Direct Use of Corpora in Japanese Language Education: Implementing DDL at the Upper-Intermediate Level

Large-scale corpora offer access to authentic language and represent a valuable resource for Japanese language education. In current practice, they are mostly used indirectly by instructors, while direct learner engagement with corpora (data-driven learning, DDL) remains relatively limited in Japanese courses, partly due to time constraints and the complexity of corpus tools. This article reports on a four-year project conducted at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. The course integrated direct corpus consultation through NINJAL corpora accessed via Chūnagon, with the dual aim of supporting language development and fostering research-oriented skills for working with Japanese primary sources. The study provides a qualitative evaluation based on students’ corpus-based presentation projects and anonymous student comments, highlighting both perceived benefits and critical issues, thus offering practical insights into the feasibility of DDL in Japanese language education.