Outcomes Assessment in Japanese Language Instruction

Abstract

This chapter reports an outcomes assessment study conducted at the University of Guam. The assessment project was conducted during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 academic years and focused on two courses: Elementary Japanese I and Elementary Japanese II. To our knowledge, this assessment project was the first ever conducted in the Japanese Studies program. As such, both the results of that assessment as well as the assessment process itself provide useful avenues of inquiry. This chapter first discusses some of the problems and opportunities created by outcomes assessment in Foreign Language instruction. That discussion is followed by an examination of the actual assessment project, including its rationale, methodology and results. Finally, the chapter concludes with a discussion of the more significant implications of the project, especially in terms of on-going and future assessment in the Japanese Studies program.