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Japanese University Athletes’ Dilemma: Study, Sport Performance, or
BothYoshihiko Yamamoto

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Abstract
The aims of this study were to investigate the Japanese university athletes’ dilemma ofmanaging both study and sport performance effectively, and to try to find answers to how theycan effectively manage both their study and sport club activities. Questionnaires were used inorder to collect the data (1st year, 2nd year and 3rd year students). A total of 216 responses werecollected. All participants of this study belonged to university sport clubs and they majored in
sport and health science at a private university in Japan. The data were both quantitatively andqualitatively analyzed. The results of questionnaires found university athletes in this study
showed two dilemmas. They were busy with their sport club activities and felt pressure toseriously participate in their club activities because they came to their university with a sport
recommendation. In order to support university athletes, this study discusses three suggestions
such as ensuring enough financial support for university athletes, promoting peer learning touniversity athletes, and collaborative work between university lecturers and sport club teamcoaches.
Keywords: university athletes; study and sport performance

	
  

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Introduction
In Japan, some university sports such as baseball and marathon relay are very popular. Private
universities in particular recruit high school athletes who are talented in sports to promote their
universities. Some university athletes will become professionals after graduation and could
earn more than enough money to support themselves. However, there are also many university
athletes who do not become professionals and who will take other careers for their future life.
The author of this study believes that a university is a place for students to have an opportunity
for both learning what they are interested in and preparing for their future careers. Althoughboth university and teaching staff try to do their best for the athletes, university athletes seemto have problems coping with both study and their sport club activities at the same time. The
aims of this study were to investigate the university athletes’ dilemma of managing both study
and sport performance effectively, and to try to find answers of how they can effectively
manage both their study and sport club activities. This study adopted both quantitative andqualitative approaches to analyze the data. There were 25 questions on the questionnaires forthe participants of this study who were all majoring in sport and health science in a private
university in Japan. All of them belonged to sport clubs. The two types of university athletes’
dilemmas are: they are busy with their club activities and they feel pressure to participate in
the activities. This article provides three recommendations to keep a balance between
university athletes’ study and sport performance. The first recommendation is to give enoughfinancial support for university athletes. The second recommendation is to promote peer
learning for university athletes. The last recommendation is collaboration between lecturers
and sport club coaches for university athletes.
Literature Review
For many university athletes, having a balance of both study and practice time for their sport
is not easy. In particular, Japanese university sport clubs are sometimes described as being likethe military, since many of them have strict rules in their clubs. Often, first or second year
students are required to do jobs such as cleaning their clubs, looking after their fields, and soforth after they finish their practice sessions. Normally Japanese first and second year students
take more subjects at their universities each semester than third year and fourth year students.
Thus, both first and second year students normally spend more time on both their club activities
and study at their university. For example, Inoue, Kunikata, and Nomi (2011) reported thatthose who belong to sport clubs do not tend to take a break as efficiently as those who do notbelong to university sport clubs. Those who belong to their sport clubs participate in their club
activities straight after they finish their last class of the day on weekdays. Also, many of them
have part time jobs on the days they do not have their club activities. As a result, those who
belong to sport clubs find it difficult to take a break. Inoue et al. (2011) explained that Japanese
university athletes were very busy and often physically tired because of their club activities.
However, there is a positive side to participating in sport clubs for university athletes. In Japan,
it is believed that university athletes tend to have an advantage in obtaining future jobs after
their graduation. For example, Kasai (2010) explains that those who belong to university sport
clubs are believed to be mentally tough, to have good communication skills, and not to give up
on things. Therefore, they tend to be preferred by companies. Matsushige (2005) points out
some companies prefer those who are physically tough as their employees, to those who studied
harder in the university. Ueno (2007) explains that university athletes often experience a lot of
	
  

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hardships through their hard practice and competitions. University athletes often learn a lot ofthings through these experiences and will grow up as mature people. Many Japanese companies
tend to prefer those who experience these hardships in their university life to those who do notexperience hardships. As past studies above showed, belonging to university sport clubs might
be advantageous for university athletes in obtaining a job after their graduation.
However, Hirano (2011) points out that belonging to a university sport club is not a great
advantage for university athletes’ employment. They also need to maintain better academic
performance. In particular, Hirano (2011) explains that academic writing is the most importantskill for university students for job seeking since they need to develop curricula vitae to apply
for jobs. Ohtake and Sasaki (2009) explain that many Japanese companies now expect
university students to have both academic knowledge and specialized skills for their jobs. In
short, it is important for university athletes to succeed in both study at university and performtheir sport at the same time.
Methodology
Participants
The participants of this study were majoring in sport and health science in one of the private
universities in Japan. The total of 216 students (1st year, 2nd year and 3rd year students) who
belonged to university sport clubs participated in this study.
Data collection
Questionnaires were implemented between October and November 2013 in the author’s
English classes with paper and pencil. The questionnaire contained 25 open-response questions
asking for demographic and lifestyle information. All questions were asked in Japanese in orderto make sure the participants understood all questions. The participants answered in Japanese,and then all questions and answers were translated into English from Japanese by the author.
All questions are listed in the appendix.
Results
The data analysis resulted in 18 graphs and 5 tables to be explained. Each graph shows thenumber of student responses to each question. To start with, graph 1 and 2 show the results ofQuestion 3: How many days do you have club activities per week? And Question 4: How long
do you practice in your club on weekdays? (Figure 1 and 2).

	
  

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Figure 1. Graph showing how many students had had club activities 1-7 days per week

Figure 2. Graph showing how many students practiced for 1- 5 hours on weekdays
As Figure 1 shows, most university athletes had either five or six days of club activities. Figure
2 shows that most had over 2 hours or over 3 hours of practice each weekday. Some university
athletes spent over four or five hours for their club activities on weekdays. Both Figures 1 and
2 illustrate the point that university athletes were very busy and did not tend to take a breakbecause of their busy club activity schedule (Inoue et al, 2011).

Figure 3. Graph showing how many students had an average of fewer than 3 to over eight
hours of sleep per day

	
  

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Figure 4. Graph showing how many students lived with parents, alone, at a dorm, or otherFigure 3 shows the average sleeping hours each day for university athletes. Most university
athletes slept over five and under seven hours on average. Graph 4 shows the places where
university athletes lived. Over half of the participants in this study lived alone (54% of the firstyear and 63% of both the second and third year). Around 30% lived with their parents (36% of
the first year students, 32% of the second year students, and 26% of the third year students).
Only around 10 % of university athletes stayed in their sport club accommodation (9% of thefirst year students, 4% of the second year students and 11% of the third year students).

Figure 5. Graph showing how many students paid for their living expenses through parents, on
their own, scholarship, or a combination
Figure 5 shows how university athletes paid for their living expenses. Over 50% of university
athletes who lived independently relied on their parents’ financial support (52% of the firstyear students, 58% of the second year students and 63% of the third year students). Only 3 %
	
  

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Volume 4 – Issue 1 – Spring 2016of university athletes had scholarships to support their living expenses (3% of both the first andthird year students). However, a number of students did not answer this question.

Figure 6. Graph showing how many students had part-time jobs
Figure 6 shows whether university athletes had part-time jobs or not. Over half of theparticipants in this study did not have part time jobs (67% of the first year students, 58% of thesecond year students, 52% of the third year students).

Figure 7. Graph showing how many students worked over one hour to over 20 hours per week
Figure 7 shows the working hours of those who had part time jobs. The result shows various
working hours. Some worked only between one and two hours, but others worked over ten
hours per week. Most university athletes in this study did not have part time jobs.

	
  

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Table 8. Graph showing how many students studied English under 30 minutes to over 4 hours
per week
Table 8 shows the study time of university athletes. As the author of this study teaches English,
the study time for English was included in the questionnaire. Most students studied between
one and two hours per week (42% of the first year students, 46% of the second year students
and 34% of the third year students). Many students also studied between two and three hours(24% of the first year students, 31% of the second year students and 18% of the third year
students).

Figure 9. Graph showing how many students studied during various time periods throughout
the day
Figure 9 shows when university athletes studied. Over 40% of the participants in this study
studied between night and midnight (45% of the first year students, 40% of the second year
students and 44% of the third year students). Interestingly, over 30% of the participants usedtheir spare time between their classes (30% of the first year students, 34% of the second year
students and 35% of the third year students).

	
  

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Figure 10. Graph showing how many students thought study at the university was different
from study at high school
Figure 10 shows whether participants in this study found study at university different fromstudy at high school. Nearly 80% of participants in this study found it different (88% of thefirst year students, 79% of the second year students and 79% of the third year students). The
first year students found that study at the university was different from study at high school
more than both the second and third year students. Both the second and third year students havebeen at university longer than the first year students. Thus both the second and third year
students were more familiar with study at university than the first year students.

Figure 11. Graph showing how many students received study support by more senior membersof their sport club

	
  

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Figure 12. Graph showing how many of the more senior students helped junior members of
their sport club with their study
Both Figures 11 and 12 show whether university athletes helped each other with study. As
graph 11 shows, nearly 50% of participants of this study, indicated “often” and “sometimes”
for their support of each other (57% of the first year students, 52% of the second year students,
and 47% of the third year students). However, nearly another 50% of the participants did notsupport each other, and indicated “hardly” and “never” (42% of the first year students, 48% of
the second year students and 53% of the third year students).

Figure 13. Graph showing how many students indicated that the sport coach said something
about the university athlete’s study

	
  

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Figure 14. Graph showing how many students studied with their teammates
Figure 13 shows whether or not the sport coach said something about the university athlete’s
study at the university. Over 60% of the participants answered either hardly or never (62% of
the first year students, 70% of the second year students and 71% of the third year students).
Figure 14 shows whether or not participants studied together with their teammates. Over 60%of the participants did study together with their teammates (62% of both the first year and thesecond year student, and 67% of the third year students).

Figure 15. Graph showing how many students thought doing both club activities and studying
was difficult
In Figure 15, over 60% of participants of this study thought doing both club activities and study
was difficult (65% of the first year students, 66% of the second year students, and 60% of thethird year students). About 30% of participants of this study did not think it so.

	
  

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Figure 16. Graph showing how many students thought club activities or study were importantto them
In Figure 16, interestingly, both the first year students (56%) and the third year students (69%)
answered that their club activities were more important than their study. However, 52% of thesecond year students answered their study was more important than their club activities. Only
30% of second year students answered their club activities were more important than theirstudy. Only 3% of first year and 4% of second year students answered that both study and club
activities were important in their university life.

Figure 17. Graph showing how many students thought that university study would help their
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Figure 18. Graph showing how many students had decided what they would do after finishing
their degree
In Figure 17, nearly 90% of participants of this study thought university study would help their
future. Figure 18 shows whether or not participants of this study had already decided their
future. Interestingly, 72% of the third year students had already decided their future, while 54%of both the first and second year students had decided.
There are five tables below which show university athletes’ reasons given for Question 14, howstudy at the university is different than study at high school (Table 1), Question 20, the mostdifficult thing about studying with sport club activities (Table 2), Question 21, why studying
is important and club activities are important (Tables 3 and 4), and Question 25, what kind ofplans after graduation the participants of this study had (Table 5).

Table 1. Number of students who gave particular reasons for thinking university and highschool study are different.
Q 14 Please write how exactly different
1st year 2nd year 3rd year
[study at the university is from study
students students students Total
at high school]
Increase of self-study time
5
3
2
10
Learner centered style classes
16
4
16
36
Increase in writing reports instead of
exams
2
2
4
Increase of research & giving opinions
5
6
11
Increase of using PC
5
6
2
13
There is no one correct answer but weneed to find our opinions
6
8
14
Contents of classes are specialized in the
area
9
3
12
There is much homework
1
10
1
12
There is more free time between classes
22
3
7There are deadlines to submit reports
2
1
3

	
  

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Table 1 shows the answers for Question 14. The most popular answer (N = 36) was that
university classes were learner-centered style classes. The next popular answer (N = 14) wasthat they found there was no one correct answer but they needed to try to find their opinions inclasses. Then “using a PC” (N = 13), “much homework” (N = 12), “learning specialized in thearea” (N = 12) and “increase of research and giving opinions” (N = 11), “increase of self-studytime” (N = 10).
Table 2.	
  Number of students who gave particular difficulties with studying
Q 20 What is the most difficult thingfor you to do both study and club
activities at the university?
I don't have enough time to study
because of my club activities
Lack of sleep
I am physically too tired to study
Lack of concentration in classMiss the class due to club activities

1st year
students

2nd year 3rd year
students students

4
29
28
4
3

25
14
38
6
2

Total

15
17
30
3
2

44
60
96
13
7

Table 2 shows the results of Question 20. 44% (N = 96) of the participants answered that they
were physically too tired to study because of their club activities. In addition, 27% (N = 60) of
the participants answered lack of sleep. Then 20% (N = 44) of the participants answered they
did not have enough time to study because of their club activities. As Table 2 shows, over 70%of the participants found that their club activities negatively affected their study.
Table 3.	
  Number of students who gave particular reasons for thinking sport club activities areimportant
Q 22 Why do you think it so? [Clubactivities are important]
Because I entered this university with a sport
recommendation
I think I can do my sport while I am auniversity student. I don't think I'll have time
to do it after I work.
I want to get a job doing something with mysport which I am playing now.
I want to be a professional sport player in the
future.
I don't think I want to be a professional but I
want to try my best for my sport now.
I love my sport.
I think sport club activities are more usefulthan study at university for the future.
I learn many things from sport club activities.
I enjoy communication with my teammates.

1st year
students

2nd year
students

9

10

9

28

8

6

11

25

1

5

4

3rd year
students

Total

2
2
8

2
3
2

6
2

11
12

1
1

1
1
1

1

Table 3 shows reasons from those who answered “club activities” for Question 21 (Which isimportant for you, club activities or study at the university?). The most popular answers were“because I entered this university with sport recommendation” (N = 28) and “I think I can do

	
  

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my sport while I am a university student. I don't think I'll have time to do it after I work” (N =25). Then “I love my sport” (N = 12) and “I don't think I want to be a professional but I want
to try my best for my sport now” (N = 11).
Table 4.	
  Number of students who gave particular reasons why study is important at university
Q 22 Why do you think it so? (Study at auniversity is important)
University is the place to study.
Study helps my future.
I don't think I can make a living with mysport in the future.
I must study to participate in my sport club
activities because of rules of the department
policy.
I want to get a degree.
I like study.

1st year 2nd year 3rd year
students students students Total
14
9
9
32
9
16
6
31
1

3

4

6
2

2
5
3

8
10
3

3

Table 4 shows the answers for Question 21 from those who answered “Study at a university.”
36% (N = 32) of the participants answered “university is the place to study” and 35% (N = 31)
of the participants answered “study helps my future.” 11% (N = 10) answered “I want to get a
degree.” Over 70% of the participants saw study at a university positively, as the first two
reasons in the Table 4 show.
Table 5. Number of students who gave particular goals for what they will do after finishing
their degree
Q 25: Please tell me what it is [that you
will do after you finish your degree]
I want to get a job in a company and keep
doing my sport as my hobby
I want to be a public servant and keep doing
my sport as a hobby.
I want to be a PE teacher at school
I want to work for a company as a contract
professional sport player.
I want to be a full time professional sport
player.
I will study at a graduate school and keep
doing my sport there
I will study at a graduate school and I will
retire from my sport
I will retire from my sport after graduation
and I will get a permanent job at a company
I want to be a fulltime coach for my sport

1st year
students

2nd year
students

3rd year
students

Total

5

6

16

27

7
2

5
2

2

14
4

4

6

3

13

3

8

5
1

3

4

1
8
8

1
9
12

13
6

30
26

Table 5 shows the answers for the participants’ future careers. 24% (N = 30) of the participants
answered, “I will retire from my sport after graduation and I will get a permanent job at acompany.” Then 21% (N = 27) of the participants answered, “I want to get a job in a company
and keep doing my sport as my hobby.” Another 21% (N = 26) answered, “I want to be a fulltime coach for my sport.” On the other hand, only 6% (N = 8) answered, “I want to be a full
	
  

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time professional sport player.” 10% (N = 13) of the participants answered “I want to work for
a company as a contract professional sport player.” In Japan, sports which are very popularsuch as baseball and soccer have their professional leagues. When professional players in these
leagues succeed in their careers, they are able to earn multi-million dollars. However, sports
which are considered as minor sports such as canoe, lacrosse, field hockey, and so forth, are
not often able to have professional leagues for financial reasons. Thus, players of these sports
often belong to teams owned by companies and they make contracts with their teams to play
and work for them.
Discussions
University Athletes’ Dilemmas
The aims of this study were to investigate university athletes’ dilemma of managing both study
and sport performance effectively, and to find answers for how university athletes could
effectively manage both their study and sport club activities. First of all, this study foundsimilar results to the point raised by Inoue et al., (2011). Based on the results in Figures 1, 2,
and 6, university athletes in this study tended to be very busy for their club activities. Because
many of them participated in their club activities almost every day and spent between two andfour hours almost every day, they did not tend to have enough sleep hours. Moreover, as Figure
15 showed, over 60% of participants of this study admitted that they found it difficult to dowell on both club activities and study at the university. These results indicate that club activities
had a negative effect on university athletes’ study in either being physically too tired or lacking
sleep time. However, as Figure 17 shows, about 90% of the participants in this study admitted
that study at the university would help their future. Thus, many university athletes in this study
were motivated to study but they were less likely to be sure how to find time for study.
Another dilemma of university athletes in this study was found. Some university athletes felt
pressure to be seriously involved in club activities because they came to the university with
their sport recommendation. As both Tables 3 and 5 show, many university athletes of thisstudy did not aim to be professional sport players after their graduation. However, because ofentering the university with the sport recommendation, university athletes felt a strong
responsibility to seriously participate in their club activities. This pressure possibly results in
one of the Japanese traditional values regarding the school sport environment. Tobashima andEbishima (2011) explain that a part of the Japanese education system encourages both types ofextreme students, such as those who try to focus on sport activities with less study, and those
who try to study hard with almost no sport activities. Under such an educational environment,
sport students in particular tend to lose their motivation to study and also take a risk regarding
future employment if they fail to become professional athletes. As opposed to Tobishima andEbishima’s study (2011), university athletes in this study showed that study at university was
important for their future as Figure 17 shows. However, many university athletes, in particular
those who came to the university with their sport recommendation, retain a strong
responsibility to seriously participate in their sport club.
Financial Support is Important for University Athletes
Two university athletes’ dilemmas were found in this study. This study proposes how
university athletes can manage these dilemmas. First, to keep a balance of both study and sportclub activities for university athletes, financial support is important for them. As Figure 6
shows, over the half of university athletes in this study did not have part time jobs. This isbecause university athletes in this study were busy with their club activities as shown in Figure
1, 2, and 6. They did not have time to do part-time work. In addition, as Figure 4 shows, around
	
  

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30% of university athletes in this study lived with their parents and as Figure 5 shows, over
50% of university athletes in this study who lived alone relied on financial support from theirparents. These results prove that university athletes in this study do not tend to have enoughtime to earn money to financially support themselves. These results also show that university
athletes in this study need to heavily rely on their parents’ financial support to keep a balanceof both study and club activities.
Peer Learning to Succeed
To support university athletes in order to succeed in both study and sport performance, peer
learning is key. In this study, there were some university athletes who studied together witheither their teammates or their seniors in their sport clubs as the both Figures 11 and 14 show.
Around 50% to 60 % of the university athletes studied with their teammates or with senior
members of their sport clubs. Students often work in small group in classes as well. For
example, Sugino (1994) explains that group work facilitates learners’ abilities in language andJohnson et al. (2001) explains that group work results in higher productivity and higher
educational achievement when group work is effectively used. Some participants in this study
effectively used study in small groups to manage both club activities and study. Thus,
promoting effective peer learning skills with university athletes is a key for their success inboth study and club activities in the university. The author believes that it is important for
lecturers to encourage university athletes to study together with others in and out of classes.
Collaborative Work between Lecturers and Sport Coaches
The third key for university athletes to succeed in both study and sport performance iscollaborative work between lecturers and sport coaches. The author believes that it is importantfor both university lecturers and sport club coaches to collaborate with each other to support
university athletes. In Japanese universities, lecturers are not often involved in club activities.
Nakazawa (2011) explains that university lecturers are often too busy with their work and they
do not normally have time to look after university clubs. In order to solve this problem, many
universities employ sport coaches for sport clubs who mainly look after their sport clubs. In
addition, sport coaches often do not involve themselves in university study. They focus on
looking after the university athletes’ sport performance. As Figure 13 shows, in this study sportclub coaches did not tend to support university athletes’ study well. There was not muchcollaborative work between lecturers and sport coaches to support university athletes. The
author of this study believes that coaches play an important role in university athletes’
academic results. According to Bell (2009), in America, university sport coaches are requiredby the NCAA to look after university athletes on both sport and study. Bell (2009) explainsthat sport coaches tend to explain how important university study is in university athletes’
futures. Such sport coaches’ involvement in university athletes’ study contributes to retaininga high graduation rate in the USA. The results of this study show that both lecturers and sport
coaches in Japan do not tend to collaborate with each other to support university athletes inorder to do well in both their study and sports. Thus, in order to solve this issue, it is importantfor both lecturers and sport coaches to communicate with each other and collaboratively
support university athletes.
Conclusion
This study investigated university athletes’ dilemma of managing both study and sport
performance effectively, and to tried to find answers for how they could effectively manage
both their study and sport club activities. This study found that many university athletes had
dilemmas. Firstly, university athletes in this study tended to be very busy for their club
	
  

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Volume 4 – Issue 1 – Spring 2016activities and they found it difficult to keep a balance between both study and their club
activities. Secondly, they felt pressure to be seriously involved in their club activities because
they came to the university with their sport recommendation. However, many university
athletes in this study admitted that study at the university helped their future and it was
important for them. Thus, they were motivated to study. In order to succeed in both study andtheir sport club activities, this study offers three recommendations. First, university athletes
need to have enough financial support in order to keep a balance on both study and their sport
performance. As this study showed, university athletes were busy with their sport club activities
and they needed to study. Thus they did not have time for part-time work to support themselves.
Second, peer learning would help university athletes to study. Some university athletes in thisstudy used it effectively with their teammates and senior members of their sport clubs. Third,
it is important to develop collaboration between university lecturers and sport club coaches foruniversity athletes. As Bell’s study (2009) pointed out, sport club coaches’ active involvementin the university athletes’ study enhanced athletes’ academic performance. Also, lecturers’
active support for university athletes would help university athletes to keep a balance of bothstudy and sport performance. This study was limited to exploring university athletes in one ofthe private universities in Japan. In order to improve the quality of this research, this study
could have included university athletes in either national or public universities in Japan tocompare the results.

	
  

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Volume 4 – Issue 1 – Spring 2016

Appendix
Questions which were used in this study:
Q 1: What year are you in?
Q 2: Are you a man or woman?
Q 3: How many days do you have club activities per week?
Q 4: How long do you practice in your club on weekdays?
Q 5: How long do you sleep every day on average?
Q 6: Do you live alone or with your parents?
Q 7: Who pays for all expense for your living?
Q 8: Do you have a part time job or not?
Q 9: How long do you work per week?
Q 10: How long do you study English per week?
Q 11: Where do you normally study?
Q 12: When do you study?
Q 13: Do you think study at the university is different from study at the high school?
Q 14: How different is it?
Q 15: Do you get any study support by senior members in your sport club?
Q 16: Do you help junior members in your club to study?
Q 17: Does your sport club coach say something about your study?
Q 18: Do you study with your teammates?
Q 19: Do you think it is difficult for you to do both study and club activities at the university?
Q 20: What is the most difficult thing for you in doing both study and club activities at theuniversity?
Q 21: Which is important for you, club activities or study at the university?
Q 22: Why do you think it so?
Q 23: Do you think university study helps your future?
Q 24: Have you decided what you will do after you finish your degree?
Q 25: Please tell me what it is.

	
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