Japanese Government Will Use AI To Help Language Teaching

Illustration of schools in Japan. (Wikimedia Commons/uka0310)

JAKARTA - The Japanese government plans to promote the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and other digital technologies to support Japanese language teaching to children with foreign backgrounds.

Sources familiar with this said that guidelines are expected to be drawn up to take advantage of a generating AI to produce effective teaching methods for subjects other than Japanese, amid staff shortages that can accommodate mother tongue languages of various languages such as Portuguese, Mandarin and Spanish.

The Ministry of Education plans to include related expenses in its 2026 fiscal year budget filing starting next April to complete these guidelines as early as a year, the source said, quoted from Kyodo News September 25.

There are about 69,000 students who need Japanese language teaching registered in elementary schools, junior high schools, state high schools, and outstanding schools as of May 2023, the highest number since the survey began in fiscal 1991, according to the ministry.

However, about 10 percent of students do not receive Japanese support in class or after school.

The Ministry of Education plans to develop a system that combines generative AI-based translation applications and online learning to schools, with the aim of providing high-quality education regardless of student background.

These guidelines will not only outline teaching methods for Japanese subjects and other subjects, but also the necessary steps for schools to accept students smoothly from abroad.

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology will also conduct research on effective collaboration between teachers, Japanese instructors, and support staff in the mother tongue.

The ministry also plans to expand its budget proposal starting in fiscal 2025 to subsidize local governments to recruit these language instructors and support staff, as well as organize guidance programs to encourage school registration for foreign children who do not attend school.