A Theoretical Framework for Japanese Reading Instruction for Children from Abroad: The Endogenous Development Model

This article identifies two causes of the absence of methodology for teaching Japanese reading to children from overseas: 1. The absence of a theoretical foundation for the principle of acquisition of academic Japanese; 2. The absence of content-based reading instruction − that is, instruction for learning school subjects. This article then proposes the Endogenous Development Model as a theoretical framework for teaching Japanese reading to these children. This framework is designed to develop proficiency in reading academic Japanese based on first language proficiency and the cognitive, affective, social, and cultural abilities which these children have developed before their arrival in Japan. This article also presents a concrete format for the model, to realize the following goals: 1. With the support of the mother tongue, children understand textbooks and lectures on school subjects in Japanese so that they can progress in subject learning; 2. By making the content of subject learning in Japanese comprehensible, children learn Japanese academic language; 3. Through the use of the mother tongue for the purpose of learning academic Japanese, children maintain and further develop their mother tongue.