Symposium article: Simulation in JFL: Business writing

Abstract

This article discusses a simulation wherein learners of Japanese as a Foreign Language (JFL) in a business writing course at an American university are assigned tasks to write a series of business letters based on situations that are likely to occur in actual business settings. After an overview of the theoretical background, this article describes the design and procedure of class meetings and evaluates pedagogical benefits of the activities. This article suggests that the activities in this simulation provide a suitable medium for the learners' use of keigo, kaki-kotoba/kango, and a rhetorical structure that is common in business letters. At the same time, they maintain their integrity as content-oriented tasks because of realistic situations and time constraints established by the instructor and instrumental goals that the learners pursue. In particular, they place their primary emphasis on the participating learners' performance in a socioculturally appropriate form of Japanese business correspondence.