Acquiring pragmatic competence poses significant challenges for Japanese language learners. In Indonesia, university students now have the opportunity to enter an internship program at selected companies, including placements in Japan. This immersion allows students to experience the language and culture firsthand. This study explores how such experiences affect the pragmatic competence of Indonesian learners of Japanese. Despite the difficulties in achieving native-like proficiency, internships provide valuable exposure to the target language and culture. Using a qualitative approach, this study analyzed conversations between native speakers and Indonesian learners who participated in internship programs in Japan to investigate “interlanguage pragmatics.” The focus was on understanding how learners use Japanese discourse markers. The study involved 165 minutes of recorded interview conversations with 11 pairs of participants and native Japanese speakers. The analysis, based on Nakajima's theory, showed varied use of discourse markers among students based on the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). Those with minimal interaction with native speakers demonstrated lower usage and minimal communication skills. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of immersive experience in developing pragmatic competence in language learners.
Nurjaleka et al. (Tue,) studied this question.