『地域政策研究』（高崎経済大学地域政策学会）
Success第and12 Student
巻 第３号
Autonomy
2009 年 11 月

41 頁〜 60 頁

Success and Student Autonomy− CD ROMs and Computers in ESL −− Collaborated Research −Marie COSGROVE

Abstract:"Eigo no hatsuon g a hiyakuteki ni ag ari,jibun demo touwakushiteiru" "My Eng lish
pronunciation suddenly became so good, even I am surprised" "Kaiwa de eigo wo kikitoru no ga
hayakunarimashita. Motto iroirona kaiwa wo yori ooku okonaitaidesu." "Through conversation myability to comprehend spoken English became faster. More and more I want to increase to a greater
degree the chance to converse in English on various topics."

Students words!

Using CD-ROM, containing video, as an out-of-class exercise to improve listening
comprehension, pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and of course reading and writing ability;
allows the classroom to become a place where students can actively converse and discuss inEnglish, fully utilizing the English knowledge they have gleaned through 6 or 7 years of mainly
passive study. Using the resources of the Internet in an easily accessible link form also stimulates
motivation and further encourages student autonomy. The results of many years of ongoing action
research shows that using CD-ROM and an easily accessible hyperlink system increases students
chances of success with a resultant improvement in attitude and an increase in motivation to study.

The Problem; How to encourage Japanese students to help themselves, in other words, to beautonomous in learning vocabulary and honing their listening skills. Shimo's (2002) p15, researchshows that an unacceptably high proportion of students who have learned English in the Japanese
formal education system generally do not have much training in listening comprehension andtherefore lack listening skills. Students who study abroad say," One cannot learn listening eﬀectively
in Japan". These Japanese learners who were studying in the U.S. reﬂected on their learning inJapan. They believe that they had limited opportunities, to promote listening comprehension
skills in Japan, because of the limited availability of useful materials and also Japanese students
reluctance to be distinct from others. Availability of useful materials is one factor that formed thelearners' disbelief in the eﬀectiveness of learning listening comprehension skills in Japan.
The learner's unfavorable attitude towards being distinct by doing something unfamiliar is− 41 −

Marie COSGROVE

partially related to the negative belief that one cannot learn listening in Japan. (ibid) Students thus
expect teachers to provide practice (techniques) designed on the basis of scientiﬁc reasoning andthat their approach to teaching listening include consideration of learner's feelings and attitude, sothat they can be positively engaged in learning activities with less anxiety. (ibid) Brown H (1994
and 2001) gives a checklist for intrinsically motivating techniques for students (ﬁgure 3). Shimo(2002) states that teachers may be able to assist their students in modifying their negative or
incorrect beliefs, that might interfere with eﬀective learning processes, by providing a suﬃcientamount of listening training after considering the scientiﬁc and psychological eﬀects on thelearners. (ibid)
The solution; CD-ROMS and computers have been found to have a motivating eﬀect on
students. Sharma (1998) states "It is clear to see how motivating CD-ROM can be for somestudents" Paul Brett, University of Wolverhampton UK, in his foreword in (Sharma 1998) agrees
with this "My experience is that learners thoroughly enjoy learning with CD-ROMS" <http://
www.wlv.ac.uk/˜le1969> Brett lists the practical reasons for advocating multimedia CD-ROMS
as "They have endless repeatability, never getting tired like us teachers. They can be used when,
where and how learners wish." This is a very valid point as not all students listen at the same paceso with a CD-ROM they can listen as many times as they feel they want to. In a classroom situation
they may feel they needed to listen more but the teacher has to limit the amount of times, to ﬁtin the time schedule and also prevent boredom for the students whose listening skills are better.
Brett also says CD-ROM use changes the role of the teacher as he/she can be freed up to focus on
individuals and individual diﬃculties. Brett states that the psychological eﬀects on learners whileinteracting with computers indicate that learners' senses are highly aroused and stimulated. As
well the multi media environment can aid the processing and recall of information and language
and with CD-ROM the students are highly involved thus creating fertile conditions for language
learning. Krashen (1985) proposed that it was comprehensible input that triggered language
acquisition. According to Brett, multimedia can both provide input through text, sound, video andcombinations of these and make the input more comprehensible. In face-to-face communication,
learners use strategies such as comprehension checks, clariﬁcation requests and asking for
repetition to aid comprehension and multi-media CD-ROM, replicate these processes.
CD-ROM and computer have been found to have a motivating eﬀect on students and the
majority of students enjoy using CD-ROM see graphs (Figures 4,5,6,7,8,9,10) and questionnaire(ﬁgure 11) and class size is not a variable. Both large and small classes show similar results. In
another questionnaire given to students at the end of the course 93% of the second year GU
students say that they prefer to study English in the computer room. 85% of these students say− 42 −

Success and Student Autonomy

they use the Internet to study English after a year or six months of being introduced to Internet
language learning sites to help them study. <http://home.att.ne.jp/gamma/mari-at-oz> The majorityof students prefer conversation practice questions than any other activity or technique for classtime study (Cosgrove 2001) (Brown H. 1994-2001, see Figure 3 No.1, 4 etc.)
Bialystok (1983) says" While aptitude and motivational diﬀerences among learners provide animportant estimate of the success achieved in mastering a foreign language they cannot accountfor the modiﬁcations, which can be made to the learners' competence through speciﬁc language
learning activities. Freiermuth M (1998) states, "One of the relationships that CALL must beconcerned with is the relationship among learners, namely how they interact. For all learners tofeel part of the class, participation between learners is vital. These relationships can be forged bylearners engaged in computer use in unique ways the traditional classroom could never oﬀer."
Chapelle (2001) p55 gives a list of criteria for CALL task appropriateness. (ﬁgure 1)

Figure 1
1.Language learning potential

The degree of opportunity
beneficial focus on form.

2. Learner fit

The amount of opportunity for engagementwith language under appropriate conditions
given learner characteristics.

3. Meaning Focus

The extent to which learner’s attention is
directed toward the meaning of the language.

4. Authenticity

The degree of correspondence between the
CALL activity and target language activities ofinterest to learners out of the classroom.

5.Positive Impact

The positive effects of the CALL activity on
those who participate in it.

6. Practicality

The adequacy of resources to support the useof the CALL activity.

present

for

CD-ROM Course Content; The CD-ROMs contain both synthetic and analytical material. The
video scenes are a mixture of short sketches, which entertain while focusing on a particularlanguage point and documentary ﬁlm where people talk about a variety of subjects in diﬀerent
environments. Because the information is portrayed visually it is easier for students to understandand most importantly students can study at their own pace and without peer pressure they would
feel in a group oriented classroom. If video is shown by the teacher it is impossible to satisfy
each individual student's needs as the number of times the video can be replayed is limited bytime. (ibid) Intrinsic motivation is said to be, in Second Language Acquisition, the degree of eﬀort− 43 −

Marie COSGROVE

a learner makes to learn a second language as a result of the interest generated by a particularlearning activity. In this case the learners are using video activities at their own pace and being
able to control for themselves the medium, in this case, interactive CD-ROM. This in turn triggers
resultative motivation, the motivation that learners develop as a result of their success in learning
the second language.

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instruction based
student based������ ������������ ��������
���� ����������
��������: arouse and sustain
curiosity and attention���������: connect instruction
to important needs andmotives����������: develop
confidence in success������������: manage extrinsic
and intrinsic reinforcement��������� �������� ������

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The Theory
Brown and Yule (1983) put the functions of language into two main categories, transactional
and interactional. Transactional language needs to be accurate to transfer information and must
be properly understood or there may be unfortunate if not disastrous consequences e.g. Doctor
explains to nurse, scientist describes an experiment, pilot communicates with control tower etc… On the other hand, interactional language is primarily concerned with a great deal of everyday
human interaction and in establishing and maintaining social relationships. Interactions on thewhole are or should be fun, enjoyable, pleasant.
In interactions the speaker is under considerable pressure to keep on talking during the− 44 −

Success and Student Autonomy

period allocated to him. The speaker knows that any words heard by the interlocutor will be, if notwhat he intended, able to be repaired actively and publicly. By contrast writing which is mainlytransactional and yet interactional in the form of letters and e-mails etc., can be crossed out (erased)
and rewritten in the privacy of one's homes (ibid)
The advantages for the speaker are that he can observe his interlocutor and modify what heis saying to make it more accessible or acceptable to his hearer. The classroom with empathetic
peers (all in the same boat) as interlocutors is the ideal place to practice interactional language
because it is spontaneous and students can monitor each others language usage, breakdowns etc
and if the responses are written down as they occur (ideal in large classes) then the teacher cancheck the response and give ideas for more natural usage or grammar correction if necessary. e.g.
many students in a Japanese ﬁrst year private University class had a habit to answer to a "why"question with "since" instead of "because". This pattern can be observed in large classes only if
the responses to questions are recorded. In a spoken interaction the speaker has the advantage ofbeing able to monitor the listener's minute-by-minute reaction to what he says. The disadvantage ishe must expose his own feelings and speak clearly and concisely and make immediate response to
his interlocutor's reactions.
The disadvantage of pair work classroom interactions is that they are both non-native
speakers and native like responses are not inherently available to them so must be taught bynative or near native speaker teachers. This is the big advantage of getting written responses inlarge classes as the appropriate responses can be taught creating an ongoing development in
students' conversational repertoire. These written responses can be perused by the teacher as theywalk around the classroom observing the pair or group work and immediately repaired or can becollected and checked in more detail and then taught to the whole class. Fanselow (1987)p267
says "Whenever feedback is provided the setting becomes a teaching setting" Oxford (1989) p194
"Many language learning strategies take place mentally and cannot be observed by the teacher.
For instance, associating,elaborating,using imagery and guessing intelligently are invisible ormentallistic strategies. However, co-operating with peers,asking for clariﬁcation and veriﬁcationand overcoming limitations in speaking are directly observable..
Schacter (1987) Learning Memory and Cognition 13, 501-18 states about implicit memorythat "subjects demonstrate that they possess a particular kind of knowledge by their performanceon a task, yet they are not consciously aware that they possess the knowledge and can not gain
access to it explicitly" p513. From this we can assume that students don't know until they try toactually use it in conversation and discussion exactly how much implicit knowledge they have.
After studying for 6 years minimum at junior and senior high school level, without much chance for− 45 −

Marie COSGROVE

oral practice, the enjoyment in pair work is the realization that they can speak and achieve and also
hear other peers communicate successfully. The more they speak the more enjoyable it becomes as
they rely more and more on implicit memory. The students also learn naturally the concept of turntaking in communication a necessity in conversational interaction and social relationships.Students
also learn short turns and long turns. Brown and Yule (1983)

Figure3

In top down processing students rely on background knowledge, which is held in mental
storage or implicit memory. Using explicit knowledge students do bottom up processing e.g.
working out the meaning of words and the structure of a sentence and build up a composite
meaning of the sentences etc. Swain M. (1985):p249 says that producing the target language
may be the target that focus the learner to pay attention to the means of expression in orderto successfully convey his or her own intended meaning. Swain also claims that the process ofachieving comprehensible output leads to more accurate production of the foreign language andthis conscious focus on the language used in the message may help the speakers to remember
the correct form on later occasions. Swain's research suggests that students can be "pushed" toproduce more accurate language by the demands of classroom speaking tasks especially those
involving an information gap. According to the CO (communicative output) hypothesis learners− 46 −

Success and Student Autonomy

stand to gain from the experience of encountering communication problems. But to do so, theyneed to be able to carry out conversational repair eﬀectively which makes it necessary for bothlearners and teachers to be aware of what is required for successful negotiation of meaning.
Tony Lynch (1996) says that we (teachers) need to develop techniques for turning thenegotiation of meaning into learning opportunities. Also we (teachers) need to ﬁnd ways of raisinglearners' awareness of the tactical choices open to them in tackling communication problems.
Using computer dictionaries, translators, thesaurus, search engines etc…. provide students with a
non-invasive way to ﬁll communication gaps, which are not available in a conventional classroom.
Carol 1977 p2 notes that it is through the adoption of appropriate learning sets and strategies thatlearners can often be successful even when the talents they bring to the task are moderate or evenminimal.
Bialystock (1985) also says that while aptitude (some factors in the selection andimplementation of communication strategies) and motivational diﬀerences among learners provide
an important estimate of the success achieved in mastering a foreign language they can notaccount for the modiﬁcations which can be made to the learners' competence through speciﬁclanguage learning activities.
Keller (1983) who says, "Eﬀort is the direct indicator of motivation" gives a motivational
design of instruction. First we analyze the motivational problem found by L2 Ss in Japan. Figure
2 The ARCS model of Motivational design is an easy-to-apply, heuristic approach to increasing
the motivational appeal of instruction. ARCS provides a useful framework for both the design
and improvement of the motivational quality of a range of informational entities; from classroom
instruction to Internet resources and increases the likelihood that these entities will be used andenjoyed.
Ellis (1988) p68 Writing about early L2 speakers linguistic competence states that "Oneway of characterizing language development may be as the gradual replacement of a reliance onfamiliar sentences with an ability to understand and produce novel sentences."" Cognitive linguists believe that our shared experience of the world is also stored in our everyday
language and can thus be gleaned from the way we express our ideas"
Thus in second language learning not only language learners but also language teachers canbe discourse analysts looking for linguistic regularities found in ways of speaking and ways ofwriting. Within a communicative CALL classroom, where students are using grammatically correctquestions, students are becoming more aware of patterns and regularities in the production,interpretation and responses required of them.

− 47 −

Marie COSGROVE(CD-ROM is INTERACTIVE Students have to input to get output 4, 5,7,8,9,10)

Figure 4

GU ElectiveClass Students 2002 Blue
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Figure 5

GU Elective class's perceived value of efficacy of
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use cd-rom tolearn otherlanguage

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Figure 6

Economics (Environment) Students FirstYear GU

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use cd-rom to learn
other languageSuccess and Student Autonomy

Figure 8

PU red cd-rom 86 Students

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PU Economics students valuation of Efficacy of CD-ROM
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Figure 11− 49 −

910

use CD-ROM tolearn otherlanguageMarie COSGROVE

Discourse in the classroom
The students who used CD-ROM and classroom conversations were shown by collaborating
Japanese Professors to get very obviously higher scores in basic English tests given to all classes
not just those using CD-ROMs Also TOEFL and TOEIC test scores were higher for listening. As aresult some Japanese teachers were interested to observe the classes and some participated byconversing with students using prepared questions. This is one example
Japanese English teacher's conversation with student in PU Written answers of students words
Question paper ( not included)
1. "Yes, I do".
2. ".Because in autumn, foods are very delicious."
3. "Cosmos".
4. " Japanese pear"
5. "Oyster"
6. "Milk"
7. "Sports"
8. "Yes, I can."
9. "Blue"
10. "Museum"
11. "No favorite place."
12. "Athletic Meeting"
13. Okutama
14. Dragonﬂy song
15. Yes, I do.
16. Kusatsu
17. No, I don't.
18. Yes, I do.
19. Yes, I do.
20. Sports
21. No, I don't.
22. Yes, I have.
23. Jump. No. Fujioka Library
24. Yes. Yomuiri newspaper
25. Yes, many programs. News and Variety shows.

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Success and Student Autonomy

PU student's conversation with Japanese English teacher.
1. Yes, I do.
2. Because it is not to hot to cold "too" is a spelling mistake on the part of the student
3. I like a Cosmos
4. I like persimmon
5. I like food a Japanese pear and oyster.
6. I like drink a pear jusu

" juice." A spelling mistake of the student.

7. It is peinting pecuter. "painting picture" spelling mistake of the student.
8. Yes, I do.
9. I like autumn colors like orienge. " Orange" a spelling mistake of the student.
10. Art museum.
11. I favorite to go to Nixtuto. Perhaps he is writing Nikko a place in Japan famous for autumn
sightseeing. (common mistake "I" instead of "my")(It should be noted that in Japanese it is not necessary to use the subject to be understood,
whereas, in English it is usual. e.g. suki ni ikimashita I went skiing in Nagano last weekend withfriends. In English we usually also give more details.Therefore Japanese students need to be taught
to use the subject and elaborate.)
12. I went to Michigan in autumn there were many yellow leaves.
13. I would you like a river Naguri. (mistake by student.)
14. Yes, I do. The name is Japanese maple.
15. Yes, I do. I like to go to Atami.
16. I plan yo gone a bike ride. (mistake by student.)
17. Yes, I do.
18. Yes, I do. I listen to classical music..
19. Yes, I do. I like to visit national Western Art Museum.
20. I like to cook many autumn dishes.
21. No I haven't.
22. Yes, I have. The name of the books " Gakko Ikana Son Son"
23. I haven't read magazines.
24. Yes, I do.
25. I read Yomuiri and Japanese keizai (economics) newspaper.
26. Yes, I do. NHK news. (Japanese national broadcasting television)
The conversation is not very natural because the Japanese teacher does not add any morequestions. The student is also probably feeling shy with a teacher partner.
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Marie COSGROVE

Conversation between Native English Speaking teacher and PU student in the same class,
1. Yes, because I like the colored leaves.
What tree do you like?
I like Japanese maple.
3 Cluster amaryllis (higanbana) (student very quickly used the internet dictionary without any
hesitation)
4. I like Japanese pear.
5. I like chestnut rice.
6. I like black coﬀee.
7. I like walking in the park, reading a book
8. I like very much.
9. I like brown.
10. I will go to my high school.
What high school did you go to?
Omiya Chuo Communication System.
Where do you live?
Niza.
11. I like to go to Oizumi Gakuen Park.
12. I went to school festival in high school.
I was on the student council. I was very happy because our school festival success.
Teacher was a successStudent repeating was a success.
13. I would like to go to Tokyo Disneyland because there are Halloween parades.
14. Yes, I do example Japanese maple song Red dragonﬂy song
15. Yes, I like it very much. I like to go to Chichibu with my mother.
16. I will go to a sports festival and I will go to Sugami in Tokyo.
Teacher Why?
Student my grandfather (correction by student) grandmother wants to go there
17. Yes, I like I'm reading "Mazushiki hito bito" (used internet dictionary "Poor people")
18. Yes, I like. I'm listening to pop music.
Teacher What pop music?
Student Back street boys
Teacher What song do you like?
Student "I want it that way"
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Success and Student Autonomy

Teacher What is the meaning of that song?
Student (laughing) I like the melody
19. Yes, I like Renoir and Monet
20. I like walking a long time alone nearby my house. I walk the dog.
Teacher What's your dog's name?
Student His name is Momo
21. I want to watch but I have no time.
Teacher What do you want to watch? What movie?
Student Tom Hanks Road to perdition
22. student uses Internet dictionary. I read Hakuchi Foolish
23. I don't read magazines. I don't lend Teacher Borrow
Student corrects herself. I don't borrow books
No, I don't
Teacher Why not?
Student I have to do something
Teacher else
Student Yes, something else.
Student and I study my homework and I use Internet
24. No, but I watch the news on T.V.
Teacher Does your family get a newspaper?
Student My house hasn't a newspaper
25. Yes, I watch the news and animation and variety.
GU University students conversation
Students TK and TY volunteered to be taped for this exercise.
TK is answering the questions.
1. I went to Naeba to play snowboard.
2. (no answer)
3. (no answer)
4. No, I don't. Because I don't like Osechi (Japanese New Year cuisine).
I don't eat mochi. (Japanese rice cakes)
5. I don't like New Year foods.
6. I didn't play games in the New Year. I have never played New Year games.
7. I don't visit them. I don't wear them.
8. I didn't make a New Year resolution.
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Marie COSGROVE

9. I enjoyed my vacation and (the) score is 8
10. No I haven't. I didn't speak English.
11. No I don't watch movies.
12. I don't listen to English songs.
13. No I don't study English conversation.
14. I don't like sumo so I don't watch the New Year tournament. I like to watch baseball on TV
Recorded conversation. between two male students in PU
Do you like autumn?
Yes, I like the autumn season
Why do you like it?
Somehow
What is your favorite autumn fruits (Japanese pronunciation of fruit)
My favorite autumn fruits is Japanese pear (Japanese pronunciation of fruit; furutsu sounds likeplural fruits and not singular fruit)
What is your favorite autumn food?
My favorite autumn food is oyster (use of singular instead of plural)(nante, ittakke: What did I say) (use of L1)
What is your favorite autumn drink?
My favorite autumn drink is green tea.
What do you like to do in autumn?
I like to reading some books in autumn. (student's grammatical error)
Do you like to go hiking to see the fall colors?
I don't like to go hiking to see….
What is your favorite autumn color?
My favorite autumn color is black.
Black? Where do you like to go in autumn?
I like to go to some mountains in autumn.
Where is your favorite place to go hiking?
Especially nothing
What are your best memories of autumn?
I forgot. (laughter)If you could go somewhere in autumn, where would you like to go?
If I could go somewhere this autumn I would like to go Australia.
I don't know
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Success and Student Autonomy

Do you like to go to a hot spring in autumn?
Yes, I like to a hot spring in autumn
Where?
Atami
What do you plan to do this autumn?
I have no plan to do this autumn
Do you like to read books in autumn?
I don't like reading to the books. (students grammatical error)(ima, mujyunn shiteiru jyanai: I think what you are saying now is diﬀerent)
Do you like to listen to music?
Yes, I like to listen to music in autumn
Do you like to visit art museums in autumn?
I don't like to visit art museum in autumn.
What do you like to do in autumn?
Ahh Only sleeping (laughter)(tuginomondai: next question)
Do you like to go walking in the park?
No neverHave you watched any memories recently? (students mistake)No I've not watched any movies recently (correcting partners mistake)
Have you read any interesting books recently?
No I've not read any interesting books recently.
What magazines have you read recently?
I read magazine. (magazine is the name of a Japanese manga (comic)magazine)
Do you read the magazine in the library?
No I don't read magazines in the library.
Do you read the newspaper every day?
No I don't read the newspaper every day.
Do you watch television every day?
Yes, I watch television every day
What program?
Umm Usually sports TV programs.
PU students changed but the time ran out.
Do you like the autumn season?
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Marie COSGROVE

Yes, I like autumn.
(douiuimi?: what does it mean?)
I don't know.
His favorite autumn ﬂower is Japanese maple.
(amaika) is that answer appropriate?
(a sokka sokka: I see)Class is time over.
Only one student volunteered to be taped so we do not know what his partner said in the last part.
GU students taped conversation with student volunteers.
MM Recorder is MM Answer is TY
MM Do you like winter?
TY I like winter
MM What things do you like to do during the winter season?
TY I want to play yuki gasen it's very exciting sports in JapanMM What are your favorite winter fruits?
TY I like apples so it's very sweety.
MM What are your favorite winter foods?
TY I like nabe. It's the dish that warms the body. (a traditional Japanese cuisine)
MM What are your favorite winter vegetables?
TY My favorite is Chinese cabbage
MM What are your favorite winter games?
TY I like to play karurta game in winter. ( Japanese New Year game)
MM What do you do on snowy days? TY I will make a snow man
MM What do you do to keep warm in your house?
TY It' s air conditioner or kotatsu.
MM Have you ever been down hill skiing?
TY No I have not been it but I want to try it.
MM What plan do you have for the winter vacation?
TY My winter vacation plan is hatsumode in winters day. ( ﬁrst visit of the year to the shrine or
temple)MM Do you like to read books? TY I like to read books
MM What's the name of a good book that you have read recently? (pronunciation of read inpresent tense) TY It's name is Ningen da monoIt's writer is Mitsuo Aida

MM What book do you want to read? TY I want to read some novels− 56 −

Success and Student Autonomy

MM Do you do any exercise? TY I don't do some exercise but I want to do swimming.
MM Do you like to make things with your hands
TY No I don't like it but I like completing a jigsaw puzzle.
MM Do you like to play music or listen to music?
What is your favorite music? TY I like to listen to music.
My favorite music is Kazumasa Oda
MM Do you like to watch video movies or movies on the TV?
TY Yeah, I like to watch movies on TV but I like to watch in a movie theater like…….
MM Do you use the Internet to study English?
TY Yeah, I use Internet to study English. I use in order to investigate the language it's not known
MM Thank you
Reporter is TY Answer is MM
TY Do you like winter?
MM Yes, I like winter.
TY What things do you like to do during the winter season?
MM I like to watch illumination
TY What is your favorite winter fruits? MM My favorite winter fruits is orange.
TY What's your favorite winter foods? MM My favorite winter vegetable is Chinese cabbage.(MMskipped this question and answered the next question without being asked)(This could mean the Ss remembered the answer but not the question related to it)
TY What's are your favorite winter games? MM My favorite winter game is skate.
TY What do you do on snowy days? MM I'm in kotatsu.
TY What do you do to keep warm in your house?
MM I keep warm in kotatsu in my house
TY Have you ever been ice skate. MM Yes, it is ﬁne
TY What plan do you have for the winter vacation MM I plans to Christmas party.
TY Do you like to read books? MM No, I don't like to read books
TY Do you do any exercise? MM Yes, I do. I running
TY Do you like to make things with your hands?
MM Yes, I do TY What do you make? MM I'm a Sunday carpentry
TY Do you like to play music or listen to music? MM Yes, Ido
TY What's your favorite music? My favorite music is Japanese Japan pops.
TY Do you like to watch video movies or movies on TV? MM No, I don't.
TY Do you use the Internet to study English? MM Yes, Internet is very convenient.
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Marie COSGROVE

Discussion
Connor (1996) reports that developing and nurturing learner's awareness of the patterns andregularities of language is believed to be beneﬁcial, since it can contribute to the learner's ability to
use language that is both linguistically accurate and socially appropriate. Using prepared questions
students are learning the patterns and regularities of the language and being creative in their
responses. Savignon (1983) says competence is behaviors of those considered successful at what
they do. Communicating (getting our message across) concerns us all whatever language we use.
Our successes are a continual source of jubilation. Meaning is negotiated between the persons
involved so communication is a continuous process of expression, interpretation and negotiationand it is only through performance that competence can be developed, maintained and evaluated.
(ibid) Savignon notes the importance of success brought about through performance. Brown H.D.
(1987) categorizes competence into discourse and grammatical, sociolinguistic and a knowledgeof sociocultural rules of language necessary for appropriateness and strategic. Strategic being theway we manipulate language to meet communicative goals. Bachman (1987) further categorizedcompetence into language, psychomotor and pragmatic as well as strategic, with sociolinguistic
falling under pragmatic and grammatical under language. Savignon (1983) states appropriate asadequate, happy, successful in relation to the context in which it is used and evaluated. In thiscase the conversations recorded were appropriate as the students recorded they felt happy andsuccessful in their communicative ability. Cosgrove (2003)<http://ltsig.org.uk/newsletter-archive/
38-1999-2003/99-summer-2003.html> Riggenbach (1999) p37 says " I believe that if a researchquestion is focused and the task is structured, even a novice language researcher can undertake a
discourse analysis project. She goes on to recommend that researchers-including discourse analysts- need to be conscious of the ways that their own histories and experiences intersect with theresearch at all stages. Having studied Japanese to an advanced level this researcher is consciousof the need for the students to be learning and acquiring simultaneously and the importance ofhelping conversations with prepared questions. Using video for listening gives visual clues to help
students comprehension and understanding of lexical items.
Conclusion
Ohta (2001) says "The ﬁndings (L2 Classroom) show private speech to be a creative locus of
linguistic manipulation and hypothesis testing; a covert social space in which learners actively
involve themselves in language lessons when they are not the focus of teacher attention. Picaand Doughty (1985) p115 say " it has been shown that when non native speakers engage in
genuine communication with each other, as opposed to a native speaker interlocutor, they appear
to experience a greater degree of involvement in their negotiation for message meaning (data− 58 −

Success and Student Autonomy

collected from three classrooms during two typical ES communication activities.) Pica et al (1996)
p59 emphasis that their study indicated that interaction between L2 learners can address someof their input, feedback and output needs, but acknowledge that of course it does not provide as
much modiﬁed input and feed back as interaction with NSs does. They also say that as teachers
ask language learners to work together on communication tasks, they can be conﬁdent thatthe interaction can assist L2 learning. (p80 ibid) Helgerson (1994) says that even by the end of
junior high school Japanese students have studied English for over 33 hours and are expected toknow nearly 1,000 words. Then through three years of senior high school studying and learning
continued and now with some help from AET or NS English teachers most master what they havebeen taught especially College and University students. Therefore to ignore what they have learned
is to waste those precious six or more years because to "start from scratch again" would bore andbelittle them (ibid) The key is to activate the English they already have and by this put them intouch with what they know and help them develop the ability to use it. Pair work and group work is
a step in the right direction as shown by the dialogues recorded in this paper and by many years of
research in Japanese university classrooms. See Cosgrove (2001)<http://jaltcall.org/cjo/10̲2.pdf>
CD-ROM with video segments and/or Internet video segments (stories) with online tasks area relatively new concept in CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning or LT (Learning
Technologies.) What Egbert et al (2005) describe as the crucial variables, context, task, tool,
language and people that all have an impact on learner achievement does not include class size.
This probably comes under context. In this research class size was found not to be a distinctive
variable. However in one recent student questionnaire the smaller class had an almost perfect
spider graph. Variables such as having a computer at home with Internet connection, travelling
time between university and home, peer support were found to be very important variables
Bullying is rife in Japan and this comes under peer support or lack of it. That is why individual help
for the student by the teacher is necessary. Giving students the control of the medium, video, frees
the teacher to discover any variables in the classroom that can be eliminated. Gass (1997) p155
"The teacher's role is to bring to consciousness an awareness of how the language works as thestudent needs it." Gass reports on discourse analysis in interactions as does Ohta (2001)
CD-ROMs containing video and related course work in a listening format, can be tested by listening
tests, allow students to study at their own pace, promote student autonomy and as shown by thedata over many years are an enjoyable, pleasurable tool. Collaboration between Japanese teachersof English was necessary to prove the success of this method by comparing results with students
who have not used CD-ROM to study.
（マリー

コズグローブ・高崎経済大学地域政策学部非常勤講師）− 59 −

Marie COSGROVE
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