Pan
SIG
Journal2021

PanSIG is an annual conference
held in May, and organized by manyof the Special Interest Groups(SIGs) of the Japan Association for
Language Teaching (JALT).
Edited by
Patrick Conaway and Duncan Iske

MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR
The 20th Annual PanSIG conference was held online using the website Eventzil.la on May 15-16, 2021. Although the conference was notable to be held face to face for a second year due to the covid-19 pandemic, experience gained from 2020 allowed the conference toproceed smoothly and productively online. Regardless of the format language educators were able to come together and share theirresearch and teaching practice with their colleagues. PanSIG 2021 featured over 125 presentations and forums ranging across teachingcontexts, pedagogies, and SIG topics, and including several presentations specifically focused upon teaching in an online context. The
conference was a collaborative effort from the 30 Special Interest Groups (SIGs) with the Japan Association for Language Teaching(JALT). The conference enabled participants to attend presentations on a variety of topics in a wide range of fields in language teaching
and learning.
This journal represents the seventh edition of the annual PanSIG Journal in its latest form – following 14 years of proceedings publications
beginning with 2002 – which includes a selection of articles based on presentations from the 2021 conference. With a detailed andsupportive blind peer review process, authors were able to produce high quality articles. The transition back and forth between online,
face to face, and hyflex teaching undoubtably made it difficult to make the time to write, review, and revise articles but our authors roseto that challenge, especially in regards to providing their peers with actionable advice on their manuscripts. The articles finally selected
for publication in the 2021 PanSIG Journal effectively represent the diverse range of topics presented at the PanSIG conference. Although
the reader can only observe the final product of the selected articles, the effort and care of the authors and reviewers to help thesubmissions reach their full potential clearly show that the PanSIG Journal is just as much a place to grow as a novice author as for the
language teaching community to share new ideas. As editor, it has been a special priviledge to be a part of the review process andobserve the development of the submissions.
I would first like to give my warmest thanks to the authors and reviewers of this publication. It was an opportunity for me to read and learn
about topics that I may not have encountered if left to my own devices. Seeing the detailed and supportive reviews, as well as the authors’
thoughtful and inventive responses was truly inspiring. I would also like to thank Duncan Iske, the associate editor of the 2021 PanSIG
Journal for his help and advice. Special thanks all the members of the PanSIG Committee. Before being a part of the PanSIG Journal, I
had no idea how much time, thought, and effort went into putting on such a conference. We hope that you will enjoy reading the articles,
and that they may stimulate productive thinking. Congratulations to all the contributors to this edition of the PanSIG Journal.

May 15, 2022
Patrick Conaway
Editor-in-Chief, PanSIG Journal 2021

The PanSIG is an annual conference held in May, and organized by many of theSpecial Interest Groups (SIGs) of the Japan Association for Language Teaching(JALT). The conference brings together leading scholars and practitioners inlanguage education from Japan, Asia, and throughout the world. It is meant to bea smaller, more intimate conference than the annual international JALT
conference (which is held each fall), and is a place where SIG members can
network with each other.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal i

Website: http://pansig.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JALTpansig/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JALT_PanSIG (Twitter handle: @JALT_PanSIG)

Selected articles from the 2021 PanSIG Conference
Artwork courtesy of James Dunn

ISBN# 978-4-901352-57-4
PanSIG Journal 2021
Selected articles from the 2021 PanSIG Conference
JALT Central OfficeUrban Edge Bldg.5F, 1-37-9 Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0016, Japan

http://jalt.org/

http://www.pansig.org/

All materials in this publication are copyright © (2022) by JALT and their respective authors.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal ii

PanSIG
Journal2021
PDF Version
PDF Version
Conference info
PanSIG 2021 was held May 15-16 online using the platform Eventzil.la to host Zoom meetings and Youtube video premiers. Thank you
to everyone who helped make this conference a success!
Website: http://pansig.org/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JALTpansig/Twitter: https://twitter.com/JALT_PanSIG(Twitter handle: @JALT_PanSIG)

Edited by Patrick Conaway and Duncan Iske

PanSIG is the annual conference for Special Interest Groups of the Japan Association of
Language Teachers

The PanSIG 2021 Journal iii

Thanks to our 2021 Journal reviewers
Adrianne Verla Uchida

Jennifer Igawa

Nihon University College of International Relations

Meiji Gakuin University

Akiko Tsuda

Jessica Zoni Upton

Nakamura Gakuen University

Nagoya University of Foreign Studies

Alan Mulvey

Jonathan Buck

Kyoto Tachibana University

Toyo University

Andrew Zitzman

Jonathan Shachter

Seinan Jo Gakuin University

Kyushu Sangyo University

Anna Walker

Ken Ikeda

University of Nottingham

Otsuma Women’s University

Anton Vegel

Kimberley Rothville

Nagoya University of Foreign Studies

University of Auckland

Branden Kirchmeyer

Kyle Maclauchlan

Sojo University

Randolph-Macon College

Chie Kawashima

Kyoko Kuze

Tochigi Technical High School

Toyo University

Colin Mitchell

Lala Takeda

Reitaku University

Showa Women’s University

Dominique Vola Ambinintsoa

Larry Xethakis

Kanda University of International Studies

Sojo University

Ellen Head

Li-hsin Tu

Miyazaki International College

University of Niigata Prefecture

Jared Michael Kubokawa

Luke Draper

Aichi University

Kwansei Gakuin University

The PanSIG 2021 Journal iv

Merissa B. Ocampo

Sian Edwards

Fukushima Gakuin University

Aichi University

Michael Greisamer

Stephen M. Ryan

Himeji Dokkyo University

Sanyo Gakuen University

Nami Takase

Takanori Omura

Seirei Christopher University

Soka University

Natasha Hashimoto

Wang Jun Amy Lin

Tokyo Woman’s Christian University

Nagoya University of Foreign Studies

Nial Walsh

Yukie Saito

Aichi Prefectural University

Chuo University

Nicholas Delgrego

Yuko Matsubara

Tsuru University

Kumamoto University

Philip Riccobono
Himeji Dokkyo University

Richard Sparrow
Kyoto Sangyo University

Rob Olson
Hokkaido University of Science

Robert Dykes
Sojo University

Robert Stroud
Hosei University

Sarah Miyoshi Deutchman
Waseda University

Shzh-chen Nancy Lee
Osaka University
The PanSIG 2021 Journal v

Table of Contents
Using a Film Adaptation of a Literary Work in Online Teaching: A Practice in Online Business English Courses at a
University ........................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Kyoko Kuze

Improving Classroom Speeches with a Scaffolded Three-Stage Model ......................................................................... 14
Robert Stroud, Stephen Harris

Collaborative Learning in Higher Education in Japan: Toward an Intercollegiate Program............................................ 23
Akiko Tsuda, Kayoko Kinshi, Christopher Valvona

Personal Factors and Motivation: A Learning Advisor’s Experience .............................................................................. 35
Dominique Vola Ambinintsoa

Application of Coaching and Mentoring Strategies to Improve Well Being of Colleagues and Students in Education .. 44
Colin Mitchell, Alessandro Grimaldi, Satoko Kato

Adapting Higher Education Language Courses to Achieve Learner Goals amidst the Coronavirus Pandemic ............. 52
Jonathan Buck, Ken Ohashi

Managing Assessment Data in Windows Excel & Google Sheets.................................................................................. 58
Anton Paul Vegel

Possibility of Integrating Telecollaboration in Regular English Classes.......................................................................... 68
Yukie Saito

Readiness for Online Learning: A Students’ Perspective Survey ................................................................................... 76
Dr. Michael Greisamer

Evaluation of Duolingo to Promote Language Acquisition: ............................................................................................. 87
A University Case Study .................................................................................................................................................. 87
Sian Edwards, James Drew

The Case for an Active Learning: A Conducive, Productive and Inclusive, Online and Face-to-Face Pedagogy ....... 101
Alan Mulvey

Tutor Voices: Adjusting to Online Writing Tutoring ....................................................................................................... 115
Nicholas Delgrego

Connecting Meaningful Feedback Systems in Blended Learning Environments ......................................................... 123
Branden Carl Kirchmeyer

The Evolution of a Four-Dimensional EFL Classroom .................................................................................................. 133
Adrianne Verla Uchida

Effects of Debate on Learner Motivation and L2 Future Self ........................................................................................ 145
Wan Jung Amy Lin

Gender Awareness in Language Education (GALE) SIG Forum: Local and Global Perspectives on Gender ............. 154
Anna Walker, Kristie Collins, Quenby Hoffman Aoki, Gerry Yokota

White Fragility and Racial Awareness in ELT in Japan ................................................................................................ 160
Ellen HeadJapanese extensive reading materials: the relationship between the vocabulary of current materials and learners’
vocabulary knowledge ................................................................................................................................................... 168
Kimberley Rothville

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 6

GILE SIG Forum: Voices of Global Educators .............................................................................................................. 177
Jackson Koon Yat Lee, Ken Ikeda, May Kyaw Oo, Jennie Roloff Rothman

Multilingualism and Intercultural Competence .............................................................................................................. 186
Jessica Zoni Upton

Things I Wish I Had Known about Culture When I Started Teaching ........................................................................... 199
Stephen M. Ryan

Understanding JTE Attitudes to Lifelong Learning ........................................................................................................ 203
Yuko Matsubara

Flash Fiction: Springboards for Real Communication ................................................................................................... 213
Jennifer Igawa

Mapping a familiar text-world: Japanese literature in the English language classroom ............................................... 222
Luke Draper

Moving Towards Higher Quality Materials Development in Japan ............................................................................... 229
Niall Walsh, Brian Cullen

Self-report and Heart Rate: Examining the Need for Integrating Measures of Japanese College Entrance Examination
Test Anxiety ................................................................................................................................................................... 240
Jonathan ShachterA study of Japanese University Students’ Self-Esteem and a Reflective Activity in the English Class ........................ 249
Takanori Omura

Revitalizing Student Motivation through Gratitude Intervention .................................................................................... 259
Merissa Braza Ocampo

Validating Survey Instruments for Measuring L3 Learning Attitudes ............................................................................ 267
Shzh-chen Nancy Lee

Chat-Style Writing in Teaching Conversation ............................................................................................................... 279
Lala Takeda

Tasks for Speech Acts in Textbooks ............................................................................................................................. 288
Chie Kawashima

From “Wild Geese” to Transnationals: Korean Students in Japanese University ......................................................... 297
Natasha Hashimoto

What are Stonks: Please ELI5 ...................................................................................................................................... 303
Robert Dykes

Polysemy and homonymy should be considered when teaching vocabulary ............................................................... 310
Sarah Miyoshi Deutchman

Translingual Onomatopoeia: Literary Innovation from the Language Classroom ......................................................... 317
Jared Michael Kubokawa

Teaching Presentations Remotely and Engagingly ...................................................................................................... 328
Richard Sparrow

All materials in this publication are copyright © (2022) by JALT and their respective authors.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 7

Using a Film Adaptation of a Literary Work in Online Teaching: A Practice in Online
Business English Courses at a University
Kyoko Kuze
Toyo University

The COVID-19 pandemic has engendered the need for teachers to change their instructional methods. In particular, with the advent andnecessity of online teaching, teachers are seeking new creative ways to impart knowledge and learning to their students. This study aims todiscuss the practice of using a film adaptation of a literary work in business English courses at a university in Japan. It first shows how thefilm, “The Remains of the Day”, adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel, was used in online teaching. Subsequently, students’ perceptions of
the film and the activities organized around it are analyzed based on the questionnaire data. The results show that the film adaptation has
the potential to deepen learners’ cultural understanding and motivate and engage them. Furthermore, it is suggested that the use of thismaterial in the synchronous classroom grants some advantages to students, compared with traditional methods in regular face-to-face classes.

COVID-19 によるパンデミックにより、教員には授業の方法を変える必要が生じた。特に、オンライン授業が必要となり、教員たちは学生に知識や学びを与えるための新しく創意に富む方法を模索している。本研究では、日本の大学のオンラインによるビジネス英語の授業で文学の映画を用いる実践について議論する。はじめに、カズオ・イシグロの小説 The Remains of the Day をもとにした映画がどのように使われたかを示し、その後で、教材や活動に対する学
生の反応をアンケート調査のデータから分析する。結果として、このような文学の映画には学習者の文化的な理解を深め、動機付けを促す可能性があることを示す。さらに、この教材を同期的なオンライン授業で用いることの利点を、従来の対面式授業との比較においても指摘する。

The spread of COVID-19 has made it incumbent on
many teachers in Japan and around the world to offer
online courses, although the idea of integrating
technology in education is not new, especially inlanguage teaching. As early as 2004, Heafner (2004)
pointed out that “combining learning a foreign languagewith the use of media and technology is a common
practice nowadays” (p. 108), but recently, the need for
media and technology has dramatically increased since
platforms for virtual meetings and learning management
systems (LMS) are rendered crucial by the pandemic.

in decline (Burton, 2016; Yoshifumi Saito, 2020),
despite the claim by many that literature plays animportant role in the EFL classroom (e.g., Carter & Long,
1991; Paran, 2006). Yoshifumi Saito (2020) explains,“literary texts, misunderstood as ‘inauthentic’ materials
for language teaching and wrongly associated with thegrammar-translation method, have been expelled fromEnglish classrooms”, adding that, “In the age of audiovisual technology, where film/drama adaptations ofmany literature works are available, there are a great
number of different ways to make use of audio-visualmaterials to help students understand texts they arereading” (p. 129).

Among the materials in the EFL classroom, film has
been widely recognized as an accessible medium forlearners, regardless of the methods of learning, online
or face-to-face. In addition, Paran & Robinson (2016)
argue that, in the literature and language classroom,“using them[films] in the classroom can help to promote
an understanding of literature and also help learners
bridge any perceived gap that they feel between the two”
(p. 118). Furthermore, using film adaptations ofliterature is a means for teachers to incorporate newliterary elements in their language classrooms. This isespecially true for teachers who believe in the benefitsof using literature in language teaching. In Japan, theuse of literature in the EFL classroom in universities isRegarding the use of literary work film adaptations inbusiness English courses, we need to begin withexamining the possibility of using these materials in thecontext of teaching English for specific purposes (ESP).
According to Hirvela (1990), “The terms literature and
ESP are mutually exclusive” (p. 237) and in Japan
literature is currently used only in EFL classrooms forstudents majoring in literature or linguistics. However, if
we support the claim that literature plays an importantrole in language learning as an authentic tool or material,
we should also consider using literature or literarymaterials in a broad sense, in other contexts like ESP.
According to Widdowson (1983), “The purposes of ESP
are arranged along a scale of specificity with training at
The PanSIG 2021 Journal 8

one end and education at the other.” (p. 10). Based on
Widdowson’s idea, Hirvela (1990) concluded,“Literature, if carefully selected and judiciously appliedin accordance with the overall aims of ESP, can assist
in the pursuit of the broader-based objectives in wideangle ESP courses” (p. 243). Hutchinson and Waters(1987) stated, “ESP is not a particular kind of language
or methodology, nor does it consist of a special type ofteaching material” (p. 19).
In business English courses in Japan, instructions
usually focus on the learners’ acquisition of the relevant
language skills that would be required in theirworkplaces, and thus the learners usually practice somespecific types of communication in the textbooks, suchas speaking with colleagues or writing email messages(Kuze, 2020). Although these practices are crucial
especially to learners at basic levels, Sato (2019)emphasizes the importance of authentic materials,
including English literature works and movies, in thecontext of higher education.
Given the above scholarly reflections, this study
addresses the following research questions:
RQ 1. How can we use a film adaptation of a literarywork while making good use of its literary features inonline business English courses?
RQ 2. What are the students’ perceptions of the material
and the activities included in the online courses?

Methods
The course designs and related practices are illustrated
to answer RQ 1. For RQ 2, students’ perceptions of thematerials and activities used in their courses areanalyzed based on a questionnaire survey. In thissection, the context of the courses and thequestionnaire survey on student perceptions are
explained.

The Context
This study involved two similarly designed courses
offered in the fall semester of 2020, to 75 second-year
undergraduate students in the Faculty of Business
Administration at a private university in Japan. Seventy
students participated in the study, and the range of theirEnglish proficiency scores was 350-800 points on the
TOEIC Listening and Reading test, which is theequivalent of A2 and B2 levels in the Common
European Framework of References for Languages(CEFR). Students were required to take two “Business
English” courses in each semester.
The class was conducted in the synchronous method
using Zoom meetings so that each student could
interact with their classmates and the teacher in realtime and experience different types of communication
through pair/group work. It was planned to simulate
face-to-face learning as closely as possible. LMS wasused to collect and evaluate homework. According toYukie Saito (2020), which investigated whether
university students perceived using the LMS in the
English course was useful, “the LMS helped
them[students] prepare for and review a class, work on
assignments, achieve a goal, and look for anenvironment to prepare for the group project efficiently”(p. 98).

The Questionnaire Survey
To investigate students’ perceptions of the study
material and activities to be performed in the online
courses, a questionnaire survey was conducted on the
LMS during the final lesson in each course. All thestudents were invited to participate in the survey, but
eventually only 70 of the 75 students responded.
Questions in the survey included, “What do you think
about having this film in business English courses?”(Q1), “What are advantages of using this film as
material in business English courses?” (Q2), “What are
disadvantages of using this film as material in business
English courses?” (Q3), “Do you think this material will
prove helpful in developing your language skills?” (Q4),“What are most difficult parts in this course?” (Q5),“What are the advantages and disadvantages of theonline course in which this film was used as material?”(Q 6), and “Do you have any other comments?” (Q7).
For Q1 and Q4, students were asked to choose one
answer from five options, and for Q2, Q3, and Q5, they
were given more than several options and asked tochoose as many answers as they like. As Q6 and Q7
were open-ended questions and students were asked
to write their comments. The questions and answer
options were all written in Japanese so that the
respondents could read in their first langauge. These
questions and also their open-ended responses weretranslated into English by the author of this paper.
To analyze the results of Q6 and Q7, an inductive
thematic coding process was used to identify themes orpatterns, which were repeated ideas or concepts thatemerged from student comments. In this study, only Q1,
Q2, Q3, Q6, and Q7 will be focused on to discuss thebenefits of using the film adaptation of a literary work in
online teaching.

Results
Course Designs and Practices
In these two courses, the film titled “The Remains of theDay”, adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel, was used.
Besides the benefits of using literary materials generally
applied to language learning, students were expected
to learn some business issues from the main character,
Mr. Stevens, a dedicated businessperson. Furthermore,
Ishiguro is a Japanese-British writer who won the Nobel
Prize in Literature in 2017 and his name appeared to be
familiar to most students.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 9

Before the course started, ten-minute movie clips of thefilm were recorded in mp4 files and uploaded on the
LMS so that the students could access them anytime
during the semester. In addition, worksheets that
corresponded to each unit of the movie clips were
written and uploaded on the LMS. As the courses werepart of the business English courses in the curriculum,
it was planned that each unit covers a movie scene thathas a specific topic related to business such as “Jobinterview,” “Reporting a problem,” and “Conference
dinner.” The worksheets consisted of three parts: previewing activity, movie watching, and post-viewing
activities.
All lessons were conducted in a synchronous mannerusing Zoom meetings. With the worksheets at hand,
before they watched the movie clip, the students had
pair/group discussions on the topic related to the movie
scene. Thereafter, they watched the movie clip
themselves several times and then completed thelistening and dictation activities using a transcript of thepart in focus from the movie scene. After checking theanswers and performing role-plays, they answeredquestions on comprehension. They exchanged
opinions with their partners or group members.
Additionally, the students were encouraged to discussspecific topics that appeared in the movie clips.
To make use of the literary features of this film, two
activities were included in the post-viewing section. First,
interpretive-level questions were asked in thecomprehension section of each unit in addition to literalquestions that simply check the learners’ understandingof the text. According to Kim (2004), when a student
raised the question of this type, “Students actively
expressed their ideas, relying on their prior knowledge,
experiences, and textual evidence” (p. 155). In fact,
responding to these interpretive questions which could
have several, varied answers, students naturally began
discussions through which they also developed theirspeaking skills. Simultaneously, they learned about thevarious possibilities of interpretation and the toleranceof ambiguity. Examples of these interpretive questionsare:

Lord Darlington asked Mr. Stevens a question
about dinner tonight. What does this scene imply?



Mr. Stevens and Miss Kenton had an argument
because Miss Kenton insisted that she call Stevens’
father by his first name. Which person sounds
more reasonable? Why do you think so?



Why do you think Mr. Stevens did not look at the
Chinaman while saying, “I’m busy”?

Mr. Stevens met Mrs. Benn for the first time in 20
years. Why did Mr. Stevens look so sad anddisappointed after the conversation?

What does the title “The Remains of the Day”
mean?

The other activity that was a writing task, included tomake good use of the literary features of the film.
Students were asked to compose a formal letter basedon the plot of the film posing as Mr. Stevens; the letter
was to be written to his present employer, Mr. Lewis, on
the evening that he met Mrs. Benn (Miss Kenton). The
students had learned how to write formal or business
letters before. This type of rewriting task is often
proposed in the field of pedagogical stylistics and istermed as “transformative text analysis” by Carter(2010). It focuses “on ‘textual transformations’ using
comparative text analysis by means of processes ofrewriting from different angles and positions” (p. 118).
Paran and Robinson (2016) also stated, “Exploringalternative versions of texts is a fruitful way for learners
to understand how texts achieve their effects” (p. 40).

Results of the Questionnaire
In this section, the results of the questionnaire arepresented. Figure 1 shows student responses to
Question 1 “What do you think about having this film inbusiness English courses?” More than half the students
responded that having the film was “very good,” and37% responded with “good.” Therefore, it is indicatedthat most students felt positively about having the film
adaptation of a literary text in their online business
English courses.
In reply to Question 2 “What are advantages of using
this film as material in business English courses?”, 43
students responded to say that the film was helpful asmaterial in the English class, to promote their cultural
understanding. Forty-one responded to say that this film
was good for learning everyday conversations and 39
responded that learning English using the film forlearning English was interesting and enjoyable. In reply
to Question 3 “What are the disadvantages of this film
as material for business English courses?”, 35 students
responded that it was difficult to interpret any meaning
beyond the literal sense of the sentences; however, noother responses exceeded more than half the numberof participants.
Figure 1
Student Responses to Question 1 (n=70)

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 10

Table 1 shows the students’ responses to Question 6,“What are the advantages and disadvantages of theonline course where this film was used as material?”
Twenty-four students replied, “The online movie clips
were useful and helpful,” citing the following reasons, “I
could watch the film as many times as I liked,” and “I
could review the lesson by watching the film at home.”
Many students pointed out the importance of thesynchronous lessons, affirming that the real-time class
was motivating because they could easily ask theteacher questions and talk to their classmates. Others
confessed they were more engaged in thesynchronous lessons than in the asynchronous ones.
Several students responded that pair/group activities,
which can be conducted only in synchronous lessons,worked well. Conversely, other students gave opposite
impressions of pair/group work by writing, “It was hardto talk with someone I have never seen” and “Itdepended on the partners or members.”
Question 7 collected general comments from thestudents on these courses. The survey does not display
the comments that were shared by a large number ofstudents share, but several students wrote that the film
itself was interesting (six responses) and that learning
English with the film was enjoyable and motivating(three responses). Six students pointed out that engagig
in listening tasks for this film was difficult. As indicatedby Kuze (2020), students find it difficult to listen andwatch authentic materials such as films, while someparticipants in this study appreciated the authenticity ofthe material by stating that it was good to listen to real
English and that it was helpful to improve their listening
skills.

Table 1Student responses to Question 6 (n=70)
Student Comments on online courses
Positive views

NumberMovie clips online were useful and helpful.

24

I could watch the film as many times as I liked.
I could review the lesson watching the film at home.
Real time lessons were motivating.

7

I could easily ask questions to the teacher.

Negative viewsPair/group activity worked well.

5Real time setting was easy to join.

5Materials were easily accessed.

2More engaging than face-to-face lessons.

2Pair/group activities did not work well.

8

It was hard to talk with someone I have never seen.
It depended on the partners or members.


Watching only movie clips was not good enough.
I wanted to watch the whole film.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 114Discussion and Conclusion
This study discusses a teaching practice whereby a film
adaptation of The Remains of the Day was used as themain material in online business English courses. The
combination of Zoom meetings and LMS made it
possible to offer students sufficient learning
opportunities from online instruction, as they would getfrom offline learning. To make use of literary features inlanguage teaching, some activities such as answeringinterpretative questions and writing from a character’s
perspective were incorporated into the regular EFL
exercises.
According to the questionnaire results, most students
responded positively to the materials and activities they
had in this online class. They found that the film
adaptation in the online classroom was helpful inunderstanding the culture of the target language and inlearning everyday conversations. More than half ofthem wrote that they could learn English with pleasure
in courses where a film was used as material.
More specifically, a major benefit of using a film in the
online classroom was that students could easily accessthe movie clips and watch them repeatedly at their own
pace. In a face-to-face classroom, students usually
watch a movie clip all at once and do not have thechance to watch it as many times as they would like,although it may allow them to watch the whole movie or
longer scenes in a real classroom.
The synchronous way of teaching made it possible togive them plentiful opportunities to interact with theteacher and other classmates through real-time
activities. They generally valued pair/group activities
and wrote that the process of watching the film andperforming activities with classmates kept themmotivated and engaged. For the students who had
negative impressions of pair/group work, a specialclassroom activity to create rapport among classmates
may be of use at the beginning of the semester.
A reason that most students were motivated, and thus
actively participated in the subsequent activities likediscussions and role-plays, may be that the film itself
was interesting and meaningful to university students. It
is implied that the film adaptation of a literary work canbe used with relevance even in business English
courses, if it is carefully chosen; although further studies
are needed to investigate the relationship between
teaching ESP and using literary materials.
In conclusion, a film adaptation of a literary work has thepotential to deepen learners’ cultural understanding,and to motivate and engage students in business
English classrooms. Moreover, learning English with afilm in the synchronous classroom has someadvantages for students compared to practices in a
regular face-to-face class.

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The PanSIG 2021 Journal 12

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Saito, Yukie (2020). Can the LMS promote selfregulated learning and cooperative learning?
Students’ perception about the LMS in an
English Course at a University. The Pan-SIG
Journal 2020. 92-99.
Sato, Y. (2019). Exploring the possibility of using
authentic English materials in requisite English
classes in the Faculty of Business
Administration. Journal of Business
Administration 93: 139-150.
Widdowson, H. G. (1983). Learning purpose andlanguage use. Oxford, England: Oxford
University Press

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 13

Improving Classroom Speeches with a Scaffolded Three-Stage Model
Robert Stroud
Hosei University

Stephen Harris
Hosei University

Oral tasks are an essential part of developing English speaking skills. However, issues with student confidence, anxiety and task difficulty
can lead to a hesitancy to 'speak up' and participate. Studies show that students who can plan their speech during pre-task, in-task and posttask stages are better prepared and supported to interact with others, and demonstrate better fluency. Moreover, students will participate
more and become more fluent if they are allowed to repeat the same task. These findings were combined to create a scaffolded task designmodel to help students exchange short speeches with three different partners. 134 university students used the model and completed asurvey about its ability to improve their English use. Students generally reported the model to be easy to use, enjoyable, motivating andconfidence-building, as well as useful for improving spoken fluency and accuracy. Ways to improve and implement the model into courses
are discussed.

134

Teachers of English as a second language are oftenfamiliar with the use of tasks which get students to
speak to each other (such as discussions) as an
approach to learning English. Having students try to
improve their spoken English through practicing oraltasks seems not only like an obvious choice, but has
also been discussed as an effective method within
research.
Meaningful
andfunctional
Englishinteractions between students create chances toimprove weak areas of language use and are expected
to result in faster improvements than methods which do
not involve reactions to other speakers (see Gass &Mackey, 2007; Long 1996, Vygotsky, 1986).
Despite the potential of orally interactive tasks to help
students improve their English, varying task design
problems can prevent students (especially those of alow-level of English-speaking skills) from being able orwilling to interact. An example setup which may befamiliar to teachers is pair/group oral discussions of
topics such as deciding a trip to take together. This

example will be used below to help clarify eachchallenge for students.
A first challenge is to understand the expected actions
and performance for the task. Students may not knowwhat is considered 'good' performance by their teacher
or how that performance may or may not be connectedto their course grades. One student may choose to talkabout the location for a trip together, with a large focus
on accurate and complex language use, while anothermay simply create a list of as many places as possible
with no focus on grammar whatsoever. Without
guidance on actions within the task design students
cannot know how to perform their best.
Secondly, oral discussion tasks often follow a ‘strong’Task-Based Language Teaching style approach (Willis,
1996), where students focus on communicating‘meaning’ before having time to prepare language‘forms’ they may need to do so. This can leave lowerlevel students with a large cognitive workload. Without
time to prepare for oral interactions, such as a
The PanSIG 2021 Journal 14

discussion about their trip, student focus is on bothcoming up with ideas for the trip, as well as preparing
the language they need to fluently articulate it (De Bot,
1992; Levelt, 1989). This high cognitive load can createa higher level of difficulty for students which can resultin worse performance (see Skehan, 1998, p.99). Thissuggests that there may be a need for a ‘weak’
approach to TBLT for lower-level students, in which
additional tasks can help them be more prepared tocommunicate (Estair & Zanon, 1994). Planning tasks
are one type that can do this and are discussed more in
the next section.
Thirdly, when expressing detailed or interconnectedideas across speaking time (such as in a speech about
an idea for the trip), using their working memory(Baddeley, 2003) to structure and support ideas fluently,
without reading notes, can be challenging for students.
In addition, without practicing the task beforehand,
students can find it difficult to react to questions or theopinions of others. It is common practice for evenexperienced presenters to prepare, organize and refer
to notes/presentation slides to structure, connect andremember what to say in their first language. With theadded workload of verbalizing ideas in a second
language, this preparation and checking of notes should
also be considered to help students interact more easily
with each other in English.
To sum up, students can often struggle to interact within
oral tasks because of issues with understanding
expected actions and performance, coming up withideas, preparing English to communicate those ideas,delivering well-structured and fluent discourse, andbeing prepared to react to others. One area of researchwith the potential to help students become more
prepared to handle these challenges is task planningwhich will now be discussed.

Oral Task Planning Research
Pre-Task Planning
The first type of planning which can support oral task
performance is pre-task planning. Students are given
time to prepare and some form of guidance on what to
do within the task. In the case of the trip discussion
example, students could be asked to make a written
plan (known as 'strategic' planning) of their preferred trip
with at least three clear reasons. This type of guided
pre-task planning clarifies the expected actions andperformance within the task and helps students to focus
on doing their best. In addition, students have time touse their working memory to prepare ideas, the English
needed to explain those ideas and structure theirspeech before they have to interact with other students.
Pre-task planning has indeed been shown to result in
more fluent speech in terms of speech rates andpausing within narrative tasks (Baleghizadeh & Shahri,
2017; Bui & Huang, 2018), as well as more participationand fluency within oral group discussions (Stroud, 2019).

However, the addition of pre-task planning before
interactive tasks may not help students react more to
the speeches of others. It may in fact lead to 'speechlike' exchanges between students with no improvement
in follow-up questions or other such reactions
afterwards (as found by Stroud, 2019).

In-Task (Online) Planning
Another planning type to consider is in-task (orsometimes ‘online’) planning. Rather than using a time
limit for the task, students can stop and check their
prepared notes and/or language use at any point(referred to as 'careful' planning). As would be expected,
studies have shown that this extra time allowance tocheck before speaking results in improved languageuse. Yuan and Ellis (2003) saw improvements inaccuracy and complexity among Chinese students
when using in-task planning to narrate stories withpictures and Ahmadian (2012) saw similar results for
Iranian students retelling 10-minute videos. However,an obvious problem with in-task planning is thatstudents may stop to check things many times during
tasks, making the task time longer and the fluency ofinteractions lower. Thus, the addition of in-task planningcan serve as a good form of initial support for task
interactions, but is likely to result in this short-term'trade-off' (Skehan, 1998, p.97) of fluency for accuracy
and complexity of English use.

Post-Task Planning
After the task has been completed, students can use
post-task planning to improve future attempts at thesame task. In short, students reflect on theirperformance and make plans on how to perform betterthe next time around. Research into the impact of thistype of planning are scarce, but may be similar in effectto pre-task planning (as both are done to prepare for the
next task). Ellis (2002) suggests that post-task planningwill help students focus on problems with the ways thetask was completed and difficulties using the target
language. For the example trip discussion, students
could think about how to explain their ideas more clearly,
how to react better to potential opinions from others andwhat English to use to perform better.

Task Repetition
A final type of planning to consider is task repetition. By
allowing students to repeat the same task, they havechances to reflect on, plan and improve performancewith each new attempt. For the example trip discussion,
students would be likely to interact more fluently about
their trip ideas and feel more prepared to respond to theideas of others after a few practices. The effects of task
repetition can be likened to that of task rehearsal(another form of pre-task planning) which have beenshown to improve participation and fluency fordiscussions (Stroud, 2019). Fluency (especially speechrates) was shown to continue to improve with each
The PanSIG 2021 Journal 15

repetition up until the fifth repetition of narrative tasks byJapanese university students (Lambert et al., 2017).
The largest improvements occurred within the first three
repetitions which may be an ideal number of times toimprove interactions. However, task repetition research
has mixed findings about effects on accuracy orcomplexity of language use. In addition, using many
repetitions of the same task can become time
consuming and perhaps even boring for students.

Combining Planning Types
One possible approach to getting the benefits andreducing the problems discussed above for oral taskplanning is to combine different types. A study by
Ahmadian and Tavakoli (2011) found that adding bothin-task planning and task repetition improved fluency,
accuracy and complexity of storytelling by students.
Taking the time they needed to tell their stories (in-task
planning) and repeating those stories to others (taskrepetition) resulted in better performance. In addition,
Arian and Mamaghani (2019) found that combining pretask planning with in-task planning improved both
fluency and accuracy for picture narrative tasks (tellinga story to a partner using pictures as prompts). In short,when student could plan their narratives, and thencheck those plans during the task, their language use
was better. It is clear that such combinations of taskplanning have the potential to support performance, but
research on planning combinations for orally interactive
tasks, with more than two planning types, is lacking.
This has led to the focus of the model created in thispaper which will now be explained.

The Scaffolded Three-Stage Model
Model Purpose
Using the research discussed above for pre-task, intask, post-task and task repetition planning, a model
was created to combine all four types to improve
interactions and oral task performance across English
communication courses. The model was designed tointegrate and gradually remove planning acrosssuccessive repetitions of tasks with a sense ofscaffolded task difficulty. By doing so, students were
expected to become more interactive without the needfor note checking. In addition, the model could show
how much such combinations may be able to help
students improve fluency, accuracy and complexity of
spoken English in parallel. Figure 1 shows the model
design and procedure.

Model Design and Procedure
Guided pre-task planning.
Prior to the task, 15 minutes of class time is used toallow students to consider their preferences/opinions
about the topic and what their reasons are. It is
recommended that three choices are given to students(such as three possible trip locations to choose from) tohelp reduce the complexity of the task and allow them
to focus more on their English, rather than creating theirown ideas from scratch. This planning time can belonger, depending on the time available and the level ofthe students. While considering their thoughts, students
write keywords to help organize their ideas. They thenuse the keywords to write a structured speech (about
one-minute in length for low-level learners is
recommended).

Task repetition.
Students repeat the exchanging of their speeches (andpossible follow-up questions) with three different
partners during Stages 1-3 (see Figure 1). By repeating
the same task three times they are expected to become
more fluent in the delivery of their speeches (as foundby Lambert et al., 2017) and be better prepared to ask
and answer questions about the speeches with eachsuccessive repetition.
The PanSIG 2021 Journal 16

Scaffolded in-task planning.
During their untimed speeches, students are allowed tocheck their pre-task speech notes. The use of this intask planning is expected to help students become
more capable of improving their fluency, accuracy andcomplexity of language use during each successive
performance when combined with the pre-task planning(see Arian & Mamaghani, 2019) and task repetition (seeAhmadian & Tavakoli, 2011). Scaffolding of the in-task
planning is used to help students become lessdependent on their notes and more fluent within eachsuccessive repetition of the task. During Stage 1,
students can simply read their notes if they wish to.
However, they can only refer back to them a maximumof three times during Stage 2 and they cannot checkthem at all in Stage 3. The three stages will often takeabout 15-25 minutes to complete if speeches remain
untimed.

Post-task planning.
After the completion of Stages 1 and 2, students havetime (about three minutes is recommended fromexperience) to review their speech notes, make anychanges they wish to and prepare for the next stage.
This allows students time to reflect and improve on
difficulties they had with explaining their ideas, asking
and answering any potential questions and using theEnglish needed to do it all. After Stage 3, students
discuss their overall performance and future goals for
improving at similar tasks with their partner and/or
teacher.
The following three research questions were created to
examine the self-reported effects of the model:
RQ1) How do students report feeling about using thescaffolded three-stage model for interacting withclassmates?
RQ2) How useful do the students report the model to be
for improving their spoken English within interactions?
RQ3) In what ways do the students report wanting themodel to be altered?

MethodParticipants and Context
134 non-English major Japanese first-year university
students studying at a private university in Tokyo took
part in the study by using the model and completing selfreported surveys about it. The students were mixed
gender (52 females and 82 males) with a mean TOEIC
listening and reading score of 424 (SD = 151) out of a
maximum possible score of 990. This categorized thestudents as having an ‘Elementary Proficiency Plus’level of receptive English, and were considered to be
low-level learners.

The students were all in one of six different classes
studying weekly 100-minute English communication
classes in a 14-week course taught by one of the two
researchers. The purpose of the course was to improve
English speech giving and oral interaction skills witheveryday conversation topics. Students were expected
to deliver weekly speeches to partners and ask eachother questions, as well as perform short speeches fora final course test. The majority of the students clearly
had a limited ability to interact orally in English, with twoor three simple exchanges of sentences being the best
observed by either teacher.

Procedure and Data Collection
As all classes at the university were being taught online
as a safety measure during the coronavirus pandemic,
students took part in the study using Zoom. The
students were given the following speech topic at thestart of the third-week of their course in the main Zoom
room:
Which of these hobbies do you most and least want totry? Sky diving, rock climbing, or cooking?
After they were given the question, student worked bythemselves for 20 minutes to undertake the guided pretask planning (see above) to prepare keywords about
their choices and reasons and then write a one-minutespeech using those words. They then used the threestage model (see Figure 1) to interact with threedifferent random partners within Zoom breakout rooms
controlled by the teacher. The teachers did notintervene with the interactions during the three stages,
but remained available to help students if they werecalled to the breakout rooms (which was rarely thecase). Once students had finished each stage, they
returned to the main zoom room to review notes before
their next speech.
After the third stage was completed, the students were
given a link to a Japanese version of the survey (see theappendix for an English version) and completed it
privately and anonymously. The survey asked thestudents about their impressions of using the model,
how they felt it may/may not have helped them improvetheir oral interactions and how they felt the model could
be altered. The survey used a six-point Likert scale forstudents to rate their responses from 1 (very untrue) to
6 (very true). Students also completed an open-ended
question about how they felt the model could be
improved. This was used to help gather data to improve
future versions of the model.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 17

Results and Discussion
RQ1: Reported Feelings About The Model
Table 1 shows a summary of the student reported
feelings towards using the model for interactions. On
the whole, the feedback from the students about using
the model was very positive. From a maximum score of
6 (meaning 'very true'), most students reported themodel to be easy to understand (M = 4.99, SD = 0.87),

fun to use (M = 5.16, SD = 0.92), motivational for
speaking (M = 4.99, SD = 0.91) and good for improving
confidence to speak (M = 4.50, SD = 1.07). Although theexact reasons for this positive feedback were notpresent in the data, the use of the model can be said tobe a welcomed form of additional guidance and support
for oral interactions by the students. Thus, teachers who
struggle to get students to speak during orallyinteractive tasks should consider using such a model.

Table 1Student-Reported Feelings Towards the Model (N=134)
The Model…

was easy to understandwas fun to use

motivated me to speak

made me more confident to speak

MEAN

4.99

5.16

4.99

4.50

SD

0.87

0.92

0.91

1.07

Notes. 1 = very untrue; 2 = untrue; 3 = somewhat untrue; 4 = somewhat true; 5 = true; 6 =very true

RQ2: Reported Improvements with the Model
Table 2 shows a summary of the student reports about
the effectiveness of the model to help improve theirspoken English. It can be seen that students reported amoderately positive effect of the model on their overall
speaking skills (M = 4.36, SD = 0.83), fluency of speech(M = 4.32, SD = 0.94) and ability to reduce spoken
mistakes (M = 4.31, SD = 1.03). Even though thesefindings appear to be very promising for the use of themodel, it is possible that the students did not fully
remember how the model may have affected theirperformance across time or understand in what exact
ways it may have helped them improve (which pre andpost-test comparisons would show more clearly). In
addition, it cannot be determined with the data available
which planning type had the greatest influence on thesereported improvements. However, the students didreport that the combined planning used did help them
improve their accuracy and fluency of English use.
Despite this, students reported less improvements for
improving their complexity of language with lower meanscores for it helping with using new/harder words (M =3.59, SD = 1.08) and new/harder grammar (M = 3.54,
SD = 1.13). With only a few minutes of post-task
planning used by students between each speech toadjust/improve English, and with no direct teacher
feedback or support, this lower scoring of complexity
improvements is perhaps not surprising. If oral
improvements in grammar and vocabulary use are amain goal of an English communication course, thensupplementary coursework may be needed to assist
with this alongside the model, or the model itself could
be adapted to include such practices (having students
use specific language within their pre-task notes forexample).

Table 2Student-Reported Effects of the Model (N=134)

The Model helped
me…

improve my overall
speaking skills

speak more
fluently

make less spoken
mistakes

say new/harder words

say new/harder
grammar

MEAN

4.36

4.32

4.31

3.59

3.54

SD

0.83

0.94

1.03

1.08

1.13

Notes. 1 = very untrue; 2 = untrue; 3 = somewhat untrue; 4 = somewhat true; 5 = true; 6 =very true

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 18

RQ3: Student Suggestions For Model Changes
Table 3 shows a summary of the translated student
responses to the open-ended question about how themodel could be altered. Not all of the students gave
responses, but those who did often explained theiropinions clearly. After reviewing the responses several
times, categories and sub-categories were formed andthe responses grouped within them. The categories
within Table 3 are ranked by how many students
mentioned them (with most mentioned at the top).

much time to give for reflection after speeches isimportant. The model used approximately 30-40
minutes of time for the completion of three stages ofspeeches, but this can of course be longer if required
and if more classroom time is available to do so. In
addition, some students reported wanting to practicespeeches with groups, so perhaps an additional stageof group speeches would be useful to provide them withmore practice and feedback from each other.

The most reported factor was wanting to have moretime and examples for speech notes preparation during
the pre-task planning stage. As discussed in the
introduction, a lack of information about ‘good’performance can cause confusion and hesitation
amongst students. 15 minutes was the time allowed in
the study and perhaps giving students more time may
help them feel more prepared to speak, depending on
how much class time the teacher is willing to use (orassign it as a homework for example). Giving students
example speeches is also recommended before using
the model (as was later done for the students after thisdata was collected) to help further clarify expected
performance.
Partner interaction was another common factor which
students wanted more of with the model. The students
were only preparing to deliver speeches with no specificguidance for follow-up to those speeches (such asasking each other questions). It is highly recommended
that after students use the model a few times that they
then are asked to interact more after the speeches tofurther develop language use and interactional skills.
This is addressed more in the future research section
below.
More support for language use improvements was also
reported by many students. As seen in Table 2, themodel was reported to be more useful for improving
fluency and accuracy than complexity of language use.
As discussed earlier, if this model is used within oral
communication classes, it may be important toincorporate guidance on the use of specificvocabulary/grammar into the learning or the model itself.
The medium of interaction (Zoom) was reported as achallenge by students, especially as it was sometimes
hard for students to see or hear their partners. Even
though it was easy to use the model online (via pairbreakout rooms within Zoom), it did sometimes create
issues. As students' rights to privacy and issues withtechnology are beyond the scope of this study, they will
not be discussed further, but are worth carefulconsideration by teachers.
Three other time-related factors reported by thestudents were task repetitions, task time and post-task
review time. Again, consideration of how many stagesof speeches, how long to allow for each stage and how
The PanSIG 2021 Journal 19

Table 3
Summary of Student Suggestions for Model Alteration
Category

Sub-category

Example student responses

Speech notes preparation(16)

More time to prepare (11), see
example speeches (5)"I want a little more time to prepare", "I want a longer preparation
time to make my speech", "An example speech will give you more
confidence"

Partner interaction (11)Time for questions (4), suggestions
how to improve (4), opinions about
speech (2), evaluation of speech (1)"More time for questions about the speech", "Exchange opinions
about the other person's speech", "Discuss what improvements
you can make"

Support for language
improvements (10)Help with vocabulary (5), grammar (4),phrases (1)"Learning new words", "Try to use new words each time", "Addrules such as including this grammar"

Median of interaction (9)Have face-to-face interactions (5),partners' camera/mic on (4)"I want to do it face-to-face because I can see their facial
expressions better", "There was a problem with the mic and it
was difficult to hear the speech"

Task repetitions (8)More speech repetitions (8)"Do speeches many times", "Increase the number of speeches","Repeat it with more partners"

Task time (6)Longer total task time (4), longer
speeches (2)"More time to speak in English", "More time to tell others myspeech"Task group size (6)Chances for group practices (6)"We also want to try group discussions with 3 or 4 people", "Itwould be better to practice with three people to get moreopinions"

Post-task review task (4)More time to review speeches
between repetitions (4)"The break time was a little short", "I want a little more time torework the content of the speech"

Notes. Numbers in brackets represent the number of students who mentioned the category/sub-category

Conclusions and Future ResearchThis paper investigated the self-reported effects on
English oral interaction and language improvementswith the use of a model combining decades of taskplanning research and findings from around the world.
The findings were generally very positive with most
students reporting the model to be easy and fun to use,
motivating and confidence-building. Students also
reported the model as helpful for improving general
speaking skills, fluency and accuracy of English use.
However, the ability of the model to help use new ormore difficult English was not so highly reported andstudents expressed preferences for more support tolearn such new language while using the model. In
addition, students reported wanting more time toprepare and review speeches, more chances and timeto practice speeches and more opportunities to interact
with partners and groups about the content of theirspeeches.
As a result of these findings, the authors are developing
a semester-long research project for integrating themodel into English communication courses in the formof textbooks. This extended use of the model will bescaffolded across time to add additional support for
preparing, reviewing, repeating and improving language
use within speeches and post-speech interactions.
Observational data will be gathered to further examine
the improvements made by students with the longerterm scaffolding of the model and how it may help
improve interactions and language use by students overtime.

References
Ahmadian, M. J. (2012). The effects of guided careful
online planning on complexity, accuracy andfluency in intermediate EFL learners’ oral
production: The case of English
articles. Language Teaching Research, 16(1),129-149.
Ahmadian, M. J., & Tavakoli, M. (2011). The effects ofsimultaneous use of careful online planning andtask repetition on accuracy, complexity, and

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 20

fluency in EFL learners’ oralprocessing. Studies in Second Language

production. Language Teaching

Acquisition, 39(1), 167-196.

Research, 15(1), 35-59.
Levelt, W. (1989). Speaking: From Intention to
Arian, T., & Mamaghani, H. J. (2019). Semi-Online

Articulation. MIT Press.

Planning: The Route to Fluency, Complexity,
and Accuracy of EFL Learners’ Oral

Long, M. (1996). The role of the linguistic environment

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in second language acquisition. In W. Ritchie

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and T. Bhatia (eds.), Handbook of second
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Baddeley, A. (2003). Working memory: looking backPress.

and looking forward. Nature Reviews
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Skehan, P. (1998). A cognitive approach to language
learning. Oxford University Press.

Baleghizadeh, S., & Shahri, M. N. N. (2017). The effectof online planning, strategic planning andStroud, R. (2019). The effects of strategic planning andrehearsal across two proficiency levels. The

rehearsal on second language group discussion

Language Learning Journal, 45(2), 171-184.

task performance. The Language Learning
Journal, 1-14.

Bui, G., & Huang, Z. (2018). L2 fluency as influenced
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Vygotsky, L. S. (1986). Thought and language. MIT
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Yuan, F., & Ellis, R. (2003). The effects of pre‐taskplanning and on‐line planning on fluency,

De Bot, K. (1992). A bilingual production model:
Levelt's 'Speaking' model adapted, Appliedcomplexity and accuracy in L2 monologic oral
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Linguistics, 13, 1-24.
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Lambert, C., Kormos, J., & Minn, D. (2017). Task
repetition and second language speech

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 21

Appendix
Survey Questions (English version)
What did you think about the model?
(please score parts 1 and 2 from 1-6)
(1 = very untrue; 2 = untrue; 3 = somewhat untrue; 4 = somewhat true; 5 = true; 6 =very true)
Part 1. The model…
• was easy to understand• was fun to use• motivated me to speak• made me feel more confident to speakPart 2. The model helped me…
• improve my overall speaking skills• speak more fluently• make less spoken mistakes• say new/harder words• say new/harder grammar
Part 3. The model would be better if…
(Please write as much detail as you can)The PanSIG 2021 Journal 22

Collaborative Learning in Higher Education in Japan: Toward an Intercollegiate
Program
Akiko Tsuda
Nakamura Gakuen University

Kayoko Kinshi
University of Hyogo

Christopher Valvona
Okinawa Christian University

This paper reports on a collaborative learning project in which 42 students at three universities across Japan exchanged emails in English
introducing themselves and different elements of their hometown. The goal of the project was to encourage students to learn more about
their own culture, increase students’ written communicative ability through regular interactions in English, and develop students’ coreunderstanding of email functionality and etiquette. Starting with a brief overview of collaborative learning, the paper provides details of theresearch project and presents the results of a pre- and post-project survey completed by students, as well as reflections by the threeresearchers. The survey results and researchers’ reflections indicate that students enjoyed the email exchange experience and theirconfidence to communicate in English increased, as did their understanding of email methods and etiquette. With certain alterations, theresearchers aim to carry out the project again on a larger scale.

E

3
E

3

E

E

Introduction and background
Collaborative learning is a pedagogical approach toactive learning that aims to promote relational
development among learners through successful
learning experiences (Cohen, 1994). This paper reports
on a collaborative learning project among students atthree separate universities in different areas of Japan.
In the project, a multiple email exchange task among
learners served as an instructional tool to encouragelearners’ interactions with one another, expose them todiverse regional cultures, improve their knowledge andunderstanding of their own background and culture, andteach them basic methods and standards of etiquettefor communication via email. The task was designed tofostermore
communicative,
confident,
andtechnologically competent students. This paper
provides details of the project (including its aims),

responses from participating students in both a pre- andpost-project survey, reflections from the researchers,
and thoughts for future directions.
According to Jenkins (2012), English as a Lingua
Franca (ELF) applies not only to L1 English speakers,
but to speakers whose L1 is not English. In this sense,
Japanese students learning English as L2 are described
as ELF users. This research aims to designintercollegiate collaborative learning among such ELF
users. The project is significant because learners havethe opportunity to revisit, reflect on, and disseminate
their own culture while improving their English language
proficiency through collaborative learning. Moreover,this model of collaborative learning could be influential
and may be applied as the learning method inuniversities across Japan. In 2008, the Japanese
Government introduced the G30 Project, and extra
funding was provided to 13 designated universities to
The PanSIG 2021 Journal 23

attract 300,000 international students. This project was
succeeded in 2014 by the Super Global Universities
Project, where 37 designated universities wereassigned to implement EMI courses to intensify
internationalization on campuses (MEXT 2014). As theneed for internationalization increases, higher
education in Japan is shifting from English taught as aforeign language to EMI for academic subjects(Kirkpatrick, 2017). English serves as the common
medium of instruction among speakers from different
L1s. Most international students enrolled in universities
in Japan use English as a lingua franca (ELF). They do
not necessarily have any prior knowledge of Japaneseculture, nor any Japanese language proficiency.
Therefore, this project will also provide international
students with the opportunity to interact with Japanese
students living in other areas and learn about regional
tradition and culture. The project will help develop all
participants' critical thinking skills and raise interculturalawareness, thereby helping foster global humanresources who can contribute to local communities inJapan.

play the role of responsible participants who havealready acquired, to some extent, the social skills
required to undertake and complete a task (Matthews,
Cooper, Davidson & Hawkes, 1995). In Japanese EFL
higher education, there has been previous collaborative
learning projects among students. Gaitanidis et al.
(2016), for example, conducted collaborative learning in
multilingual and multicultural classrooms. They focusedon topics related to Japan and discussed the strategy
for enhancing interaction among students. In addition,
Kishi et al. (2008) conducted collaborative learning
between Korea and Japan. They utilized Information
and Communication Technology (ICT) tools anddemonstrated positive effects such as obtaining
knowledge about each country. The project in this paper
identifies how students living in three different regional
areas interact each other and acquire knowledge about
each culture as well as their own.

Researchers and ParticipantsMethods
Collaborative Learning ProjectThis project utilized collaborative learning, which is an
educational approach of using groups to enhancelearning by working together. Researchers haveproposed theories that classify collaborative learning(see Kagan, 1985; Vygotsky, 1997; Johnson & Johnson,2009). In this practice, learners work together on
projects, collaborating as a group to complete tasks orsolve problems. In addition, collaborative learning
utilizes a learner-centered approach, where students

The researchers for this project have been teaching for
more than 15 years at universities in three separate
locations in Japan: Hyogo, Fukuoka, and Okinawa.
During the project, the researchers took into accountethical appropriateness; the participants were students
from each university who took part on a voluntary basis
and with a clear understanding that their performance inthe email project would not affect their final grades fortheir classes. Only those who consented to participate
actually took part in the email exchanges, and students
were explicitly instructed to contact their teacher if they
had any difficulties or concerns. Details of the 42
participants are summarized in Table 1. The
participants varied in year of study, background, subjectof study, and exposure to English.

Table 1: Participants in the Collaborative Learning ProjectPrefectureYear

No. of Students

Major

Exposure
To English

Hyogo

Private/Public
University
Public2nd

Economics andManagement

English as a medium of instruction

Fukuoka

Private3rd

9(*including 2
international students)
15

Food Science

Okinawa

Private

1st

18

English for Specific Purposes in the course
Food Business taken in the first and second
year
Intensive university-level English classes

EnglishCommunication

Note. The two international students’ first language is not English.

Project Details
This project involved setting up an inter-college email
exchange in English. The 42 students were assigned togroups of three, with each group having students who
had never met one another and who were based indifferent locations in Japan (however, logistical issues
related to the different numbers of students in eachlocation led to some groups having two people from thesame location). Throughout the autumn semester ofschool year 2020–2021, students were given
instructions by their respective instructors (theresearchers for this project) to periodically write anemail to the other two members of the group on a given
theme. The themes were as follows:

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 24#1: Self-introduction#2: Introduction of the student’s hometown#3: Introduction of a local dish

#4: Introduction of a local festival or craft

Students were instructed to write to both other membersof their group in the same email, and to CC theirinstructor in the initial email of each task. This was toallow the instructors to check that the first email had
been sent. Subsequently, students were encouraged to
reply and continue the exchange without the need to CC
the instructor, as it was believed that the students mightrelax more in their communications if they did not feelthey were being viewed and/or judged by theirinstructors.
As the email assignments progressed, the levels ofscaffolding for the students decreased. For the firstemail, students were given detailed instructions on theassignment, information to include, phrases to use, andeven a model email (see Appendix A). By the final email
assignment, the students were given instructions andone or two useful phrases. We also attempted to raise
the complexity of the exchanges as the projectcontinued; the first assignment was only an email, but
in subsequent emails, the students had to conduct
independent research, source and attach/embed
images, and provide links to videos. Meanwhile, theinstructors provided no explicit language feedback, as
doing so could risk turning the project into more of anevaluated homework activity instead of a task thathighlighted the enjoyment of communicating andlearning in English.
Students completed pre- and post-project surveys
written in both English and Japanese. The pre-projectsurvey was designed to gauge students’ knowledge andawareness of the technicalities and rules of etiquetteregarding composing and sending emails. The postproject survey was designed to gather student opinions
on the project and to ascertain the extent to which thestudents felt they had personally developed through the
project.

Project Objectives
In a study about the effects of intercultural contact on L2
motivation among Japanese students, Aubrey and
Nowlan (2013) write that "without frequent personalencounters with the cultural group [of the learned
language] itself, the aspiration of empathizing,
communicating effectively and ultimately integratingwith another ethnolinguistic community becomes avague, almost empty goal." Following a similar logic,

we hoped that by being introduced to people from not
only other countries but also other regions of their own
country, and communicating in a shared L2, students
would feel increased enthusiasm to participate in andenjoy the experience of communication (specifically
written communication) in English, and also strengthen
their written English communication skills. In addition,
the project was thought to be a chance for students tolearn about different regions and cultures in Japan andbeyond. They would not only learn about theircorrespondents’ hometowns but, arguably more
importantly, also have to research and learn about
where they were from, and then find ways to express
that information in English. We hoped that the project
would
encourage
independence
among
the
participating students, in that they would communicate
freely and regularly with their email partners, without
constant instruction or pressure from their teachers.
Finally, a significant goal of the project was to raise
students’ basic knowledge of the technicalities andetiquette of email correspondence. In recent years, theresearchers believe they have observed a trend among
the younger generation in Japan toward using LINE andsimilar platforms for both L1 and L2 communication,
considerably more so than regular email (though thiswas only an assumption by the researchers at the startof the project, the pre-project survey aimed to address
this question directly). This is not necessarily aregrettable development, except that email remains animportant tool for communication in the workplace.
Students would undoubtedly need knowledge of using
email efficiently and appropriately, ideally before
graduating and entering the job market. The
researchers often observed unintentionally abrupt (and,therefore, rude) emails from students that displayed alack of awareness of the correct register and format foremail communication. We hoped that this could be
remedied through the project.

Outcomes
Pre-project Survey
A total of 43 students completed the pre-project survey,
but one student subsequently dropped out before theproject began. Hence, only 42 students took part in theactual email project. For the survey, we used Google
Forms. The questions were written in both English andJapanese. Pertinent or noteworthy results arepresented in this section. One question was designed
to confirm what the researchers had already suspected
in terms of student usage of communication tools andplatforms. The results are presented in Figure 1.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 25

Figure 1. Frequency of Using Different Platforms for Communication among the Participants.

.

The results were largely unsurprising in that, as
expected, students predominantly used LINE forcommunication, and rarely or never used Facebook
Messenger or WhatsApp. The number of students who“sometimes” used email was relatively high, also in
keeping with the researchers’ assumptions.

Another question was on students’ perceived ability tocompose an email correctly and politely in either English
or Japanese. Similarly, the researchers’ priorassumptions were confirmed; as shown in Figure 2, only
14% of the respondents answered “Yes,” and 30%
stated “No.”

Figure 2. Confidence in Composing Emails.

.

Figure 3 shows that more than half of students did notknow the meaning of “CC” or “BCC” in relation to writing
emails, and only 22% were confident that they did know.
Although not entirely surprising, these figures clearly
indicated a problem for students who will soon be jobhunting without such basic knowledge of emailcommunication. Meanwhile, Figures 4 and 5 indicatethat students are much more comfortable with theconcepts of “Reply,” “Reply all,” and file attachments.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 26

Figure 3. Awareness of Email Terms “CC” and “BCC.”

Figure 4. Awareness of Email Options “Reply” and “Reply All.”

Figure 5. Awareness of Email Attachments.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 27

Post-project survey
After the completion of the four email assignments, we
distributed an online survey to all students via Google
Forms and in both English and Japanese. Of theparticipating 42 students, 22 replied to the survey (seeLimitations).

To hone the project contents in future years, we asked
the students which topics they found most interesting.
As can be seen in Figure 6, the most popular of the four
topics was the introduction of local food, whereas thaton local festivals or crafts was the least popular.

Figure 6. Students’ Feedback on Most Interesting Topic.

We also asked the students regarding the other topics
they would like to write about, prompting a range of
responses including “local dialects and regional
languages,” “celebrities, music, and songs,” and “ouruniversity.” The suggestions from students will provevaluable to researchers when designing future versionsof this project. Regarding their participation in thisproject, 72% of students reported feeling more confident

than before that they could correctly compose an email(see Fig. 7), which indicated great progress (or great
perceived progress, which at the least would have apositive influence on students’ confidence tocommunicate in either language over email).

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 28

Figure 7. Confidence in Composing Emails after the Project.

We also asked the students the difficulties they faced
when writing emails in English. They identified thefollowing concerns:


How to express myself correctly in English (3responses)

Vocabulary (3) / Grammar (2 responses)



How to start and finish an email (2 responses)



How to write polite sentences (1 response)

Too narrow a topic (1 response)Structure (1 response)Writing long sentences (1 response)

Sending CC (1 response)(Note: The responses have been either translated fromJapanese or edited for clarity by the researchers).
We also asked the students whether they would like totake part in this project again, to which 81% said “Yes”(see Fig. 8). Thus, the students may have found the
project to be enjoyable and, together with the results in
Figure 7, beneficial. Regarding the advantages ofjoining the email exchange program, the students
responded as follows:

I can make friends in other prefectures andobtain new information about other areas. (14responses)

I wrote long sentences in English/I learned anemail format. (3 responses)

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 29

Figure 8. Willingness to Participate in a Similar Project.

We also sought the students’ opinions regarding
improvements for future email exchange programs.
They offered the following responses, which will prove
useful for future projects:

We should have sent more emails to each other.



It is easier to communicate over LINE than via
email.

We should have a longer program.

I want to communicate with students from more
prefectures.



We tended to forget to send emails to eachother. We should communicate in a regularmanner.



I would like to have my English corrected by theteacher. It might be fun if we share emails withteachers.

(Note: The responses have been either translated fromJapanese or edited for clarity by the researchers).

Researchers’ Reflections
Hyogo
The nine participants from Hyogo all studied courses
taught in English as medium of instruction. Therefore,
they used English as a means of communication at
school. The email exchange project in this research was
not part of the course curriculum. The instructor
provided each task as the students’ assignment at
home. Although the commitment to this program varied,
the students were intrigued by this email exchange.
Specifically, this program offered them a good

opportunity to change their stereotypical views ofregional cultures in other areas. For example, apartfrom ramen, udon is a famous noodle dish in Fukuoka.
As for the writing style, they learned a variety ofvocabulary and expressions. They used to write“Sincerely” often as a closing remark; however, theylearned to use “Regards,” “Best wishes,” and “Thanks”
in their emails. The instructions included “Yourhometown can be your place of birth or the place youlive in now,” and since some Japanese students as wellas international students, came from outside the Kansaiarea, this project allowed them to choose the place theywould like to talk about depending on the topic.
Although they were recommended to exchange
subsequent messages after the first email, they seemed
to have sent no further messages to each other. It
seems worthwhile to examine what prevented themfromsending
follow-up
messagesto
theircorrespondence partners. Nonetheless, through thisemail exchange, the students were motivated tocommunicate and become acquainted with students
from other regional cultures in Japan.

Fukuoka
The participants from Fukuoka were third-year students
majoring in food science. Thus, they were the oldest
students and perhaps the busiest, with a large numberof required subjects, including laboratory courses andinternships. At first, most of the Fukuoka participants
seemed to lack confidence in writing in English, as they
had no English classes in the academic year and had
never been officially taught how to write emails in
English through the Japanese education system.
Generally, for food science majors, English is notregarded as a very important subject, even by faculty
members and universities in Japan, because the
The PanSIG 2021 Journal 30

students are instead required to attend many
prerequisite laboratory subjects (Tsuda, 2015). Even so,
the food industry is now globalized, and English is used
as a lingua franca among businesspeople.
For the first and second email exchanges, students
showed obvious anxiety and attempted to avoid making
errors and mistakes. Some merely copied and pasted
from the sample given (see Appendix A). From the third
exchange, the students seemed more motivated toresearch topics and write about their local food culture,
which was relevant to their major. The project was heldin the autumn semester, and the students soon needed
to prepare for job hunting. As business communication
is typically done by email, not text message
chains/threads such as are used over LINE, students
perhaps regarded the activities as important for getting
ready for the workplace.
Owing to the COVID-19 outbreak, all of the studyabroad programs had been canceled and foreign
tourists had disappeared from the city. For the nonEnglish major participants in Fukuoka, the university
students in Hyogo studying business through English asa medium of instruction and English majors in Okinawa,with whom they corresponded, served as good rolemodels and motivators.

Okinawa
The students were keen to participate in the program.
The reason for their enthusiasm may be that they were
all first-year English majors—most students enter theuniversity with a desire to use and improve theirpractical English communication skills. However,
because of the COVID-19 pandemic, much of their firstsemester had been spent online, and usual exchange
programs and events offered by the university toprovide opportunities to speak and communicate withother students and English-speaking faculty (e.g.,
weekly lunch gatherings with English instructors, Sports
Day, three-day orientation camp) had all been canceled.
Understandably, the students would be mildly frustrated
in this situation and would seize the opportunity for moreinteraction, particularly in English. Further, the students
were excited to know more about mainland Japan; mosthad traveled to the mainland at least once in their lives(often as a school trip). For those living in Okinawa,
opportunities to travel, see, and learn firsthand aboutother parts of Japan are more limited compared withthose who live on the Japanese mainland.
Overall, the exchanges went well. From a teaching
perspective, one of the desired outcomes was forstudents to gain a better understanding of email usage(e.g., CC, reply all, attachments) and, more significantly,of the importance of email etiquette. Students
predominantly use LINE or other messaging platforms
for communication, and are unaware of the negative
impression created by abrupt communications (whichmight be more acceptable on messaging platforms)

conveyed over email. We observed significant
improvement in how the students exchanged messages
with one another, as well as with the researchers.
As for the content of the emails, we noticed changes in
the messages over the course of the project. The firstassignment was presented to students with a model
email, and the students copied this model closely, often
merely substituting words in the model with their own
information. Although understandable, this practice was
not the free exchange of meaningful information
intended by the project. Therefore, as a deliberatemeasure, we stopped providing model emails fromemail #2, and instead only gave instructions, tips, and a
few useful phrases that students were free to pick andchoose from as they pleased. From email #2 onwards,
the exchanges appeared to become more natural (atleast in the first email of each task in which students
were instructed to CC their teacher), and the purpose of
the project (to give students a chance to exchange
meaningful information English) was better realized.
One point to consider in future projects is the CC issue
mentioned above. Students were instructed to CC theirown instructor in the first email of each assignment (tocheck that the email was sent and to record how wellstudents were performing the tasks). They were thentold that they did not need to CC the instructor in followup exchanges. This was intended to get the students torelax and enjoy exchanging messages freely. However,a consequence is that the researchers could not
determine the extent to which the students continued
the correspondence after the first email of the task, nor
their reasons for not continuing. At the very least, thepost-project survey ought to have asked the students
how many emails were exchanged.

Summary of reflections
Overall, the researchers feel that goals of the project
were met, and the post-project survey indicated thestudents’ satisfaction and desire to join a similar project,with some constructive comments for improvement or
better administration. Having reflected on this research,
the researchers believe it will be beneficial to do asimilar project in the future.

Conclusion and Future Directions
Through this intercollegiate program, the participating
students had the opportunity to express themselves andtheir local culture in English. They appear to haveenjoyed the experience, and their confidence in emailcommunication increased. The project was also
expected to develop their understanding and ability toapply proper email etiquette.
In the future, we intend to conduct this email exchange
program with a new set of students. Keeping the same
basic framework, the project may be tweaked in thefollowing ways:
The PanSIG 2021 Journal 31

Increase the scope and scale of the projectGive more than four email assignments



Incorporate Zoom, MS Teams, and similar
online platforms to allow for both written andface-to-face interactions



Involve the instructors more directly in thecommunications, either to provide explicit
language support and feedback or, moreprobably, to encourage discussion andcontinuation of the email exchanges between
participants







Ask the students to CC the researchers in allcommunication, to allow for better monitoringand more possibility for detailed analysis of thecontents of the interactions and developments
in style and language complexity
Tailor the surveys to investigate students’feelings regarding the project and the extent towhich they learned and developed through it
Connect the project to students’ job-hunting
activities by adapting the contents of theexchanges to students’ job interviews and using
them in mock interview practice

Challenges and limitations
It should be noted that preparation and implementationof the project—which was a supplementary part of theclasses and not integral to them—was somewhat
difficult and time-consuming for the three researchers.
Online planning meetings were held approximately
every two weeks throughout the project and each email
task required discussions about the theme, the level ofscaffolding and modelling for students, and the various
deadlines. The pre- and post-project surveys alsoneeded careful planning. Furthermore, getting students
interested and invested, and then checking that they
had sent their first emails (to the correct email
addresses) and that the content was appropriate for thetask all required time and effort on the part of theresearchers. The conclusion of the researchers is thatthe benefits for students of such a project outweigh suchchallenges, but other teachers and researchers wishing
to try a similar project should bear these in mind.
The researchers have identified four main limitations tothe current research project. First, due to differing
numbers of participants at the different universities,
students sometimes knew one of the two other people
they were corresponding with (instead of the stated aimof meeting completely new people). Second, due to theexplicit instruction to students not to CC professors inemails after the first one of each task, it was unclear towhat extent free exchange of emails continued after the
initial emails had been sent. Additionally, if students
didn't send follow-up emails, it is not clear why they did

not do so. Third, it was not clear whether decreasing
email use among students was a result of decreasing
L2 email competency or of a wider email andcommunications trend that is both an L1 and L2 issue,
and investigation of this was not included in the
research scope. Finally, due to timing issues, a little
over 50% of the total number of participants responded
to the post-project survey. In future projects, theresearchers will address and attempt to rectify theselimitations.

Acknowledgments
This project was supported by KAKENHI grant
20K00864.
The researchers would like to thank the participating
students at their respective universities for their
enthusiasm and motivation to participate in the project.
We would also like to thank Editage (www.editage.com)
for English language editing.

References
Aubrey, S., & Nowlan, A.G.P. (2013). Effect ofIntercultural Contact on L2 Motivation: A
Comparative Study. In Apple, M.T., Da Silva, D.,& Fellner, T. (Eds.) Language Learning
Motivation in Japan (1st ed.). Channel View
Publications.
https://www.perlego.com/book/571261/language-learning-motivation-in-japan-pdf
Cohen, E. G. (1994). Restructuring the classroom:
Conditions for productive small groups. Reviewof Educational Research, 64, 1–35.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3102/00346543064001001
Gaitanidis, I., Kobayashi, S., Nishizumi, K., Wada, K.,& Yoshino, A. (2016). Pedagogical approach forcollaborative learning focused on Japan: casestudies from classes in liberal arts. International
Education, 9, 1-73.
Jenkins, J. (2012). English as a Lingua France fromthe classroom to the classroom. ELT Journal,
66(4), 486-494.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 32

Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (2009). Circles of

MEXT. (2014). Top Global University Project (2014-

learning: Cooperation in the classroom. Edina,2017). Tokyo: MEXT. Resource document.

Minn: Interaction Book Co.

https://tgu.mext.go.jp/en/downloads/pdf/sgu.pdf

Kagan, S. (1985). Dimensions of Cooperative

Tsuda, A., & Furnaux, C. (2014). Issues in developing

Classroom Structures. In R. E. Slavin, S.

ESP courses for dieticians working in

Sharan, S. Kagan, R. Hertz-Lazarowits, C.

“globalized communities” in Japan. Current

Webb, & R. Schmuck (Eds.), Learning to

Developments in English for Academic andCooperate, Cooperative to Learn (pp. 76–80).

Specific Purposes, Garnet Education. Reading,

New York, NY: Plenum.

UK: Garnet Education Reading.

Kirkpatrick, A. (2017). The Languages of Higher

Vygotsky, Lev. (1997). Interaction between Learning

Education in East and Southeast Asia: Will EMI

and Development. In Gauvain. M, and Cole. M

Lead to Englishisation? In B. Fenton-Smith et al.

(Eds.), Mind and Society (pp. 79–91).

(eds.), English Medium Instruction in Higher

Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Education in Asia-Pacific. Springer.
Kishi, M., Bhang, S., Sawamura, E., Song, Y., Kubota,
K., & Kwon, S. (2008). Distance Collaborative
Learning between Korea and Japan.
International Journal for Education Media andTechnology, 2(1), 65-78.
Matthews, R. S., Cooper, J. L., Davidson, N., &Hawkes, P. (1995). Building bridges between
cooperative and collaborative learning. Change:
The Magazine of Higher Learning, 27(4), 35–40.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 33

Appendix A: email assignment #1 and accompanying model
Email assignment #1 - Self-introduction email
Instructions

Task: Send a self-introduction email to the other two people in your email group (see separate handout for list of groups
and email addresses)

Notes:
Always CC me into email exchanges: XXXXXXXXXXX@gmail.com
Make sure you spell the email address precisely (otherwise it will not arrive)
Send an email to two other people, even if one of them is in the same class as you

You can send the same email addressed to two people (i.e. you can send it as a group email. You don’t haveto write two separate emails)
If you are using group emails, always remember to use “reply all”
You can use the example self-introduction below as a model
Only share what you are comfortable sharing
Contact me immediately if you have any difficulties or worries
The deadline to send this first email is Tuesday, December 1st

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 34

Personal Factors and Motivation: A Learning Advisor’s Experience
Dominique Vola Ambinintsoa
Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS)

Reflection is key to developing learner autonomy in language learning. My role as a learning advisor is to promote reflection to my advisees
through different advising strategies and tools. Inspired by my advisees’ questions in our advising sessions, I started to practice self-reflection
on my own language learning using advising tools. In this practice-oriented paper, I will discuss how I used self-reflection to understand thepersonal factors (Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2021) related to my language learning, to identify amotivation as the main problem with one of thelanguages, and to solve the issue of amotivation. I will then suggest some implications for language teaching, mainly highlighting the necessityof promoting learners’ self-reflection as a way to find and maintain motivation. Helping them develop self-awareness, identify practical and
immediate needs, and identify values in life can result in their realization of the value of the language they are learning.

“
2021)

”(Dörnyei & Ushioda,

1

In this paper, I will discuss how I used self-reflection asa tool for developing a deeper understanding of thepersonal factors (Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2021) that
influence my language learning process and forovercoming my amotivation towards my Japaneselearning. My main purposes are (1) to share the benefitsof self-reflection on language learning, especially onfinding and maintaining motivation, based on my own
experience and (2) to provide examples of tools that canbe used to facilitate self-reflection. Before detailingthese two points, I will talk about how I came up with theidea of reflecting on my own language learning. Then, I
will discuss briefly what are referred to as personal
factors and how they are linked to motivation according
to the literature.

Why reflect on my language learning
As a learning advisor (LA), I help learners become moreaware of their learning processes, needs, goals, andways to self-evaluate in order to help them develop theirlearner autonomy (Carson & Mynard, 2012), or theircapacity to take charge of their own learning (Benson,2011). To raise their awareness, I engage them inintentional reflective dialogue or IRD (Kato & Mynard,2016). IRD consists of intent listening and the use oflearning strategies such as restating, repeating,summarizing, empathizing, complimenting, and asking
powerful questions (ibid). In addition to advisingstrategies, LAs can use advising tools, which are said
to further facilitate reflective processes (ibid).
The idea of reflecting on my own language learning
came from my role as an LA, which enabled me tounderstand the uniqueness of each learner’s
experience with their language learning. The latter
involves internal factors such as age, gender, aptitude,
personality, style, strategies, autonomy, beliefs,
emotion and motivation (Griffiths & Soruç, 2020). These
factors, in turn, can be influenced by external factors
such as the learning environment, including thegeographical location (Benson, 2021), the society andthe culture in which the learner belongs (Little, 1999).
While the uniqueness of each learner is clear to me, it
is not for my advisees. Most of my advisees come tosee me, expecting me to directly answer “how-to”
questions, such as “How to improve my English”, “Howto speak like a native speaker”. Some of them choose
me because they know I have learned different
languages. They have questions specifically addressed
to me, such as “How did you learn the languages you
speak”, “How did you get motivated to learn thelanguages”. Those questions were repeated so manytimes in my first year as an LA that they prompted me
to reflect on my own language learning experiences andon my relationships with each of the three languages I
decided to learn (other than my two first languages). As
I started to reflect, I realized that for each language, theThe PanSIG 2021 Journal 35

levels of motivation to learn were different. Thatrealization reminded me the quote from Gregersen and
MacIntyre (2014) below, which I can totally relate as alanguage learner. That realization encouraged me to go
deeper in my self-reflection in order to fully understandthe differences I had in terms of motivation.
Languages are learned in order to form
relationships, create competencies, adapt to new
surroundings and develop as a person. But
language learning also can be demotivating
because it is difficult, takes a long time and it canbe frustrating, anxiety-provoking and boring (p.
109).

suggests finding interest and developing that interest as
one way to regulate motivation.
Thus, to understand the presence or the absence of
motivation when learning a language, it is necessary to
be aware of the personal factors related to the language,
and that is what I decided to do. While my first reason
to do self-reflection was curiosity triggered by mystudents’ repeated questions, my second reason, which
later became the principal one, was to understand why
I felt amotivation towards learning Japanese and toeventually solve that issue.

Self-reflection methods

As my learning of English and German occurred many
years ago, it was impossible for me to write up a whole
language learning history, which would be a rich sourceof data enabling me to analyze my perceptions andbeliefs related to the languages I have learned, and toeventually identify the ‘seeds’ of my agency (Murphey &Carpenter, 2008). However, I was able to recall what
Dörnyei and Ushioda (2021) refer to as personal factors.

I reflected on the personal factors cited above using
brainstorming and concentrating mainly on the times I
started to learn them. It is worth pointing out that while
the starting times to learn English and German were
before my undergraduate years in Madagascar (Ilearned English in secondary school but just as any
school subjects), the starting time for Japanese was justafter I moved to Japan.

Personal Factors and Motivation

After the brainstorming, I used advising tools to reflect
on my amotivation issue with my Japanese language
learning. Kato and Mynard (2016) distinguish three
types of advising tools: theoretical tools, practical tools,
and cognitive tools. Theoretical tools refer to tools linked
to learning strategies. Practical tools, such as weeklyplans and learning logs, help learners organize andkeep track of their learning. Cognitive tools support
learning and cognitive development. They can involve
diagnostic tests related to language skills,
questionnaires and visual aids related to goals andlearning skills such as motivation, confidence, and time
management. They are said to be invaluable in selfadvising, as it can be difficult to ask a powerful question(which is one of the LAs’ strategies to promote deepreflection) to oneself, or to avoid being too self-critical.
Due to space limit, I cannot describe each tool. Also, as
my choice of what tools to use depended on what I
discovered from the brainstorming on my personal
factors, I will describe those tools in the section after
next.

Personal factors related to language learning include
goals, interests, needs, desires, and beliefs, whichaccording to Dörnyei and Ushioda (2021), areconsidered as the main elements of human behavior inmotivational psychology. They are directly connected tomotivation, which is seen therefore as an individual
difference (Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2021). Motivationaccounts for “the choice of a particular action; thepersistence with it; the effort expended on it” (Dörnyei &Ushioda, 2021, p. 4). The distinction between intrinsic
motivation and extrinsic motivation has been advocatedin Self-Determination Theory (SDT) (Dörnyei & Ushioda,
2021; Ryan & Deci, 2000, 2017). While intrinsic
motivation is triggered by curiosity, a sense of challenge,
and pleasure or inherent satisfactions, extrinsic
motivation is generated by the desire to achieve aseparate outcome, such as having good grades.
The lack of motivation is referred to as amotivation.
According to Ryan and Deci (2017), amotivation is theabsence of intention to take actions due to a lack ofperceived competence or a lack of interest or value. If
learners feel they are not competent enough to learn alanguage because of past failure or a sense of not
improving, they may find it hard to keep learning. The
feeling of incompetence can also appear at the
beginning of the language learning and can influenceinterest. McLoughlin (2020) puts it, “If something is newand comprehensible, we tend to find it interesting;however, if it is new and incomprehensible, it is merely
confusing and potentially infuriating” (p. 66). Without
interest, which usually feeds learners’ persistence,
willingness to learn, and contributes to highachievements (Silvia, 2008), it is difficult to develop andmaintain motivation. Therefore, McLoughlin (2020)

My personal factors
The brainstorming on the personal factors resulted in
specific information, summarized in Table 1, whichclearly shows much stronger motivation and morepositivity towards English than the other two languages.
As my English learning was driven by personal interests,
I initiated different actions and made effort to improveeach of the language skills. My persistence was intact.
I would, for example, exclusively speak English at thelanguage center where I studied (in class, in the library,when hanging out with my classmates). I would readbooks of different types not only to increase my
vocabulary and reading skills, but also because of
genuine interest. Though listening was particularly
The PanSIG 2021 Journal 36difficult at first, I persisted in practicing it even during mysleep every single night. It took time to improve from notunderstanding anything to understanding the gist, andeventually to understanding the content and all the
speakers’ utterances, but I had always believed that I
would succeed. My self-confidence increased as I wasable to perceive my improvement from my own
performances and from comparisons to peers at thelanguage center. I had both intrinsic motivation (from myinterests in and passion for the language) and extrinsic
motivation (the desire to have higher scores than theothers). The self-confidence, the personality I built fromthe need for achievement, and my improved language
skills enabled me to achieve my ultimate goals related
to English.
I decided to learn German mainly because I found thepronunciation fascinating, and it was not a common
language to learn in Madagascar. However, myinterests in German were not as strong as the ones inEnglish, which is reflected in the number of actions I
took. To improve my German, I mainly relied on thematerials used and recommended in my courses.
Nevertheless, using those materials sufficed to improve
my German language skills for four years, and to passthe Zertifikat Deutsch, which is an internationallyrecognized test of German language skills. I also had
both intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation forGerman. I did not reach my ultimate goal, that of winninga trip to Germany (the first prize for the best sixth-year
student), because of schedule clash with my university
classes.

related to it. Furthermore, Japanese is so different fromthe languages I had learned that it was impossible forme to see any logics in it. I built a strong belief that I
would never be able to learn it. That belief caused astrong resistance accompanied by many excuses, suchas the fact that I do not need it in my job or to get aroundin my immediate surroundings. Secondly, the society I
wanted to connect to (colleagues and neighbors) wasable to speak English. I came to the conclusion that the
only reason for me to learn Japanese was the fact that
I live in Japan. For that reason, I had consideredlearning Japanese as a norm and a rule I imposed tomyself. That conclusion even fortified my resistance tolearn. However, the believer in language learnerautonomy in me felt guilty for not making enough effort
and not finding appropriate ways to learn a language. I
was the one who language learners turn to when having
any issue with their learning; yet I was not able to solve
my own problem with my learning. I felt I needed to findsolutions involving the regulation of my motivation.

The relationship with Japanese was different from therelationships with English and German. The biggest
difference was the context. It was the first time for me tostart learning a language from scratch in the country
where it is spoken. I had assumed that would be a greatsource of motivation, as I would be pushed by the needs
and the desires to communicate with the people aroundand to know more about the culture. However, that was
not the case. The context was not sufficient to provide
me with the motivation I needed. It is true that I arrived
in Japan at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic,
which forced me to be isolated. Also, I was at a stage of
my life when I was busy learning a new job and finishing
my PhD. It is true that “[b]eing at different stages of life
leads to different motivations to learn” (Chik, 2018, p.
46). However, these external factors were not the maincauses of my issue with learning Japanese. The maincause was amotivation instigated by lack of bothinterest and a sense of competence.
Dörnyei and Ushioda (2021) state that the motivation tolearn languages other than English can be stronger, as
it is often internally driven by factors such as personalgoals, reasons, interests on the one hand, and thedesire to connect to the target society and culture on theother hand. For Japanese, I did not have any of thosefactors. I was not interested in the language, or anything
The PanSIG 2021 Journal 37

Table 1
Personal factors related to my language learning

At the time I
started tolearn

EnglishGermanJapanese

Ultimategoals

To have a job involving English or
to live in an English-speaking
country

To win a trip to Germany

To be able tocommunicate

Interests

English songs

Fascinating pronunciation

Not sure

To travel to Germany

To understand andanswer to what
people say inshops and otherplacesAmerican movies
It sounds “cool”!
Not spoken by many people I
knew
Desires andneeds

To be one of the few people who
can speak English in Madagascar
To understand all my favorite
English songs

To be one of the very few
people who can speak
German in Madagascar

To speak the language of myfavorite singers and athletes“Since I live inJapan, I should
learn Japanese.”

To be excellent at all the four
language skills and the best in
class
Emotions
and beliefs

High self-confidence

Growing self-confidence

Enjoyment and satisfaction“I will be able to master
this!”“Yes, I am good at this!”
Actions andeffortTaking courses
Reading different books indifferent genres

Frustration –amotivation“There is no way I
can learn this!”Taking courses
Using textbooks and othergrammar and vocabulary
books

Using Duolingo

Madagascar - A language
centerJapan - Home

Using grammar and vocabulary
books
Listening to the BBC at night
Watching BBC news
Speaking as often as I could
Translating songs
Writing a diary
Context

Madagascar – Home, language
centers

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 38

Regulating Motivation through Selfreflection
Apart from finding and developing interest, McLoughlin(2020) suggests setting goals and monitoring progressin reaching the goals to regulate motivation. That is apractice I promote to my learners all the time not only toregulate motivation but also to develop learnerautonomy. From my own advising experience, I amaware of the importance of having specific goals in theinitiation of appropriate actions (see Ambinintsoa, 2020).
I believe that goals are “the principal driving force ofaction” (Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2021, p. 83). However, it
was difficult to implement that practice to my Japaneselearning, as I could not think of specific goals. Thus, I
needed to find another way to regulate my motivation,and that way was self-reflection using advising tools(Kato & Mynard, 2016).
Since it was clear that setting goals directly related tolearning Japanese was difficult, and that amotivation

was the real problem, I did not choose tools designed to
immediately address those issues. Instead, I selected
tools that helped me step back from language learning,reflect on a bigger picture, that is, what was important
to me in life at that time and in the future, and then, haveother perspectives on Japanese learning. Thus, I chose
to use things I want to achieve in life, a letter to myself,and viewpoint switching sheet from Kato and Mynard(2016). I allowed myself time to work on each tool, as I
know from my LA experience, that a serious issue likeamotivation cannot be solved in one advising session.

The tools
Things I want to achieve in life (Figure 1) not only helpedme reflect on accomplishments I would like to have in
different areas of my life but also encouraged me tothink of specific actions I would take to have theseaccomplishments. Furthermore, having all these areas
in one page helped me see the interconnections
between the areas, making it much clearer why learning
Japanese would be beneficial for me personally.

Figure 1
Things I want to achieve in life

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 39

A letter to myself was adapted from Kato and Mynard’s(2016) Writing a letter to myself one year from now(Figure 2). The purpose of the latter is to help learners
make the connections between what they are doing andtheir near future. By writing the letter, they would thinkof goals or achievements in some areas of their life,
including language learning, one year from the time they
write the letter.

Figure 2
Writing a letter to myself

Instead of pressuring myself to find specific goals, I
wanted to find a gentler way to motivate myself. I
thought about how I would react if my advisee would tellme that setting specific goals is too hard for them or thatthey have no idea how to motivate themselves. My
reaction would be to help them highlight some positive
points about themselves, and that is what I decided to
do with the letter to myself. I wrote down what I thought
were my achievements in my life. These include not
only academic achievements but anything that I felt
happy about, such as places I have been to, activities
to maintain well-being, and some personal traits I have.
Writing the letter was empowering, as it allowed me torealize that I achieved many things that I had thought
impossible and to give myself more credit.

The third tool I used was viewpoint switching sheet(Figure 3). As its name indicates, the tool enables
learners to have different viewpoints or perspectives on
their situation. When using the tool, learners are asked
to think about the situation they are in (e.g. issue inlanguage learning, difficulty in making decisions), use
their imaginations and select four people (real, fictitious,or even their future selves) having the most influence onthem. Then, they imagine what the four people would
say or advise on the situation. Like a letter to myself,
this tool was powerful, as I chose four people who arealways understanding and appreciative of my effort, andwho know my personality so well that they would know
how to convince me without pushing me. Unlike myoften overcritical stance towards myself, with demands
such as “You must learn Japanese because you live inJapan”, the four people would generally say “It is a
The PanSIG 2021 Journal 40

choice, not a must”, “You are capable of doing anything,as you always did, but perhaps it is not the right timingyet”, “Think about when you can speak Japanese,wouldn’t it be great to do everything you want without
the help of anybody?”

Actions and reactions
The self-reflection with the tools raised my selfawareness and identified a more specific purpose oflearning Japanese (beyond “I have to do it”). Though mygoals were not clear yet, the main purpose was, which
encouraged me to take actions. Examples of thoseactions are making a list of vocabulary I wanted to learn,looking for other resources and activities suitable to me,
including Japanese learning in my everyday routine,and practicing with people when possible. Additionally,
I allowed patience and flexibility in my learning,understanding that learning is a process. Lastly, I
acknowledged and celebrated my improvement. I oftenemphasize these last two points (learning as a process
and celebrating improvement) when advising mystudents, but I could not see their obviousness on myown learning until I practiced self-reflection.

Figure 3
Viewpoint switching sheet

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 41

Implications
This paper showed that the personal factors that are
directly related to motivation make the relationship oflearners with each language they learn unique anddetermine their engagement or non-engagement with
their learning. That is why succeeding in learning in one
language does not necessarily imply success in anotherone. Also, learners who are not motivated to learn are
not necessarily “bad students” or lazy students. The
roots of the lack of motivation should be examined.
Therefore, it is important to take learners’ personal
factors into consideration in language learning. It isnecessary to help them develop self-awareness,
identify their practical and immediate needs, their values
in life, and reflect on their individual language learning
histories. To help them, IRD with an LA or a teacher
would be the ideal way. However, not all institutions
have LAs, and IRD is time-consuming. It would, thus, beindispensable to promote self-reflection throughadvising tools like the ones presented in this paper.
Tools such as vision boards, in which learners can draw
or stick pictures representing their values,
achievements, desires, and needs can also be used. As
Dörnyei & Ushioda (2021), puts it, the creation of an “L2related vision” can be a prerequisite step towards
action-taking in motivational interventions.
As the lack of interest can lead to amotivation, it would
be necessary to help learners think about what they findinteresting in the language they are learning. Anotherway is to integrate their existing interests with theirlanguage learning. Providing learners with opportunities
to share their interests and bring their other identities orselves (e.g., a video game nerd, a j-pop fan, an
environmental activist) into their learning is likely tomake a difference regarding their motivation(Ambinintsoa et al, forthcoming) and to make theirlearning more meaningful (Magno e Silva, 2018).
Patience and time are requisites for (re)engaging anddeveloping learner interests, but once learners see theconnections between their values, their interests, andtheir language learning, it would be easier for them to
set more specific goals and start an action plan. Other
ways to help learners reflect on motivation can be foundinthiswebsite:https://thesalc.weebly.com/motivation.html.
Learner autonomy is often defined as a capacity or an
ability to take charge of one’s own learning (e.g. Benson,2011), which implies the necessity for the learner todevelop an ability to set goals, monitor, and selfevaluate. It is undeniable that learner autonomy
includes ability, but it also entails willingness andreadiness, which are terms used in some definitions oflearner autonomy (e.g. Dam et al, 1990). It is important
to emphasize and investigate willingness and readiness,as they are closely related to interests (Silvia, 2008) andmotivation.

References
Ambinintsoa, D. V. (2020). Using an advising tool tohelp students go beyond “just learning”, Relay
Journal, 3(2), 221-228.
Ambinintsoa, D.V., Rajaonaritiana, H.F., &Rasoanindrina, V. O (2022). Learning beyond
the classroom in an EFL Malagasy setting - twolearners’ experiences, Learner Development
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Benson, P. (2011). Teaching and researching
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Chik, A. (2018). Learning a language for free: Spaceand autonomy in adult foreign language
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place and autonomy in language learning (pp.
44-60). New York, NY: Routledge.
Dam, L., Eriksson, R., Gabrielsen, G., Little, D.,
Miliander, J. & Trebbi, T. (1990). Group II:
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Trebbi (Ed.), Report on the third Nordic
workshop on developing autonomous learning in
the FL classroom (pp. 96-103). Bergen
University Institute for Pedagogic Practice.
Dörnyei, Z., & Ushioda, E. (2021). Teaching andresearching motivation, Third edition. New York,
NY: Routledge.

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on language learners' individuality. Bristol, UK:(Eds.), Narratives of learning and teaching EFL.
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 17-34.

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extrinsic motivations: Classic definitions andin Language Learning - A Complex Systems

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Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination
Huang, J. P., & Benson, P. (2013). Autonomy, agency

theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation,and identity in foreign and second language

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Silvia, P. J. (2008). Interest—The curious emotion.
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The PanSIG 2021 Journal 43

Application of Coaching and Mentoring Strategies to Improve Well Being ofColleagues and Students in Education
Colin Mitchell
Reitaku University

Alessandro Grimaldi
Reitaku University

Satoko Kato
Kanda University of International Studies

Professional evidence-based coaching and mentoring are fields that have grown significantly globally due to its transformational leadershipand managerial effectiveness (Bozer, Sarros, & Santora, 2013). This growth led to the JALT Mentoring and Orientation Committee to hold a‘Reflective Dialogue’ workshop in PANSIG 2021 which introduced coaching and mentoring techniques to educators in Japan. This article
follows on from that workshop and gives a deeper insight into coaching and mentoring. The article focuses on educators acting as both thecoach and the coachee. In this situation the coach draws out the information from the coachee, with the coachee being the resource of the
discussion (Rogers, 2016). It argues that semi-structured coaching and mentoring techniques, such as the OSCAR model, can be used byeducators, in conjunction with reflective dialogue (Kato & Mynayrd, 2016), to develop the professional well-being of their peers. Educators
can apply these techniques to both peers and students as either a mentor or a coach to achieve these high levels of effectiveness in reaching
individual goals and improving professional wellbeing.

専門的な根拠に基づくコーチングとメンタリングは、その変革的なリーダーシップと経営的な効果により、世界的に大きく成⾧してきた分野である（Bozer, Sarros, & Santora, 2013）。この成⾧を受け、JALT メンタリング＆オリエン
テーション委員会は、PANSIG2021 において、日本の教育関係者にコーチングやメンタリングの手法を紹介する「リフレクティブ・ダイアログ」ワークショップを開催した。本稿は、コーチングとメンタリングについてより深く考察するため、同ワークショップの内容を解説。特に、参加者がコーチングをする側とコーチングをされる側の両方を務めることの利点に焦点を当てている。コーチはコーチングの受け手から情報を引き出すことで、その人自身を対話のリソースとする（Rogers, 2016）。OSCAR モデルのような半構造化されているコーチングやメンタリングの技法は、内省的対話（Kato & Mynayrd, 2016）の手法と同様に、教育者同士が自身の職業上のウェルビーイングを促進するために用いることができると論じている。教育者は、メンターまたはコーチとして、仲間同士、そして学生に対してこ
れらの技法を適用することで、個人の目標達成と職業上のウェルビーイングの向上に高い効果を発揮することが期待される。

Coaching is being used by more organisations as aproactive leadership development tool due to the resultsof sustainable growth and innovation in employees(CIPD, 2008) At the PANSIG conference in May of 2021,
the Mentoring and Orientation committee held an
introduction to transformative mentoring and coachingfor conference participants using the strategies
highlighted in this article. The one-on-one sessions
were aimed at facilitating a reflective dialogue between
session participants. Specifically, the presentation
introduced the structure of asking powerful questions
and actively listening to create a safe environment forparticipants to talk openly about their dilemmas anddeepen their awareness of issues they are facing.

These skills were used to generate empathy in ourparticipants and create constructive conversations
aimed at facilitating reflection on their learning anddevelopment (Lai & McDowall, 2014).
Twenty-one educators participated in the session witheleven taking up an informal mentor/coach role andeleven as the mentee/coachee. A 48-minute video
explaining the aims, basic theories, and structure of thesession was offered to all participants before thesession. Following the sessions, ten mentors/coaches
from the session responded to the feedback saying theyagreed (4) and strongly agreed (6) that they were able
to establish a good relationship with their participants.
The PanSIG 2021 Journal 44

Seven of the participants gave qualitative feedback with
one stating that “.... was an excellent mentor and I
appreciate having a knowledgeable and positive
listener. I appreciated this experience.” and anothersaying “I loved how I could share anything and that I
was given questions that really guided me throughorganizing my thoughts and aspirations.” Overall, theexperience was a very positive introduction to coaching
and mentoring techniques.
The following paragraphs detail the strategies utilized in
the session, provide evidence for their efficacy, andpropose what steps can be taken in the future to
improve sessions for use as a professional
development tool to improve the well-being of educators.
The committee believes that terms such as mentoring
and coaching require very specific backgrounds andexperience which all educators may not have. To reachout to a wider demographic of educators, coaching andmentoring has been broken down into four coachingmechanisms, OSCAR model, and eight basic strategies
which can be used in a variety of educational situations.

Well-being and reflective dialogue throughcoaching and mentoring
Well-being is considered more than simply experiencing
happiness; well-being means developing as a person,
being fulfilled, and contributing to the community (Ryan& Deci, 2017). Well-being is a multidimensional
construct that includes self-acceptance, positive
relationships, autonomy, environmental mastery,
purpose in life, and personal growth (Seligman, 2011).
Recently, more attention has been paid to teachers’
psychology and well-being. Mercer et al. (2016) statethat successful language learning largely depends onteachers, which means that caring for their professional
well-being is a priority; therefore, teacher education
programmes need to pay more attention to supporting
teachers by addressing their stress, emotions,motivation and professional well-being rather than
primarily focusing on instructional strategies andpedagogical skills.
Coaching and mentoring facilitate establishing highquality relationships and supports one another’s needs
by deepening reflection through dialogue. Dialogue withother people offers possibilities to restructure one’s
established assumptions and beliefs, which can lead
one to develop further, and also it establishes strong
relationships between the listener and storyteller(Brockbank & McGill, 2006). The dialogue which is
structured intentionally to facilitate reflection is called‘reflective dialogue’ which is also used in mentoring,coaching, and other related areas (Kato & Mynayrd,2016).

Background of Coaching
Coaching is outcome-focused and promotes selfdirected development through collaborative goal setting
and action planning (Grant, 2006). Coaching is not“therapy lite” (Rogers, 2016) and is not intended forclients who are seeking help for mental illness(Aboujaoude, 2020). Therefore, coaching is a proactive
development tool aimed at sustainable growth andinnovation. Self-reflection and a focus on futureplanning in coaching allows individuals to recognize
their emotions and develop the thought processes toachieve their goals.
The psychology behind what makes coaching effective
concerns the systematic application of behavioral
science (Grant, 2011). There is a multitude of bodies ofknowledge surrounding coaching psychology including
self-determination (Deci & Ryan, 1985), positive
psychology (Peterson, 2006), appreciative inquiry(Cooperrider&
Whitney,2005),
nonviolent
communication (Rosenberg, 2005), motivational
interviewing (Miller & Rollnick, 2012), emotional
intelligence (Goleman, 1996), design thinking (Brown,2009), flow theory (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990) social
cognitive theory (Bandura, 2001), and adult andconstructive development (Kegan & Lahey, 2009). Deci
and Ryan (1985) note that self-determination andcompetence are necessary to increase motivation.
These results have been consistent over age,socioeconomic status, and culture (Ryan, 2013). Thus,
coaching hopes to foster factors such as selfdetermination within individuals so that they can selfnavigate the issues they want to work on.
There are two major roles in a coaching session, thecoachee and the coach. The partnership between thecoach and coachee is one in which the coach believes
the coachee is the expert of his or her life and work
(Rogers, 2016). In other words, nobody can truly
understand the coachee’s unique situation better thanthe coachee themselves. Coaches actively listen to theircoachees and use powerful questions to encourage
self-discovery and accountability. Throughout thisrelationship, it is important for both coach and coachee
to be able to recognize the boundaries of the process.

Coaching regulation and the coaching process
Although formal coaching is not yet fully regulated, theregulatory environment for psychology withinorganizations like the American Psychological
Association (APA) and British Psychological Society(BPS) has had a useful impact on developing thecoaching profession (Whybrow & Palmer, 2018).
Currently, organizations such as the Association for
Coaching (AC), the European Mentoring and CoachingCouncil (EMCC), and the International CoachingFederation (ICF) offer certification programs forbecoming a coach. However, coaching techniques can
The PanSIG 2021 Journal 45

be applied to a variety of situations informally to develop
colleagues and learners.
Coaching conversations ideally provide the space andprocess necessary for coachees to consider negative
stimuli and bring these issues outside of the “heat of the
moment” when emotional areas of the brain such as theamygdala can cloud rational judgement. For instance,
Patricia Riddell (2018), a psychologist and professor of
applied neuroscience at the University of Reading,provides the following example:
Consider the increase in activity in the amygdala of acoachee who has a particularly negative reaction to aparticular person in their work-place. This increased
arousal might be sufficient to interfere with their ability
to perform their job well. However, neuroscience also
shows that the level of activation of the amygdala isreduced when the threat is reevaluated and that thisinvolves increased activation of the ventromedial
prefrontal cortex. (p. 52)
By guiding the individual to reflect on their own personal
situation during coaching sessions, the more rational
areas of the brain are activated such as areas of theprefrontal cortex in response to those emotions,allowing for greater self-regulation when thesesituations inevitably arise again (Modonis, 2010,
Murakami, 2015). The positive effects of this are farreaching when one considers issues colleagues have in
education settings, such as self-efficacy in theworkplace or leadership responsibilities.
For coaching to be successful the coachee should be
open and willing to share. It is important for the coachee
to be in sound mental health (Bluckert, 2005),
resourceful (Berg & Szabo, 2005), and motivated to finda solution (Hudson, 1999). Through collaborative,
individualized, solution-focused coaching sessions theclient can develop personal and professional aspects of
their lives. Although coachees come to coaching fortheir own unique individual reasons, there are fivecommonly cited reasons coachees work with coaches.
1.

Long term change.

2.

Improve wellbeing.

3.

Make decisions.

4.

Gain confidence.

5.

Make progress.

(Moore, Jackson & Tschannen-Moran, 2016).
The role of a coach is a facilitator of change (Moore,
Jackson & Tschannen-Moran, 2016). Coaches should
not direct coachees to their goals but rather engage thecoachee in insightful open-ended non-judgmental
questions. Coaches reflect what they hear back to thecoachee which invokes the catalyst for change. The
dialogue between the coach and the coachee has apurpose and therefore should follow a structure. Fourcoaching mechanisms of action may be used bycoaches to enable sustained change. These fourmechanisms can be worked into the OSCAR model toallow a natural flow to the coaching session.

Four coaching mechanisms
The first mechanism is growth-promoting relationships
which draw on humanistic psychology (Stober, 2006).
Current biological explanations for how coaching
involves taking advantage of brain neuroplasticity andmaking new neurological connections (Hammaerness &Moore, 2012), although further research is needed inthis area. By actively listening to the coachee andhaving a mindful presence, coaches can help a coachee
to focus attention on their personal goals.
The second mechanism is to elicit self-motivation which
focuses on autonomous motivation. Coaching aims toincrease autonomous motivation where the coachee
has sustainable motivation, or flow, and does not needto rely on the coach anymore (Deci & Ryan, 2002).
Coaches want to avoid external motivation, which iswhen someone does something because they were told
to do it. External motivation may work; however, this is
only short term and not sustainable. To build
autonomous motivation, the coachee needs to realize
their ideal outcome and generate what they can do toreach their goal.
The third mechanism is to build confidence. Researchshows that people become more successful when theyreach into their own values, talents and strengths(Niemiec et al., 2013). Cohen et al. (2009) has
observed that positive emotion helps us become morecreative, open-minded, and resilient to setbacks.
Coaches can focus on positive emotions to improve thecoachees’ confidence and self-determination.
The final mechanism is the process of change.
Behavioral goal setting, such as SMART (specific,
measurable, actionable, realistic, time-bound), can beused to track the coachees’ goal targets. It is crucial thatthe coachee determines their accountability as this canbe very personalized (More, Jackson, & TschannenMoran, 2016). By successfully applying these fourmechanisms in a structured manner during a coachingsession a relational flow can be made which allows thecoachee to shift their perspective and develop new
ideas.

The OSCAR model
These four coaching mechanisms can be implemented
through a simplified framework. The OSCAR model(Outcome, Situation, Choices/Consequences, Actions,
Review) suits an education focus as the ‘Actions’ and‘Review’ parts allow for explicit accountability (Rodgers,
2016). Table 1 shows the structure of the model withsome sample questions adjacent.
The PanSIG 2021 Journal 46

The OSCAR model is a framework for coaching
conversations and thus it has a structured format whileremaining flexible and easy to manage the flow of acoaching session. The model is split into five sections.
‘Outcome’ starts the session by clarifying what thecoachee wants to achieve from the session. ‘Situation’is to get a clear idea of where the coachee is right now.
It is important to note that, questions in this section are
to raise the coachees’ awareness of their own situation.
‘Choices’ is where coaches probe the coachee todiscover what alternative courses of action are available.
‘Consequences’ should focus on positive and negative
outcomes of the choices brought up by the coachingsession, including time, practicality, cost, and values.
‘Actions’ is where the coach reviews the choices
generated by the coachee and works with them to makean action plan. Finally, the ‘Review’ stage holds thecoachee to be accountable for themselves.

Table 1
Oscar Model Structure with Example Questions

Section name

Sample questions

Outcome·What would you like to work on today?

·

What is your ideal outcome from today’s session?

·

What is your current situation?

·

What is currently happening?

·

What options are available to you?

·

What sacrifices would you have to make?

·

Which option has the best benefit?

·

What will you do next?

·

When will you do it?

·

What will you do to make sure you take theseactions?

·

On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely is it that you will takethat action?

·

How did the session go today?

·

How do you feel about your outcome?

Situation

Choices / Consequences

Actions

Review

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 47

Background of mentoring
Coaching and mentoring have very similar features.
Mentoring has been defined as a relationship between
a more experienced mentor and a less experienced
mentee to develop the mentee’s career (Kram, 1985),
compared to coaching in which a coach does not needspecific expertise in the field of the choachee. Mentoringbasically has two main functions, which are career
support and psychosocial support. In general, career
support involves knowledge and skills transfer frommentors to mentees (Ragins & Kram, 2007), andpsychosocial support focuses on counselling, modelling,and enhancing a sense of competence to develop
personal growth, identity, and self-efficacy (Brockbank& McGill, 2006). Thus, it is said that successful
mentoring enhances the sense of self and professional
identity. The trend of modern mentoring focuses
towards a more relational perspective from a onedirectional, hierarchical structure (Ragins & Verbos,
2007). A notion of relational mentoring was establishedthat
distinguishes
mentoringinhigh-quality
relationships with average or marginal forms of
mentoring (Ragins & Verbos, 2007). A high-quality
mentoring relationship encourages mutual learning,
growth, and development and is based on strong andgenuine connections and interactions between thementor and mentee. The relationship is based on trust,commitment, and mutual respect, which goes beyond
the basic career and psychosocial support that isdefined by Kram (1985) in the early stage.
The Mentoring & Orientation committee focused onrelational mentoring, which is characterized by mutual
learning, where both participants influence one another.
Rather than the hierarchical position that traditional
mentoring relationships follow, these relationships
pursue the mutuality and reciprocity that are inherent ingrowth-producing relationships. Being authentic,
adaptive, empathetic, interdependent, and vulnerable in
the relationship are the prerequisites for establishingsuch high-quality relationships (Fletcher & Ragins,2007).

Reflective dialogue at PANSIG 2021
At PANSIG 2021, eight basic reflective dialogue
strategies were introduced to educators. These
strategies are based on mentoring and coachingstrategies
andincluderepeating,restating,summarizing, emphasizing, complementing, metaphors,
powerful questions, and accountability.
The first point is repeating, and this strategy
demonstrates that you are listening to the person.
Essentially, you repeat key phrases to bring awarenessto what is being said. An example of this type of strategy
would be:Coachee: I am having a difficult time recently

Coach: Tell me more about this difficult time you arehaving.
The second point is restating which reformulates key
phrases uttered by the coachee. It can also
demonstrate active listening, but also can add a
different perspective to what is being said. This strategy
can be used to take a negative viewpoint and turn it into
a positive one such as in the example below:
Coachee: I am too lazy to do anything productive
Coach: It sounds like you know yourself well and you
want to be more productive
The third point is summarizing which can be used tokeep the conversation on track. It can be easy for thecoachee to go off on a tangent and move away from the‘Outcome’ phase. Coaches can bring the conversationback on track to the OSCAR model by summarizing themain points relevant to the goals of the coachee.
The fourth point is emphasizing which establishes amutual understanding between the two parties. A
trusting relationship is essential to build a connection
and let the coachee open up. As the coachee opens up,
the further you can guide them to the outcome they
desire. An example of emphasizing might be thefollowing:
Coachee: I have an important deadline next week. I am
struggling to find the time.
Coach: I can tell how much this work means to you. It
must be very stressful for you.
The fifth point is complimenting which is a technique toidentify an interest or motivational point for the coachee.
It is used to encourage the coachee to maintain apositive outlook for reaching their outcome. The
technique also aids in helping the coachee feel valued.
Some examples of complimenting are:Coach: It sounds like you know what you want. That isa good position to be in.
Coach: Not many people could do what you do. You
have achieved a lot and that is something you can beproud of.
The sixth point is using metaphors to visualize thoughts
and feelings being expressed. Metaphors can bringbetter understanding, especially during the ‘situation’section of the OSCAR model. An example of using a
metaphor to visualize the timeline for a difficult projectmight be:Coach: If the project were like climbing a mountain,
where are you at now? What can you see from there?
The seventh point is asking powerful questions tostimulate the reflective process. These questions are
related to the core values of the coachee. There may
not be an immediate response to the question as
The PanSIG 2021 Journal 48

reflection takes time. These silent moments are part of
the reflection process and should be welcomed.
Examples of powerful questions through the OSCAR
model are given in table 1.
The final point is accountability is part of the Actions andReview part of the OSCAR model. It is important thatthe coachee decides the plans and how they canmeasure their performance. By encouraging thecoachee to make realistic concrete plans, they can startmoving towards their outcome.

Example of usage
When conducting formal sessions, getting one of theaforementioned accreditations is highly recommended.
However, the four coaching mechanisms, OSCAR
model, and eight basic strategies can be adapted to avariety of situations and serve as strategies foreducational professional development as well as
improving student learning outcomes.
For educators, coaching and mentoring strategies canbe applied to help students or colleagues overcome
difficulties in their learning and development. For
instance, in a research project by Belnap et al. (2016)
called Project Perseverance, formal coaching sessions
were used to help Arabic language learners studying
abroad in Jordan. According to the authors, these
discussions specifically aimed to address the progress
they had made and help them realize what is and is noteffective in their learning within a positive andencouraging environment. Out of the eight interventions
used in the study to promote self-regulation, students
commented after the conclusion of the program that thecoaching sessions with faculty and teaching assistants
were one of the most effective methods for maintaining
their confidence (just behind structured encouragementfrom language teachers).
Likewise, the effectiveness of coaching can be applied
educator to educator as well to facilitate professional
development. Desimone & Pak (2016) highlighteffective use of Instructional Coaching over the past
decades to improve lesson planning, instruction,
classroom behavior management, and help learners
reach instructional goals. From their review ofInstructional Coaching research, they report that themost important factors in teacher professional
development are creating environments where teachers
are active in their own learning, maintain consistentcontact hours with their coach, collectively participate insessions, possess coherent direction in their sessions,and focus on the content the teachers are teaching.
Although no two educator development programs thatinvolve coaching may be exactly the same, coaching
conversations between colleagues or educational
leaders should focus on “empowering teachers” (Stark,2016) by acknowledging the strengths they possessand build upon them.

Conclusion
Although formal mentoring and coaching may require
training practice, this article notes the positive effects
the methods derived from educators applying basic
coaching/mentoring strategies. In either an educatorlearner or educator-educator development context,
utilization of coaching and mentoring methods
promotes
improvedwell-being
throughtheunderstanding of the mechanisms (growth, motivation,
confidence, change) and practice of the strategies(OSCAR Model, reflective-dialogue) as discussed
above. Moving forward, formal research is needed toaccount for the effectiveness of such a program in areas
such as professional well-being, satisfaction, andresilience, which have been associated with formalcoaching interventions (Burt & Talati, 2017; Jones,
Woods, & Guilaume, 2016). This will help organizations
such as JALT and other professional organizations thatare looking for research-backed development
interventions better serve their members.

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The PanSIG 2021 Journal 51

Adapting Higher Education Language Courses to Achieve Learner Goals
amidst the Coronavirus Pandemic
Jonathan Buck
Toyo University
buck@toyo.jp

Ken Ohashi
Toyo University
ohashi088@toyo.jp

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues worldwide, higher education institutions are needing to adapt courses to accommodate
policies including social distancing and online learning. Since 2020 most university instructors have experienced policies such asthese, coping with it as emergency response teaching (ERT). There is a need to rethink course design in order to maximize
learning goals and student performance whether society's situation is normal or coping with public health issues. This manuscript
will examine how course design needs to be flexible so learners can achieve goals through different mediums for instance inperson, online, on demand, HyFlex, etc. Firstly, it will focus on Learner Management Systems (LMS) and how they can consolidate
courses so they can be accessed easily across all mediums. Then, it will explain how online storage tools give learners the ability
to access and submit work. After that it will look at various study tools and their benefits and examples of their implementation.
Finally, it will briefly review fundamental pedagogical approaches and their connection to this context.

2020 年度、高等教育に携わる多くの教員は緊急事態対応としてオンライン環境での学習指導に最善を尽くした。現在もオンライン授業が継続され、教室に戻れてもウィルスの感染拡大を防ぐために相手と適切な距離を置く等コロナ禍以前とは状況が違っている。これからは新たな公衆衛生問題が発生しても平常時と同様の学習目標を確実に達成できるようカリキュラム構成を再考する必要が出て来た。授業を教室で行うだけではなくインターネットでのライブ配信、授業録画のオンデマンド配信、HyFlex 等多くのプラットフォーム
上で学習目標を効果的に達成するのに必要なカリキュラムの柔軟性について検証する。学習管理システム(LSM)の有用性、クラウドの活用事例、その他学習システムの活用について紹介する。また理論と共にコロナ禍に対応したカリキュラムの事例を紹介する。

The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on
Universities in Japan

students and teachers experienced what was a newphenomenon for most of them - distance learning.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in 2020, caused
a major upheaval in education and learning practices.
Classes were hastily cancelled or moved online.
Curricula and grading standards shifted. Students andteachers took crash courses in Information andCommunication Technology (ICT). Obviously, this
disturbance created several negative impacts such as
students missing classes (Hobbs & Hawkins, 2020) andlacking appropriate technology to participate in class(Russell, 2020); instructors teaching rudimentary
classes online (Arum & Stevens, 2020), lack ofinteraction (Arora & Srinivasen, 2020) and thus, bothClasses & Issues
At the start of the delayed Japanese spring 2020
university semester, two-thirds of university classes
were expected to be held online (Suzuki & Ikeda, 2020).
Classes which were previously held face-to-face moved
online through an online communication platform (e.g.
Zoom, Webex, Skype). The transition for lectures
seemed linear. Instead of teacher-led presentations inauditoriums, the lectures would be pre-recorded orpresented live with power points allowing students toparticipate at their own leisure. However, issues arose
during more interactive classes such as seminars or
The PanSIG 2021 Journal 52

skills-based ones (i.e., language classes) wherestudents who previously would have worked together incollaborative groups or pairs were suddenly expected toachieve the same goals online. Nae (2020) suggested
that Japanese universities are far behind other Asian
countries in regards to ICT training and education. Many
students did not have the technology or the skills to fully
participate in classes. Students often attended classes
using smartphones with limited functionality. University
wi-fi was overwhelmed by students simultaneously
doing online classes. Learner management systems(LMS) became more heavily relied upon to process
grades, coursework, testing and attendance.
Furthermore, these issues were compounded by thefact that, as the pandemic wore on, the medium of
instruction of classes started shifting week by week.
In Japan (Kanto in particular), universities followed therecommendations of the Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the local
government. From Fall 2020, university classes began
to revert back to traditional face-to-face classes as
positive cases declined. However as second and third
COVID infection waves occurred, classes again moved
back online as states of emergency were introduced.
The result was an approach to learning that was in flux
where courses were designed with skeleton structure incase of unexpected change. Lecturers often foundthemselves using LMS’s which they were not competentat using. Moreover, they were unable to successfully
instruct students on how to use them (Junas et al.,2021). Along with this, a less familiar approach toteaching was introduced - HyFlex teaching (HT). HT
describes classes which are held both face-to-face andonline simultaneously (Kohnke & Moorhouse, 2021).
During the pandemic this was often implemented due tostudents quarantining or to maintain social distancing
measures. The authors of this paper experienced such
issues and were urged to consider how an educator candesign courses in an unstable environment due toforces such as social health hazards and how programsin higher education can continue to achieve prepandemic learning goals.
Our Institution The institution in this report is a large
university located in Kanto. It has four campuses with abroad range of disciplines offered including humanities,
social sciences and education where methods of
instruction range from lectures to seminars to lab-work.
In the Spring semester of 2020, all classes were moved
online (other than some laboratory classes) then in theFall semester classes for majors were moved to a
flexible approach of face-to-face, HT, and online format.
All extra-curricular and cross-departmental classes
remained online. The class presented in this paper is
one of them. The classes are outlined in further detail inthe case study section.

The Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Classroom

Due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic theconditions of the higher education language courses inJapan have shifted and, as such, a re-examination ofcourse design is needed. As a result of reflection on
their experience of education during the COVID-19
pandemic, the authors hope to provide an outline forcurriculum design during the pandemic and postpandemic classroom, focusing on how online tools canprovide flexibility for a wide-range of teachingapproaches and evaluate the ability of the course tomeet pre-pandemic course objectives.

Tools for Online Teaching
The following online tools are categorised into groups
with a brief explanation.
a. Learner Management Systems (LMS) These areonline systems (usually accessed through a website)which are used for the administration of education. They
range in sophistication but usually store materials,
grades and quizzes. (E.g. Schoology, Canvas, Google
Classroom, Blackboard, Manaba)b. Online chat and messaging (OCM) are non-verbal
digital communication such as email messaging. (E.g.
Gmail, Whatsapp, Line)c. Video conferencing (VC) tools facilitate real-timevideo meetings for groups of people. In the case of HE,
this would be the main tool for broadcasting live classes.
(E.g. Zoom, Skype, Webex)
d. Content makers (CM) This refers to a wide range oftools used to create materials for online classes. Thiscan range from quizzes to learning activities topresentations. (E.g. Quizlet, Adobe Spark, Padlet)
d. Assessment (AS) are tools which are solely
dedicated to assessment. These can be tools which areoften found with LMS. (E.g. SpeedGrader - a tool toallow efficient, sophisticated grading work.) It can also
refer to stand-alone grading tools (E.g. Crowdmark - atool to create rubrics and grading systems for digitalwork)
f. Video streaming and sharing (VS) allow streaming ofvideo content or sharing. (E.g. Twitch, YouTube)
g. Online course providers (OC) These are fully realised
online courses. In the case of HE, they are sometimes
used to supplement courses where necessary.

Innovative Online Curriculum Design
Martin et al. (2019) extensively researched what
constituted excellent online curriculum design. Theyinterviewed eight award-winning faculty members
based in the United States about what constituted
excellent online courses, and they focused on four
sections: Design, Assessment, Facilitation, andEvaluation. A summary of common features of such
online courses are outlined below.
The PanSIG Journal 2021 53

Designa.

Be Systematic - Be clear in how you will design
your course from start to finish. What do you expect
your learners to know at the start and end of thecourse? Can you show what they have learned?

b.

Backwards Design - Start with activities and finish
with technologiesc.

Course Architecture - The course structure should
be designed meaningfully and easy to navigate forstudents.

d.

Learner Needs - Evaluate your learners needs.

e.

Learner Interaction - Design activities thatmaximise your learners' interaction with each other.

Assessmenta.

Use a variety of course assessment - This should
range from traditional (e.g. essays) to online only
work (e.g. discussion forums).

b.

Use rubrics - This is a simple way of assessing
progress for the learner and the teacher.

Facilitation

student performance in the English language
proficiency test - IELTS. It is one of the four maincourses in a program provided by the department ofInternational Communication at the university. The
course has three objectives. One, have students
achieve an IELTS band score of 5.0. Two, improveunderstanding of the structure of English text. And three,encourage students to increase their language learning
capabilities outside the classroom. These course
objectives feed into the three program objectives;
improve students IELTS scores, improve academic
English skills, and boost learner autonomy.
The course is part of a four-course program that
includes a lower-intermediate reading and writing
course as well as two listening and speaking coursesthat are level matched with their counterparts. The
courses are taught twice a week over a 15-week period
for a total of 30 lessons. A basic lesson plan andaccompanying teaching materials are shared between
teachers for all four courses. Seven full time teachersand one manager are involved in teaching each of thecourses as well as the overall program design, course
designs,lessonplanning,
teaching
materialdevelopment, and management of digital files and LMS.

a.

Timely Responses and Feedback - Check in withthe learners regularly and consistently.

b.

Regular Interaction

The 2020 spring semester was scheduled to be the firstsemester teaching a new curriculum due to a periodic
curriculum revision cycle. Preparation for the new
curriculum had been taking place since the start of the2019 academic year.

c.

Timely Grading

What was done before the 2020 Spring Semester
Evaluationa.

Continued Quality Assurance - Encourage peers
and colleagues to critique course design.

b.

Peer Feedback - Learners judge their own
performance with a rubricc.

Learner Feedback - Learners give feedback on thecoursethrough
informalfeedback
andquestionnaires.

Case StudyIn this section, the authors will introduce how theconceptual framework Martin et al (2019) presented
was applied to assure learning goals were achieved
under ERT conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
After describing the context of the course, what was
conducted before, during, and after the spring semesterof academic school year 2020 by the team of teachers
teaching in this program will be explored.

Context
The course described hereafter is a high-intermediate
reading and writing course with an emphasis to improve

The aforementioned program curriculum revision was
conducted before the outbreak of COVID-19 so it was
designed to be taught in a classroom. When schools
were temporarily closed by the Japanese government
in February 2020 (Nae, 2020), the teachers of the
program were tasked to consider how the new
curriculum could be taught effectively over VC. The
course design, available ICT, and teacher familiarity of
the available ICT was examined.
The teachers were confident that the new course wasdesigned to meet the course objectives as well as the
program objectives since a backward design (Martin etal, 2019) was implemented from before the outbreak of
COVID-19. The teachers also believed that students
would find consistency throughout the semester since
the course was systematically organized by weeks(Martin et al, 2019). The teachers felt the challenge forteaching online would be how to facilitate (Martin et al,2019) as well as assess student performance during thesemester. To consider these points, a decision on what
to use as VC, what to use as an LMS, and how teachers
would share files with each other was needed.
The teachers were requested to use Webex as the VC
since the university had an existing agreement with
Cisco from before the pandemic. The seven teachers
The PanSIG Journal 2021 54

met online using Webex a few times in February tounderstand the system to the point all the teachers felt
confident that they could conduct classes with somedegree of confidence. Webex seemed like a goodsystem providing teachers with access to multiple
whiteboards, a chat system, polling system and action
icons such as raising a hand.
A decision to use Google Classroom as the LMS for thecourse was made by the teachers. The university had
two LMSs available to teachers and students. One wasfrom Manaba and the other was Google Classroom.
The teachers had different levels of familiarity with both
systems. Each teacher tested the teacher user
experience of both LMSs and exchanged thoughts on
which seemed easier to use. Google Classroom waschosen over Manaba for two reasons. One, Google
Classroom’s user interface felt more intuitive, therefore
easier to understand and possibly easier to explain to
students if teachers were asked how to use it. And two,
it worked extremely well with Google Drive and other
Google Applications. Google Drive made it easy toshare digital files between teachers which was very
important since the seven teachers taught a unified
curriculum.
Once the VC and LMS were decided, teaching material
that was originally intended to be used in a classroom
setting as hard copies were modified for digital
distribution. During this process some classroom
intended activities were converted into homeworkassignments so more lesson time could be used for
discussion-based activities to enhance on theassignment (Kohnke & Moorhouse, 2021). Paper based
in-class quizzes such as vocabulary quizzes wereconverted into auto-marking (Martin et al, 2019) Google
Forms. Rubrics (Martin et al, 2019) were created sothey could be used in Google Classroom to mark writing
assignments. A template classroom was created with all
the teachers as a teacher. All necessary assignments
were made ready for every teacher to use in their own
class. The digital files were shared through this templateclass and the accompanying classroom folder on
Google Drive.
The program manager arranged for two certified Google
trainers to lead an FD for the teachers. The purpose ofthis FD was to resolve issues that the teachers
encountered while experimenting with Google
Classroom and other Google applications to raise theteachers’ readiness levels for teaching online (Junus etal, 2021).

What was done during The 2020 Spring
Semester
Facilitation was especially important during the springsemester. It was the first time most students had
experienced learning from home using VC and an LMS.
Early in the semester many students had questions
related to how to use Webex and Google Classroom.

Responding to these questions in a timely manner was
important to remove student anxiety, as pointed out by
Martin et al (2019). As students became more
comfortable with the technology, questions relating toclass activities and homework increased.
Timely assessment of assignments (Martin et al, 2019)
was another aspect that was prioritized by the teachers.
Rubrics for writing assignments and auto-marking
Google Forms played a sizable role to make thispossible. Rubrics were very useful for summative
assessment and providing generalized feedback that
informed students of what they were able to accomplish
in terms of learning goals for each assignment. This
reduced the time necessary for marking, making it
possible to provide individualized feedback for issues
that were unique to each student. The auto-marking
function of Google Forms also played a role in providing
timely feedback to homework and quizzes. It also
opened time for teachers to promptly respond to student
emails.
Securing time within synchronous classes for peer-topeer discussions was also considered important tocreate and cultivate a learning community within theclasses. Discussions varied from pair work for reviewing
homework to group discussions targeted to deepen theunderstanding of the weekly topic of the course (Kohnke& Moorhouse, 2021).
After a month of synchronous online teaching with
Webex, the teachers felt the need to consider analternative VC. Many students and teachers wereexperiencing issues with audio and video quality,
especially in classes with larger student numbers.
Google Meet and Zoom were considered as possible
alternatives. Google Meet was considered since it waspart of the Google for Education package and theteachers assumed it should work well with Google
Classroom. Zoom was considered since it was known
to be used by many institutes and some teachers had
experience using it with other institutes and werereporting that they did not experience audio and video
issues. The teachers felt that Zoom would be a better
choice for the new VC after conducting a few trials toevaluate functionality as well as audio and video quality.
The functionality was similar, but the audio and video
quality on Zoom was better. A request to change VC
was swiftly granted and Zoom became the new VC fromMay.

What was done after the 2020 Spring Semester
An evaluation of the course was conducted at the endof the semester by the teachers and manager. The
evaluation consisted of exchanging general thoughts on
the experience of ERT, positive and negative aspects of
the new curriculum, and specific points for revision suchas typos in teaching material that needed to be rectified.

The PanSIG Journal 2021 55

Course evaluation from students were examined
carefully to understand how students felt about the newcourse and their experience of ERT. Actionable points,
such as allocating more time for students to submit
assignments, were extracted so the feedback could beincorporated when revisiting the structure of the courseand how it could be implemented better in the following
semester since it was still unclear if teaching would
return to the classroom in the fall semester.

Discussion
Conducting an English course that adopts a
communicative approach in a time of ERT and achieve
pre-pandemic learning goals while teaching online wasa challenge. The challenge was found in four fronts:
familiarity with ICT, access to appropriate technology,
student discussions, and coping with uncertain teachingconditions.
As Nae (2020) points out, many teachers and students
do not have sufficient training with ICT. Many ICT
related questions can be found on the internet in formsof tutorial videos and wikis. The downside of thisseemingly positive situation is that finding theappropriate solution can be time consuming. The
teachers in this program were able to assist each otherwith many of the issues they faced to improve theirreadiness for teaching online (Junus et al, 2021).
Experimenting with VC and Google applications before
the semester as a group played a large role in raising
ICT competence. The FD with certified Google trainers
before the semester was extremely useful. The
teachers were able to clarify issues they faced during
their experimenting. The trainers provided answers toquestions that the teachers anticipated might be asked
by students. Due to the preparation done before thesemester, the teachers could provide in-class ICT
support to most of the issues raised by students during
the semester. The teachers communicated with otherteachers to seek answers for issues they could not
answer by themselves. This network of knowledge wasvery valuable.
As Hobs and Hawkins (2020) point out not all students
and teachers have access to appropriate technology.
Stable access to the internet that can support VC
seemed to be the biggest issue. Measures to minimize
data size seemed to have positive effects. Suchmeasures include lowering video quality on theteacher’s VC setting, and students turning off theircameras when they are not engaged in activities that
require talking to other students or the teacher. Anotherissue was students using tablets and smartphones
during synchronous lessons had difficulty using some of
the functions such as the raise hand icon due to thedifference in user interface. The teachers were able toresolve most issues through their experience of testing
VC with different devices before the semester. Most

issues that teachers did not know how to resolve could
be resolved by asking other students if they knew asolution.
Early in the semester, having students discuss inbreakout rooms presented challenges. The biggest
challenge was that students were not able to remember
the questions they were required to discuss once theydispersed into separate breakout rooms. Someteachers presented discussion questions in slideshows
prepared prior to the synchronous lesson and asked
students to take a picture of the shared screen with theirsmartphones before entering the breakout room. Others
posted the questions in the VC chat so the students will
be able to read them after entering breakout rooms.
Some teachers shared the discussion questions andinstructions as a document file through the VC chat. All
methods seemed to be equally effective.
As mentioned earlier in the paper, there was someuncertainty as to whether the lessons would bemaintained online or return to the classroom andteachers needed to be flexible. With the course
introduced in the case study, this uncertainty was not a
big issue. A backward design (Martin et al, 2019) was
implemented to assure the learning goals wereachieved and the lessons were systematicallyorganized week to week. The semester finished with alllessons being taught online, but the teachers felt thecourse could be taught in the classroom with minimalchanges, such as converting some homework activities
back to a classroom activity.

Conclusion
The authors believe it is possible to achieve prepandemic course goals under ERT circumstances.
Students that were enrolled in the course and took an
IELTS test at the end of the semester reported
achieving a band score of 5.0. In the end of semester
course evaluation questionnaire, students also reported
they felt more confident reading English text as well as
writing in English by the end of the semester due toimproved understanding of English text structure. Somestudents expressed their desire to study abroadincreased from completing the course in emails. The
authors believe that the pre-pandemic course goals
were achieved at a reasonable level from the feedback
received from students.
The authors also believe there are three factors thatneed to be considered when designing a course with
ERT in mind. First is to implement a backward design(Martin, 2019) with achieving course objectives as agoal. Second is to structure the course systematically(Martin, 2019) so students can quickly familiarize
themselves with it. Systematic design can contribute toeasy transitioning between teaching online and in theclassroom. Third is timely facilitation (Martin, 2019). To
accomplish this, the use of rubrics and auto-marking
quizzes played a role in managing time for responding
The PanSIG Journal 2021 56

to student inquiries
communication.

andconducting

periodic

Other than the course design, raising levels of teacher
readiness to teach online (Junas et al, 2021) was
important for conducting lessons online smoothly. The
authors feel that a development of a program evaluation
rubric should be considered for easier evaluation ofprogram goal accomplishment when switching the
medium of teaching from classroom to online and
HyFlex.

Martin, F., Ritzhaupt, A., Kumar, S., & Budhrani, K.
(2019). Award-winning faculty online teachingpractices: Course design, assessment andevaluation, and facilitation,. The Internet andHigher Education, 42(1), 34-43.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1096751618305669
Nae, N. (2020). Online Learning During the Pandemic:
Where Does Japan Stand? Euromentor, 11(2),References

7-24.

Arora, A. K., & Srinivasen, R. (2020). Impact ofRussell, V. (2020). Language anxiety and the online

Pandemic COVID-19 on the Teaching –learner. Foreign Language Annals, 53(2), 338-

Learning Process: A Study of Higher Education

352.

Teachers. Prabandhan: Indian Journal of

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/fl

Management, 13(4), 43-56.

an.12461

http://indianjournalofmanagement.com/index.php/pijom/article/view/151825

Suzuki, H., & Ikeda, T. (2020). Japan univ. lecturers
worry over crumbling class quality as virus

Arum, R., & Stevens, M. L. (2020). What Is a College

forces courses online. Mainichi Shinbum.

Education in the Time of Coronavirus? The New

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200509/p2aYork Times. Retrieved August 12, 2021, from/00m/0na/002000c

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/opinion/college-education-coronavirus.html
Hobbs, T. D., & Hawkins, L. (2020). The Results Are In
for Remote Learning: It Didn’t Work. Wall Street
Journal, 9.
Junas, K., Bundi Santoso, H., Oktavia Hadi Putra, A.,
Gahndi, A., & Siswantining, T. (2021). Lecturer
Readiness for Online Classes during thePandemic: A Survey Research. Educ. Sci,
11(3), 1-14. https://www.mdpi.com/22277102/11/3/139
Kohnke, L., & Moorhouse, B. L. (2021). Adopting
HyFlex in higher education in response to
COVID-19: students’ perspectives. Open
Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and eLearning, 1(1), 1-14.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02
680513.2021.1906641
The PanSIG Journal 2021 57

Managing Assessment Data in Windows Excel & Google Sheets

Anton Paul Vegel
Nagoya University of Foreign Studies

Using spreadsheet software to manage assessment data is a viable alternative to online services that are not always available orreliable. However, there remains the need for a concise and tailored resource to guide practitioners. Personal experience and areview of manuals, guides, and academic literature on spreadsheet software gradebooks show a lack of practicality, robustness,and relevance. Research in computer literacy and teacher burnout further supports the need to provide practitioners with domain
specific and functional guidance in technology. This paper thus provides a concise and tailored guide for educators regardless ofexperience to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to build and manage a gradebook using spreadsheet software.

This paper first describes the motivation underlying
this guide – why I approached a guide to manage
assessment data in spreadsheet software. A
review of computer literacy and teacher burnout
both support the need to offer concise and tailoredresources for practical purposes. A guide is thengiven to introduce anyone regardless of skill levelto the basics of spreadsheet software and the skills
and knowledge required to make and manage agradebook.
To position this overview more clearly in the milieu
of online resources, readily available resources
have been reviewed for standardized language
use and clear organization. Additionally, for those
who find spreadsheet software frustrating or
intimidating, this overview attempts to provide not
only a clear understanding of the basic functions
but also a practical resource to potentially replace
online manuals, guides, and gradebook services.

Motivation
The impetus behind this guide comes from both
first-hand experience as well as the current state ofavailable resources (manuals, guides, andacademic literature). First-hand experiencesuggests that a functional understanding of
spreadsheet software is not just a nice skill to havebut rather a very necessary literacy for educators.
Furthermore, the state of available resources does
not seem to make this issue easily approachable
for educators.
I used web-based services to manage assessment
data for many years. Engrade was the firstsuggestion when I first started teaching ESL at
Kent State University in 2012. However, Engrade
eventually cut its free service in 2016 in favor of a
pay-based system after being acquired by McGraw
Hill in 2014 (Engrade, n.d.). LearnBoost was agood alternative to Engrade offering many of thesame features, yet it was retired in 2019
(LearnBoost, n.d.). Although alternatives to these

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 58

services were available (and are still today),managing assessment data independent of online
services seemed like a better alternative. I
familiarized myself with spreadsheet software, andsoon after, sharing assessment data became anecessity – literacy classes I taught werereorganized, and co-teachers were required toorganize and merge grades. I found some coteachers lacked functional knowledge of
spreadsheet software and sharing basic tips
greatly helped. Eventually, I found myself in acoordinated program that used a premade
spreadsheet to standardize grades. While final
grades came in, I noticed calculations were off. I
was able to identify the problem and offer a solution
to the program coordinator. Through theseexperiences I realized that understanding
spreadsheet software does not just afford
knowledge about the functions and calculation but
also the skills to read, write, identify problems, andfix errors.
Beyond these experiences, I also found a lack ofconcise and tailored resources. Manuals generally
offer a robust review of functions, but these can be
off-putting due to their exhaustive nature. Guides
are also a helpful, but they often only include
certain aspects needed to build a gradebook. Bothmanuals and guides can be found on many
university websites, but again, not all are concise
and tailored. In academic literature too, there
seems to be a need for improvement. Althoughacademic literature about managing assessment
data in spreadsheet software goes back to at least
the mid-80s, not all of this literature is compatible
with current software. Other more recent work
simply does not offer enough for a novice tobecome a more functional user, and while many
articles give clear snapshots, they lack a concise
and tailored approach. For example, Lobo (2006)
describes two functions for a spreadsheet
gradebook (recording and editing macros) neitherof which are necessarily required for a gradebook.
Mansor (2012) similarly showed how to use
spreadsheet software to manage attendance andparticipation grades, and although extensive detailwas given to merging and displaying data, theactual calculations required to finalize grades wereleft without description. The need for a concise andtailored resource is still present despite theplethora of manuals and guides currently available.
A look at research in computer literacy and teacher
burnout further emphasizes this.

Computer Literacy
Selber (2004) framed computer literacy as afunctional literacy – one that requires users to“learn to work with computers in productive ways”(p. 498). Selber (2004) also showed how university
policy describes computer literacy as a functional
literacy – in this case Florida State University’s
policy that required students to “demonstrate basic
familiarity with computer hardware, operating
systems, and file concepts; a working knowledgeof word processors, spreadsheet, and data-baseprograms; and an ability to use the World Wide
Web and email” (p. 470-471). Although this policy
only offers a general sense of what it means to becomputer literate, it offers a specific range ofcompetences,andemphasizes“working
knowledge” that parallels the idea of functional
literacy. Dobberstein (1994) also gave an earlyexample of this line of thinking calling for computer
literacy to be “context sensitive” (p. 431) in which
each discipline educates about computersparticularly along an “ascending scale of expertise”
from basic knowledge to creative use of thetechnology (p. 430). Not only should computer
literacy be taught towards functional goals but also
within specific domains. Spreadsheet software
requires and understanding of not only domain
specific language but also the ability to read andwrite in the software environment echoing even our
most basic idea of literacy. It should come as no
surprise then that spreadsheet software has beena focus of computer literacy for decades (Burton,
1985; Duhrkopf, 1990a,1990b; Klein, 1993).
However, even with a basic understanding ofcomputerliteracy clear andeducational
approaches already worked through, the role ofpraxis seems oddly misunderstood. Nataraj (2014)
tested the prevalent theory that high school levelcomputer competency is enough for university
level courses and showed that students entering
university lacked necessary skills. Baugh (2004)
showed that even after taking prerequisite lowlevel courses for computer competency, anddespite students, faculty, and administration
criticizing higher level courses as unnecessary,
test results showed university students were notwell-versed in spreadsheet software and failed tocomplete elementary tasks like formatting data.
Dobberstein (1994) also pointed out a similar
misconception years earlier arguing that eventhough many people use computers daily, an
education of essential concepts, appropriate
implementations, and practical skills is still very
necessary.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 59

Unified ideas about competency or the innatenessof computer literacy may be lacking but calls forways forward are present. Hicks and Turner (2013)
called for building literacy among practitioners.
Hobbs and Coiro (2016) called for practical skills
along taxonomies like accessing, analyzing, andcreating. Dobberteins (1994) called for a context
specific approach and moving from basic
knowledge to creative use. Selber (2004) called for
an approach that focuses on functional literacy andworking knowledge.

Burnout vs Support
Research related to teacher burnout and online
teaching also suggests a need to support computer
literacy development. McCann and Holt (2009)
found that initially online instruction causes stressdue to the technological tools and techniques
required to make it work – with time this stresswains. Cross and Polk (2018) similarly suggested
that online instruction is difficult for faculty due to “alack of support and ignorance of tools andstrategies” while emphasizing the importance of“digital tools” (p. 1). Ma, Chutiyami, Zhang, andNicoll (2021) also found “technology” to be themost common theme in interviews focused onchallenges experienced in online teaching at theonset of the COVID-19 era. They further suggested
that “both students and teachers should beequipped with technological skills necessary tocope with unexpected change” (p. 20). Although
online teaching is not the only teaching context inwhich teachers experience burnout, it is a context
that has peaked researchers’ interest. Thesefindings, though not definitive, help clarify theimportant role technology plays in education in the
21st century. This paper, following these calls,
approaches a practical problem, managing
assessment data in spreadsheet software, in adomain specific and functional way while also
providing the knowledge needed for users toaccess, analyze, and create within the technology.

these assessment elements as components andweights, categories will be used throughout thisguide. Additionally, although there may be small
differences between Microsoft Windows, macOS,
and different language versions of spreadsheet
software, the overall concepts remain.

Spreadsheet Software
The main page of a spreadsheet program isreferred to as a worksheet or table. This pageappears as a grid with rectangular modules (SeeFigure 1). The top bar is labeled alphabetically (leftto right) denoting the vertical columns. The left-side
bar is labeled numerically (top to bottom) denoting
the horizontal rows. The modules (where thecolumns and rows intersect) are called Cells.
Active Cells, ones that are selected and ready for
input, are marked with a green or blue outline. It is
often only necessary to select one Cell at a time.
Cells can be resized by hovering the cursor over
the Cell boundaries on the top bar or left-side bar
until the resize cursor appears. Cells can be used
to enter text for example labeling a column (i.e.,“Student names,” “Student emails,” “Quiz 1,” “QuizTotals,” etc.) or labeling a row. Cells can also beeasily modified with a variety of colors and shades
to help visually distinguish data elements – both
Excel and Sheets use a pouring paint bucket icon
for this feature. Lastly, Cells can be used to enter
Functions, mathematical calculations or logicalcomparisons (e.g., adding, multiplying, dividing,conditionals). Entering a Function is typed just as
any other text, but an initial equal sign denotes its
quality as a Function. Once a Function (or text) has
been entered into a Cell, it can be applied to other
Cells by selecting the small box in the bottom-rightcorner of an active Cell and dragging it either
horizontally or vertically.

Exercise 1 Basic Data Entry

Managing Assessment Data
The main benefit of using an electronic gradebook
is having an organizational environment that canreliably keep data while also having calculation
tools to make managing categories and their shareof the grade easier. Although Ur (2012) refers to

1. Open a new spreadsheet.
2. Enter the data into the Cells to match
Figure 1.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 60

Figure 1: Organization of a spreadsheet gradebook

Basic Data Entry
Here you have created a simulated gradebook withsimple categories for quizzes (Q), Homework (HW),and Presentations (P). To sum these category
totals, convert totals to percentages, weighpercentage totals, sum final grades, andautomatically apply letter grades, Functions areneeded.

Functions
Only a few Functions are needed to make a simple
yet robust electronic gradebook in spreadsheet
software.

Adding: This Function allows for the summing ofmultiple assignments into category totals as well as
the summing of weighted categories into an overall
total.

Dividing: This Function allows for the conversionof any total into a percentage. This is accomplishedby dividing the points earned by the total points
possible (e.g., 15/20 = 75%).

Multiplying: This Function allows for the reductionof categorical totals (represented as percentages)
to their share of the total grade (weighted
categories).

Conditionals: This Function allows for the
automation of binary (i.e., “Fail” or “Pass) or
categorical (i.e., F-A) letter grades. Essentially, thisFunction follows logically: If this is true, do this,otherwise do this.

Exercise 2 Adding/Summing

1. The summing function is typed as =SUM().
2. Select a Cell to indicate where theFunction’s calculation will appear (e.g., E3).
3. In this Cell type the Function, but do not
close the parenthesis. Type: =SUM(
4. Click on the Cells you want to sum witheach separated by a comma. (e.g.,=SUM(C3,D3). This essentially means
9+8.
5. Press Enter (Return). 17 should appear in
Cell E3.
6. Drag the active Cell from E3-E6 to apply
the Function to the rest of the data andapply the same steps to J3-J6 and O3-O6
as shown in Figure 2

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 61

Figure 2: Using the SUM function

Adding/Summing Data
Note that the active Function of each cell can bechecked by selecting the Cell. For example,
selecting Cell E4 will reveal =SUM(C4,D4) while
Cell E6 reveals =SUM(C6,D6).

Exercise 3 Dividing
1. The dividing Function is typed as =/.
2. Select a cell to indicate where theFunction’s calculation will appear (e.g., F3)

3. Type an equal sign and select a Cell toindicate the divisor (total points earned)(e.g., =E3).
4. Type a forward slash and type the dividend(total points possible) (e.g., =E3/20)
5. Press Enter (Return). The result will likely
be a decimal number.
6. Select the Cell and change the Cell format
from “General” to “Percentage” or click on
the % symbol in the taskbar.
7. Drag the active Cell from F3 to F6 to apply
the Function to the rest of the data andapply the same steps to K3-K6 and P3-P6
as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Creating Percentages

Exercise 4 Multiplying
The multiplying Function is typed as =*.

Select a Cell to indicate where the Function’s
calculation will appear (e.g., G3).
Type an equal sign and select the Cell to indicate
the first multiplication factor (the category total
percentage) (e.g., F3).
Type an asterisk and type the second multiplication
factor as a decimal number (the category weight)(e.g., =F3*.30).

Press Enter (Return). The result will likely be adecimal number.
Select the Cells and change the Cell format from
“General” to “Percentage” or click on the % symbolin the taskbar.
Drag the active Cell from G3-G6 to apply the
Function to the rest of the data and apply the same
steps to L3-L6 (with .25 as the second factor) andQ3-Q6 (with .45 as the second factor).
Figure 4 shows three weighted categories. The first(G3-G6) reduces the Q Total to 30%. The second(L3-L6) reduces the HW Total to 25%. Finally, thethird (Q3-Q6) reduces the P Total to 45% as shownin Figure 4

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 62

Figure 4: Weighted Totals

Exercise 5 Final Grades
To calculate final grades, simply sum the weighted
totals in an empty Cell (e.g., R3) as=SUM(G3,L3,Q3) and drag the Cell from R3-R6.
Review Exercise 2 Adding/Summing if needed.

Figure 5: Final Grades (Total)

Exercise 6 Final Grade Letter Grades

To automatically assign letter grades, use the IF
Function. First, make a simple “Fail/Pass” binary.

1. Select an empty Cell to indicate where theresponse to the conditional will appear(e.g., S3).
2. To make a simple fail/pass conditional
hinged
on
60%,
type:
=IF(R3<.60,"Fail","Pass").
3. Drag the active Cell from S3-S6 to apply
the function to the rest of the data as
shown in Figure 6.1.

Figure 6.1: Pass/FailThe PanSIG 2021 Journal 63

Note that the IF Function can also be essentially“flipped” with the results remaining the same:=IF(R3>.59,"Pass","Fail").
To program more letter grade categories thanshown in Figure 6.1, nest IF Functions in the last
position of each conditional and leave parenthesis
open until the end (color added for emphasis).

4. =IF(R3<.60,"F",IF(R3<.70,"D",IF(R3<.80,"
C",
5. To add “less than 90%” and a final false
response for “not less than 90%,” type (ingreen):
a. =IF(R3<.60,"F",IF(R3<.70,"D",IF(R3<.80,"C",IF(R3<.90,"B","A"
6. Finally, close all the parentheses.
a. =IF(R3<.60,"F",IF(R3<.70,"D",IF(R3<.80,"C",IF(R3<.90,"B","A"))))

1. Select an empty Cell to indicate where theresponse to the conditional will appear(e.g., T3).
2. Modifying the Formula from Cell S3 to add“less than 70%,” type (in blue):=IF(R3<.60,"F",IF(R3<.70,"D",3. To add another category for “less than80%,” type (in orange):

Figure 6.2: Letter Grades

Note that just like with a “Fail/Pass” binary, more
complex nested conditionals can also be “flipped”
withtheresults
remainingthesame:=IF(R3>0.89,"A",IF(R3>0.79,"B",IF(R3>0.69,"C",I
F(R3>0.59,"D","F"))))

Exercise 7 Visual Elements
So far, all examples have been monochrome
without any special consideration to layout ordesign save only what headings were necessary.

Although the examples (despite their simplicity) are
not impossible to read, increasing visual clarity
certainly has its merits – especially if the
spreadsheet is intended to be shared. The twomost immediate solutions are spacing and color.
Spacing, which has so far been neglected in thisoverview, can be manipulated by inserting ordeleting a row or column (and thus shifting others
up/down or left/right). AutoFit can also be used toautomatically resize Cells in relation to the size ofthe text entered in them.

Figure 7: Visual Clarity

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 64

Merging Data

Conclusion

Merging data in a shared class, coordinatedprogram, from different platforms like Google
Classroom or Edmodo, or from a university
database requires special considerations. The
easiest way to ensure merging data is error free isto understand how CSV (Comma-Separated
Values) files work. CVS is a non-proprietary file
type spreadsheet software can read/write. Whendata from Edmodo and Google Classroom isexported, it is via a CSV file that contains students’names, numbers, and assessment data. How
easily this data can be sorted and merged withanother spreadsheet depends on how identifying
information (names and numbers) has beenorganized. Some early thoughtfulness canalleviate future headaches. Be consistent withidentifying information.

The goal of this paper was not only to show whysuch a guide is needed but also to provide a
resource that can be easily shared and referenced.
Although manuals, guides, and academic literature
are widely available, concise and tailoredresources are not. Computer literacy as afunctional literacy requires a working knowledge ofcomputer software, especially those relevant tospecific contexts, but support is a neglected aspectof literacy praxis even among adult educators.
Understanding how to read, write, identify
problems, and fix errors in spreadsheet software asan educator is not just a helpful skill but basic due
diligence.

How you or students enter names (firstname-last name vs. last name-first name).
How you or students enter student
numbers relative to the student names

If some students use first name-last nameconventions, others use last name-first nameconventions, and still others put their student
number before or after their name, sorting data will
be difficult. With these issues avoided, data can beeasily sorted and merged with anotherspreadsheet. If these issues are present, a slower,
more careful approach will have to be taken. To be
sure data is copied correctly, identifying
information needs to be sorted to match the target
document using the Sort & Filter tool which by
default sorts by the first column A-Z or Z-A. To
avoid disentangling identifying information fromassessment data and receiving a Sort Warning, besure all relevant data is selected before sorting. If
the data cannot be sorted easily due to the abovementioned issues, there are a few solutions:

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Dobberstein, M. (1993). Computer literacy for the
rest of us. Computers and the
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Ma, K., Chutiyami, M., Zhang, Y., & Nicoll, S.

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COVID-19: Changes, its associated factors
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Possibility of Integrating Telecollaboration in Regular English Classes
Yukie Saito
Chuo University

Telecollaboration where learners of different languages interact online with one another for intercultural exchange and foreign language
learning (Helm & Guth, 2016) can be integrated into English classes offered online. To seek the possibility, a telecollaboration project of fivelanguage exchanges with first-year university students learning English in Japan and students learning Japanese in the U.S. was integrated
into an English course. This research investigated how the students perceived the telecollaboration and how their feedback has changed
between the first and the fifth exchanges. The results of a questionnaire survey conducted after the five exchanges and students’ journals
after the first and the fifth exchanges showed the telecollaboration could lead to their deepening cultural understanding, lowering foreign
language anxiety, improving speaking, and acquiring pragmatic competence. Based on the results, the possibility of integrating
telecollaboration into English classes will be discussed.

異文化間交流と外国語学習のため、異なる言語の学習者が互いにオンライン上で交流する telecollaboration（Helm＆Guth, 2016）は、オンラインで提供される英語クラスへの導入が可能になり得る。導入の可能性を探るため、大学 1年生を対象にオンラインで提供された英語コースに、米国の大学で日本語を学ぶ学生と 5 回の言語交流を行う
telecollaboration のプロジェクトを実施した。本研究では、学生の telecollaboration に対する認識と、1 回目と 5 回目の言語交流後のフィードバックの変化について調査を行った。結果、telecollaboration が文化理解の促進、外国語の不安の軽減、スピーキングの向上、語用論能力の習得に繋がる可能性があるということがわかった。結果をもとに、英語の授業に telecollaboration を導入する可能性について議論する。

Although many university students in Japan wererequired to take English classes online suddenly
because of the spread of Covid-19 in 2020, online
classes can have some benefits. One benefit is thattelecollaboration can be integrated into regular English
classes offered online. In telecollaboration, learners
from different cultural contexts can experience online
intercultural collaboration and interaction (O’Dowd & O’
Rourke, 2019). “Telecollaboration is the practice ofengaging distant classes of language learners ininteraction with one another using Internet-based
communication tools to support intercultural exchange
and foreign language learning” (Helm & Guth, 2016, p.
241).

In the study by Schenker (2017), telecollaboration
between novice learners of German in the U.S. andadvanced learners of English in Germany made thelearners of German have more interest in learning
German and studying abroad although their speaking
proficiency was not improved. One model oftelecollaboration is eTandem, which has beendeveloped from Tandem based on mutual language
exchange between speakers of different languages(Helm & Guth, 2016). In the study by El-Hariri (2017), in
which Colombian learners of German participated in a
German-Spanish eTandem project, showed great
potential to reduce the fear of using German in real-lifesituations.

Lee and Song (2019) compared the development ofintercultural competence among study abroad,telecollaboration, and on-campus language study
groups. The study abroad and telecollaboration groups
showed similar degrees of improvement in the affective
and behavioral aspects of intercultural communicativecompetence, while the on-campus group showed nosignificant improvement. The telecollaboration groupwith online contact with the target culture also
developed cultural knowledge.

Benefits of telecollaboration on learning pragmatic
behaviors and applying patterns in authentic discourse
are also mentioned (Blyth & Sykes, 2020). Pragmaticcompetence is “a set of internalized rules of how to use
language in socioculturally appropriate ways, taking into
account the participants in a communicative interaction
and features of the context within which the interaction
takes place.”(Celce-Murcia & Olshtain, 2000, p. 20). For
example, understanding turn-taking rules to maintainthe flow of the talk between very brief pauses between

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 68

turns (Celce-Murcia & Olshtain, 2000) may be difficult
for Japanese EFL learners, and they might be quiet
during a conversation.
Integrating telecollaboration into regular English
classes offered online may help promote students’cultural understanding, improve English proficiency,
and acquire pragmatic competence. In order to seek thepossibility, a telecollaboration project was conducted in
the fall of 2020. In this study, as a first step to seek thepossibility, it is investigated how Japanese EFL
students perceive telecollaboration with university
students in the U.S. and how their feedback between
the first and the fifth exchange in the telecollaboration
has changed. The research questions of this study are
the following.

1. How do university students learning English in Japan
perceive the telecollaboration?
2. How has their feedback between the first and the fifthexchanges changed?

Methods
To answer the research questions, a questionnaire
survey was conducted after the last exchange andfeedback on journals that students took after the firstand fifth exchange were analyzed. In this section, first,
participants in the course and in the telecollaboration
will be provided. Following that, the information about
the telecollaboration will be explained. Then, thequestionnaire respondents and the data collection andanalysis of the questionnaire are explained. Finally, thedata collection of the students’ journals and theiranalysis are presented.

Participants in the Course and the Telecollaboration
Participants in the course were 20 first-year students ina four-skill integrated English course in a private
university in Japan and their English proficiency was
about 600 points on TOEIC L & R. The 20 participants
and about 20 participants from a university in the U.S.
learning Japanese from a Japanese instructor
participated in five exchanges of the telecollaboration
project. About 30-minute exchange in English and about
30-minute exchange in Japanese were integrated into
regular 100-minute classes offered online using ZOOMin the fall semester in 2020. The classes were to beoffered face-to-face, but they had to be offered online
due to the spread of Covid-19. Although the exchanges
were conducted both in English and Japanese, thispaper focuses on the part of the exchanges in English.

Procedures and Contents of the Telecollaboration
The students learning Japanese in the U.S. and theJapanese teacher joined the ZOOM class 30 minutes
after the class began. In the first exchange, theJapanese teacher and I explained the purposes and theprocedures of the exchanges including the explanation
about how to use ZOOM. After that, the exchange inEnglish was followed. I explained the contents of theexchange and then, the students were divided into
breakout rooms of ZOOM that they were assigned to.
In the first exchange, after the explanation about thecontent to be covered, they were divided into groups
with four to five students in breakout rooms and then,they introduced each other in English, and talked about
their favorite places. After that, the students in Japan
recommended one place in Japan and the students in
the U.S. recommended one place in the U.S. The topic
of the second exchange was shopping which was the
topic from the textbook used in the Course, Life 4 from
Cengage Publication. In a class prior to the second
exchange, they brainstormed questions about shopping
and wrote in the chat of ZOOM about 20 questions suchas “What kind of goods do you often buy?” and “Whatdid you buy most recently?”. After the class, I shared thequestions that they made on a Learning Management
System for the preparation for the second exchange.
Another focus of the second exchange was to maintaina conversation by initiating a conversation and using
backchanneling. This is because the Japanese
students were quiet when I joined the breakout rooms
and observed the first exchange. Thus, before thesecond exchange, I instructed how they can maintain aconversation by asking questions, using backchannels
such as ”Really” and ”That’s great.”, repeating the partof the talk (e.g., A: I really like traveling. B: Do you? I
love traveling, too!) and sharing the same interest (e.g.,
A: I like watching football games. B: Me, too. I havebeen a big fan of football.) Backchanneling means
giving feedback as a listener (Ishihara & Cohen, 2010).
To teach how to use backchanneling may be helpful toavoid silence and maintain a conversation. In the third
exchange, they asked and answered the questions
using questions for international language exchanges
shared on Wordwall, which is the website to makequestions for language classes as a form of game.
Example questions were Could you tell us something
about what you study at university? and Could you tell
us something about how students have fun?. Both of thestudents turned in spinning the wheel and asked thequestion where the spin stopped. One reason for
introducing the questions on Wordwall was that
integrating a game in English classes can be beneficial
for improving motivation and promoting attitudes(Rahmani, 2020). In the fourth exchange, they mainly
talked about social issues in Japan, the U.S. and theworld including a topic related to Covid-19. In the lastexchange, they talked about their study, plans for future

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jobs, and future dreams and they also shared theirreflection about 2020 and their hope for 2021.

Questionnaire of Students’ Perception about the
Telecollaboration
To investigate students’ perceptions about the
telecollaboration, I conducted a questionnaire survey
after the last exchange. For the questionnaire survey,
questions related to intercultural competence, foreign
language anxiety, spoken production and interaction,and pragmatic competence were included. Forintercultural competence, the definition by Beacco et al.
(2016), the ability to experience otherness and cultural
diversity, to analyze that experience and to derive
benefit from it, was used as a reference. About foreign
language anxiety, foreign language classroom anxiety
scale by Horwitz et al. (1986) was used as a reference.
For spoken production and interaction and pragmaticcompetence, Can-do descriptors from CEFR
Companion Volume (Council of Europe, 2018) wereadapted. Examples are “can connect phrases in a
simple way in order to describe experiences and events,
my dreams, hopes & ambitions” (B1 Spoken
Production), “can enter unprepared conversation on
topics that are familiar, of personal interest or pertinent
to everyday life” (B1 Spoken Interaction) and “Caninitiate, maintain, and close simple face-to-faceconversation on topics that are familiar or of personal
interest” (B1 Pragmatic Competence). The questions
prepared for were those described below in Table 1 andeach of them are presented with categories of IC(intercultural competence), FLA (foreign language
anxiety), SPI (spoken production and interaction), andPC (pragmatic competence). For answer choices, afour-point scale, strongly agree, agree, disagree, andstrongly disagree were adopted. The reason for not
adopting a five-point scale with a mid-point is that a midpoint tends to be selected among east Asianparticipants (Cohen, Manion, & Morrison, 2011).

noticing differences between American students andthem, it was coded as feeling, hope, performance andnoticing. For their feedback after the fifth exchange,
sentences including can, could, and was able to, whichshows improvement in their English, was underlined
and then the underlined parts were compared to thecoding on the first exchange.

Results
Results of the Questionnaire
To investigate how university students learning English
in Japan perceived the telecollaboration, thequestionnaire
surveyrelatedtointerculturalcompetence, foreign language anxiety, speaking
production and interaction, and pragmatic competence
was conducted. All of the 20 students in the course
answered the questionnaire survey. Table 1 shows theresults of the questionnaire survey. As shown in Table
1, regarding cultural understanding, more than 70% of
the students strongly agree or agree that they gained adeeper understanding of American culture andAmerican university students’ life through theexchanges. About foreign language anxiety, 90% of thestudents strongly agree or agree that they feel lessafraid to speak English with native English speakers;
however, 40% of them are still not confident in speaking
English with native English speakers. Regarding
speaking, more than 80% of them think that they havebecome able to talk about themselves, their family,
school life, hobbies, experience, dreams, and hopes.
However, 35% of them did not think that they havebecome able to talk about their interests without
preparation in advance. About pragmatic competence,
more than 75% of them strongly agree or agree thatthey have become able to initiate a conversation, to ask
questions spontaneously, to use backchanneling and tomaintain a conversation in English. It was noteworthy
that 45% of them strongly agree and 35% of them agree
that they have become able to use backchanneling.

Students’ Journals after Each Exchange
After each exchange, the students wrote how they
thought about the exchange in English. In this paper,
their feedback about the exchange after the first and thefifth exchanges was compared. The data were coded
and analyzed using content analysis inductively. Coding
is a technique for identifying statements by attaching
one or more keywords to a text (Kvale & Brinkmann,2009). Kvale and Brinkmann (2009) stated, “Content
analysis is a technique for a systematic quantitativedescription of the manifest content of communication”(p. 203). For example, if their feedback after the firstexchange was related to their feeling, hope to improvetheir English, performance of speaking English, and

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 70

Table 1
Students’ Perception to the Telecollaboration
Questions

Strongly

Agree

Disagreeagree
Q1: I gained a deeper understanding of American culture through theStrongly
agree

4

10

6

0

20%

50%

30%

0%

7

10

3

0

35%

50%

15%

0%

7

11

2

0

35%

55%

10%

0%

Q4: I feel more confident in speaking English with native English

1

11

7

1

speakers. (FLA)

5%

55%

35%

5%

Q5: I have become able to talk about myself, my family, and school life

5

12

3

0

25%

60%

15%

0%

6

13

1

0

30%

65%

5%

0%

2

14

4

0

10%

70%

20%

0%

3

10

6

1

15%

50%

30%

5%

6

9

5

0

30%

45%

25%

0%

6

11

3

0

30%

55%

15%

0%

9

7

4

0

45%

35%

20%

0%

3

13

4

0

15%

65%

20%

0%

exchanges. (IC)Q2: I gained a deeper understanding of American university students’life. (IC)Q3: I am less afraid to speak English with native English speakers.
(FLA)

using simple expressions. (SPI)
Q6: I have become able to talk about my hobbies and school life using
simple expressions. (SPI)
Q7: I have become able able to talk about my experiences, dreams,
and hopes in English. (SPI)
Q8: I have become able to talk about my interests without preparationin advance. (SPI)
Q9: I have become able to initiate a conversation. (PC)Q10: I have become able to ask questions spontanesouly. (PC)Q11: I have become able to use backchanneling. (PC)Q12: I have become able to maintain a conversation in English.
(PC)

Results of the Students’ Journals
To explore how the students’ feedback between the first
and the fifth exchange has changed, the students’journals including can, could, and was able to in the
feedback after the fifth exchange was selected, coded
and analyzed. Table 2 shows the excerpts of the five

students’ journals. The students’ names in the table arepseudomonas. In the journals, the students wrote thename of the university in the U.S.; however, it ischanged to SUN University.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 71

Table 2
Students’ Feeback after the First and the Fifth Exchanges
Students

Feedback after the first exchange

Feedback after the fifth exchange

Yuta

I felt a little bit nervous(Feeling), I couldn't speak properly

Compared with the first session, we(Performance). So, next time we talk with SUN students, I

could spend more meaningful time andtry to tell my opinion more properly, frequently, and friendly

communicate with(them), and(Hope)

exchange our opinions.

I think that I should improve my English speaking skill

In this session, I think that I can talkmore(Hope). This is because when I talked with SUN

with SUN students fluently. I havestudents, English did not come out of my mouth

known most SUN students, so I can

immediately (Performance).

talk with SUN students the mostShunfriendly and enjoyably I have ever had.
Aiko

I wanted to talk more, but I was not able to put it into words

I was able to start talking to members

several times(Performance). So I eager to expand mythis time as well. Needless to say, withvocabulary (Hope). When SUN students entered thehuge smiling!

ZOOM class, I was so excited(Feeling).
Kako

I felt that I needed to develop more practical English

By talking to SUN students manyskills(Hope). I spent too much time thinking about what I

times, I was able to speak with lesswanted to say(Performance). What is important is not to

nervousness than at first.

speak in English perfectly, but to show that I am trying to
speak something(Noticing). So next class with SUN
students, I will try not to make a silent time(Hope). Their
willingness to listen to me was so good andpleasing(Noticing) that I will try to act like them(Hope).
Toshi

I came to class prepared to some scripts, but SUN

Throughout the five sessions ofstudents didn’t prepare any scripts, they just thought about

exchange with SUN students, I thought

it on the spot and tried to answer the questions.(Noticing)that it was fun to communicate inThis made me realize that in order to improve my English,

English. I was happy when I could

it is important to make an effort to have more active

understand what they were saying, butconversations with them(Hope).

I was also happy when they could
understand what I was saying. ….

All of the five students wrote their hope to improve theirspeaking after the first exchange and thought that they

improved their speaking after the fifth exchange. For
example, Yuta thought he could not speak well because

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 72

he felt nervous in the first exchange, but he could
communicate with the students in the U.S. in the fifthexchange. Shun also thought that he could not speak
well after the first exchange, but he could talk with the
SUN students fluently. Aiko also thought that she could
not tell what she wanted to in the first exchange, but she
was able to start talking to the SUN students. Kako
thought that she could speak less nervously in the fifthexchange. As for Toshi, his being able to understandwhat they said and their being able to understand what
he said made him pleased as shown in Table 2. Kako
and Toshi wrote that they noticed the difference
between the SUN students and them such as their
willingness to listen to others, which helped them learn
from the SUN students’ pragmatic behaviors.

The telecollaboration helped the students have positive
opinions of learning English as the analysis of thejournals shows that the students hoped to improve theirspeaking. In the study by Schenker (2017),
telecollaboration between learners of German in the US
and learners of English in Germany made the learnersof German have more interest in learning German. This
study also showed that by having the opportunity tointeract with the students in the U.S., they increased
their interest in communicating and desire tocommunicate more fluently in English. Although thestudy by Schenker (2017) did not show any
improvement in their speaking, the results of thequestionnaire and the journals showed that they thought
they were able to improve their speaking.

Overall, the exchanges made them reflect theirspeaking skills objectively by talking to the SUN
students and noticing the difference in communicating.
In the first exchange, they could not speak well and tellwhat they wanted to say and after the exchange, they
thought that they would like to improve their speaking
by communicating with and learning from the SUN
students. After the fifth exchange, they felt that they
were able to improve their speaking.

Benefits of telecollaboration on the learning pragmatic
behaviors as well as the application of patterns inauthentic discourse are mentioned (Blyth & Sykes,
2020). This study showed a benefit of improving thestudents’ pragmatic behaviors in terms of initiating a
conversation, using backchanneling, and maintaining a
conversation. The questionnaire result showed that four
fifths of them thought that they have become able to use
backchanneling. This implies that the explicit instruction
about how to use backchanneling before the second
exchange may have been helpful. This also gives animplication that additional pragmatic instructions intelecollaboration by observing ongoing exchanges may
be effective. Also, the students’ journals showed thatthey were able to understand the SUN students’pragmatic behaviors such as their willingness to listen
and to learn from them. Beacco et al. (2016) definesintercultural competence as the ability to experienceotherness and cultural diversity, to analyze thatexperience and to derive benefit from it. In this study,
the students also analyzed their experience in thetelecollaboration project and tried to derive from it.

Discussions
This study showed that more than two thirds of thestudents were able to understand American culture andAmerican university students’ life. The results overlap
Lee and Song (2019)’s comparative research among
study abroad, telecollaboration, and on-campus
language study groups, the results of which show thattelecollaboration group with online contact with thetarget culture developed cultural knowledge. Though
university students in Japan are deprived ofopportunities to study abroad due to the effects of
Covid-19, the result obtained from this study implies that
university students learning English in Japan may
develop deeper cultural understanding throughtelecollaboration even online.
Regarding foreign language anxiety, this study showedthat the majority of the students strongly agree or agree
that they feel less afraid to speak English with native
English speakers. In the study by El-Hariri (2017), theColombian learners in a German-Spanish eTandem
project showed great potential to reduce the fear ofusing German in real-life situations. As the results of thestudy by El-Hariri (2017) and this study show,interacting with native speakers of the language that thestudents are learning may reduce foreign language
anxiety. The result of this study indicates that Japanese
students learning English in EFL contexts can interact
with native speakers of English in English throughtelecollaboration, which may lower their foreign
language anxiety.

Conclusion
This study investigated how first- year university
students learning English in Japan perceived thetelecollaboration, in which they and the students
learning Japanese in the U.S. interacted in English andJapanese and how their feedback has changed
between the first and the fifth exchanges. The results of
the analysis of the questionnaire and the journals
showed the telecollaboration was helpful for them todeepen their cultural understanding, improve theirspeaking, lower speaking anxiety, and acquire
pragmatic competence. The telecollaboration has
become an opportunity for them to understand what
they could and could not do using English by interacting
the SUN students and noticing the difference between
them and the SUN students.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 73

One benefit of telecollaboration is that students caninteract with students in the same generation. In thistelecollaboration project, the Japanese university
students were able to interact with the university
students in the U.S. who were in the same generation
using English and Japanese. Being able to talk to thestudents in the same generation may have contributed
to reducing foreign language anxiety. Effects ofinteracting with students in the same generation in
English on the students’ foreign language anxiety may
need to be investigated. Another benefit oftelecollaboration is that students can learn their target
language and teach their mother tongue. In terms of that,they can build up a reciprocal relationship. By teaching
Japanese, they were able to learn from positive attitudeof the students in the U.S. to communicate in Japanesethough their Japanese competency was still limited.
Thus, though this study focused on the analysis of thepart of the English exchanges, effects of exchanges inJapanese on their attitudes to learn and speak English
may need to be explored in the future.
The analysis of the questionnaire and the journals
showed that the telecollaboration deepened theircultural understanding and lowered their foreign
language anxiety. However, to understand differencesin their cultural understanding and foreign language
anxiety, pre- and post-questionnaires about interculturalcompetence and foreign language anxiety may need tobe conducted. The questionnaire results and theanalysis of the journals showed that the students
thought they could improve their speaking. However, toinvestigate the effects of telecollaboration on theirspeaking proficiency objectively, pre-and post-speaking
tests will need to be conducted. For this project, I
observed their interaction in the breakout rooms;
however, I was not able to videorecord and analyze
their interaction. For the analysis of interactions in
breakout rooms, I may get permission from both sidesof the participants as well as the project partner’s
teacher and ask the students to videorecord theinteraction in breakout rooms of ZOOM and conduct
pragmatic or conversation analysis with the video
recorded data.
Because of the spread of Covid-19, it is not certain
when university students will be able to study abroad asin the past. However, by integrating telecollaboration in
regular English classes, it may be possible that
university students learning English in Japan enjoy thebenefits of studying abroad such as deepening theircultural understanding, lowering their speaking anxiety,improving their speaking, and acquiring pragmaticcompetence. As Helm and Sarah (2016) mention thatwith the wide availability and accessibility of the Internet,
telecollaboration may be a mainstay of foreign
languages. Because of the influence of Covid-19,
teachers and students in the world had to rely on online
communication tools such as ZOOM; however, using

online communication tools enables teachers to havetheir students engage in interactions with other students
in the world. English teachers may need to havestudents take online classes due to the uncertain
circumstance. However, in the era when we can use
online communication tools thanks to the advancementof technology, the integration of telecollaboration into
regular English classes can have a great potential andbe a door to the world for students learning English in
Japan to communicate with students in other countries
in English.

References
Beacco et al. (2016). Guide for the development andimplementation of curricula for pluringual andintercultural education.
https://rm.coe.int/16806ae621
Blyth, C., & Sykes, J. (2020). Technology-enhanced L2
instructional pragmatics. Language Learning &Technology, 24(2), 1–7.
Celce-Murcia, M., & Olshan, E.(2000). Discourse andcontext in language teaching: A guide for
language teachers. New York, NY: Cambridge
University Press.
Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K.(2007).
Research Methods in Education. 6th ed.
London: Routledge.
Council of Europe. (2018). Common European
Framework of Reference for Languages:
Learning, teaching, assessment. Companion
volume with new descriptors. Strasbourg,
France: Council of Europe.
https://rm.coe.int/cefr-companion-volume-withnew-descriptors-2018/1680787989
El-Hariri, Y. (2017). eTandem Language Learning andForeign Language Anxiety among Colombianlearners of German. Colomb. Appl. Linguist. J,
19(1), 22-36.

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Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986).
Foreign language classroom anxiety. The
Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125-132.
Helm, F., & Guth, S. (2017). Telecollaboration andlanguage learning. In F. Fiona & L. Murray(Eds.) The Routledge handbook of language
learning and technology (pp. 241-254). New
York, NY: Routledge.
Ishihara, N.,& Cohen, A.D. (2010). Teaching andlearning pragmatics: Where language andculture meet. Harlow, UK: Pearson.
Kvale, S., & Brinkmann, S. (2009). Interviews:
Learning the craft of qualitative researchinterviewing. California, U.S.: Sage Publications.
Lee, J. & Song, J. (2019). Developing interculturalcompetence through study abroad,telecollaboration, and on-campus language
study. Language Learning & Technology, 23(3),178–
O’Dowd, R., & O’Rourke, B. (2019). New
developments in virtual exchange for foreign
language education. Language Learning &Technology, 23(3), 1–7.
Rahmani, E.F. (2020). The Benefits of Gamification in
the English Learning Context. Indonesian
Journal of English Education, 7(1), 32-47.
Shenker, T. (2017). Synchronous telecollaboration for
novice language learners: Effects on speaking
skills and language learning interests.
Apprentissage des Langues et Systèmesd'Information et de Communication, 20(2), 1-17

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 75

Readiness for Online Learning: A Students’ Perspective Survey
Dr. Michael Greisamer
Himeji Dokkyo University

During the spring of 2020 Universities in Japan for the first time began either partially or fully to teach classes online. This sudden change inthe way students are taught created a new style of learning, for them as much as the teachers, and as such, initiated discussion about thequality of learning and the effect on students. The implementation of online learning has the potential to substitute or supplement traditional
language teaching far beyond the initial purpose; the safety of staff and pupils via social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic. The
purpose of this research is to highlight this potential and assess student responses to the first semester of online teaching and explore inwhat ways online education enhances language education for university students. A large number of university students (N=642) in the
Kansai area were surveyed. The data is collected from university students in the Kansai area via an anonymous survey with a sample set of642. Questions focused on their readiness to embrace online learning, their anxieties and what effects learning online has had on theirlearning in general. The results indicate that while the students accept the situation proactively they would rather get back to on-campus faceto-face (F2F) classes. As online learning is now expected to continue at least for the next semester, the author will discuss the results of thesurvey as well consider what effective strategies students can use to manage their continued online learning. Questions of student satisfaction
and student retention will also be considered.

Key Words: Online Learning, University, Anxiety, Japanese Learners, Survey

2020

2020

642

The teaching of classes online started at most
Universities nationwide in the spring of 2020 due to theuncontrolled spread of the COVID-19 virus in Japan.
The pandemic has disrupted the normal functions of life
across the world including studying and education(Greisamer, 2020). It pushed all schools to follow theJapanese Government Ministry of Education’s guideline
to change from F2F to online; with which none wereaccustomed or prepared (Henriksen, Creely, &Henderson, 2020). This shift left many schools withlittle time to adjust to online teaching and put most of theburden on the teachers to prepare and learn how to use
the online learning platforms with little training or
support. For students, the prospect of online learning is
also something new. This is exacerbated for part-time
instructors who often have to learn a different platform
for each school, as there has not been any common
platform adopted country wide. Students had to adapt

to learning from home with the tools that they have towork with. For many the resources that are usuallyaccessible to them such as: reliable Wi-Fi, access to acomputer and practice using the online platform are notreadily accessible for this new home learning situation.
This exploratory paper focuses on an anonymous
survey given to learners about their applicability toembrace, or otherwise, the online learning experienceand what effect it has had on their learning in general.

Literature Review
When the pandemic took hold in mid-February 2020
schools were forced to close, parents were forced todeal or cater to bored, confused young adults as their
daily routine was disrupted (Nae, 2020).

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Educational surveys can provide insight into
participants’ opinions and thoughts, thereby improving
the quality and efficiency of the process. Other studies
that have given similar results to this study that
demonstrate learners thought towards online learning
are: Chew, 2016; Halupa, 2016; Rahmtallah, E. & AlSaim, A. 2021, & Atmojo,Priyo & Nugroho 2020. For
example, Yunus, Hasim, Embi and Lubis (2010)
research on online learning in a Malaysian University
revealed that both the instructor and student
participants were satisfied with how the online courses
improve their language skills.
Furthermore, in conjunction to this study, Atmojo, Priyo& Nugroho(2020) found in their survey that theirstudents faced some challenges in online learning.
These challenges included: unstable internet
connection, unable to meet classmates and lack ofexperience with online platforms.
There is evidence that online learning can cause arange of mental and psychological challenges forsecond language learners that are unique to online
learning (Halupa, 2016). Whether asynchronous orsynchronous, there is a certain level of comprehension
required that cannot utilize the essential nonverbal cues
in a society based on inherent understanding. These
new and unfamiliar formats of study and work can be asource of anxiety. This issue is more prevalent in highcontext cultures such as Japan. A society where
contextual information is implicit, as explained by Xie,
Rau, Tseng, Su and Zhao (2009), high-context learners
comprehend better when nonverbal cues are used incommunication. This is because high-context learners
tend to prefer indirect or non-confrontation forms ofcommunication unlike the instant binary aspect of an
online platform. Being at university not only teaches
students cognitive skills but non-cognitive skills. These
non-cognitive skills include socialization, people skills,
extracurricular activities and life lessons.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that in Japan attending
university is considered the last chance of freedom
before joining their ridge society. These essential skills
are transmitted subconsciously or unintentionally to
students and are collectively referred to as the “hidden
curriculum,”; in contrast to the academic curriculum withthe objective to developing students’ cognitive skillsliteracy and numeracy (Kelly 2009).
This survey is compiled to investigate learners’ thoughts
and opinions about their first semester of online learning.
A plethora of studies acknowledged the sudden moveto online learning to be forceful but necessary tocontinue education. (Halim, Hashim, & Yunus, 2020;
Hodges, Moore, Lockee, Trust, & Bond, 2020).
Researchers and educators are eager to identify
whether online learning is able to provide equivalent
results and academic achievements when comparedwith traditional F2F learning. There have been many

comparative studies conducted to examine whether
F2F and traditional methods of teaching are more
effective than online learning. For example: GonzálezGómez, Jeong, and Rodríguez (2016) that found that“flipped classroom” provided better results than
traditional methods. “Flipped” means that lectures andclasses are provided to the home by the way of videolecture along with other materials leaving classroom
time focused on student centered activities. The casethat online learning is better than traditional learning isevident with increased rate of course completion,
student satisfaction and higher motivation levels.
(Bernard, Borokhovski, Schmid, Tamim, and Abrami,2014).
Several studies also reached the same conclusion thatonline learning achieves an improvement in results
higher than traditional methods (Lockman & Schirmer,
2020; Ryan, Kaufman, Greenhouse, She, & Shi, 2016).
Online learning has many advantages; however, it has
its limitations. For example, in 2015, Adams, Randall
and Traustadóttir conducted a comparative study of two
different groups that demonstrated online learners wereless successful when compared with F2F learners.
Along with this study, students expressed that theymissed the interaction and comradery of their peers andinstructors.
Japanese Universities are behind the world and other
Asian countries concerning online training andeducation (Nae, 2020). In Japan as Hodges et al.
(2020) describes it “Emergency Remote Teaching”(ERT) with teachers scrambling to put their lessons
online without the proper training or support, and overan extremely short time-frame. One of the problems isthat Japanese higher education institutes have beenslow to implement learning management systems(LMS). According to Funamori (2017) universities are
not yet focusing on the need to adapt to the digital age,unlike America, which is one of the developers of the IT
revolution in education. That is that the foundation for
distance learning is already in place and established.
This paper will discuss the results from the students’point of view of their first semester online.

Methodology
This study involved a simple questionnaire as a surveyof Japanese undergraduate students (n = 642)
regarding their perspectives on online learning. Various
schools in the Kansai area participated in the online
anonymous survey. Data for this study was compiled
through the analysis of learners’ perceptions based on
their individual experience with online learning.

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Design and Procedure
This survey is created to analyze the responses ofparticipants about their first semester of online learning.
Data for the study was collected through an online
Google Form and piloted by a class of 25 students. The
survey is required to be approved by schools for ethics
compliance permission for the students to participate.
Anonymous and voluntary most schools approved thesurvey and it was distributed to students at the end of
the semester.

agree’. The remaining two open-ended questions aredesigned to provide qualitative data. As Brown (2001)
proposes, this qualitative data could provide additional
valuable information in interpreting the results obtained
from the quantitative questionnaire. Data collection was
conducted in July/August of 2020 at the end of thespring semester.

Results
The results are divided into 3 parts: demographics,
Likert scale and open-ended questions.

The Instrument
One of the most popular quantitative research
instruments is the questionnaire (Plonsky & Derrick,2016). It gives participants an opportunity to express
their thoughts and feeling on their expectations oflearning. They are also relatively easy to construct. And
as Dörnyei (2012) suggests questionnaires are
extremely versatile with a unique ability to gather large
amounts of data very quickly in a form that can besuitably and conveniently analyzed. A questionnaire
can generate factual, behavioral and attitudinal types ofdata not readily available with other formats. Thissurvey is designed to reflect the learners’ feelings,
attitudes and ideas about studying online.
The survey has 20 questions; 18 multiple-choice and 2
open-ended questions. The first 4 are demographic
questions followed by 14 Likert scale questions
designed to assess specific aspects of online learningfrom the students’ perspective. For each of the items,
students were asked to provide a response on a 5 point
Likert scale ranging from ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly

Likert scale results
Table 2 displays the results for the Likert scale part ofthe survey. “I enjoyed not being able to meetclassmates” had the highest percentage with a
combined total of 68% responding disagree or strongly
disagree. When asked if too much homework was amajor source of stress and anxiety, 58% either agreed
or strongly agreed in conjunction with the results fromthe open-ended question. (See Table 2).

The two clear observations from the demographic
features are that most students who participated werefirst-year and predominately female students.
Among the 642 students who completed thequestionnaire, 60% are first-year students, 29% aresecond-year and only 11% are third and fourth-year
students. 85% of the participants were female and 15%
were male students. The main study tool used by
students is a personal computer (PC) or laptop at 80%,
10% for smartphones and 10% for tablets. The main
platform used to communicate in their study groups isZoom. Other popular platforms are: Manaba, Google
Classroom, Microsoft teams and Moodle. Participants
were allowed to choose multiple answers; many chose
Zoom with one of the above platforms. (See Table 1)
The data in Figure 1 and Table 1 illustrates that Zoom
is the most utilized platform with 81% of the participants
either using zoom alone or with a combination ofanother platform. Zoom is a video and online chatservices through peer-to-peer software platform and isdeveloped for distance education and social relations.
“I prefer online classes to face to face classes.”in which 59% either disagreed or strongly
disagreed, compared to 16% who either agreed
or strongly agreed.

These findings are significant and that suggests
students would rather be at school learning F2F morethan online learning (Greisamer, 2020)

Two questions that give surprising results are as
follows:
“I think online classes are an effective andefficient method of learning.” in which 56%
either disagreed or strongly disagreed,
compare to 12% who either agreed or strongly
agreed.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 78

Table 2: Student answers to Likert scale questions in percentage(n = 642) Strongly
Disagree
Questions

Disagree

NeutralAgree

Strongly
Agree

3%

9%

42%

36%

10%

4%

16%

35%

29%

16%

I enjoyed not having to travel / commute to school.

5%

18%

27%

25%

25%

I enjoyed not being able to meet with classmates.

32%

36%

16%

9%

7%

To me, to have the instructor in the classroom while

2%

8%

34%

32%

24%

I think my English ability has improved this semester.

10%

35%

43%

9%

2%

I think online classes are an effective and efficient method

13%

43%

32%

9%

3%

18%

35%

26%

10%

11%

15%

24%

33%

16%

9%

14%

34%

26%

17%

9%

3%

13%

26%

24%

34%

28%

55%

11%

3%

3%

9%

31%

34%

16%

10%

18%

41%

25%

7%

9%

At first online learning was difficult but now I have theconfidence to do it.
I enjoyed having the freedom to study at my own pace andin my own home.

learning is important.

of learning.
I would like to take some online classes even after the
pandemic.
Poor internet connection was a major source of stress andanxiety for me.
Not being in the classroom was a major source of stressand anxiety for me.
Too much homework was a major source of stress andanxiety for me.
Communicating with my teacher was a major source ofstress and anxiety for me.
Because of online classes I could manage my time andhave more time to myself.
I prefer online classes to face to face classes.

Comparison of 1st year respondents vs 2nd-4thyear respondents
From the data, 60 percent of the respondents are 1styear students which might indicate a variance in the
results if separated from the other respondents.
It could be expected that first year students may havedifferent feelings and anxieties of going to campus than
2nd year students as they have yet to experience being
on-campus. Without the guidance and reassurance ofcontact and face to face interaction of the instructors thelikelihood that many could feel greater apprehension tothe online system of learning.
However, the data indicates that there is only a slightvariance in the answers with 1st year students slightly
more opposed to online learning. Both groups have ahigh indication against online learning. Figure 2 depicts
several charts of the different comparisons. The data is
divided into 1st year (60% of total) vs 2nd-4th year
respondents (40%).

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 79

1st year vs 2-4th year respondents
At first online learning was difficult but now I have confidence to do it.

1st year respondents

2nd-4th year respondents

I think online classes are an effective and efficient method of learning.

I prefer online classes to face2face classes.

I would like to take some online classes even after the pandemic.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 80

1st year respondents

2nd-4th year respondents

Figure 2: 1st year respondents vs 2nd-4th year respondents

Open-ended results
Findings from the questionnaire are further elaborated
in the supplemented open-ended questions designed toobtain qualitative data from the students:

1. What gave you the most anxiety from online
learning?
2. What gave you the most joy from online learning?

Of the 642 respondents, 414 narrative comments werereceived for question 1 (most anxiety) and 435
comments were received for question 2 (most joy).
The analyzing process included examining eachanswer and designating categories. Many respondents
wrote in Japanese and their responses required
translation.
The result for the first question (most anxiety) is that
30% noted that the assignments were too difficult or theload was too heavy. This is significantly greater than
the second most anxiety generating issue of cannot
meet classmates or teacher at just 13%. (See Table 3).

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 81

Table 3: Summary of what gave the most anxiety from online learning (open-ended question)(n = 414)%

Too much Homework

124

30%

Cannot meet classmates/ teacher

53

13%

Poor Internet/Wi-Fi connection

37

9%

Not enough feedback from Teacher/ poor class

30

7%

Zoom

25

6%

Physical pain eyes/neck23

6%

Cannot understand what to do / If I passed the

20

5%

17

4%

Poor time management

14

3%

Poor school support

12

2%

Nervousness /Embarrassment of online classes

112%Computer problems

112%

Being a first-year student

102%Unable to attend because of part-time job /noisy

6

1%

Silence during video class61%

Nothing special

15

4%

structure

class
Sitting in front of computer / multiple people
talking at once /missed chance to talkfamilyThe results also suggest that the volume ofassignments is not equal to the amount of time given.
A respondent said: “I had a lot of homework and wasstressed” and correspondingly another commented: “課
題の量、難易度の高さ” (The amount and difficulty ofthe tasks). At the beginning of the semester when the
country was in full lockdown, teachers may havethought that students were confined to their home, sothey had more time to study, perhaps this issue is thesource of the overload. Or on the other hand, students
may instinctively say that there is too much homework.
One respondent recognized that it is not always theteacher that is to blame: “Accumulation of homework
due to my laziness”. highest generator of anxiety is:“Cannot meet classmates or teachers” at 13%. Thissuggests that students miss the face-to-face interactionof normal classes, as one respondent says: “That we
can't meet any classmates and tutors face to face”. At

9% Poor Internet or Wi-Fi connections gave the 3rdhighest stress. Without proper bandwidth and updated
hardware, it can be stressful to try to study andcommunicate online: “Poor internet connection was amajor source of stress and anxiety for me” was not reallyan issue. Other relative responses were that there waspoor communication and feedback from teachers.
Some had trouble using the video app Zoom as one
respondent put it: “It is hard to talk to the teacher
privately and I often miss my chance to ask a question”.
Another major concern is the physical stress put on the
body from sitting in front of the computer for long periodsof time. Studies have indicated that prolong sitting cancause musculoskeletal disorders and reduce
productivity (Korhan, O. Hossein, A. 2011).
A respondent commented: “I had to sit in front of PC for
90 minutes. It was very tired and bored [sic] for me”.
The stress and pain on the eyes and neck is a common

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 82

response. From these results it is clear that there aremany ways that online learning can be improved tomake the online learning a more rewarding experience.

The final question -What gave you the most joy or what
did you like the best from online classes, had a variety
of insightful answers. (See table 4).

Table 4 : Summary of what gave the most joy from online learning (open-ended question)(n = 435)%

No Commute

99

23%

Pace

80

20%

More time for myself

44

10%

Ease to prepare for class37

9%

Chatting with classmates and teacher

348%Being at home

29

7%Less infection risk

17

4%

Ease of taking classes/ asking questions

14

3%

Saving money on transportation and food12

2%

Get more housework done/ less laundry

11

2%

Can attend class less and anywhere

91%

Improved computer skills/typing

8<1%More people attend class

6<1%

More time to submit assignments

4<1%Ease of knowing others names

3<1%

Do not have to show face2

<1%

Nothing special

16

4%

No commute has the highest score at 23% and Pace
(learning at my own pace) at 20%. The category of “Nocommute” had many different responses including: Not
going to school, not having to move, not having to go toschool and not having to ride the bus or train. This
demonstrates the displeasure of having to commute toschool every day and the stress that it causes, and ismost likely echoed in the thoughts of the teachers too.
“It's good that I don't have to commute to my university”,
is a popular response.
The second largest group was “Pace” which refers to
the pace of learning and included responses such as:
More time to study, able to work at my own pace, notworried about attendance, study at my own timing, canstudy when I feel like it, I am able to repeatedly check
my work and I could review lectures freely. Taking theanxiety away seemed to help students focus better; asone respondent put it: “I can stay safe, be relaxed totaking classes, and study [sic] my own pace in myhome”.
The third highest with 10%, More time for myself isrelated to time management, efficiency and freedom.
Many realized that they could control their actions tostudy more effectively and increase their own free time.
Ease to prepare for class is at 9% which included the
response of being able to sleep more. Connected to themorning commuting time let students sleep longer andthen have more time to prepare for class by not having
to get dressed or put on make-up: “I didn't have to makeup my face [sic] and get up early”. 8% said that chattingwith classmates and teacher gave them the most joy.
This included, making group, seeing others faces,
making friends and chatting in English. 6% responded

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 83

that being at home gave them the least stress. This
included the feeling of safety of my own home, nothaving to go out, not having to worry about the weather
and being able to relax at home. 4% thought that theless risk of infection was the best part of online learning.
Some replies were: I do not have to worry about getting
Covid-19, I have less chance of getting the virus with
online classes and if I get sick or pregnant I can still
study.
3% thought that the ease of online classes gave themthe most joy. As a respondent put it: “I was able to ask
questions in the chat room that I didn't feel comfortableasking in front of others”. For some students, theintimacy of the chat room provides a relaxedenvironment that promotes communication.

Discussion
One of the main findings from the survey wasconcerned with homework. 58% of the students agree
that “too much homework was a major source of stressand anxiety”, which also corresponds with 30% of the
open-ended responses. Does learner perception of
homework volume change when learning is shifted
online? In the beginning, teachers rationalized thatleaners would be home with plenty of time to handle aheavy load. This buildup of assignments slowly took atoll as just understanding the assignment on their own
was a challenge. It is critical to understand course andhomework requirements, and when this is online it adds
another step to the process. Teachers should include
this step and ensure that the compression process is
included in time and effort of the overall assignment.
Under normal circumstances, online educators would
be given time to prepare and make necessary
pedagogical adjustments to the platform they must use
to conduct online lessons. However, this spring there
was little to no time given to prepare for a change from
F2F to online lessons due to the pandemic. Many
students had never experienced a class online and yet
were suddenly forced to learn from home.
Part of this reason is that Japan has not invested in theuse of technology in schools and has not shown muchappetite for online learning. As Ishido Nanako, aprofessor at Keio University, posits, "People are too
worried about egalitarianism. That's one of the major
reasons we're still sticking to the conventional educationstyle in which students sit passively in classrooms withpencils and notebooks”, (NHK World Japan, 2020).
With most schools adopting conservative approaches toteaching/learning with social distancing measures andcontinuing in the fall semester with online classes toavoid anyone infecting others, hopefully most students
will now be better prepared for online learning. As one
respondent replied: “Adapting to new online

systems/class systems which differ from each class.
Since the important notices were posted randomly in
different ways, organizing information was stressful atthe beginning”. It will be the task of the school
administrators to better coordinate the communicationand means between students and instructors. This canbe achieved by listening to instructors’ feedback andcomments and providing clear instructions. It would
also be of benefit if all establishments used a common
means of communicating, rather than the several
different platforms.
In order to help reduce stress learners can: Make aprioritization matrix, build a routine and prepare well.
Learners will have to prioritize their schedule. Thismeans that they should understand what is expected ofthem from each class and ranking their task from mostimportant to least. This will help them visualize andcomprehend their task, it should help to relieve thestress of the unknown and those who are unprepared.
By starting a formatted routine early in the semester
students can become more accustomed to the scheduleand work that needs to be done. Preparation is a key
factor in reliving the anxiety especially that of online
learning, which consists of knowing your schedule,
preparing your study space, and communicating with
instructors and school.

Conclusion
The results indicate that students feel confident learning
online once they understand how to adapt to online
courses. As noted by the students that have alreadyadjusted after their first online semester with 46% either
agreed or strongly agreed (table 2) and that some would
like to keep using it in some form or other as a part oftheir study.
However, the overall findings indicate that whilestudents accept the current situation, they would rather
be back to normal lessons with face-to-face classes(59%) and only 8% indicating they found joy in chatting
online. This can imply that 92% miss F2F interactions.
This in turn, suggests that students miss the humancontact known as the “hidden curriculum” that comeswith being on-campus.
The change to online learning has been slow to be
adopted in Japan and Covid-19 has thrust it onto
students and educators and forced them toacknowledge the change, in the face of their own
reticence. If online learning is to continue, schools will
have to accommodate and support students byensuring that they have adequate learning devices andthe administrative infrastructure. For example, atNagoya University of Commerce and Business at the
beginning of the semester all students were given freelaptops to join the online classes (Kyodo News, 2020).

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 84

The implementation of online learning has the potential
to substitute or supplement traditional language
teaching by including a wider geographic student bodyand providing more practical means to attend classes.
In a proactive approach the Japanese government has
decide to distribute tablets or laptops to all students at
school by next spring. According to Ishio: “Schools may
be reopening, but it doesn't mean things are going backto the old style”, (NHK World Japan, 2020). As online
learning has many benefits and the potential to reach awider range of learners and providing students withcreative alternatives to the traditional methods, a moreproactive response is required, coupled with the needto replace what has been considered to be lost- thehidden curriculum.

applied. Journal of Computing in Higher
Education, 26 (1), 87-122. Available
at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12528-013-9077-3.
Brown, J.D. (2001). Understanding research in second
language learning. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Chew, S.Y., Ng, L.L. (2016). The Relevance of
Personality and Language Proficiency on theParticipation Style of ESL Learners in Face-toFace and Online Discussions. Asia-Pacific Edu
Res 25, 605–613.

Limitations / Further Research
A larger sample set of data would have provided
stronger evidence and results.
Future directions include a nationwide survey, and amore detailed study to measure not only the opinions
but the achievements of online learners after a year of
online learning. Without real-time feedback, the routetaken by schools may be more deleterious thanbeneficial. Thus, a flexible system is required to ensureteachers and students get the most out of this new
system, and can adapt when required.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-016-0288-z
Dörnyei, Z. (2012). How to Design and Analyze
Surveys in Second Language Acquisition
Research. In Research Methods in Second
Language Acquisition: A Practical Guide.
Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 1, 74-93.
Funamori, M. (2017), “The issues Japanese higher
education face in the digital age—Are Japanese
universities to blame for the slow progress

References
Adams, A., Randall, S., & Traustadóttir, T.
(2015). A tale of two sections: An
experiment to compare the effectivenessof a hybrid versus a traditional lectureformat in introductory microbiology. CBE Life
Sciences Education, 14 (1), ar6-ar6. Available
at: https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.14-08- 0118.
Atmojo, A. E. P., & Nugroho, A. (2020). EFL classes
must go online! Teaching activities andchallenges during COVID-19 Pandemic in
Indonesia. Register Journal, 13(1), 49-76.
https://doi.org/10.18326/rgt.v13i1.49-76
Bernard, R. M., Borokhovski, E., Schmid, R. F.,
Tamim, R. M., & Abrami, P. C. (2014). A metaanalysis of blended learning and technology use
in higher education: From the general to thetowards an information-based society?”,
International Journal of Institutional Researchand Management International Institute ofApplied Informatics, 1 (1), 37-51.
González-Gómez, D., Jeong, J. S., & Rodríguez, D. A.
(2016). Performance and perception n the
flipped learning model:

An initial approach toevaluate the effectiveness of a new teaching
methodology in a general scienceclassroom. Journal of Science Education
and Technology, 25 (3), 450-459. Available at:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-016-9605-9.
Greisamer, M. A. (2020). Student Online Learning
Survey – Missing the Hidden Curriculum.
Hawaii TESOL, The Word. 30,1, 40-43.
http://hawaiitesol.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/Word/2020%20Sep.pdf

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Halupa, C. (2016). Risk: The Impact of Online

Nae, N. (2020). “ONLINE LEARNING DURING THE

Learning and Technology on Student Physical,

PANDEMIC: WHERE DOES JAPAN STAND?”

Mental, emotional, and Social Health.

Euromentor Journal, Nagoya University ofInternational Technology, Education andCommerce and Business, 11(2), 7-24.

Development Conference Paper. DOI:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/34250

10.21125/iceri.2016.0044.

5298_ONLINE_LEARNING_DURING_THE_PA
NDEMIC_WHERE_DOES_JAPAN_STAND.

Hashim, H., & Yunus, M. M. (2020). Pupils’ motivationand perceptions on ESL lessons through online

NHK World Japan. (Tuesday June 16, 2020).

quiz-games. Journal of Education and E-

Coronavirus crisis shows Japan lagging

Learning Research, 7 (3), 229-234.

online education.

Available at:inhttps://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/backst

https://doi.org/10.20448/journal.509.2020.73.22

ories/1137/.

9.234.
Plonsky, L., & Derrick, D. J. (2016). A meta-analysis ofHenriksen, D., Creely, E., & Henderson, M. (2020).

reliability coefficients insecond language

Folk pedagogies for teacher transitions:research. Modern Language Journal, 100, 538-

Approaches to synchronous online learning553.

in the wake of COVID-19. Journal of Technology
and Teacher Education, 28 (2), 201-209.

Rahmtallah, E. & Al-Saim, A. (2021). EFL LEARNERS'PERCEPTION OF USING ONLINE LANGUAGE

Hodges, C., Moore, S., Lockee, B., Trust, T., & Bond,
A. (2020). The difference between
emergency remote teaching and online

LEARNING WEBSITES DURING COVID-19
PANDEMIC. International Journal of Applied
Linguistics. 9. 5-14.

learning. Educause Review, 27.
Xie, A. P., Rau, P. L. P., Tseng, Y. C., Su, H. & Zhao,
Kelly, A. V. (2009). The curriculum: Theory andpractice (6th ed.). London: Sage Publications.

C. (2009). Cross-cultural inﬂuenceoncommunication effectiveness and user interface
design. International Journal of Intercultural

Korhan, O., Hossein, A. (2011). The Impact of Laptop
and Desktop Computer

Relations, 33, 1, 11–20.

Workstations on

Human Productivity. Retrieved

Yunus, M., Hasim, H., Embi, M. A. y Lubis, M. A.

from:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/2(2010). The Utilization of ICT in the Teaching33903895_THE_IMPACT_OF_LAPTOP_AND_

and Learning of English: ‘Tell

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685-691.

Kyodo News. (April 7, 2020). Over half of univ.
students in Japan positive about online lectures.
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/04/fd6
97eb678cf-over-half-of-univ-students-in-japanpositive-about-online-lectures.html.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 86

Me More’.

Evaluation of Duolingo to Promote Language Acquisition:
A University Case Study
Sian Edwards
Aichi University

James Drew
Aichi University

The use of technology, specifically mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) in the English language classroom has been increasing in
popularity in recent years and while many areas of this technological revolution have been well investigated, research into the effectivenessand experience of MALL in a Japanese University context is still lacking. Duolingo is a language-learning platform currently being used bymore than 500 million people worldwide making it the leading language learning software and according to the Duolingo website (2012) “anindependent study conducted by the City University of New York and the University of South Carolina, an average of 34 hours of Duolingo
are equivalent to a full university semester of language education.” Due to the scarcity of research in this area and the claims by the makers
of Duolingo, research was undertaken to investigate their assertions in the context of Japanese university students of English.

MALL
MALL
Duolingo5

Duolingo

34
1

There are many benefits of having a high specification
computer in our pockets, with most of the world’s
knowledge theoretically at our fingertips and so due toubiquitous smart phone ownership by students in mostfurther education contexts, MALL is becoming an
increasingly integrated part of many people's learning,whether that is self-initiated or institution led. This cantake many forms - students researching essays throughtheir smartphone Internet browser, using the inbuilt
cameras and microphones to make video and audio
projects, and even using them in place of the more
traditional desktop or laptop computers to complete
written assignments. Language learning applications(apps) are another way in which some learners andeducators are trying to use popular technology to boost
language acquisition results. Duolingo is one of themost popular language apps and according to its own
website it is “the world's largest online language
learning platform, with over 500 million users” (Von Ahn,
2020). Therefore, it may be necessary for English (andother language) teachers to further consider how thistechnology may be applied in classrooms. This pilot

Duolingo
Duolingo

study was designed to answer the following researchquestions:
1. How effective is Duolingo in developing L2
acquisition in English language learners in a
Japanese university context?
2. What are the experiences of students using
Duolingo to study English?

Context
MALL
Mobile assisted language learning (MALL) is becoming
more prevalent in educational contexts as a way offurthering both formal and informal language learning.
The ubiquitous nature of phones, the ability to accesslearning materials without the constraints of time andspace, the social interactivity, the connectivity, thecontext-sensitivity and ability to individualize andcustomize learning materials based on user needs,
make it a highly attractive prospect for both educators

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 87

and learners alike (Klopfer et al., 2002). MALL offers
unique, dynamic opportunities for learning andinteraction that traditional classroom settings cannot
provide and so a growing body of research isdeveloping to ascertain its effectiveness in second
language acquisition and how to best incorporate it into
education.
When it comes to language learning, a plethora of apps,
such as dictionary, AI translation and flashcard
memorization apps, among others, are often
used. Some flashcard apps are general purpose (e.g.
Anki, Quizlet, Memrise), with user created content
and/or shared online community content covering topics
from capital cities to sports trivia. Then there is theever-growing selection of foreign language specificapps, such as Babbel, Mondly, Lingoda and Busuu, toname some of the most popular.

Duolingo
The Duolingo Application (www.duolingo.com) isavailable as a smartphone application on Android,Apple iOS and Google Play, and also as a regularwebsite, making it universally accessible. As of August
2021, it includes a total of 106 different language
courses in 40 languages, including endangered andfictional languages. Duolingo uses a Freemium model(with a premium service also available for a monthly fee)
where all content is available free of charge, withadvertisements at the end of each lesson. This
technology introduces language content based on afunctional approach (such as ordering in a restaurant),
with an emphasis on grammar-translation activities. It
includes tasks such as matching images to words,
forming phrases by ordering words, voice recordings,
reading sentences and listening to pronunciation. It
personalizes its educational experience throughmachine-learning which allows users to access learningmaterials at the correct level, and it focuses on implicit
learning, where users discover language patterns
themselves through the completion of various tasks.
This is also supported by explicit instruction in the formof “Tips,” where items such as grammar, pronunciation
and useful phrases are clarified in a clear and concise
manner. Duolingo exploits gamification to keep users
motivated through its system of rewards; gems (virtual
currency), crowns, XP points and badges. It also
incentivizes learning through structures such as study
streaks, leader boards and the unlocking of newlevels. Duolingo’s bite-sized lessons, its guilt-inducing
mascots, and its penchant for interesting sentences(“We don’t sell planes to elephants”) adds to its appeal
as a fun way to learn a language. Recently Duolingo
has also begun to expand its scope through providing
interactive stories, podcasts and in-person events forsome of the language-learning programs it offers.

are not often explicitly analyzed and applied as part ofan effective overall language learning plan. However
according to Tommerdahl et. al. (2021), who conducteda systematic review of existing research articles
focused on FLL (Foreign Language Learning) apps,
81% of the articles found FLL apps to be “effective in
improving the targeted language area.” Munday (2016)
found favorable attitudes towards the use of Duolingo
as part of a university language course, although these
attitudes waned in higher level students. These positive
feelings were echoed by university students in a study
by Loewen et. al. (2019), though there was more
fluctuation in motivation levels and overall app
satisfaction.
A disadvantage of learning using apps is a potential lackof knowledge and understanding about non-verbal
aspects of communicating in the target language(gesture meaning, impolite actions, etc.), and the factthat as smart as some AI programs are becoming, they
are simply not human. Nushi and Eqbali (2020) highlight
how the grammar-translation model leaves learners far
from immersion-style learning, as well as excluding
potential learners who do not possess the appropriate
L1. Furthermore, on the downside of gamification,
Ravenscraft (2019), (who accumulated a study “streak”
of 500 days) found himself revisiting easier content rather than studying new content - when he felt short oftime and/or motivation.
Vesselinov and Grego (2012) conducted an eight-week
study into the effectiveness of Duolingo, focused on
English speakers learning beginner level Spanish. They
found a statistically significant increase in the 386
participants’ Spanish levels from pre to post tests, butthat study time, motivation, and starting level were all
key factors. It should be noted that this study wassponsored by Duolingo, and fueled their 2012
advertising campaign: “an average of 34 hours ofDuolingo are equivalent to a full university semester oflanguage education.” Krashen (2014) questions thisclaim, as the age of participants averaged 32 – differingfrom standard university students, which may be
relevant in relation to motivation, experience, andlearning pace.

Methods
Participants
The participants for this study were low-intermediate,
English language major, first-year university students.
Eight participants in total took part - two males and six
females. All took part in a voluntary capacity, and all
research was approved by the university researchcommittee. The participants were divided into twogroups, three in the control, and five in the experimentalgroup.

Duolingo and other apps have their own strengths andweaknesses, which while regularly implicitly understood,

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 88

As explained above, Duolingo is a free language
learning website and mobile app.

Procedure
The following procedure is loosely based on themethodology used by Vesselinov and Grego (2012) intheir “Duolingo Effectiveness Study” in which, theSpanish language gains of beginner level students were
measured via pre-study and post-study tests. The
participants of the current study were required to attend
two research sessions. The first session involved
explaining
theresearch
project,
completingquestionnaires (Appendix A) and taking the Duolingo
English Language Proficiency Assessment exam online.
The second session was held eight weeks later. In thissession all students once again undertook the Duolingo
exam and a post-study questionnaire (Appendix B). The
purpose of pre and post testing was to enable
comparison within the same framework of any
improvement in the level of the students’ English after
the eight weeks of interim study. In the intervening
weeks the students who belonged to the “control” group
did no additional study (beyond their regular university
classes). The “experimental” group however was
required to study for an additional 30 minutes minimum
per week using the Duolingo mobile application. These
participants were encouraged to use the app on aregular basis (most days) as opposed to completing asingle longer study session per week. Participants
however were not given any further advice as to which
topics or courses to study and these decisions were left
to individuals.

Tools
The Duolingo Application

The Duolingo English Test
The Duolingo English Test is an increasingly popularand widely accepted (Redden, 2020), affordable ($49),
adaptive online test, which takes approximately an hourto complete. It can be taken anywhere on a computerwith a good internet connection, rendering test centers
unnecessary. It tests the four language skills of reading,writing, listening and speaking but, unlike TOEFL and
IELTS, which follow traditional test paradigms, theadaptive nature of this test means the questions change
depending on the answers that have gone before. This
enables AI software to swiftly and accurately establish
the level of the test-taker. This test also differs from
more traditional testing forms in that all four skills are
blended and tested within the same short exam and thequestion-styles are dissimilar to the customary styles,
such as: listening to spoken words and then selecting
the real words or completing the missing letters from atext. While this test has many advantages over its
counterparts, namely price, convenience and brevity, italso has some limitations in its rigor. The need for testtakers’ ears to be constantly in view, the requisite to notlook away from the screen for extended periods, and theprohibition of note-taking, to name just a few. Once thetest has been completed and submitted, between 24-48
hours later results are sent by email. Test-takers receive
a computer calculated holistic score of their overall
English level on a scale of 10-160, and subscores which
are separated into the categories of Literacy,
Comprehension, Conversation and Production (Figure1). The overall scores are not averages of thesubscores, but weighted combinations.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 89

Questionnaire 1
The initial questionnaire that participants were required
to fill out before the research was undertaken (seeAppendix A), had the goal of establishing the general
English level of the students, their hitherto experienceof studying language using MALL and also their weekly
English exposure. The overall intention was to identify
suitable participants for the study and this had aconscious predilection towards the more averageexperience and level participants. The intention was to
exclude participants who had lived abroad for longer
lengths of time and those who had especially highEnglish levels or unusually high exposure to English,
from this study and also participants who had previously
studied using the Duolingo application.
In reality however, possibly due to the Coronavirus
pandemic and online teaching situation, very few
students opted to take part in this study and so whilst
participants were suitable insofar as not having lived
abroad and having relatively similar English exposure
per week and not having used MALL and especially
Duolingo before, a few students had a higher level ofEnglish (TOEIC 800 plus) than was ideal.
On average, all students took six English classes per
week (including conversation, writing and TOEIC
classes) and all students also had further exposure to
English in their leisure time through activities such as
extra individual study and watching YouTube andmovies in English. From the initial questionnaire there
was no way to establish accurately the level of theparticipants as not all of the students had undertaken
the same tests, highlighting the need for a pre-study
proficiency test.

Questionnaire 2

the experiences of students using Duolingo to study
English?” Its goal was to establish the participants’attitudes to, and experiences of, studying English using
Duolingo (experimental group) as well as theparticipants’ impressions of the Duolingo English Test
(all participants).

Results
Pre-Study Duolingo English Test Scores
The three members of the control group are participantsA, B and C, while the five members of the experimentalgroup are participants D to H. Pre-study test scores for
all participants can be seen in Figure 2.

Post-Study Duolingo English Test Scores
Post-study test scores for all participants can be seen in
Figure 3.

Control Versus Experimental Group
Figure 4 shows the variation from pre-study to poststudy test scores for all participants. While the small
overall sample size renders the statistical data
unreliable, and the unbalanced nature of the groups
detracts from its validity, it is hard to say that thedifferences in pre- and post-study test scores between
the two groups is completely insignificant. Whenlooking at the mean data, the participants in theexperimental group improved more than students in thecontrol group in all areas of the Duolingo English Test.
The greatest improvement was seen in the Production
section, with a mean gain of +7, followed by Literacy(+5.33), Conversation (+3), Comprehension (+2.67)
and a +2 difference in improvement in the Overall Score(Figure 5).

The second questionnaire (see Appendix B) was
undertaken to answer research question 2. “What are

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 90

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 91

Duolingo Study Habits
Figure 6. shows the study habits of the experimentalgroup (Students D to H), collected from the Duolingo for
Schools website. “XP Points” (short for experience
points) are accumulated as learners study on
Duolingo. Learners are generally awarded 10 XP foreach lesson, plus various other bonuses for study
streaks and other challenges. Lessons are the bitesized study sessions that make up the full course, whichusually take around five to ten minutes tocomplete. “Course Progress” is the total number of“Skills,” (which are composed of “Lessons”) of which theDuolingo English Course currently (as of June 2021)
has 56 in total. There appears to be little correlation
between study habits and pre-study to post-study test
gains among these participants.

Participant Feedback
All participants completed a post-study questionnaire(Appendix B). The control group gave feedback on theDuolingo English test only, while the experimental groupalso reported on their study habits and feelings about
Duolingo. In terms of study habits, there was a lot ofvariation. Some studied almost daily, and others twicea week, with sessions ranging from 5 to 20 minutes inlength. The evening was the most popular study time
(3 of 5), while 60% sometimes used the “Tips” feature.
However, the majority (4 of 5) never took notes while
studying on Duolingo.

Regarding users' attitudes, there was an overall positive
perception of Duolingo (Figure 7). In addition to thesegeneral notions, the students particularly enjoyed thecompetitive league aspect of gamification, and thelistening and speaking questions within lessons, while“gold,” “trophies,” and the intuitive user interface aided
their motivation. Three of the participants commented
on the English being too easy, which reflects the resultsof previous studies. Despite this perceived lack oflinguistic challenge, students still felt that reviewing thebasics in this way contributed to improving their English
level, with participant G stating that their “small
grammar mistakes had decreased.” Indeed, grammar,along with pronunciation, had the most mentions inperceived improved skills, while at the other end of thespectrum vocabulary only received one mention, whichfurther supports the impression that the content is notquite challenging enough for these participants.
When comparing test data from the experimental groupwith their Duolingo study habit data set, it is difficult tosee any patterns emerge. For example, while Student D
improved the most in their tests (+15 Overall), they werealso active for the least number of days (8), and thirdout of five in terms of XP Points, Lessons andSkills. However, Student E, who had the best Duolingo
study habits by some margin, only improved by 5 points
in the Overall Score, and dropped by 5 points in theConversation category of the test. Student G, who also
had very regular study habits, had no improvement in
the Overall Score, balanced out by a gain in
Conversation, and drop in Literacy (see Figure 6).

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 92

Discussion
Limitations
It should be acknowledged that this research was
carried out under some limitations. The number ofparticipants was low, which makes both the test andsurvey results statistically unreliable. The results do
appear to reveal a bias towards the use of Duolingo
being advantageous to language learning, though thisis by no means conclusive.
Another limitation is the study duration. It is presumed
that the longer regular study is undertaken on Duolingo,
the greater the potential language gains, and the morereliable the research data. A further consideration is thefact that participants are university English language
majors. This means that participants have regular
exposure to and interaction in the target language.
Although basic, general quantities of exposure could betaken into account such as the number of classes inEnglish and the level of interaction with English in lessformal situations (music, YouTube, etc.) via the initial
survey; Factoring individual English exposure, use andlevel of engagement with English was not possible, so
it is probable that incidental English exposure may have
had an impact on English language gains and the test
results.
The lack of prescriptive instruction on how to use andwhat to learn on Duolingo was initially considered by the
researchers to be a beneficial, more organic way forparticipants to interact with the technology and arrive attheir own tailored level, style and method of study withminimal teacher interaction to create an informal, notstrongly enforced way of study. However, this casualapproach meant that some participants did not adhere
strictly to study recommendations - a minimum of 30
min of study per week, preferably over a few days as
opposed to one longer session per week. Someparticipants were more inclined towards longer but

fewer study sessions. Also, while some participants
focused on completing all levels of individual skills(meaning that they studied many “lessons” on the same
topic and language points but covered fewer “skills”
overall), others studied each “skill” to only a basic level(meaning they studied fewer lessons on the same topic
and language points but covered more “skills” overall).
Depending on individual test content, the participants’
preferred method of Duolingo study may have put themat an advantage or disadvantage for the final test.
These factors cannot be accounted for within the scopeof the current pilot study but they should be taken into
consideration for future research.

Conclusion
In conclusion, studying using Duolingo presents a
unique, modern way to engage Japanese university
students in regular English language study. It embodies
many advantages such as mobility, convenience, andgamification. It is also free, user-friendly and it provides
individualized content. While its benefits are evident, its
efficacy in aiding second language acquisition with
provable gains however, still remains to be determined.
In regards to this pilot study for the research question“How effective is Duolingo in developing L2 acquisition
in English language learners in a Japanese university
context?” It can be said that this research points to thepossibility of a correlation between the use of Duolingo
and language acquisition benefits, with thoseparticipants who did study using Duolingo
demonstrating a higher mean second-test result incomparison to the first. However, as outlined in thelimitations section there are many extenuating aspects
which need to be taken into account and no firm
conclusions can be drawn at this stage without further
investigation.
On examination of the participants study habits in termsof study frequency, lesson content, skills practice, study
time and XP points achieved, there was no discernable

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 93

pattern to the gains made in the post-study test which
may point to the fact that other factors such as university
classes or informal study may be impacting on test
results in ways which cannot be measured.
For the research question “What are the experiences ofstudents using Duolingo to study English?” overall
experiences tended to be positive with participants
generally having enjoyed using Duolingo and perhaps
more importantly feeling it was beneficial, especially inthe aspects of reviewing the basics and decreasing
small grammar errors. Participants also felt motivated to
study in this manner and some appreciated the regularstudy-habit building it fostered. Most negative feedback
and comments were related to the level of the course
content found on Duolingo with many participantsfeeling that the content was too easy.
Further investigation should particularly focus on the
results of a larger data set and for the research to be
carried out over a longer period of time in the hopes thatdifferences between the pre- and post-test scores will
become more pronounced with particular consideration
to be given to calculating statistical significance which
may prove the efficacy of regular study using theDuolingo application. It is also supposed that results will
be more clearly seen in lower-level students as seen in
the research of Vesselinov & Grego and so greater
efforts should be made to recruit lower-level participants.
Attention should furthermore be drawn to the fact thatany perceived language gains derived from the use ofDuolingo as a study aid cannot be naturally said toequal sociolinguistic competence in real-life use andinteractions and according to Krashen (2014):
Both Duolingo and most foreign language
instruction are based on conscious learning, as
was the test used in Vesselinov and Grego.
There is a great deal of evidence showing that
conscious learning does not produce true
language competence. Among this evidence isthe consistent finding that methods that
promote subconscious language acquisition
are far more effective than traditional methods
on communicative tests and are slightly more
effective or just as effective on tests of grammar(Krashen, 1982, 2003).
Overall, regular use of Duolingo does appear to bebeneficial to language learning and it does also seem tobe an engaging method for Japanese university
students to form an English-study habit. This however
should be tempered by the knowledge that in generallower-level students make greater language gains using
this app and that only studying in this manner will notnecessarily make learners fluent or necessarily evenconversant in their target language.

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report-2020/

9/more-colleges-accept-duolingo-english-testscores-evidence-proficiency
Tommerdahl, J. M., Dragonflame, C. S., & Olsen, A. A.
(2021). Efficacy of Mobile Apps in Teaching
Foreign Languages: A Systematic Review.
ORTESOL Journal, Vol. 38, 2021.
https://ortesol.wildapricot.org/resources/Docume

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 95

Appendices
Appendix A
Pre-Study Participants’ Questionnaire

Volunteer Information
1. Name:2. Student number:
3. Age:4. Email address:
5. University Department:
6. TOEIC score (if known):
7. Eiken level (if known):
8. Have you ever lived or studied abroad?

Yes / No(circle one)

If you answered “Yes” to question 8, please give some details (Q’s 9~11):
9. Where did you study?
10. How long were you there?
11. What did you do there? (e.g. working holiday, studying English, high school exchange, etc.)
12. Have you ever used the application ‘Duolingo’ before?

Yes / NoIf you answered “Yes” to question 12, please also answer questions 13 to 16:
13. Which language did you study?
14. How often did you study?
15. When did you use Duolingo?
16. How long did you study using Duolingo?
17. Do you use any other application to study English?

Yes / No

18. If so, which other applications do you use?
University English Study
19. How many university classes do you take per week?
20. Of these classes, how many are conducted in English?
21. Please list the names of the classes that are conducted in English:
22. How many university classes do you take per week, which are conducted in Japanese but which involve
English study, for example grammar classes? (Do not include general language courses like linguistics):
23. Please give the names of the English classes that are conducted in Japanese:
Use of English in Your Daily Life
24. Do you use English outside of your university classes?

Yes / No

25. If so, in what way? Please give as much detail as possible, such as reason and frequency.

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26. Do you regularly consume (watch or listen to) English media for pleasure?

Yes / No

27. If so in what way? Please give details, especially how often you do that.
Additional English Study
28. Other than your university homework, do you regularly study English outside of your university classes?
Yes / No
29. If so in what way? Please give details especially how often you do that.
30. Why are you interested in joining this research project?
31. If you have any other comments or questions, please write them below. You may write in English or inJapanese.
Thank you very much for completing this questionnaire!

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 97

Appendix B
Post-Study Participants’ QuestionnaireNote:
The control group (who did not use Duolingo) only answered the first section (Volunteer Information) and thefourth section (The Duolingo English Test).
The experimental group (who did use Duolingo) answered the entirety of the following questionnaire.

Volunteer Information
1. Name:2. Date of Birth:
3. Latest TOEIC score (if known):
4. Latest Eiken level (if known):
Duolingo Study Habits
5. During the 8 week experiment, how often did you study English on Duolingo (on average)?
Every day / six times a week / five times a week / four times a week / three times a week / twice aweek / once a week
(Circle one)
6. When did you usually study on Duolingo?
In the morning (before school or work) / in the afternoon / in the evening (after school or work)
More details:
7. Did you use the ‘Tips’ option while studying?
Always / Often / Sometimes / Rarely / Never
8. Did you ever make notes (or do any kind of writing with a pen/pencil) when you used Duolingo?
Always / Often / Sometimes / Rarely / NeverYour feelings about Duolingo
9. I enjoyed using Duolingo.
Strongly Agree / Slightly Agree / Neither Agree Nor Disagree / Slightly Disagree / Strongly Disagree
Why / Why not?
10. What did you particularly enjoy about using Duolingo? Please give as much detail as you can!
11. What did you not enjoy about using Duolingo? Again, please give as much detail as possible.
12. I think that using Duolingo helped my English language ability improve.
Strongly Agree / Slightly Agree / Neither Agree Nor Disagree / Slightly Disagree / Strongly Disagree
13. In what specific ways do you think that Duolingo helped to improve your English, if any?

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14. I wanted to use Duolingo…
…not at all. / …slightly less. / …the same amount / …slightly more. / …a lot more.
15.. I feel that Duolingo was a good use of my time.
Strongly Agree / Slightly Agree / Neither Agree Nor Disagree / Slightly Disagree / Strongly Disagree
16. I think using Duolingo is LESS effective for learning English than:Using English textbooks / Doing other university English homework assignments / Giving presentations inEnglish / Reading English books & comics / Watching English movies and TV shows / Talking to my friends
in English / Talking to native speakers in English / Other:(Select as many as appropriate)
17. I think using Duolingo is MORE effective for learning English than:Using English textbooks / Doing other university English homework assignments / Giving presentations inEnglish / Reading English books & comics / Watching English movies and TV shows / Talking to my friends
in English / Talking to native speakers in English / Other:(Select as many as appropriate)18.. I would recommend Duolingo to other Japanese students who want to improve their English ability.
Strongly Agree / Slightly Agree / Neither Agree Nor Disagree / Slightly Disagree / Strongly Disagree
19. I would like to use Duolingo in my university classes on campus.
Strongly Agree / Slightly Agree / Neither Agree Nor Disagree / Slightly Disagree / Strongly Disagree
20. I would like to use Duolingo as homework for my university classes.
Strongly Agree / Slightly Agree / Neither Agree Nor Disagree / Slightly Disagree / Strongly Disagree
21. I think Duolingo would be useful for most 1st-year English major students at our University.
Strongly Agree / Slightly Agree / Neither Agree Nor Disagree / Slightly Disagree / Strongly Disagree
22. Using Duolingo made me feel more motivated to study English.
Strongly Agree / Slightly Agree / Neither Agree Nor Disagree / Slightly Disagree / Strongly Disagree
23. I will continue to use Duolingo to study English by myself.
Strongly Agree / Slightly Agree / Neither Agree Nor Disagree / Slightly Disagree / Strongly Disagree
24. Which features of Duolingo did you find motivated you? Check all that apply.
XP points / Leader boards / Gold / Checkpoints / Encouragement / Lingots / Streaks / Fluency score / Trophies/ Other:
25. Which English skills do you think Duolingo helped you develop? Check all that apply.
Listening / Reading / Writing / Grammar / Speaking / Pronunciation / Vocabulary / Other:
The Duolingo English Test
26. I enjoyed taking the Duolingo English test.
Strongly Agree / Slightly Agree / Neither Agree Nor Disagree / Slightly Disagree / Strongly Disagree

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27. How challenging was the test?
Very easy / A little easy / Medium / A little difficult / Very difficult
28. I feel that taking the Duolingo English Test was beneficial for me.
Strongly Agree / Slightly Agree / Neither Agree Nor Disagree / Slightly Disagree / Strongly Disagree
29. Do you feel that seeing the details of your test scores (Overall score, literacy, conversation,
comprehension, production) was useful for you?
Strongly Agree / Slightly Agree / Neither Agree Nor Disagree / Slightly Disagree / Strongly Disagree
30. What did you think of the Duolingo English Test method (technology)?
31. Do you have any other comments about the Duolingo English Test?

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 100

The Case for an Active Learning: A Conducive, Productive and Inclusive, Online andFace-to-Face Pedagogy
Alan Mulvey
Kyoto Tachibana University

Taking a leap into the culture of English communication and bridging the gap between a space to speak and language production, the goalof intercultural competence would be achieved, not by way of the traditional lecture, rather through a more active learning environment, thatis, classes that involve groupwork. These more participatory classes are conducive to many, not only students who love English, but also
those looking for more autonomy and self-direction as learners, helping internalize motivations to learn. This increase in engagement, and agreatly motivated desire for achievement, are reflected in demand-pull for critical reasoning opportunities in the classroom, and students’satisfaction with groupwork situations therein. This conducive learning environment satisfies diverse students: the introvert, easing social
tension; both women and men, giving a space to deepen understanding, and to learn by doing, respectively; and students of a wide range ofabilities, nurturing self-direction even in those who find learning English difficult. This self-reliant quality serves students very well in any
situation, both face-to-face, and online, where it is essential.

日本語概要 英語コミュニケーション文化の中に飛び込み、話す場と言語生産の間のギャップを埋めることで、異文化間能力という目標は、従来の講義ではなく、よりアクティブな学習環境、簡単に言えば、グループワークを伴う授業
によって達成されるでしょう。このような参加型の授業は、英語が好きな学生だけでなく、学習者としての自律性や自己決定力を高めたい学生も多く、学習意欲の内面化に役立ちます。このように学習意欲を高めることは、それ自体が生産的です。さらに、達成意欲も大きく向上します。これは、批判的推論の機会に対する需要喚起と、それを提供するグループワークの状況に対する生徒の満足度に反映されています。このような学習環境は、内向的な学生の社会的緊張を和らげ、男女共に理解を深める場、やってみることで学ぶ場を提供し、幅広い能力の学生には、英語学習が困難な学生も含めて自己決定力を養うなど、多様な学生を満足させるものです。そして、この自立した資質は、対面式でもオンラインでも、どんな場面でも必要不可欠なものなのです。

On the world stage, Active Learning (AL) has been
adopted by the UNDP sustainable development goals
program to promote “inclusive, equitable, quality
education” and women’s education in particular(undp.org). My research started with a curiosity to know
if active learning is appropriate to this goal – if a quality
education, regardless of gender, appreciated by
students in pursuit of their education goals, is embodied
in AL.
In Japan, AL was introduced around the year 2000 andby 2014 was officially accepted by the Ministry of
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology(MEXT) (Yamada, A., et al., 2018).

Definition of Active Learning
Active Learning is defined extensively (Freeman, 2014;
Bonwell, et al., 1991; Prince, 2004; Peck, 2016) ascollaborative, joyful, experiential learning (Kolb, 1984),
building critical reasoning skills (Bloom, 1956) towards
knowledge acquisition (Vygotsky, 1987).
The particular treatment of AL being measured in thisarticle needs to be defined briefly so that the reader may
picture the student in a certain learning environment. AL
classrooms investigated in this article see students
immersed in small groups, learning from each other –practicing, expanding, and personalizing materials of
instruction. You will hear that each group has a leader– in rotation – using well-rehearsed English phrases toworkshop assignments with their members (e.g. “Whatdid you put for Number 1?”), to ask for assistance of
their teacher (e.g. “How do I pronounce this word?”),and you will hear the teacher take over from and handback to the leaders’ thanks to their use of key, timely
phrases in well-rehearsed situations (e.g. “<Teacher’s

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 101

name>, we are ready”). This base of language
production means students can stay in English whilelearning English, and seek help from the teacher, who
circulates between groups. The students are nevertasked to present in front of the whole class - students
present exclusively within their small group or to theteacher when she is nearby. Other groups may belistening in, case by case – and this active listening is
encouraged – but the group presenting does not feelthat it is presenting publicly. By degrees, students cometo trust this learning environment and how it values theirautonomy, their relatedness with each other, and theircompetence as students (Deci, 1985). This is the
conducive learning environment referred to throughout
this article as Active Learning (AL).

The Current Study
It is the students’ definition of AL that is important in any
analysis. I want to know the merits of AL, and so,starting with the question of inclusivity raised by the
UNDP goals, I wanted to know my students’experiences in what they refer to as ‘classes
incorporating groupwork’. Is it conducive or productive
to them and does it cater to a range of student types? Ialso wanted to know if it will be effective online.
RQ1: Is AL appropriate for my students in theirlanguage class? Are students generally satisfied with
the AL treatment, and if so, what is satisfying about it?
(Study 1).
RQ2: Is AL beneficial to learning English? If so, in what
areas? Does this vary with different types of motivatedlearners? What type of ideas and opinions tend to go
together, i.e. what types of student profiles are there in
my class? (Study 2).
RQ3: Is there a connection between motivation to learn
English and motivation to use AL? If so, are there othercharacteristics of students that are engaged by AL?
Again, what kind of ideas and opinions tended to go
together here to create a profile of students? (Study 3).
RQ4: Is AL a conducive environment online? And does
AL give students self-motivation enough to stay on
course in their studies remotely? (Study 4).

Methodology
Four studies were carried out over a 2-year period,
2019-20, of Japanese English students in AL classes inuniversities of Kyoto, Japan.

Participants
A 2020 questionnaire of AL classes of 1st and 2nd year
English majors in a Japanese university, pre-study
abroad program (98 students).

Instruments
In the survey, targeting RQ1 – the appropriateness of
the AL environment – students stated their simple
preference for active learning classes over the standard
lecture. They were then invited to respond freely to an
open, non-leading question, その理由は？“The reason
is?” (See Appendix 1 for a sample of student responses).

Data Analysis
The responses were categorized under motivation:
intrinsic, identified (Deci, 1985), and ideal-selfmotivations (Dörnyei, 2005). They were also
categorized under psychological needs as learners i.e.
autonomy, relatedness, and competence (Deci, 1985).
Responses were further categorized under criticalreasoning skills (Bloom, 1956). And lastly, responses
were categorized under different modes of learning.

Study 2
Participants
A 2019 survey of 1st and 2nd year AL English students,from two Japanese universities, made up of English
majors in one Japanese university, pre-study abroad
program, and various required English classes of social
sciences majors in the other university (198 students).

Instruments
In the survey, targeting RQ2 – the benefits of AL andthe profiles of students experiencing those benefits –statements were presented, modified from Agawa &Takeuchi (2016), with which students could agree ordisagree on a Likert scale of 1 to 10 (approximatinginterval data), in multi-item scales, related to motivation
to engage in the AL treatment and satisfaction with its
components (Survey items are included in Table 7).

Data Analysis
The benefits of AL to students were surveyed and fromthis a profile of students could be built based on how AL
motivates them. For this, an Exploratory Factor Analysis(EFA) was used. An EFA is a statistical method used tofind underlying relationships in a large set of variables.
An EFA is used to group items by underlying statisticaltrend – using SPSS in this case to analyze survey
responses – and output components that profile, in thiscase, two types of AL student.

Study 1The PanSIG 2021 Journal 102

Study 3
Participants
Study 3 was a survey in July 2020, of 1st and 2nd year
AL English students, from two Japanese universities(the same two as in study 2), made up of English majors
in one Japanese university, pre-study abroad program,and various, required English classes of social sciences
majors in the other university (258 students).

Instruments
In study 3, targeting RQ3 – characteristics of students
who derive motivation from AL – statements andquestions were presented to students, with which they
could agree or disagree on a Likert scale of 1 to 10(Survey items are included in Appendix 2).

Data Analysis
The survey items establish, in multi-item scales, thetype of student responding and their preferences in AL.
The two types of student established by factor analysis
previously (EFA, study 2) were established again in thislarger cohort, study 3 (258 students), manually, on
Google Forms, as a summation of responses tostatements and questions overlapping those presented
in study 2. The two types of student analysed, werecompared in their responses on preferences in AL andcompared between the two universities, and comparedin their motivation, personality and listening skill
characteristics.

Study 4
Participants
Four years of participants, 2017-2021 – 1st year English
majors in a Japanese university, pre-study abroad
program – in a one-year extensive reading program (96,or so, students per year).

Instruments
An extensive reading (ER) program was surveyed overfour years, including pre- and during-pandemic,
targeting RQ4 – AL online. ER is a program in which
students read by themselves to target word quantities,
week by week, and it runs online every year. It has animportant, motivating, supporting intensive reading (IR)tuition – a scaffolding for performance in ER – in which
students learn how to critically think of word collocationand intra-paragraph context to aid comprehension andtheir sense of satisfaction as they read. IR tuition is an
AL class, and it went online half-way through the periodof study.

Reading scores were compared pre- and duringpandemic and inferences were made on both thequalities of the AL students taking the program and thequalities of AL class tuition to perform well online.

Results
Study 1On RQ1 – the appropriateness of the AL environment –the survey showed equal affection for active learning or,
as students refer to it, “classes that incorporate groupwork”, regardless of gender (Table 1).
Responses categorize students experience of AL as
addressing ‘identified’ motivations. In the survey, both
women and men expressed identified and ideal-selfmotivations for desiring groupwork – 85% and 82%
respectively – over and above intrinsic motivation – 15%
and 18% respectively (Table 2).
On their psychological needs as learners (Deci, 1985),
both groups placed autonomy, relatedness, andcompetence, in that order, with significant weighting on
autonomy as a need satisfied by groupwork. And, as thesurvey shows, for the women, the proportion was 51%,
28% and 21%, respectively, while for the men it was
44%, 33% and 23% respectively (Table 3).
Responses categorized under critical reasoning skills
indicate that students experience the AL environment
as a space that gives them the chance to understand,apply, analyze, and create, beyond merely
remembering (Bloom, 1956), as the survey shows.
(Table 4).
Results of the same survey indicated different modes oflearning. Women valued the opportunities in AL
groupwork to express opinions and ideas, noted in
keywords from their responses, ‘opinion’, ‘self’,‘opportunity’,and‘partner’.
Meanwhile,menappreciated the opportunity to learn by doing, not justby listening, noted in the keywords, ‘class’, ‘teacher’,‘English’, and ‘understanding’. The survey also showedthat women and men used the keyword ‘output’ in equal
proportion, indicating a shared appreciation ofgroupwork for facilitating language production (Table 5).
(Sample of responses: Appendix 1).

Data Analysis

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Table 1
Liking of Active Learning by Both Men and Women
どちらの授業の方が力がつくと思いますか？ (“Which class do you think is more powerful?”)

グループワークを取り入れた授業

先生の話を聞くだけの授業(“Classes that incorporate group-work”)(“Classes that only listen to the teacher”)

93.9% (92 students)

6.1% (6 students)

Men 31 Ss

93.55% (29 Ss)

6.45% (2 Ss)

Women 67 Ss

94.03% (63 Ss)

5.97% (4 Ss)

n=98

Table 2
Women’s and Men’s Learner Motivation as a Reason for a Preference for Active Learning
Intrinsic

Extrinsic (Identified)e.g. “Fun”

e.g. “Reason to be

Extrinsic (Ideal-self)
e.g. “Interest in class efficacy”

e.g. “Know self / opinion”

18

9

11

3

active”
Women

5

1

Total 33 uses

5 (15%)

28 (85%)

Men

4

4

Total 22 uses

4 (18%)

18 (82%)\
Table 3
Women’s and Men’s Psychological Needs as a Reason for a Preference for Active Learning
Psychological needs

Example reasons

Woman

Men

Autonomy“Can learn from each other; think for myself”

17

7“Can express self / own opinion”

16

4“Not get bored to listen just to the teacher”

8

5“Want interaction with teacher”

2

1

Total 43 (51%)

Total 17 (44%)“Listen / learn other’s opinions”

14

7“Create good environment”

7

3“Communication”

2

3

Total 23 (28%)

Total 13 (33%)

Total 18 (21%)

Total 9 (23%)

Relatedness

Competence“Improve my skills by sharing”

Table 4

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Women’s and Men’s Critical Reasoning Skill Acquisition as a Reason for a Preference for Active Learning
Skill

Remember

Understand

Apply

Analyze

Evaluate

Create

Women 62 exp.

0

14 (22.5%)

18 (29%)14 (22.5%)

3 (5%)

13 (21%)

Men 29 exp.

0

5 (17%)

13 (45%)

3 (10%)

2 (7%)

6 (21%)

Women, 62

Learn (1)Apply (1)Strengthen/Think for

Create (2)expressions

Learn better/

Participate (3)deepen thinking

yourself( 3)Give opinion (1)deeper (3)Do activities (2)(13)

Teach (1)

Learn

Remark (1)Learn new ways

independently (1)Convey (2)of thinking (1)Men, 29

Use (1)

Activate (1)Agree (1)expressions

Exchange (1)Investigate (1)Compare (1)Assert (1)Discuss (1)Used by both

Know (5)(1)

Express (3)(1)Concentrate

Cooperate (2)(3)

genders: 30

UnderstandPractice (2)(1)(1)(2)

Improve (6)(2)expressions(2)(1)

Converse (1)(4)(33%)

UnderstandShare (3)(3)

deeper (1)(1)
Acquire (1)(2)

Table 5
Keywords in Male and Female Modes of Learning in Active Learning
Keywords

Male

FemaleRatio (*)

意見, 発言Opinion, Remark

929

1 : 1.6

自分

Self

3

25

1 : 4.2

機会

Opportunity

2

7

1 : 1.75

相手

Partner16

1:3

アウトプット

Output

2

4

1:1

授業

Class

8

4

4:1

先生

Teacher

4

4

2:1

英語

English6

7

1.7 : 1

理解

Understanding

23

1.3 : 1

Notes. (*) Keyword ratios are adjusted (/2) in proportion to male-female samples. Data analyzed with the help of Mr. Junichi Mori, Professor, Kyoto
Tachibana University.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 105

Study 2
On RQ 2 – the benefits of AL and the profiles of students
experiencing those benefits – the results of the factor
analysis (EFA), presented in the table, found two
component factors, listed as component 1 and 2 (which
profile two types of student), one of which, component
1, accounts for 60% of variance in the data and is as
such the majority component when compared to theother component, which is by far in the minority,
accumulating only 8.6% of total variance in the data
(Table 6).
These two profiles are presented as components 1 and
2, respectively, in the next table. It presents the detailsof the factor analysis, showing the survey questions
posed alongside the trends in responses that establish
the two component student profiles, as shown (Table 7).

As shown in this table, the first, dominant, factor
describes students intrinsically motivated by active
learning – student type 1. They enjoy it and they are
active and confident. The second, minority factor
describes students who are more externally motivated– student type 2.
Student type 1: Strongly likes AL for practice of survival
English, towards fluent communication, aiding theirautonomy, as well as their grammar, vocabulary,
speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills.
Student type 2: Likes AL for building competencies forstudying abroad, for expressing themselves to theirteacher, and for IELTS/TOEIC skills. They are less surethat it builds their confidence, or their reading andwriting skills.

Table 6
Two Components Identified from an Exploratory Factor Analysis of Responses, with 60.5% and 8.65% of Variance (Validity: Eigen >1)

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 106

Table 7
Two Types of Students Identified from Component EFA Groupings of Survey Responses


1: Intrinsically Motivated; Need for Autonomy; Attaining Functional Communication Skills



2: Extrinsically Motivated; Need for Competence; Unconfident in Skills Development

Question Items on Use of Active Learning
Timing: My fluency improved - I can respond in good-time?
SurvivalEng: My functional skills improved - I can survive in English?
GrV: My vocabulary and grammar improved?
S: My speaking skills improved?
L: My listening skills improved?
W: My writing skills improved?
LikesMethod: I like group-work and having survival English and ‘leader’ skills?
R: My Reading Skills Improved?
MethodUsefulActiveConfidence: I think group-work, survival English and ‘leader’ skills help me to be
active and confident?
MethodUsefulSAP: I think having group-work, survival English and ‘leader’ skills is important forstudying abroad (SAP)?
MethodUsefulEpressMyselfToTeacher: I think group-work, survival English and ‘leader’ skills helps
me express myself and represent myself to my teacher?
MethodUsefulTOEIC/IELTS: I think having group-work, survival English and ‘leader’ skills will
improve my TOEIC / IELTS test-taking skills?
IdoMethodBecauseTeacherMakesMe: I do use group-work, survival English and ‘leader’ skills but
only because my teacher wants me to?

Study 3On RQ3 – characteristics of students who derive
motivation from AL – the survey in this study, study 3,
taking forward the profile of the two types of students
established, found a correlation between intrinsic
motivation in AL (student type 1) and a strong
motivation to learn English. Meanwhile, those withextrinsic motivation in AL (student type 2) have lessmotivation to learn English. Unsurprisingly, comparedwith non-English-majors in another university, those forwhom English is their major are confirmed to be more
motivated to learn English, as shown (Table 8).

In the next results table, we can see a preference forface-to-face active learning in the extrinsically motivatedAL students and so too, though much less so, in
intrinsically motivated AL students (Table 10).
In the last table in this survey we can see that listening
issues are greater online, and students referred to intable 10, who prefer face-to-face lessons, have lesslistening ability (Table 11).

The next table shows English majors, that are strongly
intrinsically motivated in AL, being, on balance,
introverted. Meanwhile, those more externally, and lessstrongly, motivated in AL are of more mixed personality.
(Table 9).
Table 8
Motivation of the Two Student Types in Active Learning in Two Universities

AL Student Type 1& Eng. Motivation
AL Student Type 2& Eng. Motivation

Uni. A. Eng. major; S=126

Uni. B. Non-major; S=132

7 AL Class/wk; S=14/class.

1 AL class/wk; S=30+/class.

7.14 (105 Ss; 83%)

6.98 (88 Ss; 67%)

8.12 (strong interest)

7.4 (medium interest)

4.73

4.53

6.8 (mild interest)

5.8 (neutral interest)

Notes. Likert Scale 1-10

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Table 9
Personality of the Two Student Types in Active Learning in Two Universities

AL Student Type 1& Ex/introvert
AL Student Type 2& Ex/introvert

Uni. A. Eng. major; S=126

Uni. B. Non-major; S=132

7 AL Class/wk; S=14/class.

1 AL class/wk; S=30+/class.

7.14

6.98

4.32 (mild introverted)

3.9 (introverted)

4.73

4.53

5.48 (neutral)

4.3 (mildly introvert)

Notes. Likert Scale 1-10

Table 10Preference for AL Online in the Two Student Types in Two Universities

AL Student Type 1& Prefer Online
AL Student Type 2& Prefer Online

Uni. A. Eng. major; S=126

Uni. B. Non-major; S=132

7 AL Class/wk; S=14/class.

1 AL class/wk; S=30+/class.

7.14

6.98

4.4 (somewhat prefer F-to-F)

5.49 (neutral)

4.73

4.53

3.66 (prefers F-to-F)

5.32 (neutral)

Notes. Likert Scale 1-10

Table 11
Listening Issues Online in the Two Student Types in Two Universities
Cohort

AL Student Type 1& Listening Issues
AL Student Type 2& Listening Issues

Uni. A. Eng. major; S=126

Uni. B. Non-major; S=132

7 AL Class/wk; S=14/class.

1 AL class/wk; S=30+/class.

7.14

6.98

5.6 (neutral)

7.17 (difficulty online)

4.73

4.53

6.24 (mild difficulty online)

5.82 (neutral)

Notes. Likert Scale 1-10

Study 4On RQ4 – AL performance online – the results tables ofthis study show that student performance in the online
extensive reading program was seen to improve year
on year despite the disruption to face-to-face classtuition (Table 12, Table 13).
In the discussion section to come, I will speculate to
attribute some of the reason for these positive resultson qualities in both AL students and the AL tuition itself.

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Table 12
Performance of AL Students in Online Extensive Reading: Words read per day (w/d)
First 21 days w/d

Subsequent 48 days w/d

Total Period w/d

2017

2148

2434

2274

2018

2244

2318

2151

2019

2437

2572

2507

2020

2804

2505

2163

Table 13

Averge Words Read Per Person Per Day

Comparison of Performance of AL Students in Online Extensive Reading

3000
2500

Did Readers Start Earl y? First
21 days - Ave. Words-Readper Day

2000
1500

Did Readers Read
Consistently? Day 21 to Day
69 (48 day period) - Ave.
Words-Read per Day

1000

Did Readers Cram Towards
the End? Total period - Ave.
Words-Read per Day

500
0
2017

2018

2019

2020

Comparison of Xreading Programs, Spring, 2017 - '20

Discussion
Study 1
Discussion of RQ1 results – the appropriateness of the
AL environment.

A Conducive Environment
Results indicated a conducive environment, satisfying
psychological needs.
The results show that intrinsic, identified, and ideal-selfmotivations are present in students of the current study.
Intrinsic motivation is regarded as a preferrable
motivation that students require for efficacy in learning(Deci, 1985). Close in quality to this, however, areidentified motivation, an extrinsic motivation, in which
students self-direct their behavior towards identified
goals and accept the importance of learning (Deci,
1985) and ideal-self motivation, in which the student
seeks to bridge the gap between the actual self and an
ideal, L2-fluent self (Dörnyei, 2005).
The results of the AL treatment in this study suggest thatstudents are learning to relax, to look around, actively
listen and copy each other, and interact in small
problem-solving groups with low social tension andample time for self-reflection. Such interaction allows“complex interplays of their interpretations of activity
designs, their appropriation of instructional materials,
their negotiation of moment-by-moment orientations,and their positioning in interpersonal relationships”(Hasegawa, 2018).
This study of groupwork classes show that they satisfy
students’ psychological needs, promote internalizationof motivations, self-determination, and the autonomy tothink and express; promote a conducive relatedness
between students, and a sense of competency andachievement in their abilities in the classroom.

A Productive Environment
The survey indicated a productive environment –satisfying motivation to apply critical reasoning tolearning. Classes that involve groupwork give a space
to play and manipulate materials in knowledge
acquisition (Vygotsky, 1987). The results of the survey
mean that critical reasoning skills are developing.

An Inclusive Environment
The survey indicated that men and women share analmost identical profile, indicating inclusivity.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 109

The AL of this study is inclusive of different modes oflearning – those who learn by critical reasoning, andthose who learn by doing.
It is inclusive too of different learning abilities. For
students who find learning English difficult, my ALtreatment has advantages since it starts with developing
listening ability by using rote phrases that become
familiar, and that are embedded in groupwork to reduce
the tension of learning in class. As per a Shinshu
University study (2012), students with lower academic
ability particularly benefit from participating in AL.
These ‘classes that involve groupwork’ seem to address
the UNDP goals on education to satisfy a wide range ofstudents.

Study 2
Discussion of RQ 2 results – the benefits of AL and the
profiles of students experiencing those benefits.

A Conducive Environment
The survey indicated profiles for 2 types of student, who,in the majority, are intrinsically motivated by AL and so
the results may mean that the students in this study can
engage in AL autonomously as they pursue theirinternalized learning goals.

A Productive Environment
The results in this survey suggest that students would
agree that what it is that they are experiencing in AL isa route to efficacy in learning and hence,accomplishment.

An Inclusive Environment
The dominant profile established in this study cansuggest that the AL treatment experienced by thesestudents has stewarded them towards a greater power
to internalize their learning goals, the better to attainthem. If AL represents a conducive learning
environment, then it should allow an “unforced, selfdirected learning, reducing cognitive strain and making
learning easier” (Kahneman, 2011), and broadening thepool of students who fit into the profile of the selfmotivated student.

Study 3
Discussion of RQ3 results – characteristics of students
who derive motivation from AL.

A Conducive Environment
Data associated intrinsic motivation for AL with agreater, stronger motivation to learn English. What may
be indicated here is the deepening and internalizing
effect of autonomy on learners.

A Productive Environment
The differently motivated students in this study share an
introverted character. Their positive responses towards
AL showed perhaps the space AL provides forinteraction and language production.

An Inclusive Environment
If groupwork in AL makes for an easier study
environment for many, AL may suit introverted students
by reducing emotional strain in the learning environment.

An Active Online Environment
The AL English major students in this study, with greater,
intrinsic motivation are more flexible than extrinsicallymotivated students as to whether classes are face-toface or online.
Their slight preference for face-to-face tuition, coupledwith the same opinion in most of the other groups, may
make a point about the difficulties of listening in English
online, and so they prefer face to face classes as aresult.
However, the AL treatment discussed can give students
more control over their interactions, from their position
in small, familiar groups, to become more active,
engaged listeners.

Study 4
Discussion of RQ4 results – AL performance online.

A Conducive Environment
The results in the online extensive reading programindicate that AL tuition can curate the conducive
learning environment equally well online as face-to-face.

A Productive Environment
One of the reasons it may be conducive to goodacademic performance online is that since it promotes
learner autonomy, it is nurturing self-reliant capacities.

An Inclusive Environment
What ways can our classes facilitate anyone who
wishes to study online? Where online tuition has
become a practical solution for many kinds of student, it
is important to have a tool kit as a teacher that works inthat environment, and the data in the current study showthat AL can be a useful part of that tool kit.

An Active Online Environment
In the positive results in this extensive reading survey,
what can be inferred is that support from intensive
active-reading classes in building critical reading skills
was not disrupted as classes went online. The inferenceis that AL classes can be successful online – as

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 110

successful as face-to-face – in supporting goodacademic performance.

Conclusions
Students generally, and regardless of gender, aresatisfied with the AL treatment and I would encourageteachers to give it a go. As a result of these surveys, I
can see that students are satisfied with AL on positive
intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and on their
psychological needs as learners.
Teachers can think about the results of this study interms of how well students seem to utilize AL in theareas of functional skill acquisition, preparing for study
abroad, and in other areas related to more directed
learner needs. And it does this, with the right treatment,by being fun and engaging. It does this with varying
degrees of success depending on the types ofmotivation in learners, but it always encourages
learners towards an ownership of their goals.
There is a connection between motivation to use AL inlearning English and motivation to learn English.
Through the years teaching, surveying and discussing
my results, it is always present in my mind that thecharacter of the student learning a foreign language isoften demotivated by the social pressures of theclassroom and I think they can find in the AL
environment, a space to succeed.
My teaching has certainly evolved with this research –in method and manner – and something to keep in mind
as a teacher, is the profile of students wherein the
intrinsically motivated can have stronger motivation to
study English, be somewhat more introverted, and canbe very flexible and accommodating, for example, about
whether classes are face-to-face or online, partly due togreater listening abilities. Another profile of student,
meanwhile, can be extrinsically motivated, have weakermotivation, be less introverted and yet be more
dependent on face-to-face classes for the reason that
greater listening challenges await online.
Something to keep in mind is that both of those types ofstudents are present together in your classroom. One
might suggest that groupwork classes offer a way forthese students to play to their strengths and work
together to make the environment of learning more
conducive for each other, whether online or face-to-face.
AL works online, notwithstanding the unique challenges
there. It utilizes the tools of the room or the online
classroom software well, and this is not lost on thestudents, it seems, or on me as a teacher who can moreeasily manage to direct a student-centered lesson,

catering to the needs of a few or of the individual, evenonline. AL can certainly be useful in this way. For thesereasons, I infer a lot for the successful role of reading
tuition online in the discussion of the extensive reading
program.
What I didn’t get to in the present study was a kind of
before and after survey. I wonder can we say that AL
deepens motivation? Do some students move fromextrinsic to a more internalized or intrinsic motivation tolearn English through the use of AL over a semester say,or a year? The data has given me some answers but
more questions. Does AL tend to promoteinternalization of motivations? Are there othertreatments of AL that would do the same thing? What
treatment would you use, if you use AL?
I would also like to have known, both in an online andface-to-face context, how did students’ level ofautonomy in AL impact their feelings of autonomy
online? Did students with high autonomous motivation– as seen in their evaluation of AL – score better in
extensive reading online? Did students’ motivation type
(intrinsic / extrinsic) relate to their extensive readingscores? This would be future research.
My teaching interest is in facilitating diverse types oflearners and bringing an improving teaching method
and manner to that task. My aim would be that mystudents have a positive engagement with education
now that hopefully leaves them optimistic to whatever
possibilities come up for them in life-long learning andultimately, active, long lives.

References
Agawa, T., Takeuchi, O. (2016). A new questionnaire
to assess Japanese EFL learners’ motivation:
development and validation. Annual Review ofEnglish Language Education in Japan, 27, 1‒16.
Bloom, B. Englehart, M.D., Furst, E.J., Hill, W.H.,
Krathwohl, D. (1956). Taxonomy of educational
objectives, handbook I: The cognitive domain.
Addison-Wesley Longman Ltd; 2nd edition.
ISBN 0582280109.
Bonwell, C., Eison, J. (1991). Active learning: creating
excitement in the classroom. AEHE-ERIC
Higher Education Report, 1. Jossey-Bass. ISBN
978-1-878380-08-1.

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Deci, E. L., Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation

UNDP SDGs. (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2020,and self-determination in human behavior.

from

Springer. ISBN 978-1-4899-2273-1.

https://un.org/sustainabledevelopment/education/

Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language
learner: Individual differences in second

Vygotsky, L. S. (1987). The collected works of L. S.

language acquisition. Lawrence Erlbaum.

Vygotsky. Volume 1. Problems of general

DOI:10.1177/0261927X05281424.

psychology. (R. W. Reiber and A. S. Carton(Eds.) Plenum Press. ISBN 978-1-4612-8919-7.

Freeman, S., Eddy, S. L., McDonough, M., Smith, M.
K., Okoroafor, N., Jordt, H., Wenderoth, M. P.

Yamada, A., Yamada, R. (2018). The new movement(2014). Active learning increases studentof active learning in Japanese higher education:

performance in science, engineering, andThe analysis of active learning in Japanesemathematics. Proceedings of the National

graduate programs. Active learning (Sílvio

Academy of Sciences, 111(23), 8410–8415.

Manuel Brito, Ed.) DOI:

Doi:10.1073/pnas.

10.5772/intechopen.80836

Hasegawa, H. (2018) Understanding task-in-process
through the lens of laughter: Activity designs,
instructional materials, learner orientations, andinterpersonal relationships. Modern Language
Journal, 102(1), 142–161.
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking fast, thinking slow.
Penguin Random House.
Kolb, D. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as
the source of learning and development.
Prentice Hall.
Peck, M. (2016). What exactly is student-centeredlearning? Retrieved, February 20, 2022, fromhttps://literacyandlanguagecenter.com/
Prince, M. (2004). Does active learning work? A reviewof the research. Journal of Engineering
Education, 93(3), 223–231.
Shinshu University. (2012). Test results in children
studying in traditional and modern classes.
Retrieved January 06, 2021, fromhttps://shinshu-u.ac.jp/

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Appendices
Appendix 1
Re. Tables 1–5. A Sample of 36 Student Survey Response Reasons (Translated from Japanese) for Preferring“Classes that incorporate group-work” グループワークを取り入れた授業 - その理由は? Keywords pertaining to asentence-contextual sentiment are grouped and recorded in tables 1–5.
It`s boring just listening.
It`s easy to lose concentration, on the other hand groupwork can run better because you actually think for yourself and express your opinion.
To cultivate not only listening but also the ability to speak and cooperate.
You can know both your opinion and the other people`s opinion.
I thought it would be nice to hear a lot of opinions.
It improves your ability to express your opinions in English.
We can get a lot of opportunities to think and express our opinion to others.
I don’t like just listening but if we have a lot of group-work we speak in Japanese, so I don’t want to do a lot of groupwork.
There are people who don`t listen carefully in traditional classes.
I have more opportunities to speak in English.
It`s fun.
I can listen to many opinions.
When working in a group, I and my partner can acquire knowledge and skills.
It`s a proactive way to learn and apply what you`ve learned.
Creating a good atmosphere in the classroom will motivate Ss to be active.
It will help Ss to improve their speaking skills because it helps Ss to produce output.
There are many disadvantages to just listening to the teacher’s class such as feeling sleepy or not being able to concentrate enough but I think it isbecause group work is not only fun but it’s also good for students to actively express their own opinions and compare their own opinions with thoseof the other students.
I think it is better to have an opportunity to speak English positively Because I want to keep my motivation for class.
You can listen to various opinions and a new way of thinking.
I think it is effective and important for learning to express people`s opinions It better to have an output in addition to an input.
It`s important to speak to the student.
It`s important to think of the opportunity to use English for communication.
We can think ourselves.
Because I don`t want to sleep.
I can say something myself.
I can hear the opinions of others.
I can know the opinions of other people.
I will acquire the power to think for myself and combine with the other people.
I can take in various opinions.
I can share the opinions of various people.
We are sleepy to listen to teacher.
We don`t get bored and can have power to speak English in group-work.
We want to practice speaking English conversation.
Groupwork can be active and output is important because we can practice English communication and have a power to speak English which makes
it easier to join the class.

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Appendix 2
Survey Questions, July 2020 Survey, Likert 1–10 (10=Yes)
Related to the students’ description of the value of AL, and hence a definition of 2 student types (1: Intrinsic, directed
and ideal-self motivation, and 2: the more external motivated):
My speaking skills improved?
My reading skills improved?
My listening skills improved?
My writing skills improved?
My survival English skills improved (= I can survive in English)?
My fluency improved (= I can respond in good-time)?
My vocabulary and grammar improved?
I like workshops in small groups and having survival English and leader skills?
I think these groupwork, survival English and leader skills helps me to be active and confident?
I changed from not liking groupwork, survival English and leaderskills to enjoying it?
Some students who don’t enjoy leader skills / groupwork still find classes that they like at times. So, at times, its actually fun. Are you one of thosestudents?
Did it get easier to motivate yourself to do leaderskills after you started to do it?
Did it get easier to motivate yourself to do survival English after you started to do it?
Motivation to do active leader skills got easier as my communication skills got better?
Motivation to do groupwork got easier as my speaking skills got better?
I think being a group leader helped me to be active and confident?
I think survival English will help me to express myself and represent myself better?

Related to personality:
I am a quiet, shy student (introverted)
I am a confident, outgoing student (extroverted)

Related to motivation to learn English (Internal, and directed motivation):
I like learning English for myself - it's fun
I like learning English for my future - it's important

Related to skills
It's difficult to hear the teacher online (more difficult than face to face classes)
I prefer online, zoom lessons (more than face to face classroom lessons)

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 114

Tutor Voices: Adjusting to Online Writing Tutoring
Nicholas Delgrego
Tsuru Bunka University

2020 brought the COVID-19 pandemic and with it changes to academic life, especially in writing centers. Face-to-face tutoring sessions
became nearly impossible, and some Japanese University Writing Centers (JUWCs) switched to an online tutoring format. The interaction
between tutor and writer was thrust into an uncharted arena. Some tutoring skills could easily be adapted to an online format, but other uniquechallenges arose. Three tutors from a private Japanese university were interviewed about their struggle to adjust to online tutoring. The
responses were transcribed, coded, and classified according to three categories of online learning challenges: technological, pedagogical,
and social (Ferri et al., 2020). Some of the challenges addressed by the tutors included the role of silence during sessions, reading the writer’s
nonverbal communication cues, and frustration with new technological platforms. The tutors also mentioned methods that helped themovercome some of these difficulties and the benefits of collaboration/conferencing with other tutors.

2020 年はコロナ禍により、学術環境やライティングセンターのチュータリングに大きな変化が起こった。対面形式はほぼ不可能となり、オンライン方式への切り替えを行った日本の大学のライティングセンターも多い。チューターと学習者の交流は未知の領域に突入し、オンライン方式に容易に適合できたスキルもあったが特異な課題も発生した。
本稿は、日本の私立大学で活動するチューター3 人の取材協力により、オンライン方式に取り組む上での葛藤や挑戦をまとめた調査報告である。回答は、オンライン学習の試みに関する先行研究で用いられた技術面、教育面、社会面（Ferri et al., 2020）という 3 つのカテゴリーに分けて分類しデータをコード化して分析した。この試みには、学習者が文章を読んだり、新しいプラットフォームを使いこなすまでの沈黙も含まれる。加えて、困難の克服や他のチュー
ターとの協業・会議の利点にも言及する。

University writing centers are resources that offer
assistance to writers at any stage of the writing process.
The overarching goal of writing centers, as stated by
North (1984, 1994), is not to fix writing but to makebetter writers. One way to produce better writers isthrough the use of questions as primary tutoring
strategies in writing center tutorial conferences (Brooks,
1991; Harris 1992, as cited in Thompson & Mackiewicz,2014). While skillful questioning is how the production
takes place, where it takes place is just as important.
Physical writing centers are described as spaces“where students should feel secure in their expressionof thoughts and ideas” (Bouqet, 1999, p. 470).
This paper focuses on one Japanese University Writing
Center (JUWC) and the challenges addressed by tutors
during the shift from in-person tutoring to online
sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic of the 2020
academic year. While JUWCs have largely imported
operating principles from North American centers(Fujioka, 2012), such as the use of questioning toconduct sessions as well as being housed in dedicatedlocations on campus (Sadoshima, 2006), some had yet
to utilize online services. In a survey of seven JUWCs
none offered online writing services in recent years prior
to the COVID-19 pandemic (Delgrego, 2016).

Conversely, many North American writing centers had
already experimented with online writing center services.
Martinez and Olsen (2015) describe the kinds of Online
Writing Labs (centers) or OWLs available at North
American universities as follows:
OWLs vary in the services and resources they
offer, but they generally provide students with
online writing resources, such as PDF files or Web
pages that relate to the writing process orgrammar and mechanics … Some OWLs hiretutors to offer feedback on student writing throughasynchronous means, such as email or Webbased software. Other OWLs have tutors or
writing consultants who meet with students andoffer synchronous, one-to-one consultations
through text-based chat or voice-based
conferencing software. (p. 190)
At the time of Martinez and Olsen’s research (2015),
Online Writing Labs were touted as a means to expand
the reach of a traditional, in-person writing center.
OWLs are better equipped to provide services tostudents enrolled in distance education (Prince et al.,2018) or students with disabilities (Ries, 2015). During
the COVID-19 pandemic, some North America writing

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 115

centers utilized and increased their existing OWLs.
JUWCs, with a much shorter history, had not yet
developed much OWL support. At the start of thepandemic, some JUWCs could choose to temporarilysuspend writing center operations or, as one private
JUWC (herein referred to by the pseudonym Oak
University) chose to, switch to a synchronous online
format for tutorial sessions. Oak University served as
the primary source of data for this research.
The sudden onslaught of the pandemic coupled withadministrative uncertainty left the JUWC at Oak
University with virtually no time to retrain tutors to work
online. This created challenges for tutors, who knew
keenly that the face-to-face component of tutoring
provides a “supportive, nurturing environment” wherestudents can come away with “a positive attitude about
their work, while feeling they had improved the quantityand quality of their writing” (Marcus & Farrell, 1989, p.
43). Such support is facilitated by looking for verbal andnon-verbal cues (Thompson, 2009) to ensurecomprehension and agreement. In online sessions,however, it is much more difficult for the tutor to “read”
the writer’s mental or emotional state. Furthermore,concerns about connectivity issues, the writer’s
understanding of the digital interface, and dedicatedwriting space added to the difficulties faced by the tutors.
This research looks at the practices of three tutors at
Oak University over the past year, focusing on thechallenges the tutors faced in an online setting during apandemic and how they adapted their practices toovercome these challenges. This research uses aframework, developed by three researchers of social
policy, Ferri, Grifoni, and Guzzo (2020), who classified
the challenges of online learning as technological,
pedagogical, and social. This framework was chosenbecause it was published after the start of the COVID19 pandemic. Ferri et al. differentiated issues whenlearning in a traditional online setting and when learning
during an emergency remote setting. In addition to its
timely nature, the research could help categorize data
into clear and useful groups. Technical challenges refer
to connectivity and availability of devices. Pedagogicalchallenges include shortcomings in teacher/student
digital abilities, plentiful yet unstructured online content,
reduced enthusiasm and participation on the part ofstudents compounded by a reduced “social andcognitive presence” (Ferri et al. 2020, p. 1) of theteacher. Social challenges such as reduced humancommunicational contact, inadequate parental support
and/or competition for limited space or online resources.
Using the Ferri et al. (2020) framework, the following
research questions were investigated:
RQ1: What challenges were faced by tutors in JUWCs
during online tutoring sessions?

RQ2: How did tutors deal with the challenges identified
in RQ1?

Methods
Participants
Three JUWC tutors participated in this research. The
researcher was introduced to the first participant (T1)
via Oak University Writing Center’s director. The
researcher used chain-referral sampling to recruit two
more interviewees (T2 and T3). Chain-referral sampling(also known as snowball sampling) is a conveniencesampling method that can be applied when it is difficult
to gather target subjects (Ghaljaie, et al., 2017). In thismethod, existing participants recruit additional subjects
among their acquaintances. T1 introduced two
coworkers from Oak University Writing Center.
T1 and T2 were enrolled in a doctoral program and T3
had completed a doctorate. All three had English ability
at the C1-C2 level of the CEFR scale (Council of Europe,2001). T1 had six years of tutoring experience, T2 had
three years of experience, and T3 had two years ofexperience. Considering the type of tutoring experience,
half of T3’s experience as a tutor was done online,
whereas T1 had five of six years in-person experience(83%) and T2 had two of three years in-person
experience (67%).

Procedure
For convenience of the participants, ideal interviews
would occur in a quiet area in the writing center, but,because of COVID-19, data collection procedures werealso altered. Since the center was unavailable,interviewees were asked to schedule a 120-minuteblock of time for a Zoom meeting. The meeting
consisted of a semi-structured interview about theirexperiences tutoring online. Semi-structured interviews,
according to Bernard (1988), are most appropriate
when there is only one scheduled opportunity tointerview each participant. Due to the participants
schedules, it was difficult to schedule multiple meetings.
Within the 120-minute timeframe, the researcher helped
the participant complete forms for research ethics andparticipation consent. The interviews were conducted in
English and lasted an average of 90-minutes. In
accordancewithethicalresearch
practices,interviewees were offered remuneration that matched
their hourly wage.
Questions created for this semi-structured interview canbe found in the appendix. Apart from simple backgroundinformation questions, the main questions were
designed not to lead the participant to a particularanswer, but to help them recall tutoring experiences as
episodes. As per the nature of semi-structured
interviews, each interviewee was encouraged to
expand on points of interest. Interviewees were not

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 116

asked every question sequentially, but the researcher
prepared questions to prompt them if they had difficulty
recalling their experiences.
Interviewees were encouraged to think of tutoring
episodes and describe them in as much detail as they
could. After the interview was concluded, the audio wastranscribed. The researcher then coded the data using
In Vivo Coding (Corbin & Strauss, 2015; Strauss, 1987;
Strauss & Corbin, 1998) to use the interview
participants’ own words when analyzing the data. Those
codes were then grouped according to Ferri et al.’s(2020) categories of online learning challenges:
technological, pedagogical, and social.

Results
The coding of the data into the three categories
revealed subgroups within each: technological –connectivity and societal technology; pedagogical – skill,silence, reading the writer, and platform; and social –privacy and focus. The words italicized within theinterviewees’ utterances are the selected codes.

Technological Challenges
This category refers to unreliable Internet connections
and lack of internet accessible devices. All tutors (T1,
T2, T3) described connectivity issues. T2 recollected anincident where they struggled to gauge the comfort of
the writer because of a poor internet connection:
there's been some more difficulty in terms of, um,interpreting silence whether they're thinking or
they're spacing out, or the connection is bad sothey cannot hear you. So that's definitely an issue… it's definitely more difficult than face, face-toface.
T3 made similar comments and used similar phrasing
as T2, “For example, there is this girl, her connectivity
problems really delayed the session. Of course, you just
had to extend.” These problems with connectivity
interfered with the sessions. In a face-to-face setting,the tutor might look at cues of the writer, which include
the writer scanning the paper, rapid movement of thewriter’s eyes, or the writer taking notes, etc. As T2 andT3 reported, network instability prevented them fromdetermining if the writer was processing the tutor’s
assistance or was waiting for additional help.
Additionally, T2 commented on the lack of technologicalpreparedness of JUWCs and the organizational
structure of Japanese universities: “Especially now
where a lot of things you have to do online. I feel Japan
in general is unprepared to do that and this reflects on
the university.” At first glance, this comment could bereclassified as a pedagogical issue in which writing
centers and universities in Japan are “lagging behind
other developed countries in terms of adapting to thedigital age and transitioning to an information-basedsociety” (Funamori, 2017, p. 41). Instead, this comment
was classified as a technological issue due to the lackof a dedicated online infrastructure with accompanying
support for services like online tutoring.

Pedagogical Challenges
This category refers to issues related to the use of a newplatform and to transferring face-to-face tutoring
techniques online such as managing silence, reading
the writer, and physical limitations. With regards to thenew platform, T3 described a lack of technological skillof the writer, “Their [writers’] preferred program (such as
Microsoft Word or Pages) is different that we have totake that into consideration as well. I mentioned a while
ago this writer who unusually closed her video … That
won't happen if it were face-to-face.” T1 focused on thelack of technological skill of the tutor: “It was very difficult
for me [tutor] … not very good with technology.”
Silence, along with active listening and facilitation, hasbeen pointedly addressed in definitions of tutoring(Ryan & Zimmerelli, 2010). How a tutor manages
silence is a crucial component of a tutorial session. One
may expect that novice tutors would fill silence with tutor
talk, whereas veteran tutors would more easily handle
silence. However, even veteran tutors recollected thatthey struggled with silence in their online sessions. T1
has six years of experience and is one of the mostsenior tutors at Oak University writing center. In thefollowing excerpt, T1 described how they felt
unprepared for online sessions.
In a session, in the face-to-face session, silenceis okay. We got used to it and […] we feel like it's
okay to have this […] periods of silence justbecause […] the writer is thinking or you're also
thinking as a tutor. But online because, you know,
we cannot see each other or […] we-we're notsure what the other person is doing, then there[…] when there's a silence in the line, then thetutors feel like we need to feel it when something.
Like we need to talk or do something. So, I thinkthat's-that's difficult.
T2 and T3 also both made similar comments with T2
stating that they were unable to judge what kind ofsilence is coming from a writer, “whether they're thinking
or they're spacing out.” T3 also mentioned that it wasdifficult to manage silence, much like T1’s observation,“It's very difficult to manage silences during an online
session.”
The next pedagogical issue that was mentioned is theability of the tutor to “read the writer”, a phrase used todescribe the process in which tutors can gauge theircurrent level of involvement and support for the writer,
in an online session. Rather than overtly correcting thewriter, writing center tutors are expected to help lead
writers to their own conclusions (Gillespie & Lerner,

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 117

2008), but this was difficult to do during online sessions.
During the interview, T1 utilized the phrase “read thewriter” and said, “you cannot really read, you know, thesigns of the writer.” T3 also mentioned the difficulty ofreading the writer during the online sessions.
For example, you can see a person when he isthinking versus when he's lost and silent. I'm
waiting for you to say something. That silent
interaction is lost when it's online … Yes, it's when
I cannot understand why they are silent.
T3 additionally commented on the physical limitations ofan online tutorial session related to the pedagogy ofwriting center tutoring. Usually, a writer and tutor sit
adjacent to each other. Most tutors encourage the writer
to take notes during a tutorial session and the tutor also
take notes (Ryan & Zimmerelli, 2010). These notes are
passed back and forth between tutor and writer. A tutor
might strike out a suggestion or highlight/circle
something of importance. T3 said that because of theconstraints of the online session, this was sometimes
difficult or impossible. T3 recalled, “I'd scribble
something [in a face-to-face session], and then I'd pass
it on. When we realized we can't really do that online,
and there are restrictions.”
T3 also dwelled on the time that they had accidentallyerased all the online comments. The particular online
program that all three tutors used allowed them to write
comments directly on a shared screen. T3 said they had
incidents when they were trying to repeat a suggestionor when trying to erase the most recent suggestion but
instead, they accidentally erased everything discussed
until that point.
Then again, if you click an icon, everything thatyou sketched so far gets erased. You think it's likein paint, there's an eraser icon, and you click thatand then you erase the thing. Apparently, that icon
erases everything that you've discussed so far. It
takes some getting used to.
This kind of incident can be extremely demotivating andfrustrating for both the tutor and the writer. T3 tried toundo their mistake and recall as much of the advice they
had given as possible. This action halved the time left
for the tutorial, and the writer was disappointed. It isinteresting to note that T3 had talked about the lack oftechnological skills of the writer. This event
demonstrates how T3 also struggled with thetechnology.

Social Challenges
The final type of challenge involved a social
environment that is not conducive to online learning.
The writer or the tutor may not have a dedicated spacefor online tutoring sessions. Likewise, either party may
feel uncomfortable inviting a stranger into their private
space. In the interviews, the tutors spoke about theprivacy concern and a lack of focus. T3 and T2 bothspoke of the importance of safeguarding privacy. T3stated that a “need for tutor privacy” was of concern.
Likewise, T2 said that “Not everybody is comfortable
with, you know, showing their house or their face on
camera.” T3 further elaborated on the fact that being ina tutorial booth on campus can help provide a positive
physical environment for tutoring and online sessions
miss that component mentioning that “the feeling of
being in a booth actually already helps focus.”

An Additional Observation
Toward the end of the interview, T3 made a commentthat could not be classified as technological,
pedagogical, or social. T3 noted that the writing centeris the primary source of income for some tutors. One
issue of conducting sessions online was that new tutors’
overall scheduled hours were reduced. T3 did not givean exact reason why the hours were reduced but
mentioned that it was likely due to an overall reduction
in available hours T3 described their worry as follows.
In our center, once the new tutors pass their firsttraining … they should be able to get a maximum
10 sessions. Now, they can only get five. I thinkthat's a serious problem … The new tutors are
given less time than they were promised.
While this problem may be unique to Oak University’s
writing center, it was a point of great concern to T3. It
would be interesting to investigate if the tutors’ income
at other universities were affected in the same way.

Discussion
It is evident from the tutors’ responses that online
tutoring has created many challenges for this JUWC,
and it is crucial for JUWCs to think about how to proceedwith tutoring practices in the immediate and long-term
future. It is unknown for how long COVID-19 willinterfere with face-to-face tutoring. Even if tutoring canreturn to a pre-pandemic state, there may still be ademand for online tutoring. The following discussion
examines how tutors can adapt their tutoring practices
to meet these challenges based on examples from Oak
University tutors.

Adapted Practices
Tutors facing the challenges of online tutoring may beable to learn from the ways the tutors in this study
overcame their struggles by adapting their previously
learned practices. The tutors’ strategies could be
categorized into four areas: use of laughter, flexibility,
technical solutions, and open dialogue.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 118

Tutors with proper training can alleviate the writer’s
stress and support them in the emotional process ofwriting (Driscoll & Wells, 2020). One tool that tutors
already use in face-to-face sessions is laughter.
Laughter could be easily applied to online sessions as
well, so that tutors can let the writer know that despite
the online environment, they can relax. T3 said that theyused laughter to overcome extended silence: “Whenthere's a long silence, it's an awkward silence, and wewould be laughing because we know that it's an
awkward silence.”
A good tutor must have a flexible pedagogy (Corbett,2008). A writer may come to a writing center unprepared,
and the tutor must adapt quickly to provide the best
tutoring. Each of the interviewed tutors made areference to idea of flexibility. T1 said that due totechnology issues, a tutor may have to repeat or restartand not get irritated. T1 said, “[I would] restart
everything again and you have to pick up where you leftoff.” T3 said that they would extend sessions, whenpossible, to help writers, especially when technicalissues occurred.
Tutors also mentioned technical solutions via trial anderror. T3 created several “dummy accounts” using thecenter’s online software. They logged in to see what thesoftware looked like from the perspective of a writer. T2
would often ask writers simple questions to ensure thatthe connection was still active. T2 recalled asking thequestion “Can you still hear me?” several times as wellas listening for sounds such as breathing, paper rustling,
coughing to check the status of the connections and theengagement of the writer.
Finally, the most important solution for the tutors was anopen dialogue with each other to keep the online writing
center experience as close to the in-person writing
center experience for tutors and writers. Before thepandemic when tutors encountered challenges at Oak
University writing center, they were able to seek advice
from other tutors via informal exchanges between
sessions in the writing center or on social media.
Formally,
this
JUWC
holds
weeklytutor
meetings/training sessions and encourages tutors to
discuss problematic issues with each other. While thesemeetings were moved online during the pandemic,
tutors were able to stay in contact with each otherthrough both informal and formal channels. T1 said thatthe best way to have productive writing center sessions
is when “the [tutor support] process is the same”, that is,when tutors can share their challenges and successes.

Limitations
The main limitations of this study were the limited
number of participants and the fact that it was
conducted at only one JUWC. A future study could
interview a wider variety of tutors at different centers.
The data gathered from JUWCs at public universities oruniversities of varying sizes could be an interestingsource of comparison as the size of a university andavailability of resources may have an impact during thetransition to online tutoring.

Conclusions
This study highlighted technological, pedagogical, andsocial challenges encountered by three tutors at one
JUWC in online tutoring sessions and their adapted
practices. The findings of this research can impact the
future of tutoring at JUWCs by improving tutor-writerinteractions both online and face-to-face. As of thecompletion of this article, many JUWCs have not
returned to their pre-pandemic state. It is unknown what
the new normal or post-COVID-19 tutoring environment
will look like. Thinking towards a positive future, theauthor makes the following suggestions for any JUWCs
to consider in order to address the challenges of online
tutorial sessions or to give tutors effective means to
overcome them.
• Incorporate sample online sessions in new tutor
training.
• Conduct tutor training for online sessions with bothexperienced and novice tutors.
• Ensure opportunities for tutors to share theirdifficulties and success via online platforms.
By listening to the voices of tutors who have coped withthe challenges of shifting to online tutoring, we can
improve the quality of tutoring in the future. Tutors havetaught us how to better assist writers during demandingtimes.

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AppendicesSemi-structured Interview Questions
Background Questions
1. Where have you been working as a tutor?
2. How long have you been working as a tutor?
3. Tell me about how you became a tutor? And why?
Main Questions
1. Can you tell me about the previous semester of online tutoring?
2. What are the differences between face-to-face tutoring and online tutoring?
3. Did you notice any issues, difficulties?
4. Tell me about a difficult online tutoring session?
5. Tell me about a successful online tutoring session?
6. What were the things that worked well, surprises?

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Connecting Meaningful Feedback Systems in Blended Learning Environments
Branden Carl Kirchmeyer
Sojo University

Feedback systems in language education are well known for their remedial functions (e.g., written corrective feedback), but can assume
more dynamic roles when students have more opportunities to meaningfully contribute to the process. This article examines three feedback
systems situated as linchpins of the learning process in a one-semester blended learning (online and face-to-face) English course at aJapanese university. One system used traditional written corrective feedback on individually accessed on-demand tasks to scaffold
subsequent pair-based communicative tasks. A second system encouraged students to act as auditors and help guide teachers to improveand refine online content with a short turnaround time between collection of feedback and implementation. A third system provided a range
of opportunities for students to use qualitative data for self-assessment and goal setting. The author presents these interdependent feedback
systems as parts of a relational process for raising student awareness of and participation in assessment-for-learning.

語学教育におけるフィードバックシステムは、学習の改善機能(書面による添削フィードバックなどによる)がよく知られているが、学習プロセスでの学習者の有意義な取組みの機会を増やすことで、よりダイナミックな役割を担うことができると推測できる。この論文では、学習プロセスの要として 3 つのフィードバック・システムについて、ブレンデッド・ラーニング（オンラインと対面式）による日本の大学での英語コースで学期中に実践した内容を検討する。
システムの 1 つは、従来の書面による添削フィードバックで学習者が個別にアクセスするオンデマンド課題を用いるが、その後のペアワークによるコミュニケーション課題の足場かけとする。2 つ目のシステムは、学生が監査役となり、教員がオンラインコンテンツを改善・改良できるよう指導することを促し、フィードバックの収集から実施までの時間が短いものである。3 つ目のシステムは、学生が自己評価や目標設定のために質的データを利用する機会を提供するものである。これらの相互依存的なフィードバックシステムは学生の意識を高め、学ぶための評価の従事へと関係するプロセスの一部として示す。

Blended (i.e., hybrid, flipped, technology-mediated)learning environments invite educators to rethink andretool educational strategies and approaches forincreasingly dynamic arrangements of physical anddigital interactions among students, teachers, andcourse content. These versatile, resource-richenvironments have both inspired and facilitatedchanges to many conventional teaching practices,
including the provision and planned uptake of feedback
in second language (L2) learning (See, e.g., Finnegan,
Kauppinen, & Wärnsby, 2015; Irwin, 2019). This article
presents feedback systems as complex andinterconnected mechanisms of language learning
courses, and highlights three such systems as they
were used in a blended learning environment (BLE).
Designed to collectively encourage students to engage
in reflective thinking and enhance their educational
experiences during an emerging global pandemic,
these interdependent feedback systems served as arelational process for raising student awareness of andparticipation in assessment-for-learning.

Complex and interdependent feedback
systems
Feedback systems are crucial to the development ofcognitive processes that allow humans to mature frombabies into rational, communicative, and competent
members of society. From birth we are constantly
perceiving, processing, and acting on information loops,
often using that information to audit our future behavior.
In education, teachers embed feedback systems into
pedagogical task sequences, mimicking these innate
mechanisms and providing students, teachers, andadministrators with information that can be used to drive
the learning process forwards. The provision anduptake of feedback is directly related to many aspectsof language learning in higher education including

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second language acquisition (Nassaji, 2016), learnerdevelopment (Hounsell, 2003), autonomy (Everhard,2015), and critical thinking (Shirkhani & Fahim, 2011).
Indeed, very few course goals could be reached without
effective use of both internal (i.e., cognitive) andexternal (i.e., pedagogical) feedback systems.
Merry, Price, Carless, and Taras (2013) present an
illuminating collection of essays and evidence
promoting a reconceptualization of feedback in higher
education, asserting that “high level and complex
learning is best developed when feedback is seen as arelational process that takes place over time, is dialogic,
and is integral to learning and teaching” (xx). Thisholistic approach to feedback acknowledges complex
relationships in its pedagogical application that extend
beyond superficially corrective functions and include, forexample, its ability to reorient learners’ understandingof learning processes, raise learner awareness of thecharacteristics of quality performances, and develop
learners’ “capacities as autonomous self-regulating
learners” (Carless, 2013, p. 113).
However, implementing complex feedback systems that
address these relationships can be a challenging
endeavor.
Learnerpreconceptions
andpastexperiences of feedback systems, institutional or
societal values, and the nature of a course’s content
and objectives can all affect the degree to which
feedback can be effectively designed, implemented,
and utilized within a course. Most importantly, individual
learners must possess a clear understanding of task
specifications, evaluation criteria, purpose of feedback,and the ability to recognize different levels of quality foreach task if they are to make use of any relevant
feedback (Sadler, 2010). The size and scope of thesechallenges is indicative of the interconnected nature of
feedback systems in language learning, and thus
warrants considerable thought and attention fromeducators in all teaching contexts.

Rethinking feedback in a common
context
English education, which is compulsory in Japan, often
extends into the tertiary level, with curricula andteaching practices largely left to be decided byuniversity departments. The course of focus in thisarticle included 822 first-year students and eightteachers in a communicative skills-focused English
program at a private science and technology university
in central Kyushu. For the purpose of this paper data
were only collected from students who completed asurvey in classes taught directly by the author (n=72).
Course objectives targeted students’ conversational
abilities, and most of the tasks were designed to elicit
spoken English. This context is not unique within Japanand has long necessitated a very different approach to

feedback than situations where, for instance, students
have chosen to further develop their English skills, orwhere academic writing is a course goal.
The feedback systems presented in this article were
specially designed with the aim of helping students
experience a more participatory and non-passive
language learning process. In other words, students
were encouraged engage with assessment-for-learning
in a way that could benefit them not only in theirlanguage learning, but in any skill they hoped to develop.
While not fundamentally different from traditional
strategies in terms of task sequence, these feedback
systems included different aspects of scale, function,and roles that the students occupied. The juxtapositionof these systems served to positively reinforce themeaningfulness of feedback and, on a larger scale, lend
to the perceived and actual meaningfulness of all
course activities. It was reasoned that these systems
would also address a legitimate concern that students
would be more easily distracted, distant, or disengaged
from participation in an emergency response teachingcontext.
Like many others, the university had rescheduled theirsemester-long English language courses from thirty
face-to-face sessions to a 50/50 balance of fifteen ondemand lessons scheduled between fifteen weekly
face-to-face lessons. Although the originally scheduled
courses did not feature on-demand content, they wereconducted in BLEs with a high degree of materials andcontent already existing online via a Moodle learning
management system (LMS). The new schedule
provided an opportunity for the teaching faculty toexperiment with designing online interactive content
and, as they transitioned into a more evenly balanced
BLE, make strategic pedagogical use of time andsequence. The following sections describe how all
students in this course were encouraged to use
feedback for three distinct purposes.

Feedback for practical application
In the first example, students were asked to dosomething they might not have had extensive
experience with, which was to actively apply writtencorrective feedback (WCF) to subsequent speaking
tasks. Traditionally, WCF plays a remedial function inwriting; it aims to draw learner attention to errors madeduring composition and operates under the assumptionthat students can learn from—rather than repeat—their
mistakes. Despite longstanding controversy regarding
its effectiveness, recent research has shown favorable
outcomes for WCF in certain contexts (Bitchner &Knoch, 2008). However in day-to-day classroom
applications, wherein improvement and retention ofgrammatical accuracy is not being investigated throughfocused inquiry, teachers can only assume 1) that

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 124

students read feedback, 2) that they are able tounderstand the nature of their errors and learn from thecomments provided, and 3) that they are able to apply
this knowledge in future tasks. Figure 1 shows a
simplified sequence involving traditional WCF. In thissystem, the assumption of an outcome undermines theentire process.
Figure 2 describes an alternate feedback system thatwas implemented in courses taught by the author andone other teacher. In this system, there are no
assumptions about the outcomes. Though similar insequence, students working in the alternate system aregiven the opportunity to actively use WCF in ameaningful way, through actual communication in which
students are genuinely exchanging information to learn
about each other.

The “task” referenced in the first step of Figure 2
directed students to generate simple written responses
to prompts (e.g., Tell me about someone important inyour life), with the intent of using these responses asscaffolds for subsequent speaking activities. This stepof the sequence was assigned as part of the course’s
on-demand portion, to be accessed and completed
individually between the weekly face-to-face sessions.
To aid students understanding of the entire task
sequence, students were provided with detailed
information regarding the task purpose, procedure, andevaluation (see Appendix A). This information,according to Sadler (2010), constitutes “feedforward”
and is part of the crucial knowledge base students mustpossess if they are to make effective use of feedback.

Figure 1
Conventional feedback system using WCF

Figure 2
Alternate feedback system using WCF

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 125

Students were given four days to generate threesentence responses to a series of questions (usuallyseven) that related to a given unit’s theme. Students
typed responses directly into a Moodle database activity,
and teachers had the option of downloading the
responses and printing them using a Microsoft Excel
template for hand-written feedback or typing their
feedback directly into the same database activity.
Teachers were encouraged to attend only to errors that
impeded comprehension and to provide tips for
producing more ideal responses, such as better use of
conjunctions to connect ideas into more complex
sentences, or to use more conventional words or
collocations. General and meaning-focused notes on
student submissions were also encouraged, such ascomments on the content to one of the responses they
provided, or tips addressing an error they repeatedly
made throughout the activity. This feedback, along with
their original responses, was distributed to students inthe next face-to-face lesson via marked-up printed
handouts or the Moodle database activity. Students
were given time to look through the feedback and ask
their teacher if they had any questions. The lesson
would then begin with partners interviewing each otherusing these texts.
The effect of WCF in this sequence did not need to be
assumed, as it was visually evident through firsthandobservation. Students engaged with the original task,
attended to the feedback when reading aloud during
partner interviews, and were often able to extend theduration of an exchange. Follow-up questions weremore readily asked by partners because responses tothe initial question were so readily given. In other words,
the frequently experienced conversation barriers of“What should I say?” and “How do I say it in English” still
occurred, but happened later in the exchange after
students had already become invested in the shortconversation.
While it is unlikely that students internalized errors thatwere highlighted in the feedback, and the effort involvedin teacher generated feedback in a course that does notinclude writing as a course goal may seem questionable,
there is still a time and place for writing in a speaking
course, (especially during preparatory tasks) and thistype of feedback can be an effective tool for promoting
engagement in speaking practice activities, particularly
among learners with low confidence or interest in L2
speaking. It is important to remember that error-freewriting was not the intended outcome of this feedback
system. Rather, the goals were 1) to provide students
with model versions of their own ideas, stories, andanecdotes that they could use with confidence asspringboards to practice short and extended
conversations with their peers, and 2) to highlight thepotential usefulness of feedback in the L2 learning
process—a concept that many Japanese learners ofEnglish may find useful to remember as they struggle toimprove their general speaking skills.
Teachers who used this sequence no longer madeassumptions about what was being achieved with their
feedback, rather they could witness students
incorporating the feedback in face-to-face speaking
activities. As one teacher commented, “Students
appeared to gain confidence from knowing that theirwork had been seen by a teacher—in that sense it lenta sense of validity to their English. I felt this confidence
to be quite palpable both in observing students making
use of their work after receiving WCF, and also in aperceived lack of assurance and relative discomfort for
students who had, perhaps, submitted their work lateand not received feedback.”
This sequence, over time, also produced positive
washback on student uptake of the initial writing task,
as students who failed to complete the writing portion
the first time around soon learned that the subsequentface-to-face speaking task was much more difficult
without pre-written responses. This feedback system
has become a staple activity in the course because it
allowed students to begin the face-to-face speaking
sessions with confidence, trusting their responses to be
linguistically accurate.

Feedback for evaluating content
The second feedback system also asked students to dosomething that may have been unfamiliar: play the roleof auditor and evaluate course content. In pre-pandemic
face-to-face lessons, teachers used an internalized
feedback system to answer questions like “How is thislesson going?” “How are the students doing?” “Is it
engaging?” “Do I need to spend more time on this?” “Is
the class ready to move on?” and judging by what could
be observed in the teachers’ immediate physical vicinity,
teachers could change their plans and behavior in realtime. However, with regards to on-demand lessons forwhich teachers created content and students accessedin their own time, teachers could no longer use thatinternal feedback system to make real-time adjustments
to the lesson. The apparent lack of information on
student response to on-demand content was cause forconcern among teachers and administrators as they
worked to respond to the emerging pandemic.
Luckily, the technological affordances present in theexisting BLE allowed the curriculum team to create
many activities with automated feedback (i.e.,
customized text displayed to students depending on
their responses to prompts) and teachers could see andassess student activity asynchronously. However,student activity logs and scores were only indicative ofthe degree to which students were able to successfullycomplete the assigned activities. With new content

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 126

being created, the curriculum team wanted to know
about the content and its delivery: “Were theinstructions and content clear and easy to understand?”“Were the activities perceived as useful or engaging?”
and from an important logistics perspective, “How long
did the activities take to complete?” To gather thisinformation, students would need to take on the
responsibility of evaluating these lesson modules andcommunicating their opinions to the faculty. One
recurring activity type provides a clear example of how
this was accomplished.
On-demand lessons included interactive content
modules called Vocabulary Learning Tips. They wereadapted from a text by David Barker (2010) called
Learning English Vocabulary, which is featured in thedepartment’s Self-Access Learning Center as aresource for students. These interactive modules werecreated with H5P, an online content authoring tool
installed on the Moodle LMS. These activities were
designed to help students adapt effective studying
techniques by directly explaining concepts and thenproviding simple interactive tasks to help students
practice or internalize the concepts. Figure 3 shows an
excerpt from one of these activities, wherein a simple
concept has been presented in the target and first
language of students, followed by a series of four
True/False questions with immediate feedback that built
on their response to extend their current knowledge.
Though experienced with producing these kinds ofactivities, faculty were required to produce a large
quantity of independently accessed online tasks in ashort time, which is where student generated feedback
proved its worth.

Figure 3
Automated feedback in on-demand activity

Presented at the conclusion of one lesson module, aMicrosoft Form asked students to provide faculty withfeedback on four points: 1) How useful did they perceive
the content? 2) How clearly was the information
explained? 3) How engaging or interesting were thetasks? and 4) How long did it take to complete themodule? This single, simple task had two distinct
outcomes. Firstly, teachers were able to monitor student
engagement with on-demand content for which they
were not physically present and make necessary
adjustments to the content in very short time. In someinstances, changes were made to an activity (e.g.,correcting translation errors, changing activity settings,

revising unclear content) after only one class had gone
through the module, saving other classes fromexperiencing the same problems. Secondly, this task
placed students in the role of assessor. This concept
was reinforced by pointedly addressing it in face-to-faceclasses, wherein teachers directly mentioned specificfeedback responses and their effect. Teachers wereencouraged to do this routinely, with the following text
serving as a model: “Thank you for your feedback on
the last activity. I was able to correct the spelling
mistake many of you found in the second question, andI learned that many of you think the matching activity
was confusing, so I took that out of the next assignment

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 127

because it’s probably not very useful to you.” Clearly
demonstrating that student-generated feedback haddirect and positive outcomes like this was part of theconcerted effort to improve students’ pedagogicalliteracy and contribute to a more ideal learning
environment wherein “feedback is a dialogic andrelational process” (Price, Handley, O’Donovan, Rust, &Millar, 2013).

Feedback for self-assessment and goal
setting
The third and final example used novel feedback
systems to achieve two outcomes: student selfassessment of an L2 speaking performance, and goal
setting based on quantitative information.
The feedback system in this example was integrated
within an online speaking activity called a P-CHAT.
Developed with support from the Japan Society for the
Promotion of Science (Kaken grant #19K13309), the PCHAT is an integrated pedagogical tool and research
instrument that provides students with immediate,
quantitative feedback on their speaking performance
during a group oral discussion (Kirchmeyer, 2022).
The P-CHAT guided students through a series of tasks:
first, they chose their partners and the conversation
topic, then students chose a few target words theywanted to try to use during the conversation. Students

proceeded to record their own voice directly into theprogram as they had a conversation with their partners
face-to-face. When the pre-determined time set for theconversation concluded, students listened to andtranscribed their own contributions to the conversation,
split into turns. Once submitted, students were taken toa review page where they could see quantifiable
statistics based on their performance including total
words spoken, total turns taken, average turn length inwords, longest turn length in words, total questions
asked, target words spoken, and a percentage
indicating how well their transcript matched a transcript
generated by a web-based speech-to-text service.
Figure 4 shows a screenshot of the final display page ofthe activity.
Having finished the speaking and transcribing steps,
students were prompted with reflective questions, set by
the teacher, that gave students the opportunity to use
the information provided on their screen to set specificgoals for the next time they attempted this activity.
Model responses included “I want to increase myaverage turn length by two words” or, “I want to use allof my target words” or “I want to increase my AI
accuracy by 5%” Students completed this entire task
sequence at the beginning, middle, and end of thecourse, as well as at the conclusion of each thematicunit, totaling eight instances.

Figure 4
Quantitative feedback for self-assessment and goal settingFirsthand accounts from teachers indicated high levelsof student engagement at the review stage of this task.

Many students found the provision of quantitative data
enlightening and useful for evaluating their

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 128

performances and setting goals for subsequent
activities, as can be inferred by a selection of student
responses (They have been translated from the originalin Japanese. See Appendix B for a list of the original
responses):This time, my goal was to increase the number of turns
I could speak, and I was able to do more than last time.
I was also able to respond to my partner's conversations
in some places. I was also able to have a conversation
while being aware of the target words.
It was very good that I was able to say most of the targetwords we had decided on, and it was good that I wasable to say something about myself and ask at least onequestion. However, there was a lot of silent time, so I
would like to ask more questions to keep theconversation going.
Next time, I will try to ask more questions about the topic
more quickly. In doing so, I will try to add a few words tomy questions.
End-of-term course survey results administered by theuniversity indicated positive student attitudes towards
this feedback system, and of the overall level andappropriateness of feedback in the course. 71 of 72
students indicated that they “Agree” or “Strongly agree”
with the statement: 問題に対する教員からのフィード
バックは適切だった。(Feedback from the teacher wasappropriate.) Further research that investigateslearner’s abilities to set and reach objective, attainable
goals using this tool is currently underway.

Barker, D. (2010). Learning English vocabulary (2nded.). Nagoya, Japan: BTB Press.
Bitchener, J., & Knoch, U. (2008). The value of writtencorrective feedback for migrant and international
students. Language Teaching Research, 12(3),409-431.
Carless, D. (2013). Sustainable feedback and thedevelopment of student self-evaluative
capacities. In S. Merry, M. Price, D. Carless, &M. Taras (Eds.), Reconceptualising feedback inhigher education (pp. 113-122). Oxon, UK:
Routledge.
Everhard, C. J. (2015). The assessment-autonomy
relationship. In C. J. Everhard & L. Murphy(Eds.), Assessment and Autonomy in Language
Learning (pp. 8-34). New York, NY: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Finnegan, D., Kauppinen, A., & Wärnsby, A. (2015).
Automated feedback in a blended learning
environment: Student experience anddevelopment. Learning and Teaching Writing
Online: Strategies for Success, 29, 31-45.

Conclusion
This article presented three feedback systems situatedin a blended learning environment which served toincrease learner awareness of assessment-for-learning
in English language education. The author asserts thata diverse range of local feedback systems (i.e.,
pertaining to a particular activity or task sequence) can
positively reinforce the meaningfulness of other local
feedback systems and, on a larger scale, lend to theperceived and actual meaningfulness of all course
activities. Rather than adding feedback activities to theend of existing task sequences, the author suggests
integrating a focus on feedback into course planning,
and to integrate feedback into multiple activities with arange of goals, functions, and roles for students. Further,more scrutinous studies should explore direct outcomesof these and other integrated feedback systems.

Referencesdoi:10.1163/9789004290846_004
Hounsell, D. (2003). Student feedback, learning anddevelopment. In M. Slowey & D. Watson (Eds.),
Higher education and the lifecourse (pp. 67-78).
Buckingham: SRHE & Open University Press.
Irwin, B. (2019). Enhancing peer feedback practices
through screencasts in blended academic
writing courses. The JALT CALL Journal, 15(1),43-59.
Kirchmeyer, B. (2022). What is a P-CHAT? https://pchat.com/
Merry, S., Price, M., Carless, D., & Taras, M. (Eds.).
(2013). Reconceptualizing feedback in higher

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 129

education. Abingdon-on-Thames, UK:
Routledge.

Sadler, D. R. (2010). Beyond feedback: developing
student capability in complex appraisal.
Assessment and Evaluation in Higher

Nassaji, H. (2016). Anniversary article Interactional
feedback in second language teaching and

Education, 35(5), 535-550.
doi:10.1080/02602930903541015

learning: A synthesis and analysis of current
research. Language Teaching Research, 20(4),535-562. doi:10.1177/1362168816644940

Shirkhani, S., & Fahim, M. (2011). Enhancing criticalthinking in foreign language learners. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 29, 111-115.

Price, M., Handley, K., O’Donovan, B., Rust, C., &doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.11.214

Millar, J. (2013). Assessment feedback: An
agenda for change. In S. Merry, M. Price, D.
Carless, & M. Taras (Eds.), Reconceptualisingfeedback in higher education (pp. 41-53). Oxon,
UK: Routledge.

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Appendix A

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 131

Appendix B
Sample student reflections from P-CHAT activity #4, translated with DeepL
Prompt 2 (Japanese):

日のあなたの会話の統計「Stats」を見てください。次Prompt 1 (Japanese):
P-CHAT 3 で設定した目標は何でしたか？P-CHAT4 では、Student4287

目標を達成できましたか？
P-CHAT で目標をターゲット

ワードをすべていえるようにすると挙げていたが、今回も少ししか言うことができなかった。次回はもっと意識したの P-CHAT に向けて、改善す
Prompt 1 (English):
What was the goal you set in
P-CHAT 3? Were your able toreach your goal in P-CHAT 4?
My goal in P-CHAT was to beable to say all of the targetwords, but I was only able tosay a few this time. I want tobe more conscious of this nexttime.

べき目標を 1 つ選んでくださ

In P-CHAT3, I had the goal of"organizing what I wanted tosay before I said it," and I think
I was able to achieve that goal
because I was able toorganize what I wanted to ask
beforehand. I was also able toanswer smoothly andunderstand what I was saying
when I said my answers,
which I feel was good.

決めたターゲットワードをほい。何を選びましたか？目標
は何ですか？
今回は単語の数がいつもより少ないように感じたため、次は相手にたくさん質問するな
どして、たくさんの英語を使えるようにしていきたい。

Prompt 2 (English):Look at the stats for yourconversation today. Choose
one to set as your goal to
improve on for the next PCHAT. What did you choose?
What is your goal?
This time, I felt that the
number of words was smaller
than usual, so next time I
would like to ask my partner
many questions so that I canuse a lot of English.

い。
4278

P-CHAT3 では、「伝えたいことを整理してから伝える」という目標があったが、事前に何を質問したいかを整理して質問できたため目標は達成できたと思う。また、自分の答えを発言するときもスムーズに答えられ、自分でも何を言っているのかを理解しながらとんど言えたことはとても良かったし、自分のことについての発言や、最低１つの質問ができたことは良かった。しかし、無言の時間が多かった
ため、もっと質問を自分からIt was very good that I wasable to say most of the targetwords we had decided on, andit was good that I was able tosay something about myself
and ask at least one question.
However, there was a lot ofsilent time, so I would like to
ask more questions to keep
the conversation going.

投げかけて話を継続させられるようにしていきたい。

話すことができたため良かったと感じている。
4279

今回は、自分がしゃべるター
ンの数を増やすことを目標にしていましたが、前回よりも増やすことができた。また、相手の会話に対して所々反応もできた。そして、ターゲッ
トワードも意識しながら会話

This time, my goal was toincrease the number of turns I
could speak, and I was able to
do more than last time. I was
also able to respond to mypartner's conversations insome places. I was also able
to have a conversation while
being aware of the targetwords.

次回はもっと素早くトピック

I was able to use most of thetarget words, which is a big
improvement from last time.

自分のターンを 20 回以上にすについての質問をより多くすることを目標とする。その際に、一言加えて質問するよう

Next time, I will try to ask morequestions about the topic more
quickly. In doing so, I will try to
add a few words to myquestions.

に心がけたい。

ができた。
4281

ターゲットワードをほぼつかえたところが前回より成⾧しる。

Make your turn more than 20
times.

ました。

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 132

The Evolution of a Four-Dimensional EFL Classroom
Adrianne Verla Uchida
Nihon University College of International Relations

Teaching students only English is not enough. While they need to master reading, writing, speaking, and listening, they also need the skills
known as the 4Cs: critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication. Additionally, there is a need to develop students' characterand metacognitive abilities. The Four-Dimensional Education Framework is designed to create an environment where that is possible. It
emphasizes the importance of four dimensions that are essential to learners in the 21st century: knowledge, skills, character, andmetacognition. This study examines student perceptions about their growth as language learners over a semester-long, first-year required
EFL course. Data were collected over three consecutive years from three different groups of students by analyzing the instructor’s syllabi,
student reflection sheets, and a voluntary course survey. How the tasks and projects were designed and implemented over each semester
to engage students with the traits from the framework will be discussed.

4C
4
21
1

4
1
3

3

Teaching students only English is not enough in the
21st century. While students do need to master the fourareas of reading, writing, speaking, and listening, theyalso need the 4Cs: critical thinking, creativity,
collaboration, and communication. Additionally, there isa need to foster students' character and metacognitive
abilities. Taking this more holistic approach focusing on
using English as a tool to achieve one’s goals will better
prepare students for situations they will face in theclassroom and as members of society. This study
examines how the Four-Dimensional Education
Framework (Fadel, Bialik, & Trilling, 2015), wasintegrated into the syllabus of a required first-year,
semester-long, English course. Data from threeconsecutive years of the course were collected andanalyzed using students’ perceptions of the framework
dimensions.

The Four-Dimensional Framework
The Center for Curriculum Redesign’s FourDimensional Education Framework (Fadel, Bialik, &Trilling, 2015) was designed to meet the changing
needs of education in the 21st century. The researchers
posit that the purpose of education was originally todisseminate information, similar to how teaching in theJapanese education system is traditionally perceived. It
is considered to be teacher-centered, whereas thisframework emphasizes a learner-focused approach.
“Making sure that individuals develop a reliable
compass and the navigation skills to find their way
through an increasingly uncertain, volatile, andambiguous world,” is a major goal of the framework(Fadel, Bialik, & Trilling, 2015, p. 1). They stress thatstudents need to not just understand something, theyneed to take the knowledge they have and apply it invarious contexts and situations. Students need to havethe skills and character to be able to engage with people
from various cultures and to be able to understand andaccept diversity in “ideas, perspectives, and values,”(Fadel, Bialik, & Trilling, 2015, p. 3). The framework is
the integration of three distinct categories: knowledge,
skills, and character, encircled by the concept of metalearning. The 21st-century learner is at its core (Figure
1).

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 133

Figure 1

The Four-Dimensional Education Framework

Adapted with permission from Fadel, Bialik, & Trilling, 2015, p. 67.

Knowledge
The knowledge dimension of the framework divides
knowledge into four main categories, traditional,
modern, interdisciplinary, and themes. The traditional
disciplines include the subjects that are currently taught
across the globe in some form: mathematics, sciences,the domestic or common language, foreign languages,social studies, arts, and physical education. These
subjects are generally taught with a focus on
memorizationforexaminations
ratherthanunderstanding the content and applying it to othercontexts. Moreover, this content takes up mostclassroom time leaving limited time for more modern
subjects that learners need to be active members oftoday’s society. Modern subjects can also be
categorized as interdisciplinary. These subjects focus
on concepts and meta-concepts that can beoverarching across one subject or even multiple
disciplines and have three distinct aspects of value.
They are practical, cognitive, and emotional (Fadel,

Bialik, & Trilling, 2015). Topics such as environmental
literacy, global literacy, digital literacy, emotional
intelligence, media literacy, and information literacy areexamples of modern disciplines.

Skills
The second dimension of the framework focuses onskills. Fadel, Bialik, & Trilling (2015) argue that teachingthese four skills allow learners to actively engage withthe content being taught and result in a deeper transfer
of knowledge. The four skills in this dimension are
creativity, critical thinking, communication, andcollaboration. Each skill enables learners todemonstrate how they use what they know and can
influence their motivation in turn as they can see andacknowledge their results firsthand.

Creativity
Einstein states that “imagination is more important thanknowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 134

understand, while imagination embraces the entire
world, and all there will ever be to know and understand,”(as cited in Fadel, Bialik, & Trilling, 2015, p. 110). Trillingand Fadel (2009) further propose that creativity can be
fostered in environments that encourage learners toquestion, come up with new ideas, and not fear making
mistakes. Moreover, providing opportunities forstudents to engage in problem-based learning,
divergent-thinking activities, and open-ended tasks
allows students to develop their creativity, making thisan invaluable skill for today’s learners.

Critical Thinking
Critical thinking skills are another of the main skills inthis dimension. Fadel, Bialik, & Trilling use the National
Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking’s definition:“intellectually disciplined process of actively andskillfully
conceptualizing,
applying,
analyzing,
synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered
from, or generated by observation, experience,reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide tobelief and action” (1987). Fadel, Bialik, & Trilling (2015)
stress that critical thinking skills can be explicitly taught
in class but also have a place in assigned tasks andprojects.

Communication
Regarding communication, the researchers highlightthat it is an essential skill for most jobs regardless of the
field. Communication skills such as relationship building,negotiating, and conflict resolution are valuable skills tohave in school and society. Fadel, Bialik, & Trilling(2015) also state that communication skills havebecome even more important in this digital age becauseof the connections between people around the world
who have different backgrounds, cultures, and customs.

and serve society as ethical citizens,” (Fadel, Bialik, &Trilling, 2015, p. 123). The framework emphasizes
character building to create the foundation for lifelong
learning, foster thriving relationships, and aid in thedevelopment of personal beliefs. There are six main
character qualities in the framework: mindfulness,curiosity, courage, resilience, ethics, and leadership.
Each trait includes a non-exhaustive list of qualities andconcepts connected to it. For example, some of thequalities associated with mindfulness include selfawareness, empathy, happiness, patience, balance,social awareness, and cultural awareness. The trait ofresilience encompasses qualities such as perseverance,
grit, adaptability, and commitment. These character
traits directly influence how each person acts andengages within their communities and society.

Meta-learning
The final dimension of the framework is meta-learningwith the subcategories of metacognition and growthmindset. This dimension calls for students to engage inreflection to understand what they are doing and why
they are doing it. By cultivating a growth mindset(Dweck, 2017) learners become more motivated toengage in learning and to learn how to adapt to various
situations, especially their goals (Fadel, Bialik, & Trilling,2015). By equipping learners with these abilities, they
will be more “versatile, reflective, self-directed, and selfreliant,” (Fadel, Bialik, & Trilling, 2015, p. 145). Students
who can utilize their metacognition and understandgrowth mindset will be better prepared when they enter
the workforce because they will have had opportunities
to make more decisions on their own and find theirmotivation to achieve their goals.

Context and Implementation

Collaboration
The final skill that is needed in the 21st century is theability to collaborate. As mentioned previously, theworld is more connected than it was even 20 years ago,so opportunities to interact with people from various
backgrounds and cultures have increased drastically.
Fadel, Bialik, & Trilling explain that “collaborative
learning has shown to increase learning outcomes,
enjoyment of the subject matter, self-esteem, andinclusiveness of diversity,” (2015, p. 120). It also can beused as the catalyst to provide student engagement in
the other three framework skills.

Character
The third dimension of the framework, character, is ofextreme importance because it affects a student both
inside and outside of the classroom. Furthermore, it issaid that “the goal of education has been to cultivate
confident and compassionate students who become
successful learners, contribute to their communities,

This course was originally designed in the spring of2018 for two first-year required English classes at a
private university in central Japan. It was then adapted
for the spring semester in 2019, and again in 2020 whenclasses were moved online due to the COVID-19
pandemic. While not English majors, the students all
have an international relations-focused major.
There are four required first-year English courses thatstudents must pass to meet their graduation
requirements. The classes are simply called English I,
II, III, and IV. While all four classes are four-skills-based:reading, writing, listening, and speaking. English II, is
supposed to have a stronger focus on reading andwriting than the other skills. The Oxford English
Grammar Course: Intermediate (Swan & Walter, 2011b)
used in 2018 and The Oxford English Grammar Course:
Basic (Swan & Walter, 2011a) used in 2019 and 2020,
are the required textbooks respectively. The class isheld twice a week for 15 weeks, and instructors are

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 135

requested to teach all 22 units of the textbook whileproviding ample chances for active participation andevaluation.
The students are streamed into classes using theAssessment of Communicative English Test (ACE)produced by the NPO, Association for English
Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA), before thestart of the semester. The exam tests students' listening,
vocabulary, grammar, and reading ability. The students
enrolled in my class are all considered to have a basic
level of English. They are what Wiltshier and Helgesen(2019) refer to as false beginners. This means that thestudents have all had at least six years of English study
in secondary school. However, most of them come frombackgrounds where they studied English to pass theuniversity entrance exams rather than had opportunities
to use English as a means of communication. The
students can translate sentences between Japaneseand English and usually have strong reading
comprehension skills, however, they have difficultyusing English to express themselves both orally and inwriting.

tasks were removed. The number of projects remained
at six. Each topic was devoted more class time allowing
for more emphasis to be placed on writing. In the springof 2020, the course was revamped again as it was
moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous
projects were no longer suitable for an online learning
environment such as the group project requiring
students to have a meal together at a restaurant andwrite a review and the local sightseeing project in which
students visited local tourist areas and designed asightseeing tour for visitors to the university area.
Additionally, Flipgrid, an online video platform wherestudents can upload and comment on classmates’
videos, was used for all the projects. Table 1 shows adetailed list of the tasks and projects by year withchanges marked in bold. Table 2 shows how the 2020
projects aligned with the framework.

Though the focus of the course is mainly on reading andwriting, I desire to provide ample opportunities forstudents to engage in pair work and group projects togive them opportunities to use English as a tool toachieve a goal. In doing so, learners have more
opportunities to become autonomous learners (Verla
Uchida, 2020). To give them a stronger sense of agency
and autonomy, I positioned myself as a facilitator andcoordinator of the activities and tried to advise and help
students as needed, showing them that I was a
resource for them (see Benson, 2013). By aligningmyself in such a way, I enabled my students to “takecharge of [their] learning” (Holec, 1981, p. 3).
To provide students with as much time as possible touse English in class, I flipped the classroom (Bergmann& Sams, 2014) and assigned the textbook as homework.
Each of the units was assigned as homework, and ashort 10-point quiz was given at the beginning of eachclass to assess students’ understanding of the assigned
grammar homework. By flipping the classroom, it
allowed them to “engage creatively in the subject
matter,” (Bergmann & Sams, 2014, p. 6) throughengaging in various tasks and projects during class,while also using the grammar they studied forhomework communicatively.
The first time the course was taught, five one-lessontasks and six multi-lesson projects were incorporated
into the curriculum; each designed to foster elements ofthe framework (Table 1). Verla Uchida (2019) gives adetailed explanation of one of the tasks (Living Graphs)
and one of the projects (Advice Columns) from the 2018
course that were implemented in the classroom. Basedon student feedback and personal reflection, thefollowing year in the spring of 2019, the one-lesson

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 136

Table 1
Tasks and Projects from the EFL Classroom

Tasks
2018

●
●
●
●
●

Introducing Others
Living Graph
Apples to Apples
Describing photos
Describing a short movie

Projects
●
●
●
●
●
●

Self-Introduction
Survey Project
Restaurant Review
Giving Advice
Kamishibai (Japanese storytelling)
Local Sightseeing

2019

●
●
●
●
●
●

Self-Introduction
Friends & Family
Survey Project
Restaurant Review
Giving Advice
Local Sightseeing

2020

●
●
●
●
●

Self-Introduction
Important Person
My Passions
Compare and Contrast
What if…

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 137

Table 22020 Projects Plugged in to the Four-Dimensional Education Framework
SkillsKnowledge

Character

Meta-learning

Self-

Creativity

Digital Literacy

Mindfulness

Metacognition

Introductions

Critical Thinking

Leadership

Growth Mindset

Communication

Curiosity
Courage
Resilience

An Important
PersonCreativity

Digital Literacy

Mindfulness

Metacognition

Critical Thinking

Leadership

Growth Mindset

Communication

Curiosity
Courage
Resilience
EthicsMy Passions

Creativity

Digital Literacy

Mindfulness

Metacognition

Critical Thinking

Leadership

Growth Mindset

Communication

Curiosity
Courage
Resilience
EthicsCompare andContrast

Creativity

Digital Literacy

Critical Thinking
Communication

Mindfulness

Metacognition

Leadership

Growth Mindset

Information

Curiosity

Literacy

Courage
Resilience
EthicsWhat if…

Creativity

Digital Literacy

Critical Thinking
Communication

Mindfulness

Metacognition

Leadership

Growth Mindset

Information

Curiosity

Literacy

Courage
Resilience
EthicsNote. Collaboration was deliberately not included as a skill in the 2020 projects due to the nature of online
courses and the need to balance asynchronous and synchronous classes.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 138

Data were collected the first year of implementation, in2018 (n=39), through an anonymous post-course
survey, post-class student reflections, and entries in ateacher journal. Data collected in the second and thirdyears, 2019 (n=22) and 2020 (n=15), were collectedfrom an anonymous bilingual pre-and post-course
survey, student project reflections, and post-course
teacher reflections. The qualitative data, student
reflections, and open-ended survey questions wereanalyzed by deductive coding using the keywords fromthe four dimensions of the framework.

Results and Reflections
Knowledge
It was expected that students would gain grammar
knowledge from the required textbook, and develop thefour main skills of speaking, listening, reading, andwriting, throughout the course. To understand student
perceptions of what students believed they learned,
they were asked an open-ended question about thecourse, “What knowledge did you gain or learn?”(Figure 2). The answers were then coded andcategorized into main themes. The 2018 results showedthat students gained the most knowledge about digital
literacy through using Google Workspace for Education,knowledge about how to communicate and express
themselves in English, and the ability to use grammar
for writing. Based on the student answers, it can be said
that they learned the modern theme of digital literacy(Fadel, Bialik, & Trilling, 2015). Understanding how to
use computers and the internet for collecting data,
creating materials, and giving presentations will beknowledge that students can use in multiple classes andbeyond graduation in their futures. The results for 2019were similar, however, there was also a strong focus on
speaking. Presentation was left as its own category
because most of the students who wrote aboutcommunication and expression also wrote about
presentation. The responses in 2020 were again
comparable, however, one student wrote “nothing”, andtwo students wrote about how they could use theknowledge learned in this class in their future jobs andtravels, slightly misunderstanding the question.

Figure 2
Results from “What knowledge did you gain or learn?”

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 139

Skills
The results from the four skills will be explained using
Figure 3.

Collaboration
In the face-to-face lessons, students wrote in theirreflections that they had various chances to collaborate.
Examples include making slides together for grouppresentations, helping each other understandassignments, cooperating during presentations, andgoing for a meal with classmates for the restaurant
review. However, in 2020, collaboration was severely
limited due to the limitations of online learning andlimited time taking synchronous lessons. Despite this,some students realized they had opportunities tocollaborate through group work during our synchronousclass activities and discussions as well as throughcommenting on classmates’ videos. This shows thateven with the transition to emergency remote teaching
online, students still felt they had opportunities tocollaborate and form a classroom community that
fosters a classroom community which Snyder (2019)says should be “our ultimate goal,” (p. 142).

noticed Japanese websites use many words, but
English websites use many pictures.” These instances
show that the students were thinking critically about
their English abilities, skills, and the world outside theirclassroom but they did not recognize it as criticalthinking.

Creativity
Student reflections and the survey results also showedthat students had the opportunity to cultivate theircreativity. Dweck (2017) claims that perseverance andresilience developed with one’s growth mindset fosters
creativity. The 2020 data showed that students ranked
communication and creativity evenly. Student written
reflections showed that this was often due to theopportunities to create online presentations to sharewith their classmates. Student reflections offeredspecific examples of opportunities to be creative suchas describing graphs, designing slides, and creatingpresentations.

Communication
Japanese secondary education often neglects
communicative competence in EFL classrooms despite
efforts by the Japanese Ministry of Education to
implement communicative language teaching (MEXT,
2008). One reason for this is the pressure students faceto pass university entrance examinations. However, inthe classroom, Fink (2013) states that communication
can take place through various skill development
activities—data gathering, foreign language use, andmanaging projects. Snyder (2019) calls this “autonomysupportive teaching,” (p. 140) which creates a sense oftrust between students and the teacher. Based on thestudent survey results, it can be said that students felt
they had developed their ability to communicate inEnglish. Their reflections also cited examples of ways
they engaged in communication through getting to know
classmates, discussing together, and advising eachother.

Critical Thinking
Critical thinking was the least developed skill according
to the students’ point of view. Verla Uchida (2020)
explains that this could be due to the gap between
Japanese and English meanings. While students did not
check the box in 2018 and very few did in the following
years, the students often wrote examples displaying
their use of critical thinking in their class and projectreflections. Some student examples include: “I need to
improve my vocabulary.” “Presentations need a loud,clear voice.” “I speak in words, not sentences.” “I

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 140

Figure 3
Results from “What skills did you develop?”

Character
The students were not taught explicitly about the six
main categories of character development: leadership,
ethics, resilience, courage, curiosity, and mindfulness(Fadel, Bialik, & Trilling, 2015) but they were asked toshare which traits they developed (Figure 4) andprovide examples. Curiosity was the trait that many
students felt they developed. The examples given by
the students were connected to the projects done inclass. In 2020, especially, students commented on theimpact the class projects had on their ability to become
friends and “get along” with their peers even in an online
environment and amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Understanding Student Emotions
The results of each survey showed similar emotions
among the students. Most students said that they were
nervous to study English for reasons including taking aclass from a non-Japanese teacher, the amount of
homework, and the English-only textbooks but they
were also excited. These results were as expected
because affect is an important element of foreign
language learning. Williams, Mercer, & Ryan (2015)
describe it as “a complex web of emotions and feelings,”(p. 79). Research on “negative” emotions has beenheavily researched in foreign language learning, mostnotably, anxiety (Dewaele, 2007, Gardner & MacIntyre,
1993; Williams, Mercer, & Ryan, 2015). More recently
research on so-called “positive” emotions has increased,
including positive psychology in language learning(Williams, Mercer, & Ryan (2015). Seligman andCsikszentmihalyi (2000) explain that “the field ofpositive psychology at the subjective level is about
valued subjective experiences: well-being, contentment,
and satisfaction (in the past); hope and optimism (for the
future); and flow and happiness (in the present),” (p. 5).
The mixture of both emotions at the start of thesemester highlights the importance that emotions playin language learning. Student post-class reflections
regularly included emotive words and phrases
spotlighting a variety of emotions. Some examples
include: “I enjoyed speaking English,” “I have feelings ofanxiety about presentations,” “I’m annoyed about
today’s presentation because I can’t say what I want tosay,” and “I’m looking forward to the next class everyday.” The students’ reflections mirrored the literatureand highlighted the character traits from the framework.

Meta-learning
Students were not taught the metalanguage regarding
this dimension—metacognition and growth mindset—
however, the inclusion of reflective writing assignments
after each class in 2018 and 2019, and after eachproject, all three years were done to foster thisdimension of the framework. These chances forstudents to think about what they were learning anddoing and why they were doing it created opportunities
for them to develop their metacognitive skills and fostera growth mindset. Dweck (2017) stresses theimportance of developing a growth mindset that fosters

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 141

learners’ abilities to adapt to various contexts andsituations in addition to developing their ability to pursue
their goals and not give up when facing challenges.
Students often complained that writing a reflection of
approximately 150 words was difficult, but by the end of
the semester, the majority commented that they could
now write that much easier than before and that they
appreciated learning and thinking about themselves
and what they were doing through reflection. Fadel,
Bialik, & Trilling (2015) explain the need to develop
metacognitive skills by reflecting on one’s learning goals,
learning strategies, and learning outcomes tounderstand their current feelings and beliefs about theirgoals and desired outcomes which mirrors students'
comments about engaging in reflection throughout thesemester.

Figure 4
Results from “Which character traits did you develop?”

Limitations
As with any study, some limitations must be addressed.
The first is the students’ uneven and small sample size
each year. As the online survey results were completely
voluntary the number of respondents was different eachterm. Additionally, as the course was conducted withdifferent students each year who had roughly the sameacademic English abilities according to the ACE Test,
students’ actual abilities regarding language output
varied greatly as the test did not account for language
production. This could have influenced individual
student responses regarding the skills and character
responses. Moreover, another limitation was theevolving nature of the tasks and projects over the three
years of implementation. While each year the activities
were adapted based on the context (i.e. the number oftasks versus projects, the teaching context of face-to-

face versus online) the students were never directly toldof the changes each year, nor were they aware of thechanges made with regards to the framework. The
students were also unfamiliar with the framework andthe terminology which if taught explicitly may haveinfluenced or altered their understanding of the course
tasks and projects as well as the course design.

Conclusion
Fadel, Bialik, & Trilling (2015), believe that the goal of
education is to “cultivate confident and compassionate
students who become successful learners, contribute totheir communities, and serve society as ethical citizens”(p.123). While this research cannot speculate about thestudents’ futures, it has shown that students who
participated in this course left with an ability to use
The PanSIG 2021 Journal 142

English while also expanding their knowledge,
developing 21st century skills, building their character,and tapping into meta-learning strategies. This study
has shown that the integration of the framework into theclass design was effective for the context.

Holec, H. (1981). Autonomy and foreign language
learning. New York, NY: Pergamon Press.
Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation.
Psychological Review, 50(4), 370–396.
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Dweck, C. (2017). Mindset – Changing the way you
think to fulfill your potential. New York, NY:
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Fadel, C., Bialik, M., & Trilling, B. (2015). Fourdimensional education: The competencies
learners need to succeed. Boston, MA: Centerfor Curriculum Redesign.
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MacIntyre P., Gregersen T. (2012) Affect: The Role of
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Snyder, B. (2019). Creating engagement andmotivation in the Japanese university language
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new handbook (pp. 137-143). New York, NY:
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Swan, M., & Walter, C. (2011a). Oxford English
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Swan, M., & Walter, C. (2011b). Oxford English
grammar course: Intermediate. Oxford, UK:
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Trilling, B., & Fadel, C. (2009). 21st century skills:
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Jossey-Bass.
Verla Uchida, A. (2019). Introducing elements of afour-dimensional education into an EFLClassroom. Learning Learning, 26(2), 51–56.
Verla Uchida, A. (2020). Integrating the fourdimensional education framework into an EFL
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Williams, M., Mercer, S., & Ryan, S. (2015). Exploring
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Wiltshire, J. & Helgensen, M. (2019). Tearing down thewall of silence: constructing the English
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The PanSIG 2021 Journal 144

Effects of Debate on Learner Motivation and L2 Future Self
Wan Jung Amy Lin
Nagoya University of Foreign Studies

In the harmonious Japanese culture, students are usually perceived as reluctant with debate activities, requiring them to express opinions
and negotiate. This paper examines how the unit-end debate activities cultivate learners’ critical thinking skills and speaking skills, and learnermotivation, especially in their self-images about their future. Learners’ reflection surveys indicate their improved motivation throughnegotiating and communicating their ideas in groups. Survey results also demonstrate learners’ belief in the practicality and usefulness of theskills, thus projecting them to their future job performance.

調和のとれた日本の文化では、意見を述べたり、交渉したりすることが求められるディベート活動は、通常、学習者
にとって消極的なものと思われている。本論文では、単元末のディベート活動が、学習者の批判的思考力や会話力を育み、また学習者のモチベーション、特に自分の将来についての自己イメージを向上させるということを検証する。
学習者の振り返り調査によると、グループで交渉したり、自分の考えを伝えたりすることで、学習者のモチベーショ
ンが向上したことがわかった。また、学習者のアンケート結果によると、学習者はスキルの実用性と有用性を信じており、スキルを将来の仕事に反映させていることがわかった。

Debate is one of the various activities that effectively
promote critical thinking (CT) and language learning.
Freeley and Steinberg (2014) described debate as “theprocess of inquiry and advocacy, a way of arriving at areasoned judgment on a proposition” (p. 7). They
argued that individuals could use debate to achieve
conclusions and utilize it to persuade others to accept
their viewpoints, resulting in individual and groupdecisions. In this paper, I will examine how criticalthinking (CT) can be significantly beneficial for learners
as strategies and how the main debate activity cancultivate CT skills and L2 self.

Cultivating Critical Thinking in Language
Classrooms
In the recent trend of teaching critical thinking (CT) in
language classrooms, CT is less consideredphilosophically as what people should think nor thequality of thinking (Lai, 2011). Instead, CT has been
regarded as a set of cognitive behaviorist skills,
focusing on behaviors performed when people think,such as posing questions, analyzing, and interpreting(Lai, 2011). In the education field, Bloom’s taxonomy
was a breakthrough in the pedagogy and psychology oflearning (Pikhart & Klimova, 2019) that refined
specifically what CT skills were referring to:remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing,evaluating, and creating (Baker & Westbrook, 2018).
Language learners can also benefit from thinking andreflecting on learning through the CT skills. Bagheri(2015) suggested that language educators should teachCT as “higher use of language learning strategies” (p.
975) to better learners’ language learning experiences.

In a study about metacognition (i.e., thinking about thethinking), Anderson (2012) further concluded that lessproficient students were generally less aware ofmetacognition. He proposed that when learners
reflected on their learning, they made conscious
decisions about their actions to improve as languageusers and experienced empowerment throughmetacognitive skills. With CT skills, learners trained
themselves to learn, monitor, cope, and stay active in
learning.

Using Debate as Negotiation in Language
Classrooms
As previously stated, utilizing debates in language
classrooms positively influences learners’ speaking
ability and CT skills. Zare and Othman’s literature
review (2013) on the use of debate activities inlanguage classrooms argued that debates werelearner-centered, providing students opportunities tonegotiate meanings and promote linguistic input andoutput right on the spot. Iman (2017), in another study,
also examined two groups from an Islamic high school
in Indonesia and concluded that the experimental groupwith the debate treatment improved CT skills andspeaking skills significantly than the control group.
Utilizing debates also welcomes negotiation andcollaboration in language classrooms, providing
learners with opportunities to sense their existence andexercise their human agency. Paulo Freire (1970)
claimed, “students are not empty heads waiting to be
filled with information mainly through transmission.
Rather, they are valuable sources of knowledge
instrumental to their learning and empowerment” (asThe PanSIG 2021 Journal 145

cited in Richard-Amato, 2002, p. 16). As learners
negotiated in English, they were required to participate
and experience real-life scenarios in their L2.
Richard-Amato (2002) proposed seven components ofParticipatory Learning Experience in her paper: (1)teachers identify students’ needs, obstacles, andinterests; (2) curriculum negotiated to meet students’needs; (3) build dialectical relationships, so all theparticipants (including teachers) are learners andteachers; (4) basic skills need to be taught; (5) explore
important issues to develop cognitive abilities andproficiency; (6) all participants learn throughcollaboration; (7) critical thinking helps participants
make judgments. All seven components described how
debate activities could be designed and the benefits
learners can receive. I believe that Component 4 does
not merely refer to linguistic skills; critical thinking skills
are also required to help accomplish Components 5 and
7.

Motivation and Future Self
Second language learning motivation is a complex
notion that has been rapidly reconceptualized not only
based on psychological factors but also by the
economic and social context that shape one’s self andidentity (Ushioda & Dörnyei, 2009; Dörnyei, 2019). The
phenomenon of globalization has changed learners’
distance with cultural groups, individual or group identity
in relation to the world, and the understanding of English
as lingua franca (Ushioda & Dörnyei, 2009; Ryan, 2009;
Dörnyei, 2009; Kubota, 2018).
Gardner and Lambert’s paper (1959) on motivationalvariables in SLA has immensely impacted the field of
SLA and brought social psychology into the discussion.
Over sixty years, the construct of integrative motive
evolved, and psychology, sociology, social psychology
have joined the discussion of motivation (cf. Al-Hoorie& MacIntyre, 2020). Sufficient motivation initiates L2
learning and is the driving force to endure the tediouslearning process and accomplish long-term goals(Dörnyei & Ryan, 2015). Educators then have been
thriving to find methods to help learners intrinsicallymotivate themselves so they can run the language
learning marathon independently.
In the discussion of intrinsic motivation, it is hard tooverlook integrative motivation that Gardner (2001)
proposed, indicating learners’ desire to integrate withthe target language speech community. That was to say,the primary motivation learners had was to develop acommunicative relationship with members from thetarget cultural group and a desire to be recognized asvalued members of the language community (Gardner& Lambert, 1959; MacIntyre, 2007). However, as Ryan
(2009) surveyed Japanese and Hungarian students, it
was interesting to see learners’ efforts had a higher

correlation with attitude when the national aspects were
removed. The integrative motivation of the participantsin the study was higher towards English speakers over
the world (English as an international language) thanEnglish speakers from the US. Ryan (2009) proposed,“attitudes towards a vague, undefined L2 community
correlate more highly with efforts than attitudes to a
fixed and readily identifiable L2 community” (p.131).
Lamb (2004) suggested that English learners might notassociate English with “ particular geographical orcultural communities but with a spreading international
culture incorporating business, technological innovation,
consumer values, democracy, world travel, and themultifarious icons of fashion, sport and music” (p. 3;
also see Iman, 2017).
Further, in 2005, Dörnyei proposed his L2 Motivational
Self System “ as a reframing of Gardner ’ s (2001)
concept of the integrative motive ” (MacIntyre et al.,2009a, p. 49), consisting of three dimensions, the ideal
L2 self, the ought-to self, and the L2 learning experience.
The ideal L2 self indicated a desirable image of what
learners envision themselves for the future; ought-to
self referred to on the obligations and duties that one
ought to possess, and thus more extrinsic (i.e., from
authorities, cultures, and societies); the L2 learning
experience referred to the prior success experience andthe motivation promoted by it (Dörnyei, 2005, 2009;
Dörnyei & Ryan, 2015).
Educators continued to argue that the ideal self-images
must be elaborated and vivid in order to be effective insome students. The methods of imagery enhancement
had been implemented in psychological, educational,
and sports research, and the techniques could be
employed to strengthen learners’ vision and ideal self
(Dörnyei, 2009). It was argued that learners with “a vividand detailed ideal self-image that has a substantial L2
component are more likely to be motivated to takeaction in pursuing language studies” (Dörnyei & Chan,
2013, p. 440). Also, Oyserman et al. (2004) describedthat there were two types of possible selves. One was
the possible selves that stimulated good feelings about
themselves yet no plans to activate; the other was those
who involved plans of action to reach the future imageof themselves. Similarly, MacIntyre et al. (2009b)
argued that it was more important to observe “how often
a possible self is thought about” (p. 197) and how
learners considered the likeliness of their possible
selves; the more aware and cognizant learners were of
their future self, the more likely their motivation would
be impacted on.
This brings us to the present study, which examined theL2 self of second-year university students in Japan after

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 146

a series of debate activities. The study addressed thefollowing research questions:
1. How do the debate activities help with language
learning?
2. Do the debate activities help learners to visualize
their future self in L2?

MethodParticipants of the study were 31 university students,
non-English majors, in a four-skill integrated English
course, which was conducted twice a week online via
Zoom due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Preparation and the Main Debate Activity
To prepare participants for the necessary skills for theunit-end group debate activities, I incorporated varied
weekly activities to cultivate habits to ask questions
after unit readings and presentations. Casual debates
and critical incidents were conducted constantly forparticipants to negotiate in pairs. At the end of each unit,
participants took part in the more formal and extended
debates.
The main debate activity that this study explored wasroleplay activities incorporated with different unit topics
for participants to debate, negotiate, and collaborate
ideas according to the provided scenarios, designed bymy colleagues and me, names used with permission(see Appendix A for details). The unit topics werealigned with the designated textbook Prism Reading 2(Baker & Westbrook, 2018).
Instead of adopting academic debate formats (e.g.,cross-examination format, mock trial format, academic
parliamentary format, etc. See Freeley & Steinberg,
2014, chapter 17), I adopted a more interactive andcommunicative meeting format with more relevant andessential topics to encourage learner participation,aligning with Participatory Learning Experience, whichemphasized participation from all members to bothlearn and teach, allowing power to be shared in theclassrooms. By exploring different local and global
issues, learners developed cognitive abilities andlanguage proficiency (Richard-Amato, 2002).

ProcedureAt the end of each unit, participants were assigned
different roles under a debate scenario. For example,
themayor,
construction
companies,
publictransportation companies, environmental activists, andresidents gathered for a hearing to solve Nagoya traffic
congestion problem. See Appendix A for more details of
all topics. Participants researched necessary
information outside of class. Based on different roles,
their research should be distinctive from the different
perspectives they were given.

At the end of the school year, a short questionnaire wasconducted to investigate learner motivation and selfimage about their future using the learned skills. It wasmade clear that participation in the survey was voluntary
and anonymous. The survey included ten statements
based on a five-point Likert scale from 1 (strongly
disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), followed by two openended questions. See Appendix B for the survey
questions.

Results
Table 1 shows the statistical results from the Likert
scale items.
To answer the first research question, participants
responded positively about the group debate activities
on language learning. Overall, the activities benefit
active listening, critical thinking, speaking, researching,and negotiation (Item 1 through 5). Participants also
responded positively to learning from peers (Item 8
through 10). However, even though participants ’motivation and confidence showed positive, the meanscore was comparatively low compared with other items(M=4.000, SD=0.845; M=4.000, SD=0.966). Whenanswering the open-ended questions, participants also
responded learned skills as actively listening, speaking,researching, summarizing, expressing ideas fromdifferent perspectives, debating skills and phrases, andcritical thinking. They also responded that they acquired
good information and vocabulary words from othergroup members. The nature of the activity also provided
urgency to express.
- “I think this activity makes us feel comfortablespeaking English.” (S8)- “We have to think of many ideas to argue with others.
So, I think we can get to think soon and say what I wantto tell in English.” (S23)- “I could try to express my opinions even if the grammar
is not correct.” (S24)
Naturally, there were some negative responses.
Debating with peers was complex in Japanese already,and it added more challenges to this activity when it wasin English. Further, English became more challenging
for specific roles (e.g., head politicians or mall owners).
Participants also found it challenging to develop
responses right on the spot. Some also expressed thatgroup dynamics and language ability were significant
variables at this activity, primarily when lack of
preparation or language skills occurred. Poorly
prepared participants could not have content to speak
about, and well-prepared participants did not havemembers to argue with.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 147

- “ Sometimes, some students didn’t research their- “As I grow up, I have more opportunities to debate.”

topics, but we can share and help each other.” (S6)

(S16)
- “I think it will be useful when discussing with foreigners.

- “ I can ’ t come up with good answers when otherIn addition, I think that we will be able to respond
immediately to unexpected opinions.” (S28)members asked questions.” (S21)- “I always enjoyed this activity, but I think debate is very

- “For example, if we [are working], we have to discussdifficult even in Japanese, so the debate in English often

many times then we use the skills not [only] English but
also Japanese. And I think it is very important to think
as soon as possible when we discuss. We can also get

don’t go well. I felt sad when I can’t express in English.”(S24)
In terms of participants ’the skill from this activity.” (S23)

imagined future, they

responded that the following skills would be necessary
and valuable for the future: expressing opinions,speaking from various positions, expressions
necessary for arguments, speaking, active listening,
investigating, negotiating, and immediately responding
to unexpected opinions in English.

Some responses included more vivid imagery about
using specific skills in the future. Participants
anticipated whom they would use the skills with, where
they would use the skills, and what they would do withthe skills.
- “If I work in foreign countries or with foreign people, it

To my surprise, the last question on the survey
stimulated participants’ visions for their future L2 self.
Multiple responses included phrases such as “When I

will help a lot. And if I work in Japan with only Japanesepeople, the skill of debate and the way of thinking would
help me.” (S10, where and who)

get a job,” “When I become a worker,” “If I work in- “[I will] be able to negotiate in English, not only working

foreign countries or Japan, ” and “ at meetings orin multinational companies also debating something inconferences.” The participants visualized themselves inEnglish with foreigners in the future.” (S17, where andvaried future life events. The responses showed

who)participants’ connection between the English debates
and future work performance more than discussions orconversations with friends.

- “When you go out into the society and start working,meetings become essential. So I found this debate skill
to be very useful. Researching the topic beforehand,
listening to the other person, and forming opinions are
all things you need to do in a meeting.” (S19, what)- “There are a lot of opportunities like this after I get ajob.” (S4)Table 1
Statistic Results

Count
1

2

3

4

5

M

SD

1. To listen more carefully and actively

0

0

2

7

21

4.633

0.615

2. To think critically

0

1

4

6

20

4.452

0.850

3. To develop answers promptly

0

1

5

14

11

4.129

0.806

4. To negotiate better in English

0

1

5

15

10

4.097

0.790

5. To research and organize information

0

1

3

15

12

4.226

0.762

6. To raise motivation to speak English

0

1

7

12

9

4.000

0.845

7. To be more confident in English

0

3

5

12

11

4.000

0.966

8. Impressed by others’ ideas

0

0

4

9

18

4.452

0.723

9. Different opinions motivate multiple-perspective thinking

0

0

4

14

13

4.290

0.693

10. Enjoying collaboration within groups

0

0

6

11

14

4.258

0.773

The debate activity helps:

Collaboration learning

Notes. n=31

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 148

Discussion
Motivation
Learner motivation after the series of unit-end debates
showed very positive results, as we can see from theresults of the Likert-scale items. However, it was notnecessarily connected with Gardner ’ s ideas ofintegrative-ness, or the desire to use the skills in
English-speaking communities. It was interesting thatwhen answering the last two open-ended questions,many expressed they would use the skills at work, inJapan, or other countries. Learners expect a moreglobalized Japan in the future awaiting. As Ryan (2009)
described, English has a more instrumental function inmost Japanese university students. Instead ofdeveloping an English identity, learners are very likely
to develop a global identity (Dörnyei, 2009) because of
the worldwide globalization process and the conceptionof English as an international language. Even if learners
stay in Japan in the future, the multinational companies
will require them to use English to negotiate. Therefore,
learners seem to appreciate this type of activity thatprovides them with opportunities to rehearse what theyneed to perform at work in the future. They appreciate
the unique function and genre of the debate activity, as
well as its practicality and usefulness.

Demotivation
Anxiety during debate cannot be overlooked, especiallywhen varied topics raise difficulty in language andcontent, causing linguistic anxiety and CLIL anxiety(Somers & Llinares, 2021). In addition, in a Confucianinfluenced country like Japan, it is already hard forstudents to argue about controversial topics inJapanese, let alone in English. Therefore, linguistically,
it is essential to teach and reinforce necessary phrases
and fillers to politely agree, disagree, negotiate, andcommunicate throughout the semester. Necessary
topical phrases and vocabulary words distinctive to thedebate topics should be taught to avoid demotivation.
Also, learners expect to perform in specific ways
distinctively to their roles (e.g., politicians orbusinesspersons) as they prepare for the debate.
However, during the debate, when the imagined role
performance and their actual performance do not align,
they can sense frustration towards themselves and,later, demotivation. Especially in Japan, the cultureemphasizes the importance of understanding theirsocietal roles and acting to their utmost to meet the
expectations of the roles (Apple et al., 2013). Even
though the debate activity can help learners create andstrengthen the vision, as Dörnyei and Ryan (2015)
described as part of the vision-inspired motivational
strategies, debate scenarios lacking diversity in design
and relevance may not help learners stay motivated.

Not every student will become a politician orsalesperson; not every student watches thesescenarios on mass media. Therefore, as Apple et al.
(2013) suggested, in helping future scientists andengineers, it can be beneficial by showing authentic
interview or conversation videos from Japanese
professionals speaking English, and it can provide
relevance to learners and bring meaning to the activities
from real-life.
Another demotivating factor is group dynamics. Dörnyei(2005) proposed that the concept of group norm is, inmany respects, comparable to individual student
motivation. As group norms, or rules and routines, help
group members “go about their business as effectively
as possible” (p. 89), educators can take advantage ofthe group norm to move the adverse effects toward
motivating elements. For example, one participant
responded that the lack of preparation among groupmembers in turn encouraged supporting systems within
the group. In this case, being demotivated does notmean “all the positive influences that originally made up
the motivational basis of a behavior have been
annulled; rather, it is only the resultant force that has
been dampened by a strong negative component, whilesome other positive motives may still remain operational”(Dörnyei, 2005). Educators can take advantage ofopportunities like this and observe the group norm andprovide scaffolding if needed. Similarly, teachers need
to be cautious about some harmful norms when
students are pressured due to lacking research or
linguistic ability.

Limitations
The group was fairly small (n=31), and no follow-up
interviews were conducted after the survey. It was still
unclear which nationality participants referred to whenmentioning
foreigners
or
foreigncountries.
Nevertheless, the participants still visualized
themselves using the skills in a professional and formal
setting.
Moreover, because the activities’ design was mainly
based on formal settings (business or government
meetings), the participants connected the skills with
their future work performance more than informal
settings where they needed to negotiate with theirfriends in English. We can also see that the design ofactivities significantly shapes learners’ images about
their future when they rehearse English in the language
classrooms. It is vital for educators to provide a morevariety of scenarios (formal and informal) for learners torehearse and visualize their future in English.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 149

Dörnyei, Z. (2019). Psychology and language learning:
The past, the present and the future. Journal for

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Appendix A

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

4

5

6

7

Debate Topic

Transportation The Nagoya Mayor would like to improve Nagoya’s traffic
congestions and listens to different plans to make the final
decision.

Customs andTraditions

Health andFitness

Discoveryand Invention

FashionDesigner
Acknowledgements
Niall Walsh

Roles: Nagoya Mayor, road construction company, public
transportation development company, environmental activist,and building construction company.
The teacher of the class is getting married but too busy to plan Wan Jung Amy Lin
her wedding. The teacher’s assistant will listen to different
designers and friends to plan the wedding for the busy
teacher.
Roles: the assistant, wedding planner from the USA andTaiwan, wedding planner for unique themes, and hotel staff.
Civilians and businesses meet with Japanese politicians to
decide if the government should tax products that are bad for
health.
Roles: head politician, a worried parent from Okinawa, CEO of
Glico, concerned office worker, farmer, and life insurancecompany.
China is working on a South-North Water Transfer Project.
The Chinese politician listens to opinions from civilians andcompanies to decide how to proceed.
Roles: head politician, fisherman, farmers from the North,resident in Beijing, construction company, and environmental
activist.
An eco-friendly mall in Japan would like to take in two more
shops but avoid scandals and sweatshops. The mall ownerhas a meeting with representatives from different brands.

Jared Peo

Wan Jung Amy Lin

Jared Peo

Roles: mall owner, representatives from Zara, Nike, Uniqlo,
H&M, and GAP.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 152

Appendix B
Survey Questions
Q1

The debate activity helps me listen to my friends more carefully and actively.

Q2

The debate activity helps me think more critically.

Q3

The debate activity helps me develop good answers right away when other groupmembers ask me questions.

Q4

The debate activity helps me to negotiate better in English.

Q5

The debate activity helps me to research and organize information in English.

Q6

The debate activity helps with my motivation to speak English.

Q7

The debate activity helps me to be more confident in English.

Q8

I am always impressed by my classmates’ ideas.

Q9

When group members share different ideas, it also motivates me to think from a different
perspective.

Q10

I enjoy collaboration among group members.

Q11

How do you like the activity? Do you think this activity helps you?

Q12

Do you think the skills you learned from this activity will help you in the future? How?

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 153

Gender Awareness in Language Education (GALE) SIG Forum: Local and Global
Perspectives on GenderAnna Walker
University of Nottingham

Kristie Collins
Reitaku University

Quenby Hoffman Aoki
Seikei University

Gerry Yokota
Osaka University

The 2021 Gender Awareness in Language Education (GALE) Forum featured three presentations. First, Kristie Collins shared her course on
gender, multilingualism/multiculturalism, and identity. Next, Quenby Hoffman Aoki discussed intersectionality and its importance within GALE.
The final presenter was Gerry Yokota, who entered into a dialogue with Quenby about the history of GALE and the role of intersectionality
within our SIG. The presentations were followed by a lively question and answer session in which attendees and presenters engaged in
discussions about both the practical and theoretical applications of intersectionality in educational contexts.

2021

GALE Gender Awareness in Language Education

3

GALE
GALE

SIG

The purpose of the Gender Awareness in Language
Education (GALE) SIG is to research gender in teachingcontexts, improve and develop pedagogical materials
and practices, raise awareness of human rights issues
related to gender, and increase networking
opportunities for language educators (GALE, 2021).
The PanSIG Forum is a chance for GALE to showcase
recent gender-related research and activities. This year,
the theme of the GALE Forum was “Local and Global
Perspectives on Gender,” which included threepresentations, a poetry reading, and a discussion
centred around the concept of intersectionality in GALE.
In order to inspire connection with PanSIG's overall
theme of plurilingualism and multilingualism, theConference Chair posed the following question topresenters: “How does language learning connect theinside and the outside of the learner, the classroom, thesociety?” (Schmidt, 2021). From a gender awarenessperspective, the answer to this question can only be"through intersectionality." The ongoing pandemic has
magnified issues of social inequality and discrimination
not limited to those of gender, race, and class. The
Forum presenters demonstrated ways in which they
manage these important but difficult themes—not onlyin the classroom, but also as educators committed toreflective practice and acknowledging that we canalways do better.
The first speaker was Kristie Collins who presented herclassroom application of a docuseries exploring
Japanese culture from the perspective of a journalist
occupying multiple linguistic and cultural identities. Next,
Quenby Hoffman Aoki introduced the topic ofintersectionality, emphasizing that as both educatorsand members of GALE, we must be committed to
The PanSIG 2021 Journal 154

recognizing our positions of privilege, while remaining
open to constructive criticism and embracing
opportunities for growth. The third presenter was Gerry
Yokota who, through dialogue with Quenby, shared herexperiences as an educator teaching intersectionality.
Gerry also touched on the history of GALE, in which she
provided a few examples of how GALE has practiced
intersectionality over its roughly 20 year history. Lastly,
Quenby recited her poem entitled Moving On, which
touches on themes of identity, societal expectations,and self-acceptance.

Talking Gender in theMultilingual/Multicultural/Multidisciplinary
Classroom
Kristie Collins
Having taught gender studies in ESL/EFL classrooms
for over two decades in England, Finland, and Japan, I
am always on the hunt for engaging and effective
teaching resources to provide a framework for mycourses. Currently, I am teaching at a private liberal arts
university in Chiba, Japan, and it is a joy to have thesupport of the administration and the interest of thestudent body in undertaking gender studies and media
courses in our program. However, in order to ensurethat students can master the material, finding the righttextbook or online resources is imperative. In past years,
I enjoyed using GALE’s own Jane Nakagawa’s Gender
Issues Today (2005, out of print) and Mel Reiff Hill andJay Mays’s wonderful The Gender Book (2011) in manyof my lessons, but I continued struggling to find an upto-date textbook that offered basic gender studies
content at an appropriate language level for mystudents. That is, until I encountered the ideal resource
for my course last year: Channel News Asia (CNA)’s
four-part docuseries, Deciphering Japan (Thayi, 2020).

Deciphering Japan
CNA’s exceptional series is divided into four hour-longepisodes: “A Woman’s Role,” “Live to Work,” “Ageing
Society,” and “Being Japanese.” Narrated by the halfJapanese/half-Malaysian, American-raised journalist,
Yumi Araki, each episode explores these respective
themes from Ms. Araki’s unusual insider/outsider
perspective. Having been born and raised in Japan until
adolescence, Ms. Araki understands firsthand thegender inequalities and problematic identity politics thatafflict contemporary Japanese society; at the same time,
she is apprehensive about what may be lost in Japan’srich traditional practices and rural communities as thenation seeks to reinvent and revitalize itself at thiscritical juncture in time. Each episode focuses on its
respective theme, but issues of gender, age, nationality,
and self/social identity weave through the entire series.
In this way, the docuseries offers an ideal context fromwhich students can reflect upon the ways that theseissues intersect, and it also compels them to thinkcritically about their own place in society and to reflect
on their responsibility in standing up to social injustices.
In other words, rather than studying gender as a distinct
subject isolated from other social concerns, using
Deciphering Japan as a framework for the course
enabled my class to see how gender dovetails all areasof research that they study, regardless of their disciplineor study program.

Course Management
I piloted my new Deciphering Japan material in my
Gender Studies B course in the fall 2020 semester witha class of 18 third and fourth year students. Due to the
COVID-19 situation, all classes were held online,
though I feel certain the course can be run face-to-facein much the same format. As the course runs for 15
weeks with 90-minute weekly class meetings, I decided
ahead of time to organize the semester with one
introductory class, twelve classes designed around thedocuseries, and two final classes for student
presentations. In the introduction class, we started witha fun quiz and some ice breakers, and then did someguided discussion tasks to introduce the key themes of
the course—gender, society, and identity. The students
brainstormed various gender issues they see aroundthem in Japan, and I showed them a brief trailer for the
docuseries to pique their interest.
The 12 weeks focused on Deciphering Japan werelargely organized in the same way each week. I createdthree weeks of lessons around each of the four
episodes, and I structured them in a similar manner sothat students quickly became accustomed to my classtime expectations. Each lesson was comprised of awarm-up question to prepare them for the day’s topics,
some vocabulary review to help them understand more
complex language, comprehension questions for theviewings (divided into part one and part two), anddiscussion questions to apply the docuseries content totheir own lives and experiences. One added advantage
to this docuseries is that a large part of the discussionis actually in Japanese with English subtitles, so my
Japanese students were able to understand the content
more deeply than they would have with an English-only
textbook. Therefore, while the worksheets I prepared foreach lesson were exclusively in English, and the classdiscussions on Zoom were all in English, the episodes
provided that extra scaffolding to help students makesense of the content—for one, because they could
follow the dialogue between Ms. Araki and herinterviewees, and for two, because they could also
understand the context as it was playing out in their own
society, Japan.
In the final two weeks, I tasked the students withpreparing 6- to 8-minute individual presentations on agender issue of their choosing. They were instructed

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 155

that it should be a gender issue in Japan (that could also
extend beyond Japan), and that they should organize
their presentation as a mini-lesson with a warm-up
question/fun task, a main content (article or video), anda summary of why the issue is of concern and with final
recommendations on how the issue can be addressed.
Nine students presented on each of the final twoclasses, and this final assessment was worth 50 percentof their final grade. Among topics chosen were
gendered divisions of labor, genderless fashion, womenin politics, and being an LGBTQ+ ally; the quality andcare taken in delivering the presentations was truly
remarkable.

Concluding Thoughts
One of the continuing pleasures of my teaching career
is watching students learn that gender studies is a fieldthat relates to each and every one of them, regardlessof their sex, nationality, native tongue, or subject major.
In placing gender at the heart of its docuseries oncontemporary Japanese society, I believe that CNA’s
Deciphering Japan presents an exemplary platform forteaching
genderstudiesinamultilingual/multicultural/multidisciplinary classroom.

What is Intersectionality and Why GALE
(and the rest of us) Needs It
Quenby Hoffman Aoki
The term intersectionality refers to a framework in which“systems of oppression are interrelated and cannot be
considered in isolation” (Crenshaw, 2018). This meansthat the lived experience of all humans is affected by amatrix of multiple identities such as race, gender, andsocial class. In this short Forum talk, I discussed myown experience of developing an intersectional
perspective in the classroom and in my work as the
Coordinator of GALE SIG.
It is of primary importance to place intersectionality in its
historical context, always keeping in mind that it
originates in the work of Black feminists. African
American legal scholar Kimberle Crenshaw is generally
credited with coining the term, but the concept itself has
a much longer history. In the mid-19th century, formerly
enslaved activist Sojourner Truth gave her famous “Ain’t
I A Woman?” speech, reminding her primarily whiteaudience that as a Black woman, she had never beenprotected, sheltered, or given any of the special
treatment that at the time was used as an excuse todeny white women the right to participate equally in thepolitical system. More than a century later, the poet
Audre Lorde powerfully evoked the concept at the heartof intersectionality in a 1982 speech: “There is no suchthing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live
single-issue lives” (BlackPast, 2019, September 24).

More recently, Professor Roberta K. Timothy of the
University of Toronto defines it as “all of who I am”(Timothy, 2019).
While examining one’s personal background is abeginning, it is crucial that socially conscious educators
take intersectionality beyond individual identity andexamine structuralized power and privilege, with theultimate goal of eliminating racism, sexism, ableism,
native speakerism, and other forms of oppression.
While students in Japan may find the discussion
challenging at first, racism does exist in Japan. Gender
discrimination in Japanese society is well known, butsome students in my classes deny having experienced
it or consider it a thing of the past. Social class is also
an engaging and relevant topic, due to increasing
economic inequality in contemporary Japanese society(Hashimoto. 2021, May 13). Students can relate, forexample, to the problem of pay disparity between parttime and permanent or “regular” (seishain) workers. Inclass they have expressed their concerns about thechallenge of securing a steady job after graduation, andawareness that education, although universallyrequired in Japan through middle school, requires
money and privilege in order to pass the exams forprestigious universities. Some students may bereluctant to speak of personal matters such as parents’ethnic background, jobs, or marital status. By using
anonymous surveys and other tools to protect students’privacy, teachers can create a safer space allowing forhonest discussion and mutual understanding.
In addition to Crenshaw’s foundational 1989 and 1991
law journal articles, other recommended texts include
works listed below by Audre Lorde (2007), former Black
Panther activist and academic Angela Davis(1981/2019), sociologist Patricia Hill Collins (2015), andthe Black-feminist-lesbian-socialist Combahee River
Collective (1978). There are also many online sources
available, including articles in the popular media andvideos on YouTube and other sites, which address
current movements such as #Black Lives Matter and
LGBTQ Pride Month. A particularly engaging resource
which is accessible to language learners of all levels, isthe 3-minute animated video “Intersectionality 101,”
from the Learning for Justice website, which makes thepoint that a person from a white, affluent backgroundhas the privilege of not being aware of intersectionality,
while “members of marginalized groups…don’t get tochoose whether or not to think about their identities.”(Bell et al., 2016) This relates to my own experience:
although I had been including the topics of gender andrace in my classes for nearly two decades, I did notencounter the word “intersectionality” until 2015, when I
was doing research to prepare the syllabus for acontent-based gender studies class. This encounter
required me to rethink my approach and rewrite theentire syllabus!

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 156

Since most educators are in a position of relative
privilege, we have an obligation to use that privilege
positively. Not only can we educate ourselves andintroduce these topics in class, but we also have an
obligation to do so. The first step, of course, is becoming
aware. It is also telling that, during the discussion after
this Forum, a participant remarked that we were very
focused on “Second Wave Feminism,” the stage of thefeminist movement that lasted roughly from the 1960’s
to the 1980’s, emphasizing issues of basic legal andsocial equality for women such as freedom of career
choice, equal pay, and education. Not that Secondwave Feminism is a bad thing, but it can be consideredlimited in that it was dominated by heterosexual white
women and focused narrowly on the gender binary,ignoring the complexity of intersectionality. Clearly,
although the basic issues are still relevant today, we still
have a long way to go.
As members of GALE, a Special Interest Group withinalarge,
well-known,
respected
professionalorganization, we must work to eliminate such limitations
within our SIG and within JALT as a whole. As statedabove, we must start by educating ourselves,
incorporating intersectionality into our classroom
practice, and then bring colleagues on board tocooperate with us as we work toward justice, diversity,and inclusion. As public-school principal and blogger
Sharif El-Mekki says in his essay “Here's what I tellwhite people when they ask how they can help fightsystemic racism and oppression”: “Get your people!”(El-Mekki, 2017). That in a nutshell, is exactly the
direction in which I hope GALE SIG is headed.

Intersectionality in GALE: A Brief History
Gerry Yokota
My initial impetus for suggesting a dialogue with
Quenby as part of the GALE Forum was hearing her
perform her amazing spoken poem, Moving On, a few
years ago. I was totally blown away. While I often use
music and poetry in the classroom, they are not my own
creations—I’m more like the DJ. But I really felt like
Quenby’s poem could be like the GALE anthem, it is at
the same time so particular and so universal. It’s her
unique voice but I know it also resonates with people allover the gender spectrum. So first of all, I really wanted
to ask her to share a performance of that poem to awider audience, because I believe it is a fantastic way
to stimulate conversations about how gender impacts
all our lives.
But at the root of this initial impetus was my desire toshare with a wider audience some of the fruits of theconversations Quenby and I have had about
intersectionality. I felt like it would be a waste not toshare them more widely. I think many people in GALE

and in JALT in general may not have heard the termintersectionality much until quite recently, as Quenby
said. When I first heard her say this, I was struck withguilt, because I have actually been teaching about
intersectionality in my classes at Osaka University
annually since the mid-90s. I have even taught wholecourses about it, as I described in my presentation at
the Living on the Edge conference in April (see Yokota,
2021). Intersectionality has been like the air I breathe
for so long that I didn’t realize everyone wasn’t asfamiliar with it until I gave a presentation on it at PanSIG
in 2017.
When I say I’m surprised to realize that so few people
seem to know about it, I’m not blaming anyone but
myself. I realize I bear responsibility because I haven’t
actually published about it, though I frequently speak
about it in presentations. But the other thing I realized
thanks to this dialogue is that even though we in GALE
may not have been using the word intersectionality
explicitly, we have been making efforts to realizeintersectionality in practice, though we may still have a
way to go to bridge a number of gaps. And this year’s
Forum proved to be an excellent opportunity toaccomplish that.
To complement what Quenby has shared about
intersectionality, we decided it might be good for me toshare what changes in the SIG I have seen over theyears. So I began with a short history of GALE. We haveto know where we’re coming from to know where we’regoing!
GALE has been in existence for more than 20 years, but
I actually only joined about 12 years ago, and at first, I
myself really didn’t know the history of the SIG at all. So,
I started asking members to tell me about it, and myinquiry resulted in the publication of a timeline in GALE
(2013), which you can see in the SIG website archive
together with the GALE Journal (https://gale-sig.org). In
the Forum, I shared just a few highlights from thatchronology, especially those that are related to thetheme of intersectionality.
First, I explained how GALE was the brainchild of agroup of women from an organization called WELL—
Women Educating Learning and Leading. WELL wasformed back in 1995, and it was actually at a WELL
Conference that I heard Quenby perform her poem. But
WELL members are not only language teachers; they
are from all walks of life. It was a group of JALT
members within WELL who got together to establish
GALE. Even before GALE existed, some of these
women had advocated and gotten The Language
Teacher to publish a special issue on gender back in
1998. GALE was established as a SIG two years later,in 2000.
Then, I gave just a few examples of GALE activities over
the years that indicate our effort to promote not only

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 157

gender equity but also intersectional equity. These
include:

making“Colouring
the
Ivory
Tower:
Desperately Seeking Diversity and Equality inJapanese Academia” the theme of the GALE
Forum at JALT National in 2011;

commissioning a group of South African womento create a cloth banner for our SIG in 2010; and

commissioning a Filipina artist to create a digital
design of the GALE logo for use in online social
media in 2014.

These are just a few of the many ways we have tried tobe the change we want to see in the world. At the Forum,
we asked some hard questions and reaffirmed theimportance of getting out of our comfort zones andreally learning. I hope GALE will continue to challenge
JALT to be a diverse, inclusive organization with anintersectional perspective on gender and other social
justice issues.

And I just keep moving on
Yes I just keep moving on
People tell me to wait my turnThat’s a skill I may never learn
And they say get in line
‘Cause this space isn’t mine
I should get to the point
They don't know what I mean
So I just keep moving on
Yes I just keep moving on
It’s one damn thing
After anotherIt’s the same damn thing
Over and over
Just one damn thing after anotherIt’s the same damn thing
Over and over
But I just keep moving on
Yes I just keep moving on
Just keep
Moving on(and I think it’s gonna be a long, long time…)

Moving on

References

Quenby Hoffman Aoki

Bell, M. K., & van der Valk, A. (2016). Intersectionality

6/30/17(First written on the Akita Shinkansen somewherearound Sendai, since then tinkered with many times)
People tell me I talk too much
People tell me I talk too loudPeople tell me I’m cute when I’m older
Than their Mom
But I just keep moving on
Yes I just keep moving on
People tell me my hair’s too red
People tell me I dress too young
People tell me to tone it down
Or I might offend someone
But I just keep moving on
Yeah I just keep moving on
And with honey you catch more flies
I don’t want to tell you any lies
I don’t care about catching those insects
I just want
To be heard
By a human or two
And Mister
Or Sister,That means you.
Yes you.
In front of me, right now
In this moment
Here we are
Right on the other side of this screen

101 [video]. Learning for Justice.
https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/sum
mer-2016/online-exclusive-intersectionality-101.
BlackPast. (2019, September 24). (1982) Audre Lorde,"Learning from the 60s"
https://www.blackpast.org/african-americanhistory/1982-audre-lorde-learning-60s/.
Collins, P. (2015). Black feminist thought: Knowledge,
consciousness, and the politics of
empowerment. Routledge, Taylor & Francis
Group.
Combahee River Collective. (1978). The Combahee
River Collective Statement.
https://americanstudies.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Keyword%20Coalition_Readings.pdf.
Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins:Intersectionality, identity politics, and violenceagainst women of color. Stanford Law Review,
43(6), 1241. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 158

Crenshaw, K. (2018). Demarginalizing the intersection

Timothy, R. K. (2019, March 7). What isof race and Sex: A Black feminist critique ofintersectionality? All of who i am. The

Antidiscrimination Doctrine, feminist theory, andConversation. https://theconversation.com/what-

Antiracist Politics [1989]. Feminist Legal Theory,

is-intersectionality-all-of-who-i-am-105639.

57–80. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429500480-5
Yokota, G. (2021). Intersectionality: Respecting
Davis, A. (2019). Women, race and class. Penguin.
(original work published 1981)

difference kinds of knowledge [post-conference
report],https://www.academia.edu/47766338/Intersection

El-Mekki, S. (2017, April 24). Here's what I tell whiteality_Respecting_Different_Kinds_of_Knowledge

people when they ask how they can help fightsystemic racism and oppression. Philly's 7th
Ward. https://phillys7thward.org/2017/04/heres-tellwhite-people-ask-can-help-fight-systemic-racismoppression/.
GALE. (2013). A brief history of GALE. GALE SIG
Newsletter (2), 16-17. https://galesig.org/website/gale-news-oct16.pdf
GALE (2021). GALE Mission and Constitution,
https://gale-sig.org/gale-mission/
Hashimoto, K. (2021, May 13). The challenges facing
Japan’s underclass. Nippon.com. Retrieved
March 20, 2022, fromhttps://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/d00691/
Hill, M.R. & Mays, J. (2011). The Gender Book.
Houston: Marshall House Press.
Lorde, A. (2007). Sister outsider essays and speeches.
Crossing Press.
Nakagawa, J. (ed.). (2005). Gender Issues Today.
Tokyo: Tokyo Shuppan Service Center.
Schmidt, M.G. (2021). PanSIG 2021,
https://pansig2021.eventzil.la
Thayi, A. (Executive Producer). 2020. Deciphering
Japan [docuseries]. Channel News Asia.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 159

White Fragility and Racial Awareness in ELT in Japan
Ellen Head
Miyazaki International College

This paper describes a sequence of lessons in a CLIL course in Global Studies which included a “critical incident” between a white British
teacher and her Japanese students. Racism was one theme which students chose to focus on for their project and presentation. During the
preparation period, the author realized that the text book she had selected was leading students to make statements which sounded racist.
They were simply abbreviating the language of the textbook which she had selected and thought unproblematic several years earlier. Her
sensitivity had become heightened by reading more literature by Black authors in 2020 as a result of the #BLM movement. The movie”The
Hate U Give”was shown in class in order to help students understand the experience of racial prejudice in a more emotional and empathetic
way. The paper consists of the teacher’s narrative followed by a discussion using the critical incident framework outline by Tripp (1993).

CLIL=critical incident

BLM

The Hate U Give

Introduction
Racism against People of Colour is not institutionalizedin Japan in the way that it is in the USA and UK but there
is still tension around discussions of racial awarenessamong educators here. In her account of being “Black,
British and Female in the Japanese University
Classroom”, Haye-Matsui describes the feeling of relief
which she felt on arriving in Japan in 1993 soon after
the racially motivated murder of a young Black man,
Stephen Lawrence: “I felt I had escaped from theracially volatile climate of British society.” (Haye-Matsui,
2020, p. 207). However, she also reminds us that due
to the influence of American media on Japan “images ofBlack people are filtered through a Western hegemoniclens.” (Haye-Matsui, 2020) As recently as 2018, You
Tuber, Nobita produced a video mocking the Black
Lives Matter movement. (Haye-Matsui, 2020). In
addition, Japan is not without issues regarding thelonger-established minority groups, who make up asmall but significant proportion of the population.
As a white British teacher in Japan, I had longstanding
misgivings about how ELT exploits students’ idealized
images of Britain and the USA. One aspect of this wasthat the idea that Britain and the USA were already fully
functioning, equitable multicultural societies. Due to theemphasis in Junior High and High School textbooks onfigures like Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks, racismin the USA was portrayed to students as a historic rather
than current problem. However, in 2020, the #BLM
protests brought the reality of American police brutality
and institutionalized racism into focus around the world.
When tennis player Naomi Osaka paid tribute to thevictims of police killings by wearing a face-mask printed
with the names of seven of them on seven successive
days at the 2020 US Open Tennis Championship in
September, even students usually uninterested incurrent events paid attention to #BLM for a short time.
Due to the protests in 2020, systematic racism wassuddenly exposed. In this article, I will look at whitefragility in the classroom, through a critical incident in a
Global Studies class. The incident revealed myambivalence about making the effort needed to teachabout racism. Reflecting on the incident pushed me toask questions about how racial awareness might or
might not be part of a discussion of global issues in ELT,
when and in what way. This short paper will incorporate
reflections on my classroom practice as shown in aparticular sequence of lessons, and the idea of whitefragility. This paper does not offer a solution but aims toarticulate a need to develop what Brookfield (2017,
p.218) calls “brave spaces” in which the experience ofracism/fragility can be discussed.

What is “White Fragility”?
The PanSIG 2021 Journal 160

The idea of “White Fragility” offers a useful way into
understanding why it can be difficult to talk about racism.
Robin Di Angelo, author of the book “White Fragility”,
says that historically the burden of explaining the
problem of racism has been thrust onto Black people
but actually should be shared. She quotes Bonilla-Silva(2006), describing the incoherence of White people
confronted with racism.
Because the new racial climate in America
forbids the open expression of racially based
feelings, views, and positions, when whites
discuss issues that make them uncomfortable,
they become almost incomprehensible – I, I, I, I
don’t mean, you know, but… (Bonilla-Silva in
Di’Angelo, 2011, p. 68).
Bonilla-Silva suggests that the inability to talk coherently
about racism implicitly reinforces the status quo andleads to the continued denial of racism. Establishing a“brave space”, as opposed to a “safe space” means aspace in which provocative stories can be shared andconflicting responses can be discussed, without
participants attacking or having to win. Although there
are ground rules, these spaces are different from “safespaces” in that facilitators are not expected toautomatically retreat from a topic when people feel
uncomfortable. (Brookfield and Hess, 2021, p. 72).
Foreign educators in Japan are fragile in multiple ways,
since their very presence in the country depends on
acceptance by the Japanese educational establishment
which they do not completely understand (and which isin transition due to covid 19 and the aging society).
Moreover, although many teachers have been attracted
to the ELT profession by an idealistic belief that
language learning can lead to personal growth, thelegacy of native-speakerism creates inequality. For me,
like many teachers in Japan, White privilege has cometo be a habit and feel so natural that it would be difficult
to give up. The stage is set for complicity between white
native-speaker educators and Japanese students who
would like to believe that racism is not a problem inJapan. However, the situation is complicated. Gerald(2020) writes:
What we ELT professionals are offering tostudents, without understanding that we aredoing so, is the chance to get closer towhiteness. Whiteness, however, is an ideologythat depends upon exclusion, so this promise isdoomed to be broken, and no racialized
speaker of English can truly become white, norwill they be seen as white, even if credentialed
as language teachers (Ramjattan, 2019).
Gerald suggests that feeling uncomfortable about
racism is not a reason to avoid the topic. He draws
attention to the complex workings of privilege within ELT.
As a Black American “native speaker”, he is “notimmune to benefitting from the centering of whitenessin ELT, even though [he is] not white.” (Gerald, 2020: p.
45). He also raises the issue of non-white participationin academic discourse (Kubota, 2019). Kubota focuseson “epistemological racism” through which scholarly
contributions from non-white backgrounds have been
marginalized. Both Kubota and Gerald touch on theissue of white-centric curricular content in ELT, and it
will be seen that I advocate the use of literature and film
as sources which could redress that balance. In thisarticle, I will write about an uncomfortable incident.
Several readers have asked me “What exactly is thepoint?” It is a place-holder for a dialogue which I hope
will take place in the ELT community around me, and a
description which might help others to do better in
deciding when to enter and when to refrain from talking
about race. Brookfield and Hess (2021) suggest there isan ethical imperative for educators to examine theirassumptions in relation to the White privilege, in thecontext of USA university teaching. Brookfield and Hess
(2021) offer a guide to antiracist pedagogy in the USA,
which will be discussed further below. The situation in
Japan is very different but it seems there is still a needfor discussion.

Identifying a critical incident in a Global Studies
class
In my Fall 2020 Global Studies class, a critical incident
occurred while students were discussing racism in thepresence of a Black American male student. According
to Tripp (1993), a critical incident is a turning point which
influenced the subsequent course of events. Trippbelieves that the identification of such incidents in theclassroom is a way to connect classroom practice withtheories and values as part of becoming a morereflective and professional teacher. (Tripp, p. 8). In thisarticle we will follow Tripp’s stages of (1) identifying an“incident”, (2) describing it in detail, (3) looking at
underlying values and (4) discussing the connection to
wider issues.
On the Global Studies course, students were asked tochoose a topic from a book called “Fifty Facts thatshould change the world”, (Williams, 2007), to study andpresent in a small group. One group chose a chapter
entitled “Black men born in the USA today stand a one
in three chance of going to jail.” As I listened to students
discussing their notes on the article, I became awarethat it was written with an ironic nuance. For example,“To stand a chance of” doing something generallymeans “to have an opportunity of doing something lucky”
but in this case, the opposite meaning was intended.
Later in the article it is stated that “The so called “war on
drugs”, too, has done a terrific job of filling up jails.”(p.140). Presumably the writer’s intention was to makethis text attractive and entertaining for white readers.
Although it had sounded acceptable to me when I used
The PanSIG 2021 Journal 161

the book previously, it sounded racist in 2020. It
happened that I was being assisted by a Black
American teaching assistant during the class. I had
asked him along to help with students’ e-portfolios andat the time I had not realized which chapters and topics
had been chosen. However, I started to feelembarrassed when hearing the students’ conversation,
imagining his perspective. Reflecting on the class, itstood out to me as a critical incident through which I
became aware of my need to develop the skills of criticalpedagogy, to make my classroom a space in which
students are challenged to think more deeply, and toengage with my academic community on the issue of
implicit racism.

Describing the incident in detail
One of the first exercises which students had to do wasto paraphrase the title in order to write down the topic ingeneral terms. However, they wrote down the wholearticle title instead of a key word. “My topic is ‘Black menborn in the USA today stand a one in three chance ofgoing to jail.’” As students grappled with the text, I stoodby but did not intervene, as I wanted the students toexercise their autonomy in the group. Unfortunately,
they were struggling so much with the early part of thearticle that they did reach the key statement “the law is
racially biased” during the lesson. As I listened to thestudents talking about “Black men going to prison” I
became agitated. The words sounded racist to me but
perhaps there is no comfortable way to talk about thesekinds of facts. I thought explaining would draw attention
to the words even more and it would probably take quite
a long time for students to understand. I reproachedmyself for allowing this conversation to take place infront of my assistant. From his point of view, Japanmight have been imagined to be a haven in which racial
tension was reduced and the presence of people ofcolour in the elite members of the university might makeracism a non-issue. Eventually I spoke to one memberof the group, pointing at their notes. I said “Your topic isracism in the US Legal System. You need to write it asa noun. You need to write the keyword, not the sentenceabout what happens.” I mumbled something aboutchanging the words “blacks” to “Black people” and“black racism” to “Racism against Black People.”
However they continued to use the term “blacks” rather
than “black people” when talking and when writing theirjournals. (Note: Consent to quote the journals was
obtained retrospectively at the end of the semester fromthree students and was confirmed by email one month
later.) One student’s journal entry is given in full. In spiteof the grammatical difficulties, she is successful in
expressing her emotions and making connections
between the article which she read and the news.
October 22 class (written October 27)
Our group is thinking about 50 FACTs black
men born in the US today stand a one in threechance of going to jail. The United States is afree country. However, more and more people
have been sent to prison and swearing for
freedom. One in three black newborns born in
the United States today is sent to jail. This was
written in the essay. I was very surprised. Thisis a bad trend. But I don't think this is just a
black issue. I think there are black
discrimination and poverty issues behind
this. There has been a lot of news aboutprotests against racism lately. The trigger was
the murder of a black man, George Floyd, by awhite police officer. I couldn't believe this news.
The police, who originally had to protect thecountry, the region, and everyone, killed people.
This is not possible. And don't be forgiven. I
was very sad. Why should we be discriminatedagainst by skin color? The incident spread
protests against black discrimination aroundthe world.
When I read the journal, made written suggestions that
she correct “blacks” to “Black People” and correcting theterm “black discrimination” to “discrimination against
Black people”. I provided written comments but I did not
explain or talk about the issue to the whole class.
Looking at this piece now, it seems very interesting that
she identifies with the non-white people of the USA by
saying “Why should we be discriminated ..”In retrospect,
it seems that there was a missed opportunity to ask
about racism. Did she perhaps fear that she mightexperience discrimination if she went to the USA? What
were her views on racism in Japan? In terms oflanguage, she and most of her classmates continued touse the words “blacks” and “black discrimination”, and I
continued to ask (in written comments) for corrections.
One month later the words appear again.
November 19th
Today was a class to write a journal. So I will
write a reflection on the announcement of 50
fact. I had a theme of black discrimination.
There are some surprises that were written on
the print. The first is the fact that one in three
blacks is caught by the police. Second, blacks
and whites have different punishments. I don't
understand why race causes discrimination.
However, I don't think discrimination can becompletely eliminated in the future. But I hope
it will be even a little less than it is now. I havea point that I devised with this PowerPoint. In
order to make the group people understandabout black discrimination, we made thePowerPoint color black and the letters white to
make it a high-impact PowerPoint. We also
added examples of recent cases of black
discrimination
anddiscrimination
demonstrations to make it easier to understand.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 162

In the case of black discrimination, George
Floyd was killed by white police. The exampleof the discrimination demonstration was Naomi
Osaka. At first, I was nervous about whether the
discussion would proceed smoothly, but I was
relieved because the discussion became lively.
For the next announcement, I want to makesomething better than this time.
Why did the student use the word “surprise” rather than“shock” to describe their reaction to the information on
the print? “Surprised” was used by other students too(see Appendix for other journals.) The use of the word
wrote “caught” rather than “arrested” also suggested aninference of guilt rather than wrongful accusation. As
before, I dealt with these language issues in writing
instead of focusing on them in front of the whole class.
During the class, some discussion of Naomi Osaka’s
protest arose and one student said they felt that she
was mistaken in using her position to draw attention to#BLM.
It was also noticeable that through my choice of text, I
had set students up to reinforce the notion that racism
was happening elsewhere and might not apply to Japan.
I did not address the challenge of discussing racism inJapanese society as it might relate to racism against
those born in Japan of Korean or Brazilian descent. The
reason was my sense of the fragility of the relationshipbetween students and me. “White fragility” is actually“the fragility of hegemony”. I was unwilling tocompromise my relationship with students by taking a
critical position on Japanese hegemony.
In the last class before the December break, I decided
to show the movie “The Hate U Give”. The movie isclosely based on the novel of the same name (Thomas,
2017). Since the story deals with the shooting of an
unarmed youth by White police, the story was relevantto the class discussion of the #BLM protests. One of thereasons for introducing the movie was that by focusing
on the dramatized version, with its appealing characters,
well-written script and close-up view of events, students
would be put in a position of identification and develop
more empathy for the situation of a young woman in a
Black community in the USA. The story provided many
points of discussion. However, I showed only the first 60
minutes and so students did not get to see the end,
though I asked them to try to watch the end bythemselves in the library. After the winter break, we had
online classes and I asked students to watch a You tube
mash-up which shows the whole movie in about 20
minutes, so they could write about it in their journals. My
failure to center the issue of racism in the class meantthat students were not given a chance to be challenged
to think things through or express deeper levels of
feeling. The following report was written by the same
student who wrote in November that she was “very sad”
about George Floyd. In the final report, she uses theword “surprised”, which seems superficial considering
the highly emotive nature of the movie and atmosphereof engagement during students’ watching of it.
December 22
In today's class, I watched a movie. The content
of the movie was about black discrimination. I
recently made a presentation about black
racism in a 50 fact presentation. So I was very
interested in this movie. There was also a caseof black discrimination a while ago. For
example, George Floyd. He was killed by white
police. In this movie, a childhood friend was
killed in front of the main character girl. In
addition, he was killed by white police. I was
surprised.

Underlying Values: Confronting racism in myself
When investigating a critical incident, Tripp advocates“the analysis of our problematic” in order to “confront our
professional values and judgement.” (Tripp: p. 16). As ateacher I frequently experience a conflict between adesire to help students to learn about life, a wish toplease students, and the need to do what is required by
the curriculum. I felt that concurrent presentations would
make the class easy to manage and so I chose the “Fifty
Facts That Should Change the World” for the class.
Even though the material was outdated and notcompletely suitable, I had “become habituated tosolutions which are practical.” (Tripp: 16). However,during the period since I last used the book, I had
undergone a shift in awareness, due to reading fiction
by Black American and Black British writers, such as
Angie Thomas, and Bernadine Evaristo, Alex Wheatle
and Zadie Smith, and listening to talks by these authors
on You tube. This was what helped me to start noticing
my own positionality as a fragile White teacher. During
2020, I noticed that a large number of literary prizes
were going to Black authors. Maryse Conde won thealternative Nobel prize for literature with “Segu” in 2018,
Marlon James’ Man Booker Prize win (2015), andEvaristo’s Booker Prize win (2019), Kylie Reid (2020)
on the Booker shortlist. Before reading, I wondered
whether an element of positive discrimination had
played a part in the success of these authors. On
reflection, this feeling was due to my own racism. It wassoon dispelled by the experience of reading.
My reading journey during 2020 raised emotions
including guilt, overwhelming sadness, as well as love
and admiration. In terms of Myers Rust’s stages ofdenial, anger, bargaining and acceptance, I was awareof an element of bargaining in the sense of seeking
acceptance, in the process of writing this paper. When I
read The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas, I wanted totalk about racism with students but I was uncertain

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 163

about where to position myself. Also I was not sure if
drawing attention to racism would make things worse forany students who were different, as I had an AmericanJapanese student in my class and a Black American
S.A. Also I had my own vulnerability to deal with. As areader, I frequently identified with characters who werein the minority or outsiders. The reason was deeply
personal. I had grown up without knowing my natural
father, a brown-eyed child in a blue-eyed family.
Explaining this to students would have entailed
exposing my own vulnerability. It was additionallycomplicated by the fact that I have benefitted from beinga member of a privileged group and I have made full useof my privilege as a White, British EFL teacher. When I
was reading”The Hate U Give”and showing the movie
to students, my relationship with the content was
personal and emotional, and not primarily to do with
racism in the USA but instead motivated by my need for
acceptance by students and by my SA. This was an
unexpected interpretation of “Fragility”. In retrospectthat was not a good reason to retreat from giving
students time to watch and discuss the movie.

Connection to Wider Issues: White Fragility
In this article I have tried to make connections between
my students’ presentation on “A Black Man in the USA
Stands a One In Three Chance of Going to Jail”, whichsounded racist to me in 2020 but not in 2014, and myshowing of “The Hate U Give”, and glossing over the
discussion. I have called attention to white fragility in myclassroom, in the sense of the reluctance to surface a
problem and lack of personal strength to hold the spacearound that problem in a way that would let students bechallenged to respond to it. I would like to be able toreport a successful outcome in terms of a curriculum
package for promoting anti-racism. Instead, I feel theneed to be tentative. As Rennie Eddo Lodge has said ina discussion on the anti-racism attempts of the British
literary establishment, “I don’t want to listen to anotherWhite man telling me how bad he feels about racism.”
Eddo-Lodge has written in her blog:
At best, white people have been taught not tomention that people of color are ‘different’ incase it offends us. They truly believe that theexperiences of their life as a result of their skincolor can and should be universalized. I just
can’t engage with the bewilderment and thedefensiveness as they try to grapple with thefact that not everyone experiences the world in
the way that they do. (Eddo-Lodge, 2017).
Gradually I recognized myself in the descriptions ofWhite people who distance themselves from racism bypleading that they have also suffered various hardships
such as poverty and social discrimination. I believe
thinking through my issues can help me to be a better
teacher. However, it leads to a dilemma about what to
do with this new perspective in the classroom. How can

I support anti-racism, except by marginalizing myself?
In terms pedagogy for anti-racism in Japan in the workof White educators, what kinds of strategies would beappropriate and fruitful? Are there times, for example
when there is only a single member of a minority groupin a class, when it is better to refrain from problematizing
race?

Discussion
In my class, focused on social issues, watching a movie
engaged students and helped them to empathize in a
way that reading an article did not. In contrast withapproaching anti-racism through sociology or history,
using literature or a combination of literature and film,
could be a way to draw students into deeper
understanding. An issue that remains unresolved for meis the extent to which it is legitimate for me to center
Blackness in my curriculum or whether that is a kind ofcultural appropriation. During the process of writing thispaper, I was recommended to read about the criticalincident questionnaire (Brookfield, 2017: p. 109), which
is a means of eliciting anonymous, written feedback
from students at the end of every session, focusing on
their feelings of engagement/distance, actions theyfound helpful/puzzling and surprising. Although it was
too late for me to implement this in relation to my 2020
Global Studies class, it would be a very useful way todevelop a braver space, because the questionnaire
gives the teacher a way to understand what students
feel and calibrate the use of activities and class time
accordingly. Reading about Brookfield’s practice as anantiracist educator was also helpful, but it seemed to me
to highlight the fact that the situation for ELTpractitioners in Japan is different. He explains that heintroduces racism by describing micro aggressions he
has unthinkingly committed.
It is absolutely crucial for white teachers
engaged in this work to talk about the ways theylearned racism and the way it still lives withinthem. (Brookfield, 2017, p.213-19).
In the Japanese university EFL context, students tend
to assume that teachers do behavior with the intention
that students will emulate it. Having a teacher describe
a micro-aggression might lead to the wrong outcome.
This is one reason that literature and movies are
particularly fertile sources of experience which can beheld up to the lens.
The design of my “Fifty Facts” course focused mainly
outside Japan in order to fit the “Study Abroad”
description. As such, students were not challenged tothink about their own country. My reason was thatstudents are sensitive to criticism from “outsiders”.
Discussion of issues concerning Japan would work wellonly if some group members already have an elementof curiosity and willingness to take ownership of theissues. I have a sense that many Japanese students

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 164

experience pressure to hold the correct opinion onsocial issues. It is more helpful to establish a climate inwhich they are able to use English as a tool to express
and justify their ideas, than to emphasize the correctknowledge and correct feelings. If they feel safe, morecritical reflections emerge from the group. So myworksheet on “The Hate U Give” included a question
about whether they felt sympathy for the White
policeman, and in what way he should be dealt with.
Several students spoke up in his defense but they werechallenged by their classmates. The debate wassuperficial due to lack of time, but on the other hand, it
was successful in that challenges emerged from thegroup rather than from me as the leader. As Brookfieldand Hess comment on leading discussions around race
“In our experience, group members never end a
discussion feeling whole, healthy and without pain.”(Brookfield and Hess, 2021: p. 122). More important
than having a complete discussion in one session, is thepossibility of an ongoing conversation.

Brookfield, S. and Hess, M.E. (2021). Becoming a
White Antiracist. Stylus. Sterling, Virginia.
Di Angelo, R. (2011). White Fragility. International
Journal of Critical Pedagogy, Vol 3 (3) (2011) pp
54-7
Di Angelo, R.(2018). Dr Robin DiAngelo discusses
white fragility
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45ey4jgoxeU
Eddo Lodge R. (2017, 2021) Blog: Why I’m no longer
talking to white people about race.
https://renieddolodge.co.uk/why-im-no-longertalking-to-white-people-about-race/
Gerald, J. (2020). Worth the Risk: Towards

Conclusion

Decentering Whiteness in English Language

In this paper a critical incident was the occasion of selfquestioning as to what I am doing as a white teacher inJapan. Despite my tentative feelings that I would like toaddress racism, using a single, out-of-date article tolearn about U.S. racism and police brutality resulted inarguably racist language from students. Cramming theissue of racism in with other global issues came to seem
like a missed teaching opportunity. I was ambivalent
about devoting time to a whole-class study of racism,even though I had been privately enjoying reading
fiction in which touched on this theme. Reasons for thatambivalence might include “White fragility”, in otherwords a reluctance to confront my own White privilege
and lack of skill about how to do so. During fall andwinter 2020, #BLM movement stimulated discussion in
the community of Global Issues in Language Education
SIG, and the influence of this discussion, in particular
the contributions of J.B.P. Gerald, convinced me to takethe risk of showing the movie “The Hate U Give” andalso of presenting and writing about the class for the
JALT Pan SIG conference. The main points which may
be of value to other educators are, the value of using
multiple sources and including movies and fiction whenteaching Global Studies or Global Issues, and theencouragement to take the risk.

Teaching. BC TEAL Journal, 5(1), 44–54.
https://doi.org/10.14288/bctj.v5i1.345
Haye-Matsui, A. (2020) Black, British and Female in
the Foreign Language Classroom. In Hawley
Nagatomo, D., Brown, K.A. and Cook, M. L.,
Foreign Female English Teachers In JapaneseHigher Education: Narratives From Our Quarter.
Candlin & Mynard. Hong Kong.
Kubota, R. (2019). Confronting epistemological racism,
decolonizing scholarly knowledge: Race andgender in applied linguistics. Applied Linguistics,
0(0), 1–22.
https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amz033
Myers-Rust, N. (2018) The Five Stages of White
Privilege Awareness. Retrieved fromhttp://www.nancyrust.com/2018/03/the-5-stagesof-white-privilege-awareness-5/

References
Brookfield, S. (2017). Becoming a Critically Reflective
Teacher. Joseey-Bass. San Fransisco.

Thomas, A. (2017). The Hate U Give. Walker Books.
London.
Thomas, A. The Hate U Give. Book Reading andAuthor Q and A (Politics and Prose) Retrieved

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 165

fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1gNYFka1s
Sakai, M. (2008) On the Recognition of the Indigenous
People’s Rights of the Ainu. In Chan., J. (2008)
Another Japan is Possible. Stanford University
Press. California
Tillman, G. Jr. (2018) The Hate U Give. TwentiethCentury Fox.
Tripp, D. (1993) Critical Incidents in Teaching:
Cultivating Professional Judgement. Routledge
and Farmer. London.
Williams, J. Fifty Facts That Should Change the World
2.0 (2007). Disinformation Press. USA.

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Appendix: Students’ Journals
Student B
January 14th
Martin Luther King Jr day. is coming soon. so we study about blacks. So, we watched summarized”The Hate U Give”inYouTube. And then we did discussion questions with A san, B san and C san [names removed]. Those questions werevery difficult. The most serious question is that should Starr tell the media what happened. I thought yes because If you
don't say it, various people will spread the story that they imagined. However other classmate said that if she told it infront of the media, her mental will be broken more. I agree that idea. I don't know what she to do.
I have been leaning about blacks in this week. I knew that racism was problem, but I was very suppressed to learn that
there are serious incidents. I thought it would still take some time to become a world of equal.
Student C
December 22
Today we watched the movie of Racism at the library. I have been learning a lot about racism lately. I think it is such a
serious problem. The scene I remember vividly this time is where a white policeman shot and killed a black boy. He wascaught for a driving violation, waited for a while, and just moved at that time and was hit with a pistol. Perhaps police
officers would not fire if the person was white, even if they did the same thing. It's a shame that racial discrimination isstill taking place like this. I want the world to think seriously about such problems as much as possible.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 167

Japanese extensive reading materials: the relationship between the vocabulary of
current materials and learners’ vocabulary knowledge
Kimberley Rothville
University of Auckland

Japanese as an additional language (L2) learner knowledge of the most frequent Japanese words is an under-researched area, making
matching learners with suitable materials for extensive reading (ER) a difficult task for teachers. Furthermore, there are few graded readingmaterials developed for the purposes of ER, meaning that an ER programme cannot avoid using first language speaker (L1) materials.
However, the relationship between learner vocabulary knowledge, the vocabulary used in L2 ER materials, and the vocabulary used in
potentially suitable L1 texts for extensive reading is unclear. A vocabulary test of knowledge of the 5000 most frequent Japanese words was
conducted with 31 upper-beginner Japanese learners which revealed high overall vocabulary knowledge, yet many gaps. This data is
discussed with regard to the stated and actual vocabulary coverage of L2 Japanese ER materials, and to potentially suitable L1 Japanese
texts.
L2 日本語学習者の最頻出単語についての知識は、これまで十分に研究がなされていない分野であり、教師にとって多読に適した教材の提供は難しい課題となっている。さらに、多読を目的として開発されたレベル別読解教材はほとんどなく、多読プログラムでは、第一言語
話者（L1）の教材を使わないわけにはいかないのである。学習者の語彙知識と、L2 の多読教材で使用される語彙、そして多読に適したL1 テキストで使用される語彙との相互関係はよく分かっていない。本調査では、31 名の初級後期レベルの日本語学習者を対象に、最頻出5000 語の知識を測る語彙テストを行った。その結果、学習者の全体的な語彙知識は高くとも、多くのギャップを含んでいることが明らかとなった。データを基に、L2 日本語多読教材の実際の語彙カバー率、および適切な L1 日本語テキストについて考察した。

The development of suitable materials for extensive
reading (ER) in Japanese has lagged behind that ofEnglish and it is only in the last decade that gradedreading materials have begun to be seriously developed
for learners of Japanese as an additional language (L2).
The volume of available material is still low, and is notenough to support learners’ development into confident
readers who can read with speed and fluency, for avariety of self-defined purposes. Furthermore, theextent to which the materials utilize vocabulary basedon the frequency of vocabulary in first language (L1)Japanese text is unclear, given most graded reader
publishing groups are using a vocabulary list used in thepre-2010 version of the Japanese Language
Proficiency Test (JLPT), i.e., the JLPT word list useduntil the test was revised around 2009. This is an issue
given the pre-2010 JLPT list is not itself based on thefrequency of vocabulary in L1 Japanese texts, meaning
its use as a basis for graded reader vocabulary lists may
not prepare learners well to graduate from learner
materials to reading L1 Japanese texts.
Additionally, the vocabulary knowledge of L2 Japaneselearners of the most frequent Japanese words is anunder-researched area, with few tests available tomeasure learners’ general vocabulary knowledge, as
opposed to how well they know vocabulary fromtextbooks or the pre-2010 JLPT. Consequently, it isunclear how learners’ vocabulary knowledge comparesto the materials available for ER in Japanese, and at
what level they may be able to read.

Literature review
The amount of unknown vocabulary in a text is anecessary consideration for reading or ER in an L2.
Nation (2006) states that for English language learners,
comprehension is impeded when more than 2% of
running words in a text are unknown. For Japanese,
Matsushita(2014)
estimatesthat
adequatecomprehension with some dictionary help may beachieved when 93% of running words in a text are
known. However, for learning new vocabulary throughreading, most research agrees that at least 98% of
running words in the text should be known by learners,
and for fluency development that figure should be 100%.
For Japanese, the additional difficulty of Japaneseorthography, specifically kanji characters, and theimpact on comprehension must be considered. Nara
(2001) argues that research demonstrates that for L1
Japanese speakers, the grapheme-sound connection isa prerequisite for comprehension: when processing
kanji while reading, L1 readers cannot comprehend it
without knowing how it is pronounced. When a kanji’s
pronunciation cannot be retrieved when reading, its
integration into memory for information processing while

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reading is more difficult (Ogawa, 1991, cited in TabataSandom, 2016). This means that it is necessary thattexts utilize furigana pronunciation guides to support L2
Japanese learners, whether they are focused on fluency
development or word learning, until they have an
advanced level of kanji knowledge. This often limits
learners to reading texts produced for L2 Japaneselearners or L1 children’s materials. The use of children’s
texts is not without issue, however, as they may have ahigh general vocabulary load and a large amount ofage-specific vocabulary (Webb & Macalister, 2013).
For measuring L2 Japanese learners’ vocabulary,previous research has focused on the pre-2010 JLPT
vocabulary list (see, for example, Miyaoka, Tamaoka &Sakai, 2011). However, the JLPT vocabulary list is notvery useful to for learners because it does not consider
spoken Japanese and it is not aligned with vocabularyfrequency of words in L1 Japanese texts (T. Matsushita,
personal communication, 28th March, 2021). Matsushita(2014) reported on the relationship between Japaneselearner
vocabularyknowledge
andreadingcomprehension, which partially addresses the gap indata on L2 learners’ vocabulary knowledge. He
developed a 150-item Vocabulary Size Test for L2
Japanese learners to measure their knowledge of the
15,000 most frequent words, reported in Matsushita(2012), and found there was a large range of vocabulary
scores of participants from three countries, with a meanscore of 84.4 and an SD of 39.7. However, vocabulary
size tests estimate learners’ overall vocabulary size,
rather than mastery of a particular word band (Stoeckel,
McLean, & Nation, 2021), making them potentially
unsuitable for determining if learners have the required
vocabulary knowledge to read at a certain level.
In terms of research that relates Japanese learner
vocabulary knowledge or vocabulary gain to ER or ER
materials, only two studies appear to have been
published. Leung (2002) was an autoethnographic
study of the author’s attempt to learn to read Japanesethrough ER of children’s books over 20 weeks. She
created two 50-item vocabulary tests from thevocabulary lists in a popular textbook, with vocabularyknowledge rated on a 5-point scale in two tests fourweeks apart. Although her score improved by 12 points,
it does not appear that the author considered whether
there was any overlap between the words she read in
the children’s books and the words in the textbook,apart from noting that the textbook’s vocabulary list
comprised of words “considered to be essential for themost common situations… in Japanese” (Leung, 2002,p.70). The author did in fact study from this textbook tosome degree, so it is unclear the extent to which herscore improved due to vocabulary she read.
Fukumoto (2004) compared 21 learners reading
extensively to 16 learners in a standard intensive
reading class. Due to the lack of ER materials available,

the class read set texts in which only 2-5% of vocabulary
was unknown. Fukumoto does not make clear whether
the basis for a vocabulary being unknown was related
to the vocabulary taught in this course or previous
courses taken by the students, or vocabulary list of the
JLPT (which was used for the pre-test and post-test thelearners completed). The ER group made gains invocabulary and kanji knowledge scores of 16.4 points
on average, compared to the intensive reading group’s
7-point gain.
As yet, it appears no research evaluating the impact ofextensive reading on vocabulary knowledge where thevocabulary tests were based on word frequency lists
has been published, although an unpublished master’s
thesis, Rothville (2019), found a small increase ofaround 2% for nine readers after one semester of ER.
The study measured the vocabulary of twelve learners
in total who were in their second year of Japanese study,
finding they knew on average 89% and 77%,
respectively, of words of the first and second 1000 mostfrequent Japanese words. The test construction method
was the same as described in the Methods section
below, except that the test items were sampled at a rateof 100 per 1000-word band.

Research questions
Research question 1: What is the actual vocabulary
coverage level of Japanese materials developed, or
suitable, for ER compared to vocabulary frequency in
L1 Japanese texts?
Research question 2: What is the vocabularyknowledge of upper-beginner Japanese learners?

Methods
Vocabulary level of graded reading materials
There appear to be ten different groups currently
producing graded materials for L2 Japanese learners:
NPO Tadoku [extensive reading] Supporters (hereafter,
NPOTS), Japan Foundation (JF) (Kansai), JF(Malaysia), JF (Mongolia), Tongari Books, Yomimono
Ippai, Let’s Read Japanese, Sendai International
Japanese School, Sakura Graded Reader Lab(hereafter, Sakura Lab), and Tadoku no Hiroba. Only
about 460 graded readers have been produced so far,covering six vocabulary levels (Appendix A).
Additionally, other groups publish material written in‘easy’ Japanese or benchmarked against the JLPT
levels, such as NHK News Easy, Matcha JapaneseTourism Magazine, and Kuroshio Publications.
The wide variety of groups producing materials means
there are at least seven different grading rubrics used,with only NPOTS having published the list of words theyuse. The JF in Malaysia and Mongolia and Tongari
Books use the NPOTS’s list, which is based on the pre2010 JLPT vocabulary list, along with other useful

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words for learners (de Burgh-Hirabe, 2011). All theother groups (except for Sakura Lab) also appear to use
the JLPT word list as a basis for their vocabulary, but it
is not clear how vocabulary is assigned to a graded
reader level, nor the extent to which lists aresupplemented with other useful vocabulary for learners.
The Sakura Lab uses their own vocabulary list based on
vocabulary found in 32 novels published digitally
between 1995 and 2000 (JGRPG, personalcommunication, 16th July, 2020), meaning they are theonly group using a list based on actual vocabularyfrequency in L1 Japanese materials.
The J-LEX vocabulary tool (Suganaga & Matsushita,2013) was used to assess the vocabulary level of theJapanese materials. Texts from Sakura Lab, NHK Easy
News, Matcha Japanese Tourism Magazine (easyJapanese version), and Kuroshio Publications wereassessed. Additionally, a small sample of children’sbooks and books from the graded children’s series 「１０分で読める」 [Read in Ten Minutes] were chosen.
The first five pages or 500 characters were uploaded
into the tool, and the vocabulary level giving 90%, 95%,
and 98% coverage was recorded. For NPOTS,
Yomimono Ippai, and JF Kansai books, data reported inPeterson (2019) was used instead.

Vocabulary level of learners
Participants and context of learning
Participants in this study were beginning the firstsemester, third year Japanese course at a large New
Zealand university. Prior to beginning this course, they
had either completed two years’ Japanese study at thisuniversity using the Genki textbook series (Banno,
Ikeda, Ohno, Shinagawa, & Tokashiki, 2020), or three
years at high school followed by one year’s study using
Genki Vol. 2. Participation was voluntary, and 31 out of
37 students in the class elected to participate. The test
was administered in the third week of semester, andstudents were given almost an entire 50-minute tutorial
to complete the test, although in practice it took an
average of around 30 minutes. Although about half theclass were L1 Chinese speakers, or students with aChinese background, all participants had either nearnative English ability or were L1 English speakers.

Design of the test
The vocabulary used for the test was taken from the first
5000 words of Matsushita’s Japanese frequency list,
which is constructed from the Balanced Corpus ofContemporary Written Japanese, with data from books
published 1985-2005 and Yahoo! web forums(Matsushita, 2012). Vocabulary items are separated
into lexemes on the list, rather than being grouped intoword families.

To produce the four test versions, every twenty-fifth
word was selected starting from the first, second, thirdand fourth words on the list. Thus, each version of thetest consisted of different vocabulary items. Gyllstad,
McLean, and Stewart (2020) recommend sampling atleast 30 items per 1000-word band; the test here
consisted of a total of 200 items, for a sample rate of 40
per 1000-word band.
The test utilized a multiple-choice format: words were
given in Japanese in both their kana and kanji forms andbeside them four words in English with participants
asked to circle the correct answer. Target words andpossible answers were given without context.
Semantically plausible alternatives made up the bulk of
the dummy answers due to the semantic cues present
in kanji. Most answer options were given in the sameword types as the Japanese target word, that is, if theJapanese word was a verb, answer options were also
verbs. Occasionally, an answer option was given from adifferent word class if it was the English equivalent of aclose homophone of the Japanese word. Japanesewords were given in both kana and kanji as students at
this level at this university are not expected to havelearnt many kanji and therefore may be more familiar
with a Japanese word in its kana form. The use of bothkana and kanji also helps to differentiate Japanesehomophones and instances where the same kanji has
several different meanings.
In recent years, there has been discussion about theappropriateness of using multiple-choice questions toassess learners’ vocabulary knowledge for the purposeof reading (see, for example, Gyllstad, Vilkaite, &Schmitt, 2015), and some researchers now advocate fora ‘meaning-recall’ test design, where learners provide
an L1 translation of the target word prompt. It has beenargued that these tests capture the kind of vocabularyknowledge required to be able to read successfully inthe target language.
Though this paper reports the results of a test oflearner’s vocabulary, the test was used as part of a timeseries design to measure learners’ vocabulary growthover the duration of their Japanese courses. It may take12 encounters or more with a word in order to learn itfrom reading extensively (Nation, 2014), yet as statedabove, there is a low volume of graded material
available to L2 Japanese learners, and previous
research has argued “just reading these books alone it
is not likely that L2 learners will be able to advance tothe next level” (Abe, 2016, p.156). Given this, formeasuring vocabulary gain from ER in Japanese, an
instrument that can assess increases in learners’
growing familiarity with Japanese vocabulary is moresuitable for this context. Webb (2021) argues thatmultiple-choice tests may be sensitive enough to do this.
Though there is some dispute over whether multiplechoice, meaning-recognition formats adequately

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 170

measure learners’ vocabulary knowledge for the
purpose of reading, tests in this format are notinappropriate when used for the purpose of assessing
vocabulary gain. This is especially true when target
language input may not be sufficient and learners’
vocabulary development may be better captured
through measures that can account for partial word
knowledge.

Results
Vocabulary level of materials
Overall, the reading materials’ vocabulary level was
higher than would be expected, especially given thatsome texts are explicitly written for beginner learners,
such as Kuroshio’s JLPT N5 level texts. In general, for
NHK News Easy, vocabulary level of texts was in therange of 1000 to 8000 words. For Matcha Japanese
Magazine, it was in the 1000- to 10,000-word range. For
Kuroshio, it was upwards of 4000 words. For the Readin Ten Minutes series, texts ranged from a 95%
vocabulary coverage level of 1000 words to more than
17,000 words. However, a large number of texts fromthe series sampled fell within the first 4000 Japanesewords. For the children’s books, most were above the7000-word level, including two categorised by NPOTS
as Level 3 books (800-word level). Only the Sakura

Lab’s readers did not have a mismatch between theclaimed and actual vocabulary level at 90% vocabulary
coverage.

Vocabulary knowledge of learners
Although all participants were assessed as having
approximately the same Japanese level, i.e., the levelof the course they were enrolled in, participants’
vocabulary knowledge varied widely. The reliability ofthe test was .98 (measured by Kuder-Richardson 21),indicating high reliability. Despite participants’
vocabulary knowledge being high overall, the classaverage did not cross the 95% threshold forcomprehension even in the first 1000 most frequentwords (Table 1).
When it comes to a detailed, student-by-student
breakdown (Appendix B), it is clear that a highvocabulary score is no guarantee of comprehension ateach reading level. Even participants with vocabularyknowledge estimates of more than 3000 words may notknow enough words from the first 1000 most frequentJapanese words to read comfortably with adequate
comprehension at that level (see, for example, Student3). Overall, only about half the participants scored 90%
or higher in the first 1000-word band, and only sevenmet the minimum threshold for comprehension of 95%.
In terms of the second 1000-word band, only one
student scored 98%, and only two scored 90% or more.

Table 1
Overview of participants’ vocabulary knowledge of the 5000 most frequent Japanese words/200/5000 (est)

1st 1000

2nd 1000

3rd 1000

4th 1000

5th 1000

Maximum score

187

4675

40

39

38

37

35

Minimum score

78

1950

30

13

15

8

0

Average score138.5

3455.7

35.2

28.5

26.8

25.8

22.4

Percent

69%

69%

88.1%

71.3%

67%

64.6%

56.1%

(values rounded to 1d.p.)(each vocabulary band has a maximum score of 40)

Discussion
Although overall vocabulary knowledge was high, datasuggests that for this cohort of Japanese learners there
were significant gaps in their knowledge, meaning thatfew would be able to read comfortably at the 1000-wordlevel, let alone learn new vocabulary or improve reading
fluency by reading texts in this first 1000-word band.
This demonstrates the value of using a test that can be
broken down into smaller bands, in order to assess anappropriate reading level for learners. Due to thesampling method, this test’s results may be analyzed ateven the 100-word level.

It also indicates that there may be a large discrepancy
between learner vocabulary knowledge, and thevocabulary used in the graded reading materials
currently published. Even when publishers havedeliberately pitched materials as being an appropriate
level for beginner learners (JLPT Level N5), such as
NPOTS and Kuroshio Publications, the materials may
have a 95% vocabulary coverage level of more than
4000 words. It therefore remains unclear how usefulthese materials are for learners.
The graded readers developed by the NPOTS group
have stated vocabulary levels ranging from 350 words
to 2000 words. However, in reality, the 90-98%

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 171

vocabulary coverage level for each text can range from1000 to 20,000 words, which is also the case for readersfrom Yomimono Ippai and JF Kansai (Peterson, 2019).
Although it may be the case that there are someJapanese words which are useful for learners that arevery infrequent in texts written for L1 speakers, thisenormous vocabulary range, even for Level 0 graded
readers, may indicate that the list the words are drawn
from is more idiosyncratic than is helpful for learners.
Furthermore, vocabulary coverage data indicate thatthe current materials will not be enough of a scaffold forlearners to move on to read L1 texts independently
because the current materials’ vocabulary level varies
widely even within the same graded reader level.
Additionally, there is a large mismatch between the pre2010 JLPT vocabulary list used by Japanese graded
reader material creators as the basis of their vocabularylist, and the frequency of words in L1 Japanese texts.
Presumably, most Japanese learners would be seeking
to move past texts written for learners and to begin
reading L1 texts at some point in their study, therefore
they would wish to move on from materials written using
the JLPT vocabulary list. It may be the case that NPOTS
intended to align their materials with a test that isfamiliar to Japanese learners, however, since 2010 thevocabulary list NPOTS uses has not been used for the
JLPT. Instead, an updated list taking into accountvocabulary items’ frequency has been developed andused when writing the test (Oshio et al., 2008).
Due to the low number of graded readers for L2
Japanese learners published so far, it is necessary tosupplement the material used in an ER program withtexts written for L1 speakers. Although children’s picture
books, novels, and young adult novels have beensuggested as appropriate bridging materials for English
learners, there is a large gap between the vocabulary
coverage level of children’s books and the graded
readers (Webb and Macalister, 2013). This is also thecase for Japanese children’s and young adult books.
Books listed on NPOTS’s website as “tadoku-friendly”
may have a 95% vocabulary coverage level of 700012,000 words (for example, My Neighbour Totoro, Kiki’s
Delivery Service), and yet these are categorized as
Level 3, which should have a vocabulary level of 800
words. Other children’s books show a similarly highvocabulary level. It is therefore unclear at what point
these books would become useful for L2 Japaneselearners for ER, and teachers and learners must
exercise caution when using them.
There may be other options for ER, including graded
readers for L1 Japanese children. In the Read in Ten
Minutes series there are a high number of texts withvocabulary coverage in the first to fourth 1000-wordlevels. From 11 books analyzed, 28 texts fell into thisthreshold. There are likely to be more, given that there
are more than 100 books in this series. These materials

may be useful for learners aiming to increase their
vocabulary knowledge to the 9500-word level (108 texts
in this sample fell into this bracket), which equates to
95% vocabulary coverage in L1 texts (Matsushita,2014), enabling them to read independently.
Ultimately, there may not be enough graded readingmaterial available to L2 Japanese learners to allow
them to learn vocabulary incidentally from reading.
Although the volume of graded material for L2 learners
has doubled since Abe’s (2016) criticisms, it is still thecase that the volume of words a learner would meetwithin each graded reading level would not provide
enough encounters with each word so that a learner
could learn that word incidentally. This is posited at 12
encounters for learners learning English words
incidentally (Nation, 2014), and it seems reasonable
that it would be a similar number for Japanese learners.

Limitations and future researchThis research, while a useful first step, has several
limitations. Firstly, the vocabulary instrument rewards
learners’ partial word knowledge, therefore may
overestimate their vocabulary knowledge. The high useof semantically plausible dummy options may reduce
this somewhat, but the degree to which it addresses thisknown issue of multiple-choice questions is not clear forJapanese. However, as Kremmel and Schmitt (2016)
demonstrate, the estimation error for multiple-choicetests tends to be unidirectional, and thus may be
accounted for more easily. Additionally, there are limits
as to what a meaning-recognition test can indicate
about learners’ actual ability to employ their estimatedvocabulary knowledge when reading (Kremmel &Schmitt, 2016). This was out of scope for this paper, butshould be addressed for Japanese in future research.
Secondly, The data here report on only one small
sample: both of learners and of books. It is likely to be
the case that learners’ vocabulary knowledge differs in
different teaching institutions due to different teachingstyles and methods. The vocabulary level of only asmall number of children’s books (less than 20) cannot
be said to be a representative sample, and it may be thecase that there are many books to be found withvocabulary at an appropriate level for learners.
A further limitation is that the data presented here ismerely a description of graded and children’s materials’
vocabulary level and learners’ vocabulary knowledge. It
was out of the scope of this research project toinvestigate learners’ perception of graded reader
difficulty depending on their vocabulary knowledge.
However, it is hoped the data here will be valuable foodfor thought for Japanese teachers considering
implementing an ER component in their courses.
Finally, these tests have been found reliable and valid
for only one context of learning. Work is underway to

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establish their reliability and validity in other contexts,
and additionally, development of a meaning-recall
version is currently being pursued. Collaborative
research projects to validate various modalities of thesetests for different testing and learning contexts would bevery welcome.

Conclusion
The findings of this research underscore the importanceof not only understanding the vocabulary level ofJapanese learners, but also being able to ascertain the
vocabulary level of materials for them to read. It isessential to use a vocabulary test that can be broken
down into relatively small bands to assess learners’
vocabulary knowledge for the purpose of ER. It is criticalto have detailed knowledge of learners’ vocabularylevels due to the necessity of reading at the 98% or atminimum 95% vocabulary coverage levels while
engaged in ER. Even though many participants scoredhighly, such that they are estimated to know more than3000 Japanese words, the data here indicates that
there are large gaps in their vocabulary knowledge ateach 1000-word level, and very few knew enough
vocabulary even within the first 1000 words tosuccessfully read extensively at that level. Given that
ER supports vocabulary acquisition when learners readat the 98% vocabulary coverage level, it is crucial thatteachers are able to properly assess the correct readinglevel for their students.

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Banno, E., Ikeda, Y., Ohno, Y., Shinagawa, C., &Tokashiki, K. (2020). Genki: An integrated

University of Wellington, Wellington, New
Zealand.

course in elementary Japanese (3rd ed.). Tokyo:
Japan Times.

Matsushita, T. (2014, August). How is the relationshipbetween vocabulary knowledge andde Burgh-Hirabe, R. (2011). Extensive reading and L2comprehension? A case of Japanese. Paper

reading motivation in Japanese as a foreign

presented at the meeting of the AILA World

language: A case study of New Zealand highCongress 2014, Brisbane. Retrieved fromschool students (Unpublished PhD thesis).

http://www17408ui.sakura.ne.jp/tatsum/presenta

University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.

tion/Matsushita2014_AILA_Vocab-Reading.pdf

Fukumoto, A. (2004). 日本語教育における多読の試み[An experiment in extensive reading inMiyaoka, Y., Tamaoka, K., & Sakai, H. (2011). 日本語
語彙テストの開発と信頼性 ─中国語を母語とす

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 173

る日本語学習者のデータによるテスト評価─

https://www.researchgate.net/project/Extensive-[Japanese Lexical Knowledge Test and Its

Reading-Tadoku-Databases

Reliability: Test Evaluation Using Data fromNative Chinese Speakers Learning Japanese].

広島経済大学研究論集, 34(1), 1-18.
Nara, H. (2001). Automaticity and its implications for

Rothville, K. (2019). Extensive reading in Japanese:
Investigating the effects on vocabulary, reading
comprehension, coursework and attitudes
towards reading in Japanese and kanji over 27

JFL pedagogy. In Nara, H. (Ed.), Advances inweeks for upper beginner-level learners

Japanese language pedagogy (pp. 243-280).

(Unpublished master’s thesis). University ofColumbus, Ohio: National East Asian Language

Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.

Resource Center, Ohio State University.

Stoeckel, T., McLean, S., & Nation, P. (2021).

Nation, I. (2006). How large a vocabulary is needed for

Limitations of size and levels tests of written

reading and listening? Canadian Modern

receptive vocabulary knowledge. Studies in

Language Review, 63(1), 59-82.

Second Language Acquisition, 43, 181-203.

Nation, P. (2014). How much input do you need tolearn the most frequent 9,000 words? Reading
in a Foreign Language, 26(2), 1-16.
Oshio, K., Akimoto, M., Takeda, A., Abe, Y.,
Takanashi, M., Yanagisawa, Y., … Ishiko, J.
(2008). 新しい日本語能力試験のための語彙表作
成にむけて [Towards the development of a
vocabulary list for the new Japanese Language

Suganaga Y., & Matsushita T. (2013). J-LEX Profiler.
Retrieved from http://www17408ui.sakura.ne.jp/
Tabata-Sandom, M. (2016). What types of texts andreading aids are good for Japanese graded
readers? Journal of Extensive Reading 4(2), 2146.
Webb, S. (2021). A different perspective on thelimitations of size and levels tests of written

Proficiency Test]. 国際交流基金日本語教育紀要

receptive vocabulary knowledge. Studies in

第, 4, 71-86.

Second Language Acquisition, 43, 454-461.

Peterson, J. (2019). Japanese Extensive Reading

Webb, S., & Macalister, J. (2013). Is text written for

Resources Database (JERRD) (Version 1) [Datachildren useful for L2 extensive reading? TESOL

set].

Quarterly, 47(2), 300-322.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 174

Appendix A: Japanese Graded Readers
Overview of Japanese Graded ReadersGroups using the NPOTS vocabulary and grammar lists

Reading
level

Vocabularylevels

JLPT
Level

NPOTS
(print)NPOTS(online)Level 0 –Starter

350
words

N5

27

Level 1 –Beginner

350-400
words

N5

Level 2 –Upper Beg.

500-550
words

Level 3 –Lower Int.

Groups using their own lists
TongariBooks(online)Yomimono
Ippai(online)Japan
Found.
Kansai(online)Let’s ReadJapanese(print)Sendai Intl
Japanese
School(print)JF Mongolia(online)

29

4

7

25

6

6

7

3

7
(A1 level)

N4

28

10

2

3

2

18
(A2 level)1(Novice)6(Beginner)

3(Level B)

750-1000
words

N3

24

12

2

1

9

51
(Level 1)

1(A2/B1 level)

2(Intermed.)

5(Beg. – Int.)

5(Level C+D)

1*
(Level 1)

Level 4 –Intermed.

1300-1400
words

N3-N2

25

3

5

55
(Level 2)

1(Int. high)4(Intermed.)

6(Level E)

11*(Level 2)

Level 5 –Upper Int.

2000-2100
words

N2

2

1

3

11
(Level 3)

3(Level F)

2*(Level 3)

Level 6

2900
words

1
(Level G)

1*(Level 4)

Level 7

4500
words

1
(Level H)

28*(general)

24

43

Total books:

131
Sum total:

61

14

18

Sakura Lab(online)Tadoku no
Hiroba(online)JF Malaysia(online)

2(Starter)

22466*Target vocabulary coverage level unknown

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 175

106

26

5
(Level A)

417

Appendix B: Participants’ Results in Detail
A score of 39 (out of 40) would represent 98% vocabulary knowledge at that 1000-word level, 38 would represent 95% vocabulary knowledge, and36 would represent 90% vocabulary knowledge.

Participants’ Vocabulary Knowledge

Student 1

92

Overall
vocabulary(estimated)
2300

30

17

16

17

12

Student 2

100

2500

34

24

25

10

7

中

Student 3

165

4125

34

33

33

34

31

中

Student 4

160

4000

36

32

32

33

27

Student 5

151

3775

40

31

25

29

26

Student 6

137

3425

33

29

29

24

22

Student 7

142

3350

32

28

24

31

27

Student 8

100

2500

33

21

15

18

13

Student 9

178

4450

38

35

35

35

35

Student 10

134

3350

37

27

22

25

23

Student 11

78

1950

32

13

15

11

17

Student 12

108

2700

34

23

21

19

11

Code

中

中

Overall score

1st 1000

2nd 1000

3rd 1000

4th 1000

5th 1000

Student 13

154

3850

36

30

33

28

27

中 Student 14

164

4100

36

31

36

32

29

中 Student 15

168

4200

35

32

36

37

28

中 Student 16

160

4000

36

31

30

32

31

Student 17

166

4150

34

34

31

35

32

中 Student 18

166

4150

38

37

31

30

30

Student 19

97

2425

36

27

19

15

0

中 Student 20

187

4675

39

39

37

37

35

中 Student 21

154

3850

34

29

32

32

27

Student 22

109

2725

34

25

18

21

11

中 Student 23

133

3325

36

28

25

22

22

Student 24

85

2125

32

20

18

8

7

Student 25

113

2825

33

21

17

22

20

Student 26

181

4525

38

37

38

36

32

Student 27

139

3475

39

31

25

21

23

Student 28

123

3075

34

28

28

21

12

Student 29

123

3075

37

27

21

23

15

中 Student 30

174

4350

38

31

34

36

35

152
3800
中 Student 31
中 denotes Chinese or Chinese-heritage participants

34

33

30

27

28

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 176

GILE SIG Forum: Voices of Global Educators
Jackson Koon Yat Lee
Toyo University

Ken Ikeda
Otsuma Women’s University

May Kyaw Oo
Nagasaki University

Jennie Roloff Rothman
Kanda University of International Studies

The Global Issues in Language Education (GILE) SIG, one of the oldest and largest in JALT, has long been home to countless global
educators from a variety of backgrounds whose goal is to create a more peaceful and understanding world through their classrooms. At
PanSIG2021, GILE chose to dedicate its forum to highlighting the experiences of three multicultural, global educators and their thoughts on
how global educators can meaningfully promote plurilingualism and diversity. Their stories, documented here, are part of an ongoing dialogue
about the realities, biases, injustices, and opportunities in our field about which many of their fellow educators may not be aware. The forum
and this paper’s purpose is to use those perspectives to inform a discussion on suggestions for both supporting academics and classroom
practice that can be positive, inclusive, and supportive for all members of the teaching community.
グローバル問題と言語教育 (GILE) 研究会は、JALT の中でも最も歴史があり、規模も大きい研究会のひとつで、教室を通じてより平和で理解しやすい世界を作ることを目標に、さまざまなバックグラウンドを持つグローバル・エデュケーターが集まっています。PanSIG2021
では、GILE は、3 人の多文化なグローバル教育者の経験と、グローバル教育者が多言語主義と多様性を有意義に推進する方法についての考えを紹介するフォーラムを開催することにしました。ここで紹介する彼らの体験談は、教育者仲間の多くが気づいていないであろう、
この分野における現実、偏見、不正、そして機会についての継続的な対話の一部となるものである。フォーラムと本論文の目的は、これらの視点を用いて、教育界のすべてのメンバーにとって前向きで包括的、かつ支援的な学術的支援と教室実践の両方についての提案について議論することであります。

The Global Issues in Language Education (GILE) SIG

which many of their fellow educators may be unaware

has long been home to global educators from varied(Curtis & Romney, 2006; Mahboob, 2010; Yazan &backgrounds, all aiming to create a more peaceful and

Rudolph, 2018).

understanding world through their classrooms. This
year’s GILE forum shared perspectives from threemulticultural, global educators whose stories are
situated within and contribute to a larger ongoing
dialogue and struggle to recognize and improve therealities, biases, and injustices in our field (Fukunaga,
et al, 2018; Hashimoto, 2020, Sue et al., 2007) about

Jackson Koon Yat Lee told his struggles with the native
English teacher image. Ken Ikeda presented an informal
study with Nikkei educators and commented on antibias training. May Kyaw Oo shared her various traumas
as a Myanmar English teacher in Thailand and Japan.
This paper has two aims: highlighting their perspectives

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 177

on how global educators can meaningfully promote

my schools and homes in Canada, but not the ones fromplurilingualism and diversity; and informing discussions

Hong Kong. I introduced popular Canadian foods that I

on supporting academics and classroom practices that

had never actually tasted. Conversely, students neverare positive, inclusive, and supportive for all members

learned that my dinners back home were mostlyof the teaching community.

Chinese dishes made by my mother. My students knew

Jackson: The Half-Visible Teacher“Jackson is our English teacher from Canada” without
discovering that half of my identity had been

Since the beginning of my decade-long teaching career,

purposefully made invisible, just to align my professional

my suitability as an English teacher in Japan has always

image closer to the racially discriminatory ideal ‘NEST’

been undermined by my identity as a Hong-Kong-born

image Japan has adopted.

Canadian. English education in Japan has historicallycreated an image of an ideal English teacher as“teachers who fit their perception of ‘native English
speakers’—white,fun,smart,

andgood-looking”(Fukunaga et al., 2018, pp. 35). Due to this ideal image
that I, as an Asian, do not fit and cannot ever fit, I, likemany others, have struggled with insecurity and selfdoubt.

I was not victimized at work, but it was a self-fulfilling
prophecy from proactively reinforcing my Canadian
identity while hiding my Hong Kong side. However, thesurprised reactions from parents, new teachers, andvisiting

educators

andadministrators

constantly

reminded me that my physical appearance did notmatch who they had expected as the ALT. The process
also repeated at every new workplace. It took years toStarting my career off as an assistant language teacher

build up the confidence to believe that students would(ALT) with no experience in education, one immediate

appreciate me for who I was, not where I was from, andconcern was convincing my students and colleagues

I began introducing my experiences growing up in Hongthat I was a credible teacher, someone they could trust

Kong to my students.

and build healthy relationships with. My physicalappearance worked against me and I spoke with adistinct accent, so the only reliable strategy was toreinforce my Canadian-ness at work. It is commonly
considered the ALT’s responsibility to represent
English-speaking

communities

in

the

classroom(Brumby & Wada, 1990). Therefore, I took all theopportunities I had to share and present aspects ofCanada to my students.

However, my anxiety and fear never completely
dissipated. The necessity to present myself carefully
was obvious when I was hired part-time and advertised
as a ‘native teacher’ to parents of students at an eikaiwa(English conversation) school. The feelings also
returned when I began teaching at the university level,a more competitive environment for teachers. I worried,
because while my young students had few, if any, pastforeign teachers to compare me with, I was now

Unfortunately, this encouragement to represent Canada

interacting with older students who could have morealso instilled an idea that if I was to speak about mypresumptions and prejudices. My Hong Kong identity

Hong Kong origins, a place I lived for a decade before

once again disappeared for over two years, until I

twelve years in Vancouver, it would hamper myeventually secured a full-time position and the self-

credibility as a foreign English teacher. There was a fear

confidence that accompanied it.

that my elementary and junior high school students
would be confused and question whether I was an“authentic” teacher from an English-speaking country.
Therefore, I avoided ever mentioning Hong Kong in frontof my students for years. I showed students pictures of

One important reason for the recurring anxiety is thatteachers who do not fit the ‘NEST’ image know that we
continue to be less desirable in the market. English
language school advertisements in Japan mostly
display Caucasian teachers (Bailey, 2006; Hashimoto,

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 178

2020). Hashimoto in Fukunaga et al. (2018) has foundthrive in the bias without realizing it, or they recognizethat “NESTs of Asian descent are often perceived as

the differential treatment but submit to the idea that theinauthentic” (pp. 35) While marketing terms like ‘native‘Caucasian native English ideal narrative’ is a natural

teachers’ apply to me, I have personally never seenpart of the industry. There are also white ‘NESTs’ who

Asian teachers displayed in such advertisements.

strongly reject equity in order to protect their own

Therefore, language school advertisements on trains

advantageous positions. Overall, those who have neverand buses as well as teacher recruitment ads on theexperienced being marginalized often remain oblivious

internet continue to serve as constant reminders of theof the hardship that non-white and/or ‘NNES’ teachers

necessity to fit the image, as the faces on such

face and struggle with regularly. Only a minority of white

advertisements are what our current and future students‘NESTs’ are aware of, and also actively speak up

are regularly exposed to.

against the discrimination, and this has to change.

Images primarily depicting Caucasians as English

Since I started presenting on this subject at ELT-relatedteachers and terms such as ‘native teachers’ areevents and conferences in Japan, I have encounteredproblematic as they only emphasize a person’s heritage

mostly two types of feedback: ‘NNESTs’ express

rather than their quality as an educator. Unser-Schutz in

gratitude for my candidness in sharing stories andFukunaga et al. (2018) has found that ‘native teachers’

experiences they strongly resonate with, and ‘NESTs’

are not always preferred by Japanese university

exhibit shock and disappointment from learning about astudents, as native speakers can make students

perspective of which they had never been truly aware.

nervous. Yet, the approaches taken by administrators

Based on the supportive feedback at events and myand marketing of English language education in Japan

belief that teaching is a profession of nobility andseem to continuously reinforce such discriminatory

integrity, I want to remain hopeful that by raisinghiring practices, even when it creates a reality thatawareness among those flourishing from the imbalance,

hinders and excludes the ‘non-ideal’ from receiving theoften in influential positions, they too will recognize thesame benefits (Fukunaga et al., 2018; Hashimoto,issues and work to create positive changes. Instead of2020).

expecting those marginalized to risk their livelihood to

It took me years to begin coping with my identity as a
Hong-Kong-born Canadian teaching English in Japan.
However, this coping process worked partially because
I could still somewhat benefit from the privileges
reserved for ‘native teachers’ at many workplaces byfight for equitable opportunities, it is crucial that anyone,both ‘NESTs’ and ‘NNESTs’, who have become awareof the discrimination to take initiative and change ourshared reality from one that supports mainly white‘NESTs’ to one that supports all teachers alike.

intentionally positioning my Canadian identity to theKen: Getting Past the Face

forefront. Teachers who do not fit the ‘NEST’ image
struggle in an industry that devalues them and they
have no ‘other identity’ to lean on. Luckily, for me, myracial background has now become a teaching tool tohelp my students to think more critically about
stereotypes and marketing messages. The personal
journey is now a narrative to share with other educators
to raise awareness on this issue.

I presented in this GILE Forum my observations on
issues that affect Asian educators due to judgments of
ethnicity and language which are based on sight rather
than reasoned thought. First, I write about frustrations I
and other educators of Nikkei descent (Japanese
ancestry) have experienced seeking employment inJapan.

These

frustrations

can

be

linkedtomicroaggressions (Sue et al. 2007). I then address
Based on my experience, it is apparent that the industry

questions that were posed to the panelists of this GILE

favors white ‘NESTs’, and the majority of them either

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 179

Forum and what steps can be undertaken to overcome

English speakers by their facial looks. One was asked

these hurdles, first with students and with fellow

at the job interview for her spoken language preference,educators.

English or Japanese, even though the position was forI speak as an American-born Japanese of parents who
immigrated to the United States and spent my firsttwenty-five years there. I am presently employed as thean English L1 speaker. Three Nikkeijin were surprised
to have been hired, despite not having high Japanese
language ability.

L1 (native) English educator in a department at a

Public Perceptions: Four reported not being featured inwomen's university in Tokyo.

photos that publicized their school or university. One

I’ve been asked often by white people, "You speak
English so well. When did you come to Japan?" I tellthem I was born and raised in the U.S., so I am a native
English speaker. But a few remain curious andunconvinced.

Their

subsequent

questionsandtold me colleagues at her school made a point to include
her in the staff photo. One had been initially refused a
job to teach in Japan because of his Japanese face. (Itshould be stated that this interview was conducted in the
U.S., and the interviewer was another Nikkeijin.)comments reveal that they have not listened to me.

Overall, responses from the Nikkei educators were

They seem transfixed by what they see: the Asian face.

positive about their teaching experiences in Japan,

To see if my experience extended beyond myself, I
conducted an informal email questionnaire with seveneducators of Nikkei ancestry (four females, three males).
They answered two main questions which were: (1)memories of past discriminations in employment and (2)if their institutions have policy guidelines regarding
equitable employment. My answers are included with
theirs. All seven of us have taught at the university level,
and although I did not ask about age, I estimate we arein our fifties and above.

which I interpret is largely due to the supportive
environment of their institutions. I admit that my results
may highlight experiences of being slighted. At the timeof my presentation, I linked these results to trauma,
which Onderko (2020) explains, “the response to a
deeply distressing or disturbing event that overwhelms
an individual’s ability to cope, causes feelings ofhelplessness, diminishes their sense of self and theirability to feel the full range of emotions and experiences”(para. 1). Later, I realized that trauma is not appropriate
to apply here. I and these Nikkei educators were not so

I have sorted their responses into categories that reveal

far distressed that we could not cope to the point of

misunderstandings

helplessness.

interviewers

oror

misperceptions

colleagues

had

of

their
the

job

But

our

memories

of

these

Nikkeimisperceptions that people made based on their name,respondents. These aspects are: gender, language

face, and superb English language abilities, fit thefacility (English, Japanese), and public perceptions.

notion of microaggressions, defined by Sue et al. (2007)

Gender: Two women were told at their interviews that
self-effacing Japanese women get hired. They were told
this although their documents clearly identified them as
Nikkeijin. On the other hand, two men felt they ought tobe self-effacing to fit better in their institutions.
Language Facility: Many were complimented on their‘fluent’ English speaking. One was asked why he had
applied for an English L1 position, a question whichshowed him that the department perceived native

as “verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities
whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate
hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults
toward people of color” (p. 271). Sue et al. state thereactions of those spark microaggressions show their
unawareness of communicating when they interact withminorities of color (p. 271).
A study by Tran and Lee (2014) points to how racial
appearances can spark feelings of microaggression.
They examined ratings by Whites and Asians who were

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 180

paired together for short interviews in an American

since the act of welcoming is an initial step toward

Midwestern university, purposely requiring Whites to

acceptance and recognition. Fujimoto (2020) writes how

compliment Asians on their English-speaking ability.

she felt seemingly ignored by her male interactants,

They reported that Whites’ compliments on the Asians’

both Japanese and foreign when she supplied theEnglish language prowess were stressful to the latter.

English equivalent of a Japanese word. One teacher

Tran and Lee call these judgments “exceptionalizing

who answered my informal questionnaire wrote of her

stereotype(s)”.

experience being spoken to in Japanese at JALTI devote the remainder of this piece to answer twoquestions posed to this GILE panel: (1) "What can we
do pedagogically to 'normalize' your presence inclassrooms to our students?" and (2) "What can we do,
as global educators, to welcome everyone?"presence of educators of color has not been a problem.
Unchecked assumptions of non-native-looking English
speaker photos can hinder students’ assumptions ofthese persons’ English language ability (Nagano, 2022).
However, it has been my experience that Japanese
students learning English overcome quickly their
compunctions with their instructors. The ethnicity of an
instructor does not seem to interfere with these learners’
language learning aims, so long as the instructor’s
accent does not hinder students’ understanding. Theirmain concern is to acquire English fluency forthemselves. Consequently, I have observed students inJapan accept me as an English native quicker thanother Whites who are present. I recall one occasion
when conversing with students at a university where I
taught,aWhite

Americancolleague

addressed me as sensei with slight bows, and thestudents

exchanged

bewildering

looks.

national conference to be addressed in Japanesealmost immediately after having conversed with theconference staffer in English.
Diversity or anti-bias training may appear to be the easy

I have found the concern about normalizing thepreviously

gatherings. I too have been embarrassed at a JALT

Another

instance was when I rode on a train with my seminar
students. Tourists from a European country came andsat across us. They spoke to me trying out their
Japanese on me. My students told the tourists that I wasa native English speaker, but they continued to speak to
me in Japanese. The students realized it was true about

solution, which often consists of a short workshop
designed to raise awareness of unconscious bias anddiscriminatory acts by employees to their clientele. One
example is the privilege walk (As/Is, 2015) which
requires participants to take steps forward or backward
in response to statements that declare a privilege orunearned social right. But diversity training has its
detractors. Peggy McIntosh regards the privilege walkas a gym-exercise (2010). Dobbin and Kalev (2018)
identify five drawbacks of anti-bias training: (a) it is not
easy

to

changepeople’s

attitudes;(b)askingparticipants to suppress stereotypes, activates theminstead;(c)training

causes

a

false

sense

of

achievement; (d) whites may feel the training espouses“color-blindness”; and (e) people are prone to resist
management control (pp. 49-50). Rather, Dobbin andKalev advise that diversity training should: (a) practice
behaviors that increase contact and empathy between
groups; (b) help the majority build a sense of inclusion
with others so that they feel more open to accept new
ways; (c) help people understand that equity fosters
voluntariness and does not control their freedom ofthought and action; (d) foster awareness as part of awider program of mutual recognition and respect (pp.
51-52).

what I had told them about my past encounters with

Diversity training only becomes meaningful whenpeople with unconscious biases.

individual participants can thoroughly talk through their

The second question, "What can we do, as global
educators, to welcome everyone", needs addressing,

pain and live with alerted awareness among those who
experience such slights on a regular basis, to share in

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 181

their traumas and support them. I hope that my piece

As a female native Myanmar English teacher, I dealt

will spark conscious efforts between educators ofand continue to deal with invisibility, being marginalized,

various colors to exercise mutual respect in our context

discriminatory hiring practices, and microaggressionsof English language instruction, efforts that surely will befrom colleagues. Although it would be easier to ignore

noticed by our learners as they engage as users of thethese issues since my career pathway has improved inlanguage and possessors of the culture.

the past year, I decided on this topic to highlight theongoing individual grievances that “non-native” English
speaker teachers (NNEST) or teachers from Outer andMay: My Challenges as a “Non-Native”

Expanding Circles (Kachru, 1992) have continued to

Speaker TESOL Teacher

experience despite the strides made in the non-native
speaker (NNS) movement (Braine, 2010). Even now,

The first time I applied for a full-time teaching job was atteaching job websites in Thailand still state nativea language school in Thailand, having just finished myspeaker of English as a requirement at the same level

Masters in English language and literature. During myof importance as relevant education background. Some

graduate studies I worked as a part-time instructor at theadvertise for both native-speaking and non-native

same university.

Thinking that securing a job at a

English-speaking teachers but offer much lower salaries

language school would be relatively straightforward

to the NNESTs (Dumlao & Mengorio, 2019; Ulla, 2019).

given my qualifications and work experience, thisunfortunately became the first time I experienced overt
racism. The director of the school told me I would beconsidered for the job if I could make my skin lighter,wear blue contact lenses, bleach my hair blonde, and tokeep my nationality, Myanmar, a secret when parents
asked me. On my way back home I felt dejected,
ashamed of my identity and questioned the relevance of
my educational training. After applying for more jobs, I
realized that this was not an isolated occurrence.

I hesitated to speak up on these issues at conferences
and public forums because it requires job security anda support system. Casual conversations on these topics
were

also

sometimes

met

with

dismissal

resistance,fromnegativity,

andadministrators

andcolleagues. Hence, I waited until arriving in Japan toshare my experiences in Thailand. It is also in Japan
where I met educators already aware of these issues,
some with firsthand experiences (themselves) andconnected me to the JALT platform and amplified myYears later, after a DELTA and an MEd TESOL, it was

marginalized voice. Unfortunately, stories like mine aredepressing to remain in a similar job position as before

not rare (Braine, 2010; Curtis & Romney, 2006;

with colleagues who were backpacker teachers simply

Mahboob, 2010; Yazan & Rudolph, 2018) and they will

passing through. Why did I spend over £40,000 and gocontinue to persist until policies are reformed andthrough rigorous training to prove that I am indeed

people cease to view the English language through its

worthy to be where I was while my colleagues werecolonial

given the position by the grace of their skin color anddiscrimination I experienced came from people who aretheir nationality? It was demoralizing. Another time, Ifrom the similar race to mine, i.e., in Thailand, most of

was asked to lead a big project but after its completion,

the discrimination came from Thai administrators andthe university created a banner with the photo of myschool directors. It continues to baffle me to experience

white American colleague to promote it. Incidents likethis kind of internalized inferiority.

legacy.

Sadly,

most

of

the

time,

the

these impacted my mental health and there was always
a constant struggle between standing up for myself andjob security.

Even in my current position in Japan, on occasions, I
was made to feel by some colleagues as an affirmative
hire, as someone who did not deserve to be there. At

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 182

times, my language abilities were excessively critiqued

administrative issue. Speaking up might not be theby NESTs. For instance, if I made a spelling mistake,ultimate solution but solidarity means a lot for yourmy language abilities become a point of scrutiny whilecolleagues.

for a NES colleague, it is simply a mistake. When I●

Review your classroom practices to be more

confront these issues, I am accused of “using my raceinclusive and actively choose diverse materialscard” or that I am being “too sensitive”, further

which represent a wide spectrum of today’s English

oppressing me from having conversations about theselanguage users.

topics. I feel alone and invisible despite having a support●

Lastly, if you are in the position of power to impact

system when I sit in faculty meetings mostly made up of

positive change, please help make top-down policy

White and Japanese male colleagues.

changes.

While

distressing

attimes,

overcoming

theseConclusion

experiences allowed me to be resilient. It influenced
how I identify as an educator, researcher, human being

GILE SIG would like to thank these three educators forcoexisting between privilege and marginalization.

sharing

Having had to deal with race issues and casual

improving English language education. The powerfulmicroaggressions, sometimes on a daily basis, have left

pieces document their survival despite injustices in theme wondering if I would like to continue my career in theindustry, management of feelings of inadequacy, andEnglish language teaching field at times. Most of theexperiences of microaggressions. Their writing here istime, I am grateful to get to know my students anda call to action for other educators: everyone has a roleinspire them to continue their learning journeys. Overall,to play in recognizing inequalities and pushing to makeI take my unique situation as an opportunity and not as

positive change. Inclusive educational spaces must see

a disadvantage. Embracing who I am and where I comepeople of color as equals rather than the other. Creatingfrom has allowed me to create meaningful connections

spaces for and listening to experiences is crucial, andwith my students. No matter how unpleasant it wasrecognizing that global issues education can be a force

outside of the classroom with my colleagues or withnot just for tolerance and understanding, but to change

administrators, I remain inspired by my students andthe view of English by stakeholders such as institutions,

their curious minds. As a language teacher of color, I

publishers, and fellow educators.

theirperspectives

andsuggestions

on

have firsthand experiences I can share to raiseawareness of social justice and global issues.

References

In closing, if you want to be a force for equity in yourworkplaces no matter what your nationality and race are,I have some general suggestions.
●

Listen to your NNEST colleagues if they chose toshare their experiences. We can listen without
having to provide solutions or passing judgments.

●●[As/Is] (2015, July 5). What is privilege? [Video].
YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hD5f8GuNu
GQ
Bailey, K. (2006). Marketing the eikaiwa wonderland:

Check our internalized biases. We all have biases,

ideology, akogare and gender alterity in English

and it is a good practice to question and critique ourconversation school advertising in Japan.

actions and way of thinking.

Environment and Planning D: Society andSpeak up if you see inequalities. Most of the time,

Space, 24, 105-130.

people do see the discrimination, but they do nothttps://doi.org/10.1068/d418

speak up because they think it’s a policy or

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 183

Braine, G. (2010). Nonnative speaker English

Kachru, B. (1992). World Englishes: Approaches,teachers: Research, pedagogy, andissues, and resources. Language Teachings, 25,

professional growth (1st ed.). Routledge.

1-14.

https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203856710

Kubota, R., & Lin, A. (2006). Race and TESOL:

Brumby, S. and Wada, M. (1990). Team teaching.
Harlow, Essex: Longman.

Introduction to concepts and theories. TESOL
Quarterly, 40(3), 471-493.

Curtis, A., & Romney. M. (Eds.) (2006). Color, race,and English language teaching: Shades of

https://doi.org/10.2307/40264540
Mahboob, A. (Ed.). (2010). The NNEST lens: Non

meaning. Mahwah, NT: Lawrence Erl.

native English speakers in TESOL. Newcastle

Dobbin, F., and Kalev, A. (2018). Why diversity training
doesn’t work: The challenge for industry andacademia. Anthropology Now, 10(2), 48-55.

upon Tyne, England: Cambridge Scholars
Press.
McIntosh, P. (2010). Some notes for facilitators on

https://doi.org/10.1080/19428200.2018.14931

presenting my white privilege papers. Seed: The

82

National SEED Project.
https://nationalseedproject.org/Key-SEED-

Dumlao, R. P. & Mengorio, T. (2019). From inland tooutland: Experiences of non-native expatriate

Texts/white-privilege-unpacking-the-invisibleknapsackteachers teaching in a foreign context. Journal of
EnglishEducation,

4(1),24-37.

http://dx.doi.org/10.31327/jee.v4i1.898

Nagano, S. (2022). EFL university students’
perceptions of native English speakers andpreferences of non-Japanese English language

Fujimoto, D. (2020). The lens of native-speakerism:

teachers [unpublished undergraduate thesis].

Understanding the lived experiences of a

Otsuma Women’s University, Department ofJapanese American teacher. In D. H. Nagatomo,

English Literature and Language.

K. A. Brown, & M. L. Cook (Eds.), Foreign
female English teachers in Japanese higher
education: Narratives from our quarter (pp. 255266). Candlin & Mynard.
https://doi.org/10.47908/11/19
Fukunaga, S., Hashimoto, N., Lowe, R. J., UnserSchutz, G., & Kusaka, L. (2018). Collaborative
deconstruction of native-speakerism. In P.
Clements, A. Krause, & P. Bennett (Eds.),
Language teaching in a global age: Shaping theclassroom, shaping the world. Tokyo: JALT.
Hashimoto, N. (2020). Foreign enough: Migrantnonnative English-speaking teachers In D.
Hooper & N. Hashimoto (Eds.), Teacher
narratives from the Eikaiwa classroom: Moving
beyond “McEnglish.” (pp. 51-63). Candlin &Onderko, K. (2020) What is Trauma?: Trauma Defined.
https://integratedlistening.com/what-is-trauma/.
Sue, D. W., Capodilupo, C. M., Torino, G. C., Bucceri,
J. M., Holder, A. M. B., Nadal, K. L., Esquilin, M.
(2007). Racial microaggressions in everyday life:
Implications for clinical practice. American
Psychologist, 62(4), 271-286.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.62.4.271
Tran, A. G. T. T., & Lee, R. M. (2014). You speak
English well! Asian Americans’ reactions to an
exceptionalizing stereotype. Journal ofCounseling Psychology, 61(3), 484–490.
https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000034
Ulla, M. B. (2019). Filipinos as EFL teachers in
Bangkok, Thailand: Implications for language

Mynard. https://doi.org/10.47908/13/4
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education policy in the ASEAN region. RELC
Journal, 52(3), 588-602.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688219879775
Yazan, B., Rudolph, N. (Eds.). (2018). Criticality,
Teacher identity, and (in)equity in English
language teaching: Issues and implications.
Springer

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 185

Multilingualism and Intercultural Competence
Jessica Zoni Upton
Nagoya University of Foreign Studies

For many years now, monolingualism has been considered a drawback (Crystal, 2006). While foreign language education may be able toencourage and support the development of sequential multilingualism in the still mainly monolingual Japanese society (Harding-Esch & Riley,
2003; Wang, 2018), implementation of linguistic competence without intercultural competence (IC) is not enough to guarantee effective useof new languages. IC is the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately in intercultural situations through the application of one’s
intercultural skills, attitudes, and knowledge (Deardorff, 2006). This paper will provide an overview of multilingualism and its current level inJapan, followed by an explanation of how it is connected to IC. Finally, it will focus on how IC can be practically integrated. Readers can gain
insights into the importance of IC in developing multilingualism and ideas on how to practically incorporate it in their language classrooms.

現代では、モノリンガルであることは欠点だと考えられている（Crystal、2006）。 外国語教育は、依然として主に
モ ノ リ ン ガ ル の 日 本 社会 に お け る 多 言 語 の 発 展 を 奨 励 し、 支 援 す る こと が で き る か もし れ な い が （ HardingEsch&Riley、2003;Wang、2018）、異文化能力（IC）のない言語能力の実施は、新しい言語の有効な使用を保証することはできない。 IC というのは、効果的な異文化コミュニケーションを取るためのスキル、異文化に対する好奇心、それと知識を纏める能力である（Deardorff、2006）。 本稿では、多言語や日本における現在のレベルを紹介し、それと IC がどのように関係しているか説明する。 最後に、どのように IC を外国語教育で溶け込めるのかに焦点を当てる。 読者は、外国語教室で多言語を育てるための IC の重要性や使えるアイデアについて得ることができるだろう

Over the years, there have been numerous discussions
over approaches to multilingualism in pedagogy(Haukås, 2015). Verily, education carries a great
responsibility in providing an opportunity for everyone tolearn a second or third language. In this paper, the caseof multilingualism in education is explored in the context
of Japan, a country which has one of the best education
systems in the world (Garibay, 2021; World Population
Review, 2022), yet is still considered mostly
monolingual (Harding-Esch & Riley, 2003; Wang, 2018).
This paper proposes that multilingualism andintercultural competence (IC) are inevitably connected.
In other words, to approach multilingualism in education
is to teach both linguistic and intercultural elements of aforeign language. In order to provide a practical guideon how to possibly achieve that, this study will explain
how to implement an IC approach in the foreign
language classroom through integration of ‘deep culture’elements and activities that will help develop learners’
foreign language skills and global awareness.

competence described as multilingualism in this paper
does not assume a “native” level proficiency in all
languages spoken, but rather considers multilingualism
as a “condition that makes it possible for an individual
to function, at some level, in more than one language”(Valdés, n.d.). Moreover, it can apply both to a person
who has competences in multiple languages or to aplace where multiple languages are being used (King,2018). When discussing places where multilingualism
thrives, one might think of countries or regions wheregroups of cultural minorities or migrant communities aregathered, such as Singapore. Accordingly, in 2020
Singapore recorded an impressive 74.3% of the
population as being literate in two or more languages
aside from English, including Mandarin, Malay, Tamil,
Chinese dialects, Indian languages, and othersecondary languages (Singapore Department of
Statistics, 2020).

Multilingualism

On the other hand, Japan continues to be considered ahighly monolingual and monocultural society (HardingEsch & Riley, 2003; Wang, 2018). That is not to say thatmultilingualism is completely absent from the country.
On the contrary, Franceschini (2011) stated that theterm multilingualism includes not only linguistic abilities

Multilingualism is “the use of more than one language
or competence in more than one language” (Clyne,
2017, p.301). It is important to notice that theMultilingualism in JapanThe PanSIG 2021 Journal 186

in national languages, but also in “regional languages,
minority languages, migrant languages, sign languages,
and, in the broadest sense, dialects” (p.344). Japan, in
fact, counts numerous dialects as well as eight local
minority languages, such as Ainu and Amami (Takubo,2018). However, all eight languages are not beingtaught and have been deemed ‘endangered’ by
UNESCO (Takubo, 2018). With the advance of thephenomenon of ‘globalization’ in the 1980s, Japan has
nonetheless been eager to bridge the gap between
monolingualism and multilingualism (Nakayama, 2020;
Shoji, 2008). If so, how has the Japanese government
been addressing multilingualism in education? The
following section will look at Japan’s approach to foreign
language education, in particular, of English as a
Foreign Language (EFL).

Multilingualism and Education in JapanThe Japanese government has attempted multiple
reforms in foreign language education over the past 200
years (Lockley et al., 2012). The most recent ones by
the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport, Science andTechnology (MEXT), in 2011 and 2020, introduced
reforms which made English a compulsory subject inprimary schools in order to encourage its youth to be
more multilingual and globally aware (Ng, 2016; Sawa,
2020). However, the reforms have been greatly
criticized as several problems have been identified with
their execution in schools, mainly that the teachers were
not trained to be English teachers, that materials andcurriculum were inadequate, that communication
between the authorities and the schools had beenlacking, and finally, that the subject was not treated asa real subject (Ng, 2016; Tada, 2016). Verily, theweaknesses of MEXT’s approach to foreign language
education are reflected in a) language proficiency andb) global awareness. Japanese learners havereportedly maintained a low level of English proficiency
amongst global rankings since 2016 (EF, 2022), evenafter the implementation of the above-mentioned
reforms. According to the latest English First English
Proficiency Index (EF, 2022), Japan ranks 78th out of
112 surveyed countries, rendering it one of the least
English-proficientamongdeveloped
countries.
Moreover, out of the 24 Asian countries surveyed,
Japan ranked in the middle (13th), followed only by lessdeveloped Asian countries such as Cambodia,
Myanmar, and Afghanistan. To offer a comparison, themost proficient Asian country, Singapore, was ranked
4th /112, and the neighboring South Korea, despiteranking lower than Japan in terms of overall education(World Population Review, 2022), ranked 37th/112 interms of English proficiency (EF, 2022). In respect to
global awareness, a recent survey conducted by the
Cabinet Office (2019) among people of seven different
countries (Japan, South Korea, USA, UK, Germany,
France, and Sweden) between the ages of 13 and 29,
showed that 55.3% of Japanese participants answeredthat Japan is not equipped in cross-cultural
understanding. In the same survey, 42.1% of South
Korean participants, 13.2% less than Japan, said thesame about South Korea, the only other Asian country
surveyed. The survey also showed that only 32.3% ofJapanese participants were willing to study abroad
compared to 65.7% of South Korean participants(Cabinet Office, 2019). Whilst the difference in global
awareness could be related to the difference between
Japan and South Korea’s reported percentages offoreign residents (a.k.a., diversity within the country),
which in 2020 stood at 2.3% for Japan (Statista, 2020)
and 3.4% for South Korea (Statistics Korea, n.d.), there
is no clear evidence to support that. Instead, evidence
found for Japanese’ unwillingness to live abroad
includes both language anxiety and a lack of interest in
foreign matters (Morita, 2014; Kamiya, 2019; Su, 2021).
These results are supported by recent research(Nakayama, 2020) which criticized MEXT’s approaches
to global awareness in compulsory education forfocusing too much on learning about Japanese national
identity, ultimately failing to acknowledge the diversity
present in the country and to create a sense of global
awareness (Tsuneyoshi, 2016, as cited in Nakayama,2020). The low a) confidence and proficiency in aforeign language (in this case, English) and b) selfreported global awareness, compared to South Korea,
for example, suggest that the reforms have so far been
incomplete (Lai, 2017; Cabinet Office, 2019). Whatforeign language education in Japan might benefit fromis the integration of an IC approach.

Intercultural Competence
IC is “the ability to communicate effectively andappropriately in intercultural situations based on one's
intercultural knowledge, skills and attitudes” (Deardorff,
2006, p.247). According to the model by Deardorff(2006), IC attitudes imply attitudes of openness andcuriosity, as well as being accepting of different values
and different beliefs. IC skills are not only language
skills, but also observation skills, listening skills,
evaluating and relating skills. It is human nature to judge
based on first impressions, therefore the ability tosuspend judgment requires skills of observation,
listening and interpreting. That is especially necessary
when in intercultural exchanges, certain first
impressions can lead to stereotyping and discrimination.
Finally, IC knowledge does not entail only culturespecific knowledge, but also self-awareness, being able
to understand own values and beliefs, as well as sociolinguistic awareness, being able to understand theconnection between the language and its sociocultural
implications.

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Multilingualism and InterculturalCompetence
Why should IC and multilingualism be addressed in thesame context? Because in any intercultural exchange,
the linguistic abilities alone are not enough to guarantee
a successful communication and “in the end, therequisite attitudes of openness, curiosity and respectremain foundational to all else.” (Deardorff, 2012, p.12).
If multilingualism is defined as a “competence in morethan one language” (Clyne, 2017, p.301), saidcompetence entails intercultural competence as well as
linguistic competence. In 2013, UNESCO published avisual map (Figure 1), the Intercultural Competences
Tree (UNESCO, 2013b), to depict the necessary
elements of an intercultural relation.
The Intercultural Competence Tree shows that thefoundation of any intercultural relation is given byculture and communication. In other words, cultural
knowledge and awareness (‘identity’, ‘values’, ‘beliefs’
as mentioned in figure 1), openness to dialogue andrespect (‘attitudes’), and communication skills(‘dialogue’ and ‘nonverbal behavior’), all factors
connected to IC’s knowledge, attitudes, and skills, areequally necessary as linguistic skills (‘language’). As amatter of fact, as shown in the top left corner of Figure
1, Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) andMultilingualism are both elements of the InterculturalCompetence Tree, according to which culturalawareness and language skills are both importantelements of a successful intercultural exchange.
Ultimately, this signifies that having become
linguistically proficient in a foreign language might not
make one multilingual if they do not understand thecultural side of the language.

Figure 1
UNESCO Intercultural Competences Tree

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 188

A Guide to Incorporating InterculturalCompetence in the Foreign Language
Classroom
The Deep culture
In order to successfully develop learners’ IC, one mustfirst reflect on the topics to discuss. In the 1970s, Hall,
considered the precursor of IC, created the Iceberg
Model of Culture (Figure 2), a visual depiction of the twodifferent sides of culture, ‘surface culture’ and ‘deep
culture’, each containing elements that can be included
in/as classroom topics.
Just like an iceberg, Hall (1976) claimed that culture hadmuch more beneath the surface. Culture which is visible
is known as surface culture, while the aspects which are
not visible are instead known as deep culture (Byram,1997). In the classroom, most textbooks andcurriculums introduce topics related to surface culture,such as ‘holidays and folklore’, or ‘food culture’. It may
be fun for learners, yet fails to provide a complete viewof culture, since they only touch the ‘surface’. Whileoften forgotten or unknown, deep culture however
tackles aspects of culture that can help learners
increase IC as they encourage discussion and reflectionof cultural values and beliefs. For instance, discussionof ‘beauty ideals’ can lead to deeper reflection andexploration of cultural views on beauty as well as selfreflection on the reasons behind one’s own beauty
ideals. Whilst for many educators for whom thecurriculum and textbooks are decided by the Ministry of
Education or by the school, it might seem challenging,
it is not impossible. Dunnett et al. (1986) indicated that“there are no perfect textbooks which completely andsuccessfully integrate language instruction with culturalcomponents” (p. 160), therefore a better approach is to
use the Iceberg Model of Culture to integrate elementsof the deep culture to topics in the materials available todevelop learners’ IC.

Figure 2
Edward T. Hall’s Cultural Iceberg

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 189

Figure 3
Real sample created and used by the author for integrating elements of deep culture in English communication class curriculum atuniversity level

Figure 3 above is an example of how deep cultureelements (listed as ‘Invisible Culture Topics’) can be
integrated in a predetermined English communication
curriculum. The sample provided is a real example of
how I integrated deep culture elements in the topics I
was given during one semester in the academic year
2017-2018 for a university-level English conversation
course.

Activities for developing Intercultural CompetenceOver the years, numerous activities have been
designed for developing IC. This paper will introduce
three universally-recognized activities: D.I.E., Critical
Incident Technique, and Cultural Role-Plays.
Depending on the classroom context, learners’
language ability, and time available, different activities
might suit different teaching contexts.
D.I.E.
The D.I.E. activity, which stands for ‘describe’, ‘interpret’,and ‘evaluate’, is a popular tool for promotingintercultural learning developed by Bennett and Bennett
in 1975. While recent years has seen the appearanceof other versions such as the D.A.E. (Describe, Analyze,
Evaluate) and the E.A.D. (Evaluate, Analyze, Describe)(Nam & Condon, 2010; Velasco, 2015), the differences
are mainly in the terminology or in the order of the threephases. The aim of the activity is to aid learners tosuspend judgement (IC skills) and increase both selfawareness (IC knowledge) and cultural sensitivity andrespect (IC attitudes). During the activity (Appendix A),
students are given a picture to describe as objectively
as possible, then interpret what they see through theirown cultural perceptions, and finally evaluate based on
their cultural values (Bennett, Bennett, & Stillings, 1977).
The activity is preferably conducted in smaller groups inorder to maximize student voice as a pedagogical tool,and should be followed by a classroom discussion
where follow-up questions can dive deeper into thecultural perspectives that arose. Through the discovery
of different cultural behaviors and perspectives
represented in the pictures, students would begin toquestion their own cultural values.
Critical Incidents
The second activity to be introduced is the Critical
Incident Technique (CIT). Originally used in psychology,
it was later adopted by the IC field (Urquhart et al., 2003).
Hughes (1986), who called it cultural assimilator,
defined it as “a brief description of a critical incident ofcross-cultural interaction that would probably be
misunderstood by the students” (p.167). However, thisdefinition generalizes that all students share all or atleast most of their cultures, which is highly unlikely even

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 190

if they had the same nationality. An alternative definitionis that the CIT is “a narrative activity which begins withrealistic scenarios of intercultural exchange, triggers
pertinent stories from the audience, and ends withlearners’ newly-gained understanding of themselves aswell as of the stories it began with” (Zoni Upton, 2021,
p.306). The aim of the activity is to develop criticalthinking skills (IC skills), cultural awareness as well as
self-awareness (IC knowledge) from sharing narratives.
The activity can be conducted either in written form oras an illustration, depending on the classroom context.
Figures 4 and 5 provide two examples, one for each of
the two possible formats (Zoni Upton, 2021).
In small groups, students are encouraged to discussand offer some interpretations, explanations, and finallysolutions to the incidents they are presented with.

Incidents usually address situations that require
discussion of deep culture elements. For instance, theincident about bilingual families (Figure 3) can prompt
discussion on ‘family values’ and ‘expectations’ (e.g.
‘would you raise your children to be bilingual?’, ‘would
you start a family with someone whose native language
is different from yours?’, ‘Would you use your native
language at home if you and your family moved
abroad?’ ). Through the use of these narratives,
learners can “mediate making sense of the self and life
events” (Noels et al., 2012, p.55). However, it isimportant to note that there is more than one narrative
at work in the CIT. Verily, students’ stories resulting
from discussion are a leading factor in the success of
the activity.

Figure 4
Written Critical Incident

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 191

Figure 5
Illustrated Critical Incident

Cultural role play
The final activity is that of cultural role-plays, which areused worldwide by intercultural educators and trainers.
A role-play is defined as “an experiential training
approach, thus it gives participants the chance toexperiment with or to experience a situation from adifferent viewpoint in assuming the manners, behaviors
and opinions of another person.” (Zottman, 2017, p.14).
While there are various types of cultural role-plays, thispaper will focus on the cocktail party role-play, and thenon-verbal behavior role-play.
The cocktail party role-play (Appendix B) aims not only
to develop learners’ linguistic skills as they interact intheir L2, but also to provide an opportunity to experience
firsthand cultural differences, building up IC knowledge
for a realistic intercultural exchange. Students are given
a card with a new cultural identity which they mustfamiliarize themselves with, and then are asked tointeract with each other under the pretense that theinteractions are taking place at an event or ‘cocktail

party’. After the activity, the class comes together for afollow-up discussion on the experience. This activity ismost appropriate for a group of students who has limited
experience in intercultural communication (HuberKriegler, Lázár & Strange, 2003). Through the role-play
act and the follow-up discussion, learners should begin
to understand the IC implications of culture-specificknowledge
andculturalawarenesswhencommunicating in a foreign language.
Non-verbal role plays deal with non-verbal
communication which is described as “conveying of
emotions, feelings, and messages through actions andexpressions rather than words.” (Hans & Hans, 2015,p.47). Mainly, there are eight nonverbal categories,
known as kinesics (facial and body movements),
paralinguistics (voice), proxemics (spatial distance),
haptics (body contact), olfactics (smells), artifacts andappearance, color, and chronemics (how the time forcommunication is used) (Gamble & Gamble, 2014,
pp.158-175). Non-verbal behavior role-plays arecommonly used in different areas for a variety of
The PanSIG 2021 Journal 192

reasons, from training participants to recognize andimprove communication (Ackerman, 2020), to exposing
the impact that non-verbal communication can have on
our impressions of others (Fleming, 2019). In the caseof IC, the activity has two main scopes: 1) haveparticipants notice cultural differences in nonverbal
behavior and how to respect them, and 2) experience
first-hand how the ambiguity and cultural facets of it can
impact IC. For instance, one could separate participants
into two groups, A and B, based on their perceived
identity as introvert or extrovert and ask what behaviors
they associate with the two identities. After the initial
discussion, they are given instructions on the nonverbal
behaviors they should role-play (Figure 6).
The group who is originally introverted is given
behaviors more typical of extroverts, and vice versa.

After the activity, there would be a group discussion tohear participant’s opinions on how they felt about theeffects of their behavior as well as how they perceived
others’ non-verbal behaviors. It is important to maketime after role-plays for participants to compare
experiences and make sense of their emotions. Roleplays are deemed one of the most effective ways ofdeveloping foreign language skills and practicing IC
since they offer a first-hand experience in the form of asimulation in a safe environment (Di Pardo Léon-Henri& Jain, 2017). However, the teacher must consider thetime needed for preparation, execution and discussion
since most role-plays need to be prepared for inadvance in order for students to have a meaningfulexperience.

Figure 6
Non-verbal behavior role-play instruction cards

Conclusion
With the continuous advance of globalization, Japanfinds itself in an underprivileged position as a still mostly
monolingual society. Whilst the government is hoping toachieve internationalization, one must not forget thatsaid internationalization requires more than justlinguistic skills, but also global awareness, flexibility,
perspective, and intercultural knowledge (Hanvey,1982;
Kirkwood, 2001). In fact, the reported low proficiency,
linguistic confidence, and global awareness of mostJapanese nationals could become a barrier that
separates Japan from the rest of the multilingual world.
One possible way to achieve multilingualism througheducation in Japan is the implementation of an IC
approach to language teaching. This paper is of
relevance to all educators who wish to try an approach

to EFL teaching which considers both linguistic andintercultural elements of learning a foreign language.

References
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Appendix A
D.I.E. Classroom Activity (Teacher’s Guide)In small groups, ask students to look at the picture below, describe, interpret, and evaluate it. (What do you see in the
picture? What do you think it is? How do you feel about it?)Image Source: https://www.plan-norge.no/stoppbryllupet
After students have shared their groups’ interpretations and impressions with the class, proceed to give students followup questions to discuss in their groups:
1. In your opinion, how important is age in a romantic relationship?
2. What are some pros and cons of being in a relationship with someone much older or much younger?
3. In your opinion, what is a good age to get married? Explain.
4. What do you know about child marriage? What do you think about it?
5. In your opinion, why do some cultures practice child marriage?
6. Is arranged marriage common in your culture? Explain.
7. How would you react if you had to marry someone you didn’t choose?

After students have discussed the questions above in their small groups, have a class discussion.

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Appendix B
Cocktail Party Role-play (Teacher’s Guide)
Step 1: Divide students into four groups and give each one of four role-play cards.
Step 2: Explain the role-play: They are now people from different countries, meeting at an international cocktail party.
They must find a partner from a different group and have a casual conversation using the topics in the cards. After 5
minutes, they will change partners and repeat. After X number of conversations, the role-play will be over. Rules: 1)
Conversation partners should never be from the same group. 2) The role-play cards should not be shown to others.
Step 3: Give time for groups to understand the roles on their cards and prepare.
Step 4: Prepare drinks and snacks (optional) and start the role-play.
Step 5: Once the role-play is over, give follow-up questions to discuss in groups, then share in a class discussion.
Role A: Redland People

Role B: Blueland People

When you meet someone, bow to them.

When you meet someone, shake hands.

While you talk, keep a social distance.

Always start the conversation.

Agree with the other person often.

Stand close to the other person and use
many gestures.

Never start the conversation.
Conversation Topics: Work, Life goals

Conversation Topics: Romance, Money.

Role C: Purpleland People

Role D: Orangeland People

When you meet someone, say “May peace
be with you”.

When you meet someone, say “Hello”.

If you are talking to someone of the samegender, hold hands. If they are of the
opposite gender, avoid body touch.
Conversation Topics: Religion, Politics

While you talk, shake your head sideways
and smile.
Speak fast with a loud voice.
Conversation topics: Family, Culture(The non-verbal behaviors and topics for each role are not representative of any specific culture, but rather a mix of realcultural traits which might or might not be unfamiliar to participants)
Follow- Up Discussion Questions:

How did you feel playing that role?

How did you feel about the people you spoke to?

Have you ever experienced a situation like this in real life? If so, how did you behave?

What were some good points and bad points of this activity?

What would you differently next time?

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Things I Wish I Had Known about Culture When I Started Teaching
Stephen M. Ryan
Sanyo Gakuen University

Having more than one set of expectations about teaching and learning in play in the same classroom is a salient feature of EFL teaching,especially for those of us working outside the environment in which we ourselves were taught. In this largely autobiographical account, theauthor outlines the evolution of his understanding of and approach to this issue. Beginning with an attitude that “a student is a student and aclassroom a classroom,” he charts his growing awareness that culture plays a role in expectations about what will happen in and around theclassroom, his pursuit of ever deeper insights into his students’ culture, and his subsequent realization that thinking of his students as productsof their own culture had become the single greatest impediment to learning and teaching in his classroom.

EFL

In this autobiographical account, I sketch the evolutionof my thinking about the role of culture in foreign
language pedagogy. By this, I do not mean what or how
to teach about culture, but rather to what extent and how
a teacher should take into account the culture of thestudents in the foreign language class when deciding
how best to help them to learn. This issue is particularly
salient for teachers who, like myself, teach in a culturalcontext which is substantially different from the one inwhich they grew up. The issue is, however, of relevanceto all teachers as we are all different in some ways fromthe students we teach. These differences may be socioeconomic, generational, gender-related, age-related, orjust the fact that we did well in school and some of ourstudents do not. Whatever their origin, these differences
most often manifest themselves in different
assumptions about what should and can happen in andaround a foreign language classroom: what seems
normal and acceptable to some will be outrageously
unacceptable to others.

European contexts in which I had grown up. I expecteddifferences in the physical environment, in people’ssocial attitudes, in the ways people chose to spend theirtime, and in the way people communicated with eachother. I was ready for a big adventure.
I did not expect there to be marked differences in theprocess of teaching and learning that was at the heartof my new job. After all, good teaching is good teaching
and the mechanisms of learning are, surely, shared by
all neurotypical humans, regardless of nationality or
local environment.

Fresh off the Boat

Indeed, this was the precept on which my generictraining as a teacher of English as a Foreign Language
was based. The training was not targeted to any
particular context, since there is, I had been taught, away to teach foreign languages, based on theory,
experience, and research, that will work, with minor
adaptations, in all contexts. Materials designed for use
with this approach to teaching were distributed
worldwide by international publishing companies,
further reinforcing the idea that, although it would benaïve to believe that “one size fits all,” with a few minor
adjustments (no pet dogs in textbooks for Saudi Arabia,
they told me) the materials could certainly be made to
fit the context.

I arrived in Japan to take up a teaching position on
September 1, 1984, looking for a cultural experience. I
expected life here to be very different from the

And when it came to being a student, I knew how to dothat. I had been very good at it. In fact, that is how I got
the teaching job—by being a good student. Paying

The account is a personal one but the lessons from it
will, I hope, be of relevance to all.

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attention in class, volunteering to answer the teacher’squestions, studying diligently out of class, thinking
independently, developing my own ideas andsupporting arguments. These were the elements that
not only ensured academic success but also the esteemof teachers and classmates. I knew how the game was

The Rubber Meets the Road
Utter shock. That was my reaction when I first set footin a Japanese classroom. It was so unlike theclassrooms I had previously experienced as a student(in the US and the UK) or as a teacher (in France andthe UK). Things outside the school had been different
enough but this was a whole new level of difference.
The students sat in serried ranks (this was high school).
They were silent. They did not interact with each other.
They never volunteered. They barely responded when I
called on them by name. They were uniform: not just theclothes they wore, but their hair styles, hair colour, wayof sitting. They seemed hesitant and meek.
In fact, the differences I have listed above were among
the easiest to get used to. After a few weeks, they cameto seem almost normal to me. There were, though, otherthings going on that I barely sensed at first: assumptions
about education, about language learning, about theroles of students and teachers, and the relations
between students. In answer to questions about myfamily, I told them I had a brother who was so intelligent
that he did not really need to study at all; and I saw that
this did not compute. I watched a few lessons taught byJapanese colleagues and was amazed that they werevirtually unrecognizable as lessons; they seemed tofocus almost exclusively on the transmission ofknowledge rather than its discovery, examination, or
application.
“What is wrong here?” I wanted to ask, but I was too
well-brought up to articulate it in those terms. “What isdifferent about these people” I re-phrased. Put that way,
the answer was clear: they were Japanese and I wasnot. They were products of social and educational
forces in Japan that were very different from the ones
with which I had grown up.

Diving for CoverAs the product of a Western education system, I knew
what to do now: read. Read as much as I could about
what it meant to be Japanese. Immerse myself in books
about the culture, especially the educational culture, ofJapan in order to better understand my students.
I started with a classic: Ruth Benedict’s
Chrysanthemum and the Sword (1946). One of the mostrespected anthropologists ever laid out for me thefoundations of Japanese society. I was a little
disconcerted to find she had never been to Japan, but

as I read I started to organize my experiences in theclassroom around some of the concepts she expounded.
A little closer to my actual context was Rohlen’s Japan’sHigh Schools (1983). Based on anthropologicalresearch in five very different high schools around
Japan, Rohlen’s study provided me with some factual
information and a wealth of observations that fleshedout some of the things I was beginning to understandabout Japanese education. There were other works, too,
about junior high schools (Singleton, 1982) andkindergartens (Tobin, Wu, & Davidson, 1989) that
helped.
For a broader perspective, I turned to Hofstede’s
seminal (1984) Culture’s Consequences. Hofstede
explained it all for me, in numbers and graphs. I could
see differences in cultural patterns from 53 countries
and regions. I could locate Japan and other countries
on dimensions called “Uncertainty Avoidance,” or“Power Distance.” I was right: Japan was very different
from other places I had known, in ways I had not evenbegun to imagine, and Hofstede made them visible tome thanks to the wonders of big data.

Back to the Classroom
These attempts to understand my students as productsof Japanese culture were rather comforting. Others had
puzzled over these issues and drawn conclusions they
could support with observations and statistics. I felt
validated.
I did not, though, find the things I was reading
particularly useful. It was interesting to know thatarigato—the word my students used for “thank you”
actually meant “oh this heavy burden you are placing onme” (Benedict, 1946), or that Japanese people far
outranked most European people in terms ofUncertainty Avoidance (Hofstede, 1984) but neither ofthese pieces of information were particularly usefulwhen I was faced with a student who could not decide
what her favourite colour was when asked in a language
lesson.
So, I decided to do some research of my own into thebeliefs and expectations of my Japanese students.
Using a methodology largely copied from Barnlund(1989), I asked my students (I was teaching at auniversity by this time) simple questions, such as “Whatis a good teacher?” or “What is good student behaviour?”and compared their answers with those to a similar
question a colleague asked her students in Australia.
The results (Ryan et al., 1996; Ryan & Durham,
1993,1997) were interesting and a little moreenlightening than my reading so far, but we did hit a
number of methodological problems.
Our main problem concerned whom to include in our
sample of students in each country. Since country was
our unit of analysis (as a proxy for culture), we wanted
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to be sure that the students whose responses weincluded were indeed of the country in which the data
was collected. So, we first eliminated responses frominternational students; then, those who had studied
abroad for a significant period of time (but how long was“significant”?); finally, we removed the responses ofstudents who had been overseas for part of their lives(but how long would a “part of their lives” need to be inorder to disqualify them?). In doing this, we were
following the example of Barnlund (1989) and several
other reputable scholars of the time, but themethodology, with its search for “national essences” didraise some disturbing questions: Just what would it takefor somebody to be included in a representative sampleof “Japanese (or Australian) students”? Was there evensuch a thing as a national essence?
Most troubling of all: the samples we ended up with did
not reflect the backgrounds of any real class of students
likely to be found in either Japan or Australia. I wasstarting to doubt the usefulness not only of own
research but also that of the scholars whose works on“Japanese culture” or indeed any culture that I had so
eagerly devoured.

Reality Strikes
These were not the only issues that worried me in mysearch to understand my Japanese students better. By
this point, I was fairly well read in the relevant publishedliterature and had gathered a fair amount ofquestionnaire data. I was learning to adapt my teachingstyle to what Japanese students seemed to need. Yet,the results were decidedly mixed. One, memorable,class presented me with a bouquet of best-teacher-everflowers. Another was so incensed by my way ofteaching that a male student punched me in the face.
A significant, if rather personal, conversation happened
around that time. A person I was rather close to, in the
midst of a heated exchange of views, said, “I wish I
knew how much of this was you, and how much otherpeople from your country think like you, too.” I suddenly
realized it did not matter. It did not matter whether or not
my thought processes, attitudes, and expectations wereshared with others from my country or were my own
idiosyncratic ways. It did not matter because the person
she was arguing with was me—a unique amalgam ofmany influences, both cultural and personal.
Was not that, though, just what each of my students
was—a unique amalgam? There was Ms. A, whonarrowly failed to get into a better university than ours
and was still resentful, especially when she noticed that
her English was better than most of her classmates.
Rather highly strung to start with, she needed to betreated carefully in order not to insult her high opinion ofherself. There was Mr. B, shy and thoughtful. He nevershone in Conversation class, as he was reluctant tospeak in front of classmates, but when I had him in
Writing class, I realized that his still waters ran very
deep indeed: he was absorbing ideas from all around,reading deeply and broadly, pondering on life and its
meanings, and enjoying his own thought processes.
There was Ms. C, with a very low tolerance of ambiguity,and a sweet nature that she never really shared withany of her classmates. She would do anything I askedof her in class, as long as I was totally explicit about
what she was to do. She had no conception of irony andno friends, because she found the social worldconfusing, preferring to focus on the morestraightforward teacher-student relationship. And there
was Ms. D, from an affluent background, ready to sign
up for any Study Abroad programme we offered;outgoing and vivacious, except when she was not,which was about one day in three. All of them, A throughD, were Japanese students.

Conclusions
In this way, I came to realise that trying to understandmy students’ “culture” had actually been stopping mefrom understanding my students. They were all unique
individuals, and no amount of nuanced understandingof cultural patterns would be an adequate substitute forgetting to know each of them as people. Viewing themas “Japanese” students had been a huge mistake; thecultural lens had stopped me from seeing what shouldhave been obvious: we each have our own motivation,
preferred ways of studying, and individual interests.
Knowing my students better, rather than learning about
their “culture,” was the key to finding more effective
ways of teaching them.
Why am I sharing these reflections? Well, clearly there
is an element of “advice to the young” about them. If
reading this piece will help other teachers to remove
their “cultural” lenses and see their students as unique
individuals, I will be content.
There is, however, more to it than that. I see my own
students making the same mistake I did. Quite often, I
accompany them on study trips to other countries,
where they are dazzled by differences in material
possessions, behaviour, and ways of thinking. Each ofthese encounters with different lifestyles has thepotential to spark the kind of deep reflection that leads
to a greater understanding of the world and its diversity.
Time and again, though, I hear the students dismiss theopportunity to learn from their experiences of differencewith the simple but powerful words: “It’s cultural.” They
seem to think these words explain everything, when infact they explain nothing.
I was not wrong as a young man to think that the world
was full of adventures for me to learn from. I was wrong,

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however, to think of unique individual experiences as“cultural” and move on. In doing so, I deprived myself ofopportunities to learn and to grow, both as a teacher
and as a person.
Calling something “cultural” is too often considered tobe the end of an analysis, when really it should be thebeginning. All too often it is an impediment to further
exploration.
So, the next time you find yourself, or one of yourstudents, thinking of an experience as “cultural,” do not
let that distract you (or them) from the precious chance
to explore and learn about the individuals in theinteraction.

Hofstede, G. (1984). Culture’s consequences:
Intercultural differences in work-related values.
Sage Publications.
Ryan, S. M., Durham, M., & Leonard, R. (1996).
Behaviour in universities: A cross-cultural studyof students’ expectations. SpeechCommunication Education, (9), 99-128.
Ryan, S. M, & Durham, M. (1993). What kind ofteacher do students want? A cross-culturalcomparison. Speech Communication Education,

References
Barnlund, D. C. (1989). Public and private self in(5), 70-99.
Ryan, S. M, & Durham, M. (1997). What is a goodJapan and the United States: Communicative

student? A cross-cultural comparison. Memoirs

styles of two cultures. Simul Press.

of the Osaka Institute of Technology, Series B,
42(1), 1-30.

Benedict, R. (1946). The chrysanthemum and thesword: Patterns of Japanese culture. HoughtonMifflin.

Singleton, J. C. (1982). Nichu, a Japanese school.
Irvington Publishers.
Tobin, J. J., Wu, D. Y. H., & Davidson, D. H. (1989)
Preschool in three cultures: Japan, China, andthe United States. Yale University Press

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Understanding JTE Attitudes to Lifelong Learning
Yuko Matsubara
Kumamoto University

Lifelong learning is a field that has been attracting attention in Japan's aging society. However, few studies have treated teachers themselves
as lifelong learners. Considering that the national curricula are constantly being revised and teachers must inevitably adapt and grow,teachers' attitude toward lifelong learning should be better understood. This paper presents the results of semi-structured interviews
conducted with Japanese teachers of English and teachers of other subjects about their attitudes toward lifelong learning. For theseinterviews, the Jefferson Scale of Physician Lifelong Learning (Hojat et al., 2010) was adapted to the educational domain and translated into
Japanese. The interview focused on qualitatively exploring participants' responses to these items. The results showed that the path tobecoming a teacher was different for English teachers than for teachers of other subjects, and that this was potentially explanatory for someof their attitudes to lifelong learning.

生涯学習は、高齢化社会を迎えた日本で注目されている分野である。しかし、教師自身を生涯学習者として扱った研究はほとんどない。学習指導要領が常に改訂され、教師も必然的に適応・成長しなければならないことを考えると、教師の生涯学習に対する姿勢はもっと理解されてもよいのではないだろうか。本稿では、日本人の英語教師と他教科の教師を対象に、生涯学習に対する態度について半構造化インタビューを行った結果を紹介する。このインタビュー
では、the Jefferson Scale of Physician Lifelong Learning (Hojat et al., 2010)を教育領域に合わせて日本語に翻訳した。
インタビューでは、これらの項目に対する参加者の回答を質的に探ることに重点を置いた。その結果、英語教師の場
合、教師になるまでの道のりが他教科の教師とは異なっており、そのことが生涯学習に対する姿勢の一部を説明できる可能性があることがわかった。

Because the national curriculum is revised
approximately every ten years, teachers have to change
their teaching methods and acquire new knowledge andskills to accommodate these changes. Some legislationeven refers to teachers continually striving for andcultivating self-development in order to carry out their
responsibilities, and even refers to the spirit of learning
is as a requirement for teachers (Special Act for
Education Personnel, 1949; Ministry of Education,
Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, 2006). In
particular, with the dramatic changes currently taking
place in English education, there are high expectations
for English teachers. The Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology requires all English
teachers to have a score equivalent to or higher thanthe CEFR B2 level. However, in 2019, the percentageof teachers with that score was only 36.2% in junior highschools and 68.2% in high schools although training had
been implemented for all English teachers from 2014
through 2018 (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology, 2006, 2019). This would
suggest that English teachers face additional pressure
when compared to other subject teachers.

Motivation of English Teachers
Against this institutional and policy background,research on the motivation of English teachers hasreceived much attention in recent years. Yukimori(2015) identified six factors relating to teachers'
motivation for pursuing English teaching: normativeorientation, cultural interest, communicative interest andsuccessful experiences, linguistic interest, pragmaticorientation, and knowledge orientation. Han and Yin(2016) observed that early research on teacher
motivation was mostly related to why teachers chosethe teaching profession (i.e. the path to becoming ateacher), and more recently, it has also started to focus
on in-service teachers’ desire to stay in the profession(i.e. persistence). Praver and Oga-Baldwin (2008) had
earlier argued that at the center of the language
teaching profession is the wish of the teacher to transfer
linguistic as well as cultural knowledge with the aim ofassisting learners to communicate and that the teacher
is drawn to teaching for the intrinsic pleasure ofwatching this process unfold successfully. However,they also went on to argue that external factors such as
job security, stress, workload, and disagreements aboutteaching methods were found to undermine teacher
motivation. This is important, because as Suemori(2019) has more recently elaborated in interviews and
The PanSIG 2021 Journal 203

classroom observations with two JTEs, teacher
motivation not only affects learners' motivation, but isalso important in terms of the teaching style andprofessional growth of teachers. Earlier than Suemori,
Kurazumi and Saito (2013) had reflected on theirexperiences as junior high school teachers anddescribed how national policies and curriculum
guidelines on English education influenced their ideas
about teaching and work, and the later findings of
Suemori (2019) tend to corroborate this.

Purpose of Study
Looking at how Japanese teachers of English (JTEs)
handle pressure and how they deal with changes suchas those associated with the new national curriculum isimportant. In the context of how JTEs approach thischange and pressure, lifelong learning and attitudes
toward lifelong learning are important backgrounds forteacher development as are their motives for becoming
a teacher and persisting at being a teacher. As theresults of tests of English proficiency levels show,
existing training is insufficient, and leaves JTEs toaccomplish what is expected of them through their own
individual learning. In other words, it is necessary forthem to motivate themselves to engage in their own
lifelong education, and there is a nexus of theoreticalassociation between motivation, professional pressure
and attitudes to lifelong learning at the center of how
English teachers experience institutional change.
Therefore, the purpose of this study was to qualitatively
explore differences between JTEs and teachers of othersubjects (TOSs) regarding their attitudes toward lifelong
learning, and within the context of motivation for beinga teacher. The path to becoming a teacher in the firstplace was also considered to be potentially important for
explaining attitudes to lifelong learning. The study was
conducted on a qualitative and exploratory basis inorder to be indicative of future lines of research.

Methods
In this study, an adaptation of the Jefferson Scale ofPhysician Lifelong Learning (Hojat et al., 2010) wasused. Originally that instrument (Appendix A) was
designed to measure physician’s attitudes to life-longlearning. I chose to adapt it to education for two
reasons. First, it presented in the literature with goodand well-documented psychometric properties obtained
from a large group of participants (N = 3,195). Second,
the items themselves were highly adaptable from theclinical domain to the educational domain, and werealso easily translated for use with Japanese people as
they were simple and straightforward. The instrument
comprises three factors: learning beliefs and motivation,
attention to learning opportunity, and technical skills in
information seeking.

The new version, involving alterations to professionalreference, is designated in this study as the Jefferson
Scale of Lifelong Learning for Educators (Japaneseversion; Appendix B) or JSLLE-J. The domain
adaptation involved alterations to professionalreference and other changes to make the instrument
appropriate for the educational context. The translation
followed accepted protocols of forward and backward
translation.
Although the instrument was prepared for future
quantitative studies, the study reported in this paper
used extreme responses (Strongly Agree or Strongly
Disagree) on items in the instrument as the starting
point for qualitative interviews. While quantitative
research allows us to generalize by focusing on central
tendency, qualitative research explores the reasons forcertain processes. In qualitative research, extreme
scores are potentially informative starting points forinterview discussions because they are more likely toreflect issues about which respondents have strong
convictions, and are therefore more likely to reveal
motives for human action and agency, provided ofcourse the interviewer can move the interviewee toproviding rich explanation of the strong feelings which
prompted the extreme score.
There were eight participants in the study, who were allteaching in junior high schools in Fukuoka City. Fourwere TOSs (who were called TOS A, TOS B, TOS C,
and TOS D) including one female and three males,
between 30 and 50 years of age, and having between 9
and 31 years of teaching experience. Four were JTEs
(who were called JTE E, JTE F, JTE G, and JTE H)
including two females and two males, between 30 and
50 years of age, and having between 15 and 33 yearsof teaching experience.
Interviews of 35-50 minutes were conducted over a twoweek period in late January of 2021. Fourteen questions
were initially addressed in the interview including aboutage, teaching experience, routes to becoming ateacher, lifelong learning attitude, and about the reason
for responding with extreme scores for particular itemson the instrument which had been completed prior to theinterview. Especially, the question about the route to
becoming a teacher was engaged with as it was seen
as possibly distinguishing of the two groups andpossible explanatory in understanding attitudes toward
lifelong learning.

Results
Table 1 shows the frequencies of extreme responses foreach item comprising the JSLLE-J, presented by TOSs
and JTEs. JTEs and TOSs produced three instances
and two instances, respectively, of extreme responses
on the “Strongly Disagree” end of the scale. On theother hand, JTEs and TOSs produced 15 and 17

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 204

instances, respectively, of extreme responses on the“Strongly Agree” end of the scale.
The general approach taken in advance was to look forplausible disparities between the two groups. For the“Strongly Disagree” category, two JTEs E and H
responded that they did not read professionalmagazines at all while no TOSs responded this way,
and in fact one TOS responded strongly on the
opposite end of the scale. This was a notabledifference between the JTEs and the TOSs. For Item
10, only TOS B answered “Strongly Disagree.”

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 205

Table 1
Frequencies of Extreme Scores on the JSLLE-J
Frequencies of Extreme Scores
Factor

Items

JTEs

TOSs

JTEs

TOSs

Low

Low

High

High

L

1. Searching for the answer to a question is, in and by itself rewarding.

00

2 (EH)

2(BD)L

2. Life-long learning is a professional responsibility of all teachers.

0

0

0

2(CD)

L

3. I enjoy reading articles in which issues of my professional interest are discussed.

0

0

1(H)

2(BC)

A

4. I routinely attend meetings of professional educational organizations.

0

0

1(H)

0

L

5. I read professional magazines at least once every week.

2(EH)

0

0

1(B)

T

6. I routinely search the Internet to find out about new developments in my specialty.

0

0

0

1(B)

L

7. I believe that I would fall behind if I stopped learning about new developments in my profession.

0

0

2(EF)

1(C)

L

8. One of the important goals of teacher training school at university is to develop students’ life-long learning
skills.

0

0

1(H)

1(A)

L

9. Rapid changes in the field of education require constant updating of knowledge and development of new
professional skills.

003(EFH)

4(ABCD)L

10. I always make time for self-directed learning, even when I have a busy teaching schedule and otherprofessional and family obligations.

0

1(B)

1(H)

0

L

11. I recognize my need to constantly acquire new professional knowledge.

0

0

1(F)

2(CD)

A

12. I routinely attend continuing in-service training programs to improve student education.

1(G)

1(B)

1(H)

0

A

13. I take every opportunity to gain new knowledge/skills that are important to my profession.

0

0

0

1(C)

T

14. My preferred approach in finding an answer to a question is to search the appropriate websites on theInternet.

0

0

2(EH)

0

3

2

15

17

Total Numbers of Extreme Scores

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 206

Note. In the first column of Table 1, three factors arepresented: L for Learning Beliefs and Motivation, A for
Attention to Learning Opportunity, and T for Technical
Skills in Information Seeking. The letters in subscript ineach column identify the particular interviewee. A
through D are TOSs, and E through H are JTEs. The
original instrument in English and the Japanesetranslation of the above domain-adapted instrument arein the appendices for reference.
With regard to the extreme response of “Strongly Agree,”
TOSs C and D responded to Item 2 in this way, while no
JTEs did so, indicating a potential for difference acrossthe two groups here. For Item 3 a potential difference wasobserved with more TOSs endorsing this item while for
Item 4, only JTE H strongly endorsed this item. For Items
5 and 6, TOS B endorsed these items strongly. For Items
10 and 12, JTE H responded with strong endorsement,
and for Item 13, TOS C did so. Furthermore, in Item 14,even though there were no extreme responses from
TOSs, JTEs E and H responded with strong
endorsement, indicating a difference between JTEs and
TOSs on this issue.

Discussion
The discussion first considers interview data on the routes
by which JETs and TOSs became teachers followed by abrief discussion of attitudes to lifelong learning. Finally,
interviewee discussion of extreme scores is covered.

Routes to Becoming a Teacher
All of the TOSs reported that they had wanted to be ateacher since their school days. Some of them were
influenced by teachers they had met: TOS A said, “I
wanted to be a teacher like my basketball coach, so I
became a physical education teacher” and TOS B said, “I
have wanted to be a teacher since I was in elementary
school.”With respect to the JTEs, on the other hand, and otherthan for JTE H, they did not plan on becoming teachers
from early school days. They chose to work as teachers
after having experienced other jobs. They were moreinterested in English itself than in teaching it, at least
initially. JTE F said, “I worked as an office clerk for three
years after I graduated from college. I wanted to study in
the United States.” While the disparity between JTEs and
TOSs does not benefit from a sufficient sample to permit
generalization, it is interesting nonetheless as a starting
point for further inquiry, and as a basis for analysis ofextreme responses covered below. At least intuitively, italso suggests that there may be something qualitatively
different between the path to becoming a JTE and thepath to becoming a TOS, and this could be a direction for
future research.

Attitudes Towards Lifelong Learning
Regarding lifelong learning, the interview data supported
the position that both the TOSs and JTEs thought it was
important to keep learning as a teacher. TOSs understoodthat society is changing and teachers need to adapt tothese changes. JTEs also understood the need forlifelong learning. JTE H mentioned, “When I was auniversity student, I learned that research and growth
were my duties, didn't I? I still remember that.” This
response is in line with the general sentiments expressedin the data.

Professional Magazines (Strongly Disagree)
For Item 5, “I read professional magazines at least once
every week,” two JTEs E and H answered “Strongly
Disagree.” JTE E is a female in her 50s with 33 years ofteaching experience, and JTE H is a male in his 30s with
15 years of teaching experience. Interview data
corroborated these responses. JTE E said, “I haven't readany. I'm not interested in reading them right now. I'm notreally interested in English education.” JTE H said, “I don't
read any professional journals. I only readnewspapers. ...I haven't been in the habit of regularly
reading professional journals, like magazines. Even when
I was a student, I never bought any.” JTE E teaches
English, however she was recently reassigned tosupporting students with learning problems, and seemed
to have become defocused from teaching English. JTE H
is a front-line teacher, but has not had the habit ofacquiring expertise through print media since his school
days.

Making Time for Self-Directed Learning (Strongly
Disagree)
Regarding Item 10, “I always make time for self-directed
learning, even when I have a busy teaching schedule andother professional and family obligations,” one of the
TOSs, TOS B, gave an extreme response. TOS B holds
a significant administrative position and has 31 years ofteaching experience, and his subject is science. He said,“When I am busy, I don't do it. I like to...read, though. I
don't think of it as a separate study. A hobby.” What is
important here, therefore, is that care be taken not tomake an inference about this being related to the TOS
versus JTE distinction when it could just as easily be
related to the burden of administrative responsibility. The
difference observed with respect to Item 5 in theparagraph above is more likely to be based on the TOS
versus JTE distinction and indicates greater potential for
future research.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 207

In Service-Training (Strongly Disagree)
The care needed to not confuse administrative
responsibility with field specialization when reaching for
inferences with respect to extreme responses isemphasized when considering Item 12: “I routinely attend
continuing in-service training programs to improvestudent education care.” JTE G and TOS B both strongly
disagreed with the item. JTE G is a male teacher in his
50s who has been teaching for 33 years. He stated, “Noneed. Not to improve the education of the students, but inmy case, to improve the quality of the teachers.” TOS B
elaborated as follows, “I don't. ... I don't have any trouble
with skills in communicating with children.” Both teachers
were in managing positions and confident in their own
expertise, and this is probably more explanatory of theirposition than the respective specializations they comefrom. Furthermore, both teachers were interested inmanaging teachers as administrators.

Professional Responsibility (Strongly Agree)
As for Item 2, “Life-long learning is a professional
responsibility of all teachers,” TOSs C and D, responded“Strongly Agree,” but none of the JTEs did. TOS C was amale teacher in his 40s who had been teaching for 20
years as a home economics teacher. He said, “I have tokeep learning. … Mr. Y... taught me a lot.” It is arguablethat being influenced by other fellow teachers and having
a keen awareness of his own responsibilities as a teacher
led him to lifelong learning. TOS D is a social studies
teacher in his 30s who had been teaching for 9 years. He
said, “There were not many adults who would listen to me,
and I feel that this has become a counter-teacher for me.”He also mentioned his fellow teachers, suggesting that he
was influenced a lot by the people around him: “He was ateacher who was able to convey the meaning of things to
the kids. ...I saw how he did it, and I thought, 'Wow, that's
really cool...' I really want to do something like that when
I have a class or something.” As mentioned in the section
above on the route to becoming a teacher, JTEs may beless likely to have an ideal image of a teacher because
they were not influenced to become teachers in theirschool days.

Professional Magazines (Strongly Agree)
Turning to Item 5, “I read professional magazines at least
once every week,” there was not much difference
between the TOS and JTE group with only TOS B
endorsing the item with “Strongly Agree.” Nonetheless, it
is important to note that two JTEs appeared on the“Strongly Disagree” side of the scale (discussed in thesection above), and this confirms an overall picture of
TOSs being more open to engagement with professional
literature as part of lifelong learning. TOS B, for example,

said, “The Web. National Geographic. I try to have it comeautomatically. I try to have new information ping in.” Item
6 was also strongly endorsed by TOS B, and in the follow
up interview data he said “I routinely search the Internet
to find out about new developments in my specialty,” and“I look at it for some reason. I look at science, sciencerelated things. …I'm looking at it from a wide range ofperspectives.” This indicates that his teaching identity is
at least partly associated with keeping up with the rapidly
evolving field of science.

Time for Self-Directed Learning and In-Service
Training (Strongly Agree)
A plausible direction for future inquiry may be that JTEs
perceive English, because it is a language, as static. Ifthey have developed sufficient command of this nonmoving target then the goal has been reached and does
not require further pursuit. This inference, however, needs
to be treated cautiously and as more of an exploratory
inference for future inquiry because the data contains
contradiction to it to some extent. Item 10, for example, “I
always make time for self-directed learning, even when I
have a busy teaching schedule and other professionaland family obligations” and Item 12 “I routinely attend
continuing in-service training programs to improvestudent education care,” were both endorsed by JTE H.
He said, “I don't feel like I'm studying, but I feel like I'mdoing it. It's like when I study science on YouTube. It's
become a hobby” and “If I can count Workshop A, I do.”For him, English is not a job, but a hobby. So, while thisteacher did not endorse direct engagement withprofessional literature, other forms of in-service
engagement related to professional development wereendorsed strongly.

Preferred Approach (Strongly Agree)
Item 14 “My preferred approach in finding an answer to aquestion is to search the appropriate websites on theInternet” was also interesting and continues the caution to
be careful with inferences. This item was strongly
endorsed by JTEs E and H. JTE E said, “The Internet,
because it is convenient. You type in a keyword and bam,it comes up.” JTE H responded, “I think the fastest way isprobably the best. …There's a Wikipedia ofpronunciation.” What this possibly suggests is that for
JTEs, the Internet is more of a reference source fordiscovering the meanings and pronunciations of words
and phrases, and this may supplant the engagement thatTOSs have with other sources such as specialized
journals and literature.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 208

Conclusion
The current study was not a quantitative study, whichtends to seek generalizations based on central
tendencies, but a qualitative study, finding the clearest
starting point for qualitative exploration in the more
extreme, or outlier, responses produced by teachers on
the JSLLE-J. With regard to the purpose of study, themost important underlying source of potential explanation
for results was differences in the route to becoming ateacher where TOSs seemed to have had a long-standing
desire to be a teacher. JTEs, on the other hand, weremore likely to have had a long-standing interest in English
as a language, and this interest turned over to career
expression by becoming a teacher at a later point.
Both TOSs and JTEs believed that lifelong learning wasimportant when asked about this in the general sense, butthere may be differences in how the two respective
groups of teachers perceive this. For example, TOSs
such as science teachers might feel the need toconstantly update their knowledge of science which they
see as a moving target because new findings aredefinitive of progress in the field. However, English
teachers may perceive their role differently, being moreinterested in competence in the language, and therefore
have more reference-based engagement with informationon the Internet in the search for linguistic information. Thisimplies that teacher development for JTEs may have to
be done in a different way from other teachers, because
they might be more motivated by language knowledge
itself rather than teaching, although this should not imply
that lack of interest in teaching itself by JTEs should be
indulged. Pedagogy is just as important as knowledge ofthe language itself.
Finally, the kind of qualitative research reported in thisstudy is exploratory by nature and not generalizable, anddifferences in levels of participation in administrativeroles, and associated seniority, are an equally importantsource of possible explanation for attitudes to lifelong
learning. The study suggests that there is room forongoing research into what distinguishes JTEs from
TOSs, and how this impacts their attitudes and course forlifelong learning.

References
Han, J., & Yin, H. (2016). Teacher motivation: Definition,
research development and implications forteachers. Cogent Education, 3. Retrieved fromhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2016.1217819

Hojat, M., Veloski. J. J., & Gonnella, J. S. (2010).
Physician lifelong learning: Conceptualization,measurement, and correlates in full-time clinicians
and academic clinicians. In M. P. Caltone (Ed.),
Handbook of lifelong learning development(pp.37-78). New York: Nova Science Publishers,
Inc.
Kurazumi, O., & Saito, R. (2013). Nihon no chugakko
eigo kyoiku no yukue: Chugakko kyoin no naisei
repoto wo tsujite [The future of English educationin Japanese junior high schools: A report on juniorhigh school teachers' reflections]. Shirayuri Joshi
Daigaku Kenkyukiyo, 49, 77-99.
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science andTechnology. (2006). Kongo no kyouin yousei•menkyo seido no arikata nit suite (Toshin) [Draft
Report on the Future of the Teacher Training and
Licensure System]. Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology of Japan.
Retrieved fromhttps://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/chukyo/chu
kyo3/siryo/attach/1346376.htm
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science andTechnology. (2019). Heisei 30 nendo “eigo kyoiku
jissi jokyo chosa” no kekka ni tsuite [Results of the
English education implementation survey in thefiscal year of Heisei 30]. Ministry of Education,
Culture, Sports, Science and Technology ofJapan. Retrieved fromhttp://www.mext.go.jp/component/a_menu/educati
on/detail/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2019/04/17/1415043_01_1.pdf
Praver, M. & Oga-Baldwin, W. (2008). What motivates
language teachers: Investing work satisfaction
and second language pedagogy. Polyglossia, 14,
1-8.

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The PanSIG 2021 Journal 209

Suemori, S. (2019). Teacher motivation and practice inthe language learning classroom. In P. Clements,
A. Krause, & P. Bennett (Eds.), Diversity andInclusion. Tokyo: JALT.
Special Act for Education Personnel, 21. §4 (1949).
https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/kenshu/01
2.htm
Yukimori, M. (2015). Nihonjin eigo kyoshi no eigokan –“Kokusaigo toshiteno eigo” wo chushin toshite –[Japanese English teachers' views on English:
Focusing on “English as an international
language]”. Eiken Bulletin, 27, 175-183.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 210

Appendix A
Jefferson Scale of Physician Lifelong Learning
FactorsL

Items
1. Searching for the answer to a question is, in and by itself rewarding.

L

2. Life-long learning is a professional responsibility of all physicians.

L

3. I enjoy reading articles in which issues of my professional interest are discussed.

A

4. I routinely attend meetings of professional medical organizations.

L

5. I read professional magazines at least once every week.

T

6. I routinely search computer databases to find out about new developments in my specialty.

L

7. I believe that I would fall behind if I stopped learning about new developments in my profession.

L

8. One of the important goals of medical school is to develop students’ life-long learning skills.

L

9. Rapid changes in medical science require constant updating of knowledge and development of
new professional skills.

L

10. I always make time for self-directed learning, even when I have a busy practice schedule andother professional and family obligations.

L

11. I recognize my need to constantly acquire new professional knowledge.

A

12. I routinely attend continuing medical education programs to improve patient care.

A

13. I take every opportunity to gain new knowledge/skills that are important to my profession.

T

14. My preferred approach in finding an answer to a question is to search the appropriate computer
databases.

Appendix A. Jefferson Scale of Physician Lifelong Learning (Hojat et al., 2010)

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 211

Appendix B

教師の生涯学習の尺度
以下の各項目について、あなたがどの程度同意するか、該当する番
号に○をつけてください。

全

そ

ど

そ

非

く

う

ち

う

常

そ

思

ら

思

に

う

わ

で

う

そ

思

な

も

。

う

わ

い

な

思

な

。

い

う

。

。

い
。
1.

ある疑問について答えを追求するということは、それ自体やりがいがあ
る。

1

2

3

4

5

2.

生涯学習はすべての教師にとってプロとしての責任である。

1

2

3

4

5

3.

自分の専門分野の問題を取り上げている文献を読むのを楽しんでいる。

1

2

3

4

5

4.

専門的な教育機関の集まりに定期的に参加している。

1

2

3

4

5

5.

週に少なくとも１回は専門誌を読んでいる。

1

2

3

4

5

6.

自分の専門分野において進展がないか定期的にインターネットで検索を

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

している。
7.

自分の専門における進展について学ぶのを諦めれば、取り残されると思う。

8.

大学での教員養成の重要な目標の一つは、学生の生涯学習のスキルをのばすことである。

9.

教育分野における急速な変化は、知識の更新と新しい専門スキルの向上
をたえず必要とする。

10.

公私にわたって忙しい時でさえ、自分の勉強の時間を常にとっている。

1

2

3

4

5

11.

専門分野に関する新しい知識をたえず習得する必要があると思う。

1

2

3

4

5

12.

生徒への教育を向上させるために、研修プログラムに定期的に参加して

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

いる。
13.

自分の専門に重要だと思われる新しい知識やスキルを得るために、あらゆる機会を活用している。

14. 問題解決に向けて好んで行う方法は、インターネットでの適切なウェブサ
イトを検索することである。

Appendix B. Jefferson Scale of Lifelong Learning for Educators (Japanese version) or JSLLE-J

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 212

Flash Fiction: Springboards for Real Communication
Jennifer Igawa
Meiji Gakuin University

This paper presents a method to use flash fiction in English Communication courses typically required of freshmen in Japanese universities.
After a review of the rationale for using fiction in the second language learning environment, I explain how to use flash fiction to promote
active participation in meaningful discussion among students. Specific texts and how to incorporate them into a course are provided. Finally,
student feedback on the use of flash fiction in the course supports the potential for the use of this genre to stimulate real communication
amongst students in the EFL classroom.

EFL

Literature, once a component of English-language
classrooms in Japan, was closeted in the late 1990s
with the introduction of “practical communicativecompetence” to the junior and senior high school
curricula (Takahashi, 2015). However, the closet door
was left ajar, and literature has found its way back into
the classroom since the turn of the century. Its use as
another tool for teachers to build on structural andcultural linguistic competence is well-documented(Collie & Slater, 1987; Jones, 2019; Lazar, 1993;
Takahashi, 2015; Teranishi, Saito, & Wales, 2015;
Thaler, 2016), and the Companion Volume for the
Common European Framework of Reference for
Languages (Council of Europe, 2020) now includes
descriptors related to the reading of literature. Despite
such a rich library of material readily available, many
university English language classrooms in Japan still
rely on mass-produced four-skill textbooks that arecolorful, expensive, and, as Lazar (1993) suggests, canfail to pique the interest of most students.
This paper will review reasons to use fiction, and why
and how to use flash fiction to ease students into theuse of longer texts in a typical freshmen English
Communication course that is required at most
universities in Japan.
A clarification of terms used in the paper is called forhere. Literature and fiction are meant as any fictional
written text and may include novels, plays, short stories,
poetry, fables, etc. Flash fiction is typically defined as a
fictional narrative of fewer than 1000 words. Finally, forthe sake of simplicity, English is used as the L2 in thispaper. There is no intention to suggest that the benefitsof using literature or flash fiction in the L2 classroom islimited to English language texts or to EFL/ESL.

Rationale for Using Literature
Rationale for using literature in the second language
learning classroom has been discussed extensively (ingeneral: Collie & Slater, 1987; Jones, 2019; Lazar,
1993; in Japan specifically: Takahashi, 2015; Teranishi,
Saito, & Wales, 2015; Thaler, 2016.). A primary reason
for the use of literature in the second language learning
environment is that it can be a motivating factor in thatstudents can become absorbed in an interesting plot,
something that “pseudo-narratives frequently found incoursebooks” often fail to do (Lazar, 1993, p. 15).
Another reason for using literature in the classroom isthat literature provides access to the target culture,
which in turn can lead to the development of culturalcompetence and intercultural awareness. Students cansee how characters behave in certain situations and“become more familiar with patterns of social interaction”
in foreign countries (Collie & Slater, 1987, p. 2).
Students can then compare those behavior and social
patterns with typical behavior and social patterns of theirown culture. Indeed, students might even find that, insome situations, there is little if any cultural difference.
Furthermore, while the details might differ among

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cultures, the overarching themes of literature oftentranscend culture (Collie & Slater, 1987).
A third rationale is that the use of literature promotes
linguistic development and language acquisition.
Readers are exposed to spoken language in richcontexts and can therefore see not only what language
is used but also when, how, and why. Students also
gain experience and comfort in reading fiction, and thisopens up an additional language learning tool foroutside the classroom. The discussion of literature often
requires students to express their own interpretations ofa text, necessitating new language production. Reading
literature also develops language awareness andenrichment through the exposure to unusual uses oflanguage (Jones & Cleary, 2019). The rich use of
metaphor, for example, in some forms of literatureilluminates this linguistic feature and provides anopportunity to reflect on its relatively frequent use in
non-literary texts and speech. Students learn tointerpret language, a valuable and transferable skill(Lazar, 1993).
A final rationale is that reading literature educates the
person and not only the language learner. Reading
literature is a way to develop cognitive skills, pragmaticcompetence, and the ability to be critically reflective, allof which are becoming a priority in foreign language
learning (Reimão, 2020; Economou, 2015). Students
learn to “read between the lines” and make inferences.
Economou (2015) found that students’ tendency to bias
their own experience became a springboard for
discussion. Students become able to consider
perspective and rethink their own experiences inrelation to the text. Gaining experience in responding ona personal level to a text helps students gain more
confidence in expressing themselves in English and inhandling seemingly difficult texts. This increase inconfidence in itself is intrinsically motivating. Anotherway in which the whole person is educated is thatreading literature increases a person’s emotionalawareness; we become more empathetic (Lazar, 1993;
Oatley, 2016).
With these benefits in mind, I began to incorporate
literature, specifically, flash fiction, in my freshmen
university English Communication course. In the next
sections, I discuss why I chose to use flash fiction andintroduce a five-class process to introduce the use offiction into the typical English language class that is
typically required of freshmen at Japanese universities.

The Japanese University Context
Most Japanese university freshmen have completed six
or more years of English language education. The
grammar knowledge they have learned is relatively
quite advanced and can even be archaic, not lending

itself to day-to-day conversation or being able tocommunicate opinions. Nevertheless, most university
freshmen have mastered most of the secondary English
curriculum. The problem is not in their knowledge about
grammar or the items on an academic word list; what
we as university instructors face are classrooms ofstudents who have not made the transition fromlanguage learners to language users.
Most freshmen are required to take at least one year ofEnglish, often denoted as English Communication. For
non-English majors or those not in a program conducted
exclusively in English (EMI), the goal of the students isoften to simply pass the course for the credit. There isoften no motivation to improve their English
communication skills. My observation is that classes
structured around a textbook might add to demotivation
as students seem to have little interest in if any priorknowledge of the generic topics covered in the costly
textbooks. The readings often are followed by questions
that have correct answers. I submit that correct answers
are rare in real communication and that interpretation is
subjective, based on one’s own experience. Therefore,
students need to use textual information in tandem with
their own experiences to support their opinions. Fiction
allows them to do this, and good flash fiction demands
this of its readers. Flash fiction only gives enough thatthe reader must fill in the blanks to fully understand themeaning of the text (Swartwood, 2009). Another limiting
factor of these first year courses is the amount of time
an instructor can reasonably require students to spend
on homework.
Students generally identify reading as the skill they feelmost confident about (Igawa & Forrester, 2016; Myskow,
Underwood, & Waring, 2019). There may be several
reasons for this, including the fact that reading is
generally considered a solitary action in which thereader can control the pace. A student can stop to lookup words or go back and reread passages. In contrast,
many students are least confident in their speaking
skills (Igawa & Forrester, 2016; Snyder, 2019). Using
literature in the classroom is one way to take advantageof perceived strengths to improve perceived
weaknesses.
One way in which using a fictional text in an EFL context
can improve speaking skills is that the texts serve as
springboards for discussion. Longer texts often provide
more material for discussion, but they also require a
considerable time investment. Reading a long text,
thinking about it, being prepared to discuss it in class,and then completing follow-up assignments, would
require much more time than most students in thiscontext would be willing to invest. With this in mind, I
use flash fiction, generally defined as a text of less than
1000 words, in my class of freshmen economics majors.
In addition to consideration of length, I try to choose
texts that are accessible in regard to vocabulary and

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context so that students have both the language and theprior knowledge or experience to engage the text andsubsequently call on that engagement in discussion.
With the above in mind, below I present a five-class unit
to introduce the use of literature into a class of reluctant
learners, students who might have the potential toachieve but are either unwilling to participate in class or
simply want to do only enough to earn credit for thecourse (Mahdi, 2015). Flash fiction serves as anaccessible mid-point between coursebooks andclassical Literature. Flash fiction stories, by nature of
their length (or shortness), require only a single lesson
to cover. This shortness renders a text somewhat dense,
but also allows for a variety of interpretations from thereaders (Thaler, 2016). This unit takes advantage ofthese characteristics and aims to increase student
participation, that is, increase production andcommunication. Additional aims include stimulating andmaintaining interest in the classes by using accessible
texts and creating activities that require students to think
about, share, and reflect on their own opinions as wellas listen to, analyze, and confirm others’ opinions.

Introducing Flash Fiction
In the first class of this unit, I introduce very, very shortstories, short enough to read several in one 90-minuteclass period. The first story is 26-word “Gasp” byMichael A. Arnzen.1 Before reading, I introduce
vocabulary likely to be new or unfamiliar to students,
such as posit, drown, contradictory, and inhale.
Students read the story once to themselves, and then astudent is asked to read the story aloud. I then ask
students questions, calling on individual students if
there are no volunteers. When I ask “Why?”, I am
careful not to challenge the reasoning students provide
at this point. I praise their interesting ideas and thankthem for contributing. I try to make connections between
and among student answers. At this point, the focus is
to create a non-threatening and cooperative learning
environment. I want the students to feel comfortableenough to speak up in class and confident enough toexpress their opinions without fear of being “wrong”.

“Gasp” by Michael A. Arnzen (26 words)
He posited that a person could drown in air. I told
him to stop being contradictory. He raised a finger.
Inhaled to reply. And never stopped.

Questions:
Why was “he” contradictory?

What do you think happened after he “never stopped”?
Why?
Who do you think gasped? Why?

We repeat this pattern (vocabulary, silent reading,reading aloud, questions) with “Knock”, a 17-word story
by science fiction writer Fredric Brown. This story elicits
some interesting answers to the question “Who, or what,
do you think knocked on the door?”, including aliens,
animals, and even that the narrator is dreaming. One
student suggested the wind. Another followed up on thatsuggestion giving more detail: a branch blowing in thewind. This story clearly shows the students that there is
not one “correct” answer when interpreting a story. It
also provides an opportunity to use vocabulary learned
earlier in the unit (“contradictory”).

“Knock” by Fredric Brown (17 words)
The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There
was a knock on the door. . .

Is there anything contradictory about this story?
Who, or what, do you think knocked on the door?
What adjectives would you use to describe this story?

At this point, students seem to understand what they are
expected to do. The next two even shorter stories do not
require pre-reading vocabulary work, so I put students
into small groups of 3-4 to work through the stories andquestions themselves. The students are reminded torespond to each other’s comments and ask follow-up
questions, as modeled with the first two stories. I
observe the discussions, offering support where
needed and taking note of points I will raise in the fullclass discussion.
“Baby Shoes” is a familiar text. There is some debate as
to whether Hemingway is the author or not, which initself is an interesting source of discussion: Why might
we not know for sure who the author is? Interestingly,
students easily understand the context of this very shortand poignant story. In follow-up questioning, I ask
students what the setting is. An interesting lesson aboutclassified ads in newspapers and why word count isimportant can ensue. As students recognize thenecessity for clarity and concision, they begin tounderstand why writing more does not always mean

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writing better. For homework, students write a classified
ad for something they would like to sell.
“Baby Shoes” by Ernest Hemingway (6 words)
For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.

What do you think is the situation in this story?
Why are the baby shoes for sale?
What adjectives would you use to describe this story?

“Cosmic Report Card: Earth” by Forrest J. Ackerman is
not as easily understood as “Baby Shoes”. While somestudents think the “F” is a name or initial, others arecompletely perplexed. Those who do understand that
Earth has received a failing grade, have trouble
explaining why. The point of this exercise, though, isthat various opinions or interpretations are good andpromote discussion in which students begin to thinkfrom different perspectives and probe reasoning. For
example, follow-up questions could include: Why has
Earth received a failing grade? Is Earth responsible for
its failing grade?

“Cosmic Report Card: Earth” by Forrest J. Ackerman(1 letter)
F

What do you think this story means?

After a preview of essential vocabulary, students are
given an assignment to complete and submit on our
Learning Management System by the day before class.
(See sample handout in Appendix A.) There is also a
vocabulary section on the handout in which students are
asked to identify at least five words that are new or
unfamiliar. Students look up the words in an English
dictionary and write the meaning of the appropriate
usage. Before class, I identify the words students mostcommonly indicate as being new or unfamiliar andprepare a short review of those words to be completed
in class before discussing the story. This allows me tocheck that students have identified the correct meaning.
For example, many students indicate the meaning ofallowance in “The Appalachian Trail” as “an amount ofmoney that is given to someone regularly or for a
specific purpose” rather than the text appropriate “anamount of something (such as time) that is allowed oravailable” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). The handout also
includes two or three comprehension questions and twoor three discussion questions.
The assignment compels students to read and prepare
for class. Also, students now have a crib sheet to help
them in their class discussions. Students can prepare
some of their participation in advance, practice inrelatively less intimidating small groups, and then offer
their answers and opinions in a full class follow-up.
Using this process allows students to gradually become
more confident to actually speak up in front of others.
As confidence increases, students become more willing
to respond spontaneously to follow-up questions fromme or other students, or even to ask questions
themselves or comment on what others have said.

“The Warrior” (156 words)“The Interview” (157 words)

The next step to train students in how to use literaturein class is to increase the word count of the stories weread (Classes 2-4). Students are assigned to read astory and prepare a discussion guide for homework.
The three stories listed below are fairly accessible to
Japanese university students.2 “The Warrior” is about
the Japanese historical figure Nobunaga. “TheInterview” is about an admissions interview for
university. “The Eighteenth Camel” uses a little logic
with numbers, something my students, as economics
majors, seem to relate to. Over a third of students
surveyed indicated “The Eighteenth Camel” as the story
they liked the most in the semester.3 The reasons forthis choice included “[T]his story is mathematical”; “[the]way to divide the eighteenth camel is very smart. I likethis”; and “[T]his story is very clever and I didn’t comeup with the ideas that in…the story to solve the problem.
So it was interesting.”“The Eighteenth Camel” (150 words)

Who is in the story?
Where does the story take place? How do you know
this?
When does the story take place? How do you know
this?

As the word count increases, the depth of discussion
tends to as well. The story for the fifth class, “TheAppalachian Trail” works best when students have abasic understanding of what the Appalachian Trail is. I
provide students with a sense of the length and terrainof the trail by showing a 5-minute digest of a trek of theentire trail and a visual comparison of its length with a

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 216

length they are more familiar with: the distance between
Wakkanai in Hokkaido and Naha in Okinawa. With thisschemata, students can better understand the story andmake inferences based on implicit content (Lazar, 1993).

“The Appalachian Trail” (in Black Tulips by Bruce
Eason, 1991)(489 words)

What do you think the relationship is between thecharacters? Why?
How do you think this story would be different if the two
characters were a man and a woman, both men, or both
women?
At what point in the story does the narrator become
resigned to walk the Appalachian Trail with the woman?
Explain your answer.
Do you like the characters? Why or why not?
Do you think you would like to hike the AppalachianTrail? Why or why not?

The first question elicits an animated discussion.
Students challenge each other by pointing out
something in the text which they think conflicts withanother student’s answer. Students’ assumptions about
what constitutes a couple and the roles of men andwomen in a household are examined.

Student Feedback
The results of a pilot study suggest that the use of flash
fiction in a university English Communication course
may help students become motivated to become
English users and to improve their English reading andspeaking skills. Students responded positively to theuse of flash fiction in the course (Table 1). Students
seemed to like the discussion, and they were motivatedto speak in English. Though there were two negative
responses, the reasons for them were unrelated to theuse of flash fiction, with one student even stating theclass was “great” and that she could improve her
language skills.
There is also a perceived increase in both reading andspeaking skills (Tables 2 & 3 in Appendix B). All
students responded positively when asked if they
thought their reading skills improved over the semester.
This is especially interesting, as there was no overt
reading skill instruction. It could be that extensive
reading contributed to the perceived improvement.
Almost all students (85%) indicated they thought theirspeaking skills improved over the semester.
While this is only a preliminary investigation into how avery small number of students responded to a classusing flash fiction, results suggest there is some benefit
to its use. Further study is necessary to identify if theuse of flash fiction results in measurable improvement
in reading and speaking skills, and in increased
motivation to learn or use English.

Table 1Student Response to the Class (N=13)
Q: Did you enjoy the class?
Response
Yes, a lot.

Number of Responses (%)

Reasons (sampling)5“I liked discussion with friends and [the professor] and reading a lot of interesting(38.5)
Yes, a little.

6(46.1)

stories.
“[I]t little hard for me…but it keep motivation to keep learning and speaking
English.”“I liked to hear other’s various idea.”No, not much.

2(15.4)“I dislike the discussion the classmate because I can’t understand the Japanese’s
pronunciation sometimes.”“I don’t mean I disliked the class. This was hard for me, but I could improve myEnglish, so it was great.”

No, not at all.

0

Conclusion
In conclusion, students indicate that they feel theirspeaking and reading skills have improved and that they

enjoyed the course using flash fiction. If one of the
purposes of the course is to improve communicationand to turn students from English learners to English

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 217

users, then it is incumbent on us as instructors toprovide opportunities that allow students to use thelanguage that they have to talk about what they know
best: their own experience. The use of typical EFL
textbooks can complicate student learning. As many
students might lack prior knowledge about the topics
covered in the textbooks, they are required to masternew knowledge in order to have a discussion. As analternative, flash fiction, carefully selected to beaccessible in both content and level, can be used tostimulate real communication in the classroom. There isa saying that a story is a promise of a conversation.
Using stories—literature—in the language learningclassroom
has
great
potential
toincrease
communication amongst even the most reluctant
speakers.

Notes“Gasp,” “Knock,” and “Cosmic Report Card: Earth”
have been independently published. See Connolly(2010).
1

2 “The Warrior,” “The Interview,” and “The Eighteenth

Camel”
arelistedasanonymous
atalltimeshortstories.com, where I first came across thestories. “The Warrior” is elsewhere referred to as “The
Warrior and the Monk”, and “The Eighteenth Camel” islikely Bedouin in origin. All three are fables.
3 There were fourteen students in the class. Thirteen

responded to the survey. Seven stories were read
during the semester. Five students (38.5%) selected“The Eighteenth Camel” as their favorite, while the three
next most popular stories were chosen by two students
each.

teaching, assessment – Companion volume.
Strasbourg, France: Council of Europe
Publishing.
Eason, B. (1991). Black tulips. Turnstone Press.
Economou, C. (2015). Reading fiction in a secondlanguage classroom. Education Inquiry, 6(1),91-118.
Igawa, J., & Forrester, D. (2016). University in
English? Questions of confidence. The
Language Teacher, 40(6), 9-13.
Jones, C. (Ed.). (2019). Literature, spoken language
and speaking skills in second language learning.
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Jones, C., & Cleary, J. (2019). Using literature in textdriven materials to help develop spoken
language awareness. In C. Jones (Ed.).
Literature, spoken language and speaking skills
in second language learning (pp. 66-95).
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Kawabata, Y. (1971). Tenohira no shōsetsu [Palm of
the hand stories]. Tokyo: Shinchō.
Lazar, G. (1993). Literature and language teaching: A

References

guide for teachers and trainers. Cambridge, UK:
Cambridge University Press.

Collie, J., & Slater, S. (1987). Literature in thelanguage classroom: A resource book of ideas

Mahdi, D. A. (2015). Motivating reluctant EFL students

and activities. New York: Cambridge University

to talk in class: Strategies and tactics. Theory

Press.

and Practice in Language Studies, 5(8), 17031709.

Connolly, L. C. (2010). The 21st-century scop.
Retrieved August 18, 2021, from

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Allowance. In

https://lawrencecconnolly.com/2013/10/26/the-learnersdictionary.com dictionary. Retrieved

shortest-flashes-ever-written-or-how-short-is-

August 23, 2021, fromshort-short/#comments

https://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/all
owanceCouncil of Europe (2020), Common European
framework of reference for languages: learning,

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 218

Myskow, G., Underwood, P. R., & Waring, R. (2019).
The blind spots of reading: Turning on lights in
the Japanese university classroom. In P.
Wadden & C. C. Hale (Eds.), Teaching English
at Japanese universities: A new handbook (pp.
54-63). London: Routledge.
Oatley, K. (2016). Fiction: Simulation of social worlds.
Trends in Cognitive Science, 20(8), 618-628.
Reimão, A. (2020). Developing soft skills with microfiction: A close-reading experience. In A. B.
Almeida, U. Bavendiek, & R. Biasini (Eds.).
Literature in language learning: New
approaches (pp. 51-58).
doi:10.14705/rpnet.2020.43.9782490057696
Snyder, B. (2019). Creating engagement andmotivation in the Japanese university language
classroom. In P. Wadden & C. C. Hale (Eds.),
Teaching English at Japanese universities: A
new handbook (pp. 137-143). London:
Routledge.
Swartwood, R. (n.d.)
https://www.robertswartwood.com/hint-fictionwhen-flash-fiction-becomes-just-too-flashy
Takahashi, K. (2015). The possibilities of literarymaterials in English teaching in Japan. Tokyo:
Hitsuji Shobō.
Teranishi, M., Saito, Y., & Wales, K. (2015). Literatureand Language Learning in the EFL Classroom.
London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Thaler, E. (Ed.). 2016). Shorties: Flash fiction in
English language teaching. Tūbingen, Germany:
Narr Francke Attempto Verlag GmbH.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 219

Appendix A

This is a sample text and accompanying handout for using flash fiction in an EFL classroom.
The Interview
Once, a panel of intelligent interviewers at a reputed business school was interviewing prospective students foradmission to the school. When one of the prospective students entered the room and nervously sat on the chair in frontof them, the panel said to the boy, “We shall either ask you ten easy questions or one really difficult question. Choose
carefully as it will determine your admission to the school!”
The boy thought for a while and answered, “I would like to answer one really difficult question.”“Well, good luck to you, you have made your choice! Now answer us. What comes first, Day or Night?”
The boy was jolted into reality as his admission depended on the correctness of his answer to this single question, but
he thought for a while and said, “It’s the day sir!”“How?” asked the interviewer.
“Sorry sir, you assured me that I do not need to answer the second difficult question!”

QUESTIONS
Who is in the story?
Where does the story take place? How do you know this?
When does the story take place? How do you know this?
Look up the adjective prospective (line 2) in learnersdictionary.com Look up the noun perspective as well. These twowords are often misused by even native speakers. Create at least two sentences to help you distinguish between thetwo words.

Make a list of five words or phrases that are new to you. Look up the words in an English-English dictionary and write
the definition in the table.

Word/Phrase

Definition

If you were in the boy’s situation, would you have chosen “ten easy questions or one really difficult question”? Why?

Do you think this was a good way to determine admission to the business school? Why/Why not?

Which do you think comes first, Day or Night? Explain your answer.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 220

Appendix B

Table 2
Self-Perceived Improvement in English Reading Skills (N=13)
Q: Do you think your English reading skills improved over thesemester?
Response

Number of Responses

Yes, a lot.

5 (38.5%)

Yes, a little.

8 (61.5%)

No, not much.

0 (0%)

No, not at all.

0 (0%)

Table 3Self-Perceived Improvement in English Speaking Skills (N=13)
Q: Do you think your English speaking skills improved over thesemester?
Response

Number of Responses

Yes, a lot.

6 (46.1%)

Yes, a little.

5 (38.5%)

No, not much.

2 (15.4%)

No, not at all.

0 (0%)The PanSIG 2021 Journal 221

Mapping a familiar text-world: Japanese literature in the English language classroom
Luke Draper
Kwansei Gakuin University (School of Policy Studies)

Literature is used in ESL classrooms not only as a rich resource for language, but also as a means of allowing students to explore the culture
and sociohistory of the textual setting. While literature is often used to teach other cultures, this paper argues for the inclusion of literaturethat responds to the learners’ culture. First, Text-World Theory will be introduced as a suitable framework from which to argue that literatureof a culture more familiar to the learner can facilitate engagement. Next, an overview of a ‘Japanese Literature in English Translation’university course will be provided. Four Japanese short stories translated into English used in the course will be discussed, with validations
for their inclusion and general observations of student response given.

Text-World Theory
Japanese Literature in English
Translation

It has long been argued that literature offers valuable
material resources for the language classroom(Widdowson, 1983; Lazar, 1993). Literature can be arich source of vocabulary and grammar constructs andexposes language learners to a range of standard andnon-standard language models. It can also foster thedevelopment of more complex learning proficiencies,
such as criticality, analysis, and creativity (Paramour,nd). Indeed, the creative nature of literary texts can offer
a more immersive and engaging reading experience
than other learning texts and as such may elicit a wider
range of competences. Another argument for the
inclusion of literature is that it can nurture culturalawareness. Indeed, literature can present insight into
the sociohistory of other countries, tracing historical andcontemporary matters attached to that culture. Further,literature can foster communication skills. Whenverbally summarizing, evaluating and discussing a text
with classmates, learners are actively applying practicaland sophisticated conversation constructs. A successful
discussion of literature involves these skills, as well as
listeningandcritically
respondingtootherinterpretations and justifying personal interpretations
with both direct and indirect reference to the text. When
writing an analysis essay, learners must construct a
coherent and well-organized text while effectively
persuading the reader of the accuracy and significanceof their interpretation. In the sense of standard EFL
productive assessment, literature clearly offers

4

opportunities to examine socially relevant mattersthrough a range of communicative strategies.
Although literature can be a valuable conduit for theseskills, there are challenges when selecting suitable texts
for a class. For example, the language must be of an
appropriate class level, with more complex vocabulary
and grammar structures explained and practiced
through classroom exercises. Assessment must clearlymeasure learner progress while engaging the learner.
Indeed, in her English L1 Junior High literature class,Walker (1997) observed positive learner participation
when substituting rote-learning tests for practical andcreative tasks that also established learnercomprehension of the text. This shows that learners
often engage positively with communicative and applied
tasks.
Walker also noted that “…even though we were“covering” all the material, we were telling students what
we thought they should know, and they saw little
connection between the readings and their own lives” (p.
69, author’s italics). In other words, the teachers
imposed a reading onto the learner instead of granting
opportunities for the learner to construct their own
meanings. This observation is particularly relevant in thecontext of Japanese university students, where teachercentered approaches are still common and reticence toactively participate in discussion are already barriers forlanguage-learning. To maximize the benefits of literary

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 222

texts as materials, curricula should promote authentic
reading over manufactured reading. By this, I look to
Giovanelli and Mason’s (2018) representation of anauthentic reading experience as “born out of anindividual’s own process of unmediated interpretation”(p. 42), while imposed explanations result in a‘manufactured’ reading.

too complex to generalize, especially when authentic,
ungraded literature is introduced to the classroom.
However, a participant’s script is a significant factor in
helping them identify with unfamiliar situations. Though
their imagination helps the participant navigate a mental
text-world, it is their scripts that shape the images. As
Scott (2013) says:

It is also important to keep in mind the overall syllabus
goal in Japanese universities’ English programs, which
is often the development of English-language
proficiency. Some programs may aim to developintercultural competence and cultural awareness as asecondary goal. This may potentially lead to a challenge
faced by Kelen (2014), who sought strategies tomotivate non-English speakers to engage with ‘his’
literature – or Western, English-language literature.

…we create a kind of ‘map’ upon which are
represented recurrent aspects and features ofour daily life: memories, faces, locations,names, actions, emotions, etc. These aspects
are stored with the same level of detail as in thereal world; thus, when we are faced withsomething new, we ‘import’ information from theworld to be stored onto our map, much like
video games loads new screens as the player
progresses through the game world (p. 137)

When developing a post-intermediate-level content
course for a University English program, I wanted tomaximize opportunities for both language acquisitionand productive skill practice. As Hillis (2021) claims,
texts that activate a learner’s schemata are more likely
to engage learners due to their familiarity. To be
concrete, when tasked with reading and responding to
the translated prose fiction of their culture, they may
identify with the characters, visualize the settings, andunderstand plot, metaphor and imagery much more
readily than if the story was outside their cultural
cognizance. This in turn should generate active
discussion and increased productivity.

Text-World Theory: Using Mental Scripts toConceptualize Texts
This paper explores the usefulness of English
translations of Japanese literature in the language
classroom from the perspective of Text-World theory.
Text-worlds are the mental representations of languagethat facilitates conceptualization and understanding of atext (Gavins, 2007). The principle of this phenomena
contends that these mental images are formed by‘scripts’, or information banks within the human mind
that have been formed through life experience. These
cognitive scripts allow us to understand linguistic
prompts from their context, the most familiar of which
results in a clearer interpretation. These mental
constructs are also referred to as schema, a conceptthat is applied often in the field of language education;for example, in initial schemata activation tasks that help
learners conceptualize the topic of the text before
engaging with it. Text-World theory, then, is a discourse
model that aims to explore the ways participants – in thiscase, readers – makes sense of a text.
It is inaccurate to suggest Text-World Theory only
explores the participants’ comprehension of a text. The
relationship between the text and the participant is far

In other words, when faced with unfamiliar situations,
we decode them by ‘mapping’ our existent experiences
and knowledge onto them.
The pleasurable aspect of avid reading is creating thetext-worlds in our minds, text-worlds that vary fromreader-to-reader. Reading in our non-L1 can seriously
impede this process, as we add the extra task of internaltranslation. Therefore, it is through the framework of
Text-world Theory this paper argues that culturallyfamiliar literature is a fertile source of material for the
English language classroom. Indeed, by offering texts
that a learner can culturally identify with and thus
mentally visualize, it can be posited that broader andmore informed analyses and interpretations of the text
are facilitated, fostering meaningful communication
experiences.
From the context of a post-intermediate-to-advanced
level content course in a Japanese University English
program, this paper will discuss selected texts,
justifications for the text and general responses from thelearners.

Japanese Literature in English
Translation: A ‘Special Topics’ Course‘English Translations of Japanese Literature’ wascreated for the intermediate-advanced level (CEFR
B2+) ‘Special Topics’ suite of courses on the Kwansei
Gakuin University’s School of Policy Studies English
program. Each ‘Special Topics’ course is designed toallow learners to apply their English skills within aContent and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) styleof education. Other topics included Global Studies,Intercultural Communication, Behavioral Economics
and Creative Writing, for example. It was a fourteenweek course that ran during the Spring 2021 semester.

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Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, all classes were held
online.
The specific purpose of the course was to allow learners
to recycle the skills they had previously learned on the
English Program, specifically seminar discussion andessay writing skills. Repeated assessments wereliterary circle-style discussions, where learners
summarized the text and discussed pre-set questions
that assessed their interactions with the text, as well as
regular written essays.
A key point reiterated throughout the course is thateverybody’s readings of the stories will be different, andthat no interpretation is wrong; however, it is importantto reference the story to justify interpretations. The
following section will provide examples of the two main
formative assessments delivered throughout the course.

During the assignment, it is important that the teacher
intervenes minimally and only when discussion islagging through repetition or rephrasing of the question.
The teacher should not influence interpretive responses
and mostly stay silent during the discussion, notinginteresting points to include in a summary of the
discussion and areas of needed improvement.

Essay writing
The essays followed a pattern developing from thefollowing:

INTRODUCTION: Brief synopsis of the story; author
biography; thesis statement.
MAIN BODY PARAGRAPH 1 – SUMMARY: Write alonger summary of the story

Literary Circle Discussions
A goal of the course is to facilitate a range of dialogic
activities, culminating in literary circle-style discussions.
Below is an example prompt for the short story Factory
Town by Minoru Betsuyaku (see Text 1).

Factory Town by Minoru Betsuyaku
One member of the group summarizes the story (1minute)Questions to discuss:
What do the townspeople think about the factory andits workers? What parts of the story give you thisimpression?
How can this story be interpreted as “a commentaryon modernization and industrialization in Japan”?
How did you feel when reading this story? Why did
you feel this way?
These discussion questions for a reading that occurs
early in the course facilitates a range of cognitive anddialogic skills. Question 2 expects learners tocomprehend the actions and dialogue of the charactersas well as verbally referencing the text to support theiropinions. Question 3 requires further interpretation skills
as well the ability to connect ideas from the story to a
specific issue within Japan. Question 4 allows learners
to discuss their emotional reactions, further elucidating
the learners’ personal response to the story. Within thediscussions, key skills such as critical thinking,evaluating ideas and providing arguments are
employed as learners share their individual analyses
and responses to the stories.

MAIN BODY PARAGRAPH 2 – CHARACTERIZATION:
Write a description of the main characters
MAIN BODY PARAGRAPH 3 – INTERPRETATION:
Focus on the essay question here (this should be yourlongest paragraph.

CONCLUSION
An example essay question is: To what extent does
Factory Town by Minoru Betsuyaku comment on
modernization and industrialization in modern Japan?
Each paragraph prompt is designed to stimulatedifferent types of response and written structure anddraws on the ideas shared in the previous discussions.
Students were able to select their own text for the final
written assessment, a 1,000-word essay, similarly
structured essay. Popular student choices included thecontemporary novel I Want to Eat Your Pancreas by
Yoru Sumino, Ryūnosuke Akutagawa’s short story The
Spider’s Thread and two works by Osamu Dazai: No
Longer Human and Run, Melos!

Challenges in creating the course
The major challenge faced in creating the course wasselecting appropriate texts. Locating original texts with
reduced lexical and grammatical complexity is often
problematic and relies on both analysis and intuition.
Graded Readers offer opportunities for uninterrupted
extensive reading due to their simplified syntax andlexical constructs, though adaptations of Japanese
literature in translation are scarce, and originaltranslations were deemed linguistically suitable for the

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level of class. However, the text must be accessible aswell as challenging, and texts that are overtly lexicallydense or grammatically complex will lead to unengaged
and unmotivated learners. As a result, most of the texts
used, apart from Carp by Masuji Ibuse (1926), werefrom the modern era and adopted a contemporary prosestyle. Literature from the Meiji to the Shōwa period
offers rich accounts of Japan in a culturally shifting
phase of its history, though their English translations areoften faithful to the original and use style andterminology synonymous with the period. This means
that, even with the Japanese reader’s mental scripts
culturally and perhaps narratively attuned with the story,reading the text will be demanding.

A final challenge was selecting texts that werethematically suitable for the learner. Though thelearners were of university age and did not require‘shielding’ from controversial issues, I was acutely
aware of the mental pressures many were facing during
the pandemic. As such, nihilist or existentialist stories
on the topic of depression or suicide were notconsidered. Excellently written stories that focused on
events such as the Tōhoku earthquake were selected,
then deemed too triggering and subsequently dropped.
As mentioned, the learners were permitted to analyze
any text of their choosing for their final assessments
without opposition.
The following section will briefly discuss four texts usedin the course. It will also analyze general responses
from the learners in their literary circle discussions andessays, demonstrating the student’s interpretations of
the stories and thus the ‘text-worlds’ the prose activated.

Text 1: ‘Factory Town’
Factory town is a ‘short short’ story written by Minoru
Betsuyaku in 1973. The text chosen for the class was
the English translation by Royall Tyler published in the
Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories (2018). The
story is told in allegory form and utilizes anuncomplicated sentence structure. The story is set in an
unspoiled, self-sustaining village where a new factory issuddenly situated. Initially, the residents – unfamiliar
with industrialization - are impressed with the uniqueappearance of the factory and the work ethic of its
workers, though soon become overwhelmed with thesmoke that emits from the factory’s chimneys. The
heterodiegetic narration shifts its focus from namelesstownspeople, the town mayor and the factory chief. It isrevealed that the factory produces cough drops, aproduct the townspeople are satisfied with due to thedemand the smoke of the chimneys has created.
Though the language of the story is simple, there is lexis
that learners can recycle in the activities and add to theiractive vocabulary, such as the adjectives ‘idyllic’ and‘self-sufficient’.
Though learners are led to the general idea of the text
as an allegory of modernization and industrialization in
Japan, many read scenes in different ways, meaning
the readings are authentic rather than manufactured.
Some stated they found the story ‘funny’, while others
commented they found it ‘sad’. Some drew parallels withthe environmental messages within Ghibli movies. The
majority, however, commented that the story is still ofgreat significance to Japan, a country that underwent
rapid post-war industrial development and continues tomodernize. Especially, students from rural areas ofJapan expressed the most unhappiness with theindustrialist’s actions in the story, clearly demonstrating
how their sociopolitical identity mapped their reading
experienced.

Text 2: ‘The Lonesome Bodybuilder’
The Lonesome Bodybuilder is a short story written by
Yukiko Motoya, published in English in a short story
collection by the same name in 2018. It was translated
into English by Asa Yoneda. The narration is written in
the first person from the perspective of a Japanesehousewife. Feeling neglected by her husband, thenarrator takes up bodybuilding, though as she continues
to physically grow, her husband does not notice thechanges.
As the story is contemporary and written in minimalist
prose, this story was chosen for a module where female
identity in Japan was explored.
The story offered rich opportunities for vocabularyacquisition. Nouns such as physique, workaholic andneglected were explored, as well as noun phrases such
radical change and idiomatic phrases like put on a brave
face, swing by (the pharmacy) and out of kilter.
With minimal direction in the discussions, most students
picked up on the scene where the narrator enters thegym for the first time and expresses her intention to
begin bodybuilding, to be met by surprise by her
eventual trainer who claims that it is unusual for womento train for anything but weight loss.
The learners mostly understood the story is a commenton the female role in society, with many explaining that
it is a societal expectation for a woman to be effeminate
and demure. The fact that the narrator is engaging insuch a masculine hobby, along with her husband’s
failure to notice her bodily changes, sees the narrator
gradually and intentionally lose her femininity.
Many also highlighted the trainer telling the narrator thatthe world of bodybuilding is lonely, and thus uses
bodybuilding as a metaphor for social isolation.

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The following are paraphrased ideas from learners’
essays, demonstrating the different stimulated textworlds:

after his friend died, while others focused on the
narrator’s initial irritation and used words such as‘selfish’ and ‘self-centered’ to describe his personality.

In this story, Motoya wants to tell the readers
it is important to live your life without beingbound by social and gender prejudices.

Most learners understood the carp represented thefriendship between the narrator and Aoki, and many
drew attention to the additional metaphoricalsignificance of its color. For Japanese, a carp is a
representation of love and friendship, while the color
white represents physical and spiritual purity. Thougharchaically the color may also relate to death andmourning, this was not raised. Many drew comparisonsof the white color to the innocence of young friendships.

The scene where the narrator comes homefrom the supermarket and about to cook dinnersuggests the husband and wife live in aconventional relationship of the husband
working and the wife staying home…The
gender division of labor and social expectations
rob women of their identity.
The fact she did not want to show her husband
her bodybuilding poses and expressions
suggests females have a side they do not want
to reveal to their partners, perhaps out of lackof confidence or shame.
The scene where her manager infers her
enlarged state as pregnancy or a side effect of
medication or a hormone imbalance comments
on social expectations of women: Womenshould be slender and smaller than men.

Texts 3 & 4: ‘Carp’ and ‘Mr Carp’
Later in the course, two short stories were analyzed forcomparison: Carp by Masuji Ibuse and Mr Carp by
Kuniko Mukoda. Carp was originally published in 1926
and was translated by John Bester. Mr Carp was
published in the mid-to-late Shōwa period and wastranslated by Tomone Matsumoto. Both stories weretaken from the Oxford Book of Japanese Short stories(1997).
Carp is written in first person narration. The narrator
reminisces on the white carp he received as a gift fromhis friend Aoki. As he has nowhere to keep it, hereleases it into the pond of Aoki’s mistress. Six years
later, Aoki dies, and the narrator retrieves the carp torelease it in the Waseda University swimming pool.

The following are paraphrased ideas from learners’
essays, again demonstrating unique perspectives
developed from their readings:

It is embarrassing to convey love, which is why
the narrator distanced himself from the carp sooften.
I think the Narrator had stronger feelings
toward Aoki than just friendship.
The repeated use of the color white represents
loneliness and emptiness after losing a friend.
The main character believes the spirit of Aoki is
within the carp. This represents the animistic
mindset Japanese have.
Aoki chose a carp as they are animals withparticularly long lifespans. This represents
Aoki’s desire to continue living, even if it is onlyin the memory of the narrator.
It is particularly important to note that it was during thesetalks that learners seemed to be the most socially andaffectively engaged (Svalberg, 2009) with the text anddiscussion. Indeed, learner agency was heavily evident
as learners explained the relevance of carps and color
to Japanese culture. Although the concept was notbrought up in discussion, the essay that framed Carp
through the lens of Animism and religion in Japan wasparticularly authoritative.

These two stories generated perhaps the mostinteresting and diverse readings from the learners.

Mr Carp also generated distinct readings in thediscussion and essay responses. The reason the Carp
was left with Shiomura by his former mistress is notdirectly communicated in the story due to focalizationfrom Shiomura’s viewpoint. Learner speculation on the
mistress’s actions ranged from her wanting to remind
him of the affair, inform him she is moving on,
demonstrate her jealousy of his family or to simply
cause trouble.

First, learner insight on Carp’s narrator differed greatly.
Some learners characterized him as ‘loyal’ and ‘a goodfriend’ for keeping his promise of taking care of the carp

When Shiomura returns home with his son after visiting
the area where his mistress lived, they find the carp
dead in its tank. Though the son asks if the mother killed

Mr Carp is written from the perspective of a maleprotagonist named Shiomura, who receives a carp in abucket outside his family’s house that he realizes
belonged to his former mistress.

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it, she denies this. It is unclear from the story whether
the wife killed the fish or not, and the class was mostly
split when posed with the question. Some learners usedevidence from the story to support their stance. For
example, one learner noted that the daughter had
extremely good hearing and would have heard hermother killing the fish. Many assumed the wife wasaware of the affair and the carp’s association with it.
The following are paraphrased ideas from learners’
essays:

The carp represents Shiomura’s regret of theaffair.
The carp represents the love that still exists
between Shiomura and his mistress.
Men think their wives are unaware of theirinfidelity, but the killing of the fish is amanifestation of the Japanese tradition ofusing indirect expressions to communicate.
In Japanese society, wives are very often
emotionally hurt by their husbands, but they
secretly solve it.
The Carp is an incarnation of Shiomura’s
mistress. At the end of the story, she may havedied drowning in the Kasumigaura Lake at thesame time as the carp. (In the story, Shiomura
pictured her drowning herself in the lake dueto the failure of their affair, but soon dismissed
this as an egocentric assumption)
As can be seen, diverse opinions on the metaphoricalmeaning of the carp were offered. Strong opinions on
infidelity and communication strategies in Japanesesociety were also provided, as again were parallels
between the story and Japanese religion. By this time,learners were confident enough to authoritatively offer
their own interpretations and looked outside of the texts
for cultural references that supported their readings.

apply their cultural schemas to the story for not only
comprehension, but also the capacity to explain it fromthe perspectives of their knowledge and sociocultural
identity. In other words, a richer mental text-world may
increase a learner’s understanding of a narrative andconfidence to offer interpretations that may differ fromthose of other learners.
Many Japanese university students are globally awareand culturally inquisitive. Though as young individuals,
their cultural schemas are still maturing. If the goal of
any language course is to promote open and engaged
dialogue, asking learners to discuss their culture is aneffective strategy, and using literature that reflects that
culture and encourages learners to express it throughtheir unique readings and voices has so far generated
engaging and successful classes.

References
Giovanelli, M. & Mason, J. (2018) ‘Well I don’t feelthat’: Schemas, worlds and authentic reading in
the classroom. English in Education. 49 (1). 4155
Hillis, M. (2021). Crossing Borders: Going from Poetry
to News before Coming Back. Journal of
Literature in language Teaching. 10 (1). 21 - 26
Kelen, C. (2014) Process and product, means andends: Creative writing in Macao. In Disney, D(ed). Exploring second language creative
writing: Beyond Babel. John Benjamins
publishingLazar, G. (1993). Literature and language teaching: A
guide for teachers and trainers. Cambridge
University Press.

Conclusion
As is evidenced, literature can facilitate critical andanalytical discourse behaviors in foreign language
production. According to text-world theory, learners use
their mental scripts and schema to visualize the story
and utilize those representations to formulateinterpretations. When a literary text is more accessible
to the learner in terms of familiar settings, situations,culture and philosophies, it reduces the burdens of non
L1-reading and maximizes the potential for studentcentered language practice. Japanese learners canParamour, A. (Nd) Using literature in ELT. Retrieved
May 13 2021 from:http://fdslive.oup.com/www.oup.com/elt/teachers/generalcontent/focus-papers/using-literature-inelt-focus-paper.pdf
Scott, J. (2013). Creative writing and stylistics:
Creative and critical approaches. Palgrave
Macmillan

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Svalberg, A, M. (2009) Engagement with language:
Interrogating a construct. Language awareness.
18 (3). 242-258.
Walker, M. (1997) Authentic Assessment in the
Literature Classroom. The English Journal. 86(1). 69-73.
Widdowson, H. G. (1983). Talking Shop: Literature and
ELT. ELT Journal, 37 (1). 30-35.

Literary Texts Cited
Betsuyaku, M. (2018) Factory Town (R. Tyler, Trans.)
in J. Rubin (Ed.) The Penguin book of Japanese
short stories. Penguin Random House
Ibuse, M. (1997). Carp (J. Bester, Trans.). In T.W.
Goosen (Ed.) The Oxford book of Japanese
short stories. Oxford University Press.
Motoya, Y. (2018). The Lonesome Bodybuilder (A.
Yoneda, Trans.). Soft Skull. (Original work
published in 2015).
Mukoda, K. (1997). Mr. Carp (T. Matsumoto, Trans.).
In T.W. Goosen (Ed.) The Oxford book ofJapanese short stories. Oxford University Press.

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Moving Towards Higher Quality Materials Development in Japan
Niall Walsh
Aichi Prefectural University
mullingarman@gmail.com

Brian Cullen
Nagoya Institute of Technology
cullen.brian@gmail.com

This paper builds upon earlier survey research from Walsh and Cullen (2021) that investigated the materials development approaches of asample of EFL teachers in Japan. A major limitation of that study that prompted the current one was its failure to spotlight the detailed
practices of individual teachers. Through case studies, the real-life experiences of four experienced teachers are documented. The results
reflect the previous study's data insofar as the main challenges are a lack of time and resources. Additionally, material developers generally
do not follow a principled framework when constructing or evaluating their materials, nor is there much awareness of research or models in
the wider fields beyond EFL, such as education and instructional design. Based on these results, the paper concludes with potential solutions
for how the language teaching profession in Japan can support materials developers and mobilize the whole profession towards producing
higher quality materials.

EFL

Walsh & Cullen 2021

4
EFL

JALT,JACET

Materials development has been described as
all the processes made use of by practitioners
who produce and/or use materials for language
learning, including materials evaluation, theiradaptation, design, production, exploitation,and research. Ideally, all of these processes
should be given consideration and shouldinteract in the making of language-learningmaterials.
Tomlinson (2012; 143-144)
A key point, therefore, is that materials development
should have a pedagogic purpose and principled
development to ultimately promote language learning.
In many classrooms, materials take the form of
textbooks and are an integral part of second language
learning. Despite their prevalence, the debate over theeffectiveness of textbooks has polarized many

language practitioners. Objectors point to a myriad ofproblems that include the textbook's restrictive andglobal nature that constricts teacher initiative andignores local needs. On the other hand, proponents cite
textbooks' principled designs and time-saving qualities
for busy teachers. For a comprehensive analysis of thearguments for and against textbooks, see McGrath(2013). In practice, research by Tomlinson (2010) andSaw (2016) suggests that most teachers are frustrated
with their textbooks as those surveyed were critical of
their current ones. Saw (2016) explains that over 95%
of respondents supplement their textbooks with othermaterial. In fact, McGrath's (2013) synopsis of theliterature on materials concluded most teachers should
adapt their materials to suit the learner. EFL teachers
could borrow supplementary material from othersources or commit to creating their own materials.
Ideally, any supplementary materials selected would

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have already been rigorously constructed using
systematic procedures that optimize language learning.
Alternatively, whether through choice or necessity, theteacher must initiate and execute the development
process themselves. Despite McGrath's conclusion(2013) that all the literature endorses teachers to
supplement materials, Tomlinson and Masuhara (2018)
report there is little documentation on the actual
processes EFL teachers navigate as they design theirmaterials. Therefore, the extent to which teachers apply
principled procedures from a pedagogic point of view islargely unknown. The shortage of empirical studies
documenting the planning and execution processes of
EFL teachers is striking considering that materials are
one of the core tools of language learning. Without abetter understanding of how teachers create theirlearning materials, it is unlikely that the EFL profession
in Japan can move effectively towards developing
higher-quality, more effective learning materials.
Previous research by the current authors (Walsh andCullen, 2021) identified this gap in the literature andreported on a survey to teachers in Japan aboutcommon approaches used in developing EFL materials.

Summary of Previous Research
Research by Walsh and Cullen (2021) attempted toclarify three issues pertaining to materials development
for language learning in Japan. Firstly, it looked atteachers' attitudes towards EFL textbooks as opposed
to teacher-developed materials. Secondly, it questioned
teachers on major difficulties they encounter withmaterials development. Finally, it asked if respondents
adhered to a materials development framework.
The previous study revealed that 80% of respondents(N=20) were satisfied with the coursebook they wereusing. This is in sharp contrast to data reported by
Tomlinson (2010), who discovered that 78% of his
respondents were not satisfied with the coursebook
being used. Similarly, the majority of Saw's (2016)
respondents in Myanmar and the United Kingdom
perceived coursebooks as dull, with 95% choosing tocreate supplementary material to enhance the learning
experience. However, the initial findings of Walsh andCullen (2021) of a high level of satisfaction withcoursebooks may provide a false narrative as further
probing revealed that most respondents in their study
also have a preference for designing their own materials.
The data revealed some of the many challenges
teachers face in developing their own materials. Limited
time was the major barrier to materials development
among the respondents. This was followed by problems
in establishing the appropriate level and constructing
innovative materials that appeal to the students.

On the topic of adhering to a materials development
framework when creating materials, there was a clear
discrepancy between teachers who are guided by aframework and those that are not. 55% of respondents
indicated that they had used a framework, while 45%
responded that they had never followed one.
Finally, Walsh and Cullen (2021) identified andsummarized four commonly reported approaches tomaterials development among the respondents.
A theory-informed approach in which the developer isacutely aware that materials development is amethodological process requiring careful planning.
A practical approach that is primarily goal-driven andinvolves a lot of trial and error with different materials in
the classroom.
A curriculum-driven approach in which the materials arelargely imposed by the school or education board.
A personal approach in which the teachers develop
materials based on their specialty or interests.
While this survey-based research was a useful starting
point for investigating the processes of materials
development for a sample of teachers, one limitation
was the failure to spotlight the precise materials
development practices of individual teachers.
Subsequently, the current study aims to probe the reallife practices of EFL teachers through more detailed
case studies.

The Case Studies
The research embedded itself within a collective casestudy with multiple voices providing insights intomaterials development. Collective case studies havebeen lauded as they can allow for morecomprehensive conclusions to be drawn on aparticular area being studied (Lieberson, 2000).
The participants in this study, four experienced EFL
teachers with over ten years of teaching experience inJapanese universities (see Appendix A for biodata),
had also taken part in our earlier study and wereselected based on their experience in the field. For
these case studies they were asked to respond to an
initial questionnaire (see Appendix B) that included
both open- and closed-ended questions. The
respondents were asked to comment on theirinteractions with EFL materials and materials
development frameworks. Given that the objective was
to extrapolate detailed accounts of materials
development processes from previous research,questions were similar to those in Walsh and Cullen(2021) but allowed for more complete responses. The
questionnaire was designed using Google Forms, andthe data was collated automatically in a spreadsheet.

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Additionally, respondents were invited to a subsequentinterview to expand upon their responses during thefirst questionnaire.

Analysis of the Case Studies
The findings from the case studies broadly reflect thosereported in Walsh and Cullen (2021). As previously
found, the greatest challenge of materials development
expressed by the four respondents was an insufficientamount of time in which to develop them. Whilelamenting the absence of time to create materials,
Respondent 2 is frustrated by a lack of multimedia
resources. Respondent 3 reports that selecting andtranslating vocabulary for a topic is particularly timeconsuming. A further challenge is choosing topics thatare "accessible and interesting to students and toprovide opportunities for a diversity of student research
projects."
Concerning the use of frameworks in scaffolding
materials development, three out of four respondents
reported they have never used an established materials
development framework. Only Respondent 2 hadadhered to a framework, "ADDIE, the Morrison, Ross
and Kemp model" and only "rarely." Additionally,
Respondent 2 mentioned that he created his own
framework to follow.
Regarding the attitudes of respondents to the use of
textbooks as opposed to developing their own materials,
the responses reflect the findings from Walsh andCullen (2021) insofar as respondents, while
acknowledging the value of a carefully selected
textbook, are slightly cautious of their inclusion as thesole resource in the language classroom as most agree
that a textbook is never enough. Respondent 1 points
out that textbooks and teacher developed materials are"not mutually exclusive… Textbooks do a lot of the workfor you, but, by themselves, are NEVER, ever enough."Respondent 2 is conflicted by the choice and struggles
to provide an answer. He distinguishes between an"ideal world" and "reality" and says "in an ideal world,
where I only teach courses that I am interested in andhave all the time and resources in the world, then I
would only create my own materials." He continues tostate that in reality, creating materials from scratch is
not always attainable but that he tends to prioritize
creating his own materials for classes that fall within his
areas of expertise or interests and ones that can berecycled in other classes.

feeling comfortable at the new university, then I will
begin to write new materials." Similarly, as a part-time
lecturer at some institutions, he reports that he has little
input into the materials development process as he is"assigned a textbook, given the teaching schedule, andgiven the evaluation method." Respondent 3 prefers to
use a coursebook that he developed and cautions that'there are too many [textbooks] that I think aren't as fit
for purpose as I would like." Respondent 4 does not"mind coursebooks that align well with my goals," butshe "generally supplements textbooks" with her own
material.
On the topic of approaches, Respondent 1 replied that
he is not familiar with the theory behind material
development but guesses that there "are some decent
ones out there." Respondent 2 points out that eachapproach is not "mutually exclusive," and theirapplication depends on the teaching context at any
given time. Respondent 2 stresses that whatever
approach he uses, "the first rule of materials writing for
EFL is to make things that students both can and willdo." Respondent 3 believes his approach generally
depends on the teaching goal.
For example, acurriculum approach is suited towards CLIL courses,
where the teacher establishes "what the students …
ought to know." In a similar vein, Respondent 4 varies
her approach based on context but has a preference fora personal approach focusing on "topics relevant to life",
which provide stimulating content.

Comparing Actual Development Process with aMaterials Development Framework
To understand the lived materials development
processes of respondents, each was asked to consider
their own materials development process using anestablished six-step framework (Jolly and Bolitho, 2010).
Table 1 summarizes the steps from the framework andhow it is considered by the respondents.

Another interesting comment from Respondent 2 isexternal factors impinge on EFL teachers in Japan. For
example, as a non-tenured lecturer on a short-term
contract, most of the initial time in a new job is spent"learning how to fit in at the new school and teachingclasses is my second (or even third) priority. After I am

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Table 1
Comparing Actual Development Processes with Jolly and Bolitho (2010)
Step

Summary

Step 1: Identification ofa NeedAll respondents acknowledge that they start by identifying the needs and goals of the students, whether it beteacher or curriculum determined.

Step 2: Exploration of
Language

All respondents include this step and consider the language needed, for example, grammar, vocabulary andgenre, before creating the materials. However, respondent 3 expresses frustration that this is a difficult step thathe still needs to master.

Step 3: Contextual
Realization

All respondents report that they imagine a suitable context for embedding the language, for example, throughconversations, role-plays, debates, and readings. Respondent 1 indicates that this step can be challenging,while Respondent 2 says he has little input into this stage as it is set by the curriculum.

Step 4: Pedagogical
Realization

Each respondent considers how materials are to be used in the classroom to achieve the goals. Respondent 1
notes that this step extends beyond the classroom to encompass use for self-study, review, and on-demandlearning.

Step 5: Physical
Production and Use in
the Classroom

All respondents create materials in a way that can be accessed by the students. Respondent 1 points to thechanging nature of material production away from traditional printed materials to technology-enabled paperlessmaterials such as html5 widgets. Respondent 3 stresses that the materials need to be "visually easy to navigate
and not confusing to use." All respondents use their materials in the classroom.

Step 6: Evaluation ofMaterials

Three respondents say that they evaluate their materials at various stages of the process. Respondent 1 points
to the impact of technology because teachers can observe students in real-time and collect quantitative data.
Respondent 3, who produces materials for other teachers' use, comprehensively evaluates the materials usedthrough collaboration with the teaching team. Only Respondent 4 comments that she "doesn't always" evaluate
the materials that she uses.

Suggestions for Raising the Quality ofMaterials Development in JapanAs shown in Table 1, the respondents follow theframework's steps to some degree, but the responses
often indicated a lack of confidence and expertise indeveloping materials. Respondent 2 raised the very
good question, "if they aren't using a materials
development framework, why aren't they?" which
prompted us to ask the respondents forrecommendations as to what can be done to ensure
quality materials are produced. Based on the responses,
follow-up questions and the overall data, the sections
below offer some concrete suggestions on how
professional language teacher associations such as
JALT, JACET, ETJ, and other organizations can better
mobilize the whole profession towards producing higher
quality materials. Below, these are collectively referred
to as associations.

Raise the Quality of Research and Knowledge
Respondent 2 succinctly described his two "pet peeves"about the field:

One, so much of what is being written is just passed on
as truth and not critically reflected on, there is so much
bad research out there, and two that we seem to be ina bubble where what else is going on in the academic,
educational, psychological, and even linguistics fields
just pass us by.
What can associations do to encourage teachers to lookto the wider research field in order to go beyond thisbubble? There is indeed a whole established academic
field devoted to materials creation called Instructional
Design (ID) that produces models focused on the topic
of how to write learning materials. ADDIE (Branson etal., 1975), for example, is considered the original
materials design framework that all modern models are
based on. Its five steps are Analysis, Design,
Development, Implementation and Evaluation (ADDIE).
Unfortunately, the field of EFL, including the framework
developed by Jolly and Bolitho, often takes little heed ofthis wider field. While language teaching may
undoubtedly be considered a unique form of teaching
and learning and deserving of its own distinctivemodel(s) for materials creation, these models could
benefit by being grounded in the larger field of ID.

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Respondent 4 suggests that associations should"incentivize it." Many teachers want their names on
papers and books so that they can hold onto their jobs,
improve their skills, or move up. Associations can set up
mechanisms to get people involved in putting together
practical summaries of research fields such as ID andgiving them credit for it. These summaries can beshared through publications, online videos andworkshops. By giving people recognition, both theteacher and the knowledge base of the wholeprofession can gain.
Associations can also raise the level of knowledge in theprofession by providing a greater focus on materials
development in their publications and events. Everylanguage teacher has a direct professional interest in
learning materials and could benefit from greater
knowledge of the fundamentals of the field.

Provide Better Training for Teachers
Our respondents all noted that most teachers andmaterials designers are not formally trained in materials
development and are drawing on their own experiencesof teaching. Respondent 2 says:
I would argue that most ESL/EFL teachers are
untrained and therefore likely to be writing materials
based on intuition, etc. The same way that they teachbased on intuition. No one ever taught them how to write
materials, so they make it up as they go.
Respondent 1 says that he is not familiar with the theory
behind material development but guesses that there"are some decent ones out there." How canassociations raise awareness of these "decent ones?"
Respondent 4 recommends having very practicalworkshops led by an experienced and theory-awarematerials writer as chapter presentations or online
workshops. These could lead to the creation of a seriesof online workshops or videos by experts in the field tointroduce the current state of knowledge and practices
in a particular area such as Instructional Design.
Teachers designing materials often begin with their own
enthusiasm and knowledge about a particular area
while possibly ignoring the specific language needs oftheir students. Certainly, enthusiasm and knowledge
must be maintained in the classroom, but ideally, they
are channeled into a principled framework with aconcise pedagogical objective to meet the needs of thelearners. How can associations provide support forteachers so that they can utilize their enthusiasm withina principled framework that leads to quality learning
experiences for students? Again, workshops can beused to connect enthusiasm and existing knowledge toprinciples and frameworks. Expert material writers cancreate standards, what we might call the lowest
common denominator for texts, for example, having theteachers in the workshop specify a list of grammar
points, reading skills, vocabulary, or other learning
targets that are potentially covered by a text and its
related learning activities. While it may be difficult tocome up with a definitive list of what learners will learn
from any specific set of materials, even an attempt toidentify the learning points is extremely valuable inraising teacher awareness and will help teachers todevelop more effective materials. Workshops should
remind teachers that it is important to utilize their
enthusiasm and expertise, but the pedagogical goal is
to make sure students learn.

Provide Feedback and Vetting for Materials
Teachers often create their materials alone or in a small
group and may get insufficient feedback on theirmaterials from other teachers or experts in the field.
Respondent 4 recommends that associations set up agroup of vetters who are willing to look at materials to
see if they are fulfilling the basic standards. The vetterswould follow standards and provide constructive
criticism of the materials so that the teacher can
improve and refine them. When a teacher's materials do
get vetted, and they become more knowledgeable ofstandards, they can eventually be encouraged to act
ethically and support other writers by vetting theirmaterials at some future point. In this way, a vibrantstandards-based community can be slowly established.

Share Resources to Reduce Time Required
A lack of time is a major impediment to material design.
Respondent 1 noted that "Audio and video production
will eat up years of your life when you do it yourself." It
used to be difficult to source photographs that could be
used in materials without copyright issues arising. Sites
like Pixabay have made this considerably easier, but
having a dedicated site hosted by associations could be
more powerful. Teachers could use it to share photos,
videos, audio and exercises that they have created.
These could be tagged so that they are easily
searchable.

Share Skills with other Teachers
Another major barrier for developing materials is a lackof skills, and skill-sharing is a very modern, effective
solution. For example, if you have a project that needsa large number of listening scripts to be recorded, it canbe a daunting task for a single teacher, but bycrowdsourcing it, some teachers can record segments
and send the audio easily. The technology to do this is
now available on everyone's smartphone and has beenusedeffectively
byexisting
sites
like

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breakingenglish.com. Other skills that can be sharedinclude layout, video production, photography,
discipline-specific expertise, and so much more.

have led to the concrete suggestions outlined in theprevious section.

Encourage Institutions to Give Longer
Employment Contracts
Murray (2013) and others have talked about the stresscaused by short-term employment contracts at schools
and universities in Japan. This has a strong negative
impact on teachers' ability to create materials, asevidenced by Respondent 2's response:
Last year my contract ran out, and I moved to a new
university from April. When I have to do this, my firstpriority is learning how to fit in at the new school andteaching classes is my second (or even third) priority.
After I am feeling comfortable at the new university, thenI will begin to write new materials.
Employment contracts are a complex issue and not one
that can be easily resolved, but it is surely one of theassociations' roles to improve the perception of
language teachers and to aim to improve their working
conditions. Respondent 4 replies practically that:Conclusion
To summarize, based upon our previous research andthese case studies, materials development in Japanneeds a more solid foundation to overcome the current
shortage of time, resources, and expertise. To achievethis, measures such as workshops to improve thequality of research and practice; mechanisms for
feedback, sharing resources, and skill-sharing, andencouraging institutions to give longer employment
contracts must be considered. If these actions are taken,
then the EFL industry in Japan will eventually move tohigher quality materials, and our learners will be theeventual winners.

References

If an association starts acting like a union, they aregoing to scare institutions away. They won't like being
told how to manage their staff. Instead, the association
could set up their own SIG or resource centercomposed of admins at universities and schools who
can provide good information based on their own
experience and insider knowledge in order to help
individual teachers in learning how to best deal
professionally and effectively with institutions.

Branson, R.K.; Rayner, G.T.; Cox, J.L.; Furman, J.P.;

This type of structure within an association could be avery useful resource. On a more formal level, theassociation may not be able to advocate directly for
longer contracts, but it can potentially work indirectly
and in conjunction with other associations and teacher
unions to help institutions understand that short-term
contracts are in nobody's best interest, and they are
impacting on teacher dedication and student learning.

Jolly, D., & Bolitho, R. (2011). A framework for

King, F.J.; Hannum, W.H. (1975). Interservice
procedures for instructional systems
development. TRADOC Pam 350-30,
NAVEDTRA 106A Vol. 1-5 ed.). Fort Monroe,
VA.

materials writing. In B. Tomlinson (Ed.),
Materials development in language teaching(pp. 107-134). Cambridge University Press.
Lieberson, S. (2000). Small N's and big conclusions.
Case study method. Key issues, key texts.
London, England: Sage, 208-222.

Limitations
While offering an insight into the lived experiences offour experienced EFL teachers in Japan, this study
does have limitations. First, the number of case studies
is small, making it difficult to draw definite conclusions
that would be better justified with empirical data basedon a larger number of cases. The respondents were all
experienced teachers in tertiary education, which
represents only a part of the diverse nature of the EFL
industry. Future work should aim to include a wider
diversity of respondents. Despite these limitations, theresearchers believe the findings are beneficial as they

McGrath, I. (2013). Teaching materials and the roles of
EFL/ESL teachers: Practice and theory. London,
England: Bloomsbury.
Murray, A. (2013). Teacher burnout in Japanesehigher education. The Language Teacher, 37(4),
51–54.

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Saw, T. S. (2016). Evaluating the external materials

Tomlinson, B. (Ed.). (2011). Materials development inused for cultural elements in ELT course-books

language teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge,

through teacher perception of teaching andEngland: Cambridge University Press.

learning. Unpublished PhD thesis. University ofEssex.

Tomlinson, B. (2012). Materials development for
language learning and teaching. Language

Tomlinson, B. (2010). What do teachers think aboutteaching, 45(2), 143-179.

EFL textbooks? Modern English teacher, 19(4),5-9.

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Appendix A:
Respondent Biodata
Respondent

Workplace

GenderMaterials Development Experience

1

University

MaleOver 10 years

2

University

MaleOver 10 years

3

UniversityMale

7-10 years

4

University

FemaleOver 10 years

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Appendix B: Questionnaire
Section 1: General Information

Q1. What is/are your teaching context(s)?
University
Senior High School
Junior High School
Elementary School
Kindergarten
English Language School
Private Language Teacher
Other

Q.2 How much experience do you have in developing your own ESL materials?
less than 1 year
1 - 3 years
4 - 6 years
7 - 10 years
Over 10 years

Q3. Have you ever used a framework to help create your ESL materials?
Yes
No

Q4. If you have used a materials development framework, could you please identify which one you used?

Section 2: Jolly and Bolitho Framework

In this section, we are exploring how well Jolly and Bolitho's (2011) seven-step framework describes the process thatyou are following in developing materials. For each step, please read the description. Then write whether this describes
your process. At the end, you will have a chance to describe other things that you do.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 237

Step 1. Identification of a Need
The teacher establishes the goal of the learning materials. (What do the learners need to learn? Is it for general English,
academic English, English for tourism, ESP, or some other area?)

Step 2. Exploration of Language
The teacher considers the language functions, grammar, vocabulary, genre, and so on that are required to fulfil the need.

Step 3. Contextual realization
The teacher imagines a suitable context for embedding the language practice tasks, for example, conversations, roleplays, readings and so on.

Step 4. Pedagogical Realization
The teacher considers how the materials are actually going to be used in the classroom in a way that will achieve thegoal.

Step 5. Physical Production
The teacher creates the materials in paper or digital form in a way that can be accessed by learners.

Use in Classroom
The learning materials are used in the classroom with the students.

Step 6. Evaluation of Materials
The teacher evaluates the materials prior to using them, whilst using them and post using them.

Section 3: Other

Q. What do you find most challenging about materials development? You can write your own comments in the nextquestion.

Not enough time to develop materials
Difficult to think of ideas for materials
Difficult to know the appropriate level for students

Q. What do you find most challenging?

Q. Given the choice, would you prefer to use a coursebook or develop your own materials? Explain.

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Q. In earlier research, we identified four approaches to Materials Development. Which of these best describe your own
approach? You can write your own comments in the next question.

Theory-Informed Approach
Practical Approach
Curriculum-Centered Approach
Guided by Own Interest

Q. Please explain your approach to materials development.

Q. Any other comments about materials development?

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Self-report and Heart Rate: Examining the Need for Integrating Measures ofJapanese College Entrance Examination Test Anxiety
Jonathan Shachter
Kyushu Sangyo University

Traced back to the existence of a perceived threat, students with test anxiety (TA) will experience varying levels of cognitive, physiological,
and/or behavioral responses. Depending on the degree of a particular response or combination of responses, a student's academic
performance can be negatively impacted. When TA affects outcomes on "high-stakes" Japanese university college-entrance examinations,for example, future prospects can be permanently altered. Moreover, if testing systems do not factor in the existence of TA, the validity of thetest itself is open to criticism because a test anxious student's IQ may not be accurately assessed. For theses reasons, it is my view that thenature and measurement of TA should be carefully scrutinized. In the following narrative review, (a) the high-stakes testing system in Japan,(b) the relationship between anxiety, performance and flow, and (c) the background of TA research will be discussed. The final section
addresses the main aim of this narrative review, which is to assess the value of integrating self-reported measures of Japanese college
entrance examination TA with heart rate response.

テスト不安（TA）を持つ学生は、脅威の存在を認識することで、さまざまなレベルの認知的、生理的、行動的反応を経験することになります。特定の反応や反応の組み合わせの度合いによって、学生の学業成績にマイナスの影響を与えることがあります。例えば、日本の大学入試のような「ハイステークステスト」の結果に TA が影響を及ぼすと、将来の見通しが永久に変わってしまう可能性があります。また、TA の存在を考慮しない試験制度では、IQ を正確に評価できない可能性があるため、試験そのものの妥当性が批判されることになります。このような理由から、TA の性
質と測定方法は慎重に吟味されるべきであると私は考えています。以下のナラティブレビューでは、（a）日本におけるハイステークステスト制度、（b）不安とパフォーマンスとフローとの関係、（c）TA 研究の背景について論じます。最後のセクションでは、このナラティブレビューの主な目的である、日本の大学入試 TA の自己申告による測定と心拍反応とを統合することの価値を評価することに言及します。

Tracing its origins to the 1950s, test anxiety (TA) has
been a particular area of interest for parents, educatorsand psychologists alike (Mandler & Sarason, 1952;
Tobias, 1985; Hodapp et al., 2011). Manifesting as selfperceived levels of threat or pressure during evaluative
scenarios, TA can trigger cognitive, physiological, andbehavioural responses (Fairclough et al., 2006). The
level or intensity in which an individual experiences TA
can negatively affect academic performance (Hembree,
1988; Roos et al., 2021). It is therefore crucial to ensure
the validity of TA measuring systems (Zeidner &Matthews, 2003). Data drawn from effective TA
measuring systems can aid researchers in (a)accurately identifying the extent to which TA impacts
assessment outcomes, and (b) developing strategies tohelp test anxious students succeed. These dual goals
are especially important when the stakes of a test are
high. In Japan, the stakes of an entrance examination
are significant –– an individual's future success is linked
to the name of the university attended and university

acceptance is predicated upon the results of a yearlynational and/or school-specific "high-stakes" test (Saito,2006).
In the following narrative review, historical models thathave examined the effects of anxiety on performance
will be investigated, and key validated measures thatare commonly used in TA research studies will be
discussed. Until recently, the majority of these TA
measures have been self-reports (Daly et al., 2011).
However, there are limitations to findings that draw
conclusions exclusively using subjective measures(Coughlin, 1990; Flessati & Jamieson, 1991; Putwain &Daly, 2014). Consequently, there has been a call for
integrating self-reports with more objective parameters,such as heart rate response (Ganster et al., 2018). To
examine this issue further, the following will be
reviewed: (a) the role of high-stakes testing in Japanesesociety, (b) the relationship between anxiety,performance and flow and (c) the background of TA

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research. The main aim of this narrative review is toassess the value of integrating self-reported measuresof Japanese college entrance examination TA withheart rate response. When considering physiologicalresponses to stress (e.g., blood pressure, cortisol, etc.),
heart rate was chosen because it is widely considered
to be (a) the least obtrusive in data collection and (b) the
least expensive to obtain for research purposes(Ganster et al., 2018).

High Stakes Testing in Japan
In Japan, the notion of who graduated from what
university is a "national obsession" (Ono, 2007, p. 4).
Although there are roughly 600 universities in Japan,
49% of CEOs listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange
graduated from the top 5 universities and 63%
graduated from the top 10 (Ono, 2007). For context,
Capelli and Hamori (2004) found that only 10% of CEOs
in American Fortune 100 companies graduated from the'Ivy League' (e.g., Harvard). In contrast to American
universities where entrance is based on a variety offactors (SAT score, GPA, extracurricular activities, etc.),
in Japan, the selection process is almost exclusively
predicated upon a once-a-year school-specific college
entrance exam (Saito, 2006). As a consequence,
Japanese parents are confronted with the notion of 'apathway to success', in which high-stakes testing, withlong-reaching consequences, begins long before
university. This pathway often starts by entering thepremier middle and high school in their city, or even insome cases, a region (Saito, 2006; Ono, 2007). Premierhigh schools in Japan attain this status by publishingyearly rates of student acceptance to top tieruniversities. Acceptance into these premier middle andhigh schools is also determined by the results of a oncea-year school-specific entrance examination (Saito,
2006; Ono, 2007). "Success or failure on an entrance
examination can influence a student's entire future,since the prospect of finding a good job depends on theschool attended" (Johnson & Johnson, 1996, p. 2).
Even if a child has gained acceptance into a premierschool, teachers do not have sufficient time in the year
to cover the vast amount of content contained within acollege entrance exam (Saito, 2006). For this reason,
Japanese parents often spend a considerable amountof money on juku or cram schools. Cram schools are
private study centres whose only function is to prepare
students for college entrance examinations (Hawkins &Tanaka, 1992). Saito (2006) outlines a typical weekwhere Japanese students will go straight from their'regular school' to their cram school. They may eat aquick dinner at the center and stay there for private
lessons and intensive study until late in the evening. As
a result, students are often fatigued the following day
and many will sleep through their regular school lessons.
Teachers at regular schools allow this because they

understand that students must spend a considerable
amount of time "cramming" information in the hopes ofretaining it long enough to pass the exam.
It appears that Japanese university examinationcommittees have placed a priority on knowledge
retention. Prioritising the input and retention functions
may be limited in scope, however, when considering thedebilitating effects TA has on processing and output(Tobias, 1985). There will be a percentage of students
who have retained knowledge at a high enough level topass an exam, but end up failing due to their cripplinglevels of TA (Zeidner & Matthews, 2003). In Japan, this
impediment will unfortunately have a direct andnegative impact on future success. Some students
choose a career path that does not require a college
degree while others may become Ronin students.
While some Japanese high school students target one
university, others may apply to multiple universities,
take multiple entrance examinations, and then maketheir selection based on the test results. If a student (a)fails their preferred college's entrance examination, (b)fails their back-up schools, or (c) prefers not to attend
their back-up school, they do have an opportunity to retake their preferred college's examination the following
year (Saito, 2006; Ono, 2007). However, during thistimeframe they are considered Ronin –– a negative
connotative term commonly used in feudal Japan todescribe a hired mercenary (Yamamoto, 2001). Unlike
a 'true' Samurai, Ronin functioned outside society; andas a result, would lose the respect and connection with
their local and national communities (Yamamoto, 2001).
To 're-enter society', modern Ronin students may spend
1 - 2 years in specialty cram schools (at a considerable
expense), preparing to retake their first-choice college
entrance examination (Saito, 2006; Ono, 2007). Eachtime a Ronin student re-takes a college entrance
examination the pressure will continue to mount –– thisaccompanying anxiety may negatively affectperformance outcomes. Perhaps, the Japanese highstakes system is designed to reward students with theability to perform under pressure, rather than those whotruly understand the material. Understanding therelationship between anxiety, performance and flow
may explain why some individuals reach their peakpotential during pressure, while others crumble.

The relationship between anxiety,performance and flow
The basic tenets about the relationship between anxiety
and performance can be traced back to 1908 when
Yerkes and Dodson conducted a series of stimulus tests
on mice. Their initial findings showed that moderatelevels of stimulus correlated with peak task performance.
Moreover, a bell-shaped curve was evident, in whichvery low, as well as very high, shock intensity were

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associated with lower task performance. The
relationship between stimulus levels and performance
would later be known as the "inverted-U hypothesis"(Hebb, 1955, p. 250) or the Yerkes-Dodson 'Law'(Teigen, 1994, p. 528).
In 1955, Hebb introduced the concept of arousal, andhighlighted a correlation between arousal andperformance. Around the same time, Schlosberg (1954)
and Duffy (1957) identified a curvilinear relationshipbetween arousal (which they labelled activation) andperformance (Teigen, 1994). This relationship was used
to examine the efficiency and/or quality of a particularperformance. Similar models by Hardy (1999) support
the curvilinear relationship and the Yerkes-Dodson Law.
While
the
relationshipbetweenarousal/activation/stimulation and peak performancecontinued to be a source of interest for psychologists
throughout the 20th century (Deffenbacher et al., 1977;
Martens et al., 1990), researchers also endeavoured tofurther understand performance failures.
A performance catastrophe (an extreme version of aperformance failure) occurs when an individual's
performance degrades to a total breakdown of physicaland/or cognitive functioning (Hardy & Parfitt, 1991).
Hardy (1999) proposed two theories aimed at explaining
this phenomenon. The "process efficiency theory"
states that cognitive anxiety may cause performers todivert resources and energy to "allay their concerns andfears" (Hardy, 1999, p. 227). So while performance may
be maintained, there is an added psychological strain
that requires increased effort from the performer. Overtime, the stress of this increased effort may cause
fatigue, which in turn may negatively affect performance.
Hardy's second theory, named the "conscious
processing hypothesis" (p. 227), suggests that when
performers experience heightened levels of anxiety, aregression occurs to an earlier stage of skill
development –– this regression may cause more
controlled movement and less flow. In contrast to a
performance catastrophe, an individual can avoid
debilitating cognitive and physical reactions byremaining "in flow" (Nakamura & Csikszentmihalyi,
2014, p. 90).
Flow occurs when task-essential cognitive and physicalfunctioning becomes automatic (Nakamura &Csikszentmihalyi, 2014). Individuals enter this state byintensely focusing on the task at hand –– when entering
this state, a person loses awareness of their selfconsciousness. Losing self-consciousness awarenessallows performers to enter a "flow experience", whereby
they become free of potential debilitating anxiety thatmayaccompany
evaluative
scenarios(Csikszentmihalyi & Csikszentmihalyi, 1992; Nakamura& Csikszentmihalyi, 2014). While in a flow state, aperformer's perception of time can be distorted(Nakamura & Csikszentmihalyi, 2014). Interest into how

individuals perform while in a flow state has spurred
research over a wide range of fields, including e-sports(professional video game competitions).
In a recent publication, Schmidt et al. (2020) examinedthe effect of cortisol, flow and anxiety on performance
during an e-sports tournament. Cortisol levels(measured via saliva) were collected at three points just prior to game start, immediately following a game,and 30 minutes after a game. In addition to cortisol
measures, the participants completed a survey called
the "Flow Short Scale" (p. 1) following the game. The
main function of the Flow Short Scale was to organisea player's responses into two categories: flow
experience or anxiety. Referencing the cortisol results,
physiological arousal was shown to increasesignificantly from baseline to postgame in all players.
Similarly, self-reported flow experience represented asimilar pattern across all competitors. When evaluating
the cortisol results between the game winners and thelosers, however, three arousal groups appeared:
highest, median and lowest. The players who won mostof their games (7 wins, 3 losses) had (comparatively)
low to moderate physiological arousal. The middle
group (4 wins, 3 losses) was classified as highly
aroused. The players who had the lowest arousal
performed the worst (1 win, 5 losses). Surprisingly, selfreported anxiety results did not correlate with arousal;
notably, winners showed higher levels of anxiety thanlosers. Schmidt et al. (2020) concluded that optimal
performance occurs when levels of anxiety exceed
arousal.
Schmidt et al.’s (2020) results at least partially align with
the Yerkes-Dodson Law/ inverted-U hypothesis in thata certain level of anxiety improves performance.
Identifying precisely when (and how far) anxiety levels
exceed arousal may help researchers pinpoint the timeat which anxiety begins to adversely affect performance.
This line of research may help a variety of individuals
who are either looking to (a) reach peak performance,or (b) avoid performance catastrophes by staying in an
optimal flow/competitive state. Research into therelationship between anxiety, arousal and performanceis particularly relevant to formal testing situations, where
TA can be debilitating for those taking a test.

Background of Test Anxiety Research
Test Anxiety (TA) is a unique construct of anxiety due
to its multidimensional classification (Spielberger &Gonzalez, 1980; Fairclough, 2006; Daly et al. 2011).
Defined as both a form of state anxiety and as asituation-specific personality trait, "trait test anxiety andevaluative situations may be seen as interacting toprovoke states of anxiety" (Zeidner & Matthews, 2003,
p. 2). This definition aligns with Fairclough et al.’s (2006)
viewpoint, who indicate that reactions to TA can be

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affected by situational factors as well as by trait
dispositions. In particular, a person may have existing
TA propensities (trait) which are augmented by levels ofanxiety that arise during stress-inducing evaluative
scenarios (state), or a person may not have existing TA
traits and are only impacted by specific evaluative
scenarios.
Interest in the degree to which anxiety affects academic
performance can be traced to the research of Mandler
and Sarason (1952). Using their Test Anxiety
Questionnaire (TAQ) as a data collection tool, Mandler
and Sarason found that test anxious students (asidentified by the TAQ) performed significantly worse on
academic assessments than their non-anxious
counterparts. Mandler and Sarason posited that duringassessments, two psychological drives emerge: task
directed drives and anxiety drives. Task-directed drives
stimulate task completion. In contrast, anxiety drives
can trigger a variety of detrimental responses, which
can include self-deprecating thoughts and urges toleave the test environment (Mandler & Sarason, 1952).
For test anxious students, cognitive resources are spent
on task irrelevant thoughts, notably ruminations, whichwere later found to be the main factor that explained theperformance gap that existed between test anxious andtask-directed students (Wine, 1971; Tobias, 1985;
Zeidner, 2007). Task and anxiety drives were later
classified by Alpert and Haber (1960) as facilitating anddebilitating anxieties, respectively.
Mandler and Sarason (1952) designed the Test Anxiety
Questionnaire (TAQ) to test their theory that task andanxiety drives (facilitating and debilitating anxieties)
were separate entities and do not occur simultaneously.
Alpert and Haber (1960) countered this position byclaiming that people could experience various levels offacilitating and debilitating anxieties separately or
simultaneously. Liebert and Morris (1967) further
expanded the dimension of Alpert and Haber's (1960)
debilitating TA theory by suggesting that task-irrelevant
thinking (which Liebert and Morris (1967) called'cognitive worry') was not the only component ofdebilitating test anxiety. Test anxious students werealso said to experience autonomic reactions (i.e.,
accelerated heart rate, perspiration, shaking, etc.) ––Liebert and Morris (1967) categorized all physiologicalreactions as 'autonomic-emotional responses' (which
they labelled emotionality). From 1967, worry (i.e., task
irrelevant ruminations) and emotionality (i.e.,
physiological responses) became the standard
terminology used to define the two components of TA(Tobias, 1985; Hembree, 1988).
While there is still debate surrounding which component
has a more negative impact on performance (e.g.,
Fairclough, 2006), Wine (1971) concluded that task
irrelevant ruminations are more debilitating to the task
drive than those related to "autonomic arousal" (p. 92).

This conclusion aligns with leading language learning
anxiety researchers, who argue that worry reactions
impact the diversion of cognitive resources more sothan physiological responses (Tobias, 1985; MacIntyre& Gardner, 1994, Woodrow, 2006). The components ofworry and emotionality (Liebert & Morris, 1967) are thefundamental principles that comprise the "interference
model of test anxiety" (Hembree, 1988, p. 48). Although
Speilberger et al.'s (1980) Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI)
continues to be one of the most popular self-reportmeasures in the field (Roos et al., 2021), depending on
the study, researchers may employ a variety of TA,
state, and trait questionnaires (Zeidner & Matthews,
2003). Large-scale systematic reviews (Hembree,
1988; von der Embse et al., 2018) present significant
evidence that TA has a debilitating effect on
performance. The question remains, however, of how
best to measure both worry and emotionality in any
given testing situation, or whether such simultaneous
measurement is needed at all.

Is there a need to integrate self-reported
measures with heart rate response?
Effectively tracking the effects of TA can be complicated
due to the interacting nature of the body's cognitive andphysiological triggers (Fairclough, 2006; Ganster et al.,2018). The two components of TA, worry andemotionality, can separately impact performance. Whenthey interact however, a performance catastrophe canoccur. Performance catastrophes often involve a"vicious spiral" when debilitating internal ruminations
cause physiological responses and vice versa(Fairclough, 2006, p. 45). Both internal ruminations andphysiological responses can trigger the body's coping
mechanisms (Ganster et al., 2018), and consequently,
may result in the diversion of cognitive resources awayfrom task-related functioning. If a researcher only
collects self-reported TA measures (e.g., Spielberger etal.'s TAI), they may have difficulty arguing which
component acted first. To better understand theelements of a vicious spiral, a researcher will need todetermine (a) which component triggered what
response, (b) at what time, and (c) to what degree.
While some of these unknowns may be clarified with
self-reported data, a combination of self-reported andphysiological measures may be a more effective
methodology (Zeidner & Matthews, 2003; Ganster et al.,2018).
There are a number of key validated measures thathave been published in TA literature and which arecommonly used in academic settings (e.g., Mandler &Seymour Sarason, 1952; Liebert & Morris, 1967;
Spielberger, 1980; Hodapp, 1991; Cassady & Johnson,
2002, Hodapp et al., 2011). However, until recently, themajority of this body of work has focused primarily on

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self-report measures. While measuring TA withquestionnaires does have advantages (e.g., strong
psychometric properties, cost, simplicity, etc.), there arelimitations to conclusions drawn from findings that rely
solely on self-reports (Zeidner & Matthews, 2003;
Ganster et al., 2018). One of these limitations can beapplied to the claim that TA produces a higher stressresponse in females.
One major criticism of self-reports revolves around the
topic of "recall bias" (Coughlin, 1990, p. 87). Recall bias
can be influenced by a number of factors including "time,
personal characteristics, significance of events, social
desirability, interviewing technique, and the design ofquestionnaires" (Coughlin, 1990, pp. 87-89). In regards
to personal characteristics (i.e., age, nationality, genderetc.), in a comprehensive review of 562 TA studies from1950 - 1986, Hembree (1988) noted that femalesconsistently reported higher levels of TA than males.
Moreover, after "level" (i.e., aptitude and/or experience),"sex" was listed as the second main cause of debilitating
TA (Hembree, 1988, p. 60). Since 1988, these findings
have been consistently corroborated (e.g., Putwain &Daly, 2014; Aydin, 2019). Although researchers agree
that female respondents consistently report higher
levels of TA (Hembree, 1988; Putwain & Daly, 2014;
Aydin, 2019), some question the possibility of ‘genderreport bias’ (Flessati & Jamieson, 1991; Lowe, 2014).
Do females actually experience higher levels of TA thanmales, or are males underreporting their self-perceived
anxiety levels?
Stoyanova and Hope (2012) suggest that males may be
purposely underreporting their TA levels as a show ofmasculinity. By masking their fears, males avoid beinglabeled vulnerable or weak. This is in contrast to women,
who may be more comfortable relaying their true fears.
Studies have claimed that females experience higher
levels of threat during math and science assessments(Araki, 1992; Satake & Amato, 1995; Devine et al.,2012). However, researchers may be discounting thepossibility that females are more self-critical than males(Flessati & Jamieson, 1991; Harris et al., 2019). Without
having a physiological measure, researchers cannot becertain that females physiologically experience TA
differently than males, or whether they simply report it
differently. Combined with the fact that TA is associatedwith both state and trait forms of anxiety (Zeidner &Matthews, 2003; Fairclough, 2006) there is a case to bemade that a combination of self-reports and objective
parameters may be a more effective way to measure TA.
As discussed previously, Japanese college entrance
examinations
havesignificant
andlong-term
consequences. Students who fail these exams face theprospect of altering their career path, repeating a yearof study, as well as re-taking the exam (Saito 2006; Ono,2007). As a result, college entrance exams can be ahighly anxiety-provoking situation, and in a worst-casescenario, induce a performance catastrophe. During aperformance catastrophe, physiological responses
trigger worry ruminations, which in turn trigger further
physiological responses. These anxiety responses canbuild in momentum, and all the while, continue to divert
cognitive resources away from task relevant functioning(Fairclough et al., 2006). Consequently, assessment
outcomes may not effectively project a student's true
abilities (Zeidner & Matthews, 2003; Olani, 2009).
If a researcher only collects self-reported measures,
they may have difficulty identifying causal mechanisms(i.e., factors leading to a performance catastrophe) ––hence there is a need for longitudinal designs, which
include the measuring of physiological stress responses
in real time. By integrating self-reports with heart ratemeasures, researchers may be able to identify andcategorise with more accuracy the strength of stressresponses at different points in time. For example, aJapanese high school student could begin tracking theirself-perceived levels of TA during regular school
lessons, cram school lessons and mock assessments.
In conjunction with self-reports, heart rate could bemonitored with wearable fitness trackers (e.g., Fitbit™).
Before taking the test, a student could have a clear data
set of both heart rate and self-reported measures. At thevery least, a student could be made aware that worry
and emotionality may affect different people in different
ways. Ideally, a student could be coached (e.g.,
breathing, and/or positive psychology techniques) to
avoid performance catastrophes and stay in an ideal
flow/performance state.

Conclusion
Test anxious students in Japan may be at a serious andpossibly unrecognised disadvantage. Hembree (1988)
warned that most testing systems fail to accurately
assess the IQs of test anxious students. As a correlate,projections for future academic success may becompromised (Olani, 2009). This is a serious issue inJapan because when a prospective student's value ismisinterpreted or undervalued, their career prospects
will be lowered and their future earnings will be
negatively impacted (Ono, 2007). Examining the
weaknesses in current TA measuring systems may leadto stronger research practices. I posit that integrating
self-report measures with heart rate response may
prove to be vital in assessing TA more comprehensively.
With an accurate TA assessment, students can beoffered specific strategies to overcome their
physiological and/or worry responses. Armed with thesestrategies, a student may feel more confident that theirtrue academic abilities will be fairly assessed.

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A study of Japanese University Students’ Self-Esteem and a Reflective Activity inthe English Class
Takanori Omura
Soka University

Nowadays, a growing number of institutions and educators in English language teaching (ELT) have been highlighting a psychological aspect.
Particularly, many studies and researchers frequently deal with the field of self-esteem and various methods such as reflective practice that
could affect peoples’ self-esteem. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether there is a correlation between two types ofuniversity students’ self-esteem, global self-esteem (GSE) and foreign language self-esteem (FLSE), and a correlation between those typesof self-esteem and their attitude towards a reflective activity. The online surveys were administered to 103 university students at the start andend of a semester. The results showed that there was a positive correlation between GSE and FLSE, but not between GSE and their attitude
towards the reflective activity. The findings of the present study are expected to be more beneficial in many different educational settings withfurther future research.

今日、心理的な側面に注目している英語教育（ELT）の教育機関や教育者の数が増えている。特に、自己肯定感や反省的実践のような様々な方法が多くの研究や研究者に頻繁に取り扱われている。本研究の目的は、大学生の二種類の自己肯定感、グローバルな自己肯定感（以下、GSE と略す）と外国語の自己肯定感（以下、FLSE と略す）の間の相関、また、それらの自己肯定感と学生の反省的活動に対する態度の間の相関を調査することである。本研究では、１０３人の大学生に対して、学期の初めと終わりにオンライン質問紙法が用いられた。結果として、GSE と FLSE の間には正の相関が示されたが、GSE と反省的活動に対する態度の間には相関は示されなかった。将来のさらなる研究によって多くの教育場面で、本研究の発見がより有益になることが期待される。

Fostering self-esteem has always been an essential
theme in many domains such as psychology andeducation, and a great deal of researchers havededicated their time to develop their domain in relation
to self-esteem as Zeigler-Hill (2013) suggested that selfesteem has been believed to work as an importantfactor in the life of human beings. The definition of selfesteem has not been universally agreed but the term
self-esteem began to appear in the field of psychology
at the end of the 19th century. William James has been
said to be a leading psychologist who influenced manyother psychologists developing the notion of selfesteem. James (1890) suggests that “there is a certain
average tone of self-feeling which each one of us
carries about with him “(p. 306). It is further expectedthat self-esteem related areas are developed from manydifferent perspectives for the better quality of humans’
life even in this new era. In fact, numerous studies havesuggested that self-esteem is connected to importantlife outcomes such as happiness, a sense of satisfaction
in life, and academic outcome (M. Rosenberg, Schooler,
Schoenbach, & F. Rosenberg, 1995; Zeigler-Hill, 2013).
Additionally, methods of enhancing self-esteem havebeen studied in several aspects of language learning,
including, computer assisted language learning (CALL)(Tayebinik & Puteh, 2012), interactive whiteboard use(Schmid, 2007), and cooperative learning (Megahed &Mohammad, 2014; D. W. Johnson, R. T. Johnson, &Taylor, 1993). The types of self-esteem targeted by thepresent study were global self-esteem (GSE) andforeign language self-esteem (FLSE). Among many
ways of distinguishing self-esteem, Rosenberg et al.
(1995) defined global self-esteem as the individual’s
positive and negative attitude toward the self as a
totality. Meanwhile, foreign language self-esteem is theterm used by Hassan (1992; 2001) in his studies.
According to him, foreign language self-esteem isconsidered as a type of domain-specific self-esteem,
and it is the individual’s feeling about himself or herself
in a foreign language learning situation.

Reflective Practice
Reflective practice has often been studied in various
fields such as education and medical care, and it isheavily relevant to the tool for the reflective activity usedin the present study. Among many key researchers in
the area of reflection, Donald Schön is one of the mostwell-known researchers, who helped the term “reflective
practice” draw attention from many people. In his book,the concept of reflection is classified into two types thatare reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action.
According to Schön (1983), reflection-in-action is the

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process that enables people to think how they can
improve the tasks or the situations on which they are
working during the activity. Reflection-in-action
generally occurs when people confront something
unfamiliar or unexpected to them. Meanwhile,reflection-on-action is the process that allows people toreflect on the tasks or the phenomenon after they haveoccurred. With reflection-on-action, people try tocontemplate the past activity that they got involved in,their particular action, why the process of their thoughtproceeded in a particular way, and how the situation
could have been improved. In this paper, reflection-onaction is the type that is focused on more because thetool, which is the Daily reflection sheet, used in the classenables the participants to reflect on the classes theyexperienced.

The Relationship Between Self-Esteem
and Self-Reflection
It is widely accepted that self-reflection is one of the key
factors to boost self-esteem. In a study conducted by
Johnson and Stapel (2011), the effect of self-reflection
on global self-esteem and performance was examined.
The author concluded that while reflecting on successfulothers is effective to enhance only global self-esteem,
reflecting on one-self is more effective and appropriate
not only to boost global self-esteem performance but
also to gain higher performance. However, in theirresearch, only one type of self-esteem was focused on.
The present study can make a further contribution byhighlighting two types of self-esteem, which could
broaden our analytical perspective against the state ofself-esteem. A study by Langer (2009) focused on theeffect of reflective writing on the participant’s selfesteem. In the article dealing with a case study, theauthor investigated one participant who was studying on
a workforce certification program at Columbia University,and tracked the trajectory of that participant’s selfesteem for more than a year. The author found thatreflective writing which the participant had beenrequired throughout the program significantly helped
him increase his self-esteem according to the narratives.
Although any instruments were not used in this study tomeasure the level of self-esteem, this case study
reveals the potentiality of the reflective practice forcultivating self-esteem. However, it seems that little
attention has been paid to the relationship between selfesteem and reflective writing. Since the reflective
activity employed in the present study is also a written
form of reflection, the findings of the present study could
be beneficial for the development of this research area.

Purpose of the Research

The purpose of the present study was to investigate
whether there is a correlation between two types ofuniversity students’ self-esteem, global self-esteem(GSE) and foreign language self-esteem (FLSE), and acorrelation between those two types of self-esteem andtheir attitude towards the reflective activity. The online
surveys were administered at the start and end of asemester, and the participants’ level of GSE and FLSE,
and their attitude towards the reflective activity were
measured. In order to conduct a reflective activity, an
online daily reflection sheet was implemented, and all
students in the class were asked to fill out this sheet
after every class. In addition, they were notified that the
Daily reflection sheet would be included in the course
grade.

Research Questions
1.

Do the students’ global self-esteem (GSE) andforeign language self-esteem (FLSE) correlate?

2.

Do those two types of self-esteem and their attitude
towards the reflective activity correlate?

3.

Which parts of the reflective activity especiallyhelped the attitude to become more positive?

MethodThis section of the paper covers the methodology usedin the present study, and the subsections discussed
here are participant profiles and background,
Instruments and Materials, procedure, and data
analysis.

Participant Profiles and Background
The participants were the current Japanese
undergraduate students in three different faculties at a
private university in Tokyo. It is required for the students
to take the Basic English course. While 55 students intotal participated in the survey at the beginning of thesemester, 48 students participated in the survey at theend of the semester. Additionally, students in thepresent study were taught online from the first semesterof 2020 until the end of the second semester of 2021
due to the pandemic of COVID-19.

Instruments and Materials
This subsection covers the description of the
instruments and materials. Whereas the online surveys
were employed as an instrument, the Online Daily
reflection sheet was the material used in the actualclass.

Surveys

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The surveys in the present study were administered in
English with Japanese translation. They included a
demographic information of gender, Rosenberg selfesteem scale (RSE) (Rosenberg, 1965) measuring
global self-esteem, the foreign language self-esteem
scale (Hassan, 2001), and a question regarding the
Daily reflection sheet, and the data was garnered in
September 2020 and in January 2021 (SeeAppendices). A question regarding the Daily reflection
sheet was included only in the survey at the end of thesemester in order to elicit students’ opinions on whether
the sheet helped them become positive.

Online Daily reflection sheet
The Online Daily reflection sheet was implemented
throughout the academic year. The items consisted the
Daily reflection sheet were: a) How did you feel about
your homework?, b) What was your goal for today?, c)
What did you learn in this class?, d) Any feedback/questions/ comments to the class or the teacher, and e)Compliment yourself. Choose one from 1~3 andcomplete the sentence. The students were required tofill out all the items every after the class. In addition, thestudents were notified that this assignment would be
included in the course grade.

responses was calculated to analyze which item had
been the most effective for the participants.

Results
This section of the paper covers the results obtained
from the collected data and the analysis. The results aredescribed based on the two statistical methods, whichis the Descriptive Statistics and the Pearson Correlation
Coefficient.

The Descriptive Statistics
The first survey
The range of scores, which is the difference between
the minimum and the maximum in GSE was larger thanthe one in FLSE. The mean of GSE (M = 3.10) was
slightly higher than the mean of FLSE (M = 2.96) while
the standard deviation of GSE (SD = .75) was also
higher than the one in the FLSE (SD = .40), whichindicates that the data in GSE are more spread out thanthe data in FLSE. Therefore, the level of FLSE among
the participants is not as different as the level of theirGSE (See Table 1).

The second survey

Procedure
The first online survey was administered to the students
in the beginning of the second semester of 2020 tomeasure the level of both types of self-esteem. The
second online survey was then administered to thestudents at the end of the same semester of 2021 tomeasure the level of both types of self-esteem and theattitude towards the reflective activity. During thesemester, the students were asked to fill out the Daily
reflection sheet after each class, which was consideredas the tool for a reflective practice in the present study.
Therefore, the students were able to have a chance to
do a reflective practice by filling out the Daily reflection
sheet after every class.

A question regarding the attitude towards the reflective
activity was included in the second survey as anotherindependent variable to approach the purpose of thepresent study. Interestingly, the mean of both GSE andFLSE were slightly higher than the group in the firstsurvey, and GSE outweighed FLSE as the first survey.
The standard deviation shows the similar tendency as
the first survey. The mean of attitude towards thereflective activity (M = 3.46) was around the mid-pointof 3 (uncertain) and 4 (agree), which indicates that
relatively more participants felt the reflective practicehelped them improve their positivity (See Table 2).

The correlation
The first survey

Data Analysis
Since the 5-point Likert scale was employed in thesurveys, the range of the means for all items and overallmean lay between 1 and 5. The SPSS software wasused to analyze the data. The minimum, the maximum,
the mean, and the standard deviation for eachdependent variable (GSE, FLSE, and the attitude
towards the reflective activity) in the both surveys were
calculated. In addition, the Pearson Correlation
Coefficient was used in order to measure the correlation
between the variables in each survey and between thevariables in both surveys. Regarding the contents of the
Daily reflection sheet, the proportion of the participants’

The Pearson correlation coefficient was computed toassess the linear relationship between GSE and FLSE
in the first survey. There was a positive correlation
between the two variables, r(53) = .35, p = .009 (SeeTable 3). A scatterplot summarizes the results (SeeFigure 1). Overall, there was a moderately strong,
positive correlation between GSE and FLSE. Increases
in GSE were correlated with increases in FLSE.

The second survey

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Same as the first survey, the Pearson correlation
coefficient was computed to assess the linear
relationship between GSE, FLSE and the attitude
towards the reflective activity in the second survey.
There was a positive correlation between GSE and
FLSE, r(46) = .327, p = .023, and FLSE and the attitude,r(46) = .514, p = .000. However, there was no or anegligible correlation between GSE and the attitude,r(46) = .171, p = .244 (See Table 4). A scatterplot
summarizes the results (See Figure 2) Overall, there
was a moderately strong, positive correlation between
GSE and FLSE, a strong, positive correlation between
FLSE and the attitude.

The correlation between GSE and FLSE (allparticipants)
The Pearson correlation coefficient was also computed
to assess the linear relationship between GSE andFLSE amongst all participants. There was a positive
correlation between GSE and FLSE, r(101) = .340, p= .000, which showed a highly similar result as the one

in the first survey and the one in the second survey
respectively (See Table 5). A scatterplot summarizes
the results (See Figure 3) Overall, there was amoderately strong, positive correlation between GSE
and FLSE amongst all participants, too.

The results of the question regarding the contentsof the Daily reflection sheet
While a greater number of participants showed apositive attitude towards the reflective activity, 20 ofthem provided their response about the items that
effectively helped them become positive. The numberof statements and the proportion is shown in the graphbelow (See Figure 4). More than half or half of those
who responded have selected the item regarding ideas
and opinions to the learning contents, and the item tocompliment oneself as an effective item to make thempositive.

Table 1Results of Descriptive Statistics in the first Survey
VariablesN

Minimum

Maximum

M

SD

GSE

55

1.00

4.80

3.10

.75

FLSE

55

1.88

3.92

2.96

.40

Note. global self-esteem (GSE); foreign language self-esteem (FLSE)

Table 2
Results of Descriptive Statistics in the second Survey
VariablesN

Minimum

Maximum

M

SD

GSE

48

1.30

4.60

3.19

.76

FLSE

48

2.20

4.08

3.00

.41

Attitude

48

1

5

3.46

1.05

Note. global self-esteem (GSE); foreign language self-esteem (FLSE); attitude towards the reflective
activity (Attitude).

Table 3Results of the Pearson Correlation Coefficient in the first Survey
GSE

FLSE

GSE

1

.350**

FLSE.350**

1

Note. **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

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Table 4
Results of the Pearson Correlation Coefficient in the second Survey
GSE

FLSE

Attitude

GSE

1

.327*

.171

FLSE

.327*

1

.514*

Attitude

.171

.514*

1

Note. *. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

Table 5Results of the Pearson Correlation Coefficient for GSE and FLSE in General
GSE

FLSE

GSE

1

.340**FLSE.340**

1

Note. **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Figure 1: Scatterplot depicting the correlation between GSE and FLSE in the first survey
Note. The first survey was conducted in September 2020; Pearson’s r = .35.

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Figure 2: Scatterplot depicting the correlation between GSE and FLSE in the second survey
Note. The second survey was conducted in January 2021; Pearson’s r = .327.

Figure 3: Scatterplot depicting the correlation between GSE and FLSE in general
Note. All participants (N=103) are included in the graph; Pearson’s r = .327.

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Which parts do you think were especially effective?
(multiple answers possible)
20 responses
How did you feel about your homework?

4 (20%)

What was your goal for today?

6 (30%)

What did you learn in this class? Write your ideas and…

12 (60%)

Any feedback/ questions/ comments to the class or the…

9 (45%)

Compliment yourself. (e.g. I'm good at learning English…
Teacher`s Comment

10 (50%)1 (5%)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Figure 4: The results of the question ‘Which parts do you think were especially effective? (multiple answers
possible)’

Discussion
The first aim of the present study was to investigate thecorrelation between the students’ GSE and FLSE. The
results of the correlation between GSE and FLSE in allparticipants has shown that there is a positive
correlation between them. It is notable that thecorrelation between them in the first survey r(53) = .35,
p = .009 and the one in the second survey r(46) = .327,
p = .023 were not so different from each other. This
result indicates that the relationship between theparticipants’ GSE and FLSE in this context remained
almost the same. Thus, the correlation between themmight not be substantially different in general at the startand end of a semester. More attention should be paid
to this area as various results from many different
perspectives could widen the possibility of more efficient
self-esteem development for students in higher
education. The finding led by the first research question
can elicit the cue to answer the second researchquestion, which is, whether the two types of self-esteem
and the students’ attitude towards the reflective activity
correlate. As shown in the result of the second survey,
there was a positive correlation between FLSE and theattitude towards the reflective activity while there wasno or a negligible correlation between GSE and theattitude. Therefore, those who are high in FLSE tend topossess the positive attitude towards the reflective
activity or low FLSE students tend to show the negative
attitude towards it. Johnson and Stapel (2011) foundthat the effect of self-reflection is associated with theincrease of GSE. Although their finding showed theeffectiveness of self-reflection on GSE enhancement, it
seems that the attitude towards the reflective practice ofhigh GSE students is not necessarily positive according
to this finding of the present study. In other words, theymight not really appreciate the reflective practice ormight possess less positivity on it despite its
effectiveness though this is not the case for those whoare high in FLSE. Additionally, Langer (2009) suggested
that reflective writing could boost the individual’s selfesteem in general in the research. The author tracked
one participant and analyzed the narratives that areapparently in relation to the improvement of self-esteem.
This suggestion could significantly support the fact thata large number of participants showed a positive
attitude towards the reflective activity with respect to its
written form of self-reflection. The third aim of thepresent study was to identify which parts of thereflective activity especially helped the students’ attitude
to become more positive. As shown in the result of thequestion regarding the contents of the Daily reflection
sheet, the item regarding ideas and opinions to thelearning contents and item to compliment oneself werethe effective items to make students positive. Therefore,
expressing their ideas and opinions to what they learn
and complimenting themselves seem to create internalbenefit for the students to some extent in a reflective
activity. It is however noted that this argument could
even be strengthened by increasing the number ofparticipants and the longer period of research.

Conclusion
The university students’ GSE and FLSE, and FLSE andtheir attitude towards a reflective activity correlate eachother in the context of the present study. However, GSE
and their attitude do not correlate. Furthermore,
expressing their own ideas and opinions to the learning
contents and complimenting themselves in the Daily
reflection sheet are effective to help them become more

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positive. These findings suggest that both types of selfesteem should be included as a significant factor in the
future research, specifically the research that is relevant
to language teaching. The fact that there is a positive
correlation between two types of self-esteem indicatesthat enhancing either type of self-esteem can lead to theenhancement of the other type, which is so beneficial to
not only students but also to the educators. In addition,
the students’ attitude towards a reflective activity should
be observed more carefully because the degree of theirpositivity towards the activity is the cue to know the levelof FLSE. Moreover, when the educators implement a
reflective activity in the class, providing the students
with the opportunities to express their ideas andopinions and to praise themselves is highly essential.
Although some insightful findings have contributed toseveral research areas, especially to English language
teaching context, this approach provides only a partial
answer. Since the present study was carried out only
during one semester, a longitudinal study might be able
to provide a further valuable result with a larger numberof participants and data that are more accurate. Finally,
these findings could be applied quite reliably in othereducational contexts where the learners’ internal
aspects and pedagogical methods are the prime
focuses.

on high-ability students’ achievement, selfesteem, and social acceptance. The Journal ofSocial Psychology, 133(6), 839–844.
Langer, A. M. (2009). Thoughtpiece: Measuring selfesteem through reflective writing: essential
factors in workforce development for inner-city
adults. Reflective Practice, 10(1), 45–48.
Megahed, M., & Mohammad, F. (2014). Effect ofcooperative learning on undergraduate nursing
students’ self-esteem: A quasi-experimental
study. Journal of Nursing Education andPractice, 4(11), 1–7.
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescentself-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University
Press.
Rosenberg, M., Schooler, C., Schoenbach, C., &Rosenberg, F. (1995). Global Self-Esteem andReferences

Specific Self-Esteem: Different Concepts,
Different Outcomes. American Sociological

Hassan, B. A. (1992). Foreign language self-esteem

Review, 60(1), 141–156.

and the oral communicative ability of university
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Schmid, E. C. (2007). Enhancing performanceknowledge and self-esteem in classroom
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Hassan, B. A. (2001). The relationship of writing
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ACTIVote component of interactive whiteboard
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quality and quantity of EFL university students.
Mansoura University, College of Education,
Pamietta, Egypt.

Schön, D. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How
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Basic Books.

James, W. (1890). The Principles of Psychology. New
York: Henry Holt and Company.

Tayebinik, M., & Puteh, M. (2012). The significance ofself-esteem in Computer Assisted Language

Johnson, C. S., & Stapel, D. A. (2011). Reflection
Versus Self-Reflection: Sources of Self-Esteem

Learning (CALL) environment. Procedia-Social
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Boost Determine Behavioral Outcomes. Social
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Zeigler-Hill, V. (2013). The importance of self-esteem.
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Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Taylor, B. (1993).
Impact of cooperative and individualistic learning

psychology: Self-esteem (pp. 1-20). New York:
Psychology Press.

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Appendix
Online Survey
SECTION 1: Demographic Information
What is your gender?
Mark only one.
 Female Male Prefer not to say Other:

SECTION 2: Global Self-Esteem & Foreign Language Self-Esteem
Instruction:
Below is a list of statements regarding the general feelings of yourself. Please indicate how strongly you agree ordisagree with each statement.

Global self-esteem
1.

On the whole, I am satisfied with myself.

2.

At times I think I am no good at all.

3.

I feel that I have a number of good qualities.

4.

I am able to do things as well as most other people.

5.

I feel I do not have much to be proud of.

6.

I certainly feel useless at times.

7.

I feel that I'm a person of worth, at least on an equal plane with others.

8.

I wish I could have more respect for myself.

9.

All in all, I am inclined to feel that I am a failure.

10. I take a positive attitude toward myself.
Foreign Language self-esteem
1.

My ability to learn English is high.

2.

I express myself freely in English.

3.

I have a problem with some grammatical rules when writing in English.

4.

I participate effectively in English discussions.

5.

I can speak English very well.

6.

My understanding of what others say in English is limited.

7.

I speak English with a heavy foreign accent.

8.

I have some English reading habits.

9.

I can write very well in English.
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10. I feel good about myself when speaking in English.
11. I feel happy when I am with my English classmates.
12. I can read very well in English.
13. I don’t feel at ease when I talk to my English instructors.
14. I find difficulty talking in English in front of my classmates.
15. My classmates are better English learners than me.
16. My English instructors have high expectations of me.
17. My English classmates do not like me.
18. I can understand English very well.
19. I am always attentive to my English instructors.
20. I attend English class sessions on time.
21. I volunteer myself for any English classroom activities.
22. I miss many English class sessions.
23. I avoid any discussions in English.
24. I read for pleasure in English.
25. I reluctantly participate in English classroom activities.
Note: Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (1965) was used for the items in Global self-esteem, and the items in Foreign
Language Self-Esteem were adapted from Hassan’s scale (2001).

SECTION 3: Regarding "Daily reflection sheet"1.

Do you think "Daily reflection sheet" made you positive about yourself?

2.

Question for those who chose “Strongly agree” or “Agree”. Which parts do you think were especially effective?
(multiple answers possible) How did you feel about your homework?

What was your goal for today?

What did you learn in this class? Write your ideas and opinions.



Any feedback/ questions/ comments to the class or the teacher.

Compliment yourself. (e.g. I'm good at learning English because...)

OthersNote: Section 3 was added only to the second survey

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Revitalizing Student Motivation through Gratitude Intervention
Merissa Braza Ocampo
Fukushima Gakuin College

This study aimed to elevate Japanese university students' motivation for studying English through a gratitude-centered intervention. This ispart of broader work on positive psychology (PP) in language education, which involves developing themed narrative mini books. The study
took place over two semesters in the 2019 academic year during a climate of global uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. During
the duration of the project, I observed 300 students attending weekly Basic English classes. A lecture format was used to introduce gratitudecentered concepts. Afterward, students participated in projects such as building gratitude boxes and bins, keeping gratitude journals, andcreating storybooks. Students voluntarily answered the bilingual Gratitude Questionnaire-Six Item Form (GQ-6) at the end of every 15-weeksemester. Students’ motivation improved throughout the project, and I also noted an increase in gratitude, regular attendance, attentiveness,and ‘attention to the small things.’

2019

2020

COVID-19

PP

2

15

-6

GQ-6

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), inrecent years people aged 10-19, many of whom are ineducation and training, have carried around 16% of the
global burden of disease and injury (WHO, 2020).
Revitalizing such students’ motivation involves not only
the challenge of improving their intellectual capacity, butalso maintaining and enhancing their subjective wellbeing (Nishimura & Suzuki, 2016). This became an
important focus for schools globally due to the outbreakof the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, fear, worry, andstress to perceived or real threats are normal responses
not only for students but also for educators when they
are faced with the unknown (Ocampo, 2021). In recent
years, there has been increasing acknowledgment of
the important role mental health plays in achieving
global development goals, as illustrated by the inclusionof mental health in the Sustainable Development Goals.
Based on the latest report of WHO, the COVID-19
pandemic triggered a 25% increase in prevalence ofanxiety and depression worldwide. This is a wake-up
call to all countries to step up mental health services andthat support is necessary (WHO, 2022). As we enter thethird academic year following the onset of the COVID-

19 epidemic, it is impossible to ignore the toll theepidemic has taken on schooling and mental health(Melchior, 2021). Thus, suicide, which normally occurs
throughout the lifespan, became the fourth leading
cause of death among 15–29-year-olds globally in 2019
(WHO, 2019).
Acting in response to the mental health-related
problems, many educators, psychologists, and healthworkers in a variety of sectors are promoting mental
health intervention in schools, public facilities, andthrough the media. A range of strategies and programs
have been shown to be effective. These include
increasing virtual linkages for social support and mental
health care delivery via video calls, telephones, social
media, and including evidence-based therapies forfactors associated with suicide (Gunnell et al. 2020),
and ensuring responsible media reporting (Reger et al.
2020). However, although this is an important area of
health activity, research about the impact of COVID-19
crisis on children and adolescents in terms of suicide inJapan is almost unknown (Isumi et al. 2020). Given that
the Japanese youth crisis is under investigated, thecurrent research is an essential step towards greater
The PanSIG 2021 Journal259

understanding of how to help students improve theirwell-being through PP intervention.

Increasing students’ grateful feelings can develop
intrinsic motivation, which, in turn, is a driving force forpowerful positive behaviors, and emotions. Also,
gratitude may ignite in youth a motivation and initiate an‘upward spiral’ towards greater emotional and social
well-being (Froh et al. 2010). Moreover, gratitude
promotes psychologically related self-improvement andresults in increased happiness, satisfaction, and wellbeing. An intrinsically motivated student is fueled withfeelings of awe, autonomy, kindness, and satisfaction.
Thus, enhancing motivation to strengthen the feeling ofgratitude is of great potential value because it intensifies
willpower, improves physical, psychological health, andsocial connectedness.
Previous work has shown that the deliberate practice ofgratitude leads people to be happier and decreases
instances of depression (Wong & Brown, 2017). The
connection between gratitude and intrinsic motivation
could be rooted in individual psychological frameworks
such as how someone views the world, others, their own
strengths, and what and how someone celebrates.
While gratitude cannot be forced on anyone, structured
intervention in the classroom can be beneficial because
teachers can act swiftly to close gaps in progress or
attainment, see the impact of their practice, and share itwith other students, and parents (Hawthorne, 2021).
This classroom intervention may impact strongly on
students'
positive
emotions,
connectedness,concentration, resilience (Biber, 2020), reducing stressand anxiety, and improve relatedness (Jans-Beken et al.
2020). In this connection, Khorraml (2021) specified thatthrough gratitude an individual may also gain intrinsic
motivation, accomplishments can come quickly,
satisfaction is undeniable, and healing occurs muchsooner. Moreover, there is an endless space forconstructive joy, which is the ability to create one’s own
joy from within, through the lens of gratitude.

Goals and Hypothesis
The purpose of this study is to determine theeffectiveness of a gratitude-focused PP intervention
based on the hypothesis that the improvement ofgrateful feeling helps develop intrinsic motivation to
study English. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic,
I aimed to investigate participants’ overall gratitude
perception by having them complete tasks such as
writing gratitude reflections and completing a Gratitude
Questionnaire-Six Item Form (GQ-6). It was intended
that creating original stories would also increase theirmotivation to write the storybook in English. By
strengthening participants’ positive and gratefulmindsets, I hoped to reinvigorate their motivation tolearn, and at the same time improve their overall
wellbeing.

Materials and Methods
Participants
The study was conducted among a cohort of 300
Japanese first year college students in Tohoku, Japan
in 2019 - 2020. Students from the Department of
Psychology, Department of Nursery and Early
Education, and Department of Nutrition were enrolled ina beginner English communication class which is arequired subject. All participants were Japanese, female(70%) and male (30%). Participants’ ages ranged from
19 years old (88%) to 20 years old (12%). The detailed
PP intervention was included in the syllabus whichmeant that all participants had the chance to learn about
the project in English. However, tasks such as
answering the GQ-6, doing the gratitude journaling, andwriting the mini storybook were voluntary. Anonymity
was ensured by not having participants not write theirnames and student numbers on the questionnaires.
Students thought of the things they were grateful for
during the pandemic crisis. The study gave themautonomy in terms of how to submit the various written
appreciation tasks including a gratitude tree, gratitude
jar or bin, gratitude box, and gratitude journal. For thestorybook writing, students had the autonomy to choose
their own group members and PP themed topics. All thesubmitted written tasks, were checked, especially forbasic grammar structure. They were not graded,
however. Instead, I used positive comments, emoticons,and stickers, aiming to uplift participants’ motivation towrite more and avoid disappointment and anxiety.

Measures
Gratitude Questionnaire-Six Item Form (GQ-6)
At the end of every 15-week semester, I measured
participants’ gratitude levels using the printed English
and Japanese GQ-6, administered to measure gratefuldisposition. The QG-6 has shown good internalconsistency in work with undergraduate students and,based on one-year test-retest reliability, is a stablemeasure of the gratitude disposition (McCullough et al.
2002). Question included in the GQ-6, such as, “I haveso much in life to be thankful for,” were scored withseven-point Likert-type responses (1= strongly disagree,
2= disagree, 3= slightly disagree, 4= neutral, 5= slightly
agree, 6= agree, 7= strongly agree).

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Gratitude Journal
Participants received a 3-week gratitude journal inwhich to write about the things taking place in their lives
for which they were grateful. Written appreciation ofthese things could be submitted in any form; gratitudetree, gratitude jar or bin, gratitude box, and written threeday gratitude journal. They were also encouraged tocreate their own personalized gratitude journal design.

Development of Themed Narrative
Storybooks
Participants developed and created their own themed
narrative paper storybooks. They received an autonomy
to choose which group they wanted to join and which
PP intervention topics: gratitude, kindness, andcompassion. Each group received a book-bounded likeblank paper where they wrote and drew their original
stories. I showed them an example of the previous
storybook I wrote to give them an idea on how to finish
the task.

The Class Setting Gratitude Intervention
Each of the total of thirty class sessions began with aten to fifteen-minute gratitude intervention. Participantsand I engaged in a semi-structured conversation during
which we shared ideas and feelings. This study was
limited in that no pretest or preliminary examination was
conducted. However, a follow-up questionnaire andconversation during class during the 15th session
revealed that 85% of participants became aware ofbeing grateful for what they have while taking part in the
study, 10% said it required some effort. 5% did not
respond at all. My role during each session was to use
the Family environment Mode Approach (FEMA) by
providing a family-like classroom environment (Ocampo,2019) and a positive model of gratitude for theparticipants. For example, I informed them that I was
grateful they came to the class despite the bad weather,
for the flowers I saw on the way to the university. I also
shared the deeper reasons for my gratitude. In order tobuild their gratitude, I asked them often to look aroundand think about what they were grateful for that day. I
encouraged participants to be grateful not only in a classsetting but cultivate gratitude wherever they go.

Results and Discussion
Participants answered the GQ-6 (McCullough et al.
2002) on their own volition. As shown in Table 1, theMean and Standard Deviations (SD) indicate that
despite the pandemic crisis they strongly agreed thatthey had much in life to be grateful for and were gratefulfor a wide variety of people around them. It also showsthat as they grow older, participants find themselvesmore able to appreciate the people, events andsituations that have been part of their life history. At thesame time, they denied not seeing much to be gratefulfor.

The three-week grateful journaling was an encouraged
task. Participants wrote their journal freely in English asa part of the class activities. I did not require thestudents to fill up the journal each day. This was to avoid
anxiety, burnout and stress (ABS) (Ocampo, 2021).
I gave the participants autonomy and encouragement
to complete the task and gathered a total of 585 written
responses. Ninety-seven percent of the participants
submitted their journals. The remaining three percent
did not write anything at all. The percentage of thegathered written responses were divided based on thefive key domains: family, friends, school, living
environment and self of Multidimensional Students’ Life
Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS) (Huebner, 2001) thatmeasures holistic assessment of the wellbeing of young
people.
As shown in Table 2, the results based on 240
comments from the participants, revealed that they weretaking care of themselves a great deal. They did so in
the following ways: Spent time by themselves in solitude,
slept a lot, went to a spa, visited shrines, listen to music,
and played video games alone or with friends online.
One participant reported that petting his cat relaxes him.
Moreover, 220 comments from the participants revealed
that they were thankful for spending time with friends,
doing things such as eating out, going home together,chatting, and talking over the phone, or playing
computer games in person. Some participantsconsidered playing video games with friends both underself-care and friendship domains.
Fifty-six comments collected from the participants
showed their appreciation of their family member(s).
This related to things such as eating out together,playing with siblings, and appreciation of their mother’scooking. Thirty-seven comments revealed that they felt
relaxed after finishing their homework and schoolrelated tasks, studying together with their classmates,
and that they highly appreciated their teacher’skindness in the classroom.
Finally, there were thirty-two comments expressing
participants’ appreciation for having a home and family
to live with, a place to sleep, a karaoke in which he/she
could sing alone, a gym where he/she could do muscle
training, and for the existence of a beautiful sunset that
one could see on the way home
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261

Table 1: Mean and SD of Participants’ Grateful Feelings
Participants’ grateful feelings

Mean SD

1. I have so much in life to be thankful for.

5.57

1.55

2. If I had to list everything that I felt grateful for, it would be a very long

5.18

1.47

3. When I look at the world, I don't see much to be grateful for.

2.59

1.64

4. I am grateful to a wide variety of people.

5.32

1.50

5. As I get older, I find myself more able to appreciate the people,

5.16

1.70

4.04

1.63

list.

events, and situations that have been part of my life history.
6. Long amounts of time can go by before I feel grateful to somethingor someone.

Table 2: Gratitude Journaling(Five specific life domains based on Multidimensional students' life satisfaction scale (MSLSS)
Five specific life domains

Number of comments

Percentage

Family life

56

9.57

Friendship

220

37.60

School37

6.32

Living environment

32

5.47

Self-care

240

41.02

Results
supported
the
idea
that
connectedness/relatedness with friends is strongly
appreciated. I asked several participants in an informal
conversation why they reported appreciating thepresence of their friends in school more than that of theirfamilies. They replied, “We are happy to have face-toface classes” and “It’s nice to eat and drink something
together at Starbucks.” After being confined in theirhouses and communicating mainly via computer andthe internet, for them, human-to-human communication
with their friends was highly valued. Beyond this, I did
not probe why family-related aspects were lessmentioned in their journals, but this is something that
invites more detailed future examination.
In Figure 1, it can be seen that students were
intrinsically motivated by sharing their ability andconfidence and by writing what they were grateful for indifferent ways, such as gratitude trees, gratitude jars,
Japanese paper folding style, and through illustrations.
A comparison of the total of written gratitude notes
during the first week (50%), second week (60%), andthird week (97%) shows that motivation to finish tasks
gradually increased.
There were only three personalized gratitude journals
submitted, as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 3, shows that there were two bilingual storybooks
carefully checked by a Japanese volunteer and myself,
and one English storybook which I wrote. Thesestorybooks were printed and distributed for no costamong students. Copies were also placed in theuniversity library and available for reference. It is my aim
to share this set of three positive psychology-themed

The PanSIG 2021 Journal262

storybooks in schools and at public readings to promote
citizens’ happiness and wellbeing

Figure 1. Gratitude journal task submitted in different forms

Figure 2. Personalized Gratitude Journal

The PanSIG 2021 Journal263

Figure 3. Three storybooks were created (two bilingual (Japanese and English), and one
English).

Conclusion and Recommendation
In this study, PP intervention with a focus on gratitude
while completing gratitude journals and positive
psychology-themed storybooks motivated students tostudy English harder. Success in education, and in life
in general, increases feeling of fulfillment, satisfaction,and happiness, which can be linked to various,
desirable ongoing benefits such as wellbeing. As
Pekrun et al. (2002) pointed out two decades ago,
learning and achievement are integrated with theemotions that humans experience on a day-to-day basis,and this is still relevant today. Because of theimportance of emotions in human life, they cansignificantly affect students’ cognitive processes,
academic performance, as well as their physical andpsychological health and wellbeing. Thus, the efforts torevitalize learners’ motivation through positive
intervention, such as those carried out in this study areimportant. In the current project, they yielded positive
results, and during the ongoing situation of uncertainty
due to COVID-19, their application can highly
recommended. Further, gratitude-focused writing may
be expected to yield additional and long-term benefits(Fekete et al. 2022).
In positive psychology-themed storybook writing, it was
found that positive, active exercises such as gratitude
journaling, performing small acts of kindness andcompassion helped participants appreciate what they
have at the present time. Moreover, results of theintervention support the following conclusions:
Gratitude intervention in the classroom was very
effective in motivating students to accept various
challenges in language learning, and students who did
not participate during the first five meetings began toparticipate throughout the rest of the semester.
Throughout the project, motivation, attendance,
attentiveness, gratitude, and "being aware of the smallthings" increased. For example, I was informed that oneof the students “might go out of the classroom at any
time” because of a psychological problem. However, as
it turned out, that student stayed in the classroom andwas surprisingly active in the class. This was likely
because of the integration of FEMA (Ocampo, 2019)that created a family-like environment.
Given that participants had only beginner-level English
skills, their active participation in current study alone
was very positive. As an instructor, I also consider the
PP intervention work through gratitude journaling andwriting bilingual mini storybooks to have been asignificant achievement for these students. When
students finished the journaling task, they had
developed not only positive behavior, but also improved
their ability to interact and be kind with their groupmembers when they wrote their mini storybooks. In
addition, allowing beginner-level students to use boththeir L1 and L2 languages in the future could be anotherway to address the multicultural shortcomings of thecurrent PP intervention in future work. Public readingsof the PP themed storybooks reported in this paper will
also be an important step in this work as it develops,
increasing understanding of how these books canenhance people's wellbeing.
The findings of this study represent only a small part ofa much broader vision which can be used to guidelearners to maintain a healthy lifestyle andwellbeing. Supporting
educators'
professional
development by teaching them how to carry out suchinterventions more efficiently is an important future
The PanSIG 2021 Journal264

measure with the potential to contribute significantly tothe fulfillment, satisfaction, and well-being of all.

in Japan? The acute effect of the first wave of
COVID-19 pandemic on child and adolescentmental health. Child abuse & neglect, 110(Pt 2),

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The PanSIG 2021 Journal266

Validating Survey Instruments for Measuring L3 Learning Attitudes
Shzh-chen Nancy Lee
Osaka University

There is increasingly more research in third language (L3) learning and teaching due to multilingualism. The present study aimed to validatea survey instrument developed by the researcher (Lee, 2007) to measure learners’ attitudes for learning L3. The survey was developed tomeasure six latent constructs of L3 learning attitudes using 47 items: images associated with native speakers; learning of the target language
in university; importance of learning the target language long-term; learning of the target language outside university; difficulty with learning
the target language; and style of learning the target language in university. The present study conducted Rasch analyses on survey responses
collected from 373 first-year Japanese university students. Results of the present study found that the survey was successful to some extent
after deletion of unfitted items and participants. However, four of the measures might be multidimensional so the survey needs to bereexamined. This study suggests that survey instruments need to be validated using Rasch models to ensure that it measures the target
latent constructs that it supposed to measure.

多言語主義が進む中、第三言語（L3）習得と教育に関する研究がますます増えている。本研究は筆者（Lee, 2007）
が開発した L3 学習態度のアンケートの検証を目的とする。アンケートは 47 の質問項目で構成され、L3 学習に対して以下の 6 つの潜在的構成要素を測定した：ネイティブスピーカーのイメージ、大学での学習、⾧期学習の重要性、大学外での学習、学習の難しさや大学での学習スタイル。本研究では、日本の大学 1 年生 373 名から収集したアンケー
ト回答に対してラッシュ分析を行い、質問項目及び参加者の回答を検討することにより、以上の L3 学習態度のアンケートの妥当性を検証した。結果として、いくつかの相応しくない質問項目および回答を削除したため、先行研究で開発された L3 学習態度のアンケートはある程度成功した。しかし、4 つの潜在要素の一次元性があると言えないため、更に検証することが必要。本研究から潜在的構造要素を測定するため、ラッシュ分析によりアンケート調査の検証が必要と言える。

Research up to date has widely examined learners’
attitudes toward second language (L2) learning. Many
studies have reported that Japanese learners havepositive attitudes toward English (Kobayashi, 2000;
Yashima, 2002; 2009). In the case of Japanese
university students, English is often their L2, and third
language (L3) would be another foreign language
besides English. Despite learners’ attitudes toward L2
learning have been widely researched, relatively little is
known about their attitudes for learning L3 (Boo,
Dörnyei, & Ryan, 2015). In a previous study by the
researcher (Lee, 2007), a survey consisting of 47 fivepoint Likert scale items was developed to measurelearners’ attitudes for learning L3. It examined students’attitudes toward the following six elements whenlearning L3: images associated with native speakers;
learning of the target language in university; importanceof learning the target language long-term; learning of
the target language outside university; difficulty withlearning the target language; and style of learning thetarget language in university. Results were collectedfrom 373 first-year Japanese university students. It was
found that students have most positive attitudes toward

the images associated with native speakers andimportance of learning the target language long-term
but least positive attitudes toward learning the target
language outside university. Almost fifteen years havepassed since the researcher conducted her first L3
learner beliefs study but the line of L3 research has notprogressed far. More attention and time are needed tocontribute to L3 learning research (Humphries &Yashima, 2021). The present study therefore aimed tovalidate the survey instrument developed in theprevious mentioned study (Lee, 2007) with Raschanalyses. It aimed to examine the suitability of the six
latent constructs developed for the L3 attitudes survey
by examining their unidimensionality through identifying
unfitted survey items and participants. This study hopes
to further understand L3 learner attitudes in Japan tocontribute towards the research of L3 learning andteaching.

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267

Literature review
Language learning attitudes
Research on language attitudes is important for
language education because attitudes are closely
related to the learning and teaching of languages(Masgoret & Gardner, 2003). It provides information forresearchers, teachers and curriculum developers tobetter understand how learners view the learning of
their target languages so that modifications andimprovements can be made to language learning andteaching practices. However, attitudinal research iscomplex because its latent constructs can have different
definitions, interpretations, and dimensions (Matsuda,2000). An attitude is a position or manner of oneself,
indicating a mood or a condition and it can be a state ofmind or a feeling towards some matters (Morris, 1969).
An attitude can be a favorable or unfavorable evaluationof an object (Dörnyei, 2003).

Language learning attitudes
Learners’ attitudes toward L3 learning can be definedas their evaluative responses toward L3 learning. Unlike
English which has wide global communication
implications, languages other than English are usuallyrelated to the communication of more specificcommunities and have more specific and personalizedpurposes (Dornyei & Al-Hoorie, 2017). Therefore, it canbe expected that learners also have specific attitudes
toward L3 learning.

Japanese learners’ attitudes toward L3 learning
In Japan, the term L3 refers to the second foreign
language studied after English chronologically. WhileL3 learning is not a requirement by the Japanese
Ministry of Education, many universities require theirstudents to attain a certain number of credits in asecond foreign language subject for graduation(Kobayashi, 2013). Therefore, it can be considered thatthird language (L3) learning is prevalent at the university
level in Japan. However, while many students are
required to study L3 at the university, as high as 98% ofJapanese students only study L3 for the first time after
they enter the university (Oyama & Yamamoto, 2020).
Japanese learners’ attitudes toward L3 learning are
influenced by university policies implicitly reinforcing theidea that English is more important than other foreign
languages (Oyama & Yamamoto, 2020).

Motivation for current study
Despite many Japanese students are learning a third
language at the university level, their attitudes toward
L3 learning remain almost unknown. Because there wasno survey instrument for L3 learner beliefs, theresearcher developed her own survey instrument
approximately 15 years ago during her first
postgraduate degree (Lee, 2007). It was found in thatstudy that Japanese learners have most positive
attitudes toward images associated with native
speakers of the L3 and the importance of learning L3
long-term. On the other hand, they have least positive
attitudes toward learning the L3 outside university.
However, whether or not the survey in the previous
study really measured what it supposed to measureremains unknown. Due to call for more researchattention for L3, it was decided to validate the L3 survey
developed.
The instrument was validated back then but there were
problems with its validation. Therefore, cautions areneeded when referring to results of the previous study(Lee, 2007). First problem was that the reliability ofsurvey responses was checked by conducting shortfollow-up interviews with some of the participants.
Participants were invited for a voluntary follow-up
interview after survey completion where they wereasked to verbally respond to five items from the same
survey instrument. Interview responses were comparedwith their original survey responses to examine theirconsistency. When survey and interview responses
were consistent, that survey data was considered
reliable. However, due to time-constraint, only a small
number of participants engaged in the follow-up
interview. In addition, participants who volunteered forthe follow-up interview probably already gave reliable
survey responses because they were the more
dedicated students. Therefore, although follow-up
interviews can be a reliable tool for validating survey
participants’ responses, it is not practical when working
with a large population sample.
Second, reliability of the survey data was also checkedby locating possible dummy responses. The data wasmanually checked by the researcher to identify
participants who gave “same-number” on the 5-point
Likert scale and those dummies were deleted. However,manual identification/deletion of dummy responses is
not only time consuming, but also unreliable as there
are different types of “same-number” responses, forexample, 34343434 and 1234512345. Therefore, while
it is important to examine raw data, further validation of
the survey instrument and data are necessary.

Rationale for Rasch analysis
Rasch analysis is a validation technique unknown to theresearcher during her first degree. Since then, it has
become a prerequisite before the actual survey results
can be analyzed because Rasch analysis validates thereliability of the survey items, examines the quality of
raw survey data, and the dimensionality of the target
latent constructs. Rasch analysis is important because
The PanSIG 2021 Journal268

it provides validation evidence and a framework where
the data can be compared across studies (Bond & Fox,
2007). The current study therefore aims to utilize Raschanalysis for validating the survey instrument andresponses from the previous study (Lee, 2007).

MethodRasch analysis was conducted to validate survey items
and responses from the previous study conducted by
the researcher (Lee, 2007). The researcher decided not
to collect data because she was unable to collect new
data from a similar size population. Therefore, thepresent study aimed to validate survey items used datacollected for the researcher’s master thesis to develop
a new survey instrument for future studies.

Research population
Survey responses were collected from 373 (287 maleand 86 female) first-year students from a public
university in Western Japan during the fall academic
semester. All participants were native speakers ofJapanese ranging from 18 to 21 years of age. They
were considered to have relatively high level ofacademic abilities and achievements. All participants
had to enroll in a mandatory L3 subject. Among 373
participants, most enrolled subject was Chinese(50.7%), followed by German (26.8%), French (9.9%),
and Italian (7.2%). Participants studying other L3
languages consisted of 5.4% of the research population.

Survey instrument
The survey instrument in the previous study Lee (2007)
was developed based on Horwitz’s (1987) Beliefs about
Language Learning Inventory. The Beliefs about
Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) was adapted
because it is one of the first studies to conduct
systematic research into the nature of language
learning beliefs. Survey instruments from four otherstudies were also adapted because they focused on
language learning beliefs of Japanese university
student (Benson, 1991; Kobayashi, 2000, 2002;
Matsuda, 2000). The developed survey consists of 47
five-point Likert scale items: 1 = Strongly agree, 2 =Agree, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Disagree, 5 = Strongly disagree.
The survey instrument was developed in English andthen translated into Japanese by a native speaker ofJapanese. The translated Japanese items were backed
translated into English by a bilingual speaker of English
and Japanese and the new English version was thencompared with the original English survey to examine
the validity of the translation. The survey wasadministrated to the participants during mandatory

English classes on paper. Participants were given
fifteen minutes at the end of the class to complete thesurvey.
In the previous study (Lee, 2007), six factors wereextracted from Principal component analysis.
Eigenvalue of 1 and over was used for the factor
extraction benchmark (Field, 2005). Items with loadings
below 0.38 were deleted. Two items were further
deleted as an attempt to increase the Cronbach Alphavalue. A total of 37 items were left (See Appendix) tomeasure the six latent constructs and these constructs
were given names by referring to construct names usedin the above mentioned studies (Benson, 1991; Horwitz,
1987; Kobayashi, 2000, 2002; Matsuda, 2000):
1)

Images associated with native speakers

2)

Learning of the target language in university

3)
term

Importance of learning target language long-

4)
Learning of the target language outside
university
5)

Difficulty with learning the target language

6)
Style of learning the target language inuniversity

Principles of Rasch analyses
The raw survey data collected was imported into
WINSTEPS version 3.64.2 (Linacre & Wright, 2007). A
total of six Rasch models were constructed, one foreach of the fix latent constructs respectively. In each
Rasch model, raw data was transformed into logits to
examine item difficulty estimates, person ability
estimates, and their relationships. The person ability
estimate was calculated based on each person’s correct
responses to the items and item difficulty was calculated
from the total number of responses by the respondents(Bond & Fox, 2007). The Rasch model measures therelationship between item difficulty and person ability. A
higher ability person has a greater probability ofcorrectly responding to an item than a lower ability
person, and more difficult items are answered correctly
by fewer people compared to easier items (Rasch,1960). Two types of fit statistics, mean square (MNSQ)
and standardized (ZSTD) were calculated in this study.
Fisher (2007) suggested that fit statistics smaller than
0.33 and larger than 3.00 are poor, those between 0.34
to 2.90 are fair, values between 0.50 to 2.00 are good,those between 0.71 to 1.40 are very good, and statistics
between 0.77 to 1.30 are excellent. Linacre suggested
that infit MNSQ and outfit MNSQ statistics between 0.50
and 1.50 are indicators of acceptable fit to the Raschmodel (Fisher, 2007). Fisher also suggested thefollowing reliability estimates: < .67 are poor, .67 to .80
The PanSIG 2021 Journal269

are fair, .81 to .90 are good, .91 to .94 are very good,and > .94 are excellent. Lastly, principal component
analysis was conducted for each model to evaluate its
dimensionality (Bond & Fox, 2007). A measure isconsidered acceptably unidimensional when more than
50.00% of the variance is explained by the model andthe unexplained variance is less than 10.00%, or the
eigenvalue of the unexplained variance is < 3.00
(Linacre, 2007).

Category structure functioning
The eight items measuring Images Associated withNative Speakers were analyzed using data from 373
participants. Category functioning of the five-point Likert
scale is presented in Table 1. First, each category met
the minimum benchmark of 10 observations per
category. Category 1 (Strongly agree) had 227
observations (8.00%) which was the smallest number.
Second, the Outfit MNSQ statistics for all five categories
were below 2.00. Third, the separation between
adjacent categories was greater than the minimum
requirement of 0.59 logits (Linacre, 2002b). Based on
the results of category structure functioning, it can beconcluded that the five-point Likert-scale performed
satisfactorily for measuring Images Associated withNative Speakers.

Results
Rasch analysis was conducted for each of the six latentconstructs to examine their fit to the Rasch model,
construct dimensionality and reliability to produce
interval measures. This section presents the details ofRasch analysis for the Images Associated with Native
Speakers measure.

Table 1: Category Structure Functioning for Images Associated with Native Speakers
Category

Count

(%)

Infit

OutfitStructure

Category

MNSQ

MNSQ

MeasureMeasure1 Strongly agree

227

8

1.11

1.34

None

(-2.84)

2 Agree

499

17

1.00

1.03

-1.50

-1.25

3 Neutral

860

29

.89

1.02

-.67

-.07

4 Disagree

885

30

.85

.87

.42

1.23

5 Strongly disagree

512

17

1.06

1.09

1.75

(3.02)

Rasch item measure
All items except item 8, It is important to have a goodpronunciation of this language, met the Outfit MNSQ of
0.50 to 1.50 logit criterion (Linacre, 2002a). Item 8
probably did not fit into the model because it did not
explicitly focus on the native speakers of the target
language but focused on the aesthetics of sound. Since
most participants in the study have only started learning
L3 after they entered the university, they probably still
could not distinguish good pronunciation from what is
considered as bad pronunciation of the target language.
In order to check the effects of deleting item 8, theRasch person measures with and without item 8 were
exported into SPSS and a bivariate correlation analysis
was run. Pearson correlation of .99 (p < .01) indicatedthat deleting item 8 did not affect the person measuresof the model. Therefore, item 8 was deleted from theImages Associated with Native Speakers measure andTable 2 shows the Rasch item statistics of the newmeasure after item 8 deletion. Meanwhile, the Outfit
MNSQ of item 18, In order to understand foreigners, I
want to learn more of this language, exceeded Linacre’s
upper benchmark of 1.50 logit (Linacre, 2002a).
However, item 18 can also be considered acceptableusing Fisher’s (2007) criterion because it has a logit
value between 0.50 to 2.00. Therefore, item 18 was notdeleted from the model at this stage of the analysis.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal

270

Table 2: Rasch Item Statistics for Images Associated with Native Speakers
Item

Measure

SE

Infit

Infit

OutfitOutfitPt-measure

MNSQ

ZSTD

MNSQ

ZSTD

Correlation

18

.23

.07

1.49

6.0

1.64

7.5

.57

27

.16

.07

.59

-6.7

.59

-6.7

.82

25

.15

.07

1.40

5.0

1.44

5.4

.61

28

.02

.07

.86

-2.0

.91

-1.2

.71

26

-.06

.07

.62

-6.1

.62

-6.1

.82

29

-.22

.07

1.11

1.5

1.11

1.5

.72

30

-.28

.07

.90

-1.3

.88

-1.6

.75

Rasch person measure
Pearson measure was calculated and eight participants
were unable to be measured by the model because theyreached maximum MNSN and ZSTD values. An
examination of these eight participants found that all ofthem provided the same response, 5, for all items.
Therefore, these participants were deleted from thesample and the model was recalculated. Person
measure of the new model was considered to besatisfactory as only one participant reached the
maximum MNSQ and ZSTD values. The abbreviatedWright map (Figure 1) presents the participants on theleft side of the graph where participants with morepositive images of native speakers are located toward
the top and participants with less positive images aretoward the bottom. On the right-hand side of the graph,the items are displayed according to their difficulty;
more difficult to endorse items are located toward the

top and easier to endorse items are located toward thebottom. Figure 1 shows that items were fairly wellbalanced in their difficulty to be endorsed and the
respondents were well distributed around the item mean.
The most difficult to endorse item was item 18, In orderto understand foreigners, I want to learn more of thislanguage. Item 18 can be considered to be most difficult
for these participants to endorse because language
learning does not directly correlate with the desire tounderstand foreigners. This supports the previous
Rasch item measure because item 18 struggled to fit
into the Images Associated with Native Speakers model.
On the other, the easiest to endorse item was item 30,
If I have the opportunity, I would like to talk to the native
speakers of this language. This response is reasonable,
as the item directs participants’ attention to focus on theimage of native speakers.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal271

---------------------------------------------------------------------Positive1

students|.XXXXX

More difficult to endorse items+|.XXXXX|XXXXXXX|
M|T.XXXXXXXX
XXXXX|

18 To understand foreigners, I want to learn more

|S 25 My images of naïve speakers are friendly
27 More I get to know, the more I want to learn

0+M 26 I want to get to know more about native speakers|
XXXXXXXXX|SXXXXXXXXXX|

28 I feel positive towards native speakers
29 I am interested in learning about the cultures
30 If I have opportunity, I want to talk to them

.XXXXXX

|T
|

.XXXX

|

.XX S|.XXXXX

+
|

-1

.XX

|

Negative students |Less difficult to endorse items---------------------------------------------------------------------

Figure 1. Wright map for images associated with native speakers. M = Mean; S = 1 SD; T = 2SDs. Each X = 2
participants.
Note. This map has been abbreivated.

Rasch PCA of item residuals
The Rasch PCA of item residuals analysis was
conducted to investigate the dimensionality of the
Images Associated with Native Speakers measure. The
Rasch model explained 50.50% of the variance(eigenvalue = 7.1), which just exceeded the 50.00%
criterion suggested by Linacre (2007). In addition,
22.50% of the variance (eigenvalue = 3.20) was
explained by the items, and 16.3% of the unexplained
variance (eigenvalue = 2.30) was accounted for by the
first residual contrast. While this figure exceeded the10.00% criterion by Linacre (2007), it nevertheless met
the eigenvalue criterion of < 3.00. Therefore, results of
the Rasch PCA of item residuals analysis indicate that
the Images Associated with Native Speakers measuremight be unidimensional.

Table 3 shows the loadings of the remaining seven
items from the Images Associated with Native Speakers
measure. Items with the highest positive loadings wereitem 25, My images of the native speakers are friendly,
and item 28, I feel positive towards the native speakersof this language. The loadings in Table 3 suggest that
there might be two dimensions in this measure as items
29, I am interested in learning about the cultures of its
native speakers, item 30, If I have the opportunity, I
would like to talk to the native speakers of this language,
item 26, I want to get to know more about the native
speakers of this language, and item, 27, The more I get
to know about them, the more I want to learn about them,
have similar negative loadings. Item 18 has almost zeroloading, which further suggests that it is probably notsuitable for measuring the Images Associated withNative Speakers.

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272

The Rasch item separation statistic of the Images
Associated with Native Speakers model was 2.36 andthe person separation statistic was 2.05. Therefore,
they are both within the acceptable range of values
greater than 2.00 (Fisher, 2007). Finally, item reliability
and person reliability estimates are around .80, which fit
into the good reliability range of between .81 to .90(Fisher, 2007). Rasch model analysis was also
conducted for the other five latent constructs. Fulldetails of these five Rasch model are abbreviated below.
Learning the Target Language in University construct
had high item separation index of 8.46 (reliability of .99).
However, it had a low person separation index of 1.55
(reliability of .70) as well as a number of participants
exceeded maximum MNSN and ZSTD values. These
participants were deleted and the model wasrecalculated. However, while most of the items in the
Learning the Target Language in University model had
high loadings, they also loaded into two groups. Thissuggests that Learning of the Target language in
University construct might have two sub-dimensions.
This multidimensional issue also occurred with
Importance of Learning the Target Language Long-term
construct and Style of Learning the Target Language in
University construct. Among the six constructs,
Learning of the Target Language Outside University
construct appeared to be unidimensional. Finally,
Difficulty with Learning the Target Language constructproduced comparatively very low item and person
separation statistics so further analyses were notconducted.

Table 3: Rasch PCA of Item Residuals for Images Associated with Native Speakers
No

Item

Loading

MeasureInfit

Outfit

MNSQ

MNSQ

25

My images of the native speakers are friendly.

.86

.15

1.40

1.44

28

I feel positive towards the native speakers of this language.

.79

.02

.86

.91

29

I am interested in learning about the cultures of its native

-.56

-.22

1.11

1.11

-.49

-.28

.90

.88

-.47

-.06

.62

.62

-.43

.16

.59

.59

-.04

.23

1.49

1.64

speakers.
30

If I have the opportunity, I would like to talk to the native
speakers of this language.

26

I want to get to know more about the native speakers of thislanguage.

27

The more I get to know about them, the more I want to learn
about them.

18

In order to understand foreigners, I want to learn more of thislanguage.

Discussion
Overall, the original survey instrument developed in
the previous study (Lee, 2007) for measuring learners’
L3 attitudes achieved some satisfactory outcomes.
The Rasch analyses showed that the five-point Likert
scale is appropriate and the survey instrument isrelatively reliable as five out of the six Rasch models
had acceptable person reliability and item separation
statistics. However, there was a potential problem thatthe constructs did not exactly measure what they
supposed to measure because the Rasch models had
multidimensional issues. Despite several unfitting
items and participants were deleted, it still did not

improve unidimensionality of the target latentconstructs. For items developed to measure Images
Associated with Native Speakers, they possibly havepotentially measured two different aspects of native
speaker images because the model had two subdimensions. Item 25 and item 28 are related toparticipants’ impressions of the L3 speakers whereas
items 26, 27, 29, and 30 are related to actions that theparticipants want to engage in because they haveimages of the L3 speakers.
Out of the six latent constructs, only Learning of theTarget Language Outside University constructappeared to be unidimensional. Previous study (Lee,The PanSIG 2021 Journal273

2007) found participants had the least positive
attitudes toward learning the target language outside
university. Since this construct is unidimensional,
results of present study validated the previous study
results that Japanese university students indeed haveleast positive attitudes toward learning L3 outside theuniversity. On the other hand, since Images
Associated with Native Speakers and Importance oflearning the Target Language Long-term constructs
had potential multidimensional issues, results of theprevious study need to be interpreted with caution.
Therefore, Japanese university students might nothave positive attitudes toward L3 native speakers andthe importance of long-term L3 learning. Difficulty with
Learning the Target Language construct Raschanalysis might have produced very low item andperson separation statistics because only three items
were included for this construct. More items need to
be included for the Difficulty with Learning the Target
Language construct Rasch model to be conducted.

References
Benson, M. J. (1991). Attitudes and motivations
towards English: A survey of Japanese
freshmen. RELC Journal, 22(1), 34-48.
Bond, T., & Fox, C. (2007). Applying the Raschmodel: Fundamental measurement in thehuman sciences. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Boo, Z., Dörnyei, Z., & Ryan, S. (2015). L2
motivation research 2005-2014:
Understanding a publication surge andchanging landscape. System, 55, 145-157.
Dörnyei, Z. (2003). Attitudes, orientations, andmotivations in language learning: Advances inConclusion
L3 learning research has been comparatively
overlooked compared to L2 research. To contribute to
the line of L3 research, the researcher validated apreviously developed survey instrument for measuring
L3 learning attitudes using Rasch analyses. Results ofthe present study found that the survey was
successful to some extent after deletion of unfitted
items and participants. However, four of the measures
have potential multidimensional issues so the survey
needs to be reexamined to ensure that it measures thelatent constructs that it supposes to measure.
Two implications can be suggested from the present
study. First, Likert-scale survey instruments need to
be validated using Rasch models to ensure thereliability of the data collected. All future language
learning and teaching researchers need to validate
their survey instruments with Rasch analyses. In
addition, the survey results cannot be compared withresults of other studies without conducting Raschanalyses. Second, preliminary analysis of raw dataneeds to be conducted before the survey results canbe analyzed and interpreted. Without preliminary
analyses, teachers and researchers need to be awarethat they need to comprehend those research resultswith caution.

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Rubin, (Eds.) Learner strategies in language
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Prentice-Hall International.

Acknowledgement
I want to thank the teachers and students who helpedwith this survey fifteen years ago as they made thepresent study possible.

Humphries, S., & Yashima, T. (2021). “I forgot thelanguage:” Japanese students’ actual
multilingual selves and translanguaging
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dissertation, University of Toronto.

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Kobayashi, Y. (2002). The role of gender in foreign

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language learning attitudes: Japanese female
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Matsuda, A. (2000). Japanese attitudes toward
English: A case study of high school students.
Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Purdue

Kobayashi, Y. (2013). Europe versus Asia: foreign

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language education other than English in
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66(3), 269-281.

Morris, W. (1969). The American heritage dictionaryof the English language. New York, NY:
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Lee, N. S. C. (2007). First-year Japanese university
students’ attitudes toward L2 and L3 learning.

Oyama, M., & Yamamoto, S. (2020). Pluralistic

In K. Bradford-Watts (Ed.) JALT 2006

approaches for Japanese university students

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preparing to study abroad. European Journalof Language Policy, 12(1), 29-53.

Linacre, J. M. (2002a). What do infit and outfit, meansquare and standardized mean?

Rasch, G. (1960). Probabilistic models for someintelligence and attainment tests. Chicago, IL:

Rasch Measurement Transactions, 16(2), 878.

University of Chicago.

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Yashima, T. (2002). Willingness to communicate in asecond language: The Japanese EFL context.

Linacre, J. M. (2002b). Optimizing rating scale

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category effectiveness. Journal of Applied
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Yashima, T. (2009). International posture and the

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Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.) Motivation,
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163). Bristol, England: Multilingual Matters.

Rasch-model computer program. Chicago, IL:
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Multiple-choice, rating scale, and partial credit

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Appendix
Six latent Constructs and Items
Strongly disagree

Disagree

NeutralAgree

Strongly agree

5

4

3

2

1

Construct 1: Images associated with native speakers
Item

Description

8

It is important to have a good pronunciation of this language.

18

In order to understand foreigners, I want to learn more of this language.

25

My images of the native speakers are friendly.

26

I want to get to know more about the native speakers of this language.

27

The more I get to know about them, the more I want to learn about them.

28

I feel positive towards the native speakers of this language.

29

I am interested in learning about the cultures of its native speakers.

30

If I have the opportunity, I would like to talk to the native speakers of this language.

Construct 2: Learning of the target language in university
Item

Description

21

In order to become good at this language, the lecture is important.

31

I like this language lecture at the university.

36

This language lecture at the university is interesting.

40

The content of this lecture is highly practical.

41

I am highly interested with the content of this lecture.

44

I am satisfied with the content of this language class.

45

I want the content of this language lecture to be changed.

46

I want the way this language lecture is conducted to be changed.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal276

Construct 3: Importance of learning the target language long-term
Item

Description

6

It is important to speak this language.

7

In order to learn this language, learning it outside the classroom is important.

12

This language is important for future studies.

13

This language is important for traveling and others

15

I want to become able to speak this language.

19

The language I am studying right now would help me in getting a good job in the future.

42

The content of this language lecture should focus on things that would benefit our future
career opportunities.

Construct 4: Learning of the target language outside university
Item

Description

2

I want to become able to speak this language someday.

3

I like learning this language.

17

I want to continue learning this language even after I get all the required credits.

47

Other than studying in the classroom, I even study it at home.

48

Besides studying for the lecture, I do things on my own which are related to the learningof this language.

49

Besides the textbook, I am using other things that aid my learning of this language.

Construct 5: Difficulty with learning the target language
Item

Description

1

The language I am studying right now is difficult.

14

It is easier to learn this language than other foreign languages.

16

The grammar of the language I am doing right now is not difficult.

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Construct 6: Style of learning the target language in university
Item

Description

4

I think it is best to learn this language in its native-speaking country.

32

I think a native teacher is more suitable for this language lecture at the university.

35

In this lecture at the university, having a happy atmosphere is the most important thing.

38

Students should have the right to choose topics in which they are interested in for thislanguage lecture.

43

Students should have the right in choosing the teacher for this language class at theuniversity.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal278

Chat-Style Writing in Teaching Conversation
Lala Takeda
Showa Women’s University

This study analyzed video-recorded interactions of 14 Japanese-English pairings for foreign language learners to qualitatively determine
similarities and differences in how they managed pragmatically competent conversations in English before and after incorporating chat-style
writing into instruction. The study focused on utterances that answer questions and on using other-initiated repetition (allo-repetition) forbackchannels and to confirm interlocutors’ comprehension. The analysis showed that conversations recorded after learners adopted chatstyle writing showed development in the amount and content of answers to questions and slightly fewer allo-repetitions by listeners. However,
the interlocutors reverted to Japanese when they could not use English well in some interactions. Based on these findings, the similarities
and differences between speaking and writing exercises are considered, suggesting potential contributions for chat-style writing toconversational instruction.

14

To encourage autonomous and spontaneousconversations in university-level L2 interactions,Takeda (2021) introduced chat-style writing, an original
teaching method using relay-style writing (Tanabe,
Noguchi, Osuka, & Okada, 2019), similar to exchanging
written messages and social networking service chats.
She clarified differences in achieving coherence andmutual understanding through allo-repetition between
dyadic L2 speaking and writing interactions. Takeda
defined allo-repetition as “the repetition of a word orsyntactic structure by a speaker other than the current
speaker” (2021, p. 42). This type of repetition is used in
response to an utterance made by the current speaker.
For example, in the following conversation, “hip-hop”

is an example of allo-repetition: A: “My favorite musicis hip-hop.” B: “I don’t like hip-hop. I like to listen to Kpop.” Takeda illustrated an effective paradigm to apply
to teaching conversations, focusing on how to add orenrich.

Previous Studies

speaking practice for language learners in writingclasses. These studies successfully introduced speaking
practice during writing sessions to help improvestudents’ writing abilities; however, the authors did notinvestigate how to improve learners’ speaking ability
by having them write conversational clauses.

Writing and Conversation
In previous studies, L1 peer interaction improved EFL
writing (Iijima, Hayasaka, Nakamura, & Mitani, 2017;
McDonough, Crawford, & De Vleeschauwer, 2016), andWeissberg (2006) discussed the importance of

For this study, I referred to what Taguchi (2009, p. 1)
called pragmatic competence, the ability to use
language appropriately in a social context. I defined“pragmatically managed competent (conversations)”
as maintaining appropriate, smooth, consistentinteraction by expanding content to indicate details
and giving effective comments or reactions toencourage their interlocutors to develop the topic.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal279

Namaziandost, Saray, and Esfahani (2018) highlighted
the benefits of introducing writing practices, such as
short essays, picture descriptions, and text summaries,
to improve EFL learners’ speaking skills. These practices
can become more interactive with collaborative writing
strategies to help learners respond appropriately toothers’ utterances. For example, Tanabe et al. (2019)
investigated relay-style writing among four native
Japanese speakers and learners of Japanese as asecond language, who worked together to build acoherent story by each writing one paragraph within anallotted time. Although no researcher has applied thismethod with Japanese EFL learners, the finding was
encouraging for collaborative writing in language
classes.
Pragmatics in Spoken Interactions
Researchers in interlanguage pragmatics discussed
how EFL learners behave verbally and nonverbally in L2
interactions (Kecskes & Assimakopoulos, 2017; Rose &Kasper, 2001), conversation analysis-based L2
interaction (Campbell-Larsen, 2019; Greer & Nanbu,
2021), and pragmalinguistics (Inagaki, 2019;
Kawashima, 2021 for the speech act; Matsuoka, 2018;
Osuka, 2019 in the study-abroad context).
Distinguishing conversational behavior in L2 versus L1
interactions is important for helping L2 speakers havecoherent, pragmatic interactions.
Allo-Repetition

Clark (1996) suggested that interlocutors should
demonstrate understanding of utterances andstrengthen understanding by repeating utterance parts.
Brennan and Clark (1996) described allo-repetition as
contributing to the coherence of each utterance and tointerlocutors’ constructing mutual understanding. Allorepetition
enables
non-native
speakers
tocommunicate their positive interest in conversations
despite unequal language skills (Takeda, 2021;
Tanimura & Yoshida, 2017; Yoshida, 2018).

before and after I incorporated chat-style writing into
instruction. I examined this question in the contexts ofmanaging pragmatically competent conversations inEnglish and how much chat-style writing affectedstudents’ conversations.

Data and Methodology
The study conversation excerpts consist of threeminute video-recorded conversations in an English
class. The participants spoke of their hobbies andfavorite food in the first session (before adopting chatstyle writing) and activities during the previous wintervacation in the second session (after adopting chatstyle writing). Based on my judgments regarding thestudents’ ease and comfort with developing these
topics, I selected these topics, accepting some
nervousness. In groups of four, two students recorded
the conversation between the other group members.
The students wrote in a chat-style for 5–10 minutes in
an English class. I provided no platform or electronic
tools for this exercise, but I did give students sheets ofpaper and ask them to use their writing materials; I
allowed students to use dictionaries and consult witheach other in Japanese but only minimally.
Participants wrote about activities for the upcoming
summer vacation and midterm examinations. The
same students participated for a year, working on chatstyle writing every week in the final part of class fromthe middle of the spring semester to the late fallsemester. Students’ interest in chat-style writing
depended on the topic, showing high engagement inwriting about vacation plans or favorite things, as
reflected in the length of writing and their positive
attitudes toward the task. During this task, I provided
no specific instructions. Instead, I advised students tocontinue their exchanges as much as possible during
the allotted time with consistency between the written
messages.
Participants

Research Questions
Prior studies proposed allo-repetition to establish
mutual understanding and positive involvement andsuggested chat-style writing as a highly effective
method of training longer, more coherent utterances.
Accordingly, the research question for this study was
regarding the similarities and differences between

The participants in this study were 14 pairs ofacquainted male and female engineering university
students at advanced beginner or early intermediatelevel in one of my English classes in Japan. I asked thestudents to cooperate with my project of testing amethod to improve their skills at smooth conversations
with a native English speaker. For this study, I focusedon responses to questions and allo-repetition to
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280

acknowledge content or background knowledge
regarding the current topic, confirming eachinterlocutor’s comprehension, and letting eachspeaker continue to talk (Horiguchi, 1997; Otsuka,2015).
Analysis
Conversations recorded after students adopted chatstyle writing showed development in the volume andcontent of answers to questions, and listeners madeslightly fewer allo-repetitions. I present two data setsfrom interactions before the students adopted chatstyle writing to clarify the brevity of their utterances
and their ongoing use of allo-repetition.
Interactions Before Adopting Chat-Style Writing
Example 1: Salmon

paraphrasing a Japanese word in English to attempt tospeak in an English way.
A’s favorite food was salmon sushi, and the lines
conveying this included two allo-repetitions, of sushi
and salmon, both short utterances. These repetitions
monitored each interlocutor’s understanding and each
one’s search for the following utterance and asubsequent related question. A second example
illustrates functions other than monitoring
understanding.
Example 2: Famous Game (Phrase-level Repetition)
1

C: Hey, what’s up?

2

D: Eh, I, I am sleepy.

3

C: Oh sleepy. I, I’m sleepy too. What are you hobby?

4 D: Eh, I like to travel and to take a picture, pictures.
How about you? N? how about you?

1

A: What is your favorite food?

2

B: My favorite food is wataame, ah, [cotton candy].

3

A:

4

B: Cotton candy.

6

D: What’s your fa, famous game?

5

A: Cotton [candy].

7

C: Famous game? Favorite game.

6

B:

8

D: Favorite game.

7

A: Un, oh.

8

B: How about you? How about you?

9

A: Um, I like sushi.

[Wataame].

[Yes]. I, if I went to festival, I would buy it.

10 B: Sushi.
11

A: Sushi.

12 B: Sushi tabetai. Sushi, what sushi, what kind ofsushi do you like?
13

A: I like, um, salmon.

14 B: Salmon.
15

A: Un, salmon.

16 B: Salmon is Maguro in Japanese. Are, magu, no,no, no Maguro.
The two interlocutors talked about their favorite food.
B’s favorite was wataame (cotton candy), which heconveyed using two allo-repetitions: repeating“wataame” and repeating its English translation,“cotton candy.” In these allo-repetitions, B is

5 C: I, my hobby is playing videogames and watching
animations.

9 C: Favorite game. My favorite game is Da, Dark
Souls. Dark Souls.
10 D: What’s the haad of it?
11 C: Eh, PlayStation, PlayStation 4.
12 D: Ah, I don’t have it.
The two students in this interaction conversed about
their hobbies; they developed their small talk by asking
about their feelings regarding taking an English classafter having lunch, and they shared that they felt
sleepy. Then, they spoke of one of the topics I assigned,
their hobbies. After answering (line 4), D asked C about
his hobbies and subsequently tried to develop the topic
of video games by asking which games C liked. D shouldhave said, “What’s your favorite game?” However, hemistakenly said, “famous” instead of “favorite” (line 6).
Noticing the mistake, C doubted that choice via risingintonation and suggested a more suitable candidate(line 7). Listening to these two similar phrases withdifferent adjectives, D realized his mistake andaccepted C’s “favorite game” suggestion (line 8).
Reaching consensus on a topic, C repeated his
The PanSIG 2021 Journal281

suggested word and stated his favorite game (Dark
Souls for PlayStation 4; lines 9–11). This interaction
continued, using two words for each utterance (lines
6–9). Utterances contained phrase-level allorepetitions to trigger, acknowledge, and accept
correction.
An Example of Chat-Style Writing
The example below shows chat-style writing for the
topic of plans for a summer vacation.

have never ride both” (line 8), and “It’s nice” (line 10)
to develop their conversations. Student B used more
words and related content in chat-style writing than in
the conversation about favorite foods before thestudents adopted chat-style writing. This suggests thatincorporating chat-style writing into conversation
instruction was useful for developing utterance
content, not only answering the question.
Interaction After Adopting Chat-Style Writing

1

B: What are you going to do this summer?

2

E: I think I want to go to Disney Sea.

A major development after the students adopted chatstyle writing is that some added comments to theanswer or reaction to the previous utterance anddemonstrated improved pragmatically managed
competence. See Example 4 for details.

3

B: Wow, what do you ride atraction (*attraction*)?

Example 4: Saitama Stadium

4

E: I want to ride rasing (*raising*) spirit(s).

15

B: It is turning around 360o, isn’t it?

6

E: Yes, it is. What do you want to ride there?

2 F: I met many persons. And I could become manyfriends. How about you?

Example 3: Disney Sea

7 B: I want to ride “Jenie’s Masic lump (*Genie’s
Magic Lamp*) theater” and “turtle talk”.
8 E: Oh, It’s (*it’s*) great I have never ride (*ridden*)both. What are you going to do this summer?
9 B: I want to go to festival and eat cotten (*cotton*)candy.
10 E: It’s nice. Who do you go there with?
11 B: Please don’t ask about it.
12 E: Oh, sorry. You go to lonely.
This interaction included four allo-repetitions: lines 1
and 8, 3 and 4, 6 and 7, and 9 and 10. Among these,
repetition of “What are you going to do this summer?”(line 8) maintained consistency with my allotted topic.
In contrast, the other three allo-repetitions wereextracted from a prior word or phrase; speakers usedthem to indicate relatedness to previous utterancesand provide additional information to maintainconsistency with each subtopic under the main themeof summer vacation plans.
Additionally, in this interaction through chat-style
writing, the information exchanges included more
words for each utterance than in the previous two
examples. Moreover, participants commented on theirpartner’s utterances, such as “Wow” (line 3), “It isturning around 360°, isn’t it?” (line 5), “Oh. It’s great I

A: What were your best things last year?

3 A: My best things is Saitama Stadium. And I
watched soccer game. Enemy is Argentina. It was sogood game. What did you do with your friend?
4

F: I watched baseball game three times.

5

A: What baseball team do you like?

6 F: I like Chiba Lotte Marines. Do you know? And I
like soccer. My favorite team is Yokohama F Marinos.
Do you know?
7

A: Yeah. My favorite team is Kashima Antlers.

8

F: Good team.

9

A: ACL is good game.

This interaction presents more answers to questions
and development in the content of those answers. For
example, line 2 consists of the main answer to thequestion in line 1 (“What were your best things lastyear?”); the paraphrase of F’s “best thing” is that hecould meet many friends (but literally, he could
become friends with many people he met). Line 3,
uttered by A, who earlier answered with just one word(e.g., “sushi” or “salmon”), consisted of more than one
sentence to answer the question in F (line 2, “How
about you?”). In this line, A added the following threeelements to his original answer (“My best thing is
Saitama Stadium”): (1) what he did at Saitama Stadium,(2) the opponent in the game, and (3) his impression of
The PanSIG 2021 Journal282

the game. His comments followed the additionalquestion regarding F’s best thing about meeting his
friends. After F explained what he did with his friends(lines 4 and 5), he stated his favorite baseball team with
two additional pieces of information (his favorite sportand soccer team). He monitored A’s backgroundknowledge about the baseball and soccer team using“Do you know?” During the information exchange withmore words and sentences than in the first two
examples, both A and F used four allo-repetitions tomaintain consistency with the topic (“baseball,” lines 4
and 5; “team,” lines 5 and 6, “my favorite team,” lines
6 and 7, and “team,” lines 7 and 8), not to monitor theirpartner’s understanding or trigger and acknowledge
correction of utterances. Following is another example
of an interaction with fewer allo-repetitions after
adopting chat-style writing:in English than his conversational partner. This caused
him to correct or paraphrase H’s utterances to moresuitable English expressions, such as “Japan game”(singular form; line 2) to “Japan games” (plural form;line 3), “jinja” (line 8) to “shrine” (line 9), and “kaki”(line 10) to “oyster” (line 11). The suggestion to change“game” to plural included allo-repetition of “Japan,”and a paraphrase in lines 8 and 9 included allo-

Example 5: Hiroshima

In contrast, some interlocutors reverted to Japanese
when they could not use English expressions very well.
Though I cannot share the actual example because one
speaker strongly resisted including excerpts of his
interaction in any articles, I can describe the interaction
as follows: Male student (MS) noticed his grammaticalmistake in the verb tense when he used the Japanesephrase “acc, chigau” (literally “oh, it’s different,” butthe phrase means “excuse me”). However, he could not
find a suitable word in English or an acceptable way tochoose the correct form of the past tense. In anotherexample of reverting to Japanese, he used “nanchara”(something something) and “wakannai” (I don’t know)
in attempting to describe outdoor activities to his
conversational partner who asked the meaning of“outdoors.” This conversation failed to develop with noconcrete explanation of the word in the middle of theconversation or any questions to let MS use a noun
supplement to clarify the details.

1 G: So, I think you are from Hiroshima, but yourbrother is in Hiroshima. Isn’t it?
2 H: Yeah, yeah. Japan game. My brother is championof my prefecture, Prefecture’s champion.
3

G: And he went to Japan games?

4

H: Yes.

5

G: Oh, interesting. And you went to Hiroshima?

6

H: Yes.

7 G: Do you have any? Where did you go in othersightseeing spot?
8 H: Yes, yes. I went to Gembaku Dome. And I went
to Itsukushima Jinja.
9

G: Itsukushima Shrine.

10

H: That’s right, shrine and I ate Kaki and XX.

11 G: Oyster. I want to know about Itsukushima
Shrine. Please tell me about that.
12 H: Itsukushima Shrine, a very long road – very
big… Torii.
I extracted this example from an interaction between
two male friends after they had adopted chat-style
writing. Their data differ slightly from the otherinteractions because G had joined a lunchtime
intensive conversation course with a native speaker ofEnglish and thus had had many more chances to speak

repetition of “Itsukushima, ” a location of a famous
shrine to show a part to be changed or corrected in H’sutterance. Otherwise, allo-repetition was present fromlines 11 to 12 (“Itsukushima Shrine”) to maintain topic
consistency and confirm what would be described next.
The analysis reveals slightly fewer allo-repetitions inthis example, and they did not function to monitor
mutual understanding to encourage consecutive allorepetition during a short interaction.

Discussion and Conclusion
In my findings above, students gave more answers toquestions after they adopted chat-style writing. They
improved pragmatically managed competence byadding comments to develop their utterances to
explain them. They also used fewer allo-repetitions andinserted related or supplementary information to
expand the contents. In contrast, some students
reverted to Japanese when they could not find suitable
expressions in English; however, even then, theThe PanSIG 2021 Journal283

students tried to develop their utterances rather thansaying just one word.

Campbell-Larsen, J. (2019). From needs analysis toBased on these results, I conclude that chat-style
writing can contribute to conversational instruction byencouraging students to interact with partners using as
much English as possible. By adapting written
interactions to conversation, the students I studied
attempted to use more coherent words, phrases, andsentences in response to their partners’ utterances,even if their expressions were grammatically andcontextually incorrect.

micro-analytic study of learner talk in JapaneseThis study encourages students’ interactions in English,
including their efforts to make their conversations as
coherent as possible. However, it is difficult to evaluate
the effectiveness of incorporating chat-style writing
into English conversation instruction because of ouruniversity’s curriculum. The students took two classes
per week for a year, a reading and writing class taught
by a Japanese instructor and a speaking and listeningclass taught by a native English speaker. The effect ofchat-style writing was clear in students’ elaborating
longer and more coherent utterances. There was likely
a positive effect of oral English classes as well, giventhat students had more opportunities to speak English
and more interactions in English during this class thanduring the reading and writing class. Future
researchers should collect more data with different
types of participants and different proficiency levels
and include control groups that are only taking areading and writing course with no chat-style writing.

emergent pragmatic competence: A longitudinal
EFL university classes. In L. Takeda, & M.
Okugiri (Eds.), A pragmatic approach to English
language teaching and production (pp. 169197). Tokyo, Japan: Kazama Shobo.
Clark, H. H. (1996). Using language. Cambridge,
Massachusetts: Cambridge University Press.
Du Bois, J., Schuetze-Coburn, S., Cumming, S., &Paolino, D. (1993). Outline of discourse
transcription. In J. Edwards & M. Lampert (Eds.),
Talking data: Transcription and coding methods
for discourse research (pp. 45-89). Hillsdale, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Greer, T., & Nanbu, Z. (2021). General and explicit test
prompts: Some consequences for topic
management in paired EFL discussion tests. In
C. Lee (Ed.), Second language pragmatics andEnglish language education in East Asia (pp.
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Horiguchi, S. (1997). Nihongo kyooiku to kaiwa
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific
Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of
Science (No. 18K00886). The author would like to thankthe anonymous reviewers for their insightfulcomments and suggestions.

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Appendix:
Transcription Conventions (Takeda, 2021, p. 54)

Spoken interaction only
[XX: the beginning of overlaps.: falling intonation,: continuing intonation?: rising intonation

Written interaction only(*word*): correct spelling of an English target word

Both spoken and written interactions
word: a trigger word or phrase that causes an allo-repetition
word: an allo-repetition of a trigger word or phrase
word: a Japanese word and phrase

Sources: Du Bois et al., 1983; Kushida et al., 2005

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Tasks for Speech Acts in Textbooks
Chie Kawashima
Tochigi Technical High School

This study shed light on learners’ opportunities to practice speech acts they have learned from the textbooks. In thisstudy, five beginner-level international ELT textbooks and seven Japanese high school ELT textbooks were investigatedwith regard to the way speech acts are treated in practice tasks. The results of the study revealed that particular speechacts are/are not commonly practiced in the textbooks along with how communicatively these speech acts are treated inpractice tasks in each type of the textbooks. The comparison of these two types of textbooks disclosed the weakness
and potential that these pedagogical materials have in relation to providing learners’ opportunities to practice speechacts. At the end, some practical suggestions as to how teachers should supplement information about language use inexisting textbooks were made in order to adapt textbooks for pragmatic instruction.

本論においては、初級レベルの英語学習教材ならびに高等学校で使用されている教科書が、学習者に発話行為の練習をする機会をどのような形で与えているのかに関する調査を行った。調査結果によると、大多数の教材には使用頻度の高い発話行為を含むタスクが存在するが、一部分の教材でしか扱われていない特定の発話行為を練習するタスクの存在も判明した。また、それらの発話行為がタスクの中でコミュニカテイブに扱われているか否かについてもこの両タイプの教材の間で大きな違いがみられた。それに応じて、語用論的指導を行うに当たり、両タイプの教材における問題点と可能性を指摘し、これらの教材を語用論的指導に適合させるための実用的な提案も付け加えた。

One of the important roles of an ELT textbook is toprovide a platform for language learners to practicecommunicative functions, and the learner’s pragmaticcompetence is unlikely to improve without effective
exercises. It has been persuasively argued that learners
should be provided with opportunities to practicelearned forms in communicative contexts (McGroaty &Taguchi, 2005; Shimizu et al., 2007), but not all teachingmaterials provide such learning experiences, especiallyat the beginner level. The word communicative isrelating to the ability to be engaged in communication.
Canale(1983)
summarisedthenatureofcommunication in language pedagogy as a form ofsocial interaction with a purpose which takes place indiscourse and sociocultural contexts.
The importance of practicing the pragmatic knowledge
introduced in ELT textbooks has been emphasised andthe lack of tasks to support such practice has been
pointed out. Dubin and Olshtain (1986) attempted toinclude structures, situations, and themes or topics inlanguage instruction. In order to judge different types ofsemantico-grammaricalknowledge
andwhatcommunicative skills are practiced along with the typesof communicative activities, they developed a scale forassessing communicativeness workouts. The levels ofcommunicativeness in this 'workouts' range from mostcommunicative (Level 1) to least communicative (Level
7) (p.98-99). Based on their workouts, McGroarty and
Taguchi (2005) evaluated the communicativeness oftasks involving speech acts in Oral Communication
textbooks used in Japanese senior high schools as to
the range of communicative situations, communicative
functions and linguistic forms. They found that most
textbook exercise types such as listening to dialogues
and cloze exercises were ranked in the two least
communicative categories of 'exposure to information'and 'mechanical operations'. In addition, their study
revealed that more than 80% of the communicative
functions in the textbooks were ideational, and less than17 percent of manipulative functions were practiced.
Shimizu et al. (2007) also examined Oral
Communication textbooks to determine the ratio oftasks to practice speech acts. Only 15.7 percent of thetasks in these textbooks provided learners with
opportunities to practice speech acts.
In addition to the ELT textbooks used in Japanese
senior high schools, Uso-Juan (2007) investigated five
ELT textbooks for tourism used in universities in Spainto see how requesting was practiced. Her study foundthe activities for requesting mainly concentrated on
The PanSIG 2021 Journal288

learners' acquisition of linguistic competence mostly
without interlocutors' information. More recently, Ali
Salimi and Kamali (2019) noted that nearly 80 % of thetasks in the EFL textbooks used in Iranian universities
did not cover pragmatic use of language although the
majority of learners were aware of the importance ofpracticing pragmatic knowledge.
Ishihara and Paller (2016), on the other hand, observed
the tasks introduced in three textbooks specificallydesigned for pragmatic instruction focusing on the
speech acts relevant to expressing opinions. The taskpresented in one of these textbooks begins with anawareness raising activity followed by a roleplay. Then,further tasks were provided along with an interactional
practice with a list of useful phrases for agreeing/
disagreeing. They noticed one of the units in the othertextbook involves a controlled fill-in-the-blank exercise
for these speech acts with correct answers, but theyrecognised that the later communicative activities
enable learners to be more engaged by recycling thelanguage they learned. Thus, Ishihara (2020) stated thatawareness alone does not necessarily guarantee
learners' fluent use of pragmatic knowledge highlighting
the importance of output and interactive practice.
Unless textbooks are designed specifically to develop
learners' pragmatic competence, their improvement of
pragmatic ability is unlikely. For the sake ofsupplementing the defect of ELT textbooks in providing
opportunities to practice speech acts, the following
research questions were developed:
RQ1. What speech acts are commonly/less commonly
practiced in ELT textbooks?
RQ2. How communicatively are these speech acts
treated in practice tasks?

Methods
Textbook Selection
This study attempted to compare two different types of
ELT textbooks with the same proficiency level as toinclusion of learners’ opportunities to practice pragmatic
knowledge. One is the set of international ELT
textbooks for beginner-level adult learners. These
textbooks are full of dialogues to practice conversations.
The other type of textbooks are those used in Japanesehigh schools, where different grammar information isprovided in each unit. To select the materials foranalysis, emails were sent to the Japan office of five
major international publishers to enquire about their topselling international ELT coursebooks for adult learners.
Based on their replies, the most widely used materials
to develop four language skills identified by eachpublisher were selected as shown in Appendix A. In
addition, seven Japanese high school ELT textbooks forfirst-year students, which are the equivalent level of theaforementioned international ELT textbooks, wereselected. The selection of these seven textbooks wasmade based on the information about the most popular
textbooks provided by the sales representatives fromthe major Japanese publishers. This selection of the
textbooks was previously made by Kawashima (2021)
in her study of pragmatic roles of visuals in ELT
textbooks.

Data Analysis
The tasks for practicing pragmatic information wereclassified as different levels of communicativenessaccording to ‘a scale for assessing communicative
workouts’ developed by Dubin and Olshtain (1986) asshown in Figure 1.

RQ3. Are there any differences between international
ELT textbooks and Japanese high school textbooks inproviding learners with opportunities to practice speechacts?

Figure 1: A Scale for Assessing Communicative Workouts, Dubin and Olshtain (1986, p.98-99)

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289

The aim of the classification process in the current study
was to examine what pragmatic knowledge learners canreinforce and how communicatively these aspects ofpragmatic competence are practiced in each exercise.
Textbook evaluations help teachers or program
developers to select appropriate textbooks, and tofamilialise them to the merits and demerits of the chosenmaterials (Bahar & Zahman, 2013). The approachselected was influenced by previous approaches taken
by other researchers including McGroarty and Taguchi(2005). They successfully employed Dubin and
Olshtain’s(1986)
scaleforassessingthecommunicative potential of workouts to determine
whether or not learners were required to perform
communicative skills as part of the textbook exercises.
In this study, the tasks classified as levels 1-3 wereconsidered as communicative tasks. Impromptu spoken
activities or group discussion involving learners'
personal experiences were classified as Level 1. The
typical tasks classified as Level 2 were roleplaying orparagraph writing. Level 3 represented the activities
involving existing information as giving directions or
describing pictures. Translating a Japanese sentence
into English was also classified as this level. On theother hand, those classified as the remaining levels
were determined to be less communicative activities.
Listening for details activities or interviews with a list ofquestion provided was classified as Level 4. The tasksclassified as Level 5 include physical response wherelearners listen to directions to follow. Grammar
exercises as well as cloze listening were classified as
Level 6. When the tasks were only listening to dialogues,
passages, or songs in English, they were all classified
as Level 7. Most activities included in levels 1-3 requirelearners’ productive skills while Level 4-7 activities focus
on receptive skills. The tasks with more than two
activities with different levels of communicativenesswereclassified
asthehighestlevelofcommunicativeness within each task.
In order to determine what commonly presented speechacts were/were not treated communicatively in the tasks
in each type of textbooks, a list of common speech acts
treated most communicatively was shown numericallyin a column of the Tables 1 and 2. As not all the speechacts are necessarily practiced in each textbook, only the
speech acts with numbers in the textbook cells werecounted as those involved in the tasks. The number ofthe highest communicativeness of the tasks for eachspeech act was placed in each cell of the row of the
textbooks to calculate the average. The speech act withthe lowest average number was determined to bepracticed the most communicatively.

Results
Commonly / Less Commonly Practiced SpeechActs
The total number of 34 speech acts across theinternational ELT textbooks and 24 speech acts across
the Japanese high school textbooks were provided withthe tasks to practice language use (See Appendix B).
The tasks involving giving advice, giving offers,
suggesting proposals, requesting, giving orders, andexpressing opinions were identified in more than half ofboth sets of textbooks as shown in Table 1 and 2.
Additionally, as many as twelve other speech acts ofrefusing offers, accepting proposals, refusing proposals,
apologizing, responding to apology, thanking, greeting,leave-taking, agreeing, disagreeing, asking directions,and giving directions were commonly practiced in morethan three out of five international ELT textbooks, whilethese speech acts were rarely or not practiced across
the Japanese high school ELT textbooks. On the other
hand, learners’ opportunities to practice asking foradvice, accepting advice, making accusations,assessing, celebrating, encouraging, and exclaiming
were provided only in a single textbook out of fiveinternational ELT textbooks. Across the Japanese highschool ELT textbooks, as many as ten speech acts ofasking for advice, refusing offers, accepting proposals,
giving permission, complimenting, responding tothanking, greeting, leave-taking, assessing, andexpressing sympathy were practiced only in a single
textbook.

Communicativeness of Tasks Involving
Commonly/Less Commonly Practiced SpeechActs
The tasks to practice expressing opinions in both typesof textbooks were identified to be most communicative
as shown in Table 1 and 2. The tasks for this speech act
across international ELT textbooks allowed learners to
use language to express their own views or preferences,and ultimately developed into group discussion. Even in
Japanese textbooks, personalization took place topractice this speech act. Learners were required to writea paragraph to express their opinion and read aloud infront of the class.
Giving advice, giving offers, suggesting proposals, andrequesting were treated differently in these two types oftextbooks. These speech acts were practiced mainly
through creative expression or application of
information in the international ELT textbooks, but only
giving orders was not treated so communicatively asthese five aforementioned speech acts (See Table 1).
This speech act was for the most part practiced throughreading dialogues aloud. In contrast, across theJapanese high school ELT textbooks, these five
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290

commonly practiced speech acts were not generally
acts aforementioned in the previous section in thetreated communicatively, and the average level ofinternational ELT textbooks were mostly practiced with
communicativeness was 5.0 or below except for giving
mechanical operations such as reading aloud practice.
advice (See Table 2). Giving advice can be practiced at
Most of those practiced across the Japanese highLevel 2 or 3 of communicativeness in four out of theseschool textbook, in contrast, are more communicative atseven textbooks. Some particularities were observed in
Level 3 or 4 unlike the remaining speech acts which
practicing the speech acts presented only in a single
were more commonly presented.
textbook across each type of textbooks. The speech
Table 1
Levels of Communicativeness of Speech Act Commonly Practiced in International Textbooks
Average level
Interchange Headway
CuttingGlobalTime
Textbooks
Giving Advice

1

2

2

2

1.8

Giving Offers

2

2

4

5

2.8

Suggesting Proposals

1

4

5

3.0

Requesting

2

2

2

4

5

2.8

Giving Orders

6

4

2

6

4

4.4

Expressing Opinions

1

1

1

1

2

1.0

Table 2
Levels of Communicativeness Speech act Commonly Practiced in Japanese Textbooks
Progress
Treasure
Crown
Vista
Vivid
SelectQuest
Average level
Textbooks
Giving Advice

2

Giving Offers

3

6

3

Suggesting Proposals

2

6

2

3.0

6

6

6

4

5.0

6

6

6

4

5.0

Requesting

6

6

6

6

4

5.6

Giving Orders

3

6

7

6

6

5.6

3

2

2

2

2.2

Expressing Opinions

2

Major Differences between Two Types of
Textbooks in Providing Opportunities to Practice
Speech Acts
Conspicuous differences between these two types oftextbooks were observed with regards to the tasks
between commonly and less commonly presented
speech acts. The tasks involving giving advice, giving
offers, suggesting proposals, and requesting were
mostly communicatively designed across theinternational ELT textbooks whereas these speech acts
were typically practiced through mechanical operations
or grammar exercises across the Japanese high school
ELT textbooks. On the other hand, communicativenessof the tasks for less commonly practiced speech acts
was opposite. These speech acts were typicallypracticed less communicatively across the international
ELT textbooks while the Japanese high school ELT
textbooks tend to provide less commonly practiced
speech acts with communicatively designed tasks.
Some speech acts which were commonly practiced with
communicatively
designed
tasks
acrosstheinternational ELT textbooks were completely absent in
the Japanese high school ELT textbooks. Although the

speech act of expressing opinions was practiced
communicatively in more than half of both types oftextbooks, learners' opportunities to practice thecorresponding communicative functions such as
agreeing and disagreeing are both absent across theJapanese high school ELT textbooks. These speechacts were typically practiced along with expressing
opinions through communicative activities as
negotiation of information across the international ELT
textbooks. Another speech act which is commonly
practiced only in the international ELT textbooks wasapologizing. The average communicative level of thetasks for this speech act was 3.5, and the tasks for thisspeech act were present in four out of these fivetextbooks. This speech act is practiced throughroleplaying, listening comprehension, and reading a
dialogue aloud. Overall, main difference between these
two types of textbooks was not only thecommunicativeness of the tasks for commonly/lesscommonly practiced speech acts but also whether or notsome specific speech acts were practiced.

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291

Discussion
The current study noted the speech act of expressing
opinions, which was communicatively practiced acrossboth types of textbooks, was regarded as one of themost important communicative functions treated inthese ELT textbooks. Across the Japanese high school
ELT textbooks, the speech act practiced mainly throughcreative expression was only expressing opinions. The
key word of "opinion" frequently appears in the
instructional points of any subject of high school English
described in Course of Study of MEXT (2009).
According to Course of Study, learners are supposed topractice discussion or exchanging their opinions on theinformation or ideas based on what they have heard,
read,
and
experienced(p.11).
Therefore,
communicative tasks may be positively provided forpracticing expressing opinions.
In addition to expressing opinions, the importance was
attached to practicing the speech acts of giving advice,giving offers, suggesting proposals, requesting andgiving orders across both types of textbooks. These
speech acts were typically used to practice grammar
knowledge across the Japanese high school ELT
textbooks while they were mainly practiced in dialogues
with contexts across the international ELT textbooks.
This is comparable to the finding of the study conductedby McGroaty and Taguchi (2005) that manipulative
functions as using language to affect the world weresolely provided with mechanical or structured exercisesin the EFL textbooks for Japanese secondary schools.
Giving advice, giving offers, suggesting proposals andrequesting involve a wide range of linguistic forms toconvey the speakers' intention including the use ofsoftened and indirect forms or modifications in authentic
conversations (Leech 2014; Martinez-Flor, 2005;
Trosborg, 1995). Although these speech acts werepracticed communicatively across the international ELT
textbooks, polite/indirect use of language was not
required, and only equal speaker-hearer power
relations were provided. Therefore, learners mightrarely be provided with the opportunities to practicedifferent linguistic forms according to the context.
Nevertheless, the Japanese high school ESL textbooks
may have potentials to practice indirect/polite use oflanguage. Vellenga (2004) suggested that pedagogicallinkage between grammar and speech acts could be
adapted to supplement existing grammar exercises.
Similarly, Oda-Sheehan (2016) confirmed the effect ofpragmatic learning integrated with instruction of theusage of auxiliary verbs in her empirical study. Thus, theinvolvement of these grammar items in speech acts help
learners to be aware of polite/indirect language use.
Learners may be at least aware of indirect use oflanguage by practicing these grammar items if
information about politeness is added.

Across the international ELT textbooks, less commonly
practiced speech acts were often included in the tasks
to practice other recurring speech acts such as giving
advice and requesting. These less commonly practiced
speech acts are not main focus of the activities and may
be included incidentally in the dialogues to practice.
Across the Japanese high school ELT textbooks, incontrast, less commonly practiced speech acts aretreated more communicatively compared to theremaining speech acts. These speech acts are notnecessarily related to what have been instructed in themain part of the units. For example, the speech act ofcomplimenting was practiced only in Vista. The task forthis speech act is introduced in a supplementary section
at the end of one unit, where learners practicecomplimenting the hearer's belongings or abilities
looking at the pictures. No instruction for practicing thecorresponding communicative function of responding tocompliments is provided in this task. This speech act is
not introduced as linguistic information in the unit, and it
could be omitted on teachers' disposals. This sort oftasks makes up 42% of the total number of speech acts
practiced in these textbooks. In other words, learners'
opportunities to practice many of the speech acts
presented in these textbooks are potentially left out. The
above differences in treating speech acts in the tasks
may indicate these two types of textbooks have different
pedagogical purposes.
Apologizing, agreeing, and disagreeing were practiced
communicatively in most of international ELT textbooks
while the tasks for these speech acts were completely
absent across the Japanese high school ELT textbooks.
The apologizing expression of "sorry" might be too
simple for upper secondary students to practice withtasks unlike aforementioned speech acts of giving
advice, giving offers, suggesting proposals, andrequesting.
Limberg(2015)
pointedout
underrepresentation of apologizing in German
secondary school ELT textbooks as it has been alreadypresented in lower proficiency textbooks. Yamato andAdachi(2015)
also
observed
decreaseincommunicative
functions
includingapologizing
presented in Japanese junior high school textbooks as
the students’ grades increase. Their interpretation isthat the focus is shifted from interaction to reading.
However, apologizing is often performed in politenesssensitive events like giving advice, giving offers,
suggesting
proposals,andrequesting,andinternal/external modifiers or the satellite speech eventsas "a confession or admission of responsibility, an
explanation, an offer of repair, and promise offorbearance" is involved (Leech, 2014, p.116).
Agreeing and disagreeing were practiced only in theinternational ELT textbooks along with expressing
opinions. Emphasis may be unavoidably placed onthese speech acts to practice discussion. The textbooks
specifically designed for pragmatic instruction, which
The PanSIG 2021 Journal292

Ishihara and Paller (2016) examined, introduce anumber of conversation strategies for agreeing anddisagreeing with several tasks. As mentioned earlier,the keyword of “opinion” frequently appears in Courseof Study (MEXT, 2009) with a description that learners
are encouraged to practice discussion or exchanging
their opinions ideas. Thus, the absence of the tasks topractice agreeing and disagreeing in Japanese highschool ELT textbook may distort their pedagogicalobjectives.
In sum, the number of tasks which involve particularspeech acts and what speech acts are/are notcommunicatively practiced may be the key factor todetermine whether importance is attached to interactive
language use or linguistic information in the textbooks.
At the same time, these two types of the textbooks may
have both a potential and weakness.

References
Ali Salimi, E., & Karami, B. (2019). Pragmaticcompetence development: Demystifying theimpact of task types and EFL students'
perception. Issues in Language Teaching (ILT),
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http://doi.org/10.9790/0837-1257077

Conclusion
This study revealed the differences between two typesof textbooks in how pragmatic knowledge was practiced,
and these differences may be attributed to different
organization of the textbooks. The international ELT
textbooks are organized to develop learners' everyday
conversation skills, whereas the goal of Japanese highschool ELT textbooks is to deepen grammar knowledge.
Both types of ELT textbooks have weaknesses andpotentials as to pragmatic instruction.
In spite of the problems this study pointed out, textbooks
can be only credible sources for instruction providing
learners with opportunities to practice the target
language (Nguyen, 2011; Soleimani & Dabbghi, 2012).
In order to adapt the textbooks to pragmatic instruction,
the internal characteristics of the materials can bechanged using the techniques of "adding, deleting,modifying, simplifying, and reordering" (McDonough etal., 2013, p.70). For example, lack of indirect/polite useof language to instruct speech acts can besupplemented by adding unequal speaker-hearer
relationship or higher intensity as contextual information.
One of the communicative activities in Interchange isdesigned to practice giving advice based on a scenario
description. Learners are supposed to use solely
imperatives for advice-giving. Thus, adding information
about the speaker and the hearer may allow learners tochoose appropriate linguistic form to perform thisspeech act. Communicative language use and grammar
information are not opposite binary, but on thecontinuum. Therefore, indirect/polite language use as
grammar information could be modified by introducing
authentic models of language use or interactive
activities provided with relevant communicative
contexts. Teachers' efforts to compensate for thedefects of textbooks may help learners to develop
pragmatic competence.

Dubin, F., & Olshtain, E. (1986). Course design:
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Ishihara, N. (2020). Going beyond the icing on thegingerbread: Teaching pragmatics moreregularly, systematically, and communicatively.
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Ishihara (Eds.), Pragmatics Undercover: The
search for natural talk in EFL textbooks (pp. 2128). Tokyo: pragmatics Special Interest Group of
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Ishihara, N., & Paller, D. L. (2016). Research-informedmaterials for teaching pragmatics. In B.
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London: Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315749082-17
Kawashima, C. (2021). Pragmatic roles of visuals in
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Ferguson (Eds.), Communities of teachers &learners (pp. 290-299). Tokyo: JALT.
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Leech, G. (2014). The pragmatics and politeness.
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Limberg, H. (2015). Teaching how to apologize: EFL

Soleimani, H., & Dabbaghi, A. (2012). Textbook

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Teaching Research, 1-20.

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Language Teaching 1(2), 23-46.
https://doi.org/10.5861/ijrsll.2012.v1i2.70

Martinez-Flor, A. (2005). A theoretical review of the
speech act of suggesting: Towards a taxonomy

Trosborg, A. (1995). Interlanguage pragmatics;

for its use in FLT. Revista Alicantina de Estudios

requests, complaints, and apologies. Berlin:

Ingleses, 18, 167-187.

Mouton de Gruyter.

https://doi.org/10.14198/raei.2005.18.08

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110885286

McDonough, J., Shaw, C., & Masuhara, H. (2013).

Uso-Juan, E. (2007). The presentation and practice ofMaterials and methods in ELT: A teacher's

the communicative act of requesting in

guide. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.

textbooks: focusing on modifiers. In E. Alcon
Soler & M. P. Safont Jorda (Eds.), Intercultural

McGroarty, M., & Taguchi, N. (2005). Evaluating thelanguage use and language learning (pp. 223-

communicativeness of EFL textbooks for

243). Dordrecht: Springer.

Japanese secondary schools. In J. Frodesen &https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5639-0_12

C. Holten (Eds.), The power of context inlanguage teaching and learning (pp. 211-224).
Boston, MA: Thompson Heinle.

Vellenga, H. (2004). Learning pragmatics from ESL &EFL textbooks: How likely? Retrieved February,14, 2012, from http://tesl-ej.org/ej30/a3.html

MEXT. (2009). Course of study for senior high schools
foreign language (English). Retrieved fromwww.mext.go.jp

Yamato, K., & Adachi, T. (2015). Pragmatic analysis of
MEXT authorized textbooks. Bulletin of Schoolof Languages and Communication, Kobe

Nguyen, M. T. T. (2011). Learning to communicate in a

University, 12, 79-89.

globalized world: To what extent do school
textbooks facilitate the development ofintercultural pragmatic competence? RELC
Journal, 42(1), 17-30.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688210390265
Oda-Sheehan, S. (2016). Making pragmatics andgrammar work hand in hand. In P. Clements, A.
Krause & H. Brown (Eds.), Focus on the learner.
Tokyo: JALT.
Shimizu, T., Fukasawa, E., & Yonekura, S. (2007).
Introductions and practices of speech acts inOral Communication 1 textbooks: From a
The PanSIG 2021 Journal294

Appendix A

Textbooks Used for This Study
International ELT Textbooks
Interchange Intro (Cambridge University Press 2013)
American Headway Starter (Oxford University Press 2010)
Cutting Edge Starter (Pearson Education 2012)
Global Beginner Course Book (MacMillan 2010)
Time Zones 1 (Cengage Learning 2010)
Textbooks Used in Japanese High Schools
Progress in English 21 Book 3 (Edec 2012)
New Treasure English Series Stage 3 (Z-kai 2003)
Crown English Communication I (Sanseido 2013)Vista English Communication I (Sanseido 2013)
Vivid English Communication I (Daiichi Gakushusha 2013)
Select English Expression I (Sanseido 2013)
Vision Quest English Expression I (Keirinkan 2013)

The PanSIG 2021 Journal295

Appendix B
List of Speech Acts practiced in ELT textbooks
Speech Act categories

Speech Act Types

Practiced inInternational Textbooks

Practiced in Japanese
Textbooks

1. Advice

Asking for advice















Giving advice
Accepting advice
2. Offers

Giving offers
Accepting offers
Refusing offers

3. Proposals

Suggesting proposals
Accepting proposals
Refusing proposals

4. Permission

Asking for permissions
Giving permissions

5. Prohibition

Prohibiting

6. Requests

Requesting
Refusing requesting

7. Apology

Apologizing
Responding to apology

8. Compliments

Complimenting

9. Accusation

Responding tocompliments
Giving accusations

10. Thanks

Thanking
Responding to thanking

11. Greetings

Greeting
Leave-taking

12. Orders

Giving orders

13. Opinions

Asking for opinions
Expressing opinions
Agreeing
Disagreeing
Agreeing and disagreeing

14. Directions

Asking directions
Giving directions

15. Assessment

Assessing

16. Celebration

Celebrating

17. Encouragement

Encouraging

18. Exclamation

Exclaiming

19. Sympathy

Expressing sympathy























































20. Responses to good
Responding to good news
news
Note: This list was created based on the studies of Arai (2005), Nguyen (2011), Shimizu et al. (2007) and
Vellenga (2004). The tick in each cell shows the speech act in the column is practiced.
The PanSIG 2021 Journal296

From “Wild Geese” to Transnationals: Korean Students in Japanese University
Natasha Hashimoto
Tokyo Woman’s Christian University

The current, ongoing case study aims to contribute to the research on the flesh-and-blood learners (Kramsch, 2009) of English, particularly
those who are developing their translingual, transnational identities. The participants are two international female university students studying
in Japan. They come from South Korea and use English, Japanese, and Korean regularly. Having also lived in English-speaking countries
and Japan, starting as children of so-called “wild geese” families whose mothers took them study abroad as children (Lee, 2021), and having
a global outlook, the participants are transnational individuals. The study explores the participants’ life trajectories but concentrates on theirexperiences with learning and using English. I investigate how the students’ and their families’ investment in the language shapes their overall
experience with language learning and use. The data for this paper come mainly from interviews and email exchanges with the participants.
In data analysis, I used the Bourdieusian theoretical concepts.

Kramsch, 20092
wild geese

In this study, I explore two female international students’English learning histories and migration trajectories.
The students come from South Korea and have lived
and studied in English-speaking countries and Japan.
Conducting the study, I have been particularlyinterested in what happens after young people acquire
English overseas and then decide to study abroad in an
Expanding Circle (non-English-speaking) country such
as Japan. As per the Kachru’s (1992) model of threecircles based on the use of English, Japan is a country
where English is not an L1 or L2 for most residents but
is studied and used as a foreign language.
The first part of this paper focuses on the participants’early lives, education overseas before arriving in Japan,
and their English learning experiences before entering
university. The rest of the article focuses on theirdecisions to come to study in Japan and their plans fortheir future career. I also discuss how the students’ andtheir families’ investment in language learning has
shaped their overall experience with using English andaffected their future plans.

Lee, 2021

The Need to Research “Flesh-and-Blood”
Learners: Theoretical Background
One of the current case study goals is to contribute to
the research on international students, who are also
English learners, especially those who are developing
their multilingual, transnational identities. To that end, I
draw on a variety of earlier research. The contribution I
try to make is to the research on English language
learners’ living experiences because the field of TESOL
has once been critiqued as “traditionally [giving] more
attention to the process of [language] acquisition than
to the ﬂesh-and-blood individuals who are doing thelearning” as many researchers tended to separately
investigate cognition, learner behavior, and social
aspects of SLA (Kramsch, 2009, p. 2). In addition,
TESOL has also long suffered from the monolingualbias (May, 2013; Meier & Conteh, 2014), and it isnecessary to (continue to) give voice to translinguals,
which is another aim of the current study. The current
study is also one small contribution to the body ofliterature that focuses on studying abroad and/or
multilingualism (e.g., Doerr, 2019; Iida & Herder, 2019;Savicki et al., 2015) and Koreans living overseas (e.g.,
Lee, 2021; Park, 2020).
The PanSIG 2021 Journal297

To understand the background and compare thereasons the two research participants have studied
abroad in English-speaking countries and Japan, I turnto the literature on South Korean families that take orsend their children to study overseas. I rely on Pierre
Bourdieu’s theoretical tools to interpret the datacollected mainly through individual interviews and email
exchanges with two research participants. One of thetools is habitus or one’s internal dispositions largely but
not exclusively developed early in life. Bourdieu
described it as one’s “feel for the game” (Bourdieu, 1998,
p. 25) that influences a person’s perceptions of theworld and their behavior (Bourdieu, 2000, pp. 86-87).
Equally important is the concept of capital that isconverted from one type to another (Bourdieu, 1984,1986). For instance, one can use their economic capital(financial resources) to obtain education (e.g., pay forstudying abroad, invest in a university degree).
Bourdieu (1984, 1986) has categorized capital into fourtypes: economic, cultural, social, and symbolic.
Economic capital refers to money a person possesses
and material goods readily convertible to money.
Cultural capital is an individual’s assets such as
educational degrees, knowing how to behave in certainsocial circles, or playing musical instruments, and it
typically takes a long time to obtain. Social capital refers
to memberships and social connections one has accessto. Symbolic capital can take the form of any of the otherthree types and means prestige and honor based on a
person’s attributes and possessions. In addition tocapital, people’s investment indicates how they position
themselves toward an L2 and its community and how
committed they are to learning and using that particularlanguage. The participants’ investment in the target
languages (Norton 2013; Norton 1995) is evident fromtheir trajectories, their families’ efforts, and the students’future plans.

“Wild Geese” Families
Since the trend started, research has been conductedon the so-called “wild geese families” (kirogi or gireogi
in Korean). Typically, they are middle-class South
Korean families in which one parent takes the children
to an English-speaking country for a few years for themto acquire the language. The other parent, typically thefather, stays in Korea and financially supports the family.
English-speaking countries have been attractive
destinations for kirogi families that engage in globalizedfamily strategies to enhance their children’s education.
Since the 1990s and South Korea’s admission to theOECD in 1996, English has been seen as essential for
professional career development and good corporate
employment (Koo & Lee, 2006; Lee, 2021). It has beenreported that in Montreal, Canada, for instance, 17
percent of Koreans are from such “wild goose” families(Yoon, 2020).

Overall, studying abroad is important for many middleclass Korean families. Earning an academic degree
overseas is a significant accomplishment, even if thedegree is not in English. Through studying overseas,
Korean youth can avoid the fierce academic competitionin their home countries. In addition, academic
credentials earned abroad, and newly acquired
language skills can allow them to reenter the Korean
labor market, resulting in any foreign college degree
being seen as worth more than most Korean university
degrees (Park, 2020).
To send or take their children to study abroad, Koreanfamilies have to carefully calculate the cost and benefitof such endeavors. Studying abroad requires financial
resources, knowledge of the educational institutions
and programs overseas, and decisions about allocating
resources among the children. All these issues are
relevant to the two participants in my study. My interestin conducting the current study, in other words myresearch inquiry, was to find out what the particularparticipants in this research, who come from an
Expanding Circle country (i.e., South Korea), see as
valuable in studying overseas in English-speaking
countries and Japan, learning two foreign languages,
and obtaining a university degree from another
Expanding Circle country like Japan.

Participants and Method
This is an ongoing case study of two main participants,
Korean international students enrolled at a small private
university in Japan. The main data collection methods
were individual, semi-structured interviews and email
exchanges with the two students, and this is what I draw
on for the present paper. In addition, as part of the wholeongoing study, I analyze (1) the students’ written
responses to prompts related to this research, (2) theirshort essays in English written for an academic writingclass, and (3) interview data from two former teachers
who taught the participants in their 1st and 2nd-year
courses. Although I interviewed the participants’ former
teachers, both Americans, and used essays for data
triangulation purposes, this paper focuses on the datacollected from interviews with the two main participants.
However, what I learned from the teachers’ interviews
has inevitably affected what I consequently discussedwith the two learners. To analyze the data, I mainly
relied on Bourdieu’s (1984, 1986, 1998, 2000) conceptsof capital and how the participants and their families use
or build their capital to achieve their goals.
The participants gave consent for the collected data to
be used in the study, presented at conferences, andshared in academic publications. Instead of theparticipants’ real names, pseudonyms are used in thispaper. Before I started analyzing data, I shared theirinterview transcripts with each participant and invited
The PanSIG 2021 Journal298them to delete, add, and adapt their own interview
transcript in other ways.

cultures at an early age, but my dad had to stay
and work in Korea.

I interviewed the two students for the first time when
they were in their 2nd year in the AY 2019/2020. Bothparticipants chose to have interviews in English, butboth the participants and I used the Japanese language
occasionally when we talked. Still, about 90 percent of
the interviews were in English. At the time of writing thispaper, the participants were finishing their 3rd year inuniversity. Both students, Hana and Aera, are trilingual.
They speak English, Korean, and Japanese. Hana also
speaks some Chinese and is currently studying it. She
has experience with early study abroad—she lived in
Canada for two years when she was 7 years old andattended elementary school there. At the time, she lived
with her mother and older brother. On the other hand,
Aera lived in New Zealand at 4 years old, for one year.
She was accompanied by her mother, grandmother,
uncle, and older sister. Following that, she lived in
Singapore for 1.5 years with her mother, uncle, andsister. In her school life in Singapore, she used English
and some Chinese, which she is not fluent in anymore.

The family had not originally decided to send thechildren abroad, but the parents quickly recognized theopportunity and refocused on a new goal (Bourdieu,
1998). Their original plan was to have the children live
in Canada for one year, but Hana’s English did not
improve to the extent the family had hoped, which is why
they extended their stay for another year. At the time of
their arrival in Canada, Hana was 7 years old and herbrother 11. As the siblings and their mother moved to
Canada, the father continued working in Korea tosupport the family, and the family assets allowed for an
extended stay abroad. The children attended a local
school in English.

Studying (in) English Overseas
Hana and Aera come from the so-called “wild geese”(kirogi) families (Lee, 2021) briefly described above.
Unlike in many Japanese students’ cases, these Korean
students did not move overseas because of theirparents’ employment. Hana’s and Aera’s fathers stayedbehind in Korea as the mothers took the children
overseas. As mentioned earlier, the parents have been
invested in their children’s education (Lee, 2021; Norton,
2013), trying to help their children acquire linguistic
capital and secure future jobs. For them, fluency inEnglish has been of utmost importance in what they see,as reported by the participants, a valuable currency inthe globalized labor market.
The following quote from Hana illustrates how culturaland social capital function (Bourdieu, 1986) in her
family’s case and how these types of capital led toHana’s early study abroad. An equally important factor
is financial resources (economic capital) as well and thefamily’s willingness to invest in the child’s education(Norton Peirce, 1995). The quote further shows thesacrifice the family had to make to have their children
live in Canada for two years:
My mom’s university friend, also married to a
Korean man, was living in Canada for about 30
years after graduation. [...] My family went to
Canada to meet her family, and we spent just amonth just there, as a vacation. Thatexperience was really good! [...] After thatvacation, my mom and dad decided that [mybrother and I] should experience different

The only reason that Aera and her sister lived in New
Zealand and Singapore as children was to be exposed
to foreign cultures and learn English, which theextended family recognized an important step for theirchildren’s lives (Bourdieu, 1998, 2000). A quote from
Aera’s interview shows how the family drew on every
type of capital, all the resources available to them, toallow Hana and her sister to acquire English overseas:
My uncle was studying in New Zealand, and my
grandmother was living in New Zealand backthen, so we had no choice, so we had to go[there]. And Singapore… Singapore is one of
the biggest port cities, and they usually use
English for communication, so that was thereason to go. I went to an international
kindergarten in Singapore. I studied Chinese in
Singapore, too, for one year.
In both countries, Aera’s extended family lived together,which included her grandmother and her uncle. Havingsuch support was beneficial for Aera, her sister, and hermother, and the quote indicates that the family wasinvested in this group effort (Norton, 2013). Hana’s
mother, on the other hand, had to face significant
challenges living in Canada. Hana appreciated hermother’s efforts and seemed to fully understand thesacrifice the mother, who spoke very little English,
made:She just could say her name and her age. I
didn't know that at that point because I was too
young, and I also couldn't speak any English,
so... [...] I know how hard she tried to survive ina country [where she could not speak the]language at all and taking care of two children.
It is important to note that it was not a pure coincidence
and a fun family vacation was not the only reason Hana
lived for two years in Canada. Her father “also studied
abroad in Japan when he was a university student. He
knew about the effectiveness, the advantage of living ina different country and learning different languages, sothey decided for us to study and live abroad.” Likewise,
The PanSIG 2021 Journal299

Aera’s father “wanted my sister and me to learn morelanguages. At that time, when I was four years old, there
was a studying abroad boom in Korea, so I think like thiskind of affected us to go to New Zealand and Singapore
to study.” Both fathers possessed enough of culture
capital--they knew about the benefits of (early) study
abroad and foreign language acquisition--which,combined with the family’s economic capital, having the“feel for the game” (Bourdieu, 1998) and being invested
in their children’s education, increased their children’scultural capital in turn.
Family habitus (Archer et al., 2012), their shared family
values and goals, contributed to the above result as well.
Although Hana’s mother experienced difficulty living in
Canada for the sake of her children’s education, sheand the whole family believed it was worth the challenge
in the long term. Aera’s extended family combined
efforts in a desire to see the new generation, theyoungest family members, succeed.

In Aera’s case, just like her family’s social capital helped
her to live overseas as a child, it was helpful now again
to live in Japan because her aunt lives in Tokyo.
Aera also never seriously considered enrolling in a
Korean university because she had attended aninternational school in Korea, where classes were
taught in English. Her family’s economic capital was
sufficient to support Aera’s education in an international
school. Due to her enrollment in such a school, she was
not adequately prepared to take the Korean SAT andapply to a Korean university. Most students from herhigh school attend universities in English-speaking
countries. She explained that she was “supposed to go
to Canada” and “was preparing for the SAT and the
TOEFL.” However, “My mother was so worried that
Canada is too far and getting a visa is so difficult, and inother foreign countries, too. And my aunt, which means
my father's younger sister, is also living in Tokyo. So my
mother and father decided to let me study in Japan.”
Aera explained why she did not want to study in Korea:

Studying (in) English in Japan
Neither Hana nor Area wanted to enroll in Korean
universities. Given their past experiences studying in
the Inner (Australia, Canada), Outer (Singapore), andExpanding Circle (Korea) countries, it would not be a
surprise if they had chosen to study in English-speaking
countries again. However, instead of enrolling at auniversity in English-speaking countries, the two
decided to come to Japan.
Hana’s family had already sent their older daughter tostudy at an Australian university, where she graduated
and worked briefly. Hana had wanted to return to
Canada and go to a Canadian university because she“love[s] English and Canada.” However, the prohibitive
cost of studying and the distance between her homecountry and Canada meant that the family agreed tohave Hana study in Japan. Although the family’s
economic capital might not have been sufficient at thetime to allow studying in Canada, the father’s cultural
capital and habitus played a role in the decision to study
overseas, this time in Japan, again:
My dad graduated from a graduate school inTokyo, and he lived in Tokyo for seven years.
He knows a lot about Japan and knows how
beneficial it is to live and study abroad in Japan,
so he recommended I go to Tokyo. So I decided
to study Japanese and enter a university inJapan.
Hana was also invested enough to engage in learning
Japanese, which she had taken up in high school in
Korea, preparing to come to Japan. She saw coming toJapan as another opportunity to learn something new
and become “more international.”

I think it's a stereotype, but I think Korean
university is like a step to a workplace, a step to[build a good career], just for getting a job. I
think all Koreans use English as a score, like to
get a job, not for their personal [growth]. TOEIC
or TOEFL scores are important to get a better
job.
This quote indicates that Aera is well-aware of how thesystem works and knows why she does not wish to bea part of it. Hana expressed a similar sentiment.
She also explained how choosing this particular
university, which did not have a program completely
taught in English, still was beneficial for her:
I know this university is not really international.
When I first decided to study abroad in Japan, I
knew Japan is a country that is not reallyinternational ((laughs)), compared to other
Asian countries, so I tried to attend a universitythat has an English department. [...] I try toattend courses in English as much as possible.
Except for compulsory courses that I have totake in Japanese, I try to attend every course in
English with [foreign] teachers.
These quotes show that Aera and Hana also know whatsteps to take to circumvent the competition and benefit
from the newly created opportunities even when these
are not their first choice (Bourdieu, 1998, 2000).
Both participants also shared that they believe that theirincreased linguistic capital, i.e., the knowledge ofEnglish and Japanese, would be an advantage in the
future when they seek employment in international
companies. They both desired to use English in their
future jobs.
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300

Neither participant was eager to work for Korean
companies. Aera initially did not want to be confined toeither Japan or Korea, but the pandemic has forced her
to start rethinking her plans. At the time of writing thispaper, both students were still considering onlyinternational companies as their future workplaces andsaw Japan as a stepping stone (i.e., as an investment).

Importance of Linguistic Capital
A great deal of effort, time, and financial resources havebeen invested into maintaining Hana’s English
language ability throughout her education in Korea.
These efforts and lessons have built her cultural capital,
which, combined with her father’s knowledge of “thegame,” helped her enter university in Japan. Hanadescribed how she managed to maintain or even
improve her English fluency while living in Korea. Unlike
Aera, she did not attend an international school inEnglish, so she relied on online tutoring services and“spoke English about 30-60 minutes a day, three times
a week with a teacher from America, not to forget
English.” She continued doing this for four years, whichmeant that the parents had to financially support thisendeavor.
Hana shared how invested she felt about the English
language, “I was always nervous about forgetting
English because there were fewer opportunities topractice English after coming back from Canada. My
brother studied in English, graduated from aninternational high school, and entered university in
England. I always envied his path. [...] The only goal I've
had was to just not forget what I know.”
Her family had to carefully allocate resources to educate
both their children overseas, calculating that thisinvestment would pay off. Like in Aera’s case, both
siblings have studied abroad even in university. The
family is wholly invested in their children’s educationand supports their aspirations.
Aera is equally invested in English as Hana. She sharedthat she speaks in English with her sister “because
she's also very good at English. She actually studied in
Sidney for about four years. She was in college for four
years, graduated, and she actually worked as an HR insome company in Sydney.”
For both Aera and Hana, speaking multiple languages,
not only Korean and English, is very important. It allows
them to communicate and build relationships with avariety of people in various countries. Aera’s descriptionof her older sister indicates how important speaking
multiple languages is to her, “After she came back to
Korea from Australia, she started to learn Japanese. So
she studied Japanese for two years, and this year, she
got enrolled at [a university] in Japan. So I’m reallyproud of her.” Aera, who also uses Japanese daily eventhough not as much as Korean and English, is eager tofind “a job related to languages where I can show mylanguage abilities and share my ideas and create
something.” Aera is also interested in revisiting Chinese,the language she once spoke as a child. Linguistic
ability allows her to plan “to go around and work in
different countries, learning different cultures, meeting
different kinds of people. I want to work in international
companies because international companies can give
more opportunities to working in other countries.” Hana
has a similar desire to enroll in graduate school in an
English-speaking country and subsequently work using
her languages in an international environment. Bothparticipants expressed a desire to build global careersand not belong to only one country. Hana has
undertaken Chinese as well, to increase her chances ofliving overseas, as her brother does (he is fluent in
Chinese).

Conclusion and Next Steps
Preliminary findings show that English continues to bea valuable currency at least for these two Korean
middle-class families that provide opportunities for theirchildren to study abroad. In the case of two participantsin the current study, “children” understand the families’
sacrifices and respond positively to family efforts,
indicating a shared family habitus (Archer et al. 2012).
Earning a university degree from a(ny) foreign country
seems to be an asset in these two cases, and Aera andHana and their families expect their education in Japan
to be a good investment for their future. Their educationin three or four different countries and families’
involvement have resulted in the participants
developing a translingual, transnational identity. Bothstudents seem to have developed a global outlook asthey desire to build careers in international settings.
I intend to continue this research and follow the twoparticipants until they graduate. I have interviewed twoof their native-English-speaking teachers and plan tointerview two Japanese teachers, also for triangulation
purposes. Another aspect worth investigating is the role
gender and race play in the students’ education
overseas and career plans. In addition, whether and towhat extent similar results can be found in other kirogi
families whose children study abroad outside dominant
English-speaking countries is an area of interest thatwarrants further investigation.

References
Archer, L., DeWitt, J. & Osborne, J., Dillon, J., Willis,
B., & Wong, B. (2012). Science aspirations,capital, and family habitus: How families shape
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Lee, Y. J., & Koo, H. (2006). 'Wild geese fathers' and ascience. American Educational Research

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Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A social critique of thejudgment of taste. Routledge.

May, S. (2013). The multilingual turn: Implications for
SLA, TESOL, and bilingual education.

Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J.
Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory andRoutledge.
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research for the sociology of education (pp.
241–258). Greenwood.

Norton, B. (2013). Identity and language learning:
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Bourdieu, P. (1998). Practical reason: On the theory ofaction. Stanford University Press.
Bourdieu, P. (2000). Pascalian meditations. Polity
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Park, S. C. (2020). Korean international students andchallenges. Routledge.

the making of racialized transnational elites.

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Doerr, N. M. (2019). Transforming study abroad.
Berghahn.
Kachru, B. (1992). The other tongue: English acrosscultures. University of Illinois Press.
Kramsch, C. (2009). The multilingual subject. Oxford
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Iida, T., & Herder, S. (2019). Second language
development before, during, and after study
abroad: A longitudinal study at a JapaneseYoon, J. (2020). 'Wild goose' families: The sacrifices
so many Koreans make to give their kids a life in
Canada. Retrieved from:https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/wildgoose-families-montreal-1.5479845
Zontini, E., & Reynolds, T. (2018). Mapping the role of‘transnational family habitus’ in the lives ofyoung people and children. Global Networks,
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women’s university. JACET Journal 63, 27-45.
Lee, S. H. (2021). Korean wild geese families: Gender,family, social, and legal dynamics of middleclass Asian transnational families in North
America. Lexington Books.

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What are Stonks: Please ELI5
Robert Dykes
Sojo University

TLDR (too long didn't read) and ELI5 (explain it to me like I'm 5 years old) are recent examples of language change. Language has always
been fluid. The speed of language change has increased with each advance in communication technology: the printing press, radio, movies,
and TV. The internet has connected people worldwide and has possibly had the single largest influence on English since Shakespeare added
1,700 words. The speeding up of language change is demonstrated by covering various periods of modern English. After discussing theinternet’s impact in detail, Reddit, the world’s most visited social news aggregator website, is examined. Reddit has added dozens of words
to popular usage, but in January of 2021, the world may have witnessed the fastest ever exposure of language change. Because of the
GameStop stock (also known as GME) and the Wall Street saga going viral overnight, millions of people worldwide began buying “stonks”
and making “tendies.” Are ESL/EFL teachers up to speed with today’s rapid pace of language change?

TL;DR? では (too long didn't read)、ELI5 です(explain it to me like I'm 5 years old)。言語は常に流動的です。しかし、その変化のスピードは印刷機の登場に始まり、ラジオ、映画、テレビと新たなメディアの発展とともにどんどんと早くなってきました。そして、インターネットは世界中の人々をつなげただけでなく、シェークスピアが英語に 1,700の新語を加えて以来の英語へ大きな影響をもたらしました。本論ではその変化の加速を近代英語の時代ごとの変化を追ってみていきます。インターネットの言語変化への影響を詳しく述べた後、世界中で最も見られているソーシャル
ニュースアグリゲーターサイト Reddit について述べていきます。Reddit はこれまでもいくつもの言葉を流行語にしてきましたが、2021 年の 1 月には今までにない言語の変化を世界中に見せつけました。それは、GameStop 株（GME株）の急騰とウォール街の一連のニュースによって、一夜にして世界中が「stonk」を買い、「tendies」を生み出したのです。ESL/EFl 教員らはこの急激な言語の変化についていけているでしょうか。。

TL;DR (too long; didn’t read)? Here is the ELI5 (explain
like I am five): “TL;DR” and “ELI5” are common
acronyms found all across the internet these days andsimply mean here is the synopsis, and explain simply
and succinctly respectively. These two examples
epitomize that language change may be speeding up
and spreading faster than many, even those whose
profession depends on English, can keep up. The speedof language change has increased with each advancein communication technology: the printing press, radio,
movies, and TV. The internet has recently connected
people worldwide and has possibly made the largest
single impact on English since Shakespeare added
1,700 common-use words to the language(Shakespeare’s Words, 2022). This paper emphasizes
how fast new English is spreading to larger numbers ofpeople faster than ever. The speed of language change
will be demonstrated through a historical look at Modern
English, focusing on a viral internet phenomenon thatoriginated on Reddit, exposing millions of people,
literally overnight, to new language that immediately
saw wide exposure across many communication
mediums. Words like “stonks” and “tendies” began
propagating across Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, print
media, and TV such as ABC News and Saturday Night

Live to tens of millions of people across the globe. The
event involves a corner of Reddit, GME (GameStop)
stock, and Wall Street. Before breaking down this event,
this paper will first cover the following topics, language
register, tenor, and style, some notable instances oflanguage change in modern English, and technology’s
effect on language change leading up to the internet’s
impact. After discussing the GME and Reddit viral event,the closing will cover why such events matter to
ESL/EFL teachers.

Register, Tenor, and Style
Many language teachers and applied linguists might see
language like “selfie,” “stonks,” “lol,” “ELI5,” “ROFL,” andeven emojis simply as slang, easy to dismiss. However,language is not so easily classifiable. Different linguists
use various terms. Register is used to distinguishlanguage variations according to the user (Biber, 2006).
Tenor refers to the participants of a communication act
and the language used based on their relationship toeach other and the communication act’s purpose(Swales, 1990). Style is also similar to both, used to
The PanSIG 2021 Journal303

classify language based on social meaning (Irvine,
2001). The reality of language classification is that it ismessy and does not easily group into perfect categories.
If all the terms linguistics use to classify language could
be envisioned as a Ven diagram, they would be
depicted as overlapping groupings that are constantly influx, not just because of time but also based on who isobserving these trends. This is because language is asocial construct.

“they” is a recent adoption), verbs (i.e., some very
recent auxiliary verbs have entered English, “wanna”
and “gonna”), the regularization of English irregularverbs, phonology, syntax (i.e., using “less” for countablenouns instead of “fewer” is a fairly new syntactic rule),
etc.

The author does not want the reader to dismiss some of
the keywords covered here, like “stonks” and “tendies,”
as silly internet slang. However, this paper will not
spend any space trying to classify or justify these words
either. Instead, try to see these words for what they are,language change. Only time and society will determine
if they become slang, colloquialisms, or even some formof formal speech. Alternatively, they may fade from thelexicon completely like so many words have before.

times language change can be pinpointed to theexact time and day it is introduced, and that languagechange is sometimes widely accepted. This isdemonstrated with the fairly new meaning andspelling of the word “hodl,” which is described indetail later. But ultimately, it should be noted that

What may seem like silly internet slang could end up
with tomorrow’s textbooks. For example, in the past
century, the singular “they” would get marked with red
ink on many term papers or an X on a grammar test, buttoday the Merriam Webster and APA Style guide haveofficially recognized its use. In 2008, English actor,
broadcaster, comedian, director, and writer, Stephen
Fry rants in his blog (Stephen Fry, 2008) about using theacronym CCTV. He complains that it “is such a bland,
clumsy, rhythmically null and phonically forgettable
word, if you can call it a word, that the swipe lacks real
punch.” “CCTV” has become such a part of daily life,
and the general lexicon, Fry’s opinion on it feels
anciently out of place in 2021. ESL/EFL instructors need
to be aware that language change is accelerating. They
should be acutely aware of the regular updates tomainstream dictionaries and style guides such as APA.
Cambridge Assessment (Getting Started, 2022) home
page explains that language awareness is paramount toa language teacher and that language teachers should
better understand student’s language needs. They
claim that “One way to achieve this is for teachers to
become more ‘language aware’. Being language awaremeans you understand the possible challenges that
language presents to learning” (Getting Started, 2022)
Our students today are students from the digital age,with language needs that may be filled with many formsof language found and propagating through the internet.

Stories are roaming the internet that the North American
TV show Star Trek: The Next Generation changed how
North Americans pronounce the word “data.” Thestories originate from a talk, and subsequent YouTube
video, from actor Brent Spiner, who played a character
named Data on The Next Generation (Brent Spiner on
the “Data” name, 2021). The story goes that Captain
Picard, played by British actor Patrick Stewart,
pronounced “data” one way, which was different frommost people in North America. The show was so
popular that Stewart’s pronunciation stuck and changed
how most North Americans pronounce it. It is impossible
to pinpoint the extent to which this is true or not throughinternet sleuthing, and it is still hotly debated acrosslanguage forums. There are three major pronunciationsof “data” that include ˈdā-tə, ˈda-tə, and ˈdä-tə (thesepronunciations can be sampled at Merriam Webster,
Data, 2021). If visiting this topic on the popular language
forum, StackExchange, it is easy to see this topic is not
close to a conclusion. Some statistics have been shared,
such as the current usage statistics in the UK and US
on the pronunciation of “data” and usage statistics of“data” in the UK predating Star Trek the Next
Generation. However, no one seems to have turned up
any usage statistics for the pronunciation of “data” in the
US pre-Star Trek: The Next Generation, which would be
the key to turning this anecdotal story into a linguistic
fact.

Sometimes language change is difficult to pinpoint, nor
is it widely agreed upon, which is demonstrated below
with the North American pronunciation of “data.” Other

language change exists on a wide spectrum.

Data

Hodl

Language Change
When mentioning language, this paper only refers toEnglish, and in that regard, only Modern English, which
is where this section’s historical examination begins.
Also, when referring to language change, a large
number of items are included but not limited to: newwords, new word meanings (i.e., mouse, a device used
to control a computer), pronoun usage (i.e., singular

Unlike the North American pronunciation of “data,” thespelling and meaning of “hodl” can be pinpointed to theexact minute it was created and with a meaning that is
widely accepted. “Hodl” is a byword of cryptocurrency
culture, a word that became the embodiment ofcryptocurrency. “Hodl” was first used on December 18th,
2013, at 10:03 am in a Bitcoin forum on Bitcointalk.org.
The original post is still viewable and unlocked (I AM
HODLING, 2013). Viewing the original forum, is it visible
The PanSIG 2021 Journal304

that “hodl,” a drunken mistake according to the original
poster, began to propagate within minutes. At 10:05,
user “elux” proclaims “HODL!” and in just 11 minutes,
the first “hodl” meme is posted. In the then secluded
corner of cryptocurrency culture, the explosive usage ofthis word would mostly stay hidden until cryptocurrency
breached into the mainstream in 2017 and language
such as “hodl” (as measured by Google usage statistics,
Hodl, 2021). What does “hodl” mean? While there arevariations, the majority of people agree it means “do notsell your cryptocurrency, even in the face of a badmarket correction.”
The following section briefly looks at some keep points
in Modern English to emphasize the slow but
consistently speeding up language change, from
centuries to decades to mere days. Modern English
began around 1500 to 1600 AD, but as Crystal (2003)
notes, these dates are debated; some put the date as
early as the 1400s. For linguistic, historical context, thiswas the time of William Shakespeare, the Tudor Period,
and when the King James Bible was created. The 1700s
witnessed an explosive spread of English due to Britishcolonial expansion. Around this time, from between
1600 to the 1700s, the American and British English
linguistic split occurred.

William Shakespeare
Before moving onto technology’s effect on language,
William Shakespeare (born in 1564, Warwickshire,
England) must be covered. Until the arrival of theinternet, he had the greatest impact on modern English
alongside the King James Bible (Crystal, 20003). A very
quick search on any internet search engine would return
dozens if not hundreds of articles, blogs, and forums
throwing around the supposed adage that“Shakespeare invented 1,700 words.” There was a point
when that number was as high as 3000+. However,scholars have been able to track Shakespeare’scontributions better, bringing the number down to awidely accepted 1,700 (note, this is not an exact number
with estimates constantly in flux). Many online
interactive materials allow users to browse“Shakespeare’s words” and pinpoint exactly when and
where
they
were
used
(e.g.,
www.shakespeareswords.com).
Some
popularadditions include “addiction” (introduced in Othello),“eyeball” (introduced in Midsummer Night’s Dream),and “dawn” (introduced in Henry V). Many of the 1,700
words were borrowed from other languages and altered;for example, the word “rant” comes from the Dutch“randten” and was introduced in Hamlet. Other words
were merely changes to the parts of speech. In Titus
Andronicus, the word “gloomy” was first used as an
adjective, before it was a verb. Shakespeare would also
create new words by adding prefixes and suffixes toexisting vocabulary. In addition to “Shakespeare’s
1,700,” he canonized many modern idioms such as“heart of gold” and “breaking the ice.” Beyond simply

adding content to English, because his plays were so
widely known, performed, and studied, Shakespeare
helped standardize Modern English.

Technology’s effectPrinting press
William Caxton set up the first printing press inWestminster, England, in 1476 (The Gutenberg press
was built in Germany in 1440. However, the first English
book titled Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye, by Caxton
and Colard Mansion, was printed in Bruges, Belgium.).
The first book to be printed on Caxton’s press in theheart of England was Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales.
The printing press inevitability increased the quantityand availability of books to the general population. As a
direct result, the rate of literacy increased. Possibly ofequal importance, because of the nature of the printingpress and the printing industry, the standardization ofspelling and stricter punctuation rules took hold. Before
the printing press, when books were copied by hand,scribes would enforce their personal spelling, rules, andstyles to the books they copied (Stout, 1927). Ten
scribes might copy the same book and have ten
different variations of the finished product.

Radio, TV, and Film
Various literature movements, the Renaissance, steady
improvements in standardization of the printing industry,
new dictionaries (e.g., Johnson’s Dictionary in 1755),
and grammar books (e.g., Grammatica Linguae
Anglicanae in 1653) had a continued impact on English.
However, it was not until nearly 300 years later thatmodern English would see such an impactful event as
Shakespeare’s works, the King James Bible, or the
printing press. That event would be the invention andquick, widespread adoption of the radio. Almost
simultaneously, the introduction of “talkie movies” would
occur, and TV would soon follow within a decade. It is
known that these modern technologies affected English,
but it is, unfortunately, impossible to quantify thesechanges because statistics were not collected or
studied (Crystal, 2003). That corner of linguistics is still
recent, and it was not until the last 40 years or so thatsuch linguistic changes were measured and scrutinized,
starting with the internet’s effect. In light of this, thissection will show what kind of exposure suchtechnologies had.
The British Broadcasting Corporation, better known as
the BBC, began in 1922. By 1927 they had a monopolyon all British airwaves. For the first 50 years, the BBC
pushed for a standard dialect of English. In the ‘70s and‘80s, there was a push in the opposite direction withdiverse dialects from around the UK; this was largely
brought about by the increase in regional stations
The PanSIG 2021 Journal305across the country. The language used on the radio was
influenced because “it becomes necessary to pay extra
attention to how a program should be put through to thelistener”; because radio was only sound, “it was
important to grab the listener and hold them on”(Ranasuriya, 2015, p.2).
In the US, the first commercial radio station opened in
1920. By 1930, just ten years later, a staggering 50% of
US households had at least one radio and by 1940 that
number would grow to over 90% (Craig, 2004).
TV saw a similar explosion of popularity in both the UK(introduced in 1936) and the US (introduced in 1939). A
2002 survey found that there was on average one TV
per person in the US, and the average American spentnearly 1,000 hours a year watching TV (Crystal, 2003).
Sound movies came about in the 1920s, around thesame time as radio. In 1933, of all the movies
throughout the world, more than 95% were in English(Crystal, 2003). Film was (and still very much is) a toolof soft US global imperialization—which helped spread
English (and western culture) across the globe as
audiences flocked to mostly US-produced, or at the very
least, English language movies.
While many hard numbers are missing regarding
movies’ effects on language, we can trace the inclusionof common words and phrases into daily use from themovies that first introduced them. The examples are
numerous, but some famous examples include“I’m/you’re toast” from Ghostbusters (1981) to mean you
are dead or something similar. Clueless (1995)
introduced valley girl slang to popular culture. The
phrase “bucket list” was coined for the movie (and book),
The Bucket List (2007). The idea that Hollywood, politics,
or some sort of industry has a “dark side” was notcommonplace until Star Wars thrust that phrase onto
audiences in 1977.
One example amazingly almost faded away completely
before being resurrected from the brink of obscurity.
“Derp” (foolishness or stupidity; Barro 2013) was firstused in 1998’s BASEketball, by South Park creators
Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Google only started
tracking word usage from 2004 on, but looking at theirstatistics (Derp, 2021), in 2004, when tracking began,
the usage was near zero until 2009 when its use began
to rise again. By 2012 its popularity grew so much that
Oxford Dictionary Online permanently added it in 2013
(Barro, 2013). Becket (2013) reports that “derp” reachedpopular usage from internet forums like 4chan and theirinfamous “rage comics.” Soon it spread to Twitter andother corners of the internet.

The internet’s impact on language change2010). Crystal has stated that we are seeing a linguistic
revolution because of the internet, and it has spawned
a new branch of linguistics, internet linguistics (orinternet CMC).
One important feature to note about the internet
regarding all the technology mentioned before, which
may help account for such rapid language change andexposure, is that the internet is decentralized. Radio,
film, tv, and the printing industry were all centralized withrules, regulations, habits, standards, procedures. Whilesome self-governing occurs in language use on theinternet, what is acceptable or normal varies widely from
popular sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit.
The internet has introduced thousands of new words ina very short time. Many of which have been officiallyrecognized in dictionaries like Oxford and Webster.
Many more are waiting their turn to be added or to fadeaway into history, or possibly stay in the realm of slang
clinging to the internet’s less than not-quite-well-known
areas to be included in popular culture. Many
completely new words have been added, such as“selfie.” For others, parts of speech have been added orchanged, friend (noun) to friend (verb). Some words like“meme” and “tweet” existed well before the internet but
now adopted new meanings specific to the internet.
New abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms havebeen created like “ELI5” (explain like I am five), “LOL”(laugh out loud), and “TL;DR” (too long; didn’t read).
SMS or text speech has also become prevalent in someareas of the internet, for example, “later” written as “l8r.”
Conversation discourse has changed, meaning thatmany social expectations of communication practices
have changed and are changing. For example, letter
writing has changed in large part because of theprevalence of email. Another example of conversation
discourse breaking previous social expectations would
be President Obama’s Reddit AMA (interview; see
Dykes 2016). In this communication event with
President Obama, many communication events falloutside the socially constructed expectation that existed
up until that point. Because of the internet, reductions
and shortenings have increased usage, such as “cuz”
instead of “because.” With the internet, the introductionof emoji (😂) and pictograms (💎🙌) in place of or in
addition to words has increased. Variations in spelling
have also become commonplace for exampled “stonks”
instead of “stocks” and “hodl” instead of “hold”; often,these new spelling take on different or nuanced
meanings. Emotions are now often expressed in many
new ways, such as using emoji or “LOL,” “lulz,” “haha”
to show amusement. Paralinguistic and prosodicchanges have also taken place, altering the use of letter
size, bolding, all caps, alternating upper and lowercase,and emoji to modify meaning and/or nuance.

“Language itself changes slowly, but the internet has
sped up the process of those changes so you noticethem more quickly” (David Crystal, interview, Kleinman,
The PanSIG 2021 Journal306

Stonks and Tendies definedSome key terminology is introduced in the next section:
stonks and tendies. “Stonks” is a humorous or ironic
pronunciation of “stocks.” It often indicates financial loss
and/or a bad or risky investment. It originated on June
6th, 2017, in a Facebook meme group (Facebook,2017). “Tendies” originated as slang for chicken tenders.
Its use has been traced back to 4chan in 2018 (Special
meme frash, 2021). At some point between its
transitioned use on 4chan and Reddit, “tendies” took on
the meaning of financial profit (usually from the sale ofstocks or cryptocurrency).

Wallstreetbets, GME stock, and stonks
On and around January 25th, 2021, Stock market
events may be the catalyst for one of the fastest
expansions and exposure of language change. Many
new words and phrases such as “stonks” and “tendies”
were,
for
the
most
part,
isolatedtoReddit’s/r/wallstreetbets subReddit, which, before theevents in question, had less than 2 million readers(r/wallstreetbets stats, n.d.). In the weeks leading up to
January 25th, there were rumors that GameStop’s stock(GME) would soar in value. Various sources valued thestock from around $10 to as high as $30 a share (Li,2021). Hedge fund investors planned to short sell thestock; in essence, they were betting that the price would
decrease. Users on r/wallstreetbets realized, or weretold, or guessed (it is not clear which) that investors had(illegally) short sold more shares of GME than existed.
Binding together, users of r/wallstreetbets bought up
GME stock, driving the price of GME to skyrocket,
causing the short-selling by the hedge funds to fail. Thisaction is called a short squeeze. By January 25th, theshort squeeze had begun, and the price of GME stockrose to as high as $150. News agencies across theglobe had begun publishing news stories about theevents and the days and weeks to come, and the story
progressed. By January 29th, 2021, the short squeeze,orchestrated by r/wallstreetbets, cost hedge funds
worldwide to lose 19 billion USD (RUFFOLO:GameStop, 2021). Further controversy and news
erupted when financial services, such as Robinhood,
halted trades on their platform for GME, bringing the
US’s not-so-open market into the spotlight.
By January 27th, in less than few days days, registered
readers of r/wallstreetbets nearly doubled to well over 3
million. By February 3rd, r/wallstreetbets had reached astaggering 8 million members (r/wallstreetbets stats,n.d.) in less than seven days. (It should be noted thatthe actual number of visitors to r/wallstreetbets is muchhigher, but statistics on non r/wallstreetbets members
and non-registered Reddit users who visit the site are
not made public). As of August 2021, r/wallstreetbets issitting at 10.7 million registered readers.

The exposure of words like “stonks” and “tendies” grewfrom less to 2 million readers to 8 million in less than two
weeks. But the spread and propagation of this languagechange had far outstripped the confines of a single
Reddit sub. On February 8th, the US’s American football
Superbowl event was broadcast to an estimated 95
million people worldwide. During this event, a Reddit
paid-for ad is played containing the word “tendies.”
Before February was over, the word “stonks” would
appear all over the world. Saturday Night Live (season46, episode 10) would use the word in one of theirsketches (estimated 6.7 million viewers; Porter, 2021).
“Stonks” showed up on local news stations across theUS, such as Kentucky’s WKYT (Why ‘stonk’ stocks are
soaring, 2021). Elon Musk tweeted about “stonks” to his
53.5 million followers. Major news outlets read all overthe English-speaking world included mention of “stonks”
such as ABC News (Thorbecke, 2021), Investopedia(Hartwig, 2021), the English language Indian based The
Economic Times (Wanna go in lockstep with Reddit,2021), Reuters (Factbox: Stonks, 2021), Financial Post
(Block, 2021), and the New York Times (Rochat, 2021).
Tens of millions, possibly hundreds of millions of English
speakers, were exposed to multiple instances of thisnew language in a matter of weeks, if not days, due tothe events set in motion by Reddit’s r/wallstreetbets on
and around January 25th, 2021. Due to the very natureof the internet and social media, it is not a question of ifsuch a language explosion will happen again, but whenwill the next one occur?

Why this matters to ESL/EFL teachers
As the GME and r/wallstreetbets events demonstrate,
language change can happen in the blink of an eye. Ten
years before these events took place, concerning
language change brought about by the internet, BBC
News asked, “Is everyone up to speed? (Kleinman,2010). As language teachers, an open mind should be
kept when facing the dynamic of ever-changing social
contract.
Of all the many such words coined in various small
communities every year, which ones should teachers
pay attention to? How should teachers make that
selection? These are questions this paper is not trying
to answer. This paper is merely trying to demonstratethat language change is happening faster than manyteachers may realize which adds to the difficulty of being“language aware” in this digital age.
When submitting this topic’s abstract for presentation ata conference, one reviewer suggested “rejection” andasked, “[W] hat’s the value in hearing about this recent
and highly specialized internet slang for learners orteachers?” In response to that question: ESL/EFL
teachers and learners should not be so quick to judge
language change because what may have been internet
The PanSIG 2021 Journal307slang yesterday may be in a headline in the New YorkTimes tomorrow, possibly heading towards a style guideor dictionary soon after.

References
4chan (2021). https://www.4chan.org/
Barro, J. (2013, August 28). ‘Derp’ Added To Oxford
Dictionaries Online, Will Live Forever. Insider.
https://www.businessinsider.com/derp-added-tooxford-english-dictionary-will-live-forever-2013-8
Becket, S. (2013, June 4). The Origins of Derp.
Intelligencer.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2013/06/derpmeaning-origin.html
Block, C. (2021, February 12). Why the ‘stonk’ bubble
poses major global risks and could trigger a
1930s-style market crash. Financial Post.
https://financialpost.com/financial-times/why-thestonk-bubble-poses-major-global-risks-andcould-trigger-a-1930s-style-market-crash
Biber, D. 2006. Register: Overview. In Keith Brown(ed.), Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics(2nd Ed.), Vol 10, 476-482. Oxford: Elsevier.
Brent Spiner on the “Data” name in “Star Trek: The
Next Generation” (2021). YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeqTMTOxid
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Craig, S. (2004). How America adopted radio:
Demographic differences in set ownership
reported in the 1930-1950 US Censuses.
Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media,
48(2), 179-195.
Crystal, D. (2003). English as a global language.
Cambridge University Press.

Data (2021). Merriam Webster. https://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/data?pronunciation&lang=en_us&dir=d&file=data0002
Derp (2021, February 5). Google Trends.
https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%22derp%22&hl=en-US
Dykes, R. (2016, November). A Genre Analysis of
President Obama’s Reddit AMA. [Poster
Presentation]. JALT International Conference
2016.
Getting Started with Language Awareness (2022)
Cambridge Univesrty Press & Assessment.
https://www.cambridgecommunity.org.uk/professionaldevelopment/gswla/index.html
Hartwig, J. (2021, February 10). WallStreetBets Slang
and Memes. Investopedia.
https://www.investopedia.com/wallstreetbetsslang-and-memes-5111311
Factbox: Stonks in Washington – Deciphering Reddit’s
WallStreetBets lingo (2021, February 18).
Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/usretail-trading-slang-factbox-idUSKBN2AI0JF
Hodl (2021, February 5). Google Trends.
https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=2013-12-01%202021-08-24&q=hodl
I AM HODLING (2013, December 18). Bitcointalk.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=375643.0
Irvine, J. (2001). Style as distinctiveness: The culture
and ideology of linguistic differentiation. In J. R.
Rickford & P. Eckert (Eds.), Style and Variation(pp. 21-43).
Kleinman, Z. (2010, August 6). How the internet ischanging language. BBC News.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-o-gamestop-scandal-showcases-limited-free-

10971949

market-in-u-s/

Li, Y. (2021, January 25). GameStop jumps amid retail

Shakespeare’s Words (2022). Shakespeare Birthplace

frenzy, shares double at one point in wild

Trust. https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-

trading. CNBC.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/25/gamestop-

words/#:~:text=William%20Shakespeare%20is%shares-jump-another-40percent-shake-off-20credited%20with,still%20used%20in%20Englianalyst-downgrade-as-epic-short-squeeze-

sh%20today&text=William%20Shakespeare%20

continues.html

used%20more%20than,words%20in%20the%20
English%20language.

Porter, R. (2021, February 2). TV Ratings: ‘SaturdayNight Live’ Returns to Solid Numbers. The

Special meme fresh (2017, June 6). Facebook.

Hollywood Reporter.

https://www.facebook.com/speshmemefresh/pho

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-

tos/a.756603181050463/1576454562398650/?ty

news/tv-ratings-saturday-sunday-jan-30-31-

pe=32021-4126066/
Stephen Fry (2008, November 4). Don’t Mind Yourr/wallstreetbets stats (no date). Subreddit Stats.
https://subredditstats.com/r/wallstreetbets

Language…
https://www.stephenfry.com/2008/11/dont-mindyour-language%e2%80%a6/

Ranasuriya, D. (2019). Effects of Radio and Television
Media on Language. Journal of Mass

Stout, S. (1927). The Mind of the Scribe. The ClassicalCommunication and Journalism, 5(6). 1-6.

Journal, 22(6), 405-417.

DOI:10.4172/2165-7912.1000265.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3288517

Rochat, P. (2021, February 5). Stonks. New York

Swales, J. (1990). Genre analysis: English inTimes.

Academic and Research Settings. Cambridge:

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Thorbecke, C. (2021, February 13). GameStop
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Wall Street. ABC News.

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https://marquettewire.org/4046781/opinion/ruffol

timeline-closer-saga-upended-wallstreet/story?id=75617315

The PanSIG 2021 Journal309

Polysemy and homonymy should be considered when teaching vocabulary
Sarah Miyoshi Deutchman
Waseda University
Vocabulary is necessary to study a language; without words, it is difficult to communicate. Considering that languages are composed ofhundreds of thousands of words it is necessary to focus on which words L2 learners should be taught. Using frequency-based vocabulary
lists may seem to provide the best return for effort (Nation & Waring, 1997). An issue with these lists is that most of them (e.g.,
BNC/COCA, GSL) usually only contain headwords. This is problematic because according to Zipf’s Law (1945) the most common words
have the most meanings. If students lack vocabulary depth, they may not be able to understand a new meaning of the word, which could
lead to problems with comprehension. This paper will attempt to explain the usage of polysemy, how it affects learners, and ways tointroduce it into a classroom.

L2
Nation Waring 1997

BNC / COCA GSL

1945

Languages tend towards being ambiguous. According
to Zipf’s Law (1945), the most frequent words in alanguage are likely to have the largest number of
meanings. This is particularly true for verbs, the more
frequent the verb, the more senses it is likely to have
(Brown, 2008). Gries (2008) found 55 separate sensesof the word run consisting of moving quickly by foot(core meaning), to cause a sense of motion, and tooversee something. From Gries’ study, it is clear thatrun does not have one meaning. Considering that mosthigh-frequency word lists (e.g., BNC/COCA, GSL, EWL)
consist of mostly headwords (lemmas) it is difficult forlearners to understand what the word means. This isproblematic for L2 learners in particular because it caninterfere with lexical inferencing strategies (Nassaji,2006), which lead learners to think there is only one
meaning for a word leading to lexical fossilization (i.e.,
the learner only remembers a certain meaning or set of
meanings from early exposure) (Yamagata, 2016), or
may hinder meaning if the learner thinks the L1 word is
an exact translation of an L2 word (Akamatsu, 2010).
The focus of this paper will be on teaching in Japan.
This paper will give an overview of what ambiguous
words are and how they are stored in the mental lexicon,
how these ambiguous words affect comprehension, andpedagogical suggestions to teach these ambiguous
words.

Literature Review
Types of ambiguous words
Language tends to be ambiguous; the meaning of aword is not always clear. This is because most of thewords in English do not have only one meaning.
Ambiguous types of words can be classified into two
categories: polysemy (i.e., words that have multiple
related senses) and homonym (i.e., words that have two
or more unrelated meanings) (Eddington & Tokowicz,2015).

What is polysemy?
Polysemy can be defined as a word that has one core
meaning and several related senses (Crossley et al.,2010; Crossley & Skalicky, 2017). Polysemy arises dueto the economy of expression (Falkum, 2015).
Depending on the context, one word can be interpreted
in multiple different ways (Rabagliati & Snedeker, 2015).
This is known as the law of least effort (Gyori, 2002;
Murphy, 2004 as cited by Crossley et al., 2010). In otherwords, it is easier to take a word and extend themeaning into a different context instead of creating a
new word. A common example of polysemy would be
the word head which can refer to the top part of the body(core meaning), the top person in a company,
intelligence (head for numbers), or moving in a direction.
In sum, polysemous words have overlapping senses
that extend from one core meaning.

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310

What is homonymy?
Homonyms can be defined as a single word that has
two or more semantically unrelated meanings, the mostcommon example of this is bank (riverbank vs. financialbank) (Pylkkänen et al., 2006). Another example is ring.
It is possible to wear a ring on a finger and for something
to ring true. These words do not have the same origin
and can occur because of historical accidents(MacGregor et al., 2015). In short, homonyms haveseparate unconnected meanings despite having asingle phonological word.

Why are using high-frequency word lists bythemselves problematic?
Vocabulary lists such as the GSL and the BNC/COCA
focus on the breadth of vocabulary, which can be
defined as the size of one’s vocabulary (Qian, 2002).
This is because frequency lists mostly only include
headwords (lemmas). The practice of using headwords,
although convenient (Dang & Webb, 2016) can beproblematic as it does not consider vocabulary depth.
Depth of vocabulary refers to how well one knows aword (Qian, 2002). Knowing a word can be broken down
into word knowledge aspects (e.g., form, and word use),
but also knowledge of polysemy, collocations (i.e., word
neighbors), and derivational forms (Schmitt, 2014).
Different meanings arise depending on their context(Schmitt, 2014); this is problematic because semantic
context must be used to disambiguate the stimulus(Pylkkänen et al., 2006). In short, if the wrong sense ofa word is triggered and the learner does not understandenough of the surrounding context, it may cause
difficulty with comprehension. When learners encountera polysemous word in the wild they may not be awarethat the word has more than one meaning. This can leadto implementing the wrong meaning which leads to amisunderstanding of the passage (Parent, 2009). Thisis important because it is connected to performance on
academic reading comprehension (Qian, 2002).
Therefore, not only breadth but depth of vocabulary
should be focused on when creating vocabulary lists.
Another reason to focus on the depth of vocabulary,particularly ambiguous words (i.e., polysemy,
homonymy), is the nature of language.

Effects of ambiguous words on learners
The mental lexicon can refer to how words are stored in
the mind. Atchison’s model of the mental lexicon
suggests that children attach new meanings to a wordin three phases: labeling, packaging, and networkbuilding (as cited by Hoshino & Shimizu, 2018). In otherwords, a child will see something and name it (e.g., dog)
and then connect it to other words (e.g., big dog, barkingdog), and finally they link that word to other words (e.g.,wolf, pet). These observations form a core structure in

the mental lexicon usually by the age of seven (Stella etal., 2018). As the child grows the network continues toexpand as new words and meanings of the words
connect to the mental lexicon. This lexical network is
constructed not only between words but also within theword itself (Hoshino & Shimizu, 2018). This can becaused because the most frequent words have thelargest number of meanings and connections with otherwords (Hoshino & Shimizu, 2018). This includes
polysemous words and homonyms. It has been foundthat where L1 polysemous senses can facilitate
comprehension, homonyms have competing meaning
senses (MacGregor et al., 2015). As the person getsolder the network starts to become more structured(Hoshino & Shimizu, 2018). Therefore, it becomeseasier to comprehend texts even if they consist ofpolysemy or homonymy.
The model of the mental lexicon can be applied to L2
learners. Jiang’s (2000) theory stated that first an L1
translation is attached to an L2 word form. Jiang
continued to state that as the learner becomes more
proficient, a stronger link can be created from an L2form to an L1 lemma, eventually leading to the L2 word
not being dependent on the L1. Problems with mappingin the lexicon can occur with the category of false friends.
False friends are created when there is a partial overlap
between the L1 and L2 lemmas (Jiang, 2000). This cancause confusion as only some of the senses of a word
can be shared across languages, and others might not
be shared at all (Jiang, 2000). L2 learners may notrealize that collocations in their mother tongue are notequivalent with L2 ones, which can cause an incorrect
form or meaning to be primed (Paquot, 2013). Whenreading a text, learners may be confused by the multiple
senses of a word (Verspoor & Lowie, 2003).
Furthermore, Schmitt (2014) has stated that learning
multiple meanings for the same word form may not bethat different from learning a different word with its own
meaning. Therefore, if learners do not have knowledgeof multiple meanings of words, and how there is notalways a one-to-one translation between their L1 andL2, they are likely to become confused when meeting
natural language. For example, translations of one
English verb can correlate to multiple translations ofJapanese verbs. This can be seen by looking at wear
when translated into Japanese it becomes kiru, kaburu,
haku, hameru, kakeru, shiteru, chakuyou shiteiru
depending on what the part of the body is being talked
about. If students do not understand this concept theircomprehension is likely to be hindered and this could
lead to misunderstandings and misconceived
knowledge (Akamatsu, 2010). These misconceptions
can result in lexical fossilization (Akamatsu, 2010)
making it difficult to add new word senses to memory,which can lead to continued errors.
Moreover, students’ scores on standardized tests canbe lowered if they are not aware of the ambiguity of
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words. It has been stated that polysemous words often
occur on standardized tests. Hoshino (2016) found thatmany basic words occur across all grades of the EIKEN,
these basic words can include words with multiple
meanings. Hoshino discovered that these types ofwords occurred across both the upper and lower gradesof the EIKEN. Hoshino (2016) further went on to explainthat if learners did not have enough understanding ofthese words their comprehension would be hindered.
Additionally, Crossley, Salsbury, and McNamara (2010)
found that those with developed linguistic and lexical
growth (i.e., knew more multiple word senses) wereshown to have higher TOEFL scores. Qian and Schedl(2004) also noted that TOEFL scores were connectedto the depth of vocabulary knowledge (i.e., polysemy,
collocations, synonymy). Thus, test scores could reflectthat impediment of not being aware of polysemy.

Pedagogical practices for introducing ambiguouswords
It would be nearly impossible to teach L2 learners allpolysemous senses and homonyms. Therefore, it isimportant to focus on smaller targets. Yamagata (2016)advised focusing on verbs. This is because mastering
verbs can be quite difficult as their meanings will usuallychange depending on their context (Akamatsu, 2010;
Altenberg & Granger, 2001; Csabi, 2004; Pawley, 2006
as cited by Yamagata, 2016). To teach verbs that havepolysemy, students must first be made aware thatpolysemy exists. Parent (2009) recommends using
some consciousness-raising activities to do so. Veliz(2017) suggested asking students what they believe theword means. For example, students should be madeaware of the most concrete sense of the word. Hereconcrete means clear and easy to understand. A way
to determine if a definition is more concrete is to think
about how easy it is to explain the word. A concrete
definition of break is pause.
i.

They were so tired from work that they neededa break. (pause)ii.

It was time to take a break for lunch. (pause)

After students are familiar with the concrete meaning of
the word, they can be introduced to other meanings.
iii.

After falling on the road, the girl broke her arm.
(damage)iv.

He broke his promise. (discontinue)

Sentence 3 is a concrete example that is easy tounderstand. Sentence 4 is a bit more abstract as it is notpossible to physically break a promise. Therefore, whenintroducing sentences on the board it is important tostart with the most concrete meaning (i.e., not abstractand easily understood).
Another way to determine which meaning of the word toteach first is to look at word cloud. Figure 1 shows theword cloud for sound as a verb. Because seem, be, andappear are amongst the largest words, they have thecloset relationship to sound.

Figure 1
Word cloud for sound taken from the Sketch Engine for Language Learning (SKELL)

Data-driven learning (DDL) which uses corpora (i.e.,large bodies of text from different sources) allows
learners to look at naturally occurring language and findpatterns on their own (Boulton, 2009). This method
works well for learning vocabulary items, basic grammar
items, and verb phrases (Mizumoto & Chujo,
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312

2015). SKELL is an example of a free easily searchable
web corpus that can be used to look for patterns inlanguage. In Figure 2, it is possible to see 5 sentences
containing the word press. In the first 5 sentences press
has the meaning of to squeeze, something related tojournalism, or related to a machine that exercises theupper body. By using corpora such as SKELL, it ispossible to see which words are associated with eachother and the different meanings of a word.

Figure 2
First five results of for bow using SKELL

SKELL can be used for different tasks such as asking
students what they believe the word means in aparticular sentence. Additionally, worksheets can becreated taking sentences from SKELL and blanking out
the target word. Students can be given a word box andthen using SKELL they can do simple searches tocomplete the sentences. Dual language corpora, such
as Sketch Engine or Tatoeba, can be used forbeginners instead to help them compare the collocation

patterns used in learners’ L1 and L2 (Chujo et al., 2005).
Tatoeba can be used to show different examples of how
a word can be translated into many different languages.
A potential downside of Tatoeba is that the translations
are supplied by different users, which means that theaccuracy of the translations can vary. Figure 3 shows
two translations of a sentence using sound and showsthat the writer is CK. By clicking the name, it is possible
to see CK’s profile.

Figure 3
Example translation of sentences that can be found on Tatoeba

The PanSIG 2021 Journal313

It is also possible to create a corpus from materials fora specific teaching context. Toriida (2016) goes throughthe steps of creating an annotated word list that is basedon frequency and will target the words used in aparticular teaching context, which involves starting witha needs analysis, and plugging the necessary words
into the software AntfileCoverter. This is free softwarefrom Laurence Anthony which allows people to create a
corpus. Laurence Anthony has a Youtube channel thatgives instructions on using his software.
Another method of teaching polysemy or homonymy isimage-based schema instruction. Morimoto andLoewen (2007) define image-based schema instruction
as a form of vocabulary instruction in which the processof learning a word is mediated by using image schema.
This type of lesson would start with a consciousnessraising activity, followed by students being shown
images (Figure 4) and being told the core meaning of
the word, followed by a card game where students
match the picture to the definition (Yamagata, 2016), ora translation task (Morimoto & Loewen, 2017). Thesetypes of tasks allow learners to solidify the word sensein the mental lexicon. Because they can join the L1 andL2 senses together. Yamagata (2016) found that thismethod has both a higher rate of accuracy and retention.

Figure 4
Pictures displaying the core meaning of a verb
(Yamagata, 2016)

word, it can lead to miscomprehension, which can leadto poor scores on standardized tests and lexical
fossilization. Therefore, it is necessary to teach multiple
meanings of words per the learning context. This can bedone through consciousness-raising activities, DDL, or
image-based schema instruction.

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Conclusion
When teaching vocabulary, it is important to teach morethan one definition of a word because words can be
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Translingual Onomatopoeia: Literary Innovation from the Language Classroom
Jared Michael Kubokawa
Aichi University

This article develops the concept of translingual onomatopoeia as well as providing a definition and coinage for the terminology. Originally
manifesting in a second language creative writing (poetry) context in a Japanese university, translingual onomatopoeia is a multilingual literary
device and learner-created innovation used to evoke both an emotional response in the reader and situate the text in a specific culturalcontext by utilizing an onomatopoeic phrase in a language that differs from the primary language of the text. This article is divided into three
sections. This first section offers a descriptive analysis to disseminate the meaning and conception of the term translingual onomatopoeia.
The following two sections utilize a university student’s second language poem as an exemplary text to provide sociocultural and phonologicalanalyses of the concept. The analyses explore the interdisciplinary relationships between linguistics, literary scholarship, and language
teaching. Finally, this article investigates the potential impact of threshold concepts such as translanguaging and code-switching as well as
literary multilingualism in multilanguage pedagogies.
Keywords: translingual onomatopoeia, translingual writing, literary multilingualism, second language writing, poetry

この論文は、トランスリンガルオノマトペ ア(translingual onomatopoeia) の概念を展開せ、その用語の定義と新語について提示する。 もともと第二言語の創造的な作文（詩）の文脈で現れる、トランスリンガルオノマトペアは多言語の文学的な仕掛けであり、第一言語と異なる言語のオノマトペアフレーズを利用することによって、読者の感情的な反応を呼び起こし、特定の文化的文脈で文章を結びつけるために使用される。この論文は３つのセクションに分けられる。 最初のセクションでは、トランスリンガルオノマトペアという用語の意味と概念を扱う。 次の２つのセクショ
ンでは、大学生の第二言語の詩を例として取り上げ、その概念の社会文化的と音韻論的 に解析を行う。 この論文は、トランスリンガルオノマトペアを新しい言語現象として提示し、その文学的革新の分析と普及について記述したものである。
キーワード: トランスリンガルオノマトペア、トランスリンガル作文、オノマトペア、第二言語作文、文学装置。

Translingualism scholar Steven Kellman (2019a) writes:“Translingual texts have an ancient pedigree, beginningperhaps shortly after the invention of writing itself” (p.
109). Kellman (2019a) is discussing the nautical
Phoenicians and the appropriation of their alphabet byseveral less sea-faring ancient civilizations—writing
both their unlettered native languages as well as
borrowed Phoenician. These translingual writing
practices continued until late-eighteenth century Europe
when, as Yildiz (2011) argues, the “monolingual
paradigm” emerges (p. 2). Yildiz conceptualizes thecurrent condition of multilingual practices as thepostmonolingual condition to express the tensions
between (re)emerging multilingual practices anddominantmonolingual
paradigms.
However,
multilingual authors, such as the canonized Beckett,Conrad, and Nabokov, ignored the paradigm andcontinued to write novels in multiple languages(Kellman,
2000,
2003).
These
moderntranslingualists— “those who write in more than one
language or in a language other than their primary one”
(Kellman, 2003, p. ix) trace the foundations of thenew(ish) critical movement in academia entitled themultilingual turn. Similar in scope to the social turn of
the late 90s, the multilingual turn is a critique of(monolingual) ideologies in research (mostly) stemmingfrom second language acquisition and applied linguistic
departments in the United States (Ortega, 2013). Thus,taking a multilingual or translingual approach tolanguage pedagogy could offer an alternative stance on
second language (L2) learners in their linguistic,
rhetorical, and cultural breadth.
Turning towards L2 writing, Canagarajah (2020)advocates for university L2 writing instructors toconsider varied and complex issues that influenceclassroom pedagogy and to consider how best to workwith and for a range of L2 students who are “resourceful
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and not deficient” in their breadth and depth of linguistic,
rhetorical and compositional strategies (p. 49). It isthese types of recommendations that need to bestrongly considered when conducting both L2 writing
research and composition instruction in both EFL and
ESL contexts. Not only does this statement encompass
the complexities of L2 writer identity, but it also suggests
the interdisciplinary nature of L2 writing as a field—thecrossroads of applied linguistics and composition
studies.
A pedagogical approach that prioritizes translingual
orientations promotes L2 learners’ access to allaccessible experience while also challenging Yildiz’s(2011) monolingual paradigm. Furthermore, if language
teachers respect translingual and transnational
approaches in their language courses, students may
begin to transform literacy beliefs and practices throughrhetorical attunement, as Leonard (2014) describes it.
In contextualised rhetoric, rhetorical attunement
encourages meaning negotiation across differences
and implies pluralism. An educational system thatvalues language diversity can also have bigger
ideologicallearning
repercussions,suchascosmopolitanism (You, 2016, 2018), which is the idealof a global citizen who acknowledges that all people aremembers of a common community regardless ofaffiliations like language or citizenship status. In otherwords, language teachers can create effective
transnational spaces that frustrate the monolingual
paradigm and allow for threshold concepts such astranslingual writing, writing as a social act, rhetoricalattunement, and other approaches that are inclusive ofheterogeneity and difference by designing courses andcourse content that values reflective practices,emphasizes genre, and invites translingualism.
From this resourceful perspective, this article develops
the concept of translingual onomatopoeia as well as
providing a definition and coinage for the term. This
article presents descriptive analysis and disseminationof translingual onomatopoeia as a new terminology,
learner-centered innovation, and linguistic phenomenon.
To achieve this aim, the article is divided into three
sections that display translingual onomatopoeia as aconcept of language innovation and of linguistic
diversity that can be utilized in the study of literary
multilingualism, and language teaching. This firstsection offers a descriptive analysis to disseminate themeaning and conception of the term translingual
onomatopoeia. The following two sections utilize auniversity student’s L2 poem as an exemplary text toprovide sociocultural and phonological analyses of theconcept. The analyses explore the interdisciplinary
relationships between linguistics, literary scholarship,and language teaching. Finally, this article investigates
the potential impact of concepts such astranslanguaging and code-switching on literary
multilingualism studies and multilanguage pedagogies.

Translingual Onomatopoeia
Before an understanding of translingual onomatopoeia
can be reached, it would be useful to explore both theterms translingual and onomatopoeia individually. This
article is primarily concerned with the first half of
Kellman’s (2019b) definition—texts written in more than
one language i.e., L2 English poems that containJapanese onomatopoeic phrases. Regarding thetheoretical positioning of translingual orientations, thepractices of translingual writing are centuries old;
however, as Canagarajah (2020) argues, “theorizingthem for modern academic and scholarly communities
has just begun” (p. 40). Thus, translingual pedagogy
and academic inquiry remain “a work in progress”(Canagarajah, 2020, p. 40). Therefore, confusion anddebates surrounding terms such as codeswitching/code-meshing (Canagarajah, 2006; Matsuda,2013) and the relationship between translingualism andL2 writing (Silva & Wang, 2020), are pervasive—
however, this article argues, that the foci should remainon the literary and pedagogical implications, which areimperative to how writers, students, and teachers
understand the place of the L1 in the L2. This article
does not have the scope to properly explore theacademic discourse encompassing these debates (andsubsequent reconciliation); however, Silva and Wang(2020) provide an excellent grounding in the concepts.
Moving now to the less controversial term of
onomatopoeia— “the formation of words or names byimitation of natural sounds” (Article about etymology of
onomatopoeia, n.d.). In other words, in onomatopoeicwords, the sound is the meaning e.g., sizzle, cuckoo,bang, zip. Because of onomatopoeia’s association withnatural sounds—the words can trigger recall of humanmemory and emotion; thus, it is often used for literary
effect as artists can bank on the latent knowledge andmemory inducing emotional evocations of a specificsound (e.g., the sound of a fire crackling reminds me of
the fireplace in the house I grew up in).
Of similar interest, however entirely different, is crosslinguistic onomatopoeia—the use of onomatopoeia,
which differs from language to language and culture toculture. This paper makes the distinction between
cross-linguistic
onomatopoeia
andtranslingual
onomatopoeia—in both the fact that cross-linguistic
onomatopoeia is not an innovation as well as in thefollowing
definition.
Briefly,
cross-linguistic
onomatopoeia asks the age-old question: Do dogs barkdifferently in different languages? The answer is a
resounding, yes. Obviously, the actual sound of a dog
does not differ; however, the sociocultural linguistic
representation of a dog barking differs greatly
depending on the language. For example, the English
language representation of the sound a dog makes
could be bow-wow, or ruff-ruff. But in Japanese thesound is wan-wan or kian-kian, in Hebrew—hav-hav,andinSpanish—guau-guau.
Cross-linguistic
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onomatopoeia is related to translingual onomatopoeia;
however, cross-linguistic onomatopoeia does not carrycommunicative meaning intended by a multilingual
literary writer, especially in terms of rhetorical strategies.
Thus, this article intends to make clear that crosslinguistic onomatopoeia and translingual onomatopoeia
are two entirely different concepts.
Finally, turning to the definition, meaning, andconception of the term translingual onomatopoeia—amultilingual literary effect used to evoke both anemotional response in the reader and situate the text ina specific cultural context by utilizing an onomatopoeicphrase in a language that differs from the primarylanguage of the text. Thus, the translingual
onomatopoeia phenomena, by definition, requires two
aspects: (1) the word or phrase needs to beonomatopoeic in nature; and simultaneously, (2) theword or phrase needs to carry a translingual approach
to its linguistic meaning. Originally manifesting in an L2
creative writing (poetry) course in the author’s Japanese
EFL university teaching context, the translingual writing
practices occurred in a natural, organic process without
explicit pedagogy, instruction, or prompting by theteacher. Closer analysis of this phenomenon can best
be understood through the following example.

A Student’s Example Text
As a brief introduction to the example text, students inan elective communication skills English course at aJapanese university were asked to write 12 poems (fivehaiku/shinhaiku, five short poems and two long poems)
over the course of a 15-week semester. Shinhaiku (ornew haiku) is an alternative to traditional haiku and wasa trend in Japanese literature at the turn of the twentiethcentury led by haiku master Shiki Masaoka (Yamagiwa,
1959). Shinhaiku is a modern take on the traditional
form and does not assume the classic 17 syllable
structure; thus, the focus is on meaning rather thanmeter. Further reading about shinhaiku and thepedagogy for the course can be found in Kubokawa(2021a, 2021b) and additional student exemplary texts
containing translingual onomatopoeia can be found in
the appendix to this article.
For research purposes, the writer of the poem Summer
Vacation, has consented to including her name as wellas the text itself. At the time of writing Summer Vacation,
Wakana was a second-year university student majoringin literature. She is an L1 Japanese user, and herEnglish was near an A2-B1 level in the Common
European Framework of Reference (CEFR). Although,highly motivated to communicate in English, Wakana
was a rather shy student with strong passive skills(listening and reading), yet modest about both her
speaking and writing abilities. Before reading theanalysis following the poem, as a literary practice,please consider what effect the translingual
onomatopoeic techniques have on you as a reader:
Summer Vacation by Wakana
When I woke up
Morning cicadas were singing
Mean, min min min min, mee...
I slammed the window shut
When I grabbed the pencil
to do my book report
Sweat broke out on my forehead
I turned on the air conditioner
When I finished my homework
Evening cicadas were singing
Kana, kana, ki ki ki ki...
I didn’t realize it was growing dark
To begin with the form, there are a uniform threestanzas containing four lines each. In line three of bothstanzas one and three, the writer makes her translingual
onomatopoeic moves with two differing sounds for the
cicadainsect.
Comparingthetranslingual
onomatopoeiae in the first and third stanzas, the writer
makes the distinction between the morning sounds ofthe cicadas, “Mean, min min min min, mee…” and theevening sound “Kana, kana, ki ki ki ki...” The writer is
employing the difference in sound as a rhetoricalstrategy to show meaning and juxtaposition in the poem.
This juxtaposition is also apparent in the “Morning
cicadas” and “Evening cicadas”—in this sense Wakana
is utilizing the translingual onomatopoeiae as not only arhetorical strategy but also as a compositional strategy
to show the passage of time within the poem itself.
The translingual aspect of the onomatopoeiae usage
comes from the representation of the animal sounds.
Both “Mean, min min min min, mee…” and “Kana, kana,ki ki ki ki...” are coming from a Japanese language
perspective. In English, the sound of a cicada insect
would probably be “buzz” or even “chirp” and thus if thewriter used the English onomatopoeic wording for the
cicadas— the Japanese sociocultural context would be
lost.

Sociocultural Linguistic Analysis
In most cases, the names given to Japanese cicada
species are derived from the onomatopoeic noises thatthey make. The higurashi cicadas or higurashi zemi
elicit a softer response and often remind listeners of theJapanese Obon festival, a Buddhist festival to honor thedead. Hence, utilizing the almost rubbing sound of thehigurashi’s “Kana, kana, ki ki ki ki...” is shorthand for a
feeling of evening in the height of summer—to theJapanese reader. Moreover, it could allude to feelingsof longing because of the particular onomatopoeic
emotional tone that the higurashi evokes in the culturally
The PanSIG 2021 Journal319

informed listener. A Japan Times feature newspaper
article, claims that “different species of cicada also callat different times of the day. According to artist Makoto
Aida, filmmakers can trade on that latent knowledge toevoke certain emotions in viewers: “The species thatpeople like best is the one that calls when the sun isgoing down and the day has cooled off,” Aida says.
“They’re called higurashi. People feel relieved that theheat has gone down slightly and it’s a little more
comfortable. It’s a nice feeling. That sound appears infilms a lot” (McKirdy, 2019). Hence, Wakana is banking
on the Japanese reader’s inherent knowledge of thehigurashi cicada to add depth of meaning into her poem.
The harsher cousin to the higurashi is the min-min
cicada, or min-min zemi and are named for the soundthat they create—onomatopoeic etymology. The “Mean,
min min min min, mee…” evokes the traditional soundof the Japanese cicada at the height of summer during
the hottest time of day. It is a play on the uncomfortablefeelings of the Japanese summer, the unnerving sounditself is quite uncomfortable to the listener—more on thisin the phonological analysis section. In the end, theemotional, cultural, rhetorical, and compositional effects
originating from the sound of the translingual
onomatopoeiae in Summer Vacation would have been
entirely different had the writer chosen to use
onomatopoeic phrases in the primary language of thepoem—English. The communication of this specificJapanese experience comes directly from the writer’scultural and linguistic understanding of the world—it is
only natural for these onomatopoeic sounds to betransmitted in the Japanese language, considering thecultural and linguistic background of the writer. This canbe viewed through the lens of critical contrastive rhetoric(Kubota & Lehner, 2014), which investigates andrethinks cultural difference in rhetoric, hence itconsiderspoststructuralist,
postcolonial,
andpostmodern critiques of language and culture.

Phonological Linguistic Analysis
Because of the auditory nature of onomatopoeic words,
this article will now present a phonological analysis of
Wakana’s Summer Vacation by exploring therelationship between sound and meaning of the twotranslingual onomatopoeic usages in the poem. In line
three of stanza one, the “Mean, min min min min, mee…”of the morning min-min cicadas evokes the tension felt
at the beginning of a day when there are several tasks
to be completed. This is mainly because the /i:/ sound,which is the nucleus of the first syllable, is a high front
vowel, as is the /i/ sound which is repeated in the next
four syllables, followed again by the long /i:/ in the final
syllable. The tension in the oral cavity that it takes to
produce these vowels—as well as their high tonality—
can feel intense and uncomfortable. Furthermore, thehigh vowel is enclosed by the two nasal sounds /m/ and/n/ in all but the last syllable. While, in the third stanza,
the nasal /n/ in the “kana” complements the pleasantsonority of the /a/, in contrast, the voiced nasal sounds
in this line seem to prolong the unpleasant tension of
the /i/. The /i:/ in the final syllable reinforces this. As along vowel, it could continue until one runs out of breath,giving the impression that there is no relief from thetension of the sound and the oppressive heat at midday
during midsummer in Japan. The overall impression is
one of stress and irritation.
The evening higurashi cicadas produce the sound“Kana, kana, ki ki ki ki...”—which unlike the previous
example—equally breaks into the Japanese phonetic
syllabary sounds of ka, na, and ki. Immediately, a more
uniformed approach to sound is offered by the writer.
Breaking these into English phonemes, the unvoiced /k/sound is first encountered, which therefore creates asofter, more intimate feeling. This is followed by the low
vowel /a/ that is produced with a relatively relaxed oralcavity—making it a pleasant sound both to produce andto hear. The nasal sound /n/ follows. Producing thissound allows the air to flow through the nasal cavity, itbarely interrupts the sonority of the /a/ sound, which
again follows the /n/. The overall effect of these twosyllables is almost like two soft sighs, evocative of asummer evening after a busy day, when all tasks are
finally finished. “Kana” is repeated and then followed by
the syllable “ki” produced four times. Again, theunvoiced /k/ creates a relaxed feel. Although the /k/ isfollowed by the high vowel /i/, which is produced withmore tension in the oral cavity, the unvoiced /k/mitigates the pressure and the line retains its calm feel.
In sum, phonetic usage of Japanese onomatopoeiae
compliments the meaning and follows the narrative of
the poem itself: in the morning the character has a lot oftasks, she is stressed and irritated, yet by the evening
the tasks are completed, and she is relaxed. This isreflected in the phonemes (the sound) in which thewriter uses to represent the two types of cicadas. The
use of Japanese onomatopoeiae clearly communicates
the writer’s authentic perspective of the world onto thereader—a Japanese ethnolinguistic perspective withina critical contrastive rhetorical frame. One could argue
that this is the authentic sound that cicada’s make to thewriter’s ears. Both the meaning and the various
phonetic features encode these cultural conceptions
into the poem, in this case a cultural metaphor. The
onomatopoeic sound and symbolism are deeply
entrenched in the latent knowledge of the group-level,
cultural cognition of Japanese language users. Yet, one
cannot forget that this is primarily an English language
poem, and the Japanese onomatopoeiae only comprise
one part of the overall compositional semantics of theentire poem.
The writer signifies an intercultural perspective by
semantically labeling the sounds of the experience ofthe poem as Japanese. Sociolinguist Valerie Fridland
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(2021) argues that language change can add
coherence to notions that become part of ourcommunity's shared knowledge by using the semanticlabelling method. In this sense, the poem is inviting thereader into a unique literary multilingual andmulticultural experience and providing the reader theopportunity to join a new linguistic community withshared knowledge. Therefore, the writer and the text
itself could be considered ambassadors of interculturalcommunication and exemplary of a World Englishes
orientation as well as literary multilingualism andtranslingualism in use.

Discussion
When given the time, space, freedom, and scaffolding,L2 creative writers naturally included translingual
approaches in their texts and uncovered the linguistic
phenomenon of translingual onomatopoeia—developed
and coined in this article. The unprompted and organic
creation of translingual and multilingual rhetorical,
linguistic, and compositional concepts seemed a natural
evolution in their L2 writing and English language
learning. Furthermore, L2 poetry, as a genre, is ripe for
exploring conceptions of translingual orientation andother threshold concepts as a pedagogical practice: “L2creative writing pedagogies can provide opportunities
for L2 writers to galvanize their cultural, linguistic,
compositional, and rhetorical tools, which are actuallyalways at their disposal” (Kubokawa, 2020, p. 91). As
L2 creative writing is often underutilized in language
teaching, there could be scope for future pedagogicalendeavors in this area. Specifically, poetry seems anefficacious pedagogy for learners to develop agency
and L2 identity - a longitudinal study on agency and L2
poetry pedagogy is forthcoming by the author of thisarticle (Kubokawa, in press).
Having spoken at length of the virtues of translingual
onomatopoeia, a turn towards what the phenomenon
loses on the reader, semantically speaking, is equallynecessary. In the example of Summer Vacation, it is an
English language poem after all, and most English
language users are not familiar with the cultural andemotional nuances of the sounds of Japanese cicadas.
Nor is there any instruction or information for the reader
to understand the invisible culture in the denotative
meanings that undergird the Japanese onomatopoeiae.
Further to that, what use, if any do translingual writing
practices have in the practical endeavors of teaching
EFL, especially English for academic purposes (EAP)?
In this respect, a useful perspective on teaching EAP
and L2 writing would be Ruecker and Shapiro’s (2020)
critical pragmatism approach. In Ruecker and Shapiro’sview, the concept of critical pragmatism serves as a“conceptual umbrella for approaches that pursue a“both/and” approach to standard academic English—
both teaching and problematizing the norms” (p. 129).

By utilizing a “both/and” approach to teaching both
pragmatic EFL and EAP writing standards as well as“problematizing the norms” by incorporating L2 creative
writing and translingual pedagogies, a balance can beachieved. In effect, this balance covers both sides of thecoin and views standard and innovative approaches on
a continuum rather than as dichotomous binaries.
Espousing these concepts in a language classroom canfrustrate Yildiz’s (2011) monolingual paradigm and turntowards a more inclusive and equitable multilingual(Ortega, 2013) and transnational (You, 2018) Web 3.0
future. Practically speaking, embracing thresholdconcepts in language classrooms can embraceconcepts of cosmopolitanism (You, 2016) and rhetoricalattunement (Leonard, 2014), which celebrate
multilingualism, multiculturalism, and global citizenship.

Conclusion
As with all inquiries, this article has its obvious
limitations and several questions for future researcharise from the innovation of translingual onomatopoeia
presented. For example, how do certain types of written
discourse, such as translingual onomatopoeia, e/affectthe reader in varying linguistic contexts? What is theeffect of innovative translingual approaches on an L2
poem? What is the effect of innovative translingual
approaches on the writers of L2 poetry? These are
significant questions that touch on the heart of L2
creative writing, translingual orientations, and literary
multilingualism. While it may be the aim of L2 writing
courses to develop standardized production of
accepted academic genres, including translingual
orientations as well as a creative writing pedagogy may
allow for authentic and unique cultural linguistic
experiences to be communicated by an L2 writer.
Further to that this may afford the reader the opportunity
to recognize said experiences and thus gain a deeper
understanding on the perspectives of people, cultures,and languages that differ from their own. Finally, it is thehope of this author that other language teachers willpause and re-think what it means for language learnersand L2 users to be innovative in their L2 speaking andwriting, and that “errors” in standard varieties can beconsidered innovations if viewed through an inclusiveand creative lens.

Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank the students for writing
and sharing such unique and honest poetry. Additionally,
the writer would like to thank the anonymous reviewers
for their formative comments during the review process.
The writer would like to thank Naoko Takahashi for her
initial recommendations during the pre-writing stage.
Finally, the author would like to sincerely thank April Eve
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321

Day for her significant contributions to the overall
completion of this article.

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https://doi.org/10.37546/JALTCHAP.NAGOYA2.1-4

Kubokawa, J. M. (2021b). Show don’t tell: Developing
a creative writing community in an EFL Context.
Language and Culture: Bulletin of the Institutefor Language Education at Aichi University, 44,
81–94. http://id.nii.ac.jp/1082/00010494/
Kubokawa, J. M. (in press). Tracing learnerdevelopment: The effect of L2 poetry writing on
voice and agency. International Journal of
TESOL Studies.
Leonard, R. L. (2014). Multilingual writing as rhetoricalattunement. College English 76(3), 227-247.
https://www.academia.edu/48926549/Multilingual_Writing_as_Rhetorical_Attunement
Ortega, L. (2013), SLA for the 21st century:
Disciplinary progress, transdisciplinary
relevance, and the bi/multilingual turn.
Language Learning, 63, 1-24.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2012.00735.x
McKirdy, A. (2019, July 25) The sound of summer:
Love them or hate them, cicadas have a special
place in Japanese culture. The Japan Times.
https://features.japantimes.co.jp/cicada/Matsuda, P. K. (2013). It’s the wild west out there: A
new linguistic frontier in U.S. college
composition. In Literacy as Translingual
Practice: Between Communities andClassrooms (pp. 128-138). Taylor and Francis.
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.43
24/9780203120293-19/wild-west-new-linguisticfrontier-college-composition-college-composition
Rueker, T. & Shapiro, S. (2020). Critical pragmatism
as a middle ground in discussions of linguistic
diversity. In T. Silva & Z. Wang (Eds.),
Reconciling translingual writing and second
language writing (pp. 125–134). Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003003786
Silva, T., & Wang, Z. (Eds.). (2020). Reconcilingtranslingualism and second language writing(1st ed.). Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003003786
Yamagiwa, J. K. (1959). Japanese literature of the
Shōwa period: A guide to Japanese reference
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You, X. (2016). Cosmopolitan English andtransliteracy. Southern Illinois University Press.
http://www.siupress.com/books/978-0-8093-3525-1
You, X. (2018). Introduction: Making a transnational
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https://www.routledge.com/Transnational-WritingEducation-Theory-History-andPractice/You/p/book/9780815383505
Yildiz, Y. (2011). Beyond the mother tongue: The
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DOI:10.5422/fordham/9780823241309.001.000
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Appendices
Appendix A
Childhood Snowy Day by Jo
Open the window,“Wow!”A cold wind is blowing in.
Adults shovel snow.
Open the door.
White world,
walk on a snowy way.
There's footprints left.
“Good day!
Close the school”
We play with snow;
Snowman, snowball fight, Kamakura.
Take a break at home.
We warm up with kotatsu,
the sun came out.
It is warm.
We go out again.
“What a thing!”
Toro toro...
Everything was gone.
The lifespan of snow is short.
Snow seems like time.
Snow, fall again
We open the window again

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Appendix B
Feelings of the Washing Machine by Haruka
Today is hot and sunny
Such a day is the day
When I play an active part
Round and round
Round and round round and round
Guruguruguruguruguruguruguruguruguruguru
I am turning my eyes
I am getting tired
Let's rest a little
The owner has come
It is sad...
I will do my best
Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
There is a cockroach underneathI want to run away
Let's run away secretly
The trick is to walk like a Ninja
Sasasasasa
Oh!
The owner has come
It is sad…
Pyrroline
Pyrroline
Laundry is over

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325

Appendix C

To a Comfortable Sleep by Akari
In the bed
I can hear sound of rainpara para para...
The sound invites me to sleep
My eyes gradually close...
Like healing music

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Appendix D
Shooting Star by Mao
Twinkle, twinkle—
Sky without a cloudGlittering like the sea
I lie down with my brothers
Like the character for river 川We look up at the falling sky
Kiran—
We join hands in a hurry
We close our eyes tightly
We mutter three times in our hearts
We smile each other without saying anything

Pan

SIG
Journal
2021

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Teaching Presentations Remotely and Engagingly
Richard Sparrow
Kyoto Sangyo University

Presentations are meant to be done in person, but since last year, that has not been possible. Group discussion (debate) is a benchmark inmany communication classes that allow for a lot of spontaneous (unscripted and with less preparation) interaction and student agency, whichmakes for more meaningful communication. However, the difficulty level is much higher. Aclan & Aziz (2015) found that when students lackthe platforms to practice their English in a more meaningful and critical way, that debate is a practical tool for developing oral communication.
Together presentations and group discussion enhance and simplify each other. Presentations can be used to scaffold discussion and allow
students to create a foundation of information and vocabulary with which they can discuss. Applied carefully together, students can explore
different topics and create presentations for them, and then discuss using Zoom while the teacher is there for support.

Aclan & Aziz 2015

Zoom

Group discussions and presentations are two of themany tools that teachers may use in their classrooms,
but often separately and to help students reach different
learning goals. These activities sometimes incorporate
aspects of debate. Inoue (1996) defines debate as “aprocess of argument in which the two (or more)
opposing parties try to persuade each other or a third
party about a controversial issue, whatever it is about,whether it is about shopping or a national policy.”(p.150) Originally, class group discussions are meant tobe tasks where the students can freely interject and ask
questions. However, the order and structure provided
by a debate allows for better participation, gives each
student a fair amount of time to respond to every
question, and makes it the responsibility of each student
to make sure the debate proceeds. Group discussions
that use elements of debate seem to be easier for
students to learn and easier for teachers to teach since
they are systemized. Inoue (1996) contrasts group
discussion and debate as they are both common in
English communication curricula as follows:In debate participants argue for and against the prefixed proposition, while in discussion, participants look
for a solution to a problem. 2. Consequently, twoalternatives are considered in debate, while discussion
considers multiple alternatives. 3. Debate is usually
regulated by strict rules about the time and order ofspeeches. Discussion is conducted more freely withless formal rules. 4. In debate, the decision is made bya third party based on the arguments presented by theaffirmative and the negative sides. In discussion, thepurpose is to reach an agreement among participants.
The first three propositions allow for even lower-level
students to feel included in the discussion, whereas ina group discussion, students do not know where to start
and when they can participate. In a group discussion,
the teacher relies on the chemistry of the group and forstudents to figure out the pragmatics of the group
discussion, Debate allows for much more efficient useof class time. Inoue & Nakano (2004) identified fivebenefits of debate: analytical/critical skills, English skills,
speaking/communication skills, social life/meetingpeople, and knowledge/education. They were
specifically researching parliamentary debate (PD) andtraditional American debate/national debate team
(NDT) through the lens of competitions held between
Japanese university English speaking societies. The
use of debate has been supported by many studies
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(Zare & Othman, 2013; Bellon, 2000; Kennedy, 2007)
to have multiple benefits as well as giving students more
opportunities for meaningful input/output, and realistic
opportunities to negotiate meaning. Different studies
have looked at different systems of debate some ofwhich have been mentioned above (PD, NDT). Over thecourse of four years, this system of group discussionthat uses elements of debate to provide more structureand support, and which relies heavily on students doing
their own research while creating a presentation for theclass beforehand, has developed organically. In thisway, this style of group discussion is somewhat related
to NDT which requires analysis of one topic based on
research. Students can not only increase theircommunication skills but also their depth of knowledge
as the class progresses.

graded. Finally, students would be placed into groups offour or five and be given ten minutes each to present
their topic and discuss it.

Methods

Discussion phrases

Over the course of fifteen weeks, college students intheir first and second years prepared to do gradeddiscussions which would take up two entire 90-minuteclass sessions. Students would be expected to choose
from a list of topics that had been developed to mirror
the study goals of the chapters of the textbook which
they were using. It was fine if students chose the same
topic, because many times students would present their
topics differently based on their opinions/experiences.
They would write a two hundred-word speech, create aPowerPoint to present alongside it, and write three
discussion questions that were concerned with their
topic. The format/structure was carefully taught andIn week two, we study a discussion phrases sheet(Appendix A). The sheet provides twenty-six usefulphrases for discussion and a translation that students
can use to understand them. In class, activities andlectures provide examples of how the phrases are usedpragmatically (please see figure 1). Each phrase is notpresented separately or reviewed extensively, butinstead, basic phrases that are easy to understand. For
example, “I agree. I think…, I disagree. I think…, I agreewith OO because…, I disagree with OO because….” arefocused on. Students are encouraged to study the

Discussion Support Tools
The first discussion is in week 6 of the semester and thesecond one is in week eleven. They were purposefully
separated so as to prepare students for each one
differently and give them time to learn and practicedifferent skills. Students are of course seemingly
intimidated by the fact that they have to speak English
for a considerable period of time, and as Humphries et.
al (2015) points out and from my own experience, mostof the students have not had very many opportunities tocommunicate in English spontaneously. They needsupport and leading up to the discussion, time is spentin class learning the necessary skills.

others on their own.

Figure 1
Discussion phrases’ pragmatic uses

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Figure 2
Model discussion

Basic parts of a Discussion

In-Class Preparation

Now that the students have phrases that they can use
to agree/disagree and give their opinion, they are taught
the basic parts of this style of discussion: 1. Discussion
Question / Topic 2. Agreeing / Disagreeing 3. Giving
your opinion 4. Follow up questions / comments. This isimportant because students should know what the
expectations are for their discussion and responses.
They can articulate their thoughts easier when
responding to questions if they have a process to follow.

Every week in class the above discussion support tools
are reviewed and students practice discussion in tenminute sessions. Next, let us examine the practice
discussion format.

Code-switching
Before every discussion and every discussion practice,students are told that they should not speak any
Japanese during the duration of the discussion. This is
not an absolute rule, however. If they can preface theiruse of Japanese by using code-switching phrases, thenit is acceptable. This practice gives students a way out
if they cannot find a way to express themselves. Codeswitching also allows for an opportunity to negotiate
meaning and learn something new. Being unable toexpress themselves in front of others is probably one ofstudents’ biggest fears, and giving them this support
allows for better communication and keeps them fromrelying on their native language. It makes them think in
English first. Students study two phrases: 1. How do you
say_______in English? 2. What does_______mean inJapanese? Together they cover almost every situation.
Students should ask their groups first, and if they cannot
figure out the answer, then they should ask the teacher.
The teacher should be the final level of support rather
than answering the moment a question is raised. In thisway, students can develop better metacognitive skills
regarding English communication.

Practice discussion format
Before each discussion session, a discussion leader(DL) is chosen. This person will ask the discussion
questions and help the discussion move to its
conclusion (as seen in figure 2 above). The DL will firstread the question and answer it him/herself. Next, theDL will ask one of the group discussion members thequestion (GMA). Group member A will answer thequestion by agreeing or disagreeing with the DL andthen providing their opinion. Each group member willend their turn by saying “Thank you” which helps thediscussion move more smoothly. The DL will thankthem for their opinion and move on to the next groupmember (GMB) who will be given the opportunity to
express whether they agree with their group members
or not and give their opinion. After all of the groupmembers have been given a turn, the DL will move onto the next round and the next discussion question. Thisis the simplest format of the discussion. Later on in thesemester, students should ask follow up questions in
between each round of discussion questions, and in its
final stage each group member to ask follow up
questions. Model discussions of varying complexity andtopics are presented to help students progress fromvery simple discussions to more complex ones.
Students read through the practice discussion first(Figure 2) before trying it on their own (Figure 3).

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Figure 3
Practice discussion

Discussion questions
One of the benefits of discussion is the questions thatstudents will ask. Good discussion questions make fora good discussion. Students are encouraged to becreative and to make questions that are thoughtprovoking but not so far out of their experience or above
their ability to answer them (no questions about black
holes or other topics that are very technical). However,most students do not have the experience formulating
questions that would allow for discussion. Without
guidance students will produce a lot of yes/no andconversational questions like they are used to readingin their textbooks. Therefore, please look at this list ofgood and bad discussion questions. These arequestions (Figure 4) students are used to making andthey make for easy conversation (highlighted phrases
are not acceptable). These are “conversationalquestions” and students should avoid them. This list ofquestions (Figure 5) helps students get an idea of whata good discussion question should look like (thehighlighted phrases and words are acceptablestructures), and it helps reinforce grammar points ofsuperlatives, comparatives, and modality, also ways toformulate questions that allow the interlocutor to bettergive their opinion. Of course, depending on the fluencyof the students, different kinds of questions will be made.

Figure 4
Bad discussion questions

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Figure 5
Good discussion questions

In class students make groups of four or five and choose
discussion leaders for each group. Then, the groups
have five minutes to make three discussion questions
based on the topic of that day’s lecture (for example
Figure 6 below). Students can use their native language
during this time because it is important for all the groupmembers to understand the questions’ meanings, andgroup members are more willing to collaborate. After

five minutes the discussion leaders from each groupreport their questions. Questions are typed up and theteacher should help them with any grammar, word order,
or word selection problems. Finally, after all the groups
have reported their questions, they practice group
discussion in ten-minute sessions. They have to discuss
for the entire time, and they are not allowed to speak
their L1 unless they use it with a code-switching phrase.

Figure 6
Discussion question practice

Zoom
Most of these tasks and materials were created while
teaching by remote teaching last year. In class group
discussions were adapted for application on Zoom.
Zoom has three functions that are useful for discussion:
screen share, breakout rooms, and a built-in recording
function.

Screen share
In a distance learning environment, there are
distractions at home. Being allowed to screen share lets
students dictate to me, and I can type out what they say.
In addition, there is a huge focus on what is being typed
rather than on me the teacher. The feedback is visual
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and auditory. Also, students can share their own
presentations.

Breakout rooms
Breakout rooms are important because they allow
students to split up into random and appropriately sizedgroups which can be cycled through for observation andsupport. The breakout rooms also have a timer function
which lets the teacher help students rather than worry
about the time.

Recording function
Recording the breakout sessions keeps the students
honest. They are less likely to speak L1 and more likely
to discuss the total required time. If there are five groupsof four or five students, the teacher cannot be with every
group at the same time as in a classroom. It also createsa record that can be reviewed while doing final grading.

Graded Discussions
As mentioned before, there are two graded discussions
over a fifteen-week season in weeks six and eleven. In
the first section, students learn how to prepare for thegraded discussions and in the second half, they study
how to refine their presentations. Finally, there is theformat of the graded discussions, presentation
preparation, and post-discussion.

Graded discussion format.
Each student is responsible for ten minutes of
discussion time which is split into two parts. First,
students will give a PowerPoint presentation that takes
up about two to three minutes. They then act as
discussion leader and ask three discussion questions
while conducting a discussion just like we practiced in
the weeks beforehand. Students are provided with two
documents to help them prepare for the gradeddiscussion: Group Discussion Guidelines (Appendix B)
and Group Discussion Speech and PowerPoint Guide(Appendix C). Students choose a topic for theirpresentation and discussion from the guidelines
document. The rubric for how the students will be
graded is also found in the guidelines document.

Presentation Preparation
Presentation is a big part of these group discussions.
Two weeks before the discussion students choose a
topic from the Group Discussion Guidelines and submit
their three discussion questions as homework. Students
will then do research on the topic and will use it toprovide evidence reinforcing their opinion. This provides
a baseline knowledge for the group as they begin their
discussion after the presentation has concluded. The
presentation informs the group and creates context for
the group discussion. Together the presentation andgroup discussion allow for students to develop listening
and critical thinking skills. Students are given a format
for their presentations (Appendix C): Introduction, Body
1, Body 2, Body 3, Conclusion. This makes all theirpresentations similar and provides for a higher quality
product.

Post-Discussion
Finally, students reflect on their discussion. What did
they do well? What can they improve for their next
discussion? What did they enjoy? What did they learn?
Students answer these questions using the web
platform FlipGrid which is a free social media productfrom Microsoft that is specifically built for educationaluse and allows students to upload videos of themselves
to a private website that only the educator andclassmates can view. Collecting speaking data from thevideos could be a possibility in the future. Also, a post
discussion vocabulary activity where students use
Google sheets to report vocabulary, learned preparing
for or during the task.

Conclusion
To do this style of group discussion/presentation inclass takes a lot of time and effort, but the results, theexperience, the students get, and the confidence they
can build are worth it. The key to making this system
work is to start out with very simple examples and topics
and slowly build the complexity and difficulty. Do notteach the students the whole system at once andinstead, break it into many smaller and easier tounderstand parts. Review a lot in class, make sure thatstudents use the code-switching phrases, while giving
them a lot of support. This will keep them from relying
on their L1, make them feel comfortable giving theiropinions, and help them buy into the system which will
maximize their English learning.

References
Aclan, E. M., & Aziz, N. H. (2015). Exploring
parliamentary debate as a pedagogical tool todevelop English communication skills in efl/esl
classrooms. International Journal of Applied
Linguistics & English Literature, 4(2).
doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.4n.2p.1
Bellon, J., 2000. A research-based justification for
debate across the curriculum. Argumentation
and Advocacy, 36(3): 161-173.

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Humphries, S. C., Burns, A., & Tanaka, T. (2015). “MyForest University/International society for thehead became blank and I couldn’t speak”:

study of argumentation, Venice argumentation

Classroom factors that influence English

conference, June 27–30.

speaking. The Asian Journal of Applied
Linguistics, 2(3), 164-175. Retrieved from

Kennedy, R., 2007. In-class debates: Fertile ground forhttps://caes.hku.hk/ajal/index.php/ajal/article/vie

active learning and the cultivation of critical

w/230

thinking and oral communication skills.
International Journal of Teaching and Learning

Inoue, N. (1996). Traditions of "Debate" in Japan.

in Higher Education, 19(2): 183-190.

Bulletin of the Graduate School of Social andCultural Studies, 2, 149–161. Retrieved from

Zare, P., & Othman, M. (2013). Classroom Debate as

http://www.flc.kyushu-u.ac.jp/~inouen/deb-a Systematic Teaching/Learning Approach.

trad.html

World Applied Sciences Journal, 28(11), 1506–
1513.

Inoue, N. & Nakano, M. (2004). The benefits and costsof participating in competitive debate activities:

https://doi.org/10.5829/idosi.wasj.2013.28.11.18
09

Differences between Japanese and Americancollege students. Paper presented at Wake

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Appendices
Appendix A
Group Discussion Key Phrases
1.

I agree with you, except for…

私は、○○以外はあなたに賛成です（同意します）。
2.

How do you feel about…?

○○については、どう感じますか？
3.

What do you mean?

どういう意味ですか？
4.

What do you think about…?

○○について、どう思いますか？
5.

It seems to me that…

私には、○○のように思われます（感じられます）。
6.

I disagree because…

私は反対です、なぜなら○○だからです（○○だから反対です）。
7.

I’d like to add that…

私は○○を追加したい（加えたい）と思います。
8.

In my opinion…

私の意見としては、
9.

Yes, that’s true, but…

はい、その通りですね。（確かに。）ですが～10.

I think…

私は○○だと思います。
11.

Can you tell me why you think that way?

なぜ、そういった・そのような方向でお考えなのか、教えてもらえますか？
12.

Could you give us an example?

何か例をもらえますか？
13.

I believe…

私は○○だと思います。
14.

That’s a great idea.

それは良い考えですね。
15.

That’s a good point. I think…

良い点をついていますね。私は～ だと思います。

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16.

I see what you mean, but…

あなたの言っていることは分かります。ですが、～
17.

Absolutely, exactly.

もちろんです。
18.

そうそう、そのとおり。

That’s so true.

本当にそうですよね。確かにそのとおりですね。
19.

What if…?

もし～だったら？
20.

I guess so.

そういえば、そうですね。そうみたいですね。
21.

I/He/She/We/They could…

～するかもしれない。【可能性を表す】
22.

I prefer…

～の方が好きです。
23.

I’d prefer…

～の方が好きなのですが…。～してほしいのですが。
24.

Do you/Does anyone have any other ideas?

誰か、他に何かアイデアはありますか？
25.

What do you think?

どう思いますか？
26.

How about you?

あなたの方はどうですか？（どうしますか？）※4．What do you think about…? …について、どう思いますか？
「…」について相手がどう思うのかを聞いている。聞かれた相手の回答範囲は限定される。
25. What do you think?

どう思いますか？

about がないことで、聞かれた相手の回答範囲が広がっている。

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Appendix B
Group Discussion Guidelines

Before class:1.

Choose one topic.

2.

Write about one topic.

3.

Your writing should take you about 2-3 minutes to say.

4.

Make a PowerPoint and print it outa.

` Your PowerPoint should have these slides:

i.

Title

ii.

Introductioniii.

Topic 1iv.

Topic 2v.

Topic 3 (at least 2-3 topics)vi.

Conclusionii.

Discussion Questions

5.

Write 3 discussion questions, related to your topic. They should make you think, be interesting, and not so easy.

6.

Prepare to talk:
Practice
Check spelling and grammar

Unit 1&2•

What are 3 good ways to make new friends? Does everybody need to have a lot of friends?(unit 1)•

Talk about your hobby in detail. Do hobby’s need to be active? Why or why not?(unit 1)•

Talk about your hometown. Is it better to grow up in a small town or a big city?(unit 1)•
What makes you happy? What things are important for gaining happiness in life? Are some more important thanothers? (unit 2)•
What do you think about famous people? Do they have a responsibility to be good role models? What do you
think it is like to be a celebrity? How do they feel? (unit 2)•
What are the pros and cons of living with your family while you’re a college student? Is living independently
better? Talk about your current situation. How does it make you feel?(unit 2)
My topic is: _________________________________________________________________In class: (10 Minute discussion)
1.

Give a presentation using your PowerPoint 2-3 Minutes

2.

With the rest of the time ask your discussion questions

3.

Give your opinion first and then ask your group what they think

4.
Take turns giving your opinion, agreeing, and disagreeing. We are having a discussion, so details are very
important.
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5.

If you don’t know how to say something in English, please ask your group first, and then the teacher.

a.

How do I say ___________ in English?

b.

What does ___________ mean in Japanese?

Speech & PowerPoint: Microsoft Word (.doc) & Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt)
Speech: 200+ words
Include your 3 Discussion Questions
Submitted on the Moodle

How you will be graded 100 Pts
Speech + PowerPoint: 200+ words (20 pts)
PowerPoint (NO PowerPoint = -50%)
Required amount and type of slides
Discussion Questions (30 pts)
3 discussion questions
Are good discussion questions
Correct format
Not too easy
Not too hard
DO NOT USE LIKE (Automatic 0)
Discussion Leader (30 pts)
Keeps discussion moving
no long pauses
asks good questions
listens to the groupchanges topics smoothly
Does not speak JapaneseGroup Participation (20 pts)
Gives good opinions
Asks good questions
Doesn’t speak Japanese
Uses discussion phrases
Doesn’t hold up the group discussion
If you don’t participate in the group discussion you will get a zeroIf you need help, please ask your group first, and then ask the teacher
How do I say ___________ in English?
What does ___________ mean in Japanese?

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Appendix C
Group Discussion Speech and PowerPoint Guide
Group Discussion:
200-300 words Time: 2-3 Minutes
Introduction 50+ words
Body 1 100+ words
Body 2
Body 3Conclusion 50+ Words

Introduction:
Greeting Phrase
Topic Introduction
Background Information
Main Idea
Preview

Greeting Phrase
挨拶
Hello!
How are you doing today!?
Nice to see you!

Topic Introduction
私のトピックは｢○○｣です。

Tell us what your speech topic is:Today I’m going to be talking about...

Background
Information
トピックについての予備知識

Background Information:
Tell us a little bit about your topic.
Basic facts about your country
トピックの基本的な情報を簡単に述べます。

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Main Idea
発表者の最も言いたいこと

What do you want to say in your speech?

Preview
展開の提示

Tell us what the contents of your speech are.
Today, I'm going to talk about _(Body 1)_, _(Body 2)_, _(Body 3)_, _(Body 4)_.

Basic Structure of the Body
PointExplanationExamples = FactsRepeat the Point

Body: The Info
The body is split up into different topics that are concerned with your main topic
Main Topic: Oda Nobunaga
Early Life
Owari Province
Military Campaigns
Death
Body
本題は、スピーチの主題に関係する、いくつかのトピックに分かれてること。

Conclusion
ここでは、今まで述べてきたことを、もうー度簡単にまとめて述べます。してわいけないことは、最も言いたかったを初めてここで言うことです。

Conclusion
Review of Key Points
Thoughts and Feelings
Farewell Phrase

Review of Key Points
Tell us what the contents of your speech WERE.
Today, I TALKED about _(Body 1)_, _(Body 2)_, _(Body 3)_, _(Body 4)_.

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Thoughts and Feelings
Tell what you thought about your topic and how you feel now.

Farewell Phrase
Say goodbye
Say thank you
Ex: Thank you for listening!

Example PowerPoint

Main TopicName

Introduction
Body 1
Body 2
Body 3This is your preview
Less words and more pictures is better for a PowerPoint
Include pictures that help explain your speech

Body 1Main points
Main points
Main points
Include pictures that help explain your speech

Body 2Main points
Main points
Main points
Include pictures that help explain your speech

Body 3Main points
Main points
Main points
Include pictures that help explain your speech
The PanSIG 2021 Journal 341

Conclusion
Body 1
Body 2
Body 3This is your review
Include pictures that help explain your speechDiscussion Question Slide
Question
Question
Question

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JALT Special Interest Groups and the
PanSIG Conference
Bilingualism
Our group provides support to families who are bringing up children in two or more languages in Japanese contexts. Our newsletter, Bilingual
Japan, includes practical information about bilingual parenting, as well as academic and theoretical issues. The SIG’s annual forum andbanquet at the national conference provide an opportunity for members to network with other bilingual families. Further information can befound at www.bsig.org.

Business Communication
The JALT Business Communication (BizCom or BC) SIG represents a group of like-minded teachers intended to develop the discipline ofteaching English conducive to participation in the world business community in Japan. To facilitate this, we aim to provide instructors in thisfield with a means of collaboration and sharing best teaching practices.

CEFR and Language Portfolio
CEFR & LP SIG wants to discuss the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) and European Language Portfolio (ELP), andother similar frameworks andtheir relevance for Japan. There is an emphasis on developing materials to support educators who would liketo use these pedagogic tools; the bilingual Language Portfolio for Japanese University is available on the SIG website.

College and University Educators
Our goal is to provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of educational activities, ideas and research of broad interest to college
and university educators in Japan. If you are involved in tertiary education and are committed to professional development, you are CUE too.

Computer Assisted Language Learning
The CALL SIG serves the interests of language teaching professionals who are interested in bringing together knowledge and skills oftechnology and language learning. CALL practitioners work in a variety of educational settings: private language schools, elementary andsecondary schools as well as colleges and universities.

Critical Thinking
The Critical Thinking (CT) SIG was established for the purpose of providing a clear but ever-reforming definition of critical thinking; to provide
a forum for the discussion of critical thinking and praxis; to provide research opportunities to language educators interested in promoting
critical thinking; and to provide an area where language teachers can enjoy friendly, professional and engaging examination of the rationale,validity and, furthermore, the critical importance of its instruction in various environments.

Extensive Reading
The ER SIG exists to help promote extensive reading (ER) in Japan. Through our website, our newsletter, the ERJ Journal, and presentations
throughout Japan we aim to help teachers set up and make the most of their ER programmes.

Gender Awareness in Language Education
The purpose of the GALE SIG is to research gender and its implications for language learning, teaching, and training. We welcome
submissions for our newsletter (spring, summer, and fall issues) on topics, both theoretical and practical, related to the SIG's aims. Book
reviews, lesson plans, think pieces, poetry -- basically anything related to gender and language teaching is welcomed. To see our past
newsletters, please visit our website at www.gale-sig.org.

Global Issues in Language Education

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 343

GILE aims to promote global awareness, international understanding, and action to solve world problems through content-based language
teaching, drawing from fields such as global education, peace education, environmental education, and human rights education. The SIG
produces a quarterly newsletter, organizes presentations for local, national, and international conferences, and maintains contacts withgroups ranging from Amnesty International to Educators for Social Responsibility to UNESCO.

Intercultural Communication in Language Education
This SIG aims to explore various ways language teachers could help shape their students’ intercultural minds, raise their students’ cultural
self-awareness, and educate for intercultural understanding. It promotes discussion about various approaches to teaching interculturalcommunication in a language classroom, allowing educators to become better informed about language intercultural education theory. We
also promote the development of resources appropriate to a foreign language teaching environment while considering the practical challengesof taking culture into account in the language classroom.

Japanese as a Second Language
日本語教育研究部会（JSL SIG）の役割は、第二言語としての日本語指導、日本語学習、日本語教育研究の向上を目指し、指導、学習、研究のための資料や情報を与えることです。日本語の指導者、学習者、研究者の皆様加入大歓迎です。発表の援助をし、ニュースレターと論文集を発行するので論文・記事の寄稿を歓迎します。
The mission of the Japanese as a Second Language (JSL) SIG is to serve as a resource for promoting JSL teaching, learning and research.
We welcome JSL teachers, learners, and researchers to join and take an active role in our SIG.

Learner Development
The Learner Development SIG is an active and supportive community of individuals with a broad range of personal and professional
experiences, all sharing an interest in exploring learner (and educator) development. We encourage anyone with similar interests to join us.
To find out more, please visit our SIG's website, ld-sig.org.

Lifelong Language Learning
We offer a bright future to our aging society. The energy of older learners who wish to lead active lives is flowing all over Japan. LLL (LifeLong Learning) is willing to help these older learners enrich their lives through language learning. LLL also provides resources andinformation for teachers who teach English to older learners by holding events and publishing online newsletters.

Listening
The Listening Special Interest Group (Listening SIG) provides a forum for focused listening research and discussion in specific regard toteaching and learning. The group offers both teachers and researchers a place to connect, collaborate and share practice and research
regarding how teachers teach listening and assess their learners, how learners improve their listening and use it to improve theirknowledge, and finally how theoretical aspects connect to classroom practice.

Literature in Language Teaching
Hi! A hearty welcome to the Literature in Language Teaching SIG. We started up this group to encourage and promote the use of literaturein the language classroom. Literature provides real content to engage and to motivate our EFL students.

Materials Writers
The MW SIG was established for the purpose of helping members to turn fresh teaching ideas into useful classroom materials. We try to bea mutual assistance network, offering information regarding copyright law, sharing practical advice on publishing practices, including selfpublication, and suggesting ways to create better language learning materials for general consumption or for individual classroom use.
教材開発研究部会 (MW) は、メンバーが日々の教育の場で得た新しいアイディアを教材にしていく助けとなることを目的に設立されました。著作権に関すること、自費出版を含めた出版に関する実践的なアドバイス、広く一般学習者または特定の授業のためにどうしたらよ
り良い語学教材が作れるか、といったことに関するアイディアを共有しお互いを高め合える部会であることが願いです。教材開発についてもっと知りたい、自分のアイディアを形にしたいという方、入会大歓迎です。一緒に活動しませんか。

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 344

Mind, Brain, and Education
The Mind, Brain, and Education SIG is a forum for language educators and researchers to share insights in neuroscience. We hope to be a
driving force in bringing relevant new discoveries in psychology, cognitive neuroscience and neurolinguistics into language teaching in Japan.

Mixed, Augmented, and Virtual Realities
Mixed, Augmented and Virtual Realities (MAVR) is not a new concept or area of study, but it an area that is beginning to be implemented ata larger scale in many other fields. There are those of us working in this area connected to education here in Japan and more specificallylanguage education in Japan. Our SIG is not just about the technology, it is also looking into what these technologies mean for how wecommunicate and learn as we create and augment our own reality.

Other Language Educators
Hello; dobr denj; kalimera; ni hao; guten tag; anyong hashimnikka; bonjour, buenos dias; hyvää päivää; bom dia; haisai; konnichiwa!
In a time when we can easily understand where and how other people live, there is still only one surefire way to find out what they think
individually or as a culture: to learn their language. As every culture contains specific patterns of thought and mindsets which cannot always
be put into English or translated easily from one language to another, learning its language opens the door to that culture and the countries
using it. The purpose of the OLE SIG is to serve the special needs of such learners and teachers.

Performance in Education
The mission of the Performance in Education (PIE) SIG is to provide a forum for teachers and academics to discuss, research, and implement
oral interpretation, speech, debate, and drama in language education. The main activities are creation of a newsletter and sponsoring a
National Speech, Drama, and Debate Contest. Future activities may be the sponsoring of workshops and conferences, and supporting local
and regional speech, drama, and debate contests or festivals.

Pragmatics
The Pragmatics SIG welcomes members who are interested in both research and practical teaching issues related to "how people do things
with words." The group's newsletter, Pragmatic Matters, is published electronically three times a year. Our Pragmatics Resources series
offers practical and theoretical papers on language in use. If you do anything with language, you are using pragmatics! So, come join us!

School Owners
Language School owners have always played a significant role in JALT both at national & local levels. The SO SIG is where owners canshare ideas, experiences, and solutions to the academic and commercial challenges they face which cannot be addressed through other
SIGs. If you have questions or would like to learn more about what the SIG provides, please contact us at so@jalt.org or visit our website
at https://jaltsosig.wixsite.com/home.

Study Abroad
The Study Abroad SIG welcomes anyone interested into its wide membership, domestically and overseas. The aim is to facilitate an active
and working network of faculty, staff, and students who can share and exchange experiences, knowledge, and knowhow on how to plan,
prepare, implement, and evaluate different study abroad programs/experiences. Study abroad includes all categories of inbound andoutbound, one-way study abroad, exchange, internships, experience, and cultural programs. The goal for many SIG members is to network,
to collect and share data and information for future collaboration, research, presentations, and papers in the area of study abroad.

Task-Based Learning
The JALT Task-Based Learning (TBL) SIG is a Special Interest Group aimed at teachers who currently use, or are interested in using, taskbased approaches in the classroom. The SIG focuses in particular on issues related to Task-Based Language teaching and learning in the
Asian EFL context, where TBLT has yet to enter the mainstream of language pedagogy. We hope that the SIG will serve as a useful forum
for the exchange of practical teaching ideas, theoretical discussion, and academic studies of TBLT issues.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 345

Teacher Development
The Teacher Development SIG is a group committed to helping ourselves and our peers to become more effective language teachers inorder to better serve learners. As such, our varied activities and interests include forums, conferences, and journals about professional
development, practitioner research, and reflective practice. Our SIG offers opportunities for teachers from different educational settings tocome together for careful and critical reflections and explorations of their practice, with a view to developing as professionals. The TD SIG isa flexible group, open to new ideas and potential collaborations.

Teachers Helping Teachers
The THT SIG began from the charity work of the late Bill Balsamo and we organize 4 overseas conferences in Laos (Feb/Mar), Vietnam(Early August), Kyrygystan and Bangladesh (Sept, date depends on Ramadan) as well as work to develop overseas volunteer opportunities.
Participants pay their own way, and are asked to prepare 2-3 presentations (practical presentations are most welcome) that they may present
multiple times to organize and fill out the conference schedule. For more information, please contact thtjalt@gmail.com.

Teaching Younger Learners
The TYL SIG is for teachers of younger learners. This SIG was formed by the merger of the JALT Teaching Children SIG and the Junior
Senior High SIG in February 2015. The goal of the TYL SIG is to support those involved with or simply interested in the teaching of languages
to learners aged 0-18. We publish a bilingual newsletter with columns by many of the leading teachers in the field.

Testing and Evaluation
The Testing and Evaluation SIG aims to provide avenues for research, information, and discussion related to foreign language testing andevaluation both from within JALT membership and with other professional organizations which have common interests and goals. Please
visit our website at www.jalt.org/test.

Vocabulary
The Vocabulary Special Interest Group (Vocab SIG) provides a forum for focused research and discussion in specific regard to vocabularyacquisition. We offer both teachers and researchers a place to connect regarding how learners improve vocabulary knowledge, how to test
their knowledge, and how these theoretical aspects connect to classroom practice. The Vocabulary SIG aims to be a driving force for bothcurrent and future research in the field of how vocabulary can be taught, learned, and tested in an increasingly global context.

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PanSIG Journal 2021
ISBN# 978-4-901352-57-4
Patrick Conaway –Editor-in-Chief
Duncan Iske –Associate Editor
PanSIG Journal 2021
Selected articles from the 2021 PanSIG Conference

JALT Central OfficeUrban Edge Bldg. 5F, 1-37-9 Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0016, Japan
http://jalt.org/
http://www.pansig.org/

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 347

PanSIG Journal 2021

ISBN# 978-4-901352-57-4
Created and Edited by Patrick Conaway and Duncan Iske

PanSIG is a yearly conference held by the Special Interest Groups in
the Japan Association of Language Teachers.

The PanSIG 2021 Journal 348