Abstract:

Globalization and localization are two sides of the same coin in education, because when people wish to be active in any global fields, they should have first understood their own history, tradition, nature, culture, and so on. For example, recently in Japan, the educational administration promotes learning of English in primary education. At the same time, the administration is aiming at making young people have love for their home province, or for Japan. Improving English ability and deepening knowledge of and attachment to one’s home are inseparably important for the true international education. Standing on this idea, we started a new project of ‘love for one’s home’ education. As materials for doing this, we focused on Japanese traditional color names, each of which has its local and traditional background, and sometimes very long history. Unfortunately, however, they have not been taught at all in primary or higher educations for several decades, and young people have little knowledge about them. Consequently, we try to make Japanese young people learn with joy their own traditional color names, and thereby enhance their love for Japanese traditional nature and culture. As the first step, we conducted a questionnaire survey in which more than hundred university students answered their knowledge of traditional color names, motivation for learning them, and domestic and international interest and orientedness. Relationship between one’s knowledge of traditional color names and his/her domestic and international characteristics will be discussed.

Keywords:

‘love for one’s home’ education, traditional color names, globalized education.