Are Australian fans of anime and manga motivated to learn Japanese language?

Abstract

Recent research into Japanese as a foreign language education has strongly emphasized the link between Japanese popular culture and learning Japanese. However, these studies have only targeted Japanese language learners in formal education contexts and have largely ignored those who are not studying Japanese or studying Japanese informally. This present study claims that it is premature to link the two in this way. Using the notions of public pedagogy, the continuum of informal–formal learning, and out-of-school curriculum as our theoretical underpinnings, we examine how a cohort of fans deals with learning Japanese and about Japan in relation to their consumption of Japanese manga and anime. The results of an online survey of 451 Australia based manga and anime fans reveal that their interest in and motivation to consume these media may not necessarily lead them to enter into formal Japanese language education.

Keywords:

• Japanese
• popular culture
• public pedagogy
• consumption
• informal–formal learning
• manga and anime

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, UNSW. The authors also wish to acknowledge the assistance afforded to them by Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd. in regards to allowing the online survey to be posted on its anime website.