Although, as Matsumoto (1996) notes, the status of these distinctions in the future is not certain, learners of Japanese in television markets where Japanese programming is offered (such as KIKU Television in Honolulu) do not have to go far to see these varieties presented; KIKU shows programs such as “Women of the Onsen” (a situational comedy centered around a hot spring resort) and “Soko ga Shiritai” (literally “I want to know about there,” a show which showcases different areas of Japan) often show gendered language in use.
This is an area of variation that learners of are often exposed to, to some degree, in the classroom, as textbooks (such as the Tsukuba group’s Situational Functional Japanese, which is used in the first and second year This is an area of variation that learners of Japanese are often exposed to, to some degree, in the classroom, as textbooks (such as the Tsukuba group’s Situational Functional Japanese, which is used in the first and second year Japanese language courses here at the University of Hawaii at Manoa) introduce polite and honorific language early on; Situational Functional Japanese introduces polite forms in volume 1, lesson 2, and begins to introduce some honorific forms in volume 2, lesson 1. By contrast, the first plain/casual form that is introduced as such (and not just as a base to build polite or honorific forms off of) is not introduced until volume 2, lesson 16, which is taught at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the first semester of the second year (Japanese 201).
However, despite the fact that the language textbooks introduce this type of variation, I have heard students complain that the language classroom does not teach them to speak the way their friends speak (Burch, 2004b). In previous research, (Burch 2004b), interviewees told me that native Japanese speakers often told them that they were too polite or distant, and that they had to learn to speak casually outside of the classroom. Again, learners in television markets such as the one in Honolulu would have the chance to be exposed to this type of variation, but it is not certain how much instructors utilize this in their classrooms.
