Students will watch the video in order to familiarize themselves with the topic “Global Challenges,” which is the best introduction to the key issues of the 21^st Century and demonstrates an understanding of what kinds of social, environmental, and economical problems the world faces.

Youtube Video “WhatAre The World’s Biggest Problem?”

Youtube Video “What Are The World’s Biggest Problem?” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY9nxG2ZQ7w]

Students will learn the words of 15 Global Challenges in Japanese so as to be able to utilize the terms when developing ideas, deepening their understanding of issues, developing their projects and making effective presentations.

The handout (Vocabulary Worksheet), which contains 15 key issues written in English, will be distributed to students.  Students will fill in the parenthesis above each issue in Japanese.

Students will read the charts and tables in two publications from Japanese government offices in order to identify how aging and population decline affect Japanese society and finances and discuss how these issues should be solved.                                                                                                             

                                                                       [Handout (Reading Activities)]

Article 1: “The declining and agingpopulation in Japan and economic integration toward new prosperity in EastAsia”published by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan [English Version]

1)      Students will learn about the difference in size between the labor population in 2015 and the predicted population in 2025 by reading the chart that depicts the effects of aging and a declining population on the economy.

2)      Students will conceptualize future problems in Japan, comparing the change in labor population between 2015 and 2025, and discuss future problems in a small group.

Article 2: “Issues on aging and declining population and finance”published by Ministry of Education, Cultural, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan [Japanese Version]

1)      Students will learn about population predictions for 2050 and 2100 by reading the graph that shows the change in total population in Japan, and what percentages of population will increase, respectively, compared to those in 2000.

2)      Students will predict what Japanese society will be like in 2050 and 2100, and discuss their predictions in a small group.

In this PBLL project, students will need to research on elements of sociology and environmentology, using the appropriate grammar, vocabulary, and communicative skills in the target language. The students will learn about the content in these disciplines using open educational resources and through interactions while interviewing and discussing relevant topics with Japanese people.

Open educational resources which are suggested to read and watch:

Students will conduct a questionnaire survey and follow-up interviews with the students from a university in Japan. Based on the cultural, social, or environmental aspect that students selected, a questionnaire survey will be conducted using online survey tools (e.g., SurveyMonkey). After collecting the survey data, students will conduct interviews with students in the target culture community addressing the questions that emerged from data collected from the questionnaire survey to further develop intercultural competence and 21^st century skills (e.g., critical thinking skills) through synchronous communication platform like Skype.

Students will conduct debate on the topic of how we can make the world better in the future for the purposes of understanding different viewpoints about global issues. The possible topic would be a super-aging society within two decades in Japan that will be created due to low birth rate. Students will be divided into two groups—students who support men’s childcare leave belong in Group 1; the second group is comprised of those who allow more foreigners to work for revitalization of the economy in Japan. After the discussion, students will write the short summary paper which indicates their positions including the reasons. The objective of the paper is to develop organizational skills by synthesizing data and summarizing information.

Students will write a narration including the data obtained from questionnaire survey and interviews, the findings written in the paper after debate, an analysis of cultural aspects and social issues in Japan, and suggestions for solutions to the global problems the world faces. After feedback will be provided by the teacher, students will revise their drafts before inserting them into their videos.

After finishing revising their drafts, students will produce a video using video making software (e.g., MovieMaker or iMovie) for presentation to an authentic audience.

Students will present a video and then discuss social issues and reflect on Japanese culture with the audience visiting the World Culture Festival in the local community. Furthermore, the students of this project will have an opportunity to discuss a variety of topics related to social issues and develop their insights about Japanese culture and society with the audience after showing their videos.

 Technologies which will be used to support language learning are media (e.g., YouTube and Open Educational Resources) to develop listening and reading skills as well as deepen students’ understanding of the topics they are interested in. For Cultura, online survey tools such as Survey Monkey will be used to conduct questionnaire surveys. For follow-up interviews, synchronous communication platforms (e.g., Skype) will be utilized. Furthermore, the course management system (e.g., Blackboard Discussion Forum) will be used to share information, exchange opinions and provide peer feedback by posting comments about a draft of the video scripts. For video production, video making software (e.g., Movie Maker) will be used.

Students will conduct interviews with people in Japan. In order to solve the problem of the fourteen-hour (thirteen-hour in summer) time difference, the interviews will be conducted as homework.

The learners’ second language will be used in all stages of the project, except when they cannot sustain communication with students in the target culture community. In addition, English subtitles will be added to their videos so that a wider audience can watch them. At Q & A session after playing the videos during the World Culture Festival, communication is delivered in L1 or L2 depending on the audience language preference.

After debate, feedback will be provided regarding the following five criteria—1) organization, 2) accuracy of information, 3) rebuttal, 4) accuracy of language use, and 5) respect for other team, using “DebateRubric.”

Feedback will be provided by the teacher using “Video Narration Draft Rubric” and “Culture Knowledge Rubric,” to evaluate the video narration draft which demonstrates the students’ understanding global issues focusing on the topics they are interested in and discusses their viewpoint toward Japanese culture and the world in the future.

The criteria of “Video Narration Draft Rubric” are 1) Organization, 2) Understanding of topic, 3) Accuracy of information, 4) Completion of work, and 5) Accuracy of language use.

“Culture Knowledge Rubric” is comprised of the following six criteria—1) Knowledge (Culture self-awareness), 2) Knowledge (Knowledge of culture worldview frameworks), 3) Skills (Empathy), 4) Skills (Verbal and nonverbal communication), 5) Attitudes (Curiosity), and 6) Attitudes (Openness).

The learners’ second language will be used in all stages of the project, except when they cannot sustain communication with students in the target culture community. In addition, English subtitles will be added to their videos so that a wider audience can watch them. At Q & A session after playing the videos during the World Culture Festival, communication is delivered in L1 or L2 depending on the audience language preference.