CONTENTS
Introduction
Doing a Doctorate: Three Experiences
Nicholas Bradley, Kevin Ottoson, Andrew D. Tweed
A Semester of Choice: A Differentiated Approach to Online Learning
Jared J. Peo
Autonomous Learning: A Case Study of Four University EFL Learners and Their SelfStudy Skills alongside English Language Academic Courses
Richard Hill
Japanese University Learners’ Foreign Language Writing Anxiety
Jane Hislop
Incorporating Critical Thinking in Language Classrooms
Wan Jung Amy Lin
The Connection between Language and Culture: How Japanese Culture Affects
Learning English
Lidija Elliott

NUFS TEACHER DEVELOPMENT SYMPOSIUM PROCEEDINGS, Issue 1, June 2021

Introduction
We are delighted to welcome you to the first issue of the NUFS Teacher Development
Symposium Proceedings. This issue includes six articles based on presentations from the first
Teacher Development Symposium hosted by the Center for Language Education andDevelopment (CLED) at the Nagoya University of Foreign Studies (NUFS) held on Zoom on
Saturday, January 9th, 2021. The symposium was an opportunity to bring teachers together toshare and discuss issues, research findings, skills and activities to enrich teaching practice. The
Teacher Development Symposium Committee would like to sincerely thank both thecontributors who submitted their manuscripts and worked through the double peer review
process and also the reviewers who took the time and effort to provide constructive andthoughtful feedback.
The first article in this issue is from Nicholas Bradley, Kevin Ottoson and Andrew D. Tweed
who provide an insightful account of their experiences completing doctoral studies whileworking full-time, in addition to offering advice to teachers who are considering becoming
doctoral candidates. The second article is from Jared J. Peo whose research examines
participants’ experiences with differentiated learning in a synchronous online learning
environment. In the third article, Richard Hill explores participants’ reflections on using a selfstudy planner as an aid to improve students’ private study habits. In the fourth article, Jane
Hislop focuses on learners’ expectations about their upcoming writing courses as they prepared
for a semester online and the anxiety many students experienced regarding writing in a second
language. In the fifth article, Wan Jung (Amy) Lin reviews the literature on critical thinking inlanguage classrooms, sharing a wide range of activities that promote critical thinking in thiscontext, followed by the results of a survey she conducted investigating students’ perceptionsof these activities. In the final article, Lidija Elliott examines the relationship between language
and culture in EFL classrooms, providing ideas about how best to mitigate the possibility of
misunderstanding between teacher and students in this context.
The call for papers for the second NUFS Teacher Development Symposium currently
scheduled for January 2022, will be announced on this website shortly.
Jane Hislop
Editor
NUFS Teacher Development Symposium Proceedings
NUFS Teacher Development Symposium Committee
Nicholas Bradley
Jared J. Peo
Jason R. Walters
Jane Hislop
Peter Lyons

NUFS TEACHER DEVELOPMENT SYMPOSIUM PROCEEDINGS

Doing a Doctorate: Three Experiences
NICHOLAS BRADLEY
Nagoya University of Foreign Studies
KEVIN OTTOSON
Nanzan University
ANDREW D. TWEED
Soka University
Abstract
Language education at university has always required high-level qualifications. Whereas amaster’s degree is typically the entry level qualification for people working in language
education, the number of people holding doctorates has been rising. An increased number ofdoctorates in the profession may lead someone to consider undertaking doctoral studies as ameans of maintaining or advancing their career. As studying towards a doctorate is a large
undertaking, it is one that should be considered at length. To assist this deliberation, thisarticle presents the reasons, experiences, and outcomes of three teachers who completed
doctoral studies.
Introduction
The decision concerning whether to undertake doctoral studies is one that should not be taken
lightly. A legion of documents from books and magazine articles to internet memes highlightthe large workloads, long hours and, as is often the case, high costs involved. However,unlike much of the information available, this article does not present the process of doing adoctorate in generic terms but gives it from the perspective of three teachers who undertook
specific courses and who detail their own individual views. These views cover objective
information such as the university and course of study, but also their subjective experiences,
reasons for embarking on a doctorate and their assessment of the “value” it afforded them.
Additionally, from these experiences will be drawn advice for those who may be considering
doctoral studies.
Before detailing the three individual experiences, it is worth considering some broader facts
about holding a doctorate. Arguably the most influential is that of compensation. People who
hold a doctorate are paid more on average than those who do not. This would appear to be a
global reality with data in the UK (Vitae, 2020), USA (Michigan State University, 2020), andJapan (Real Estate Japan, 2020), among others, all showing higher yearly and lifetime
earnings for doctorate holders. Although this should come as no great surprise given that eachstep up the education ladder typically brings higher financial rewards, it does confirm the1

DOING A DOCTORATE: THREE EXPERIENCES

monetary incentive for doing a doctorate and, implied within this, that the qualification isdesired by employers.
Perhaps a consequence of the higher remuneration and access to higher level positions, thenumber of people doing a doctorate is growing in most countries, quite substantially in many.
In the US, for example, the number of people holding a doctorate increased from 2 million in2000 to 4.5 million in 2018 (Census, 2019). This is similar to the increases seen in manyother countries such as France, Germany, China, and South Korea (Mainichi, 2018).
However, this phenomenon is not entirely global. In Japan, although long-term statistics such
as 5,576 doctorates awarded in 1989 vs 15,658 in 2018 (Japan Times, 2019) might suggest a
steady increase over time, they hide the fact that 2006 represented the peak in the number ofdoctorates awarded and, since that time, there has been a decline (Japan Today, 2020;
Mainichi, 2018). The reasons for this decline are beyond the scope of this article, though
anecdotal evidence suggests that it may be influenced by the idiosyncrasies and recentchanges within the employment system, particularly in the higher education employment
sector.
Though the recent decline in the number of doctorates awarded in Japan is an anomaly when
considering the global trend, the reality of increased remuneration and access to higher level
positions is not. This is a universal reality and so is true for the higher education sector inJapan.
Doctorate Experience 1: Nicholas Bradley, PhD.
Background & Rationale
After teaching on the JET Programme for two years and an eikaiwa [English conversation
school] for a few months after, I returned to the UK and worked for a prestige German car
manufacturer. A lack of job satisfaction and a desire to have a more pleasant environment for
my two young children made me once again consider teaching in Japan. Rather than return topre-tertiary teaching, I undertook a TESOL MA at the University of Leeds to gain access touniversity level employment in Japan.
After achieving this and teaching for three years in a Japanese university, I once again wishedto advance my career. There were several reasons for this, such as the desire to teach more
content courses or a wider variety of courses, and to gain an increased salary, but the mostpowerful motivator was to avoid the employment cycle faced by university teachers in Japan.
This employment merry-go-round sees teachers hired by universities on fixed-term contracts
of usually 4-5 years, though some universities have started to offer 10-year contracts.

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DOING A DOCTORATE: THREE EXPERIENCES

Holding a doctorate allows for a greater likelihood of moving into a permanent position as
the qualification is usually either a prerequisite or a preferred qualification for most life-time
posts both in Japan and overseas.
University & Course
The School of Education at the University of Leeds is staffed by extremely approachable andsupportive academic staff who possess the wealth of knowledge and experience and theextremely positive experience of completing my TESOL MA at the University of Leeds led
me to explore the possibility of undertaking a PhD there within the School of Education.
Living and working in Japan, the doctorate option available to me was that of the Split-site
PhD. The course has two models, as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Two Split-site PhD Models(University of Leeds, 2020)

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DOING A DOCTORATE: THREE EXPERIENCES

Completion of the split-site PhD course requires the production and defence of a thesis
containing robust independent research that is justified by the literature, attempts to make an
original contribution to the field and is of publishable quality. The length of the final thesis is
typically 100,000 words. To gain admittance to the course requires a research proposal thatdefines an area of inquiry that is feasible, relevant, and pressing, and which demonstrates
academic ability and original thinking. These points will also be assessed in person by thepotential supervisor who will speak to the candidate about the research proposal.
Once a research proposal is accepted by the supervisor, the candidate is able to formally
begin work on the early stages of their doctoral work. From my own experience, I would
present the PhD workflow as is shown in Figure 2; the items in bold text represent the stages
that were the most demanding in terms of time, difficulty, or stress.
Figure 2: PhD Workflow
Extensive Reading

Identify an area in which tocontribute
Make a research plan
Pass the “transfer” stage

Conduct the plan
Analyze data
Begin the drafting process

SubmitDefend (Mock & Real)

Substantial amount of reading around thesubject and focusing on particular areas ofinterest.
Finding the “gap” in the field that can be
filled through research.
Creating specific research questions andidentifying ways to answer them.
Creating a revised and substantive
research proposal based on extensive
reading and containing research questions,justification and proposed researchmethods. Approx. 10-15,000 words. Also
includes gaining ethical approval.
One of the most enjoyable stages. Goingout and collecting data.
Also very enjoyable to see data comealive.
A huge task that cannot be overstated.
Creation of many chapters and many
thesis drafts that often change and need tobe cross-referenced. A painstaking task ofconcentration and endurance.
Submit electronic and soft-bound paper
copies of the thesis. Complete submission
admin.
Practicing speaking about the main thesisof your research in clear and succinct
ways. Practice answering questions both

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DOING A DOCTORATE: THREE EXPERIENCES

general and specifically related to thethesis.
Mock defence with supervisors and later
actual defence with examiners.

Outcomes
The value of the actual outcomes can only be assessed against the desired outcomes thatprovided the impetus for embarking on the PhD. In this instance, the actual and desired
outcomes are congruent. At the midway point of my PhD, I was able to move into apermanent position that offered excellent job security. Being a PhD candidate and well on thepath towards completion was a factor in gaining the position. Though job security was theprimary goal, other positive outcomes are shown in Figure 3, which is not an exhaustive list.
Figure 3: Selected Positive Outcomesü Development of my own personal educational philosophy and the ability to critically
ü
ü
ü
ü
ü

assess it
Obtained a high level of expertise in research methodology and data analysis
Gained substantial project management competency
Greater ability to identify and critically analyze my own and others’ beliefs andassumptions
Greatly improved time management / organizational skills
A feeling of achievement

Not all outcomes were positive, however. Although some negative outcomes were rather
insubstantial, such as having a reduced interest in reading, others were not. The mostsignificant was a strong feeling of burnout towards the end of my PhD. Adding PhD studies
to a schedule that is already heavy from a very busy full-time job and managing a family life
with young children was extremely demanding both mentally and physically. While one may
assume that the feelings of fatigue might subside with the end of the PhD, the reality was thatseveral years of such an intense schedule resulted in the feeling lingering longer.
With both positive and negative outcomes, the ultimate question is “If I could go back, would
I do it all again?” Without hesitation I would answer “Yes” and I would have said this at
every stage of the PhD. Of course, if I were to go back, there are some things that I would dodifferently as well as questions I would ask myself, or any PhD candidate to consider.
AdviceDoing a doctorate in any form is a huge undertaking, but a PhD also represents an enormous

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DOING A DOCTORATE: THREE EXPERIENCES

project that has to be managed very carefully. The main advice I would give to myself at thestart of the course would focus mostly on the endurance and management aspects of thecourse. These points are shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4: PhD Advice
Try to recognize when enough is enough.
It is quite possible to engage in an endless literature review. There is always
something that leads to something else, which leads to something else.
Knowing when you have enough to make your point, justify your methods orchallenge an idea is very important.
Data management is extremely important (backing up, file organizing andstorage).
With masses of data, chapter drafts, articles and much more, effectively
organizing and backing up data not only saves time when it comes to using thedata, it prevents tragic losses and setbacks.
Isolation makes you second guess. Contact reassures.
Doing a PhD at distance can be quite lonely and can leave you wondering(often quite pessimistically) about your progress. Connecting with otherdoctoral students and maintaining regular communication with supervisors
reassures and keeps your mind on target.
Hit the ground running and make hay while the sun shines.
It is a good idea to have a lot of reading done before the PhD starts. Life andwork can throw up challenges that take your time away from your PhD. Being
a little ahead of the game allows the flexibility to compensate for these.
Additionally, any slow/easy times in work/life should be taken advantage of by
spending extra time on doctoral work.
Although the above are mostly for PhD candidates, the questions below should be consideredby anyone considering doctoral studies.
ü Do you prefer extensive focus on one subject or examination of many? (PhD / EdD)
ü Is your interest in the subject(s) strong enough to maintain focus on them for several
years?
ü Are you able to manage your time well and work at length in isolation?
ü Will a doctorate give you value for your investment in time and money?
ü Will the investment in time/money negatively impact life?
Doctorate Experience 2: Kevin Ottoson, EdD.
Background & Rationale
After teaching on the JET Programme in central Japan for three years, I experienced agrowing dissatisfaction with the lack of development as an instructor. As an undergraduate
student in a teachers’ college, I enjoyed using the concepts and skills in numerous practicum

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DOING A DOCTORATE: THREE EXPERIENCES

assignments in American middle schools and high schools. Reflecting upon this time ofsatisfaction, I decided to enroll in the MA TESOL program at Nagoya University of Foreign
Studies (NUFS). During my time as an MA student at NUFS, I continued to develop as ateacher and better understand the EFL classroom as an assistant language teacher on the JET
programme.
After graduating with an MA, I was able to gain employment at the university level as aforeign language instructor. With growing responsibilities, I felt that I lacked the necessary
leadership skills to carry out my duties inside and outside the classroom at the university.
Again, I started to look for professional development opportunities. After completing the
Quantitative Research Training Project coordinated by Gregory Sholdt, I felt it extremely
satisfying to take part in online professional development with a team of researchers. Soon I
began to search for online doctorate in education programs that would provide a structured
environment for me to continue developing as a scholar practitioner.
University & Course
In 2014, there were fewer completely online doctorates in Education programs to consider.
The University of New England (UNE) in Biddeford, Maine, USA, was one such programthat provided a 100% online doctorate in education focusing on educational leadership. In
addition to the institution’s regional accreditation, the flexibility and structure of the program
made the Doctorate in Education in Educational Leadership at UNE an attractive place tofurther my education. The 51-credit hour Doctor of Education program at UNE (see Figure 5)
has multiple start dates and can be completed in three years.
Figure 5: UNE Doctor of Education Course
EDU 801 Preparation for Transformative Leadership (Credits:3)
EDU 802 Qualitative Research Methods (Credits:3)
EDU 803 Interpreting Empirical Data (Credits:3)
EDU 804 Technology & Organizational Transformation (Credits:3)
EDU 805 Managing Change (Credits:3)
EDU 806 Policy Analysis (Credits:3)
EDU 807 Enacting Transformative Leadership (Credits:3)
EDU 808 Using Theory to Guide Research (Credits:3)
EDU 809 Conceptualizing Applied Research (Credits:3)
EDU 810 Ethical Leadership (Credits:3)
EDU 811 Diagnosing Organizational Dynamics (Credits:3)
EDU 812 Dissertation Seminar I (Credits:3)
EDU 813 Dissertation Seminar II (Credits:3)
EDU
Dissertation (Credits: 12)814-817
Note: Each course is eight weeks in duration. There are two courses per 16-week semester.

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DOING A DOCTORATE: THREE EXPERIENCES

At UNE, doctoral students work on their dissertation throughout the 51-credit hour program.
The five-stage dissertation process (see Figure 6) begins with the application essay wherestudents explore their dissertation topic. This exploration continues in the first year of the
program. Into the second year, students refine their research topic. By the time students enter
their third year of the program, they will have completed a first draft of the first threechapters of their dissertation. The rationale for integrating the dissertation throughout the
program rather than just at the end is to avoid the “all but dissertation” (ABD) status andmaintain a high retention and graduation rate.
Figure 6: Dissertation development-5 stages

Topic explorationApplication essay

Development ofliterature review

Dissertation
proposalpresentation

Final presentationof dissertation to
your committee

Completion ofdata collection

Outcomes
The EdD program at UNE enabled me to develop research skills and education leadershipskills. Thus, I have a better understanding of my students and colleagues though part of me
feels that I have not fully utilized the knowledge and skills I have learned due to the nature of
my current teaching position. However, at the time of writing this paper, I have been able tosecure a tenure-track position at a university where I will teach students who are studying
childhood education. As my main goal of development as a scholar practitioner has beenachieved, I feel a deep sense of accomplishment. Completing a terminal degree program
while working full-time and raising two children under six definitely was a taxing experience.
Being able to make it through this program helped develop resilience and grit to help me
work through other turbulence in life. Additionally, this program enabled me to land several
interviews for permanent positions at the university level. Thus, my chances for careeradvancement increased due to the completion of the EdD program at UNE.

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DOING A DOCTORATE: THREE EXPERIENCES

The outcomes of this EdD program at UNE were mostly positive, but there were some
negative outcomes during and after the program. First, I suffered from a severe lack of sleep.
Being the primary caregiver of my children only allowed me to focus on my studies from
10pm - 2am. Routinely, I would have to pull all-nighters on the weekends. This lack of sleep
caused my teaching and personal relationships to suffer. Additionally, I felt like I was
missing out on important events and time with friends and family. Due to time and financial
constraints, I was unable to take part in numerous activities. Finally, while I felt a wonderfulsense of accomplishment, my salary and responsibilities at work remained unchanged. At
times, I still find myself asking myself, “Was it worth it?” At this point, I would say, “Yesand no.” Perhaps, I can better answer this ten years later.
AdviceBefore I chose to enroll in the EdD program at UNE, I frequently sought out advice fromthose who either completed a doctorate, were currently enrolled in a doctoral program, or had
chosen not to do a doctorate. Now I find myself the one who is asked about my experienceand any advice I can give. The following pieces of advice (see Figure 7) are what I typicallyoffer.
Figure 7: EdD Advice
Talk to current and former participants
Seeking out advice and perspectives will help you make a better-informed decision onenrolling in a doctoral program. Additionally, once registered, talking with others will be asource of mentorship and support. Doing a doctorate can be a lonely experience at times.
Reach out to others as much as you can.
Communicate clearly to those around you about deadlines
Your friends and family will likely not be aware of important deadlines coming up.
Communicating to people around you about upcoming tasks and deadlines will help themunderstand times when you may be busier than normal. Hopefully, this knowledge of yourschedule will help them provide the needed support during stressful times.
Anticipate turbulence and be flexible
Most likely, you have an area of research that you would like to explore more in detail.
When you begin the program, you would likely have a good idea of what you would like toresearch. However, situations can change. Your position, place of work, or personal life
may likely change over the next several years. Furthermore, a global pandemic might put
your research plans on hold. Thus, your original research plan may need to be altered.
Consider possible alternative research plans should you encounter unforeseeable changes
to your personal or professional life.
Don’t neglect both your professional life and personal life
Taking on a doctorate can cause you to neglect other important areas of your life. You willoften hear about the importance of maintaining a work-life balance. However, consider
how to maintain a balance within your work. Focusing on your dissertation can cause you
to neglect other areas of your professional life. As a foreign-language lecturer in Japan, I
neglected teacher development, language learning, and publications. All of these can carry
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DOING A DOCTORATE: THREE EXPERIENCES

importance in your current work situation and securing future employment. Of course, if inJapan, your prospective employer will be interested in your doctoral research, but they will
also know about your Japanese language ability. Every interview I have had has either
been partially in Japanese or entirely in Japanese.
In sum, these are some of the pieces of advice that I often find myself giving to others. Of
course, everyone’s situation or motivation for doing a doctorate is different. Thus, I tailor myadvice accordingly. Pursuing a doctorate will not be right for everyone. Even at this time, I
am not sure if it was right for me. However, in 2015, it seemed like the right decision. In theend, I completed my doctorate in education, and it has helped me achieve some of my goals.
Consider your goals and how a doctorate might help you achieve them. At the same time,
consider other avenues to achieve those goals.
Doctorate Experience 3: Andrew D. Tweed, EdD
Background & Rationale
I first started working as an EFL teacher in 2000, in a rural area of Japan near Mount Fuji.
After working at an eikaiwa for a couple years there, followed by teaching English at avocational college in Tokyo for three years, I returned to the US to do a MATESOL in 2006.
After I completed my MA, I thought about doing a doctorate, but I instead decided to go to
Southeast Asia, where I worked mostly as a manager and a teacher trainer. The six-plus years
in Vietnam and Cambodia involved really rewarding and enjoyable work, but after a while I
started to feel complacent professionally, and I wanted to be exposed to fresh ideas, whichwere backed by research. I therefore decided to undertake a doctorate, and I believed thiswould help me with university positions once my wife and I returned to Japan.
After considering a number of other universities, for various reasons, I decided to apply to theDoctor of Education in TESOL program at Anaheim University (AU) in California. One
reason I chose AU was that I liked that I could take it online, and so it did not matter if I wasin Cambodia or Japan. In addition, while it was online, their program included bothsynchronous and asynchronous coursework, as well as two residential sessions, which helped
reduce feelings of isolation. I also decided on AU because it offered a nice balance between
the practical and theoretical. For example, while it offered highly useful courses incurriculum design and materials development, it also included more theory-based ones in
research methods, instructed second language acquisition (SLA), and pragmatics. One otherreason I opted for Anaheim’s doctorate was because of its esteemed faculty. David Nunan
started Anaheim’s Graduate TESOL program, and the professors who teach the courses are
generally regarded as experts in those particular areas. Thus, for example, Rod Ellis taught
instructed SLA, Brian Tomlinson taught materials development, and Kathleen Bailey taught

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DOING A DOCTORATE: THREE EXPERIENCES

teacher education. This was different from my MA where only a relatively small number ofprofessors taught all of our courses, and they frequently taught outside of their areas ofexpertise.
University & Course
Figure 8 presents an overview of the coursework, which in my case, took me two and halfyears to complete.
Figure 8: Coursework for Anaheim Univ.’s EdD Program• Synchronous online lectures every Saturday morning• Lectures followed by discussions with classmates• Moodle for weekly tasks, e.g., discussion forum• Two residential sessions, in Tokyo or southern California• Generally, two papers for each course• Qualifying and comprehensive exams
I would like to highlight the fact that the course has been designed in a way that provides a
lot of interaction with the professors and between classmates. The synchronous classes anddiscussion forums facilitated various modes of interaction. Furthermore, the residential
sessions, which were about three days each and alternated been Tokyo and southern
California, were helpful in fostering stronger bonds with others in the program.
For me, the most difficult aspect of the course work was writing two papers for each course.
However, I also feel like this made me a much better writer. By the end of the EdD I had
written about thirty papers. Also rather challenging were the qualifying and comprehensive
exams, as these required periods of intense study sessions of previous material in order topass.
Figure 9 shows an overview of the dissertation process. While the dissertation for AU’s EdD
in TESOL can be done in as short as one year, mine, being qualitative, took approximately
two and half years. I wrote the dissertation proposal while taking a general course on
dissertation proposal writing and the professor of that course, while not my advisor, gave mesome helpful guidance. Particularly in the early stages of working with my advisor, I also
made some significant changes to the original proposal, which required more time.
Furthermore, as my study involved a grounded, bottom-up approach to analyzing the data, I
experienced some difficulty settling on an appropriate theoretical lens with which to makesense of my data.

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DOING A DOCTORATE: THREE EXPERIENCES

Figure 9: Anaheim Univ. EdD in TESOL Dissertation Process• Write dissertation proposal• Formally request to work with an advisor• Write the dissertation with ongoing support from advisor• Send completed dissertation to one external examiner, one internal examiner• Carry out defense to one external examiner, one internal examiner andadvisor• Address any required or suggested revisions and then re-submit
In addition to academic challenges, I dealt with a number of more general obstacles tocompleting the dissertation. Some of my most significant problems were health related:worsening eyesight, tooth aches, back pains, shoulder pains, and the most disruptive of all,chronic headaches. This was also happening amidst a very stressful work situation, where
there was frequent turmoil among members of our small self-access center team.
Dealing with AU’s administration also caused me a good deal of frustration. I was pushed totake double course loads, I had to argue with them to take a term off when my health was inpoor condition, and added to that, I had to keep paying for each additional term of mydissertation. While academically, I had an excellent experience with Anaheim, theiradministration left me ultimately feel somewhat negative about the university.
Outcomes
Finally, I would like to briefly discuss the positive and negative outcomes of doing adoctorate. Regarding the former, I am now much more focused in terms of my researchinterests. Both the coursework and my dissertation helped me to narrow in on learnerautonomy and psychology in language learning as my primary areas of interest. I am also
more confident in both the practical and theoretical domains of TESOL. Last but certainly notleast, I am more competitive in the job market. I have landed two university positions in thepast five years directly linked to my professional interest in self-access centers.
At the same time, there have been some negative outcomes. The cost of my doctorate wasabout $60,000 US. Hopefully, this investment pays off in the long run. In addition, I haveexperienced what might be called a doctoral hangover. I still feel somewhat run-down by thewhole process and I have only recently submitted the paper based on my dissertation to ajournal. Finally, I have some lingering health issues which took root during my doctoral
studies, most notably, poor eyesight and back pain. Anyone considering doing a doctorate
should be aware of these potential payoffs and pitfalls.

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DOING A DOCTORATE: THREE EXPERIENCES

AdviceI started my doctorate while working in Cambodia. A colleague of mine there from England
used to say, “I would like to have done one, but I don’t actually want to do a doctorate.” In
my case, I am glad that this experience is over, and I am pleased that I have got my doctorate.
However, I would not put myself through that process again. Especially at my age, it would
not make sense from a cost-benefit perspective.
Related to the financial benefits of doing a doctorate, I do believe teachers thinking about
doing one should be aware that it may not actually pay off. Doctorates are expensive and time
consuming. Teachers in our field should consider other things that they can do to advancetheir careers to provide themselves with a financial boost. For example, they can take on
more classes, teach privately, open a business, become an examiner, or work for a publisher.
Now with the widespread use of video conferencing applications, they could try online
teaching as well. Of course, there are other things not directly related to English teaching thatthey can do. I have worked as a music teacher in Japan. Some people get paid for writing andcopywriting, while others translate. In sum, I would suggest that TESOL professionals
consider the reasons for doing a doctorate and what they would hope to get out of it, and theyshould compare that with what they could get from putting their time elsewhere. I am happy
that I did a doctorate. It has helped me in a number of ways. But it is certainly not the best
option for everyone.
BIO DATA
Nicholas Bradley is an associate professor at NUFS and holds MAs in TESOL and History,
and a PhD in Applied Linguistics. He has taught at university in Japan for 10 years and iscurrently the Director of multiple courses within the Core English Program.
Kevin J. Ottoson is a language instructor at Nanzan University in Nagoya, Japan. He holds
an Ed.D from the University of New England. His research interests include study abroad andthe development and assessment of intercultural competence.
Andrew D. Tweed holds an Ed.D. in TESOL from Anaheim University. He is a lecturer in
the World Language Center and coordinator of the Self-Access Center at Soka University inTokyo. Andrew’s research interests include learner autonomy and psychology in language
learning.

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DOING A DOCTORATE: THREE EXPERIENCES

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collaboration_on_campus/929/split-site_phds
Vitae (2013). The Doctoral Graduate Earning Premium. Vitae.
https://www.vitae.ac.uk/doing-research/are-you-thinking-of-doing-a-phd/why-do-adoctoral-degree/the-doctoral-graduate-earning-premium

14

NUFS TEACHER DEVELOPMENT SYMPOSIUM

A Semester of Choice: A Differentiated Approach to Online Learning
JARED J. PEO
Nagoya University of Foreign Studies
Abstract
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, a small private university in
the Tokai area transitioned from face-to-face learning to online instruction. While it may
have been deemed a success in many ways, it was challenging to meet diverse learninggroups’ needs on such short notice. To assist students who learn effectively in different ways
and have varied learning preferences and multiple intelligences, the author modified one
online course’s design to offer flexible forms of participation and flexible assignments withvarious modes of completion. While the primary goal behind the changes was to improvestudents’ language development, the teacher additionally set out to foster student motivation
and autonomous learning. This article will explore three participants’ experiences withdifferentiated learning in an online environment.
A Semester of Choice: A Differentiated Approach to Online Learning
The COVID-19 pandemic that started in the spring of 2020, placed an enormous burden on
the education system in Japan. In response, a small private university in the Tokai areatransitioned from face-to-face learning to online instruction. During the first semester of thisstudy’s course, most classes took place synchronously online via Zoom. The decision wasmade with limited time to prepare an online curriculum, so while it may have been deemed asuccess in many ways, it was challenging to meet the diverse learning groups’ needs. In
response to the obstacles of the first semester, the author implemented a differentiatedapproach to learning based on the principles of adult education, motivation, and universal
design for learning.
Adult Education
In 2005, Phillip Ozuah provided a commentary on adult learning. He proposed ten principles
concerning how adults learn best. While some of the principles reflect similar ones ofpedagogy, five stand out for this study: “adults learn best when they want or need to learnsomething, when they are in a non-threatening environment, when their learning styles aremet, when their previous experience is valued and utilized,” and “when there areopportunities for them to have control over the learning process” (Ozuah, 2005, p. 86). He
argues that adult education should be more focused on immediacy and a need to learn andpromote autonomous learning. As university students are young adults and choose tocontinue their education and what they study, this argument seems applicable to higher
education.
Ozuah (2005) suggests that adults are more knowledgeable about their learning preferences
due to having much experience in and out of the classroom. Moreover, adult learners are
more likely to be looking for practical solutions to immediate problems. The course’s
benefits and goals need to be clear and personal to meet the students’ expectations. Adult
learners of languages often have some specific goals, and they will be more driven to study
and improve if they see the required tasks as useful and effective. A great way to meet these
expectations is to offer options so adult learners can control how and what they learn.
Keeping these recommendations in mind can help improve motivation and engagement.

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A DIFFERENTIATED APPROACH TO ONLINE LEARNING

Motivation
Motivation is often discussed as a quantifiable characteristic that students have or do not haveor something they can gain or lose. How to improve motivation has been a significant area of
EFL research as motivation has been connected to achievement (Fan, 2012; Masgoret &Gardner, 2003; Pan & Wu, 2013; Peacock, 1997). Greeno, Collins, and Resnick (1996)
categorized prominent theories on motivation into three groups: extrinsic motivation (theBehaviorist/Empiricist view), intrinsic motivation (the Cognitive/Rationalist view), andengaged participation (the Situative/Pragmatist-Sociohistoric view). Although the groups are
not all-encompassing, adherents to these theories have used them to shape research and datainterpretation. The goal of their research is to find interventions teachers can implement to
get immediate and measurable results.
Olmanson (2016) proposes that these perspectives sometimes ignore moments in classrooms
that are not easily measured or described. Instead, motivation might be better expressed as
moments of acceleration and deceleration where individuals, small groups, and entire classes
can experience changes in motivation either together or alone. These moments are
unpredictable and complex, influenced both intrinsically and extrinsically, but not necessarily
exclusively. Following this line of thought, rather than limiting interventions based on one
theory, it would be better to design a course that allows for as many opportunities foracceleration as possible.
Acknowledging that motivation may be too complex to define with one theory, Williams andWilliams (2011) focus on five key ingredients for improving student motivation: “student,
teacher, content, method/process, and environment” (p. 122). Teachers’ and students’ roles
should go beyond traditional views of consumer and producer as students should be seen asnecessary materials for educational success. How and when content is delivered is importantand should be easily accessible. The authors are quick to explain that no one motivational
theory is necessarily better than the others. Instead, they are pieces of a bigger puzzle. Thus,
teachers should consider them when designing courses, trying to include as many of these
ingredients as much as they can.
Universal Design for Learning
Universal design for learning (UDL) is a framework that seeks to design all aspects of acourse to maintain the curriculum goals and objectives while maximizing learning for as
many students as possible (Coyne, Pisha, Dalton, Zeph, & Smith, 2012; Meyer & Rose,
2000; Rogers-Shaw, Carr-Chellman, & Choi, 2018; Staskowski, Hardin, Klein, & Wozniak,
2012). Staskowski et al. (2012) argue that instead of a one-size-fits-all design, the framework
requires a flexible and customizable approach to learning. Although the basis of UDL was tomake learning accessible for students with special needs, Coyne et al. (2012) posit that“designing for diverse learners results in better learning outcomes for all individuals.” The
Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) has identified three core principles of UDL:
“multiple means of representation, multiple means of action, and multiple means ofengagement” (as cited in Rogers-Shaw et al., 2018, p. 22). In other words, content for thecourse should be provided multimodally (e.g., audio, video, transcriptions, and images).
There should be various ways of completing tasks or assignments (e.g., oral or written). Also,
students should have opportunities to work in groups of various sizes or individually or to use
a computer or a textbook. These options are a few examples of how UDL can be used. The
key is to make these options available for all students to best match their learning needs andpreferences.

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A DIFFERENTIATED APPROACH TO ONLINE LEARNING

Differentiated Learning
Differentiated learning is a responsive teaching approach aimed at meeting increasingly
diverse students’ needs. It is a flexible, varied, and empowering approach that leads tosharing responsibility for learning with the learner. It encompasses activities and assignments
and classroom expectations, assessments, content presentation, and environment. For
example, instead of one timed writing task involving one prompt, a teacher may provide
multiple methods for completing the task: 1. A timed writing task with a prompt andstructured outline; 2. A timed writing response with a prompt; 3. A blank sheet of paper.
Tomlinson, Brimijoin, and Narvaez (2008) present the approach as a necessary tool thatshould be used to enable students “to do more than would be possible without it” (p. 4). In
the example provided, more students would be able to achieve and challenge themselvesmore.
Despite offering varied and sometimes leveled assignments, it must be clarified thatdifferentiated learning is not tracking (Tomlinson et al., 2008). Teachers must balance how
participation, group selection, and assignment choices are made. At times, this means
teachers need to allow students to make their own choices. Using the writing task above, thestudents could choose their preferred writing task, even if it may be too demanding tocomplete. The belief is that students can learn from the experience just as well as thecompletion. Other times, the teacher may need to give some specific work to help students
progress in critical areas. In other words, the teacher may guide a student toward one of thethree writing tasks.
Differentiated learning is not a new approach to language education. Surfacing in the early
1990s, teachers and researchers viewed differentiated learning as a means of teaching“mixed-ability” classes (Convery & Coyle, 1993, p. 7). More recently, the approach has
expanded from “mixed-ability” to include students from diverse backgrounds and withdiverse interests and learning preferences (Borja, Soto, & Sanchez, 2015). Its studentcentered focus makes differentiated learning a promising approach to language education.
Aims of the Study
A few issues arose concerning the synchronous online classroom and assignments during thefirst semester of the course. The use of English and the amount of participation in small
group work had been inconsistent. It was difficult for the teacher to manage the breakout
rooms in a meaningful way. The teacher often had to play the role of an English or
participation police officer moving between breakout rooms and reinforcing the class’s
expectations. Even students who could be considered more motivated to participate were
found sitting silently with their groups in a breakout room. Additionally, many students were
not completing assignments on time consistently. This issue was particularly a problem when
the assignment work was used to complete small group tasks.
The author decided to use a differentiated approach to online learning to address these issues.
The implemented approach’s goal was to meet more students’ needs by improving student
participation, helping students take more responsibility for their learning, and offering a more
flexible learning approach. Ultimately, this would help students improve their English
proficiency development.
The research question and sub-questions guiding this study are:1) What are students’ perceptions of differentiated learning in a synchronous online
environment?

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A DIFFERENTIATED APPROACH TO ONLINE LEARNING

a. How do students describe their experiences with differentiated breakout rooms?
b. How do students describe their experiences with differentiated assignments?
MethodParticipants
The course for this study was a compulsory course for non-English majors, offered to secondyear students. During the fall semester, the classes met synchronously online for twelve
weeks and asynchronously for three weeks. Classes met twice per week for 90 minutes. A
differentiated approach was administered to two sections of the course consisting of 65
students (86% female), 33 students in one class and 32 in the other. Most of the students fit
within the CEFR B1-B2 range upon entering the course. Despite seeming reasonably
homogenous, the students had diverse backgrounds, learning preferences, English fluency
levels, motivation, and confidence.
Three of the female students volunteered to participate in semi-structured in-depth
interviews, which made up the primary source of data collection. The interviews took place atthe end of the semester and were used to understand their experiences with the class’s
differentiated approach (see Appendix). The interviews were transcribed verbatim and thenanalyzed and coded for themes. Archival records, surveys, and participant observations werealso used. Pseudonyms are used in all references to participants.
Application of Differentiated Learning
Two significant changes to the course were adopted to provide students with multiple options
to develop their English skills and facilitate active participation during online classes. The
first change took place with the Zoom breakout rooms. Zoom is a video communication
application that allows a host to hold meetings with multiple participants simultaneously. One
function available for hosts allows them to send participants into breakout rooms to interact
privately in groups. During the second semester, students were often given a choice to join
one of three styles of breakout rooms: all-English, mostly-English, and no-requirement. The
style of the room was not a requirement but rather an expectation for that room. Participants
who chose to join a room style would be expected to, and they would expect their groupmembers to participate accordingly. Students would indicate their room style preference byadding a 1 for all-English, 2 for mostly-English, or 3 for no-requirement before their Zoom
ID.
A maximum number of participation points were allotted to each style to provide some
extrinsic motivation. The maximum number of points (10/10) could be earned by students
who joined the all-English style, while fewer points could be earned for the mostly English
and no requirement groups (8/10 and 6/10 respectively). Group sizes were limited to about 35 students per group, which meant there were often nine or ten breakout rooms. With somany breakout rooms in one class, students were required to complete participation surveys
about their groups at the end of each class. The surveys asked students to compare their
participation with that of their group members. Also, they commented on any issues ortechnical problems they may have had. The purpose of this change was to help improve
confidence and speaking time, reduce anxiety, make the groups more enjoyable, and provide
options that could match student motivation and interest in a topic. It was not a mode of
tracking students as they could choose any room style no matter their proficiency level, andthey could migrate between styles daily.
The second significant change to the class was a change to assignments and how they were18

A DIFFERENTIATED APPROACH TO ONLINE LEARNING

completed. Each assignment was divided into three sections. The first section included thenecessary work needed to participate fully in the next class. This section included tasks suchas previewing reading sections, vocabulary practice, and some critical responses to the topic.
Six out of ten points were awarded to this section. The second section added a researchelement. Students were provided with a task that required research outside the textbook tocomplete it. The final section added a response or reflection. Students were often asked torecord a Flipgrid video or write a reflective paragraph or two connecting the topic to theirown lives. Two points could be earned for each of the final two sections. The first section ofan assignment was the only section that students were expected to complete.
The additional sections of the assignments were diverse and multimodal to offer students
more paths to the content. The purpose of this change was to make it easier to participate inclass and connect with the content personally. The change also promoted autonomous
learning by making students responsible for completing two sections of an assignment. It also
allowed students to skip sections of an assignment due to a busy schedule, a lack of interestin the topic, or any personal reason. By completing these two sections, students would havemore information to bring into small group conversations, and they would be doing more to
improve their English.
It was important for the teacher to review the expectations and possible points before
choosing a breakout room style and introducing assignments. During small group activities inbreakout rooms, the teacher would move between groups to facilitate discussion, share ideas,
and encourage students when necessary. During these short observations, the teacher would
take notes to later compare with student surveys.
Findings
Five themes, three about the breakout room styles and two about the assignments, emerged
from the analysis of the semi-structured interviews: the breakout room styles provided a more
comfortable environment for speaking English, increased speaking time and opportunities,
and encouraged English use; the assignments were more interesting and useful than in thefirst semester, and they were flexible and promoted student responsibility. The following
paragraphs will look deeper into these themes using the students’ own words to support thefindings.
Breakout Room Styles Provided a More Comfortable Environment for Speaking
EnglishAll three participants commented on how the new breakout room styles provided a more
comfortable speaking environment.
“For breakout rooms, it is the best environment to practice English for me because otherclassmates are also willing to speak English.” — Riko talking about the all-English
breakout room.
“I like speak English, but my English is so bad…If I can’t understand English, so myfriends use Japanese to explain. So, I can understand my friends say.” — Kanako talking
about the mostly-English breakout room.
“I feel very comfortable choose the level because I want to use English a lot…this semester
I can choose, so use the all English room and I can use a lot of English.” — Tomoka“So, I feel other member also tried harder, and they speak English so much, so I feel very
comfortable, and also I can try to harder.” — Tomoka
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A DIFFERENTIATED APPROACH TO ONLINE LEARNING

Students commented that they were more likely to use more English when they could choose
their breakout rooms. For Riko and Tomoka, this meant that they could use the amount ofEnglish they desired. Both students consistently chose the all-English breakout room style forsmall groups. Tomoka further explained that when her group members spoke English, it
encouraged her to participate more. On the other hand, Kanako had less confidence in her
English ability and felt more comfortable without the pressure of only using English.
Although Kanako typically joined the mostly-English breakout room style, she did try to join
the all-English style once. By joining the other style, she realized that she was more
comfortable in the mostly-English style room. This gained knowledge is an advantage of thedifferentiated learning approach. Students need to understand their proficiency levels to makemore effective strides in their learning.
Breakout Room Styles Increased Speaking Time and Opportunities
At times during the semester, students were not allowed to choose their breakout room styles.
In these cases, students were grouped randomly. Riko and Tomoka discussed issues they had
in these rooms compared with room styles they could choose.
“In the breakout room, I noticed that some of them start to speak Japanese when theteacher don’t come to the small breakout room. But, in — after changing to the newactivity, they speak more English than before.” — Riko comparing the new style torandomly grouped breakout rooms.
“I feel a little bit disappointed, and even though I try to focus on my way, but I tend to do
the way they do…if I join such — those students, I tend to speak Japanese more eventhough I wanted to speak English all the time.” — Riko talking about joining a randomly
grouped breakout room with unwilling members.
“So, I feel so happy because of — I can study harder, and also I don’t feel
frustrated…because I want to study harder and use English more, but so other member
don’t speak so I can’t speak English.” — Tomoka comparing the new style to randomly
grouped breakout rooms.
Both Riko and Tomoka talked about how members influence them in their groups. If groupmembers were less interested in using English or participate less, Riko felt disappointed. In
randomly-grouped breakout rooms, the students who want to speak English the whole time
are more likely to be grouped with students who do not share their views. As Rikomentioned, students may perform in English while the teacher is in the breakout room, andteachers may be unaware of this situation. Riko elaborated that she felt awkward talking to
her classmates in English if they were using Japanese. Instead of encouraging others to speakin English, she would use Japanese as well.
Breakout Room Styles Encouraged English Use
All three members talked about using more English in the breakout room styles than in
randomly-grouped breakout rooms.
“For me, it is hard to balance the Japanese and English portions, and I guess that eventhough students are in the second level of the class, most of the students maybe — it is justa guess, but most of them speak Japanese than English. So, if I were in the breakout room,
I would not practice English as much as I do..” — Riko discussing why she joins the all20

A DIFFERENTIATED APPROACH TO ONLINE LEARNING

English breakout room.
“I want to English better and more fluently, so we choose level class. So high-level classmember is always speak English, so I am influenced good English feeling.” — Kanako
discussing choosing a breakout room.
“So, I feel other member also tried harder, and they speak English so much, so I feel very
comfortable, and also I can try to harder.” — Tomoka (used earlier, multiple themes).
Riko assumed that students in mostly-English breakout rooms were not speaking as much
English as she was in the all-English breakout rooms. Her assumption was based on previous
experience, and it parallels responses from the previous theme. Kanako claimed that the allEnglish breakout room influenced her to speak English, while Tomoka used more English
because she felt comfortable. Tomoka’s response hints at how she felt when she joined theall-English breakout room. When she joined the more demanding breakout room, she felt
nervous about speaking because her self-efficacy diminished. Having multiple options
allowed Tomoka to discover a comfortable environment and build confidence.
The Assignments Were More Interesting and Useful Than in the First Semester
Riko and Kanako specifically commented that the assignments were more interesting anduseful than the first semester. Tomoka also shared this sentiment, but she did not elaborate.
When asked if there was anything they did not like about the assignment changes, allparticipants said they had nothing to share.
“I think the homework became less than the first semester, but the content is more narrowand deeper. So, I could learn more deep into the topic.” — Riko
“Yeah, I like the video section, so it is very interesting homework and my video — myfriends watched, so received comments. I am very happy friends comment.” — Kanako
discussing the Flipgrid activities on assignments
Riko makes a critical statement: the homework was less time-consuming yet facilitatedfurther engagement with the content. She also shared a similar opinion to Kanako about using
Flipgrid videos for assignments.
The Assignments Were More Flexible and Promoted Student Responsibility
All three participants commented positively about having choices, and they claimed thatthese choices were not available in other courses. Being given choices made them feel more
responsible for their learning.
“And the new assignments, we can decide the homework by our responsibility so that somestudents are working hard to complete all of the steps and some of them just want —necessary thing.” — Riko
“But, so we can choose section — homework, so it is so good because video homework.
Some people are bad at video, so we can choose video section, so it is so good.” —Kanako“So, I feel that the change was so helpful for me because this semester also I had a lot of
homework to do… So, I can choose according to my English level or my schedule. So, I
can try to do my best.” — Tomoka discussing the flexible homework.

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A DIFFERENTIATED APPROACH TO ONLINE LEARNING

Tomoka was the only participant to comment that she did not always complete all threehomework sections. However, she emphasized this as a positive point as she was busy withother classes, which helped her avoid stress. Kanako may have often joined the mostlyEnglish breakout rooms, but she completed all three sections of the assignments because she
likes English and believes more opportunities to use English will lead to more significant
improvement. Riko was the only participant to discuss the assignments in a slightly negative
way: “I am a little bit stressed about the homework option because that’s my personality – I
try to complete all of them to get full points even though I am busy.” On the other hand, she
was well aware of the choice, and she decided to complete the assignments.
Discussion
Findings from this study should be considered carefully. The goal for this research was tointerview five to ten participants, but only three volunteered. While the three participants
were diverse in many ways, their congruent trait was being highly-motivated. While this does
not discredit any of their answers, it does suggest that some students may not have beeninterested in sharing their opinions because they did not find the changes useful or practical.
Despite this deficiency, some valuable insights were gained when interviews were comparedto participant observations and surveys. These insights will be examined along with thediscussion of the findings.
Concerning breakout rooms, there is potential with differentiated learning to improve
motivation, speaking and learning opportunities, and student ownership of their learning,
especially for highly motivated students. By offering students a choice, they can be in a more
comfortable learning environment. All three participants discussed this, including Kanako,
who preferred the mostly-English breakout room. Relevant to participant observations, thestudents who often joined the no-requirement breakout rooms seemed to lack confidence, notproficiency. It might be assumed that students would improve confidence, negotiation of
meaning, listening skills, and speaking skills with more opportunities to speak. However, thisresearch did not evaluate learning outcomes, so it is impossible to make this claim. One
valuable point was that participants could recognize proficiency levels and learning
preferences due to the options.
Unfortunately, there were some negative observations with the breakout rooms. Participantsin the study spoke of being more influenced by unwilling group members than positive rolemodels. In other words, they were more likely to use Japanese if their group members used itthan asking group members to use English. This situation was especially evident in
observations of mostly-English breakout rooms. It also seemed to progress throughout thesemester, implying some novelty to the breakout room change. More consideration would beneeded to balance accountability with flexibility. Also, this breakout room change wasexperimented with in smaller classes ranging from eleven to seventeen students. It was more
likely that students could not join their preferred breakout room styles because no otherclassmates requested the same style. Finally, most students continued to use the same
breakout room styles the entire semester. More migration between room styles would havebeen preferred.
Assignment changes were favorably welcome. All interviewed participants shared positive
opinions about these changes. Additionally, many students in both classes had complained ofbeing overworked and spending too much time online, so it was not a surprise that having
less required work was appreciated. The more in-depth content that Riko talked about has thepotential to boost motivation because it can help build a purposeful connection to the22A DIFFERENTIATED APPROACH TO ONLINE LEARNING

material. Multimodal tasks offer multiple paths to the content, increasing accessibility. While
the responses to the assignments were overwhelmingly positive, some students continued tounderachieve when completing them. This observation may not be unusual considering thestudents are non-English majors, but it does warrant more consideration.
As is expected with research, hindsight and more time with the relevant literature have led topossible alternatives for future courses. Regarding breakout room styles, variation in groupsizes calls for more consideration. For convenience, most groups consisted of four or five
students. However, this ignores students’ learning preferences of smaller groups orindependent work. Additionally, smaller groups could provide more opportunities for
improving English skills and confidence. With more group possibilities, how to assessparticipation and survey students becomes an issue.
Assignments were provided as one assignment with three sections. However, it may be wiser
to offer multiple smaller assignments of less value. For example, provide students with fiveor six multimodal possibilities and allow them to choose up to four to be completed. Thisadjustment would allow students to have more control of how and what they study.
The surveys conducted asked students to rank the group members based on participation,
themselves included. There was an additional area for comments. Because they were limited
in information, these surveys primarily served as aids to grade participation. However, one
observation emerged. Most students tended to be more critical of themselves than groupmembers. For example, one student ranked herself as the lowest participant in her groupwhen the teacher felt she had been the most active. Furthermore, students were unlikely tocriticize group members for not participating. This behavior implies that students were notdeveloping group interdependence as much as anticipated. Perhaps, they did not want to beheld responsible for a classmate receiving a low participation score and thus did not feel
responsible for helping classmates improve.
Limitations
This study’s most significant limitation was its number of participants. While the insights
gained should not be dismissed, the study would benefit from interviews with students having
negative impressions of the changes or with less-motivated students. Differentiated learning
aims to help all students do more than they could without it. Thus, alternative voices are
possibly more crucial.
Another limitation of this study was the method of data collection being limited to English ininterviews. More students may have participated in interviews, and participants may haveoffered more detailed answers if they were able to use their L1.
Conclusion and implications
Differentiated learning is a rewarding and worthwhile approach, but implementing andresearching it are time-consuming endeavors. Offering variation and choices in group
activities and assignments can increase participation, facilitate more comfortable learning
environments, and develop more interest in assignments. For participants in this study, thedifferentiated approach helped them take more responsibility for their learning.
Despite the benefits of the approach, some aspects of differentiated learning should beresearched further. Large classes like those in this study can be challenging to manage andoffer the timely feedback necessary for language development. With such demand required23

A DIFFERENTIATED APPROACH TO ONLINE LEARNING

from a teacher, more research needs to be done on learning outcomes to understand its
effectiveness in higher education better. More research should also employ classroom
observations (online or in-class) to understand student engagement and motivation better.
The author encourages teachers to learn more about this approach as diverse students are
already present in classrooms and will continue to increase in the future.
BIO DATA
Jared J. Peo has been teaching EFL/ESL at the university level for over 7 years. His time at
NUFS has helped him focus his research and personal development on interculturalcompetence, motivation, autonomous learning, extensive reading, and study abroad.
References
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Educational Psychology (pp. 15–46). Routledge.
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Learning: A Meta-Analysis of Studies Conducted by Gardner and Associates.
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Leadership, 58(3), 39–43.
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Biology and Medicine, 21(2), 83–87.
Pan, C.-Y., & Wu, H.-Y. (2013). The Cooperative Learning Effects on English Reading
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Peacock, M. (1997). The effect of authentic materials on the motivation of EFL learners. ELT
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Research in Higher Education Journal, 11. http://aabri.com/manuscripts/11834.pdf.
Appendix
A Differentiated Approach to Online Research: Interview Protocol
1.

What changes have you noticed this semester?

2.

How do you feel about the changes?

3.

How do you feel when a teacher gives you options for homework, participation, etc.?

4.

One major change you had this semester was the different breakout rooms: there were
3 styles. How did you feel about this change?
a. Which room did you usually join? Why?
b. Did you ever join another room style? Why/Why not?
c. Did you ever feel any pressure to join a specific group? Explain.
d. How did you feel about your group members’ participation and English use?

5.

Another major change was the options on the homework. How did you feel about thischange?

6.

How often did you complete all parts of the homework? Explain.

7.

Do you feel these changes were useful for you? Explain.

8.

Did you enjoy the changes to the class? Explain.

9.

Was there anything you didn’t like about these changes?

10.

What did you learn from this new style (having options)?

11.

What could be done differently?

12.

What advice would you give students who have a class like this?

13.

Is there anything you would like to say that I did not ask you about?

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NUFS TEACHER DEVELOPMENT SYMPOSIUM PROCEEDINGS

Autonomous Learning: A Case Study of Four University EFL Learners
and Their Self-Study Skills alongside English Language Academic Courses
RICHARD HILL
Nagoya University of Foreign Studies
Abstract
In this case study students were to balance courses with self-study when attempting to
improve their skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing in English. However, with the
emergence of the novel coronavirus and subsequent restrictions related to on-campus
learning, students have had to study English online and have been unable to access theirtutors for one-to-one council in person. As teachers and students alike adapt to online classes
it is important to still look at students’ self-study. Students’ opinions from reflections,questionnaires and interviews are offered with information that shows a self-study plannerhas helped students continue with their self-study. This is a preliminary study that was
conducted over two semesters. The results show that asking students to reflect after they havestudied has an impact on their planning process for future self-study.
Learner autonomy is the ability to take charge of one’s own learning (Holec,1981). Morerecently autonomy refers to the learner’s broad approach to the learning process, rather than
to a particular mode of teaching or learning (Benson, 2011). If students enter a mandatory
course or program, then they are deprived the freedom of choice essential to the developmentof autonomy (Riley, 1986). However, autonomy does not directly mean independent study
where a student isolates themself (Benson. 2011). Kohenen (1992) explains that autonomy
can include independent study, but also can be when a student is responsible for their own
conduct in the social context. Blidi (2017) and Lai (2017) recognize that students fostering
autonomy can begin with educators or teachers. Therefore, autonomy can be utilized when alearner uses a particular mode of learning, social or independent study and could utilize
freedom of choice in language development; or supported learning such as teacher-suggested
handouts or materials. If a student uses a handout shown to them by a teacher autonomous
learning can still develop. Kershaw et al. (2010) explain that students may feel overwhelmedby choices and may not have a clear idea of themselves of what they want or need. Benson(2001) adds that promoting autonomy is not leaving students on their own but that they are
actively encouraged or assisted. Kershaw et al. (2010), referring to a self-access center,
explain that materials can be extremely motivating resources and give additional support tolearners. Perhaps materials given to a student with instructions is not autonomous learning
but can encourage students to plan and reflect in their self-study. This ongoing study
examines how a self-study planning and reflection sheet supported four first-year students
pursuing their private language goals as they dealt with an online mandatory English course.
This is research that will continue beyond the current study however this paper looks at thefirst two semesters in which the self-study planner is trialed and used. The following section
includes context on the participants, background into the self-study planner and datacollection.
Participants
The participants of this study were four first-year university students enrolled in a mandatory
integrated skills course called ‘Core English’ (CE). I chose these learners from among my CE
students as they consistently attended a voluntary English club online over the year. Having a
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A CASE STUDY OF FOUR UNIVERSITY EFL LEARNERS AND THEIR SELF-STUDY SKILLS

good rapport with the students helped with the interviews, questionnaires, reflections andgeneral participation as explained below in the self-study planner section. Each student’s selfstudy planner usage is described in the profiles below.
Kana
1st year Female Core English Student
Information received from the study planners:
Used the study planner 22 (times) weeks out of 24
Filled out the planning part (top half) 22 (times) weeks out of 24
Filled out the reflection part (bottom half) 20 (times) weeks out of 24
Successful Planning (planning that was accomplished or more) 16 times out of 24
Miki
1st year Female Core English Student
Information received from the study planners:
Used the study planner 17 (times) weeks out of 24
Filled out the planning part (top half) 17 (times) weeks out of 24
Filled out the reflection part (bottom half) 0 (times) weeks out of 24
Successful Planning (planning that was accomplished or more) 5 times out of 24Sara
1st year Female Core English Student
Information received from the study planners:
Used the study planner 24 (times) weeks out of 24
Filled out the planning part (top half) 24 (times) weeks out of 24
Filled out the reflection part (bottom half) 24 (times) weeks out of 24
Successful Planning (planning that was accomplished or more) 24 times out of 24
Keisuke
1st year male Core English Student
Information received from the study planners:
Used the study planner 11 (times) weeks out of 24
Filled out the planning part (top half) 11 (times) weeks out of 24
Filled out the reflection part (bottom half) 11 (times) weeks out of 24
Successful Planning (planning that was accomplished or more) 7 times out of 24
Data Collection and Procedures
In English Club, the students and I regularly talked about the pandemic and its effect on theirpersonal and academic lives. It became apparent that the students were unhappy (seequestionnaire and interview highlights in results below) about the amount of homework they
were receiving and felt that it was due to the changed circumstances of their English courses
from the classroom to online. They were particularly concerned with being unable tocontinue with their self-study, achieving personal goals and general English language
acquisition and development. I introduced the students to a textbook by Ellis and Sinclair(1990) titled ‘Learning to Learn English’. The book is designed to help teachers train learnersof English as foreign or second language from lower-intermediate level upwards (Ellis &Sinclair, 1990). This book outlines two goals for learners: 1) to become effective language
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A CASE STUDY OF FOUR UNIVERSITY EFL LEARNERS AND THEIR SELF-STUDY SKILLS

learners, and 2) to take on more responsibility for their own learning. Although dated I
believe this textbook still holds relevant self-study ideas and teaching suggestions relevant topresent day. Furthermore, the book has all the components that help students to make a selfstudy planner. After all the students were shown the textbook, and through collaboration
online during an English club in May 2020, we made the self-study planner included here as
Appendix A.
The top of the handout contains a planner so students can choose and plan how to achieve
their desired goals. In English club, they shared their study planning habits and often talked
about different study methods to achieve their respective goals. The handout is a simple
planner splitting the days into three parts—morning, noon and evening—designed so as not
to put more pressure on the students. For example, studying at a specific time might cause a
student to feel hindered rather than motivated (Rovai & Wighting, 2005). Once the planned
studying had occurred or not as the case may be students were asked to fill out the second
half of the handout which is a reflection. As with all plans, some things do not occur as
intended, so students would specifically describe how they studied and made note of when
the studying took place. This would encourage students to accurately see what they did and toshow them whether their plans were realistic or not. Filling this out weekly would hopefully
further encourage students to more realistically adjust their plans and goals. The students,
lastly, also directly stated how they were feeling. After a few weeks, they were able to checkand make educated judgements as to why plans did or did not work. Thus, the next time they
make a goal autonomously, it may have a better chance of success . The planner was
designed to be simple so I could instruct or remind students to use it if they stopped and they
could start again without feeling burdened or overworked. They received one example(already filled in) when I introduced the planner to the students and in English club they were
offered explanations anytime they had any questions.
The self-study planner was utilized by the four participants from June 2020- November 2020.
In this six-month period I received the planners by email every week after completion. Someplanners were submitted late, and some weeks students did not write a plan. As this is an
ongoing study, I would suggest that all of my classes use these planners in the future and tocover different goals. The longer the study-planner is used for the more data would becollected and a student’s language learning journey could be traced. However as stated above
this paper will cover early findings of students’ usage with the self-study planner.
In addition to the Self-Study Planner, I also collected data from two interviews with eachparticipant and questionnaires. The students were individually interviewed twice, once at the
beginning of June and once after November. The June interview took place three weeks after
the study-planner was distributed. All interviews were recorded online with the participants’permission and were all conducted in twenty minutes each on average. In the questionnaires
all students were asked the same initial questions, but received different follow-up questions
intended to allow them to elaborate further. Questionnaires were made and filled out in
Google Forms. Students received four questionnaires each, once in June, July, September andOctober. Regarding data below, only relevant highlights are presented in this paper below
with reference to the students’ usage of the study-planners.
Research Questions
1)While students conduct their university studies (online or in adapted programs) what
impact does the self-study planner have on students’ private study?
2)What are the effects of reflection on future planning?
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A CASE STUDY OF FOUR UNIVERSITY EFL LEARNERS AND THEIR SELF-STUDY SKILLS

Students’ Narratives
Below are student narratives which show highlights from interviews, questionnaires andreflections. They show insight into the students’ feelings and thoughts while using the selfstudy planner. Although students consented to data collection, to maintain their privacy I
have replaced all names with pseudonyms.
Kana
Study Planner Highlights:
I have (a) part time job most nights and so when I get home I feel so sleepy and I am
unable to study.
I think my vocabulary study is too little. I need to study vocabulary in the morningand the evening and not just one time.
I am not motivated on the weekends. I never do my plan on the weekends.
Kana using the self-study planner is thinking about her part-time jobs or other commitmentsthat take time or effort. Furthermore, I am happy to see that the students feel certain study,
such as vocabulary, is more effective at certain times of day. I hope Kana continues to reflect
on what kinds of study she feels would be more effective at particular times of the day. This
could enable her to successfully achieve her goals with more informed planning.
Questionnaire Highlights:‘It made me feel guilty when I didn’t study.’‘I feel I have studied more because I write a plan on Sunday that I wouldn’t do (havedone) if I hadn’t used the sheet (study planner).’
Perhaps Kana would not feel guilty or reflect without the study planner.
Interview Highlights from December:‘I had not considered planning my own study before only school study.’‘One time after studying I used English in my part time job, like, naturally, and myboss praised me. After that I planned a lot to study the next week on my sheet (study
planner) because I felt good…I felt motivated.’
Kana shows that motivation is related to how she plans. Having received praise Kana noticed
how motivated she felt the next week. Furthermore, the students show that they prioritize
planning school study over personal study.
Yes. There were weeks I did more because I wanted to write reflections.
It is interesting to me that the students wanted to do more to have more to write about whenreflecting. I believe if Kana were to continue with the self-study planner for another semester
at least she may learn more about reflecting. It is positive though that through using written
reflections Kana studied more.
Miki
Study Planner Highlights:
Miki never reflected on the study planner. She reflected in the interviews and there is anexcerpt below explaining her feelings on why she did not write a reflection. Miki did notunderstand how reflections could be useful. In future research I will spend more time with29

A CASE STUDY OF FOUR UNIVERSITY EFL LEARNERS AND THEIR SELF-STUDY SKILLS

participants on the positives and various outcomes that could occur through reflection.
Interview Highlights from December:
I didn’t know what to write to be honest. I wasn’t really happy studying online so my
motivation was always...kind of…hesitant? Yes. Like low.
In early English clubs I showed different examples of reflections. In hindsight, this wasinsufficient and students needed more from me to show how reflections are more than just awriting exercise but used to guide future planning. This is something I would like to addressin the 2021-2022 academic year.
I want to keep using the study planner for vocabulary but I want to learn how toreflect. It made me study more but I think I can do much more…much. I want to use
different study planner(s) for speaking, listening, reading…writing.
I am encouraged by Miki’s desire to change or use the study-planner more. If the students
adapt the study-planner for their own needs, I believe it can only increase their awareness of
their own studying. I will encourage Miki to keep using the study-planner into a second year
and to try various goals. Hopefully she will learn more about her studying effectiveness andthus improve future planning.
Sara
Study Planner Highlights:
I like this because before I planned my studying on my phone but this (study planner)feels moreop real or more serious.
My listening is getting better but I don’t know why. I am listening to podcasts more(time than she had planned) than my planning. I like English (British) comedians.
I want to use this planner for homework too. And make homework red and self-study
blue (Sara is referring to color coding her planning time-table).
These reflections could lead to Sara changing her future planning. Sara explained she will
listen to more British comedians or podcasts after reflecting. Furthermore, she desired to
improve her planning time-table.
Questionnaire Highlights
Definitely. Before (before the pandemic) I wanted to go to abroad this summer but I
can’t. So I will study more…I will speak more. I want to use the planner to speak to
my friends and practice speaking…I will practice English conversation.
Sara did note that she wanted to use the study-planner for more speaking, but she did not.
Perhaps further discussion for the study-planners’ possible different uses is needed.
Interview Highlights from December:
I like the study planner but I want to do debate more in English Club. I don’t think the
study planner helps me with debate or some other speaking skills. I think it helps withtime but I don’t know how to write about speaking skills. Please teach me!
This was the most direct comment I received with regards to speaking and the study-planner.
Clearly, the students have the desire to incorporate speaking skills in their personal language

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A CASE STUDY OF FOUR UNIVERSITY EFL LEARNERS AND THEIR SELF-STUDY SKILLS

development. Sara explained that she did not know how to write about speaking skills so infuture, I need to provide some expressions or more examples of reflections so students havethe tools to precisely express their feelings. They were writing reflections every week so
without a variety of expression it could feel repetitive which may be damaging to theirmotivation to continue with self-study planners.
KeisukeStudy Planner Highlights:
I am bored of reflections. Thank you Richard for helping me but I don’t know what towrite except good or bad.
This student does not see the use or benefit of reflections. As I have stated before, I believe
this is an area I can address in English Club.
I like that I can that I write something and I know you (myself) will read it. It makesme think more about my work and studying.
Some students were not independent enough and still needed some guidance from theirteacher involved in their self-study programs. Perhaps knowing a teacher will read theirthoughts encourages them to be more considerate in their writing. However, I would likethem to feel that the self-study planner is their own. This latter comment does contradict theprevious comment, so Keisuke perhaps had mixed feelings on reflections in this study.
Interview Highlights from December:
I think this (study planner) helped me talk in English club. I always could check andspeak about something I studied.
If the study-planner helps with English club or other aspects of the students’ language
learning world then I feel it is a benefit more than a chore or hindrance. Also checking
previous planners does have benefits for students such as Keisuke to have records of what
they have studied. Keisuke has explained above that the planner gives him content to talkabout in conversations at English club. As this study is ongoing, there may be more benefits
that are unforeseen in the planning process. More data and more research are needed.
Summary
The students’ study-planner usage feels more positive than negative. More research is needed
to determine an answer to the first research question, however the students have made it clear
they are thinking about planning more. I intend to keep using and analyzing study-planners
with students to see the effects on their planning and reflections. Reflection perhaps needs
more guidance or support as one student never reflected and another seemed discouraged atreflecting weekly. I believe that planning then reflecting consistently has impacted thestudents’ future planning to be more obtainable and realistic. There are also comments madeby the students that suggest they are thinking about the time they have allocated to study andwhat they are studying. Additionally, students have expressed opinions on their study-lifebalance and questioned their motivation for studying while keeping part-time jobs and othercommitments.

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A CASE STUDY OF FOUR UNIVERSITY EFL LEARNERS AND THEIR SELF-STUDY SKILLS

Conclusion
The self-study planner and its usage have contributed to students thoughtfully considering theway, how and amount of time spent studying. The thought and self-analysis that occurred
particularly in the interviews, questionnaires, and reflections is very promising. Furthermore,this research will continue in the 2021-2022 semesters. I would like to revise the study
planner with English Club members (new and existing) and investigate the relationshipbetween planning and reflecting self-study. This study will also be extended to participants
who do not attend English club, but in regular university classes as more data is needed todetermine how effective the self-study planner can be.
BIO DATA
Richard Hill holds an MA in TESOL and has experience in English language teachingranging from kindergartens, junior high and high schools, colleges and universities. He
currently teaches integrated courses at NUFS having previously been a Learning Advisor at
Meijo University.
References
Benson, P. (2001) Teaching and researching autonomy in language learning. London:
Longman.
Benson, P. (2011). Teaching and researching autonomy in language learning (2nd ed.).
Cambridge: Pearson Education.
Blidi, S. (2017). Collaborative learner autonomy. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-98110- 2048-3
Ellis, G., & Sinclair, B. (1989). Learning to learn English: a course in learner training.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Holec, H. (1981). Autonomy and foreign language learning. Cambridge: Pergamon Press.
Kershaw, M., Mynard, J., Promnitz-Hayashi, L., Sakaguchi, M., Slobodniuk, A., Stillwell, C.,& Yamamoto, K. (2010). Promoting autonomy through self-access materials design.
In A. Stoke (Ed). JALT2009 Conference Proceedings: The Teaching-Learning
Dialogue: An Active Mirror (pp. 151–159). JALT.
Kohonen, V. (1992) ‘Experiential language learning: Second language learning ascooperative learner education’. In D. Nunan (Ed.) Collaborative language learningand teaching (pp. 14–39). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lai, C. (2017). Autonomous language learning with technology: beyond the classroom.
Bloomsbury.PLACE
Riley, P. (1986). Who’s who in self-access. TESOL France News, 6 (2), 23-35.
Rovai, A. P., & Wighting, M. J. (2005). Feelings of alienation and community among higher
education students in a virtual classroom. The Internet and Higher Education, 8(2),97–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2005.03.001

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A CASE STUDY OF FOUR UNIVERSITY EFL LEARNERS AND THEIR SELF-STUDY SKILLSAppendix
Name:

Date :

What I would like to focus on this week :What will I use to achieve this:When I can do it:
Mon Tues Wed
A.M A.M A.M
Noon Noon NoonP.M P.M P.M

Thurs
A.M
Noon
P.M

Fri
A.M
Noon
P.M

Sat
A.M
Noon
P.M

Sun
A.M
Noon
P.M

Date:
What did I study:
How I did it:
When I studied:
Mon Tues Wed
A.M A.M A.M
Noon Noon NoonP.M P.M P.M

Thurs
A.M
Noon
P.M

Fri
A.M
Noon
P.M

Sat
A.M
Noon
P.M

Sun
A.M
Noon
P.M

How did you feel about this week of studying?

33

NUFS TEACHER DEVELOPMENT SYMPOSIUM PROCEEDINGSJapanese University Learners’ Foreign Language Writing Anxiety
JANE HISLOP
Nagoya University of Foreign Studies
Abstract
This paper explores foreign language writing anxiety among Japanese university students
enrolled in a compulsory English academic writing course which was taught online for anindefinite period of time due to the COVID-19 virus. All students were English majors andwere taking either a second or third-year writing course taught by the author. The courses
were taught online using Zoom and Google Classroom and the study addresses language
learners’ anxiety in both online and offline writing since students completed some writing
tasks online during class and other tasks offline as homework. This study began with an
initial reflection given to students as a preliminary task prior to the beginning of the springsemester. Findings showed that students had feelings of anxiety in various aspects of theirwriting and this provided the motivation for the present study. The paper focuses on students’anxiety in second language writing and shows that they held strong views about their pastexperiences of writing and their expectations of the upcoming course.
Introduction
This research is part of a larger study exploring students’ views about second language
writing. It was conducted at the beginning of the 2020 academic year as the university
prepared to go online due to the COVID-19 virus. This study began with a reflection given to
students which was part of the preliminary activities they were required to complete prior to
beginning the semester online. The purpose of this reflection was to explore students’experiences about writing academic English and to gain an understanding of the concerns
students may have prior to moving to an online mode of teaching. Findings from thereflection showed that students had experienced writing anxiety in their academic writing
courses. Although students were not asked directly about anxiety in writing, it had emerged
as a common theme throughout the preliminary reflection in both second- and third-yearclasses. The present study, therefore, aims to investigate anxiety among these writing
students as they prepared for a semester online and after they had gained some experience inthis new mode of learning. In the reflection, there were many references to anxiety whenwriting in English. Words such as “anxious”, “fear”, “worried” and “stress” appeared
frequently in their reflections. To gain a deeper insight into anxiety among students, a second
reflection was given to students on completion of their first essay.
Both the second- and third-year writing courses taught by the author followed a process
writing approach involving recursive and overlapping stages; students were expected tocomplete various prewriting activities such as freewriting, mind-mapping, brainstorming, andoutlining, before moving on to drafting, peer-reviewing, revising, editing, and proofreading
their writing.
Literature Review
Anxiety, among other affective variables, can have a great influence on learners’ experiencesin language classrooms. Research into language anxiety began a few decades ago with manyof the studies focusing on anxiety in speaking in foreign language classrooms or on language
learning in general and therefore did not target other language skills such as writing (Horwitz,
2001; Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986). In the following years, there has been a considerable
amount of research conducted in the field of anxiety in second and foreign language

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JAPANESE UNIVERSITY LEARNERS’ FOREIGN LANGUAGE WRITING ANXIETY

classrooms. Research into anxiety in second language writing tends to focus on the negative
impact that writing anxiety causes students such as the detrimental effect it can have on
learners’ performance and experience in writing classes including reduced levels of selfconfidence (Hassan, 2001; Liu & Ni, 2015) and a reluctance to spend time on planning theirwriting assignments which is an important part of the process approach to writing. Many
studies have also investigated the sources of writing anxiety (Cheng, 2004; Choi, 2013).
Studies have shown that there are various sources of writing anxiety such as organizing anddeveloping ideas during the writing process (Jawas, 2019), a lack of writing competence, or aperceived lack of writing competence, including a lack of grammatical knowledge andacademic vocabulary (Yu, 2020), a fear of negative feedback from peers or their teacher(Abdel-Latif, 2015; Hislop & Stracke, 2017; Lu & Liu, 2011) and past experiences ofreceiving negative feedback.
The Study
Context
Participants in this study were all English majors enrolled in either a second or third-year
compulsory academic writing course at a Japanese university. There were two second-year
writing classes and two third-year writing classes. There were 20 students per class in thesecond-year writing course and 18 students per class in the third-year writing course and all
four classes were taught by the author. In the second-year writing class, students wrote twoargument essays per semester. In the third-year writing class, students were required to writea thesis on a topic of their choice with approval from their teacher. The topic needed to be
one that had had sufficient research, so that students were able to conduct a relevant literature
review and one in which students could conduct their own original research in the form of asurvey or interview. Classes were 90 minutes long and were held once a week on Zoom.
Google Classroom was used by the teacher to post materials and to communicate important
information to students who also uploaded their outlines and essay drafts to the site. A
writing class in both courses would usually begin with 10 minutes freewriting, group
discussion of the freewriting topic in breakout rooms, and introduction of the lesson focus by
the teacher. The second half of the class would typically be in the form of a workshop withstudents working on their outlines or drafts with help and feedback from the teacher. Students
were also required to share ideas about the topic they were researching and to discuss theirmain arguments.
Data Instruments
At the beginning of the spring semester, students were given a preliminary reflection tocomplete which they uploaded to Google Classroom (Appendix A). The reflection included
general questions about students’ perceptions of writing and their expectations for theupcoming semester. When reading students’ responses to the reflection, the teacher noticed
that students often expressed strong feelings of anxiety. She decided to give students a second
reflection (Appendix B) around the middle of the semester which focused on students’concerns about writing in English and their feelings about online writing classes. Students
completed the second reflection when they had completed the final version of their first pieceof writing. Data were analyzed inductively. For the purpose of this paper, only those themes
which are related to anxiety in second language writing are included. When presenting thefindings, all quotes are written using the students’ own words and have not been corrected.
Pseudonyms have been used to protect the identity of the participants.
Findings and Discussion
The data analysis from the reflections revealed six main sources of students’ anxiety: lack of

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JAPANESE UNIVERSITY LEARNERS’ FOREIGN LANGUAGE WRITING ANXIETY

writing ability, comparison with peers, feedback, fear of making mistakes, fear of plagiarism,
and overcoming challenges.
Lack of writing ability
The main source of students’ anxiety was their perceived lack of proficiency in various
aspects of their ability in their writing skills. Specifically, students were anxious about theirlack of knowledge in the following areas: vocabulary, grammar, organization, APA, andgathering sources:
I often made the vocabulary and grammatical mistakes and use the wrong way towrite essay because I do not know much about the correct grammar, paragraphstructure and essay structure. My sentences were short, lack of information or boring,so I worry that the reader could not have fun through reading my essay. [Sae]Students expressed their concerns that the reader would not enjoy reading their essay due to alack of academic writing ability. Students were worried not only about the teacher reading
their work, but also about their classmates reading and responding to their writing during thepeer review. Students also wrote about their frustration at not being able to express
themselves when writing in academic English: “I became anxious because it is difficult forme to write in academic English. For example, I always feel stress when I can't write what I
want to convey things” [Noriko].
Students also wrote about how much longer it took for them to write in academic English
with some students writing that it takes an “extremely long time.” They also wrote about how
different it is to everyday English which is the variety of English they are most accustomed
to. However, sometimes anxiety was not due to their lack of ability in academic English, but
to the difficulty in finding sources of information: “I am worried about references. We cannot
go to the library to find references for writing because of coronavirus, and I am afraid I might
be not able to find enough information” [Shun]. In addition to finding online sources,
students in the writing program were strongly encouraged to visit the library to find books
and journals on their topics, however, due to the pandemic, this was no longer possible. It
was a common concern among students that they would not be able to find enoughinformation on their topics on the internet. Some students explicitly said that there was a lackof English sources on the internet, although clearly this was not the case.
Comparison with peers
The second main source of students’ anxiety was the tendency for them to compare theirability and level of proficiency with their peers. Students were very much aware of their own
ability and wrote about how they compared unfavorably with their classmates. Comments
like these frequently appeared in the reflections: “My friends are better than me at grammar”
and “Especially, I am lack of vocabulary. My classmates know a lot”. In addition to aperceived lack of grammar and vocabulary, some students referred to their lack ofimagination and how this made writing essays difficult: “I have no imagination like myfriends” [Yuri]. Yuri explained how she found writing essays difficult due to her lack ofimagination and thought her writing was “boring”. Students were also worried about not
being able to write enough words in their freewriting or to reach the minimum number ofwords in their essay drafts. “My classmates write enough but I cannot. I realize that I am
inferior to everyone” [Kensuke]. It is clear that students were continually comparing theirability and progress with their classmates. Surprisingly, this was a belief shared among both
higher and lower level students.

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JAPANESE UNIVERSITY LEARNERS’ FOREIGN LANGUAGE WRITING ANXIETY

Feedback
The third source of anxiety was regarding the feedback students received from both theirteacher and their peers. In terms of teacher feedback, their concerns were that they would not
be able to grasp the meaning of their feedback: “I’m anxious when I don't understand theteachers feedback” [Kento]. Students trusted the feedback from their teacher, although they
worried that it would be too difficult for them to understand. However, they often viewed
their peers’ feedback as unreliable and comments like the following were common among
students: “I worry my classmates’ feedback is not reliable” [Nao]. Rather than regarding theirclassmates’ feedback as useful and helpful, there was instead a tendency for students to
mistrust peer feedback.
Fear of making mistakes
The fourth source of anxiety was the fear of making mistakes. Students wrote about how they
worried about making mistakes in grammar, using incorrect words and making mistakes with
APA in-text citations and referencing. Some students also had unrealistic expectations ofthemselves: “I think it is too difficult because I do not have perfect English writing skills. So
I feel stress that I will make many mistakes” [Yuriko]. Students often wrote that they lacked
the ability to write in academic English and some students wrote that their main goal was todevelop perfect English academic writing skills.
Fear of plagiarism
The fifth source of students’ anxiety in writing was their fear of plagiarism. Students werevery concerned about using APA correctly: “In essay class we should use APA style, but I’m
not used to writing in APA style. I use casual phrase when I speak English class and talk withfriends, so APA is so difficult for me to use. I worry I will fail the essay” [Daiki]. Students
wrote how difficult APA was for them since it is only ever used in academic writing andtherefore was very unfamiliar for them, however, they did understand the importance of using
APA in their writing. This can be seen in students’ concern regarding accidental plagiarismand how worried they were that they may accidentally forget to use quotation marks when
copying a sentence from a text. Some also worried that they may copy their friends’ ideas: “Ifeel stress that I may forget to quote or copy my friends’ ideas” [Yumi]. Students were very
aware of the issue of plagiarism, but felt that they lacked the skills to avoid it.
Overcoming challenges
Although students expressed their anxiety about writing in academic English, the study also
found that students were able to overcome some of these challenges. In some cases, students
were motivated to spend more time revising their work. “I have less spelling mistakes. WhenI finish writing, I spend a lot of time reviewing my essay. I always review it, so I do not makecarless mistakes” [Noriko]. Students expressed a willingness to improve their writing skills
and comments such as “I will improve my writing skills” and “I want to turn my weaknesses
into strengths” were found throughout both reflections.
Interestingly, students seemed to adapt very well to the online mode of teaching and there
was little anxiety among students regarding the new online mode of learning. Some students
wrote about their preference for online classes since the classes seemed to have fewer
students and it seemed “less scary”. Although the number of students in the classes was
similar to previous years, students seemed to feel that the classes were smaller and lessthreatening than classroom lessons.

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JAPANESE UNIVERSITY LEARNERS’ FOREIGN LANGUAGE WRITING ANXIETY

Limitations
There are several limitations to the present study. First, data were only collected from two
reflections therefore limiting the amount of data collected and were only collected at the
beginning of the course and again half-way through the course. Reflections given throughout
the writing process could have yielded interesting data regarding whether students felt stresswhen they were not being evaluated, for example, during the early planning stages of theiressay draft such as when they were freewriting, brainstorming ideas, and developing their
thesis statement and essay outline. Also, regular reflections throughout the writing process
may have revealed at what stages students experience higher levels of anxiety. Furthermore,
all reflections were written by students in English; they may have been better able toarticulate their feelings had they been allowed to write in Japanese.
Conclusion
The study showed that the students held strong views regarding the factors that made themanxious and that they had experienced anxiety about writing both prior to the start of thesemester and while they were writing their first draft of the essay. Students’ greatest concern
was regarding their writing ability and how their writing would be received by their teacher
and peers. They demonstrated an awareness that academic English is different to the variety
of English that they use in everyday communication, however they believed that they lacked
the knowledge and ability to write academic essays effectively. Furthermore, they worried
about accidentally plagiarizing their classmates work or inadvertently copying others’ drafts
while they were sharing their work in breakout rooms. In addition, they also felt anxious
concerning the reaction of their peers to their drafts. Although they worried about their peers
reading their paper, there was a tendency among students to mistrust this feedback and did
not consider it to be as reliable as that of teacher feedback. Despite this lack of trust in theirpeers’ feedback, students compared themselves unfavorably to their classmates in terms of
their ability in academic writing and viewed their peers as being superior to themselves
regardless of their actual ability. Students also appeared to have unrealistic expectations ofthemselves and their learning objectives, with some students aiming for unattainable goals
such as developing perfect academic writing skills. Clearly, students did not regard making
mistakes as an important part of the learning process and a common source of anxiety was afear of making mistakes. Although students were worried about several aspects of writing ina second language, this anxiety was not always a negative influence on learners’ experiences
in second language learning. At times, being aware of this anxiety helped students toovercome it and provided them with the motivation to improve their writing.
BIO DATA
Jane Hislop teaches English at Nagoya University of Foreign Studies. She holds a PhD in
Applied Linguistics and an MA in Linguistics (TESOL). She has also taught English atuniversities in New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates. Her research interests include
second language writing, peer review, anxiety in language learning, and learner beliefs.
References
Abdel-Latif, M. M. (2015). Sources of L2 writing apprehension: a study of Egyptian
university students. Journal of Research in Reading, 38(2), 194-212.
Cheng, Y. S. (2004). EFL students’ writing anxiety: Sources and implications. English
Teaching & Learning. 29(2), 41-62.

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JAPANESE UNIVERSITY LEARNERS’ FOREIGN LANGUAGE WRITING ANXIETY

Choi, S. (2013). Language anxiety in second language writing: Is it really a stumbling block?
Second Language Studies, 31(2), 1-42.
Hassan, B. A. (2001). The relationship of writing apprehension and self-esteem to the writing
quality and quantity of EFL university students. Foreign Language Annals, 35(5),647-656.
Hislop, J., & Stracke, E. (2017). ESL students in peer review: An action research study in auniversity English for Academic Purposes course. University of Sydney Papers in
TESOL, 12.
Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The
Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125-132.
Horwitz, E. K. (2001). Language anxiety and achievement. Annual Review of Applied
Linguistics, 21, 112-126.
Jawas, U. (2019). Writing Anxiety among Indonesian EFL students: Factors and Strategies.
International Journal of Instruction, 12(4), 733-746.
Liu, M., & Ni, H. (2015). Chinese University EFL Learners' Foreign Language Writing
Anxiety: Pattern, Effect and Causes. English Language Teaching, 8(3), 46-58.
Lu, Z., & Liu, M. (2011). Foreign language anxiety and strategy use: A study with Chinese
undergraduate EFL learners. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 2, 12981305.
Yu, M. (2020, March). Analysis on the Sources of L2 Writing Anxiety. In 4th International
Conference on Culture, Education and Economic Development of Modern Society(ICCESE 2020) (pp. 862-865). Atlantis Press.
Appendix A
REFLECTION 1
Give your answers to the following questions. Please give as many details as you can.
1. How do you feel about writing in Japanese?
2. How do you feel about writing in English?
3. What are your strengths when writing in English?
4. What are your weaknesses when writing in English?
5. What do you like best about writing in English?
6. What do you like the least about writing in English?
7. What are you looking forward to the most about having an online Writing course thissemester?
8. What are you least looking forward to about having an online Writing course thissemester?
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JAPANESE UNIVERSITY LEARNERS’ FOREIGN LANGUAGE WRITING ANXIETYAppendix B
REFLECTION 2
1.

What are your main concerns about writing in English?

2.

Would you prefer to have a writing class online or in the classroom?

3.

Any other comments?

40

NUFS TEACHER DEVELOPMENT SYMPOSIUM PROCEEDINGS

Incorporating Critical Thinking in Language Classrooms
WAN JUNG AMY LIN
Nagoya University of Foreign Studies
Abstract
Whether or not to teach critical thinking skills in language classrooms has long been
discussed among language teachers. This paper first reviews different viewpoints in thecurrent literature on including critical thinking in language classrooms. Next, the author will
share some simple activity ideas that incorporate critical thinking into content-based
integrated English skill courses through questions asked after reading and giving
presentations, different types of debates, and discussion questions that require evaluative andanalytic skills. After a semester of instruction, a short questionnaire identifies Japanese
students’ struggles in asking questions and thinking deeper when they read and listen. Survey
also indicates their increased motivation and curiosity towards topics covered in the
curriculum, all of which facilitate English production. Future studies should focus more
specifically on asking questions and its psychological effects on language learners, as well as
implications on building a safe community when practicing critical thinking skills.
Incorporating Critical Thinking in Language Classrooms
In Japan, the mandatory English education system that requires students to study English inorder to pass the entrance examinations demotivated students in English learning, regardlessof levels (Kikuchi, 2013). Studying English is then considered passive, receptive, andirrelevant in Japan. Thus, it is relevant to ask how curricula can be presented differently
between high school and university. The author proposes that educators train students toactively process information and contemplate what they receive in class. In this way,
educators can avoid memorization and grammar-translation—identified as one of the fivedemotivating factors among Japanese university students (Kikuchi, 2009, as cited in Kikuchi,2013).
Introducing critical thinking seems to provide a new perspective on language teaching.
Shirkhani and Fahim (2011) suggested that the promotion of critical thinking encouraged
learners to take charge of their thinking, which helped them “monitor and evaluate their own
ways of learning more successfully” (p. 112). They continued to state that learning how tothink critically made language learning more meaningful to students (Shirkhani & Fahim,2011).
This paper aims to promote student motivation by posing two questions regarding the
researcher’s designed activities in her integrated skill English classes:
RQ1: To what extend does critical thinking help learners in language learning?
RQ2: Does critical thinking help language learners to be more confident and motivated intheir overall communication?
In this paper, the author will briefly review some benefits and concerns about teaching
critical thinking, introduce a few activities conducted in her integrated-skill English classes,
and students’ feedback on the activities collected in July 2020.

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CRITICAL THINKING IN LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS

Literature Review
The Role of Critical Thinking in Language Classrooms
Atkinson (1997) called for educators’ attention to be cautious in teaching language learners
critical thinking skills. Atkinson described critical thinking as a social practice imprinted in
English-speaking cultures, believing individualism and self-expression were culturally uniqueto Western cultures. Educators might be imposing values that did not align with learners’
cultural values by teaching critical thinking skills. Atkinson believed that Asian cultureemphasized contextualization, consent, and relationships with the world, which impeded
analytical skills by Western norms. Of course, Atkinson did not claim that language learners
did not think; rather, learners had their own ways of thinking from their respective cultural
backgrounds, and it, in most cases, did not align with Western logic and arguments(Atkinson, 1997, 2003; Cutrone, 2010; Park, 2013, as cited in DeWaelsche, 2015). Thus,
pressuring language learners to decontextualize and align with the Westerners’ norms could
draw potential problems (Atkinson, 1997, 2003; Cutrone, 2010).
Despite the consideration of learners’ cultural differences, other educators criticized thestereotypes implied in the previous point of view, which indicates the tendency todichotomize the world into two cultures, the West and the East (Kubota, 1999;
Kumaravadivelu, 2003). The categorization of viewing Western as critical, analytical,
decontextualized, and Eastern as vague, ambiguous, relational demonstrates how culture wasunderstood as “fixed, objective, homogeneous, ahistorical, and apolitical […] [that did] notrecognize the organic and plural nature of culture influenced by political and ideologicalforces and intricate power relations within the culture and between cultures at a certain time”(p. 17, Kubota, 1999). The labels also overlooked the complexity of postcolonial andpoststructuralist views of cultures.
Further, the argument that language educators should not impose different ways of thinking
on language learners lacked poststructuralist and postcolonial concerns (Kubota, 1999, 2004).
Language educators should include critical pedagogies to help learners find their voices in theworld rather than being consumed by the ideas dictated by the government or the world(Kubota, 1999; Crookes, 2012; Sultan et al., 2017).
Critical Thinking in the Curriculum
One of Atkinson’s concerns in his 1997 article was that there had never been a clear
definition of critical thinking. Different scholars had proposed various definitions without aconclusion. He then drew from Johnson (1992, as cited in Atkinson, 1997) that criticalthinking was interchangeable between terms like “metacognition, higher order thinking skills,
problem solving, rationality, and reasoning” (p.74). However, despite various versions ofdifferent definitions throughout history, Davidson (1998) argued that there was a significant
area of overlapping with little difference, even when viewed as “paraphrases of the same
concept” (p.120). Yet, Davidson encouraged educators to teach Japanese learners criticalthinking skills to succeed in the academic world (also see Bagheri, 2015).
From the historical trend of critical thinking, Lai (2011) explained how it has turned from aphilosophical perspective (e.g., quality of what people think) to cognitive behaviorists (e.g.,
how people think). Cognitive behaviorists studied what behaviors and skills people perform.
Elder and Paul (1994) stated that “critical thinking is best understood as the ability of thinkers

42

CRITICAL THINKING IN LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS

to take charge of their own thinking” (p. 34) rather than social norms. Bagheri (2015)
suggested that educators should teach critical thinking as a “higher use of language learning
strategies. Thereupon, the more language learning strategies used on learning the language,
the better language learning will result” (p. 975).
Bloom's taxonomy was the most well-known in critical thinking in the education field (Lai,2011). Bloom’s taxonomy on critical thinking portrays a hierarchical model whereinremembering and understanding are essential skills, followed by applying and analyzing in
the middle and evaluating and creating the top of the pyramid (Baker & Westbrook, 2018).
This taxonomy is adopted in this paper due to the straightforwardness and simplicity of thesix skills.
Due to course textbook selection, the six skills were only introduced to students verbally withsome examples. Throughout the semester, the words analyze, apply, evaluate, and create arerepeatedly mentioned in class. Remember and understand seem to be skills that students haveachieved by answering comprehension questions. Simultaneously, the author also believedthat each individual has different behaviors in their critical thinking journey. Emphasizingthese six skills did not mean eliminating other behaviors. For example, Moore (2013)
interviewed seventeen tenured staff from various academic fields in an Australian university
to elicit their understanding and practicality of critical thinking in their teaching. The sevendefinitions and behaviors were critical thinking as judgment-making, skeptical andprovisional view of knowledge, simple originality, careful and sensitive reading of the text,
rationality, the adoption of an ethical and activist stance, and self-reflexivity. In class, forexample, the author encouraged learners to be reflective, even though it was not included in
the six skills of Blooms.
Classroom Activities
The author has been experimenting with different routine activities in her integrated-skill
content-based English classes. Activities were done in physical classrooms in 2019, while in2020, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, courses had been moved online, and activities wereredesigned to fit the online setting. The author will introduce the revised activities that she
incorporated online from April to December 2020.
Reading
While reading textbook articles, students were instructed by the researcher to annotate thetext, including underlining, circling, commenting, and asking questions. Underlining andcircling help students focus on text and gather essential information. Commenting, forexample, “True,” “Interesting,” and “This is new to me” helps readers identify what kind of
information it is. Asking questions allows students to stay curious about the topic and think
actively about what is written, rather than reading receptively. Asking questions during
reading helps students to leave rote memorization and memory recall during the reading
process, and it transforms receptive tasks into more student-guided thinking and cultivates
metacognitive reading strategies (Singer, 1978; Magogwe, 2013; Joseph et al., 2016).
In-Class Handout
As a unit assignment, students completed the following tasks (see Appendix A for an
example from one unit):
1. New Findings: students wrote down newly learned information from the reading.
2. Question Asking: students wrote down any questions they raise while reading.
3. Research: students chose one of their questions and researched for answers online.

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CRITICAL THINKING IN LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS

4. Reflection: teacher provided a few questions that required critical thinking for the
students to answer in a short paragraph.
Question Sharing and Discussion
The author designated time for students to share their unique and self-generated questions(Task 2 of the in-class handout) in pairs or groups in class, identified as social reading
strategies (Magogwe, 2013). This was to promote collective learning where students exploredthe same topics from different perspectives.
Speaking
The integrated skills courses included a considerable amount of speaking and listening
activities in class (while reading and writing outside the classroom). The nature of speaking,regardless of conversation or presentation, required immediate responses in communication.
Students were encouraged to ask questions promptly to demonstrate their curiosity toward theclass content and classmates’ opinions.
In-Class Discussions
In-class discussion questions were carefully designed to not only share ideas but also to urge
students to exercise their prior knowledge, analyze given information or current events,
evaluate specific plans, apply class material into their daily lives, or create plans to solve
problems. It was critical that students learned how to confidently express their disagreementin these discussions and provide supporting reasons. Asking follow-up questions was then an
essential skill in conversations of this kind.
Q & A Discussions after Presentations
At the end of every presentation in class, the audience was obliged to ask questions
immediately, while the presenters must take questions and reply immediately. It requires ahigh level of concentration when listening to their classmates’ presentations. The author also
encouraged the audience to take notes and think of questions to ask while listening, rather
than thinking about questions after the presentation ended.
Casual Debates
This debate activity is done regularly in class. The students are paired up for a debate topic,
for example, “the government should take care of the civilians’ health” on a unit about fitness
and health. They would play ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’ to decide who agrees on the statement
and who does not. It is to help students to improvise reason and questions. It also requires
active listening to be able to come up with questions or arguments against the partner.
Group Debates (Roleplay)
This collaborative group activity was only conducted for the second-year course for almost
all units (see Appendix B for debate topics and details). With each unit topic, a prompt wasgiven to students a week before the debate day, as well as a different role assignment (seeTable 1 as example). According to the assigned roles and given situation and positions,students would research for the information they needed to participate in the debate. A week
later, on the debate day, students were placed into groups of the same roles for a 5-minuteuchiawase meeting (i.e., pre-meeting in Japanese) where they exchanged their research andideas. Later, they were placed into their debate group. The role which called the meeting
would be the moderator (for example, the head politician in Table 1 was the moderator). It
was ideal that different members, not solely the moderator, would question each other ingroups, but it depended on the topic, group dynamics, and the moderator. The debate activity

44

CRITICAL THINKING IN LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS

usually took about 20 to 25 minutes.
To better explain the activity and planning, the author would use a Unit 6 scenario from thePrism Reading 2 textbook, which included a video introducing an artificial river project inChina planned to solve water shortage in Northern China. The author considered the project
as a relevant, complicated, and debatable one to review issues related to animals (Unit 1),
environment (Unit 2), and technology (Unit 6). After watching the video together in-class andchecking comprehension, students discussed the advantages and disadvantages of this projectin China. Then, the author introduced the debate scenario and assigned roles (see Table 1). A
week later, on the debate day, the head politician started the meeting, took notes, and madethe final decision.
Table 1
Role Assignment for Unit 6: Discovery and Invention
Group Roles
1
You are a fisherman in China. The polluted water from the south will pollute thelake. You can’t fish anymore.
2
You are an environmental activist. This project is going to damage nature and theenvironment. You don’t want to see that.
3
You are a farmer in the North. You need the water for farming.
4
You are a resident in Beijing (in the North). You need the water from the south.
5
You are working for a construction company. You want the income, so you want
the project.
6
You are the head politician. You will ask questions to ask the group, lead theconversation, take notes, and make a final decision.
Student Responses and Discussion
A questionnaire was given in July 2020 to university sophomore and junior students majoringin a foreign language other than English (n=46) after a semester of instruction (from April toJuly 2020). All questions given in English and Japanese. It was made clear that participationin the questionnaire was voluntary and did not affect their grades or relationship with theauthor. Students responded to eight statements based on a four-point Likert scale from 1(strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree), followed by three open-ended questions (see Table
2). All English and Japanese responses were accepted, and Japanese responses weretranslated into English by the author.
Questionnaire results show that students felt optimistic about asking questions, criticalthinking, and researching even after one short semester of instruction. Based on items 1 and 6(see Table 3), asking questions was not an easy task for most sophomore and junior students.
Yet, they considered it helpful to stay curious about different topics when studying English.
The survey did not show significance if researching their proposed research questions wasdifficult; nevertheless, it was optimistic that the act of researching was something they
enjoyed doing.

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CRITICAL THINKING IN LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS

Table 2
Survey Questions
Item Questions
1
I think asking questions is difficult.
2
I think asking questions helps me to be curious.
3
I think asking questions helps me to think and explore deeper in different topics.
4
I think research on the questions I make is interesting.
5
I think research on the questions I make is hard.
6
When I read or listen to presentations, I can come up with questions easily.
7
I think after learning how to think critically, I was challenged to use more variety ofEnglish words.
8
I think I became more confident and prepared when I talk about these topics inEnglish after learning how to think critically.
9
What did you learn the most from critical thinking skills?
10
How do you feel about yourself when you can think deeper about certain topics?
11
Any other thoughts?
In terms of vocabulary learning, it is significant to see learners were more aware of theincreased vocabulary they have gained during the semester. In the EFL context, vocabularyacquisition can be challenging for language learners. Siyanova-Chanturia and Webb (2016)indicated that “English vocabulary knowledge and learning rates in the EFL context fall far
short of what is considered to be a norm in the L1 context” (p. 229). Comparing vocabulary
learning between the EFL context and the L1 context could be unrealistic, but it was
important to notice the factors between the two. Siyanova-Chanturia and Webb (2016)
specified a number of factors, including insufficient input and output. Therefore, students’acts on researching on their generated questions granted them opportunities for exposures to
new vocabulary, similar to the effect on extensive reading, which was considered helpful invocabulary acquisition (Siyanova-Chanturia and Webb, 2016). On another note, researchers
have proposed metacognitive reading strategies helped learners acquire vocabulary (Tseng etal., 2006; Cubukcu, 2008; Teng & Reynolds, 2019). Unfortunately, the survey did not include
learner metacognitive behavior to indicate which activity or behavior was helpful in their
vocabulary acquisition. On item 8, it is encouraging to observe that students felt more
confident after a semester of various activities that cultivated critical thinking.
As shown by responses to the open-ended questions, students also showed more confidence
and maturity about themselves when trying to think more critically. On item 9 about what
students have learned through critical thinking, they expressed that they learned to examine
all received information (including the textbook), not to make any judgment calls right away,
and became more objective than before. It is significant that they learned to think fromvarious perspectives and angles, to think deeply, and to stay interested, curious, andknowledgeable.

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CRITICAL THINKING IN LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS

Table 3
Survey Results
Item
Asking questions
1 Asking questions was difficult.
6 Asking questions after presentation was easy.
Helpful in thinking and researching
2 Helped curiosity
3 Helped think in-depth
4 Researching self-generated questions wasinteresting
5 Researching self-generated questions was
hard
Self-improvement
7 Vocabulary acquisition
8 Improved confidence
Note. 1 = strongly disagree, 4 = strongly agree

Count
1
2

3

4

Mean

SD

2
4

13
23

25
15

6
4

2.76
2.41

0.73
0.77

0
0

1
0

7
10

38
36

3.80
3.78

0.45
0.42

2

0

18

26

3.48

0.72

2

17

14

13

2.83

0.90

0
0

8
12

31
26

7
8

2.98
2.91

0.57
0.66

Some students also responded that they had used English words that they had never used
before. The survey responses also showed that they learned how to ask questions, how to
discuss, and how to approach problems, how to listen to others more seriously and closely tounderstand their answers, and to have their own opinions and not to be afraid to say no andcriticize. It is probably more encouraging to see one response connecting the experience of
critical thinking to be more reflective and relevant:•“I realize that thinking deeply means being able to know what I really feel.” (S10)In terms of students’ self-image, among those who answered the question, 87% of the
responses were very positive, showing that they felt more knowledgeable, confident, moreinterested and curious, happy, proud, concentrated, enthusiastic, cool, excited, educated,
sense of achievement, fulfilled, actively working, and mature. Some responses also included
that they felt their researching skills had improved. Further, the activities provided
opportunities leading to the discovery of more advanced vocabulary:•“As I am researching, I would encounter more technical or advanced vocabulary, and it
is useful for studying.” (S35)

Some students also expressed that they had never been given opportunities to think, posequestions, and research like this:•••“It was a lot of fun researching on the areas that others may not be interested or areas I
never doubted or wondered. It was the first time for me to express my own opinions, so I
enjoyed the class very much. (S8, translation)“It is hard to think the topics deeply because I didn’t have such opportunities so much.”(S26, translation)“I have never had classes where I had to research on the lesson topics further…” (S40,translation)

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CRITICAL THINKING IN LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS

Through the activities, they learned to explore more actively on their own to connect what
they learned in class and reflected on their lifestyles and behaviors. It was also due to thenature of critical thinking, where there is no “yes” and “no” in the first place; the students
feel more comfortable saying “no” and express their honne (i.e., “real opinions”) due to theirgrowing critical thinking skills. These safe places are needed in university classrooms while
promoting critical thinking:•••“…but by acquiring critical thinking skills, I could link the lesson topics with my personal
life, reflect it effectively, and improve my quality of life. I became proud of myself forbeing able to do that, and I was confident that I might have become a little more mature.”(S40, translation)“it is important to think about one thing, and through thinking I get to see how I can
improve my behavior and arikata (what I thought I should have behaved).” (S45,
translation)“I want a place where I can think and give my opinion [;] I want to think deeply, I value
many things I gained from it. I thought I didn’t understand myself even though I was
myself. [This class] is unique, but I find it fresh and fun.”(S8)Importantly, extensive thinking can drain students’ energy sometimes. Since they were
continually thinking and questioning, and as mentioned before, it could be their very firsttime doing this explicitly and purposely, they found themselves sometimes skeptical, feeling
ignorant, and tired. The more they researched, the more they wondered what was true:•••“It’s very fulfilling to ponder a particular topic and find out what you’re wondering
about, but at the same time, the feeling of ignorant is tiring.” (S30, translation)“[It is difficult to] consider what is the answer.” (S34)“Doing it required a lot of time so first parts are hard.” (S3)Overall, students’ responses were encouraging and positive. One student also shared thenecessity of teaching critical thinking in the Japanese school systems:•“I think the movement for teaching critical thinking in Japan is great and it should betaught in all schools.” (S15)

Limitations and Implications
For future lesson improvements, the author will continue developing similar activities to help
learners think critically, especially through debates and discussions, with more student
choices. Also, the survey of July 2020 is comparatively short and general. It is desirable tosurvey students with more specific questions, particularly about how the action of asking
questions benefits or harms learners in their presentations (both presenters and audience),
debates, and discussions. At the same time, it is essential to examine how learners seethemselves and others in learning to think critically. Another idea is to assess if learners
develop more responsibility and autonomy in their learning. Finally, it is possible that whenlearners connect English learning to their own lives and reflect on their past actions, some
may feel discomfort and need emotional support. Learners especially need a safe place toconfidently express their opinions and disagreement in a language they are still
uncomfortable with. It is essential to investigate what kind of support can instructors and theclass community provide.

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CRITICAL THINKING IN LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS

Conclusion
Regardless of the extent to which Japanese educators believe in critical thinking, Japanese
students responded positively to learning critical thinking skills. It benefits learners not only
to obtain practical and useful information in English but also helps them be critical andreflective in their own learning. Learning to be independent thinkers helps learners to connect
what they learn in class and how they behave. Bohon et al. (2017) described learning as“[requiring] a constant back and forth of conflict resolution, [and involving] internal conflictas a learner moves between reflection and action and between feeling and thinking” (p.614,
Kolb’s experiential learning theory, 1984). The practice of critical thinking benefits language
learning. As described in the discussion, the possible emotional experience of applying
critical thinking skills in English participation also becomes part of the learners’ linguistic
repertoire, “the lived experience of language” (Busch, 2015, p. 341).
Of course, it can be dangerous if language educators judge how learners process theirinformation and how they think. Teaching critical thinking to students is not to impose theeducator’s ways of thinking on their students; it is to help learners and educators understandwhat is different in their ways of thinking and why there are differences. Throughout theprocess, all involved parties can reflect on themselves and on their thoughts that, so far, they
had taken for granted. Therefore, asking questions is an effective start to cultivate higherlevel thinking, and it does avoid Japanese educators’ tendency to justify or criticize students’
ways of thinking. Examining learner confidence through thinking critically can be deducted
as a better approach than assessing critical thinking skills.
BIO DATA
Wan Jung (Amy) Lin has been teaching English in Japan for the past eight years, from K-12
to university, and is currently a full-time lecturer at NUFS. She received her MS in TESOL
from California State University, Fullerton. As an immigrant from Taiwan to the US andJapan, her main research interests include intercultural communication, critical pedagogy,
empowerment, and multiculturalism.
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Cubukcu, F. (2008). Enhancing vocabulary development and reading comprehension throughmetacognitive strategies. Issues in Educational Research, 18(1), 1-11.
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Appendix A
This is an example of an in-class handout from one chapter from another course with the
textbook Reading for Today 3: Issues.
Integrated English 4
Chapter 12 In-class Assignment
Vocabulary
Do you have any vocabulary words you want to try to use in this assignment? Here are thewords from this chapter. If you have other English vocabulary or phrases you want to use,please put them down in the blanks. You can add more blanks too.
affordable
optiontaskamazingdevastating automaticall effectivelyyperform
react
reality
recover
Traditional Traumatic treatment

exhausted

incisionrequireskeptical

Reading
1. New findings?
What is something new that you learned from this article?

2. Questions that help you think
We have talked about what critical thinking is like. Please write down the questions that you
have while you read. You can specify lines if it’s from the reading. For example, “Have weseen any errors from surgical robots?” “Do doctors need a special license to operate a robotic
surgery?”

51

CRITICAL THINKING IN LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS

Understanding and exploring the reading
3. Research
Please choose two questions from part 2, and research for answers. You can research
Japanese sites, but please write some answers in English here. Bullet points are OK.
Your Question:
・Source:Your Question:

Source:Reflection
4. There are a few questions to help you reflect on this chapter. You can choose one
question and write about it. One paragraph of about 100 words is good.
a. Robotic surgery would allow surgeons to perform operations on patients miles
away. Do you think a patient would want a surgeon who is so far away? Why or
why not?
b. How can modern technology help a surgeon perform an operation that is lessdangerous for the patient? What do you think?
c. To see robotic surgery more common and available to people in Japan, what needs
to be improved to see more robotic surgery in reality? For example, healthinsurance system, medical education, better Internet connection, and more. Pleasechoose one area, and explain why it needs to be improved and why it is necessary.

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CRITICAL THINKING IN LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS

Vocabulary
Did you use those vocabulary words? Of course, it is OK that you didn’t use them. If
you did, please highlight those words in your writing. Use CTRL+F or Commend+F to look
for the words and highlight them. (Choose your favorite color.) Of course, any form is OK.
For example, joy becomes joyful.
If you don’t know how to highlight, this is how you do it.

Appendix B
Group debate (role play) topics for all units.
Unit Unit Topic
3

4

Debate Topic

Designer
Acknowledgements
Transportation Mayor Kawamura would like to improve Niall Walsh
Nagoya’s traffic congestions and listens todifferent plans to make the final decision.
Roles and instructions:- Work for a road construction company. You
want that money.
- You work for a transportation development
company. You want that money.
- You want to protect the environment.
- You work for a building construction
company. You want that money.
- You are Mayor Kawamura. Prepare somequestions to ask.
Customs and Their teacher is getting married. The secretary Wan Jung Amy Lin
Traditions
will listen to different designers and friends toplan the wedding for their busy teacher.
Roles and instructions:- A wedding planner from the USA. Plan thewedding according to American culture.
- A wedding planner from Taiwan. Plan the

53

CRITICAL THINKING IN LANGUAGE CLASSROOMSUnit Unit Topic

5

6

7

HealthFitness

Debate Topic

Designer
Acknowledgements

wedding according to Taiwanese culture.
- Wedding planner for unique themes. Prepare awedding theme for the secretaries.
- Hotel staff. Prepare reception and banquet for
100 guests; design a central piece, food, andmusic.
- Amy’s secretaries. Please prepare questions to
ask planners and staff. Decide on location andstyle.
and Civilians and businesses are meeting with Jared Peo
Japanese politicians to decide if the government
should tax products that are bad for health.

Roles and instructions:- You are a worried parent from Okinawa,
which has the highest rate of obesity in Japan.
You want the tax.
- You are the CEO of Ezaki Glico; you do notwant the tax.
- You are a concerned office worker. You do
not want the tax.
- You are a farmer. You want the tax.
- You are the CEO of a life insurance company.
You want the tax.
- You are the head politician. You will ask
questions to ask the group, control the debate,take notes, and make a final decision.
Discovery
The Chinese politician listens to civilians’ Wan Jung Amy Lin
and Invention opinions from the North and South, andconstruction company about the artificial riverproject and decide how to proceed.
FashionAn eco-friendly mall in Japan would like to take Jared Peoin two more shops but would like to avoid
scandals and sweatshops. The mall owner has ameeting with representatives from different
brands.
Roles and instructions:Representatives from Zara, Nike, Uniqlo, H&M,
and GAP.
Make a sales pitch for your company & you
should research possible problems in your own
company and one or two other companies.

54

NUFS TEACHER DEVELOPMENT SYMPOSIUM PROCEEDINGSThe Connection between Language and Culture: How Japanese Culture
Affects Learning English
LIDIJA ELLIOTT
Nagoya University of Foreign Studies
Abstract
This paper focuses on the connection between culture and language learning in an EFL context
in Japan. Many researchers and teachers have been acknowledging the importance of integrating
cultural knowledge into foreign and second language teaching in the classrooms because there isa strong link between the way the language is used and the cultural values which dictate this use.
This study focuses on how cultural values and beliefs can sometimes be an obstacle for learning
English or any other foreign language and how these affect students' use of this language. Thiscan be often seen in university classrooms when students appear reluctant to speak or are silent.
The paper will present the challenges the author encountered in teaching English regarding
cultural misunderstanding and how author attempted to deal with them. The author will talkabout possible strategies in order to help teachers and their students to overcome cultural barriers
and to reduce cross-cultural misunderstandings in language learning.
Key words: culture, language, language education, communication
Introduction
When teaching or learning another language, it is very important to understand that you willencounter individuals from different cultural backgrounds. Because of these cultural differences,
there is a possibility that people may not understand exactly what others are trying to say. Or, inthe same vein, there is also a chance that people may not understand certain habits, bodylanguage cues, behaviors, or reactions that people from different cultures may have that are
different from their own culture.
An understanding of the relationship between language and culture is important for language
learners, users, and for all those involved in language education. In the interest of not hitting any
cultural roadblocks and enabling the most efficient learning environment, it is important thatboth teachers and students understand each other’s cultures and become aware of their own
unique socio-cultural behaviors. This mutual understanding of each other’s cultural backgrounds
and cultural nuances ensures that neither the student nor teacher gets offended over somethingthat was not meant to be offensive. This also makes sure that both parties can best understandwhat exactly the other is trying to convey, as understanding cultural nuances and minor cues are
crucial in understanding the full meaning of what others are saying.
What Is Culture?
Assigning one single definition to culture is extremely difficult, especially in an increasinglyinternational world. While on the surface, culture might seem easy to explain or understand, thedefinition goes much deeper than what the average person may think. Without understanding
culture, it becomes difficult to understand the perspectives of others. As Geertz (2000a) notes, byClyde Kluckhohn’s account of culture (Johnson, 2013, p.99) as (1) “the total way of life of apeople”; (2) “the social legacy the individual acquires from his group”; (3) “a way of thinking,55

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

feeling, and believing”; and (4) “an abstraction from behaviour…” (pp.4-5).
Culture shapes and it is shaped by almost every aspect of an individual’s life, going as deep astheir personal beliefs, their world view, the assumptions that they make, and even their thought
patterns. According to Condon (1973, as cited in Kuo & Lai, 2006), “culture can be defined as away of life. No matter where people live, their behaviors and thoughts follow and are generally
based on their own cultures” (p. 2). Therefore, by understanding the culture of students, teachers
are able to better understand their interests, their concerns, and what motivates them in theclassroom, which is necessary for being a good teacher.
Culture is also a core part of human nature; it is a part of all of us. Humans, whether people
realize it or not, use culture to develop and adapt societies, to understand new and different formsof knowledge, and to form relationships with other people. These are all activities governed by
the influence of culture. This makes culture a very powerful tool, for all kinds of day-to-day life
activities, but also for teaching and learning language.
What Is Language and How Does Culture Relate to Language?
The relationship between a language and the culture of the speakers of a language is very closelyintertwined. It can be said that language acts as a representative of a culture in a way, as themembers of a culture communicate through their common language, thus imparting a piece of
their culture into it. Gleason indicates that “language is not only the product of culture, but also
is the symbol of culture” (Gleason, 1961, as cited in McIver & Young, 2020).
This is especially true for a nation like Japan. With thousands of years of history, the Japanese
language and culture have become so intertwined and have reached a symbiosis very uniqueamong other world languages and cultures. So, in the same way that a language can represent a
culture, a culture can shape and change a language. The members of a culture think and speak intheir language, so it follows naturally that as they grow and change, their thoughts and words
will change with them. For example, teachers can see instances of different cultures having
words for concepts or ideas that do not exist in other languages. In Japanese, there is a saying,“shouganai”, without a direct translation to English, the saying means something like, “It cannot
be helped”. This saying is a good example that illustrates a socio-cultural difference between
Japanese and English-Speaking cultures. “Shouganai” is in a sense indicative of anunderstanding that there are many things that exist outside of the individual that are not within
our control and cannot be helped. Contrast this to many English-Speaking cultures which arestrongly individualistic and do not immediately acknowledge the society around them, butthemselves first. To what a Japanese person may say “shouganai”, a Westerner may say “Whymust this happen to me?”. Expanding on this, it can be said that culture and language are in a
way inseparable. Because of this relationship between language and culture, it is important tounderstand both and their relationship in order to best teach and learn a new language, especiallyin a culture where the two are so intertwined like Japan.
Japanese Socio-Cultural Differences and How to Address them
In order to form a positive teacher-student relationship and ensure that Japanese students stay56

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

motivated to learn, an English teacher must understand how to empathize with Japanese students
and accommodate for cultural nuances. This understanding includes being aware of the manysocio-cultural differences and uniquely Japanese patterns of communication present among
Japanese Students. In addition to this, an effective English teacher should also know what thesesocio-cultural differences mean and be able to appropriately react to them.
Being able to understand situations in which these differences are negative or positive will
determine how a teacher should move forward in the classroom. There are many social andcultural discrepancies in culture and language between the East and West, stemming fromeverything from language to personal values. Understanding the many socio-cultural differences
present in Japan that have a bearing on learning and communicating in English allows teachers toconnect to students struggling to learn behind a socio-cultural barrier. To start, here are a coupleof common instances of socio-cultural differences.
Silence
According to King & Harumi (2020) “Silence is an issue that touches all who teach” (p. 3).
English teachers regularly encounter long silences in the classroom. There are two different
reasons why a classroom may fall silent, one being negative, and another mostly positive. It is
important to understand both reasons to effectively connect with your students.
Positive silence occurs when students are thinking and/or processing information from theirteacher. This can be seen after a teacher asks a question or assigns group work. Students needsome time to think and prepare to answer questions or participate in group work, especiallyconsidering these activities are not being done in their native language. This silence is necessary
and positive and should not be cause for any concern. Tannen (1985) confirms that “Silence isseen as positive when it is taken as evidence of the existence of something positive underlying for example, proper respect; the silence of the telephone when it represents solitude for creative
work; the silence of `sweet silent thought’... ”(p. 94).
On the other hand, negative silence makes people uncomfortable "hinges on whether or notparticipants feel something should be said, in which case silence is perceived as an omission"(Tannen, 1985, p. 96). Negative silences occur when students are disinterested in a topic, are notpaying attention, or do not wish to participate. This variant of silence is unwelcoming in theclassroom as it is not conducive to learning.
To get a better understanding of the nature of these silences and how to identify them, teachers
need to understand the foundation upon which this socio-cultural habit is built. In this case,silence most likely stems from the Japanese cultural value of actions over words. Thisappreciation for silence and actions over words has its roots in Buddhism, particularly the Zen
aspects of Buddhist teaching, which state that speaking in itself is superficial and thatenlightenment can be reached only through silence. Because of this, it really should not come asa surprise that most Japanese people will value silence over unnecessary speaking, and actions
over words.
Moving on from the cultural foundations and on to the social foundations for this behavior. Japan57

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

is a small, ancient island nation/society. The aim is almost always intergroup harmony therefore
Japan has developed into what is referred to as a “high-context culture”. “High-context cultures
rely on context (social or physical) to convey a large part of the message’s meaning. Messages
are more elliptical and indirect; don’t trust words alone” (Nam, 2007, p.107). So, people becamevery skilled at understanding each other`s message or “reading the air” (“kuuki yomenai”).
What defines a high-context culture is that its members operate with the understanding that thepeople in their country share the same cultural background and understanding as them, so a lot ofcommunication and details are implied during conversation. This contrasts rather starkly toWestern “low-context” cultures, where a shared understanding and cultural background cannot
be assumed. “Low-context cultures context is not assumed; messages are more direct andcompletely encoded in words; put thoughts into words and let them carry the meaning” (Nam,2007, p.107). Effective communication is simple and clear. Meyer states (2015) that “TheUnited States is the lowest context culture in the world, followed by Canada and Australia, theNetherlands and Germany, and the United Kingdom” (p. 34). Due to the very diverse lingual,ethnic, and value systems that tend to be present in western countries, when speaking,individuals find themselves having to explain many things in great detail, where the Japanese donot.
Another reason for this communication style is the difference between collectivist andindividualist cultures. Chiu, Kim & Wan (2008, as cited in Carducci, 2012) stated that“Individualistic cultures, such as North American and Western European countries, arecharacterized by a cultural perspective that emphasizes the uniqueness of the individual’s
personal characteristics, needs, and motives as the focal point of predicting and understanding
the individual’s actions” (p. 414). Japan and east-Asian nations tend to be more collectivist thanin western countries. In Japan, this collectivism means that the Japanese people value facesaving, fulfilling the needs of others, and group orientation over themselves, contrasting moreindividualistic western societies. “Collectivistic cultures such as Japan, India, and China tend to
be characterized by a cultural perspective that places less emphasis on the uniqueness of theindividual’s personal characteristics as the focal point of predicting and understanding theindividual’s actions” (Carducci, 2012, p.414).
How Japanese collectivism manifests in the classroom will usually display the use of silence,
where students may remain silent in order to save face by either not standing out in front of theirpeers or avoiding being embarrassed. This silence can also be a tool to maintain group order, assome Japanese students may think that by remaining silent, unnecessary conflict or disorder isavoided. According to Harumi (2001) students,
Tend to be silent when they are not sure whether their answers are right or if theirideas differ from those of others. It might sound strange that Japanese students are
too awkward to state their opinions freely. However, this derives from theJapanese cultural norm of wa—meaning harmony—and the importance ofconsensus-decision making. In order to keep harmony, there are students who
think that they should provide answers which match others’ ideas (p. 32).
On top of this, silence can also mean that a student is formulating an opinion, gathering the58

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

courage to speak in English, is leaving space for a senior to speak, or is attempting to disagree ina less confrontational manner. Regardless of the exact reason, it is important to be able toidentify and understand the cultural reasons for this silence, know whether it is positive or
negative, and be able to accommodate for and, if needs be, address it.
Ambiguity
Japanese statements are often said to be ambiguous or indirect, especially by Westerners.
“Japanese is ambiguous” (‘aimai’) or that Japanese “don’t say things clearly” (‘hakkiri iwanai’)”(Pizziconi, 2009, p.221). This ambiguity is fostered by the nature of the Japanese language itself
and supplemented by Japanese socio-cultural values. This is derived from the Japanese tendency
towards collectivism and their valuing of empathy and politeness towards others. According toMatsumoto, Kudoh & Takeuchi (1996) “Japanese people took advantage of the power ofcollectivism and channeled their energies into selfless work for the common good” (p. 83). In
order to refrain from conflict or to avoid offending others, it is very common that Japanesepeople will repress their own ego and not become too partial to one side, so as to avoid isolating
themselves as well. A good example of this indirectness and impartiality can be observed in theJapanese use of the word “no” (“iie”). Out of a reluctance to offend someone by disagreeing
with an opinion or refusing a request, Japanese people will often try their best to avoid saying“no” directly. This can be done through apology or doubt, and most popularly as we havediscussed, ambiguity and silence.
In addition to this, there is the politeness phenomenon, to which the previously discussed
Japanese socio-cultural tendencies of silence and ambiguity are closely related. The Japanese
language has many different words for addressing different types of people politely. Because ofthis, it can be very difficult for a Japanese person to find the right way to express politeness inEnglish, which may result in silence or an ambiguous statement.
There are of course many other complex Japanese language-based behaviors that contrast to
those of English. After understanding some of the major socio-cultural differences between
Japanese and English-speaking peoples, an English teacher can form a more complete
understanding of their Japanese students.
Suggestions and Tips
The English classroom will always be a place that at least two different cultures exist. To
supplement the growth of this understanding and to support an efficient and effective classroom
learning dynamic, here are some tips and suggestions on how to best accommodate for and workwith Japanese socio-cultural differences.
The teacher’s questions should not be too easy or too difficult, if they are too easy, students may
see them as meaningless, resulting in a negative silence. If the questions are too difficult,students may become frustrated and unwilling to participate. Because of this, it is best if theteacher asks questions of moderate difficulty, appropriate for students` level and awards positive
feedback for participation, which will encourage students to participate in classroom interactions
more.

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Provide students with opportunities to use and experience different types of communication by
assigning pair work, group work activities, and having discussions. Pair work can serve as acomfortable way for students to work, and group work is a great way to take advantage of thegroup-minded nature of Japanese culture. A great way to supplement group work is by giving
each member of each group their own responsibilities and making sure each student has a chanceat performing each role. According to Bouchard and Nicolai (2014) “The importance ofpair/group work in Communication Language Teaching has been identified by many researchers
on language learning and teaching, notably by Nihalani et al. (2010),who argue that L2
interaction in the language classroom can potentially be achieved throughcollaborative/cooperative learning in which students work together to achieve a common goal”(p. 96).
Self-esteem and confidence are key to learning a language. Environments that induce anxiety are
not conducive to learning and should be avoided. The teacher should foster an environment inwhich students are comfortable and are not anxious to speak. This can be done by ensuring thatboth parties understand each other’s cultures. The teacher should also make sure the student
understands that through hard work, they can learn English.
The classroom needs to be made a pleasant environment where students know that it is okay tomake errors and are comfortable with doing so. This is necessary for classroom participation andensuring effective teaching.
Conclusion
This paper aimed to explore the connection between culture and language learning in an EFL
context in Japan. The author showed how cultural values and beliefs can sometimes be an
obstacle for learning English or any other foreign language and how these affect students' use ofthis language. This can be often seen in classrooms when students appear ambiguous, reluctant tospeak or are silent.
It is important for a teacher to find ways to encourage communication in EFL classes whileaccommodating Japanese culture and styles. An understanding of students’ culture can help tonarrow the cultural gap that sometimes creates confusion and frustration in English
communication classes.

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BIO DATA
Lidija Elliott teaches English at Nagoya University of Foreign Studies. She has an M.A. from
Leeds University, U.K. She is also TESOL Certified. She has been an English language teacher
in Africa and Japan for more than ten years. Her research interests include teacher development,
motivation and culture in language learning and teaching.
References
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Bouchard, J and Nicolai, J. (2014). Investigating Pair/Group Work in Japanese Junior HighSchool EFL Classrooms through Action Research. Hokkai Gakuen University. No.162.
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Carducci, B. J. (2012). Expressions of the Self in Individualistic vs. Collective Cultures: a crosscultural-perspective teaching module. Psychology Learning & Teaching, 11(3), 413-417.
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