japanese language proficiency examinations. These new courses are basically aides for the students so that they can clear these exams.

Now, coming to plans for similar courses in the future, the answer is yes, though I cannot make a firm commitment!  I did the introductory course of Japanese language in English in 2014 and I am doing this course in Hindi in 2022. At present, I am working on an intermediate-level course in English for July 2022.

“When you go to Japan, when you work in a Japanese company; it requires a certain level of knowledge of Japanese. It is almost essential and for that, you need to clear some Japanese language proficiency examinations. These new courses are basically aides for  the students so that they can clear these exams.” 

Prof. Vatsala has teaching experience of 25+ years. When the learning and teaching of languages came to the online medium, what are the difficulties and the challenges that you face?

Vatsala Misra: Online teaching is very different. One drawback is that the connection is very different with students and perhaps weaker than in a classroom, where there is more energy and you connect more directly with the students. Writing on the board, talking to the students, memorizing their names, and looking at their faces – this is not the same in online classes. In a classroom, if a student is not understanding something, one can see that by the look in their eyes, and you would be able to respond accordingly. Unfortunately, for various reasons, though, in online classes most of the time, students would not switch on their cameras though they are present. I keep telling them to kindly switch on their camera so that I can see their expression and know whether they have understood or not. In a normal classroom setting, even if they are shy or hesitant the teacher can make sure that they respond. This does not happen here in the online mode. Having said that, the good part about online learning is that in a class you are just restricted to a certain number of students. If I am in Kanpur, I have students only from in and around IIT Kanpur or the Kanpur city at most. . But in online teaching, I can interact with people not only here in India, but anybody can connect from anywhere in the world and they can see these videos, they can interact live and learn. This is one good side of teaching online. There is more freedom and you can do a lot of other things as one does not have to commute. Thus, a lot of students are quite happy to join the online classes.

In language learning, to add further, if you want to improve your spoken language, then you have to practice. We are learning this language at an age when we already have so many things in our minds. And learning new sounds, memorizing them, and connecting them in your brain, is an effort. It really takes some time. I have been seeing students, who are really putting in so much effort, and dream to learn a language and when they are able to speak, it gives them so much pleasure. That exercise of practicing and learning from peers is quite different in online classes. 

The course which you are teaching is in Hindi. What about the NPTEL exams?  What is the language that is used? 

Vatsala Misra: The proctored exams that we have at the end of the course for the students are in Hindi medium. The questions are obviously written in Japanese using both the Japanese and the Devnagari script.  The instructions are however given in Hindi.

In this era of digitalization of education and open learning, what makes these courses special?

Vatsala Misra: The idea of distance learning itself is special. You are connecting with numerous people throughout the world at one time. As I said earlier, people are from different backgrounds. I find this platform absolutely amazing. It can connect with people who have different objectives and it is a heterogeneous mixture. It is an opportunity for you to share what you know with a lot of people.

Learn more about this course: https://onlinecourses.nptel.ac.in/noc22_hs68/preview

This article is written by Anjali Girija Vijayan, NPTEL, IIT Madras