Japanese language education in Thailand formally dates back to the 1960s, when Thai universities began to establish Japanese language courses. A 2006 survey by the Japan Foundation found 1,153 teachers teaching the language to 71,083 students at 385 institutions; the number of students increased by 29.5% compared to the 2003 survey. [1] [2] As of 2021, according to the Japan Foundation, 183,957 people were learning Japanese in Thailand. [3] [4] [5]
Year | City | Examinees by Level | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
L1 | L2 | L3 | L4 | Total | ||
2009 [6] | Bangkok | 958 | 2,993 | 4,591 | 4,952 | 13,494 |
Chiang Mai | 65 | 315 | 597 | 964 | 1,941 | |
Songkla | 4 | 35 | 78 | 261 | 378 | |
Khon Kaen | 12 | 129 | 379 | 435 | 955 | |
Total | 1,039 | 3,472 | 5,645 | 6,612 | 16,768 | |
2008 [7] | Bangkok | 754 | 2,704 | 4,356 | 5,037 | 12,851 |
Chiang Mai | 64 | 239 | 639 | 910 | 1,852 | |
Songkla | 1 | 18 | 80 | 220 | 319 | |
Khon Kaen | 8 | 94 | 316 | 406 | 824 | |
Total | 827 | 3,055 | 5,391 | 6,573 | 15,846 | |
2006 [8] | Bangkok | 700 | 1949 | 3100 | 3900 | 9649 |
Chiang Mai | 52 | 202 | 628 | 1021 | 1794 | |
Songkhla | 4 | 37 | 89 | 291 | 463 | |
2005 [9] | Bangkok | 633 | 1616 | 2416 | 3456 | 8121 |
Chiang Mai | 56 | 164 | 409 | 1120 | 1749 | |
Songkhla | 7 | 41 | 122 | 293 | 463 | |
2004 [10] | Bangkok | 434 | 1280 | 1940 | 2719 | 6373 |
Chiang Mai | 35 | 170 | 333 | 798 | 1336 | |
Songkhla | 2 | 33 | 94 | 180 | 309 | |
2003 [11] | Bangkok | 380 | 1188 | 1773 | 2735 | 6076 |
Chiang Mai | 27 | 151 | 273 | 746 | 1197 | |
2002 | Bangkok | Data missing | ||||
Chiang Mai | Data missing | |||||
2001 [12] | Bangkok | 211 | 681 | 1198 | 1774 | 3864 |
Chiang Mai | 18 | 61 | 157 | 303 | 539 | |
2000 [13] | Bangkok | 194 | 696 | 960 | 1338 | 3188 |
Chiang Mai | 15 | 70 | 130 | 238 | 453 | |
1999 [14] | Bangkok | 152 | 544 | 811 | 1174 | 2681 |
Chiang Mai | 24 | 45 | 120 | 205 | 394 | |
1998 [14] | Bangkok | - | - | - | - | 2175 |
Chiang Mai | - | - | - | - | 289 | |
The Japanese Language Proficiency Test is offered in three cities in Thailand; at first, it was just offered in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, but an additional test site was added in Songkhla in 2003. [11] The Level 4 examination, aimed at beginning students with 150 contact hours of construction, is the most widely attempted; numbers of examinees decrease at higher levels. The number of examinees nearly quintupled between 1998 and 2006. [14] [8] Bangkok is the only city in Southeast Asia in which JETRO's Business Japanese Proficiency Test is offered. In 2006, 232 candidates attempted the examination; their performance, measured by the proportion of examinees who were assessed as having each of the six possible levels of business Japanese proficiency, was similar to the average for examinees in all countries outside Japan. Thai students formed 13% of all candidates attempting the examination outside Japan. [15]
The Japanese-Language Proficiency Test, or JLPT, is a standardized criterion-referenced test to evaluate and certify Japanese language proficiency for non-native speakers, covering language knowledge, reading ability, and listening ability. The test is held twice a year in Japan and selected countries, and once a year in other regions. The JLPT is conducted by the Japan Foundation for tests overseas, and Japan Educational Exchanges and Services for tests in Japan.
The Japan Foundation was established in 1972 by an Act of the National Diet as a special legal entity to undertake international dissemination of Japanese culture, and became an Independent Administrative Institution under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 1 October 2003 under the "Independent Administrative Institution Japan Foundation Law".
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Japanese language education in Kazakhstan dates back to 1992; the Japan Foundation's 2006 survey showed 51 teachers teaching the language to 1,569 students at thirteen institutions in Kazakhstan; the number of students increased by 38% as compared to the 2003 survey and more than triple the number in the 1998 survey. As of 2021, according to the Japan Foundation, 611 people were learning Japanese in Kazakhstan.
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Japanese migration to Thailand has a long history and in recent years has grown. As of 2021, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports that Thailand has the fourth highest number of Japanese expatriates in the world after the United States, China and Australia. Bangkok, the home of two-thirds of all the registered Japanese residents in Thailand, has the second-largest Japanese expatriate population of any city in the world outside Japan, behind only Los Angeles. Japanese residents themselves suspect that their actual population number may be several times higher than the official figures, because many transient residents, especially those on long-term tourist visas, fail to register with Japanese consulates.
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