Japanese Students’ Cross-Cultural Dialogue with Chinese Students Through English and Media Information Literacy Education

Frederic ANDRES National Institute of Informatics

Florant PASQUIER University of Sorbonne

Maiko SAWADA, Musashino University

Yi WANG, the University of Manchester

Author Note Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Maiko Sawada, Musashino University. Contact : ebicompany@gmail.com

Abstract : Experiences on how media and information literate citizenries foster inter-cultural dialogue and mutual understanding have been discussed in Japan, China and Asia. Updating such continuous discussion, this paper will attempt to answer the following question : why can’t Japanese university students in Tokyo better improve their cross-cultural dialogue skills with Chinese students ? In our understanding, there is a factor that prevents smooth realization of inter-cultural dialogue and mutual understanding between the Japanese and Chinese public. Primarily, there is a mutually negative perception of each country, a negative Japanese perception about China and a negative Chinese perception about Japan. Second, there is lack of media information literacy education. People, especially younger generations, frequently use the Internet. However, in our hypothesis, they do not effectively use Information Communication Technology (ICT) to overcome language and cultural barriers to communicate. In this paper, we are going to look at the Japanese case. First, this paper starts by discussing negative perceptions among Chinese and Japanese. Following a literature review, we will provide an overview of how Japanese students use social media outlets. Then, we will discuss the way media information literacy education can be introduced in Japanese higher education. As a proposal, we will address the language policy, critical thinking and collective wisdom in English and media information literacy education. In conclusion, we will draw attention to how education regarding the better use of ICT for smarter cities could materialize in Japan, China and Asia by creating new social spaces.

Keywords : Japanese university students, Chinese students in Japan, public opinion, social media, English education.

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Japanese Students’ Cross-Cultural Dialogue with Chinese Students Through English and Media Information Literacy Education