L2 Journal

While traditional language textbooks often present Japanese society as racially and culturally homogenous, students increasingly seek to navigate complex questions of identity and diversity in advanced courses. This practical report showcases a social-justice-oriented unit designed for an intermediate Japanese course to move beyond the fill-in-the-blank self-introduction approach toward a more nuanced discourse that affirms identity and diversity. Utilizing backward design (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005), the unit was developed with both language and social justice learning goals in mind (Learning for Justice, 2022).

The unit reframes self-introduction through three key features: (1) framing the curriculum with essential questions and identity category brainstorming; (2) decentering mainstream Japanese and American perspectives using authentic, multimodal texts featuring Indigenous Ainu and Zainichi Korean voices; and (3) scaffolding a "difficult self-introduction" where students explain a non-conventional aspect of their own identity. Drawing on instructor reflection, questionnaires, and student interviews, this report demonstrates that students found the unit effective in developing their understanding of diversity and expressing their identity. The report concludes that reframing foundational communicative tasks through a social justice lens empowers learners to tell their stories and engage with diverse speakers. While situated in a Japanese context, the principles and features of this redesign provide educators of other world languages with strategies for incorporating social justice into intermediate courses.