The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Narratives: Raising the Happiness Quotient

Edited & Published by JALT PanSIG
Proceedings Editor-in-Chief
Gavin Brooks
Doshisha University

Editors
Mathew Porter (Fukuoka Jo Gakuin University)
Donna Fujimoto (Osaka Jogakuin University)
Donna Tatsuki (Kobe City University of Foreign Studies.)

Layout and Design by
Gavin Brooks

Message from the editors:
The 14th Annual PanSIG Conference was held at Kobe City University of Foreign Studies
on May 16th and 17th, 2015. The theme of the conference was, “Narratives: Raising theHappiness Quotient.” This was a collaborative effort from 26 Special Interest Groups (SIGs)
within the Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT). The conference was highly
successful and participants were able to attend presentations on a variety of topics from a wide
spectrum in the fields of language teaching and learning.
With this year conference the name of the post conference publication has been changed
to the 2015 PanSIG Journal to reflect the work that the authors’ put into their papers. Witha blind peer review process and dedicated reviewing and editing committees, along withmotivated and professional authors, the quality of the papers submitted to the post conference
publication is consistently very high. The same is true for the papers that have been included in
the 2015 PanSIG Journal. This year’s publication is a representative effort from the conferencein Kobe and 30 papers from a number of different SIGs on a diverse range of topics were
accepted for publication in this year’s volume. These include papers that focus on both research
topics and teaching practices and serve to highlight the effort and creativity of the participantsof the conference and the members of the SIGs involved. The quantity of presentations andpublished papers from the conference are increasing year by year and show the professional
determination of talented individuals who have shared their thoughts and insights on teaching
languages. We are honoured and proud to have been a part of this process.
We would like to thank all of the contributors for submitting their papers for this publication.
We are also very grateful for the readers of the papers who suggested changes to the authors andcontributed to the high quality of this volume. The success of these proceedings is a cumulative
effort from a large number of individuals. We hope that you will enjoy reading the papers inthese proceedings and that you can gain some insight for your professional development.

Gavin Brooks
Mathew Porter
Donna Fujimoto
Donna Tatsuki
May 14, 2015

ii

The 2015 PanSIG JournalMessage from the conference chairs:
All good stories have an ending, and this publication of the 2015 PanSIG Journal marks the
successful final closure of the 14th Annual PanSIG Conference held at Kobe City University ofForeign Studies. The theme, “Narratives: Raising the Happiness Quotient” resonated positively
throughout the two-day conference with the plenary and featured speakers all demonstrating
how stories and storytelling can create successful and happy outcomes in the classroom. There
was drama as well, with some doubting that we could pull off a conference in only six months.
Having worked at the university for years, we (the Conference Co-Chairs) were familiar withthe campus, and, most importantly, the faculty and administrative staff had had experience
holding important events, and, thus, had no hesitation in giving their full support to acting
as the host institution. Once the decision was made, many SIG leaders and members cameon board to work on all the details that are essential for a solid conference. The feedback frommany conference goers was favorable, and many loved the idea of exchanging stories of all
types. Happily, the conference was quite profitable contributing not only to SIG coffers, but,of course, to their happiness quotient.
For some presenters the end of the conference was not yet the end of their efforts, as they
continued working on their presentations by submitting articles for these proceedings. During
the school year and even during their breaks, they worked closely with the editors revising,
sometimes multiple times. All of this collaborative work has paid off, and there is no doubtthat with the completion of this 2015 PanSIG Journal the happiness quotient of the writers,
the editors, and readers has increased significantly. We congratulate the writers, and we wish
to thank everyone who contributed to the conference. It is indeed a great pleasure to see that
now these proceedings are a happy reminder of the 2015 PanSIG Conference!

Donna Fujimoto
Osaka Jogakuin University
Donna Tatsuki
Kobe City University of Foreign Studies
May 19, 2015
The 2015 PanSIG Journaliii

The 2015 PanSIG Journal
Editorial Advisory Board

Baikuntha Bhatta

David Ockert

Kanagawa University

Toyo University

Mark Brierley

Mathew Porter

Shinshu University

Fukuoka Jo Gakuin Nursing University

Gavin Brooks

Jean-Pierre J. Richard

Doshisha University

Tokyo Woman's Christian College

Jeffrie Butterfield

Cameron Romney

Kanagawa University

Doshisha University

Paul Carty

Raymond Stubbe

Ryukoku University

Kyushu Sangyo University

Donna Fujimoto

Malcolm Swanson

Osaka Jogakuin University

Seinan Jo Gakuin University

Testuya Fukuda

Donna Tatsuki

International Christian College

Kobe City University of Foreign Studies

Oliver Kinghorn

Brenden Van Deusen

Kansai University

Nagasaki International University

Tanya McCarthy

Vikki Williams

Kyushu Institute of Technology

Aomori University of Health and Welfare

Steve McGuire

Brent Wright

Nagoya University of Arts

Kanazawa Institute of Technologyiv

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

ISBN 978-4-901352-49-9
The 2015 PanSIG Journal
Selected papers from the 2015 PanSIG Conference
Narratives: Raising the Happiness Quotient
Kobe Japan, Japan

JALT Central OfficeUrban Edge Bldg 5F, 1-37-9 Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0016, Japan
http://jalt.org/
http://www.pansig.org/

The 2015 PanSIG Journalv

Table of Contents
An Extensive Reading and Extensive Listening Program in a Japanese Elementary School
Susanne Balogh

1

Developing Understanding Through Storytelling
Baikuntha Bhatta

10

Using Reading and Writing to Enhance Discussions
Brian Daniel Bresnihan & Myles MacAuley

16

Greening PanSIGMark Brierley, Brent Simmonds, Catriona Takeuchi, Peter Hourdequin, & Tim Pritchard

23

Repair Sequences as Potential Sites of Learning
Jeffrie Butterfield

31

Spoken Narrative: Multiple Voices, Multiple Perspectives
John Campbell-Larsen

38

Music, Mind and Embodied Simulation

45

Amanda Gillis-Furutaka
Redressing Imbalanced Positioning through Narrative
Kaori Hata

51

Teaching World Englishes in a Global Studies Program
John Herbert

58

Creating Teaching Materials (Writing a Book) for ICT Reading Classes
Michihiro Hirai

65

Temptation vs Conscience: A Remedial Action for Narrative Researchers
Mikio Iguchi

71

Minimal English Test Versus the TOEIC
Masaya Kanzaki

78

Character Analysis and Character Development in Dialogues and Role-Plays
Aya Kawakami

86

Uncovering Emotivation through Students’ Narratives on Language Learning
Liliana Landolfi

93

The Joy of Using Narratives in Bilingual Preschools
Eric Shepherd Martin

101

Culture, Identity, and the Native-English- Speaking EFL Teacher in Japan
Paul Mathieson

107

An Introduction to Self-Access Learning Centers at the University Level
Scot Matsuo, Stella Maxwell, & Mark Pileggi

114

vi

The 2015 PanSIG JournalUnderstanding Japanese Language Teachers’ Experiences of Failure Through Narrative Inquiry
Yoshio Nakai

120

The “I Have Seen It, but Don’t Know It” Yes-No Vocabulary Test Option
Kaori Nakao & Raymond Stubbe

126

Connecting Reading, Writing, and Culture through a Literacies-based Approach to Narrative
James Owens & Neil H. Johnson

133

Authorship in Task-Based Performance
Daniel Parsons

142

An Introduction to Gami cation: Developing a Personal Narrative through Questing and
Blogging
Andrew Philpott

150

Can Narrative Stories Engage and Provide Enjoyment to Beginner-level Learners of Japanese?
Vicky Ann Richings

158

Using Focus Groups for Qualitative Feedback on Psychometric Instruments
Michael James Rupp

162

Expanding Horizons: Sca olding Techniques for Teaching Global Issues
Jack Ryan

171

Problem Solving and Community Engagement at a University Student ConferenceMark D. Sheehan, Edward Pearse Sarich,Todd Thorpe, & Robert Dunn

177

Mindfulness in Educational Settings
John Spiri

185

Class Narratives through a Language Portfolio
Motoko Teraoka

191

JUEMUN Journalism: Taking Digital Journalism Simulations to a New Level
Todd Thorpe, Mark D. Sheehan, Edward Pearse Sarich, & Robert Dunn

198

Bringing Theory into the Classroom: Widdowson’s Framework for Pedagogic Mediation in
Individual Practice
Larry John Xethakis

205

All materials in this publication are copyright © (2016) by JALT and their respective authors.

The 2015 PanSIG Journalvii

viii The 2015 PanSIG Journal

An Extensive Reading and Extensive Listening
Program in a Japanese Elementary School

Susanne Balogh
Shikoku University
susanbalogh@shikoku-u.ac.jp
There is a growing amount of research supporting the use of Extensive Reading (ER) and Extensive
Listening for improving second language competence. In Japan, most ER studies have focusedon English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners at high schools or universities. There is a lack of
research involving younger EFL learners. This paper describes a pilot study carried out on a groupof children attending a semi-immersion elementary school in Tokushima and discusses the impactof the ER/EL program on the 27 participating fourth graders over the course of one year.
第二言語の能力向上のために
「多読」
と
「多聴」
が効果的であるとする研究が多くなってきている。
日本では「多読」
に関する研究の多くが、高校や大学レベルの語学教育に焦点を合わせて行われている。
それ以前の、年少の英語学習者についての研究が、不足しているのではないかと思われる。
本稿は、イマージョン方式を部分的に採用している徳島の小学校の児童を対象にして行った実験的研究について述べ、1年間にわたって「多読／多聴」
プログラムに参加した27名の4年生にどのような効果が見られたかを報告し検討する。

Extensive Reading has been gaining popularity in
EFL teaching in recent years and has also become apopular research topic. It is now commonly believedthat foreign languages can be acquired faster and more
effectively when the learning experience is an enjoyable
one. The focus of ER is on pleasure, motivation andlow anxiety. ER is a method in which the learner reads
large amounts of easy material of his choice “with theintention of obtaining pleasure from the text” (Susser& Robb, 1990). Currently many ER practitioners
complement reading with the process of listening toaudio-books “as a means of supplying the prosodic
features of spoken English which are absent from thewritten text” (Stephens, 2015). The prosodic features
Balogh, S. (2016). An extensive reading andextensive listening program in a Japanese elementary
school. In G. Brooks, M. Porter, D. Fujimoto, &D. Tatsuki (Eds.), The 2015 PanSIG Journal (pp.
1-9). Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

of a text are paramount to its meaning, but may not
be apparent from the written form. EFL learners, who
do not yet possess a memory of spoken English, do nothave the ability to superimpose rhythm and intonation
onto a written text without audio support.
Around the world, EFL learners of all ages havebeen the subjects of ER studies. In one study in
Yemen, Bell (2001) measured the reading speed andreading comprehension of a group of children who
had read graded readers extensively for two semesters.
When their scores were compared to a control groupthat had engaged in “intensive” reading (slow andcareful word for word analysis of a text) for the same
period of time, the ER group was reported to havegained significantly higher scores. In addition toreading fluency and vocabulary acquisition, improved
writing skills have also been attributed to the inclusionof ER into EFL programs. In a study at a Taiwanese
university involving over 200 students, Mermelstein(2015) found that notable progress had been
The 2015 PanSIG Journal

1

Baloghachieved in the students’ writing ability following 29
weeks of extensive reading using graded readers. In
another Taiwanese study, Sheu (2003) successfully
implemented a beginner ER program into a traditional
school setting. The native-Chinese-speaking secondgrade junior high school students who participatedin the program showed significant improvement inlanguage proficiency tests, reading speed and general
attitudes towards reading after participating in weekly
45 minute ER sessions for two semesters. A control
group that was engaged in other language activities,
such as vocabulary and grammar learning during
this time, showed no improvement (this group evenappeared to have made a significant drop in a test
measuring vocabulary).
ER is rapidly spreading through secondary schools
and universities in Japan (Claflin 2012a). Kyoto
Sangyo University (the university that hosted thefirst World Congress on Extensive Reading in 2011)
began ER back in 1988, pioneered by Dr. ThomasRobb, and much research has been done there since
its introduction (Claflin 2012b). At the National
Institute of Technology in Aichi Prefecture, a fouryear study was carried out on “reluctant engineering
students” (Nishizawa, Yoshioka & Fukuda, 2003).
The researchers found that students who had reacheda reading amount of 300,000 words were starting toshow significant increases in their TOEIC scores. A
study by Nakanishi and Ueda (2011) indicated that
ER combined with shadowing could have even more
benefits than ER alone.
Although ER research at secondary and tertiary
institutions is bountiful, data on younger Japanese
EFL learners is scarce. A possible explanation for thisdeficiency might be that most researchers tend to be
employed at high schools and universities, where they
conduct studies on the students in their classes. That is
not to say that ER for younger learners is not popularin Japan. On the contrary, tadoku (reading extensively)
is widely discussed in teaching blogs, and private
language schools have taken a great interest in it. ECC
Junior, the largest chain of franchise English schools inJapan, has included ER in its “Super Learning Plan.”Students are encouraged to read 30 books per year
from a graded reader series called Page Turners. An

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The 2015 PanSIG Journal“Extensive Reading and Shadowing” program (ondoku
to shadooingu) is also available for children from asearly as grade one. Students using this method imitate
native-speaker English through listening and reading(eccjr.co.jp). Teachers are required to participate innumerous training seminars each year dependingon the number and types of classes they teach. An
acquaintance of mine who runs an ECC classroom
attends more than 10 training workshops per year
in order to maintain her qualifications as a Home
Teacher.
Smaller private schools catering for young learners
have also adopted extensive reading schemes. Cynthia
Akazawa (2016) has been incorporating extensive
reading and extensive listening strategies in a literacy
program for six-year-old children at her school since2007. She has developed an innovative way of using
singing and reading with exaggerated intonation tocreate audio CDs of storybooks that her young pupils
can enjoy with their caregivers outside of class tocomplement the pre-literacy activities they do in her
lessons. Akazawa’s school has a reading library with
100 books appropriate for pre-school-aged children.
She has observed that young children interact withbooks more than older children and believes thatenjoyable shared reading experiences at a young age
will increase children’s chances of becoming early
independent readers.
In 2020, all Japanese children will startobligatory English classes from grade three as partof a government program to boost Japan’s global
competitiveness (MEXT). Fifth and sixth graders,
who currently have 45 minutes of English per week
focusing on simple verbal activities, will then have fullfledged language classes including reading and writing
three times per week. Most elementary school teachersin Japan have had no specialized training in EFL, theirEnglish is inadequate, and they are not well prepared
for the sudden increase in language classes (Yoshida,2013). Bringing easy children’s books with audio
support into the classroom might be an effective way
to alleviate the situation.

Establishing the Pilot Program
In April 2014, I received a research grant for a proposal

An Extensive Reading Program in Japan, pages 1-9
entitled “How effective is an Extensive Reading/
Extensive Listening program for young Japanese EFL
learners.” The two-year project involves a group of
pupils at a private elementary school in Tokushima.
The school has an integrated English program runningalongside the Ministry-approved regular curriculum.
There are several native-English speaking teachers
employed at the school who teach subjects such as
Math, Science, Social Studies, Art and Music entirely
in English. By the time they reach third grade, most of
the children have basic English communication skills
and are able to read and understand simple picture
books and other age-appropriate reading material.
One of the school’s policies is for all students at theschool to pass the Grade 3 EIKEN test by the timethey are in grade six. The EIKEN test has become oneof the most popular English proficiency tests in Japan.
According to the EIKEN Website, 332,790 childrenof elementary school age or younger took the test in
the 2014 academic year. Since English classes becamea requirement for fifth and sixth graders in 2011, thenumber of young children taking the EIKEN test has
risen rapidly.
As the school is small and has only one class in each
grade, it was decided that the ER/EL project would
be carried out on the entire fourth grade class. At the
beginning of the school year, parents and guardiansof the participating 27 children were informed of the
program and their cooperation solicited. The children
would be doing their reading and listening at home, as
their busy school timetable did not allow the inclusionof Sustained Silent Reading time during school hours.
It was therefore up to the parents to provide a homeenvironment that enabled the children to read quietly
for longer periods of time as well as a CD player forthe listening component of the program. All the books
acquired for the program came with an audio CD.
We anticipated that the audio support would pull
the weaker readers along at a more natural speed. We
also hoped that listening to the CDs while following
the text in the book would help the children learn
the correct pronunciation of any new words theyencountered. The audio CDs also model English
rhythm and intonation and they are sometimes
enhanced with interesting sound effects.

In May 2014, the children were given a preprogram English proficiency test to determine theirstarting level. With permission from the EIKENFoundation of Japan, the Grade Pre-2 EIKEN test
was administered. I anticipated that this level would
probably be quite challenging for most of the children
at this stage, but that it would also give us a good
indication of the children’s progress after one year. In
June the first 40 books arrived and were sorted into
four levels from easy to most difficult using a colorcoding system. Much of the literature relating to
ER recommends using only graded readers for EFL
learners because authentic material that is designed fornative-English speakers contains too many unknown
words. Claflin (2012b), however, suggests that easy
L1 children’s books can be useful as a bridge to morechallenging native speaker literature (in Chaflin’s study
a group university students benefitted from reading
easy children’s books that were offered alongside
graded readers).
When deciding on book titles to order, I foundthat a large number of L1 picture books for young
children were well within the linguistic ability of thechildren in our program, and the language comparedfavourably. Subsequently, many popular L1 books(such as titles from the Oxford Reading Tree and
The Magic Treehouse series) were included in thecollection.
In June preparations were complete and theprogram began. Each participating child wasgiven a starting color based on their test score andpresented with a soft carry case. The carry caseprovides protection for the book and CD sets duringtransportation between school and home, and gives
the children a sense that the books are special andshould be treated with care. It also fits neatly into thefirm-sided school backpack that Japanese children
bring to school (randoseru). The children reading at
the easy levels were required to take home two booksets per week while children reading at a higher level
took home only one set. The higher level books werelonger, had fewer illustrations and more text per page.
Books assigned to the most difficult level included
chapter books of various lengths.
On a designated day each week, the children would
The 2015 PanSIG Journal

3

Balogh
return their book sets and borrow new ones. A weekly
report form on which the children recorded the titlesof the books they had read and the number of times
they had read/listened to them was submitted onborrowing days. A space was provided for comments
and requests for new titles, but this was optional.
Many of the ideas for setting up the ER/EL program
were inspired by Rob Waring’s article “Getting an
Extensive Reading Program Going” (2012).
By the end of the first year, the children had
engaged in 38 weeks of at-home reading and listening.
It was not surprising to find that most of them had
improved scores when a second test was administeredin March of 2015. Figure 1 shows the pre-and posttest results for each participating child (n=24, threechildren were absent on one of the test days).

Reflections on the first year andsuggestions for improvements
March 2015 marked the end of the school year and thecompletion of the first year of the ER/EL program. A
survey was conducted in which the children and theirparents were asked to write about their experiencesin the program thus far. Many who responded werekeen to see the program continue for another year.
The fourth grade homeroom teacher observed that the
number of children passing the EIKEN Grade Pre-2
examination was much higher than in previous years.
If the children continue to improve at the same rate,
it is expected that half of them will be able to attain
EIKEN Grade 2 level (the level aimed at Japanesehigh school graduates) by the time they reach grade
six. Although many of the children showed dramatic
improvement during the first 38 weeks, some changes
and adjustments to the program may benefit those
who seemed to have made little or no progress.
The ten principles of ER offered by Day andBamford (1998) describe “the characteristics that arefound in successful extensive reading programs” (p 7).
These principles have often been applied by researchers
as a guide to developing an ER program. In The SSR
Handbook, Janice Pilgreen (2000) similarly identifies
eight factors for maximizing the effectiveness of areading program based on a study of common factors

4

The 2015 PanSIG Journalof successful programs. Below I will attempt to rate
our program with respect to these eight factors andsuggest some improvements for the future.

Factor One: AccessIn her study of successful reading programs, Pilgreen(2000) discovered that easy access to reading material
was of paramount importance.
The key to providing access in all of these
programs was that the researchers made surethat students were directly provided with a large
number of readily available reading materials. The
burden did not fall upon the readers to locate
their own reading materials outside of school(p.9).
In our program, the color coded book and CD sets
were stored in the children’s classroom in plastic boxesof corresponding colors. Although borrowing day wasonce a week, the children were free to examine thesets at their leisure. Newly arrived titles were briefly
introduced to the whole class before taking their placein the easily accessible color boxes. Currently about
400 book sets are available to the 27 children, who are
now in the fifth grade and, at the time of writing, wellinto their second year of the reading program.

Factor Two: Appeal
Broadly defined, appeal means that readingmaterial is sufficiently interesting and provocative
enough for students to want to read them. A
crucial element of book appeal is self-selection,or the opportunity for students to choose what
they want to read regardless of the teacher’s
preferences... (Pilgreen, 2000, p.9).
After the first few sets of books had arrived, I
was able to ascertain the kinds of books the children
preferred to read. Many of the books they requested
were not on my list of “wholesome reading material,”
but, as Pilgreen (2000) also points out, the teacher may
not be the best judge of what children like to read (p.
49). In school, children rarely get the opportunity to
self-select their reading material. This is usually doneby adults and textbooks that dictate what is to be read.

An Extensive Reading Program in Japan, pages 1-9

Figure 1. Pre- and post-test results by students

The children find it quite delightful to have complete
freedom to choose the books they want to read.
The appeal of our program was certainly raised byallowing the children to decide what to read (within
the constraints of their reading level). Titles in the
Disney Read-Along series turned out to be mostpopular and appealed to both sexes. Surprisingly, we
found some boys eagerly reading not only titles such as
Cars, Planes and Star Wars, but even Sleeping Beauty,
Frozen and Tangled. Being reasonably priced at around
800 yen per set (in 2014), I was able to purchase as
many titles as I could find.
The 2015 PanSIG Journal

5

Balogh

Factor Three: Conducive Environment
It was valuable to see that in most of the studies,
comfort and quiet were the main criteria forachieving an effective reading environment(Pilgreen, 2000, p.12).
Pilgreen reviewed studies where reading took placeat school for a fixed period (such as 15 or 20 minutes)
every day during school hours. Since our program
required the children to do their reading at home, we
could not monitor or control this factor. Finding a
cozy place to read in one’s home seems like an easiertask than finding such a place in one’s classroom.
Introducing reading time during school hours is,however, one of the improvements I would like to add
to this program in the future (see Factor Eight).

Factor Four: Encouragement
Encouraging children to read is a critical issue
for us today in the age of movies, videos andcomputer games. (Pilgreen, 2000, p.58)
There is no assurance that putting students in
a conducive environment with a wide range ofinteresting books will actually stimulate them toread (Pilgreen, 2000, p.12).
In many reading programs the teacher participatesin the daily reading routine which takes place in theclassroom. This is ideal because the teacher becomes arole model and inspires the students with enthusiasm
for books (of course, the teacher must also appear to
be enjoying the reading process). In our program thechildren completed their reading at home and theteacher did not model silent reading. To compensate,
I tried to employ other incentives to help encourage
the children not to lose interest. The color and designof their weekly report sheet was regularly updated andthe children had the opportunity to give feedback
about the books they read. The children’s excitement
was maintained by filling the book boxes with new
titles regularly and making it a priority to acquire thetitles requested by the children.

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The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Factor Five: Staff Training
What seems to be critical is that … the researchers
focused on motivating teachers to learn strategies
for linking students with books, highlighting
the importance of having all of the participating
adults ‘buy into’ the concept of free reading(Pilgreen, 2000, p.14).
This is another factor where improvements
to our program need to be made. Due to myunique relationship to the school (namely that ofa ”researcher,” instead of a regular member of theteaching staff ), my access to the children and teachersat the school is limited. My weekly visits allow me only
enough time for a brief meeting with the homeroom
teacher or an occasional chat with the children to
introduce newly arrived books or administer tests.
After noticing that many of the other teachers were
not aware of the reading program I was conducting, I
distributed information about it in the staffroom. As
Uozomi and Takase (2012) point out, teacher training
is essential for a successful ER program, even after its
implementation. Staff training must become a priority
if the ER/EL program at this school is to be continued
and expanded to all grades.

Factor Six: Non-Accountability
The key to non-accountability … is to omit
any activity that gives students the message
that they are responsible for completing a task,comprehending a particular portion of theirreading, or showing they have made improvement
in some way. In order to get the most enjoyment
possible from their reading, they should feel noobligation associated with it (Pilgreen, 2000,
p.15).
Other than reading, listening and reporting thebook titles to me, the children in our program had noother obligations to fulfill. There was no monitoring,checking or follow-up language work. Although
the reading was assigned as part of the children’s“homework,” we did not want it to feel like “work” andtried to keep the focus on enjoyment. One of the longterm aims of the program is to develop good readingAn Extensive Reading Program in Japan, pages 1-9

Figure 2. Pre-and post- test results.

habits and encourage reading for pleasure. Introducing
the children to the magic of reading is as important tome as helping them to improve their English language
skills.

Factor Seven: Follow-up Activities
Follow-up activities encourage students to sustain
their excitement about the books they have read.
(Pilgreen, 2000, p.16)
The only caution we must observe is that we
do not ask students to do anything that seems
evaluative in nature. Otherwise, we make themistake of crossing over the line which divides
follow-up experiences from accountability
measures (Pilgreen, 2000, p. 17).
Pilgreen suggests that creative and interactive
activities in which students can share their enthusiasm
for the books they have read with others are valuable
learning experiences. In our program, no follow-up
activities were conducted. Activities such as writingor talking about a book, drawing favorite characters,

making a poster or rating a book using the five-starrating system could be fun ways for the children to
introduce books to their classmates.
Pilgreen (2000) mentions Peer Encouragement
as “a very powerful motivating factor” (p. 67). All of
the book and CD sets in our program are stored in
the classroom and are readily accessible. The children
can often be observed looking through the books andtalking about them with their friends during breaktimes. This may have a positively motivating influenceon the more reluctant readers in the class.

Factor Eight: Distributed Time to Read
Since students don’t always have opportunities
to read at home, they must be provided time toread in school. It follows, then, that time to readmust also be offered on a regular basis in order topromote the habit of reading (Pilgreen, 2000, p.
18).
At present, the school schedule does not allow
for Sustained Silent Reading time to be introduced
during school hours, although such an inclusion
The 2015 PanSIG Journal

7

Baloghwould probably benefit some of the more reluctant
readers who do not engage with their books at home.
The importance of in-class reading time is stressed inmuch of the ER literature. Unfortunately it does notseem likely that the school will agree to this in the near
future, and so the program, currently in its second
year, continues to run on the basis that all the reading
and listening is done at home. One of the benefits ofreading at home is that the children do not have tobring the books they have borrowed to school everyday (they already have a large number of textbooks
to carry). If daily in-class reading sessions were to be
introduced, we would probably have to revise theborrowing system. The children should then have two
sets of books – one for at-home reading and one toread at school.

Conclusion
Despite some major and a few minor improvementsthat could make the program more effective forall participants in the future, the children in theexperimental group seem to be doing well and testscores show significant improvement in the theirgeneral English skills (Figure 2). The test results of acontrol group consisting of the children in the current
grade four who are not participating in any kind ofextensive reading will be available in April 2016. We
hope that these results will reveal to what extent the
ER/EL program has contributed to the improvementof the children’s general English proficiency. At
this stage it is difficult to determine to what extent
the improvements can be attributed to the ER/
EL component, since the children have also been
receiving regular English instruction as part of theschool’s immersion program. In terms of enjoyment,
motivation and active interaction with the English
language, I believe that the 27 children involved inthis project have received many benefits through their
participation. Many of them have developed goodreading habits and discovered the joy of books.
From their improved test scores, it may be inferredthat the children who participated in the ER/EL
program were able to transfer some of the skills gained
from reading and listening to audio-books to the kindof skills required for English proficiency tests such as

8

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

the EIKEN test. The 93.4% increase in the children’s
reading scores seems to indicate that reading skills
gained from ER can be directly transferred to the kindof reading comprehension skills required in such tests.
It is interesting to note that the children’s performancein the listening component of the test had improved
much less compared to their reading scores (18.3%),
despite the emphasis on audio support. This may
indicate that the skills gained from listening to audiobooks may not be as readily transferrable to the typeof listening skills required in proficiency tests (theEIKEN Grade Pre-2 listening section is based on
20 short conversations followed by a question and
10 short passages followed by a question in which
examinees must listen for specific information). The
ability to transfer skills gained from ER/EL is an areathat needs to be investigated further.
All Japanese elementary school children will soon
begin compulsory English classes, with reading andwriting in the upper grades. There will be a greater
demand for effective teaching methodologies that
accommodate the needs of young EFL learners. If ER
is as effective (or perhaps even more effective) withyoung children as it seems to be with older learners,
then this teaching method should not be overlooked.
What is urgently needed is more ER research on
preteen Japanese EFL learners.

Acknowledgements
I would like to extend my sincere appreciation andgratitude to Dr. Warren Fincher of Saginaw Valley State
University for his time and effort in conducting statisticalanalyses and graphing statistical data for this study. His
support and guidance contributed greatly to making thisstudy possible.
This study is supported by the Japan Society for the
Promotion of Science, Grant-in-Aid for Scientific
Research (S - Challenging Exploratory Research)

References
Akazawa, C. (2016). A case study for teaching preliteracy skills to EFL learners. The Language
Teacher, 40(1), 29-30.
Bell, T. (2001). Extensive reading: Speed andcomprehension. The Reading Matrix, 1(1).

An Extensive Reading Program in Japan, pages 1-9
Retrieved from http://www.readingmatrix.com/
articles/bell/
Claflin, M. (2012a). How can I get extensive reading
into my local library? Background, challenges andpossible approaches. Extensive Reading World
Congress Proceedings, 1, 48-51. Retrieved fromhttp://erfoundation.org/proceedings/erwc1Claflin-libraries.pdf
Chaflin, M. (2012b). Bridging the gap between
readers and native speaker literature. Extensive
Reading World Congress Proceedings, 1, 156159. Retrieved from http://erfoundation.org/
proceedings/erwc1-Claflin-bridging.pdf
Day, R., & Bamford, J. (1998). Extensive reading inthe second language classroom. New York, NY:
Cambridge University Press.
ECC Junior. (n.d.). Eigo - eikaiwa kousu [English- English conversational course]. Retrieved
from http://www.eccjr.co.jp/course/eikaiwa/
eigo_jh.php
EIKEN. Eiken no jyoukyou [The circumstances of theEiken Test]. Retrieved from http://www.eiken.
or.jp/eiken/merit/situation/
Mermelstein, A.D. (2015). Improving EFL learners’
writing through enhanced extensive reading.
Reading in a Foreign Language, 27(2),182-198.
MEXT, (2016) Heisei 28 nen 1 gatsu 20 nichikyouiku kateibukai shougakkou bukai
shiryou 4-4-A [The January 20th of Heisei 28
educational curriculum meeting elementary
school meeting data 4-4-A]Retrieved fromhttp://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/
chukyo/chukyo3/074/siryo/__icsFiles/
afieldfile/2016/02/04/1366588_4_4_1.pdf

Nakanishi, T., & Ueda, A. (2011). Extensive reading
and the effect of shadowing. Reading in a Foreign
Language, 26(1), 1-16.
Nishizawa, H., Yoshioka, T., & Fukada, M. (2010).
The impact of a 4-year extensive reading program.
In A.M. Stoke (Ed.), JALT2009 Conference
Proceedings. Tokyo, Japan: JALT.
Pilgreen, L. (2000). The SSR handbook: How toorganize and manage a sustained silent reading
program. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Susser, B., & Robb, T. (1990). EFL extensive reading
instruction: Research and procedure. JALT
Journal, 12(2), 161-185.
Sheu, S. (2003). Extensive reading with EFL learners
at beginning levels. TESL Reporter, 36(2). 8-26.
Stephens, M. (2015) Why extensive reading andlistening to audio books may not be enough. The
Reading Matrix, 15(3). Retrieved from http://
www.readingmatrix.com/files/13-6035gn4y.pdf
Uozumi, K., & Takase, A. (2012). Teachers’
motivation to implement extensive reading
in class. Extensive Reading World Congress
Proceedings, 1, 62-64. Retrieved from http://
erfoundation.org/proceedings/erwc1-UozumiTakase.pdf
Waring, R. (2012). Setting up an extensive reading
program. Rob Waring’s Extensive Reading
Pages: ER set up. Retrieved from http://www.
robwaring.org/er/ER_info/ersetup.html
Yoshida, R. (2013, October 23). Required English
from third grade eyed. The Japan Times.
Retrieved from http://www.japantimes.co.jp/
news/2013/10/23/national/required-englishfrom-third-grade-eyed/#.VrUnPxZf2Wh

Author’s Biography:
Susanne Balogh has been living and teaching English in Japan for more than fifteen years. During
this time she became acquainted with Extensive Reading as a language teaching method andrealized that this was how she had herself mastered English at the age of ten when she migrated
from Austria to Australia with her parents.

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

9

Developing Understanding Through Storytelling

Baikuntha Bhatta
Kanagawa University
trishuliriver@yahoo.com
This paper examines language teachers’ use of stories to explain the teaching goals in classroom
interaction. It analyzes the video-recorded data from Nepalese and Japanese EFL classrooms thatshows three different teachers using narrative formats and relating them to their teaching. The
analysis explicates the way teachers initiate stories and relate them to student understanding. One
observation is that the application of story-telling generates possible background in order forthe students to grasp the objective of the lessons and develop their understanding for upcoming
instruction. The paper also describes the teacher’s movement to the story-telling sequence, and backto teaching.
本論文では、教室での相互行為における教育目標を説明するために教師が使用する物語を検討する。
ここでは、ネパールと日本の英語の授業を録画したデータを使用し、教師が使用する物語の形
式と、それらは授業目標にどのように関連しているのかを観察する。分析では、教師が物語を生徒の理解を深める方法として使用していることが示す。
データの観察では物語の使用で生徒に授業の目標を把握でき、更に教師の発話の理解できる状況に置かれていることがわかる。本論文は、教師
は授業内で物語を語ることと教育することの両方への動きも説明する。

This paper discusses the structures of storytelling inclassroom context using the conversation analytic
methodology. Throughout the paper, the term “story”
is understood as any piece of narrative teachers deploy
during the course of their teaching. The narratives arise
from the teacher explaining past events, providing
some examples, or describing the teaching goal using
examples. Limiting the term “story” to certain aspectsof teacher talk, this paper focuses on how teachers
use examples from their personal experience, describe
the examples or the course contents, and relate themto the teaching point. The term “story” in this paper
is understood as any piece of narratives, both present
tense narratives and past tense narratives. Through the
Bhatta, B. (2016). Developing understanding
through storytelling. In G. Brooks, M. Porter, D.
Fujimoto, & D. Tatsuki (Eds.), The 2015 PanSIG
Journal (pp. 10-15). Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

10

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

structures of storytelling the teachers animate theirdescriptions rather than merely relating them.
In mundane conversation, participants designstories to provide examples of things related tothe topic of talk. By using a telling structure, theyattempt to “show” recipients what is being said,rather than merely “tell” them. With speakers
displaying the incidents instead of describing them,
it is easy for recipients to have direct access tohappenings described in the interaction (Holt, 2000).
Sidnell (2006) discusses a similar phenomenon instorytelling where reenactments of events help todemonstrate them instead of simply describing them.
With reenactments, recipients can easily access theinformation being delivered. However, participants
are not free to deploy tellings at their convenience.
Stories, in many cases, are produced in reference topreceding talk, and furthermore, storytellers equallywork to maintain the legitimacy of a telling once it isDeveloping Understanding Through Storytelling, pages 10-15
accomplished. Hence, stories are locally occasioned
and the possible trajectories for local occasion are:(a) prior talk reminding one of a particular story, and(b) a story intentionally introduced during the talk( Jefferson, 1978). The contextual occurrence of stories
is also explained by Sacks (1992) with the statementthat stories do not occur incidentally but are designed
within the interaction.
The sequential organization of the turn-taking
system (Sacks, Schegloff, & Jefferson, 1974) issuspended during telling sequences. Tellers use
extended turns to complete stories and the right forextended turns is achieved by designing the story fromthe preceding talk. However, recipients may produce
some sort of acknowledgement tokens and minimal
responses during the telling. But such responses are
not considered as a complete turn constructional unit.
Akin to the suspension of the turn-taking system
in storytelling is the system of turn-taking in classroom
interaction. As an institutional setting, classroom
interaction is distinct from mundane interaction inits distribution of knowledge, access to conversational
resources, and participation patterns. And becauseof its institutional features, teachers, like storytellers
in mundane interaction, use multi-unit extended
turns to complete their talk. The nexus of turns inclassroom is the first turn by teachers (a question),
the student turn (answer), and teacher expansion
or follow up turn. This nexus shows that the third
position is a turn that makes the focus of the teaching
point visible. Generally, students provide answers
to teacher questions, and student understanding isevaluated and further expanded with a varying third
position response by teachers. Thus, third position
aids in developing student understanding throughexpansions and follow-up moves. Teachers also seemto orient to student understanding in using various
other structures. This paper focuses on one aspect of
the teachers’ language in developing understanding:the application of storytelling structures.
In various studies on narratives, it is basicallyassumed that the teller deigns the story to accomplish
certain objectives. Sacks (1978) explains thateven a joke-telling in story structure is designed
to implement specific social work. Furthermore,

Goodwin (2015) also explains the speakers’ attempt
in demonstrating the information rather than simply
claiming it. Thus, stories are not designed merely toentertain the recipients, but with certain objectives
to effectuate in the course of talk. In institutionalsettings, the objective of the implementation is more
apparent. Practices of storytelling in institutional
contexts contribute to the construction of the setting
as a relevant aspect of that particular institution. With
data from two different cultural settings, this paper
looks at the aspect of storytelling and its relevancy
in one institutional setting: the classroom. Analysisof data revealed that teachers use of storytelling
structures might develop student understanding by
providing the student direct access to the teaching.
The students are provided with information throughthe use of narrative structures in a story, or in examples
over animated descriptions.

Data and Methodology
The data for this paper comes from about three hoursof video recordings of regular English as a Foreign
Language (EFL) classrooms in Japan and Nepal. In
both settings, a non-native English speaker is teaching
the classes, with the number of students ranging fromabout 25 to 30 and of about 14 to 17 years of age. A
total of three examples from three different language
classes were examined, with two examples from
Nepalese EFL classrooms and one from Japanese EFL
classrooms.
This paper uses conversation analysis as a methodof understanding the interaction. As conversation
analysis calls for an emic perspective in L1 (Pike, 1954;
Goodwin, 1984) and in L2 (Markee & Kasper, 2004)
in analyzing any piece of data, this paper limits theanalysis to the participants’ perspective as revealed
through the interaction rather than using the priorassumptions of the analyst.

Analysis
This section presents examples and their analysis as
revealed through the observation. One aspect that
became apparent through the analysis was teacher
orientation to student understanding by initiation of
The 2015 PanSIG Journal

11

Bhattastorytelling structures in the course of their teaching.
Whenever in teaching, once the teacher has to provide
specific explanations related to teaching goals, theybring in a storytelling structure and describe throughthe telling – thus making the description visible to thestudents.
The following example, Extract 1, comes froma Nepalese English language classroom interaction
where the teacher is teaching language througha famous poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy
Evening” by Robert Frost. The following interaction
comes after the teacher finishes writing the title of thepoem on the board, which follows a greeting sequence.
After writing the title, he moves to explain themeaning of the poem and includes the story within
the description.
Extract 1 example displays one sequence ofstorytelling structure in classroom interaction. In thisexample, as soon as the teacher finishes introducing
the topic, he moves to explain the meaning of thepoem as a part of his teaching objective. He postpones
explaining the meaning of the poem and establishes
a preface to the story he is going to use with “before
I begi:n (.) teaching this poem” in line 01. After this,he designs the preface to the telling in lines 01-05.
His actual telling begins from line 06 where he relates

to the students his own story of how he was notinterested in coming in to teach (his responsibility)that day but he wanted to watch television. The
teacher frames the story example with line 06, his lackof interest to go to teach, and line 27, his decision togo. With this story structure, the teacher animates his
description so that the students can have direct ideaof the events described. Moreover, even after the story
frame of lines 06-27, he quotes his own heart saying
something to him in line 43. With the citation of his
own heart within the telling, he further visualizes theevent and makes the example more specific.
Once the story is finished in line 27, he starts
connecting his descriptive story to the theme of thepoem he is teaching. He draws student attention
back to his example and then starts explaining theexample by relating it with the theme of the poem
that concerns human duties and responsibilities.
Similar to the two alternatives, enjoying natural
beauty or responsibilities, of the poem, the teacher
uses alternatives in his example too – enjoying theTV or teaching. After the overall explanation of theexample and its connection to the theme of the poem,
he informs the students that he “had discussed about
the theme of this very poem” in lines 69 and 71. His
conclusion appears to summarize that the students

Extract 1 [Poem]
01
T:
before I begi:n (.) teaching this poem.
02		
let me give you an example.
03		 (0.4)
04		
in fact what this poem is about (.) I’ll tell you of course05		
before that, (0.4) .hh ah:: let me tell you,06		 <today (.) like ah::- (.) I was about to come to school.
07		
and it started raining, (0.6) alright?
((5 lines omitted))13		
are you getting my example?
14SS:
yes sir.=
15
T:
I was not that very interested to come.
16		
I was much more interested to watch the program((8 lines omitted))25
at first do your duty, it is an entertainment,26		
don’t listen to it. go and teach.
27		
and therefore I came.
((15 lines omitted)
43		
come on. let’s not waste the time falling in such temptations.
44
because, first and foremost. fix your eyes at what45
SS:
responsibility.
46
T:
fix your eyes at your responsibility.
((21 lines omitted))
68T:okay. the:n (0.6) what I had discussed?
69		
I had discussed about the
70
S1:
theme
71
T:
theme of this very poem

12

The 2015 PanSIG JournalDeveloping Understanding Through Storytelling, pages 10-15
Extract 2 [Potatoes]01T:
but here (.) let’s look at these three vegetables02		
I mean the potato (0.4) the pumpkin (0.4) and the corn.
03		 okay04		 (1.0)
05		
now (2.0) in the Ande:s. (1.2) °okay s-°
06		
suppose this is the sea (.) okay
07		 (2.0)
08		
this is the sea, a::nd09		
this is (1.0) a mountain in the Andes. °okay°((5 lines omitted))15		
but they grow different vegetables in different parts
16		 (2.0)
17		okay. so there are about three parts18		
the high part (.) the middle part (.) and the low part19		 okay20		
and they grow (2.0) these vegetables
21		
different vegetables, (.) in different parts((10 lines omitted))32		
the potato is grown in the high part. right.
33		
and in the middle part (.) the corn is grown.
34		
okay, never mind.
35		
and in the low part the pumpkin (.) is grown36		 okay.
37		
but anyway, in hi- (.) high in the mountains,38		
potato is the only food crop that can be grown.
((8 lines omitted))47		
okay. so high in the mountains, people grow:48		
the potato (.) even now.
49		 okay.
50		
so no:w you know, (.) ah:: the home of the potato51		
was the Andes. okay.
52		
but (.) you know today (.) the potato is53		
grown in ah: all around the world.

have understood the theme of the poem. With the
implication of his own story with a similar design as
the story in the poem, and relating it to the theme, heattempts to assist students in understanding the themeof the poem – the teaching point of this particularlesson. Designing his story as one similar to that ofthe poem, he provides a parallel story as an example.
His story is parallel to the story in the poem in thesense that the speaker in the poem likes to enjoy thenature, but moves on focusing on his duties andresponsibilities. Similarly, in his personal story, theteacher wants to enjoy the television program but
goes to work because of his focus on his duties andresponsibilities.
Extract 2 is another example of storytelling
structure in classroom interaction observed inJapanese English language classroom interaction. In
this section, the teacher is talking about vegetables
grown in different parts of the world. In the previous
section, the teacher elicits some reasons from thestudents for why potatoes are the most popular crops.

In this part, he draws a picture and explains about theorigin of potatoes with the picture.
In Extract 2, the teacher begins explaining thedifferent vegetables that grow in the Andes in line
05. But, he gives up the description and introduces
a present tense narrative with “suppose (.) this is thesea. okay” in line 06, continuing his telling with thehelp of a picture he draws. By drawing the picture andusing narrative turn design, the teacher tries to “show”
rather than “tell” the description, thus, animating
his description (Sidnell, 2000) so that the students
can have a clearer idea to it. Though he elicits some
information from the students during the telling, hegoes back to the description in line 37 and summarizes
his telling with “high in the mountains potato is the
only crop that can be grown.” Furthermore, in lines 4144, he adds in the picture and describes in detail. Oncethe description is over, he summarizes and addresses
student understanding in line 50. On saying “so no:w
you know, (.) ah:: the home of the potato was theAndes”, he appears to be supposing that the student
The 2015 PanSIG Journal

13

Bhattahave understood his teaching points. Though student
understanding is not displayed in the interaction,
the teacher’s assumption of student understanding
legitimatizes the implication of storytelling structure
as a way of developing understanding.
The use of narrative structure is equally visible in
the following example, Extract 3. too. The following
extract presents an instance of classroom interaction
from a Nepalese English language classroom where theteacher is explaining grammar points about the use ofarticles. He orally explains the types of articles: definite
for specific, and indefinite for general reference. He
displays a picture with some model sentences andstarts describing with the help of a picture.
After introducing the topic of the lesson, theteacher shows some model sentences using the definite
and indefinite articles to the students. The teacher
starts describing the picture in line 07 but stops thedescription and continues with direct reference tothe picture saying “so, the girl asked ....” in line 08. Inlines 08 to 19, the teacher reports the example using

the story-like structure. Once the reporting is done, herelates it to the teaching goal by underlining the focal
teaching points. He underlines the general meaning of
the articles in lines 34 and the particular meaning inline 43. Thus, with the act of “showing” the example
rather than simply “telling” it, he makes an attempt todeepen student understanding. Furthermore, his act ofunderlining the “a, an, and the” in the model sentences
also helps the students to visualize the teaching points.

Conclusion
The participants in mundane interaction designstories to provide some example of things related tothe topic of talk in the interaction. The use of stories
helps participants to have direct and easy access to theevents of the story. So, stories are basically designed
to accomplish certain objectives in the interaction.
Similarly, teachers in classroom interaction use
storytelling structure to accomplish specific goals.
This paper observed the occurrences of storytelling
structures in language classrooms and analyzed

Extract 3 [Sunflower9Article]
01
T:
a:nd (.) now there are two (.) person yeah?
02		now: she is a girl.
((7 lines omitted))10		
and, what does the boy reply?
11
Ss:°yea[s. I had an apple °12T:[yeas. I had an apple and a banana. and then13		
the apple was good. but I did not like?
14
Ss:
ba[nana much
15
T:[banana.
16		 (0.6)
17
T:
now[:
18
S2:
[I did not like the banana much sir.
19T:
I did not like [the banana much.
20
S2:
[°°(
) correct sir.°°21
T:so:, now look at here. you know22		I did not like the banana much.
23		
now look at here
24
S2:
I had but not I have that now
25T:so, (.) now I will write here also.
((8 lines omitted))34T:
so: he said that I had an apple and a banana.
		((underlines “an apple” and “a banana”))
35		
now this is which meaning.
36
S3:
general37
Ss:
general38
T:
general meaning or particular meaning.
39
Ss:
general ((almost in unison))
40
T:
general meaning. right?
41		
yeah. a:nd I did not like the banana42		
and the apple was good.
		((underlines “the banana” and “the apple”))
43		
“the” (.) yeah “the”. here “a” and “an”		((circles all the articles from the sentences))

14

The 2015 PanSIG JournalDeveloping Understanding Through Storytelling, pages 10-15
them in relation to student understanding. In all theinteraction discussed, teachers were found to be using
story structures to develop student understanding.
With the stories, teachers provide examples, describe
the examples and connect their description to the goalof teaching. The implementation of the story structure
displayed the student understanding in some of theinteraction, and in some other examples, the teachers
appeared to be analyzing that the students haveunderstood the teaching points. The teachers were
found to be using story structures when they want to
set a context before going into “teaching” the lesson.
As this paper analyzed the use of storytelling
structures in developing student understanding, it
is important for the language teachers to pay more
attention to the use and connection of the narratives
in their teaching. In the relevant pedagogical field,
this paper is thought to be helpful for the teachers toelaborate teacher-talk through detailed explanation
with story-like narratives. As this paper limited itself
to two different cultural settings, further research
could look for the same elements in other classroom
settings as well and expand the generalizability of thefindings.

References
Holt, E. (2000). Reporting and reacting: Concurrent
responses to reported speech. Research on
Language and Social Interaction, 33, 424-454.
Goodwin, C. (1984). Notes on story structure andthe organization of participation. In M. Atkinson& J. Heritage (Eds.), Structures of social action:
Studies in conversation analysis (pp. 225-246).
Cambridge, England: Cambridge University
Press.
Goodwin, C. (2015). Narratives as talk-in-interaction.
In A. D. Fina & A. Georgakopoulou (Eds.), The
handbook of narrative analysis (pp. 197-218).
West Sussex, England: Wiley Blackwell. DOI:
10.1002/9781118458204.ch10
Jefferson, G. (1978). Sequential aspects of storytellingin conversation. In J. Schenkein (Ed.), Studies in
the organization of conversational interaction (pp.
219-248). New York, NY: Academic Press.
Markee, N., & Kasper, G. (2004). Classroom talks:
An introduction. Modern Language Journal, 88,
491-500.
Pike, K. L. (Ed.) (1954). Language in relation to aunified theory of structure of human behavior(Vol. 1). Glendale, CA: Summer Institute of
Linguistics.
Sack, H. (1978). Some technical considerations ofa dirty joke. In J. N. Schenkein (Ed.), Studies in
the organization of conversational interaction (pp.
249-270). New York, NY: Academic Press.
Sacks, H., Schegloff, E. A., & Jefferson, G. (1974). A
simplest systematics for the organization of turntaking for conversation. Language, 50, 696-735
Sidnell, J. (2006). Coordinating gesture, talk, and gazein reenactments. Research on Language and Social
Interaction, 39, 377-409.

Author’s Biography:
Baikuntha Bhatta teaches in the foreign language department of Kanagawa University. His
research interest includes conversation analysis, teacher education, second language education,and related fields. He has been doing different research using conversation analysis in the field of
language education from different cultural settings.

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

15

Using Reading and Writing to Enhance Discussions

Brian Daniel Bresnihan

Myles MacAuley

University of Hyogo
brian@econ.u-hyogo.ac.jp

Kansai University ofInternational Studies
m-macauley@kuins.ac.jp

This paper begins with a consideration of Asian students’ apparent reluctance to participate in classdiscussions in English. The authors then describe various EFL classroom activities that they havefound result in longer and more meaningful discussions than those which are typical in JapaneseEnglish-language classes and that encourage all students to participate. The benefits of providing
reading materials and preparation time and of having students write down their ideas before
engaging in a discussion are particularly supported by the authors’ experiences. Survey results that
substantiate these claims are included.
この論文は、
アジア人学生の、英語クラスでのディスカッションにおける、一見気が進まなそうに見える態度の考察から始まる。
そこから、著者達は、EFLの教室で使うためのいくつもののアクティヴィテ
ィを説明する。
それらにより、日本の英語学習クラスにおける典型的なディスカッションに比べて、よ
り長くそしてより意味のあるものにするという結果をもたらした。
また、学生全員の参加を促すこともできた。読解のための本や資料と準備時間とを与えることと、
ディスカッションを始める前に学生に自分の考えを書かせること、
このふたつの有益性は、著者の経験によってとりわけ明らかにされている。
これらの達成を立証するアンケートも添えられている。

Many EFL teachers working in Japanese universities
have experienced the frustration that can result fromtrying to encourage students to have discussions intheir classes. A common scenario involves the teacher
arranging the students into pairs or groups and thenasking them to discuss an issue related to the themeof the lesson. The all-too-common outcome of this
scenario is a very short discussion that only a minorityof the students participate in. Discussions that last for
any worthwhile length of time are often dominated by
one or two students while the rest of the students seem
uninterested.
It is tempting to explain the reluctance of Japanese,
Bresnihan, B. D., & MacAuley, M. (2016). Using
reading and writing to enhance discussions. In
G. Brooks, M. Porter, D. Fujimoto, & D. Tatsuki(Eds.), The 2015 PanSIG Journal (pp. 16-22).
Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

16

The 2015 PanSIG Journaland other Asians, to engage in verbal communicationin class by referring to cultural factors and the students’previous classroom experiences. However, some EFL
researchers consider this portrayal of Asian learners as
being overly reserved and unwilling to become actively
involved in discussions in class to be exaggerated andmisleading (see for example, Cheng, 2000; Debashish,
2010; J. Liu, 2001). They claim that while cultural
factors may affect Asian students’ readiness to engage
in verbal classroom interaction to some extent, there
are a variety of other influences that need to beconsidered.
Cheng (2000) points out that research shows that
Asian students are often eager to speak more in class,but are held back by factors related to the teaching
and learning situation rather than their cultural
backgrounds. He argues that Asian students’ perceived
passivity is more a result of situational factors, and toEnhancing Discussions, pages 16-22
say that Asian students are uninvolved, unresponsive,and reticent in class is an overgeneralization. These
claims are supported by a study carried out among
Chinese students studying English at a university
in Beijing, which found that, while cultural factors
did influence students’ behavior, lack of time toprepare, insufficient knowledge about the topic being
discussed, lack of confidence in their English ability,and few previous experiences with having discussions
in English also contributed to students’ reluctanceto participate in classroom discussions (M. H. Liu,
2005).
Similar results were obtained in research carriedout in Australia among a multicultural group of EFL
learners, mainly from the Asia Pacific region. Thesestudents reported that the biggest barriers to successfulclassroom discussions were lack of preparation timeand fluency as well as timidity brought on by feelings
that other students seemed to know much more about
the topics (Godat & Whiteley-De Graaf, 2003). In
an ethnographic study carried out in an ESL classat an American university and in a number of EFL
classes in mainland China, researchers found that East
Asian students who were supported and encouraged,
in classrooms with an agreeable atmosphere andstructure, were “able, willing, and comfortable toparticipate actively” in oral activities (Li & Jia, 2006,
p. 204).

Creating Conditions to Help
Language Students Be Successful in
Discussions
The results of the aforementioned research give us
some insight into the ways in which teachers may beable to encourage Asian students to participate more
actively in speaking classes. These include trying toensure that students know enough about the topics
being discussed, that they have enough time to prepare,that they understand what they are expected to do,
and that they are given appropriate opportunities interms of space and time to participate in the speaking
activities.
Providing suitable reading materials is one way toenable students to learn about a topic and to expose

them to vocabulary and language structures associatedwith the topic. As Maley (2009) points out, readingis one of the most accessible forms of comprehensible
input in countries where the target language is notwidely spoken, as is the case in Japan.
Nation (1989) suggests that providing preparation
time beforehand and creating time limits for speaking
can help build students’ confidence and increase boththeir fluency and the amount they speak in class.
Allowing students to write down their ideas gives
them an opportunity to think about and organize
what they want to say. Limiting students’ speaking
time forces them to focus on the message rather thanon producing accurate sentences. This reduced focus
on grammatical accuracy can help to reduce student
anxiety.
Folse (2010) also recommends that students begiven enough time to prepare for speaking activities
and think about their ideas and opinions, stressing thatthey should be allowed to write down their ideas first.
He says that, by writing down their ideas beforehand,
students will become more confident, and the quality
and quantity of their discussions will improve. This isbecause having to write down our thoughts on paper“forces us to reexamine, rethink, and recycle our ideas
until we have a much neater package.” (Folse, 2010,
p. x) Folse also suggests that a tighter framework,in the form of questions that students have to writea response to, should be provided to help students
develop and arrange their ideas.

Choosing Appropriate Materials
One important factor to consider when having
students read and write about what they will discuss
is ensuring that they have materials to use during thereading component of this process that are at a suitablelevel for them to comprehend without much trouble,
are interesting to them, and will later lead to extended
discussions.
In class, students can discuss topics or materials
chosen either by the teacher or themselves. It has
been the authors’ experience in Japan that most
students find it difficult to choose appropriatematerials without some guidance from the teacher.
When students are left to choose materials without
The 2015 PanSIG Journal

17

Bresnihan & MacAuley
sufficient guidance, they often choose materials thatare too difficult for them to read or too complicatedfrom them to understand. Because of this, the authors
have found that it is better for the teachers to choosematerials for their students to read or to give students
a selection of appropriate materials to choose from.
Other EFL teachers and researchers have reported
doing the same (see for example, Kim, 2003; Kosaka,
2012; Williams, 2001).
Two sources of reading materials for discussionthat the authors of this article have used are SRA cards
and short newspaper articles. These were preselectedby the authors for the students to choose from.
Students were given 10 or 15 minutes to read throughthe materials and then had to discuss them in pairs orin groups. Students seemed to be capable of and toenjoy doing this activity. However, the topics often did
not seem to arouse the students’ deeper thoughts andfeelings. SRA cards are intended for use by elementary
school students in the USA, and therefore the topics
and depth of the content are for that age group, notfor university students. Many newspaper articles areon topics the students are already well informed about
and have similar opinions about based on mass media
coverage. So, the topics are somewhat like backgroundnoise in the students’ thinking and feelings and do not
engage them in the ways consideration of the actionsof characters and the situations in a story would. In
comparison with non-fictional materials, fictional
stories have been shown to better increase social
abilities (Mar, et al, 2006), such as empathy (Djikic,
et al, 2013b), understanding (Mar & Oatley, 2008),
and inclusivity (Vezzali, et al, 2015), perception ofsocial support (Mar, et al, 2009), and creativity andinformation processing abilities (Djikic, et al, 2013a).
One source that provides an excellent collection of
possible reading materials that address these issues andlend themselves well to group discussions is graded
readers. Reading appropriately selected graded readers
gives students chances to experience sustained readingof stories while providing comprehensible input andmany topics to discuss. This has also proved effective
for generating discussions in both of the authors’classes. Others have had similar results (for example,
see Mark, 2007; Rouault et al., 2012).

18

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Suggestions for Promoting
Discussions Based on Graded
Readers
Writing Book Reports
One way to integrate graded readers into the classroom
is to have students read one graded reader a week, or a
portion of one, and then prepare a short report about
the story, which will then be presented to a partner
or small group in class. These reports can include asummary, personal opinions, character sketches, or
descriptions of favorite scenes. The graded readers canbe self-chosen from the teacher’s or the school library’s
offerings, giving students some autonomy with regards
to the choice of materials. They can be read at homeor in class. While presenting, the students can look attheir reports along with a discussion outline, if deemednecessary, or they can talk freely. After a report ispresented, the partner or other group members canthen continue the discussion by asking questions andmaking comments.

Writing Answers to Related Questions
Students can also be asked to all read the same graded
reader, or the same chapters of it, for homework. In
class, the teacher can provide one or two questions
concerning topics related to what has been read. After
writing answers for about five minutes per question,
students put away what they have written and discuss
the questions in small groups for an equal amount oftime. This can be repeated a few times in one class.

Writing Responses to Self-chosen
Quotations
A third way to promote discussion of class-assigned
graded readers is to have all of the students read thesame book, or chapters, and then choose one shortquotation and write a 250-word response to it. Thenin class, the students sit in groups of four. One student
reads aloud the chosen passage and the response she or
he has written about it. Alternatively, the students canbe asked to discuss the quotation and their response
to it without looking at what they wrote. After the
student has made her or his presentation, the groupmembers discuss the quotation and that student’sEnhancing Discussions, pages 16-22
response to it. After about 10 or 15 minutes, theprocedure is repeated, beginning with another student
reading aloud or presenting.

Using Reading Circles
Using reading, or literature, circles is another way touse graded readers to promote discussions. In reading
circles, students are separated into small groupsof four to six students, and each group member isgiven a different assignment, called a role. All of thestudents have to read the same text and complete
their given assignment in writing. Roles may focus
on, for instance, checking vocabulary, finding culturaldifferences, or making a summary. In class, thestudents in turn explain what they found, thought,
and did concerning their individual assignment, andthen the group members discuss it. The individual
roles are rotated among the group members fromweek to week, so all members have chances to engage
with the texts in different ways. Furr (2007), a strong
proponent of the use of reading circles in the EFL
classroom, explains that the assignment of roles makes
the preparation for discussions more manageable andthe actual discussions more meaningful.

Beyond Graded Readers
Of course, if the students are proficient enough in
English, the four procedures outlined above could
be used with any book. For example, if they canmanage it successfully, having students read a book
written for native English speakers may motivatethem to continue improving their English. However,if the main purpose of the class is to have the students
practice engaging in discussions, the book needs toprovide many topics that the students are able to talkabout, not be very long, and not be too difficult toread. Tuesdays with Morrie seems to fit these criteria
well enough for intermediate level learners of English
in Japan, and the vast majority of students the authors
have used it with have found it interesting to read anddiscuss. Though there are quite a few words that many
students do not know, this does not seem to impede
their ability to understand much of what they read or
their ability to discuss the many topics that appear in
the book.

Students’ Perceptions of the
Usefulness of the Various Activities
In all of the activities explained above, the students
are given time and resources to prepare for and to gain
knowledge of content, vocabulary, structures, andusages related to the topics they will speak about. The
authors’ observations of students’ interactions in classhave convinced them that these activities are useful for
their students, who spoke a lot and engaged actively
in discussions that were relaxed and informative. The
time limits seemed to help keep the pace lively but not
add any stress.
To find out if the students agreed with andperceived the benefits of participating in thesevarious activities that required them to read and write
something before discussing it, over the last few years,
the authors conducted surveys with some of theirstudents (Bresnihan & MacAuley, 2014, 2015). This
research showed that from 67% to 91% of the students
believed that practicing or participating in each of thevarious language skills activities helped them in theirperformance of another language ability (see Table 1).
Students also seemed to recognize the benefits ofreading circles with between 80% and 100% of thestudents stating that they believed that the activities
they were asked to do for the reading circles were
beneficial for their English language learning (seeTable 2).
One of the complaints by some teachers andstudents about reading circle activities is that thediscussions are too restricted by the assigned roles, as isreported, for example, by Bedel (2011), Lamb (2007),and Pearson (2010). One of the authors of this article
also felt this to be the case. This issue may be the resultof students and teachers adhering too strongly to theidea that the roles need to be followed too closely for
too long.

Conclusion
The effectiveness of providing preparation timeand having students write down their ideas before
engaging in discussions in university EFL classrooms
in Japan have been supported by the authors’observations over the years. The ensuing discussions
The 2015 PanSIG Journal

19

Bresnihan & MacAuley
Table 1Students* Who Ranked Each Statement as “Agree” or “Strongly Agree”
Statement

Percent

Having discussion helped me to understand what I had read90%

Writing helped me to understand what I had read80%

Reading something before talking helped me to say more when I had discussions

91%

Writing something before talking helped me to say more when I had discussions

75%

Reading something before listening helped me to understand more of what was said in discussions

88%

Writing something before listening helped me to understand more of what was said in discussions67%* N=106
Table 2Students* Who Thought Each Reading Circle Activity was Beneficial
Skill

Reading

Writing

Presenting

Listening

Discussing

Percent

100%

80%

100%

90%

98%

* N=40are generally much longer and more involved andmeaningful than when these kinds of activities are notused. Also, using graded readers has proved to be very
suitable for stimulating students’ engagement in these
activities because they cater to a wide variety of ability
levels and student interests. By reading and writing
down ideas and opinions about the subject matter or
topic beforehand, students are able to become more
knowledgeable and more confident in their ensuing
discussions. This type of framework helps them focus
on and think about the salient points, formulate theirideas, and say more in their discussions.

References
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Bedel, O. (2011). Literature circles: Findings anddiscussion. Retrieved from http://eltdigest.com/
literaturecircles/?page_id=13
Bresnihan, B. D., & MacAuley, M. (2014). An
integrated approach: Four skills, not one
and one content, not four. MEXTESOLJournal, 38(3), 14 pgs. Retrieved fromhttp://mextesol.net/journal/public/20

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files/169a1b4bd15869c6542bc95540a9109a.pdf
Bresnihan, B. D., & MacAuley, M. (2015). Do
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Cheng, X. T. (2000). Asian students’ reticencerevisited. System, 28(3), 435-446.
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Oatley,%20&%20Moldoveanu.pdf

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Folse, K. S. (2010) Discussion starters. Ann Arbor, MI:
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Furr, M. (2007). Reading circles: Moving great stories
from the periphery of the language classroom to
its centre. The Language Teacher, 31(5), 15-18.
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Learning Support Services. Retrieved fromhttp://eprints.qut.edu.au/81/1/MeredithGodat_
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Bunmei, 21(28), 53-63. Retrieved from http://
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kosaka.pdf
Lamb, A. (2007). Literature learning ladders: Theory
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it is good for our students… and for us. Retrieved
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article/extensive-reading-why-it-good-our-students…-us
Mar, R. A., & Oatley, K. (2008). The function offiction is the abstraction and simulation of social
experience. Perspectives on Psychological Science,
3, 173–192. Retrieved from http://www.yorku.
ca/mar/mar%20&%20oatley%202008_PPS_
function%20of%20fiction.pdf
Mar, R. A., Oatley, K., Hirsh, J., dela Paz, J., &Peterson, J. (2006). Bookworms versus nerds:
Exposure to fiction versus non-fiction, divergent
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bookworms%20versus%20nerds.pdf
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Exploring the link between reading fiction andempathy: Ruling out individual differencesand examining outcomes. Communications, 34,
407–428. Retrieved from http://www.yorku.
ca/mar/Mar%20et%20al%202009_reading%20
fiction%20and%20empathy.pdf
Mark, P. L. (2007). Building a community of EFL
readers: Setting up literature circles in a Japanese
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E038.pdf
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Rouault, G., Eidswick, J., & Praver, M. (2012).
Using reading circles to blend independent
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Proceedings of Pan-Asia Conference 2010, 219228. Seoul: KOTESOL. Retrieved from http://
www.koreatesol.org/sites/default/files/pdf_
publications/KOTESOL-Proceeds2010web.pdf

Authors’ Biographies:
Brian Bresnihan teaches in the School of Economics, University of Hyogo in Japan. He has been
involved in the EFL/ESL field for 35 years, mostly in Japan, but also in NYC, studying at Teacher
College Columbia University and teaching in ESL programs throughout the city. brian@econ.uhyogo.ac.jp
Myles MacAuley teaches in the English Education Department at Kansai University ofInternational Studies, Japan. He has taught English at various universities in Japan and has alsotaught in Hong Kong. His research interests include extensive reading and collaborative learning.
m-macauley@kuins.ac.jp22

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Greening PanSIGMark Brierley

Brent Simmonds

Catriona Takeuchi

Shinshu University
mark2@shinshu-u.ac.jp

Aichi Gakuin University
simmonds.brent@yahoo.com

One World English

Peter Hourdequin

Tim Pritchard

Tokoha University
pfh@sz.tokoha-u.ac.jp

Kyushu Sangyo University

Many conference attendees and organisers are concerned about environmental issues. This paper
looks at actions taken at the 2015 PanSIG conference relating to environmental issues, specificallyconsidering the carbon footprint of the conference, carbon offsets and conference catering. Travel,
specifically flight, is the main environmental impact of the conference, and carbon offsets are
currently the best mitigation option. Catering is also significant and highly visible, but requires
complex organisation.
学会参加者や運営関係者は環境問題に関心をもっていることを考慮し、本論では2015年の
PanSIG大会における、
カーボンフットプリント、
カーボンオフセットや大会におけるケータリングなどの運営面での環境への影響を概観する。学会参加において、環境への影響が一番大きいのは交通手段、特にフライトであり、現段階ではカーボンオフセットが最良の緩和策となっている。
ケータリングも大きな要因となっているが、より複雑な体制づくりが必要である。

The influence of human activity on the naturalenvironment has been a concern in regional, national,
and international politics since the latter part of thetwentieth century. Examples of early legislation that
focused on pollution include the 1956 Clean Air Act
of the UK, the 1963 Clean Air Act of the US and the1967 Basic Law for Environmental Pollution Controlof Japan. In recent years, attention has shifted to theemission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which
is widely believed in the scientific community to leadto an increase in global temperatures corresponding
to increases in extreme weather conditions and a risein sea levels. Vanden Heuvel (2015) reports that six
Brierley, M., Simmonds, B., Takeuchi, C.,
Hourdequin, P., & Pritchard, T. (2016). Greening
PanSIG. In G. Brooks, M. Porter, D. Fujimoto, &D. Tatsuki (Eds.), The 2015 PanSIG Journal (pp.
23-30). Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

oil companies are in agreement that global warming isreal and man-made (see also Goldenberg & Bengtsson,2015). Since the PanSIG conference was held, 196 of
the world’s governments made commitments in Paristo keeping global temperature increases well below
two degrees centigrade (Warrick & Mooney, 2015).
This paper will thus not debate climate change, butwill assume that it is very likely to be happening,
and that we should make decisions and take actions
accordingly, in the same way that we wear seat belts
because of the broadly held consensus that they save
lives.
Many organisers and participants of Japan
Association for Language Teaching ( JALT) events
care deeply about environmental issues. JALT has had
an environment committee since 2014, the same yearthat saw the addition of an environmental officer tothe PanSIG conference committee with the aim ofassessing and reducing the environmental impact ofThe 2015 PanSIG Journal

23

Brierley, Simmonds, Takeuchi, Hourdequin, & Pritchard
the conference. Hischier and Hilty (2002) provide
one example of an assessment of the environmental
impact of an International conference, and Suzuki(n.d.) provides some useful suggestions for how theenvironmental impact of a conference may be reduced.
The PanSIG conference team has not followed any
specific sustainable conference assessment system,
and most progress to date has been in assessing
the impact of the conference and looking for areas
where improvement can be made. Reductions inenvironmental impact require decisions to be madeand actions to be taken from the beginning of theplanning process, and the somewhat ad hoc nature of
the organisation of academic conferences means that
this has not yet been possible.
Most human activity has some environmental
impact, and one simple way to reduce our negative
impact would be to not hold a conference. On theother hand, as teachers we have a great potential for
raising awareness of environmental issues among ourstudents. Activities at our conferences may indirectly
influence tens or hundreds of thousands of young
people in a positive way, leading to positive changes
throughout their lifetimes. This paper will focus on
two aspects of the conference with negative impacts
on the environment: travel and catering.

Carbon Footprint
The carbon footprint is an estimate of how muchcarbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gases, an activity
produces. Carbon is the main constituent of fossil
fuels, and each of the two oxygen atoms that combine
in combustion are heavier than each carbon atom, so
a litre of oil will produce around 2.5 kilogrammes ofcarbon dioxide (DEFRA, 2015). Different fossil fuelsources produce different amounts of carbon dioxide,
and the balance of energy supply to the electricity
grid can give estimates for the carbon footprint ofelectricity, typically half a kilogramme per kilowatt
hour in Japan (FEPC, 2012). The energy use of anactivity will give a first estimate of the carbon footprintof that activity, then we must consider the energy thatwas used in producing any equipment related to theactivity and the carbon footprint of people supporting
the activity.

24

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

For example, the carbon footprint of a flight canbe first approximated by calculating each passenger’s
share of the carbon dioxide produced by the fuel.
Aircraft fuel use depends on the length of flight as wellas the type of plane, but typically is around three litresof fuel per hundred kilometres per passenger (Peeters,
Middel & Hoolhorst, 2005; Kwan & Rutherford,2014). In shorter flights the fuel used in takeoff ismore significant, so the emissions per kilometre will
be higher, while intercontinental flights tend to havehigher speeds and will therefore also use more fuel.
Aircraft efficiency is improving all the time, so newer
planes will use less fuel and emit less carbon. A firstestimate of carbon emissions is therefore 7.5 kg of CO2
per 100 km per passenger. We must also consider theemissions from the energy that was used to build theaircraft, and the emissions used in the extraction andtransport of the fuel. In addition there are servicing
costs related to airports and staff, and a complete
analysis would have to consider what the crew atefor breakfast, and perhaps take some account of theeducation the pilot went through to reach his positionin the cockpit. Other gases with a similar effect on
the global climate are taken into consideration andan equivalent weight of carbon dioxide is added, so
the figure usually given is kilograms of carbon dioxide
equivalent. Estimates for carbon emissions of one
passenger in an economy seat range from 10 kg per
100 km per passenger (Delta Airlines, n.d.) to 15 kg( Japan Airlines, n.d.) to 20 kg (MyClimate.org, n.d.).
Business class seats yield a higher carbon footprint
since they take up more of the aircraft than economy
seats. It is clear that carbon footprint calculations
depend greatly on assumptions, and the precision ofcarbon footprint figures may exceed their accuracy.
Carbon is not the only environmental issue,
and the carbon footprint may not take into accounta wide range of impacts from littering and human
exploitation to nuclear radiation and destructionof ecosystems. Carbon is, on the other hand, acentral environmental issue that is related to manyother issues; high-carbon activities are likely toalso produce more pollution, more waste and more
habitat destruction. In addition, carbon footprint
calculations produce single numbers that we can use

Greening PanSIG, pages 23-30
to compare different events or activities. They allow
us to set measurable targets to reduce our impact,each year, and may identify the areas that produce themost carbon, which we may chose to put most of ourefforts into. Environmental issues are never black andwhite, where one option is “good for the environment”
and another is “bad for the environment”. In mostcases there are shades of grey, and we often need tochoose the least bad option, for which numbers canhelp. For example reusable cups usually have a lower
environmental impact than disposable cups, but theirimpact is not zero. The production, cleaning, breakage
and eventual disposal of reusable cups all have impacts,
and an inefficient dishwasher may use more energy
than the manufacture and disposal of a polystyrene
cup (Carbon Clear, 2012; Hocking, 1994). In any
case, for a conference the size of PanSIG, the carbon
footprint of one short flight will be the equivalent of
all the cups used in the conference.
There are various websites that can calculate thecarbon footprint for a conference. We used MyClimate,which calculates carbon footprint based on a survey ofgeneral information about the conference, information
about participants’ transportation to and from theconference, and other detailed information about
participant accommodation, conference activities, andfood and beverage consumption. More information on
the methodology for calculating the carbon footprint
can be found at MyClimate (n.d.).
The general information survey gathers data about
the number of participants, the event’s duration indays, and details about the event’s location including
information on the heated or air-conditioned area.
The mobility section asks for the numbers of attendees
who arrived by coach, train, car, and short-, mediumand long-distance flights. It asks for the average
distance of terrestrial travel, and the percentage flying
business class. The calculator will estimate the energyuse, consumption of drinks and use of other materials,
or detailed figures can be added. The number of warmand cold meals, percentage of vegetarian meals, anduse of regional and seasonal ingredients must also be
added. The accommodation section asks about the
number of stays at different levels, from youth hostel
to five-star hotel. The promotion section asks how

many kilogrammes of printed materials were used,
and the percentage of recycled paper, whether or notthere was a promotion stand, and how much space it
occupied.
Some of this information was estimated, and some
was available from the venue and registration data.
For example attendees were asked to identify theirdietary preferences and were given a vegetarian option,
which around 20% of attendees chose. Vegetarian
food has a significantly lower environmental impact,with livestock production estimated to be responsiblefor 18% of all climate change gases (FOA, 2006).
Quantities of printed paper were estimated; we hope
to research more thoroughly in the future to better
understand the impact of the conference in terms of
paper use. Transport distances were estimated from theaddresses of registered attendees, and some anecdotal
information helped decide which modes were used bythose travelling longer distances.
The carbon footprint of the 2014 Miyazaki
conference, with 250 attendees, was estimated as
47 tonnes, or around 180 kg per person. The carbon
footprint of the 2015 Kobe conference, with 300
attendees, was estimated as 32 tonnes, around 100 kg
per person. One of the largest contributions to thecarbon footprint is transport, specifically air transport,
which accounts for the larger footprint of the 2014conference. If the estimated 30 short-distance flights
in 2015 had been train journeys, the total footprint
would have dropped by over 30% to 21 tonnes.

Carbon Offsets
Carbon offsets are a way of investing in projects that
reduce carbon emissions to offset the amount of carbon
produced by other activities. This includes helping
businesses upgrade old equipment so it produces lesscarbon, developing low-carbon energy sources suchas wind or solar, methane capture, planting trees andmanaging forests. Carbon offsets can be certified,for example by the Gold Standard, VER (Verified
Emission Reduction) or J-VER in Japan (WWF, n.d.).
Here again there are shades of grey rather than brightgreen, and criticisms of the carbon offset system begin
with the fundamental question of whether market
economic theories can be used to protect the natural
The 2015 PanSIG Journal

25

Brierley, Simmonds, Takeuchi, Hourdequin, & Pritchard
environment (Goodward & Kelly, 2010; Morris,
2008; Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace & WWFUK, 2006). We may question the effectiveness of tree
planting while deforestation is continuing aroundthe world, and we need to look carefully at where
the trees are being planted and whether they willkeep the carbon there or be cut down within a few
years. Since even “green” energy sources have somecarbon footprint associated with their manufacture,transportation, installation and maintenance, theirimplementation may in fact lead to more energy use,following the Jevons paradox. Nineteenth-century
British economist William Stanley Jevons noticed
that increasing efficiency produced more consumption
rather than less. He observed increased efficiency insteam engines leading to more steam engines being
used, both in the extraction and transport of coal,and other uses beyond. This led to an increase in coaluse, which continues to increase to this day, in spiteof other energy sources. In the case of “green” energy,
technologies such as solar generation may make itpossible to generate power where it was not available
before, leading to more power being used.
Costs of carbon offsets vary widely depending on
the kind and location of projects. MyClimate Japan
would offset all the conference’s carbon emissions
locally for around 100,000 yen. An example of a solar
generation project in the area of the conference is toinstall 100kW of solar power at a paper recycling
plant. Solar panels provide a clean and reliable sourceof power, and these will reduce carbon emissions by an
estimated 47 tonnes per year.
Local forestry projects include: a regeneration offorest on Rokotsu Mountain in Kobe City; a J-VER
certified project in Shiro City reviving forests that havenot been managed for several years; and managementof forest in Yabu City. Forestry projects include raisingawareness among owners of forests, and supporting
management where owners cannot afford it. These
three projects represent capture of 70, 344 and 2,070
tonnes of carbon per year, respectively. Anotherexample from overseas is a Carbon Neutral (n.d.) Gold
Standard project to provide improved cookstoves inSouthern India. Almost three billion people in theworld use wood or other biomass for fuel, one third in

26

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

India. As well as reducing the amount of fuel needed
to cook and heat homes, these stoves will improvehealth by cutting air pollution.
When registering, attendees of PanSIG2015
were given the option to contribute to local carbon
offsets, either 100 yen, 500 yen, or 1000 yen. Out of
301 registered participants, 73 made contributions,
totalling 38,500 yen. These were used to buy carbon
credits for a solar energy project in Kobe, offsetting
4 tonnes of CO2. A similar offset in forestry credits
in Yabu city would have cost 48,000 yen. The offsets
were purchased through MyClimate Japan and
Linda Dyson from TESOL International acted as anobserver to ensure transparency.

Catering
Although leaving a smaller carbon footprint thaninternational air flight, food production is responsiblefor 20-30% of climate emission (FOA, 2006). Cateringat conferences has a significant impact on the local
and global environment, and catering is highly visible,
contributing greatly to the image of the conference,and raising of awareness among participants. Several
organisations have guidelines for catering with a lower
environmental impact (House of Commons, n.d.,MIT, n.d., Monash University, 2009). The principleareas for consideration are sourcing of food andreduction of waste. The kinds of food and drink, andthe distances the food has travelled will have different
environmental impacts, and locally-sourced vegetarian
food produces less carbon (FOA, 2006). Waste has amultiplying effect since waste means more food was
produced than necessary. Other considerations include
plates, cups and cutlery, where reuse and reduction canlimit the impact, while disposable utensils can increase
the carbon footprint (Carbon Clear, 2012; Hocking,1994).
Catering includes lunches, snacks, receptions anddinners. Different venues allow different levels ofcontrol of catering, which can affect environmental
impact. A higher level of control in catering leads tomany practical issues, and communication becomes
critical, whether within the organising committee,
with the venue or with suppliers.

Greening PanSIG, pages 23-30

Lunch in the Cafeteria
In Kobe we were lucky to be able to use the University
cafeteria for lunches, and they washed up cutlery
and crockery so there was very little waste. Whencatering for lunches at weekend conferences there isoften no choice but to provide bento (lunch boxes) in
disposable packages. Some bento suppliers can provide
lunches in reusable boxes (known as shiki). Whilereusable boxes make environmental sense, the extra
time involved in collecting and washing them often
does not make financial sense, so disposable bentos
are the default, and reusable shiki must be speciallyrequested. Although unnecessary in Kobe, ordering of
bento is often a problem for conference organisers whoneither want to have hungry participants, nor uneaten
leftovers, but often do not have precise numbers ofparticipants.

Snacks in the Cafe
A “Narrative Cafe” was provided with hot waterand coffee urns from the cafeteria. Student interns
sold tea and coffee, as well as snacks that had beenpurchased from Costco, a warehouse club specialisingin imported food. There were no facilities forwashing cups, so disposable cups were used. Proceeds
were donated to earthquake relief in Nepal. Whileearthquakes may not seem immediately related togreening the conference, there are links between
disaster relief and environmental issues. Climatechange, food production, environmental degradation,
human displacement and relief work are all intricately
related (UNEP, n.d.; Goldenberg, 2014). Althoughdifficult to express in kilogrammes of carbon
equivalent, supporting disaster relief in other countries
can play a vital part in building awareness of global
issues which are likely to become more acute as the
population increases and the climate changes. Whilethe cafeteria allowed a lower impact from locallysourced, freshly-made food on washable plates, thecafe provided snacks with many more food-miles on
disposable plates. The lower cost of the food, however,boosted the donation to international disaster relief.

Networking Reception
The Saturday evening reception was held in thecafeteria. The reception costs were included in thebudget, and it was free to all attendees. Proceedsfrom a “drinks for two” paid bar were donated to a
local charity supporting education for children of
Vietnamese immigrants.
Food was provisionally ordered for 150 people, at
2,000 yen each. The cafeteria allowed us to supplement
this with cheese, crackers, fruit and vegetables,
purchased wholesale at a reasonable cost. Here again
there was a priority on cost leading to a mixture of
impacts. The cafeteria also allowed us to bring in drinksthat we had bought outside. This is usually impossible
in commercial reception venues, where drink sales area major source of profit. The price of drinks is often
two or three times more than their cost, so being able
to buy drinks from outside can considerably saveparty costs, or greatly increase donations to a charity
while guests are paying what they would in a regularcommercial establishment. There is, however, a certain
risk of being left over with unsold stock. Since parties
do not want to run out of drink, and do not want tohave drink left over, the ideal situation is to be able tobuy drinks on sale or return, which some suppliers cando.
There was some discussion on the PanSIG mailinglist whether the reception should be included, orwhether attendees should pay extra for the reception.
Among arguments for including the reception were
the ideas that the reception is an integral part of theconference, and planning is easier with a fixed budget.
The main argument against was that people should
not be paying for an event that they did not want to, or
may not be able to attend. There was no consensus but
a majority of people stating a preference favoured thereception being included. There later emerged anotherproblem with including the budget in the attendance:
this made the number of attendees unclear, which
made it difficult to work out the amount of food anddrink to order.
The environment officers assisted in organising
the party, and took on the role of ordering thedrinks. None of the environment officers were based
locally, and they were unable to find a supplierthat would offer drinks on sale or return, or to findsuppliers of locally-produced beer. There were someThe 2015 PanSIG Journal

27

Brierley, Simmonds, Takeuchi, Hourdequin, & Pritchard
communication problems, largely because there wasno direct communication between the people ordering
drinks and the staff in the cafeteria. For example, thecafeteria staff had prepared space to refrigerate drinks,
but they did not know that kegs of beer would be
arriving on Friday evening, which would not fit in the
refrigerators. Luckily this did not spoil the beer, but it
made it more difficult to control. The people ordering
the drinks did not know that beer for an initial kampai
had also been ordered from the cafeteria, which would
have reduced the amount of drink ordered. In addition
the closing time of the party was not clear until thenight of the party. Although the nominal party start
time was 6:30, presentations continued until 6:40 andthe party only began around 7:00. This meant there
was only an hour for drinking and eating. There waslittle food left over, but even an extra 20 or 30 minutes
would have made a big difference to consumption ofdrinks.
These issues, compounded with an over-estimateof the number of attendees, and overestimation of
how much each person would drink, meant some beerremained unsold. Although the kegs had not beenbought on a sale-or-return basis, a half-price refundof unopened kegs was negotiated; the beer was notwasted but made an expensive round trip. The bar
did not lose money, and in fact was able to contribute
20,000 yen to a local charity. More communicationand more careful planning could have doubled thiscontribution, as well as reducing the risk of waste foodand drink.

Conclusion and Future Directions
Since 2014 we have begun to assess the environmental
impact of PanSIG conferences, estimate carbon
footprints, and look for ways to reduce the impact. We
cannot say whether PanSIG is a “green conference” but
we have made progress in defining what that meansin our context, and considering environmental issues
in more of the decisions relating to the conference
organisation, from the first planning steps.
In terms of carbon footprint, the main impactof the conference is in transport, specifically flight.
It may be possible to reduce this by encouraging
terrestrial travel, or allowing teleconferencing, and28

The 2015 PanSIG Journaltransportation should be considered when choosing avenue. However, the purpose of conferences is to bringpeople together, for which transport is necessary,and one of the strengths of PanSIG is that it can beheld outside the more easily accessed Tokyo-Osaka
corridor and bring a JALT event to regions of Japan
where the international conference would not be held.
For now, the most realistic option is to accept thattransport will be used, estimate the carbon footprintof that transport, and balance it with carbon offsets.
While transport represents the largest impactof our conferences, catering is significant and highly
visible. Hired or borrowed utensils will have a lower
environmental impact if the site allows them. If notpaper or plastic cups should be chosen carefully tominimise impact. Organisation of catering is complex
and any attempts to reduce environmental impact
need careful planning and execution, with better
communication.
One significant area that this paper does notaddress is the use of paper, including the conference
handbook and handouts supplied by someparticipants. Another area for future investigationis the positive impact of the conference. This paper
has briefly mentioned charitable donations, but there
is a great potential for conferences such as PanSIG
to raise awareness of environmental issues among
teachers, encourage appropriate practices and suggest
suitable classroom activities which could influence ahuge number of students. We should encourage morepresentations explicitly addressing environmental
issues, and presenters who consider the environmental
impacts of their research methodologies and teaching
techniques.

Acknowledgements
Thank you to Mizuka Tsukamoto for writing theJapanese abstract.

References
Carbon Clear (2012). Disposable cups vs. reusable cups:
Solving the carbon intensity question. Retrieved
from http://www.carbon-clear.com/files/
Reuseable_vs_Disposable_Cups_2012.pdf

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Carbon Neutral (n.d.). South India improved
cookstoves. Retrieved from http://www.
carbonneutral.com/carbon-offsets/south-indiaimproved-cookstoves-project
Delta Airlines (n.d.). Carbon calculator. Retrieved
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en_US/about-delta/corporate-responsibility/
carbon-emissions-calculator.html
DEFRA (2015). Government conversion factors
for company reporting. UK: Department
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Affairs. Retrieved from http://www.
ukconversionfactorscarbonsmart.co.uk/
FAO (2006). Livestock’s long shadow: Environmental
issues and options. Rome, Italy: Food andAgriculture Organisation of the United Nations.
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a0701e/a0701e00.HTM
FEPC (2012). Environmental action plan by theJapanese electric utility industry. Tokyo: The
Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan.
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library/environmental_action_plan/__icsFiles/
afieldfile/2013/03/27/actionplan_E_2012.pdf
Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and WWF-UK(2006). Joint statement on offsetting carbon
emissions. Retrieved from http://www.
agreenerfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/
WWF-GP-FoE_on_offseting.pdf
Goldenberg, S. (2014, March 31). Climatechange ‘already affecting food supply’ - UN.
The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.
theguardian.com
Goldenberg, S., & Bengtsson, H. (2015, June 9).
Secretive donors gave US climate denial groups$125m over three years. The Guardian.
Goodward, J., & Kelly, A. (2010). Bottom line on
offsets. World Resources Institute. Retrieved fromhttp://pdf.wri.org/bottom_line_offsets.pdf
Hischier, R., & Hilty, L. (2002). Environmental
impacts of an international conference.
Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 22,543-557.
Hocking, M. B. (1994). Reusable and disposable
cups: An energy-based evaluation.

Environmental Management 18(6), 889-899.
Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/
article/10.1007%2FBF02393618
House of Commons (n.d.). Responsible catering.
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documents/commons-catering/responsiblecatering.pdf
Japan Airlines (n.d.). What is carbon offsetting for theprevention of global warming in which we canparticipate? Retrieved from https://www.jal.
com/en/csr/environment/carbon_offsetting/Kwan, I., & Rutherford, D. (2014). Transatlantic
airline fuel efficiency ranking. International
council on clean transportation. Retrieved fromhttp://www.theicct.org/transatlantic-airlineefficiency-2014
MIT (n.d.). Guide to sustainable catering: Zero waste
planning guide chapter. Retrieved from http://
web.mit.edu/workinggreen/docs/sustainable_
catering_giuide.pdf
Morris, S. (2008, April 3). The great carbon con:
Can offsetting really help to save the planet?
The independent. Retrieved from http://www.
independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/
the-great-carbon-con-can-offsetting-really-helpto-save-the-planet-803933.html
My Climate (n.d.). Carbon offsets. http://
myclimatejapan.com/
Monash University (2009). Sustainable catering guide.
Victoria, Australia: Office of Environmental
Sustainability, Monash University. Retrieved
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pdf_file/0009/238995/Sustainable-CateringGuide.pdf
Peeters, P. M., Middel, J., & Hoolhorst, A.
(2005). Fuel efficiency of commercial aircraft:
An overview of historical and future trends.
Amsterdam, Netherlands: National Aerospace
Laboratory. Retrieved from http://www.
transportenvironment.org/sites/te/files/
media/2005-12_nlr_aviation_fuel_efficiency.pdf
Suzuki, D. (n.d.). How to host a sustainable, carbon
neutral conference or other event. Retrieved fromhttp://www.davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/
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Brierley, Simmonds, Takeuchi, Hourdequin, & Pritchard
sustainable-carbon-neutral-conference-or-otherevent/
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IASC_leaflet.pdf
vanden Heuvel, K. (2015, June 16). Cracks appear in
the climate change deniers’ defenses. Washington

Post.
Warrick, J. & Mooney, C. (2015, December 12). 196
countries approve historic climate agreement.
Washington Post.
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what_we_do/how_we_work/businesses/climate/offsetting/gold_standard/

Authors’ Biographies:
Mark Brierley teaches at Shinshu University in Matsumoto, Nagano. His interests include
extensive reading and low-energy building. Mark can be reached at mark2@shinshu-u.ac.jp.
Brent Simmonds is a part-time teacher at Aichi Gakuin University, and other universities in
Nagoya. He is chair of the JALT Environment Committee, and membership chair of the Gender
Awareness in Language Teaching SIG.
Catriona Takeuchi has been teaching English, primarily to Young Learners since 1990. She isowner and operator of One World, a small conversation school for children. She is co-author of
the Happy Valley Phonics series published by Modern English. She lives in Nara with her partner
and assorted offspring.
Peter Hourdequin is a lecturer in the Faculty of Foreign Studies at Tokoha University in
Shizuoka, Japan. He is also a postgraduate researcher in the department of Educational Researchat Lancaster University, U.K. His current research focuses on the intersection of language
learning and campus sustainability.
Tim Pritchard has taught English in Fukuoka, Japan, since 2002. He has a Masters degree from
Birmingham University, UK. In addition to environmental issues, his research interests include
student beliefs in learning and how they can affect motivation to study English.

30

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Repair Sequences as Potential Sites of Learning

Jeffrie Butterfield
Kanagawa University
jeffriebutterfield@gmail.com
Because most conversation analytic studies on learning lack a traceable learning object, thereis skepticism regarding the ability of conversation analysis to deal with the issue of learning. The
present study hopes to contribute to previous research on learning by showing how and wherelearning may occur in second language interaction. It first attempts to demonstrate how participants
show a lack of knowledge or a problem in understanding, a change of state following a repair as
seen through the participants’ production of change of state tokens (Heritage, 1984), and theirapplication of just-encountered linguistic items in the subsequent interaction.
これまでの学習に関する会話分析の多くの研究では学習者が言語アイテム（言葉、
フレーズなど）を学習したか否かの追跡をあまり行かなかったため、会話分析は学習という話題に対処できるかど
うか、ということに関して疑問があるとされてきた。本研究では第二言語の会話の中で、どのように、
どこで学習が行われるのか、ということを解明することにより、これまでの会話分析の学習に関する研究に寄与する。
本研究ではまず会話参与者はどのように知識不足及び理解上の問題を示すのかを示し、さらにchange of state tokens(Heritage, 1984)で示された知識状態の変化の産出や、会話参与者のその直前に遭遇した言語アイテムの自らの応用により学習が行われたということの提示を試みる。

Conversation Analysis (CA) is a method for analyzing
and understanding how humans interact and it isinformed by a variety of disciplines. It is the explicationof both social action and of how an interactional social
order is maintained by participants (ten Have, 2007).
Recently, there have been an increasing number ofstudies which focus on what CA can contribute tosecond language acquisition (SLA), and more broadly,
to second language research. These studies span awide range of topics such as repair (e.g., Hosoda,
2000, 2006), interactional competence (e.g., Young& Miller, 2004; Hellermann, 2011), and learning
opportunities (e.g., He, 2004; Waring, 2008, 2011).
However, few studies specifically address the topic ofButterfield, J. (2016). Repair sequences as potentialsites of learning. In G. Brooks, M. Porter, D.
Fujimoto, & D. Tatsuki (Eds.), The 2015 PanSIG
Journal (pp. 31-37). Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

learning. Markee (2000) comments that conversation
analysis for second language acquisition (CA for SLA)
should be able to show temporary learning. However,most of the studies on learning have revealed that
this can be quite complicated. Some studies (e.g., He,
2004) discuss whether CA is analytically capable ofaddressing the topic of learning. Because most CA
studies on learning do not have a traceable learning
object, many researchers are still skeptical about
CA’s ability to deal with the issue of learning. Lee
and Hellermann (2014) remark that because CA isconcerned with the description of interaction, it is notconsidered ideal for SLA research by some researchers.
The present study hopes to contribute to previous
research on learning, more specifically, potential sitesof learning, by showing how and where learning may
occur in second language interaction. One of thesites in which learning may occur are called repair
sequences. Repair refers to problems of speaking,The 2015 PanSIG Journal

31

Butterfield
hearing or understanding and consists of twosegments: a repair initiation and a repair outcome,which is the repair itself (Schegloff, Jefferson, & Sacks,
1977). Sequences are generally thought of as consistingof two fundamental parts: a first pair part and a second
pair part. This study attempts to demonstrate how
participants show a lack of knowledge or a problem
in understanding, then demonstrate a change of state
as shown through their use of change of state tokens(Heritage, 1984) and finally showed that they may
have possibly learned something, as illustrated bytheir application of the learning object. In this study
learning is used to mean going from an observablestate of not knowing or understanding, to a state ofknowing or understanding as exhibited through theparticipants’ behaviors and their ability to apply theword or phrase that they learned in the subsequentinteraction. The two examples presented in this study
have the following general features:•• Student shows a problem of understanding or lackof knowledge as displayed through a question or
inability to produce the correct word•• Student or teacher initiates the repair•• Teacher performs the repair (teaches)•• Student demonstrates a change of state throughuse of change of state tokens, such as “oh” or “ah”•• Student demonstrates their understanding of thelearning object by applying it
In this study I argue that repair sequences are one
possible site in which learning may occur and thatconversation analysis is capable of demonstrating
how learners can potentially go from a state of notunderstanding or knowing to a state of understandingor knowing, and then become capable of applying thelearning object.

Methods
The data used in this study come from approximately
sixteen hours of conversations which were audiovideo recorded at a university language lounge inJapan. A language lounge is a place where university
students can go to practice English with a native
speaker of English. In recent years, many universities
in Japan have created language lounges with the goalof improving students’ communicative competence.

32

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

The conversations were transcribed according to thetranscription conventions developed by Gail Jefferson(See Atkinson & Heritage, 1984). The examples usedin the present study come from two different language
lounge sessions, each of which lasted for approximately
forty minutes. In the transcripts the teacher is listed
as T and the students are listed as S1, S2, and S3. In
this data, the native English speakers and non-native
English speakers orient to their institutional identities
as teachers and students throughout the interaction.
It is for these reasons that I will be referring to theparticipants as teachers and students throughout thispaper. These are not identities that I am ascribing to
the participants a priori.

Analysis
In this section I present two examples, which support
Brouwer and Wagner’s (2004) findings that repair
sequences may be potential sites in which learning
occurs. The first example is divided into two extracts(Extracts 1 and 2) and the second example is divided
into three extracts (Extracts 3, 4, and 5). In the firstexample the repair sequence is initiated by the student
and in the second example the repair sequence isinitiated by the teacher. The repair initiation is what
is what opens the repair sequence, which is wherelearning occurs.
Before the interaction in Extract 1 began, T asked
S2 if he had any brothers or sisters and S2 started
describing his brother. He describes his brother as not
being good at cleaning, but being very smart.
In lines 01 and 02 T states, “well we say there’s uh
in English we say there’s two kinds of people there isleft brain people and right brain people,” to which S2
initiates repair by saying “what does it mean,” showing
a lack of understanding of the terms left brain people
and right brain people. The subsequent interaction
demonstrates that his repair initiation creates not
only a possibility for learning, but an outcome, theapplication of the expression “right brain,” whichsuggests that learning may have occurred.
After S2 says “what does it mean,” T walks to
the whiteboard and begins to draw a picture ofa brain and in line 06 S2 says “ah sou iu koto ka” inJapanese which can mean “ah that’s what it means”

Repair Sequences as Potential Sites of Learning, pages 31-37
or “ah I see.” Through this utterance, S2 displays that
he has made a connection between the picture of
the brain that the teacher drew on the whiteboard
and the phrases right brain and left brain. In line 12
T begins his explanation of the expressions left brain
and right brain. S2’s responses to T’s description ofright and left brain people, specifically his change ofstate tokens, are important because they demonstratethat he understands not only what his brother is, butwhat his brother is not, and they are significant for

the argument that something was potentially learned.
After T describes left brain people as “organized,”“structured,” and “clean,” S2 responds in line 23 withthe change of state token “ah,” which is elongated andhas rising pitch. This change of state token suggeststhat he has gone from a state of not knowing to a stateof knowing.
The interaction continues in Extract 2 with T
explaining right brain people. T describes right brain
people as “creative,” “disorganized,” “messy,” and says

Extract 1
01
T:
02
03
S2:
04
T:
05		
06
S2:
07
08
T:
09
S2:
10
S1:
11 		
12
T:
13
14 		
15
		
16
S2:
17
T:
18		
19
S1:
20
T:
21
S2:
22
T:
23
S2:
24
S1:

well we say there’s uh in English we say there’s two kinds of people
there is left brain people and right brain people
what does it mean?
so (( (2.9) stands up and walks towards whiteboard and begins to draw
a picture of a brain))left brain ah: sou iu koto ka(1.9 )
this is your brain
hn
hn
(2.0)
kin- kind of like your brain (1.6) so left brain people (1.8) theytend to be uh: more (1.8) I think (2.0) maybe- maybe I’m not- maybe
I’m getting this wrong ºhh but I think left brain people tend to be moreorganizedorganized
they’re- they tend to- or maybe it’s right brain I’m not sure maybe
I’m [getting them mixed up[ha ha ha ha
but left brain people are usually organized and uh very structured
unand have uh you know their (.) uh home is usually very clean
ah::↑
hn:

Extract 2
01
02
03
04
05  
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16  
17
18
19   
20
21
22   
23

T:
S2:
T:
S1:
T:
S1:
T:
S2:
S1:
T:

and then right brain people they tend to be more creativehn:
or disorganized. uh: tend to daydreamhn ha halike just ugh↑ha ha ha hathinking about nothing
ha ha ha it’s ()?
°ha ha haºthe right brain people tend to be messier
(0.8)
S2:
messier?
T:yeah messy
S2:
messy
T:
((begins to write “messy” on board))
S2:   ah↑ messy.     T:so they don’t clean their rooms much or they you know have comic books
everywhere or but they’re very creative or smart
S2:
hn: ah↑T:they spend their time thinking about the world or thinking about
dreams they don’t think so much like a left brain person
S2:   ah↑ I see. so my brother is the right brain [person[right brain maybe

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

33

Butterfieldthat they “tend to daydream.” The teacher begins towrite “messy” on the board and S2 says “ah messy” inline 16 with rising pitch on the “ah,” which possibly
indicates a change of state. T continues to explain thatright brain people “don’t clean their rooms much,” butthey are “smart,” to which S2 responds “ah I see. so
my brother is the right brain person” in line 22. Prior
to Extract 1, S2 described his brother as not being
clean and being very smart, so T seems to agree that
S2’s brother is a right brain person as evinced by hisutterance in line 89, “right brain maybe.”
Extracts 1 and 2 demonstrate how S2 went froma visible state of not understanding the expression“right brain” as demonstrated by his question “whatdoes it mean” in Extract 1, to some understanding ofit, as shown by his use of change of state tokens andhis correct application of “right brain” in line 22 ofExtract 2. All of these elements suggest that something
was learned, and the opportunity for learning was
made possible by S2’s repair initiation, and the site inwhich the learning occurred was a repair sequence.
The following interaction begins with T saying“I design houses” in line 01. S2 responds with “unhn” and then there is a 4.0 second gap. When noone provides an answer, T gives another hint in line
04 saying “I work with blueprints” and S2 repeats“blue” in a quiet voice. A 1.9 second gap follows andthen T makes a nudging motion to S2, but S2 does
not seem to understand why. T continues to try to
pursue an answer by uttering “say it say it” in line 10

in a quiet voice while doing a nudging motion to S2again. Earlier in the interaction S2 produced the word“architecture” and now it seems that he wants her
to produce the word “architect,” which is a similar
word. S2 now seems to understand and produces theword “architecture” in line 11 to which T initiates
and performs repair by stating “architect.” I argue
that this repair initiation not only creates a learning
opportunity, but, as mentioned above, a result thatsuggests that learning may have occurred.
In response to T saying “architect” S1 laughs inline 13, probably because he now realizes why T wasdoing the nudging motion to S2. S2 repeats “architect”
in line 14 and T explains the difference between
architect and architecture. He states that “architect isthe person” and “architecture is the thing” and places
stress on the “tect” in “architect.” To this S2 respondswith the change of state token “ah,” which is elongatedand has rising pitch. This change of state token
suggests that S2 went from a state of not knowing thatarchitect is a person and architecture is a thing to astate of knowing.
The interaction continues and Extract 4 below
occurs approximately one minute and thirty-eight
seconds after the interaction above ends. The teacher
is now bringing the session to a close and asks thestudents if they came “up with anything really new
today.”
The words “architect” and “architecture” become
topics of discussion and T once again explains theExtract 3
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18   
19

34

T:
S2:
T:
S2:
T:
T:
S2:
T:
S1:
S2:
T:
S1:
T:
S2:
S1:

two more u:::m (3.0) I design houses
un hn
(4.0)
I work with blueprints(1.1)°blue°(1.9)((makes a nudging motion to S2))
(1.0)
ºsay it° ºsay it° ((says this as he does a nudging motion to S2))architecturearchitect
ha ha haarchitectarchitect is the personaharchitecture is the thingah:::↑
ah:

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Repair Sequences as Potential Sites of Learning, pages 31-37
Extract 4
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32

T:
T:
T:
S2:
T:
S2:
T:
S2:
S1:
T:
T:
S2:
S3:
S2:
T:
S2:
T:
S2:
T:
S2:
S1:
T:
S2:
T:
S3:
T:

did we come up with anything really new today(1.7)
not really.
(1.9)
maybe architect(0.7)
architectyeah architect is the person==architect==and architecture is the (.) the thing>thing< [architecture is thing okay architect is the person[oh:for example uh: when I (.) went to Europe (1.0) I took pictures ofbeautiful architecture(1.5)
beautiful buildings
yeah
hn hn hnoh okay beautiful architecture==yeah==is that right?
yeah surearchitect is a person who design a building
yeah can you think of one of the most famous architects in the world?
(2.0)°ha ha° [ha ha ha ha ha ha I do(h)n’t kn(h)ow[yeah I don’t know about thatI’m thinking Spain°Spain°the really unusual buildings
Sagrada Familia
hn I can’t hear sorry

meanings of both words as seen in lines 08 and 10
when he says “architect is the person” and “architectureis the thing.” In lines 07 and 09 S2 repeats “architect”
and in line 11 she repeats “architecture is thing okayarchitect is the person.” In line 24, T says “can you
think of one of the most famous architects in theworld?” S3 produces the answer that T is looking
for, but he is unable to understand so a new sequence
begins in which the students try to explain that Gaudi
is the architect of Sagrada Familia.
Approximately one minute and twenty-fiveseconds passes between the end of the extract above
and the beginning of the extract below and during thattime the words architect and architecture were notused by any of the participants.
In line 01 S2 tells T that “the building nameis Sagrada Familia” to which T responds with theelongated change of state token “ah” in line 03. Inline 04, S2 continues to explain that “the architect is
Gaudi.” It is S2’s application of the word “architect”
that suggests that learning may have occurred. I
maintain that although it may only be temporary
learning, the fact that the word “architect” was not
used for a short period of time, S2 use of the word“architect” suggests that she learned the meaning andthat it is now in her repertoire. Not only does she use
the word, but she uses it correctly with the name of
the architect of Sagrada Familia, Gaudi. This potential
learning, I argue, was made possible by the initiationof repair by the teacher, as shown in line 12 of Extract
3. S2’s use of the change of state token “ah” in Extract
3 as well as her application of the word “architect”

Extract 5
01
02
03
04
05
06

S2:
T:
S2:
T:

but now right yeah the building name is Sagrada Familia
(0.5)
[ah::
[and then the- the architect is Gaudi
(1.0)
okay

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35

Butterfieldsuggest that repair sequences may be one potential sitein which learning may occur.

Discussion
Learning is often thought to be a cognitive actionthat occurs in the mind and is therefore not visible,
but the examples presented in this study suggest thatlearning can be visible and conversation analysis, amethod of analyzing the observable elements of social
interactions, can be used to uncover how and where it
may potentially occur. This study used a conversation
analytic approach to demonstrate how the participants
may go from a state of not knowing to a state ofknowing, as demonstrated by the participants’ visible
problem in understanding or lack of knowledge, theiruse of change of state tokens, and through their actionsof applying the newly learned word or phrase. All ofthese elements are what suggest that learning may haveoccurred. The sites in which the learning occurred
were repair sequences, which were initiated either by astudent or a teacher.
The two examples presented in this study
are similar in that students demonstrate a lack ofknowledge, a change of state, and then the ability toapply the newly learned word or expression in thesubsequent interaction. They differ in few distinct
ways. In the first example (Extracts 1 and 2), thestudent initiates the repair by stating, “what does it
mean?” In the second example (Extracts 3, 4, and 5),
the teacher initiates and carries out repair by saying,“architect.” Also, in the second example, T repairs S2’sutterance, S2 produces a change of state token, and S2
uses the word “architect” later on in the interaction.
However, in the first example, S2 may know the words“right,” “left,” and “brain,” but he does not understandthem when they are used together. This is evinced byhis initiation of repair in which he states, “what doesit mean?” When T begins to draw a picture of a brain
on the board, S2 states, “ah so iu koto ka” in Japanese,
which, as stated above, can mean “ah that’s what itmeans” or “ah I see.” At this point it can be argued
that S2 demonstrates his recognition of the words“right brain” and “left brain,” but it is insufficient toargue that he understands the characteristics of rightbrain and left brain people. If S2 already knew the36

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

characteristics of each type of person there would be
no need for him to produce multiple change of state
tokens (e.g., Extract 1: line 23, Extract 2: lines 16, 19,
and 22) which follow T’s description of right brain andleft brain people. It is these change of state tokens aswell as S2’s correct application of the expression “rightbrain” which suggests that learning has occurred. S2
describes his brother as not being good at cleaning,
but being very smart and this description matches T’s
description of right brain people.
The type of learning discussed in this study is
all short-term and although the examples do notdemonstrate long-term sustained learning, they dosuggest that repairing student utterances and notletting mistakes pass (Firth, 1996) may lead to at least
short-term learning, which is the first step to achieving
long-term learning.

References
Atkinson, J. M., & Heritage, J. (Eds.). (1984).
Structures of social action: Studies in conversation
analysis. Cambridge, England: Cambridge
University Press.
Brouwer, C. E., & Wagner, J. (2004). Developmental
issues in second language acquisition. Journal ofApplied Linguistics, 1(1), 29-47.
Firth, A. (1996). The discursive accomplishment of
normality. Journal of Pragmatics, 26, 237-259.
He, A. W. (2004). CA for SLA: Arguments fromthe Chinese language classroom. The Modern
Language Journal, 88(4), 568-582.
Hellermann, J. (2011). Members’ methods, members’
competencies: Looking for evidence of language
learning in longitudinal investigations of otherinitiated repair. In J. Hall, J. Hellermann, &S. Pekarek-Doehler (Eds.), L2 interactional
competence and development (pp. 147-172).
Tonawanda, NY: Multilingual Matters.
Heritage, J. (1984). A change-of-state token andaspects of its sequential placement. In J. M.
Atkinson & J. Heritage (Eds.), Structures ofsocial action: Studies in conversation analysis (pp.
299-345). Cambridge, England: Cambridge
University Press.
Hosoda, Y. (2000). Other-repair in JapaneseRepair Sequences as Potential Sites of Learning, pages 31-37
conversations between nonnative and native
speakers. Issues in Applied Linguistics, 11(1), 3963.
Hosoda, Y. (2006). Repair and relevance ofdifferential language expertise in second language
conversations. Applied Linguistics, 27(1), 25-50.
Lee, Y., & Hellermann, J. (2014). Tracing
developmental changes through conversation
analysis: Cross-sectional and longitudinal
analysis. TESOL Quarterly, 48(4), 763-788.
Markee, N. (2000). Conversation analysis. Mahwah,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
ten Have, P. (2007). Doing conversation analysis.
London, England: Sage.
Schegloff, E. A., Jefferson, G., & Sacks H. (1977). The

preference for self-correction in the organizationof repair in conversation. Language, 53(2), 361382.
Waring, H. Z. (2008). Using explicit positive
assessment in the language classroom: IRF,
feedback, and learning opportunities. The
Modern Language Journal, 92(4), 577-594.
Waring, H. Z. (2011). Learning initiatives andlearning opportunities in the language classroom.
Classroom Discourse, 2(2), 201-218.
Young, R. F., & Miller, E. R. (2004). Learning aschanging participation: Discourse roles in ESL
writing conferences. The Modern Language
Journal, 88(4), 519-535.

Author’s Biography:
Jeffrie Butterfield is a doctoral student at Kanagawa University. His research interests include
conversation analysis, second language acquisition, and language teaching. Jeffrie can be reachedat jeffriebutterfield@gmail.com

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

37

Spoken Narrative: Multiple Voices, Multiple Perspectives

John Campbell-Larsen
Kyoto Women’s University
joncamlar@hotmail.com
Spoken narrative is a linguistic universal, and one of the most frequently occurring activities inspoken interaction. However, engaging in spoken narrative is more than just creating a series ofwell-formed sentences and placing them in temporal order. Narratives have a macro-structure
and that is analyzable on the level of discourse and at the same time are interactional events thatare co-constructed by both teller and audience at a micro-level. This paper will describe some of
the research findings concerning these macro-structures and micro-practices. It is proposed thatmetacognitive awareness of these facets of narrative, on the part of both learners and teachers,
combined with repeated encouragement and opportunities to engage in narrative in class time will
enable learners to develop abilities to engage in one the central uses of natural language.
会話中の物語は世界の文学上に共通し、言葉のやりとりはもっとも頻繁に使用します。
しかし会話中の物語は形成された文書順番に置きかえる事だけではない。物語には大きな談話構造と小さな談話構成があり、小さな談話構成の物語は語り手と聴衆の共同構築されるものです。
本論文はこれら二つの側面の研究発見を説明します。教師も学生もこれらの側面知識を持ち、生徒は個人の物語を話しする機会が沢山あれば基本的で自然な言語を話す能力が飛躍する事ができます。

Spoken narrative is listed by Brown (cited in Pinker,
2002, p.437) as a human universal, that is, a form of
behavior that is ubiquitous in all societies and cultures.
It is hard to overstate the frequency of narrative
episodes in daily conversation. Interactants suffuse
their talk with stories and anecdotes as they conduct
the quotidian business of creating and maintaining
social relationships. Sometimes prolonged stretches ofinteraction consist solely of rounds of stories, each one
triggering a response story from the next participant.
Given the centrality and frequency of narratives
in spoken language, it is reasonable to suggest that
Campbell-Larsen, J. (2016). Spoken narrative:
Multiple voices, multiple perspectives. In G. Brooks,
M. Porter, D. Fujimoto, & D. Tatsuki (Eds.), The
2015 PanSIG Journal (pp. 38-44). Tokyo, Japan:
JALT.

38

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

language learners should be acquainted with thespecific ways in which stories are told in the target
language and also given ample opportunity to prepare,tell and re-tell their stories as they construct a social, as
opposed to purely institutional, identity in the target
language. This paper attempts to provide some insight
into the ways in which narratives are constructed andco-constructed by interactants, in order for teachers tounderstand the ways in which successful storytelling
can occur, and for teachers to then make informed
decisions as to how students can include storytelling aspart of their L2 repertoire.
It is, of course, necessary for learners to have atleast a certain level of vocabulary and grammar ability
for them to be able to engage in narrative in the target
language, but storytelling is more than just a questionof creating correctly formed sentences and putting
them in order. As McCarthy (1991, p.138) stated,Spoken Narrative, pages 38-44“expecting a learner to tell a decent story is a tall order,
and indeed it is; not everyone is an accomplishedstoryteller in their first language.” In order to illustrate
what else is required to construct and engage in astorytelling, I will examine narrative from two separate
perspectives. The first section will look at the discourseof spoken narrative, that is the kinds of structures thatexist at the global level in narratives. Although thesenarrative structures may not be accessible to casual
introspection, storytellers routinely structure theirnarratives in predictable ways, and it is likely that
listeners orient to these structures in order to makesense of what kind of discourse he or she is involved in.
As Cook (1989) wrote;

The language learner, in order to be able tooperate effectively as a participant in discourse
needs to be able to identify what type of discourse
he or she is involved in and to predict how it will
typically be structured” (p. 49).

The second perspective will examine storytellingas an interactive practice, co-constructed by boththe teller(s) and listener(s) in the here and now of
the unfolding interaction in mutually convergent
ways, such intersubjectivity being a feature of talk ininteraction in general, not storytelling in particular.

The macro view: The discourse ofnarrative
The basics for a description of narrative structure werelaid out by Labov and Waletsky (1967). Using datafrom interviews with a variety of people from different
socio-economic, racial and geographic backgrounds,
they found a common structure underlying mostnarrative episodes. This structure consists of a numberof steps, which are produced in order by the teller ofthe story. These steps are as follows:
1) Abstract. In this stage the storyteller often
uses stock phrases to indicate that a narrative episodeis upcoming. The teller thus makes a bid for a longer
turn holding the floor than would otherwise beallowable in conversational exchanges and to placeconstraints on the topic, i.e. the normal freedoms
that participants have to change topic at any point in
unfolding interaction are temporarily suspended. The
topic may not normally be changed until the teller has
reached a recognizable end to the telling. Examples of
fixed expressions used in this slot are did I ever tell you
about the time that or wait until I tell you about. The
teller here expects this bid for extended floor time tobe accepted by the listener(s) by such expressions as
no, what happened, oh really, and other overt or tacit
signals that the telling may proceed.
2) Orientation. In this stage the storyteller
provides the information necessary for the listeners
to understand the world in which the story takes
place. Canonical orientation categories are: 1) People,
that is, the characters of the story, whether known
or unknown to the listener(s). 2) Place. That is, thelocation or locations in which the story takes place,describing the locations inasmuch as they are relevantto the story, from the large scale, such as country orcity, to a fine-grained locational orientation, such as
the seat at the end of the bar. 3) Temporal orientation,that is, when the events took place. Again, thesetimes are differentially referred to depending on theirrelevance to the story. A large scale but essentiallyvague orientation such as when I was a little kid may
be all that is needed, or, alternatively a fine-grainedorientation such as yesterday lunchtime may be scaleof the temporal setting of the narrative. The potential
amount of orientation material that may be included
is large, so participants should orient to the Gricean
maxim of relevance when presenting orientation, (seeGrice, 1975) but this orientation may not just be forraw sense making, but also for interactive purposes.
3) Complicating event. In this stage, the teller ofthe story introduces an event that is problematical forthe story participants, that is, some deviation from thesmooth progress of daily life. This is often what makes
the story tellable. (Although see below for a genre that
may omit the complicating event.)
4) Resolution. In this stage the problem that arosein the previous stage is resolved. The resolution phase
is often combined with overt assessment statements by
the teller, clearly signaling the expected response fromthe listener.
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Campbell-Larsen
5) Coda. This signals the end of the story andoften links the world of the story to the here-andnow of the telling situation. Summing up phrases andidiomatic expressions such as ‘That was the end ofthat’ or ‘Well, you live and learn I suppose’ can often
signal this transition.
Such is the basic outline of narrative that was
identified by Labov and Waletsky (1967), and as suchit can serve as a useful template for students when they
are trying to construct a narrative to tell in English.
(See appendix for an example of a classroom handout
that students can fill in as they construct their own
narratives.)
Eggins and Slade (1997) developed the ideasof Lavov and Waletsky further and categorizedstorytelling into the following sub-genres:•• Narrative (Deals with overcoming an obstacle)•• Anecdote (Elicits a reaction to a situation)•• Exemplum (Describes how the world is or shouldbe)•• Recount (How one event leads to another)
The narrative genre matched Labov and Waletsky’s
outline, but the anecdote genre, although presenting
a disturbance to the normal course of events, does
not present a resolution to the problem raised andis designed primarily to elicit a reaction from thelisteners. The exemplum and recount genres may
not even have the complicating action as part of thenarrative structure. Thus, although the basic fivestep outline can serve as a useful template, it is worth
pointing out to students that “all these elements are
not always present.” (Pridham, 2001, p. 15)
A further aspect of the storytelling matrix is the
epistemic environment in which the telling takes
place. Labov and Waletsky (1967) referred to oneof the informants being a “practiced storyteller who
is widely known in his community … is an expert inthis traditional art.” (p.27) This indicates that a story
being told might actually constitute a re-telling andthat many of the best storytellers engage in a series ofretellings in which they refine and polish the narrative.
The upshot of this is that a narrative may be a re-tellingand if so, (some/all of ) the audience may have heard

40

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the story before and therefore be in a position to
engage with the storyteller in a different manner than a
new audience hearing a story being told by a teller who
is engaging in the first ever telling of the story. Rather
than presume that stories are one-off events told toan unknowing audience for the purpose of rectifying
epistemic differences, the social aspect of storytelling
may be foregrounded. Norrick (2000) stated:

Indeed, the tellability of familiar stories rests noton any newsworthy content, but on the dynamics
of the narrative event itself. Story content neednot be relevant or newsworthy if co-narration
holds the promise of high involvement. (p.106)

For students, this means that they are notprohibited from engaging in multiple re-tellings, nor
are they required to tell stories that are their own
sole property, but may be shared experiences with copresent listeners or even re-tellings stories that they
heard from a third party about events that happened
to that party. They can and should tell stories thatallow listeners to co-participate in the telling, toachieve goals that are primarily concerned with group
identity and ratification of group membership rather
than simply revealing unknown information for
the enlightenment or amusement of their listeners.
Common narrative topics for students are part-timejobs, club activities, public transport experiences, andvacation activities. (See excerpt 1 below.) Such topics
are very much part of university student life andengagement in narratives on these topics allows fora good deal of convergence and ratification of group
identity, in the same way that, for example, tales ofchild-raising are a common staple for people withyoung children but can alienate co-present members
who do not have children.

The micro-view: The interactional
perspective
The macro-structure of narratives, the likely ways
in which a teller of a story will present the material
at hand, is a useful way for learners to conceptualize

Spoken Narrative, pages 38-44
narratives as discourse events and to allow them towork towards constructing their own narratives in thetarget language. Just as a narrative is not just a series ofcorrectly structured sentences placed in order, so too is
the interactional unfolding of a story not just a matterof a teller taking an extra long turn while the listeners
sit in silence until the end. The interactional dynamics
of the storytelling event are managed on a moment-bymoment basis as the telling unfolds.
When telling the story, the teller of the story
must engage in small-scale practices that will help thelistener to both understand the story in terms of its
logical, spatial, temporal and dynamic coherence andalso understand it as an ongoing interactive event in
the here-and-now of the world of the story teller andhis/her audience. As was mentioned above, tellers must
adhere to the Gricean maxims (see Grice, 1975), thatis they must provide relevant, information, avoiding
undue ellipsis or prolixity in order for the narrative to
be comprehensible to the listener, without taking too
much of the listener’s understanding for granted, nor
taxing the listener’s patience with unnecessary details
or backstory exposition. However, what is relevant
may be also be due to interactional concerns as wellas with the need to convey an understanding of thefacts of the narrative. In the story below a storyteller isrecounting an incident on a train in which a drunken
female passenger boarded a train and sat next to thestoryteller. The drunken passenger then vomited, someof which soiled the storyteller’s footwear. The drunken
women then left the train without apologizing or
attempting to clean up. The story arc most closely fitsthe ‘anecdote’ genre, referred to above in that a crisis
occurred but there was no overt resolution, no returnto the previous state of quotidian normalcy. The story
seems primarily designed to elicit a reaction from thelistener, namely one of disapproval and disgust at theactions and behavior of the drunken passenger. The
listener reacts in just this way, using taboo language tocriticize.
Excerpt 1 occurs during the orientation andcomplication phases of the story.
Line five is notable for its interactional relevance.
The fact that the drunken passenger was overweight is
not strictly relevant to the narrative and could easily
have been omitted. However, the storyteller chooses toinclude this detail. One possible interpretation is thatthe storyteller is pre-signaling that this passenger is theantagonist of the story and is encouraging the listener
to take a negative stance towards this individual
even before the actual crisis is related. (While thedrunkenness of the passenger may also be laying

Excerpt 1
01.
02.
03.
04.
05.
06.
07.
08.
09.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.

E:
and (0.2) well (0.2) the station		(.) leave the station
		
when a: a girl sit down my		nearby seat		and a little bit fat girl huhhu
		and she was so:: eh:: drinker en		(.) ah::		
I was worried abouteh::: drinker		(.) drinker people		>on the train<		and she (2.2) ent well she throw		up (0.9) >on the train<T:
Oh really?=E:=Yeah and my: (0.8) ssan. My		boots in dirty
T:
Really? Oh [it’s shit ][ She] YeahT:
Oh::: it’s dirty bitch

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Campbell-Larsen
the ground for a negative judgment, it also serves amore narrow relevance criteria by accounting for thesubsequent vomiting.) It is interesting to note thatthe reference to the passenger’s weight might be seen
as socio-culturally inappropriate, so the teller hedges
with ‘a little bit’ and also adds a small laugh token after
the statement. By these means, the teller prepares thelistener to treat the drunken woman in negative terms,
but also seeks to avoid the loss of face that may occur
by engaging in a negative judgment of the woman’s
weight. The apparent goal of the storyteller of elicitinga negative reaction from the listener is accomplishedwhen T offers his strongly worded assessment in lines
16 and 18.
This small fragment demonstrates the small-scaleinteractional practices that also occur in story telling,in this case, preparing the listener to react in a certain
way, engaging in matters of face saving and adhering
to socio-cultural norms in the here-and-now of thetelling.
This fragment also highlights the importance ofthe listener. If we accept that the purpose of the story
seems to be to get the listener to react with disgust andcondemnation to the drunken passenger’s behavior
rather than simply to fill an epistemic gap, then thestory cannot be deemed to have finished until sucha reaction is forthcoming. In this case, the desired
reaction is given and then the storyteller and listener
go on to an in-tandem series of expressions, using
taboo terms (not given here), to jointly accomplish theending of the anecdote.
This illustrates the idea that listeners are expected
to be active participants in the story telling, showinginterest in the unfolding story, encouraging the teller tocontinue, aligning with the assessments offered (overtly
or tacitly) by the teller and generally facilitating thetelling by aligning to the interactional role of ‘listener’by various verbal, non-verbal and turn-sequential
practices. Such is the normative case in situations
where the tellers and audience are all speakers of thesame L1 and cross-linguistic/ cross-cultural matters
are not a factor. In L2 situations research (Bavelas,
Coates & Johnson, 2000; Wolf, 2008) has found that
active listenership has a beneficial effect on the fluencyof the teller, with the backchanneling of the listener42

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

providing support and encouragement to the teller
to proceed. Thus it is important that teachers in L2
classrooms stress the necessity for active listenershipduring storytelling, this practice conforming not only
to normative practice in target language interactions,but also as an active means by which the language
skills of the teller can proceed to a more accomplishedlevel of performance.

Conclusion
Storytelling is a central human linguistic activity andany L2 language program claiming adequacy must
address the topic in a way that reflects this centrality,
as a commonsense view of the goals of language
learning must include ‘the use of language for thenormal purposes of language’ (Rivers, 1983, p.64).
However, perhaps because of its familiarity in daily
exchanges, some of the underlying structures andinteractional practices of spoken narrative may lie
below the metacognitive horizon of the classroom
participants and be inaccessible to the intuition ofteachers and learners alike. Familiarity with some of
the conventions of spoken narrative, as outlined in thispaper, needs to be inculcated in the learners throughexplanations of these conventions by the teacher andrepeated opportunities to practice storytelling in theclassroom. Furthermore, students need to be reassured
that the classroom is indeed an appropriate venue forstorytelling, being as it is a social space where people
gather and engage verbally with one another rather
than a purely institutional setting in which personal
narratives are inappropriate. Narrative is not only
appropriate, but actually essential in any humanistic
language learning situation.

References
Bavelas, J.B., Coates, L. & Johnson, T. (2000).
Listeners as co-narrators. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 79(6), 941-952.
Cook, G. (1989). Discourse. Oxford, England: Oxford
University Press.
Eggins, S. & Slade, D. (1997). Analyzing casualconversation. London, England: Continuum.
Grice, H. P. (1975). Logic and conversation. In P.

Spoken Narrative, pages 38-44
Cole & J. Morgan (Eds.), Syntax and semantics:
Vol 3, Speech Acts (pp. 43–58). New York, NY:
Academic Press.
Labov, W., & Waletzky, J. (1967). Narrative analysis.
In J. Helm (Ed.), Essays on the verbal and visualarts (pp. 12-44). Seattle, WA: University ofWashington Press.
McCarthy, M. (1991). Discourse analysis for language
teachers. Cambridge, England: Cambridge
University Press.
Norrick, N. A. (2000). Conversational Narrative:
Storytelling in everyday talk. Amsterdam,

Netherlands: John Benjamins Publishing.
Pinker, S. (2002). The blank slate: The modern denialof human nature. London, England: Penguin.
Pridham, F. (2001). The language of conversation.
Abingdon, England: Routledge.
Rivers, W.M. (1983). Communicating naturally in asecond language. Cambridge England: Cambridge
University Press.
Wolf, J.P. (2008). The effects of backchannels on
fluency in L2 oral task production. System, 36(2),279-294.

Author’s Biography:
John Campbell-Larsen teaches at Kyoto Women’s University in Kyoto, Japan. His researchinterests include conversation analysis, spoken language pedagogy and cross culturalcommunication. He can be contacted at: joncamlar@hotmail.com

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Campbell-Larsen

Appendix
Fill out the details of the story in the relevant boxes.
1. Abstract (Introduce your story. What is it about?)

2. Orientation (When? Where? Who?)

3. Complicating action (What happened?)

4. Resolution (How did the story end?)

5. Coda (What did you learn? What can you say about the events?)

44

The 2015 PanSIG JournalMusic, Mind and Embodied Simulation

Amanda Gillis-Furutaka
Kyoto Sangyo University
gillisfurutaka.amanda@gmail.com
Why is music so exciting and why should we pay attention to using music more creatively in class, notsimply focusing on the video story or lyrics of a song? This paper draws on findings in neuroscience
to explain how listening to music activates the visual and motor, as well as the auditory corticesof the brain. In fact, music engages multiple areas of the brain, from the oldest to the newest, andaffects our emotions through triggering the release of dopamine. Moreover, we ‘hear’ and recall
music not only with our ears, but also with our eyes and bodies (embodied simulation.) The paper
concludes with examples of how music can be used to inspire students to create and recall stories,
based on various types of music they hear.
なぜ音楽はかくも喜びもたらすのか。教育ににおいて、従来のようにミュージック・ビデオや歌詞を用いるだけなく、より創造的な音楽の使い方を模索することがなぜ必要なのか。本稿は、神経科学の分野における先行研究を概観し、音楽を聴くことが大脳皮質の聴覚野、視覚野、そして運動野を活性化することを説明する。事実、音楽は古い脳から新しい脳に至るまで、脳の複数の部分に作用し、ドーパミンの分泌を促すことで感情にも影響を与えることがわかっている。
さらに、人は、身体化されたシミュレーションを通して、音楽を耳だけでなく目や体でも聴いたり思い出したりするのである。
こ
れらをふまえ、本稿では、英語学習者にさまざまなタイプの音楽を聴かせ、その刺激でストーリーを作らせたり思い出させたりする教授法の事例を紹介する。

The theme of the PanSIG 2015 conference was“Raising the Happiness Quotient”(PanSIG, 2005).
One excellent way to achieve this in the classroom
is to introduce music in timely and well-planned
activities. To explain why this strategy comes witha guarantee of success, even for teachers who do
not believe themselves to be ‘musical’, this paper
will first describe the process of listening to musicfrom a neuroscience perspective. The second partwill introduce activities that have been successfulin stimulating the imaginations and creativity ofstudents in a language class, or which serve to refreshand energize the students between language-based
Gillis-Furutaka, A. (2016). Music, mind andembodied simulation. In G. Brooks, M. Porter, D.
Fujimoto, & D. Tatsuki (Eds.), The 2015 PanSIG
Journal (pp. 45-50). Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

activities. It is hoped that with greater understandingof the ways in which music stimulates the whole brain
and taps into the emotions of learners, teachers will be
more willing to introduce music, and the joy it brings,
into the language classroom on a regular basis.

What is music and why is music a
powerful learning tool?
Stephen Pinker (1997) famously claimed that music
is an evolutionary accident, and that human minds
have not been specifically shaped for music cognition.
This controversial claim has not yet been disproved,
however, there is clear evidence that music is among
the oldest and most ubiquitous of human activities(Levitin, 2006). Music is universal in human culture
because “it transforms our lives in ways we value
deeply, for example, in terms of emotional and
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Gillis-Furutaka
aesthetic experience and identity formation” (Patel,
2008, p. 401). For these reasons, it has been as naturalan activity as breathing and walking throughout mostof human history and most of the world. We start tolisten to music even before birth; babies can hear andrecognize familiar music from around their 30th weekof gestation (Patel, 2008).
Whereas some people are able to read, play, andcompose music better than others, everyone (who has
not suffered specific brain damage) can distinguishbetween music and noise (Levitin, 2006). We
recognize music because it is organized sound and we
can distinguish between the sound of traffic and music
because we recognize the basic elements of music:
loudness, pitch, contour, timbre, rhythm, tempo,
spatial location, reverberation, key, meter, melody, andharmony.
Moreover, after many years of research, it seems
that humans are the only animals that spontaneously
move to the beat of music (Patel, 2008). In fact, it
is so highly stimulating that we find it hard to keep
still when we listen to music. For these reasons, it isunsurprising that: “The relationship between dance
and music is widespread in human societies; indeed,some cultures do not even have separate terms formusic and dance” (Patel, 2008, p. 99–100).
Nevertheless, musical perception is strongly
influenced by culture and the music we become
accustomed to hearing. Although we can cometo appreciate and enjoy music from other cultural
traditions, it is not possible to say that music has
universal meanings for people from different or eventhe same cultures. Nattiez (1990) argues, from thesemiotic perspective, that meaning exists when weperceive an object or event that makes us think ofsomething other than that object or event. In otherwords, meaning is not a property of the object or event
itself. Meaning is a dynamic and relational process
and so the same piece of music can bring to mind adifferent set of things to different listeners, but also to
the same listener, if heard at another time and in othercircumstances. This makes music a rich resource forclassroom discussion and creative activities.

46

The 2015 PanSIG JournalMusic and emotion
Closely related to the notion of meaning in music is
the idea that music can express emotion. Experiments
using music from the Western European tradition havefound broad agreement among listeners who wereasked to judge the expressive qualities of the music(Patel, 2008). Music with a fast tempo, high average
pitch, and bright timbre is more likely to be judged
as expressing happiness than sadness, and vice versa(Patel, 2008). Even children can make reliable affective
judgments by the age of 5 or 6 (Patel, 2008). Anotheraspect of the Western European musical system, towhich both adults and young children are sensitive, isthe conventional link between major keys and positive
emotions, and minor keys and negative emotions.
Interestingly, experiments have shown that Westerners
with no knowledge of Indian classical music were able
to identify the intended emotion in Indian ragas whenthe emotions were joy, sadness, or anger (Balkwill andThompson, 1999). These researchers found that music
identified as expressing joy had a fast tempo and simple
melody, whereas music identified as sad had a slow
tempo and a complex melody. Identification of anger
was related to timbre. The hard timbre of the sitar
expressed anger as opposed to the softer timbre of theflute. These findings suggest that such psychophysicalcues to musical expression are cross-cultural and that
listening to music from other cultures can be a noveland stimulating experience.
Music can also influence our emotions and is
widely used to manipulate emotions in ceremonial
occasions, in advertising, in performances on stage andin film, as well as for personal mood manipulation.
Teachers can use music in the classroom to encourageemotional states that are learning receptive (Freeman
Dhority & Jensen,1998). Music influences emotions
by tapping into primitive brain structures involved
with motivation, reward and emotion (Levitin, 2006).
Intense musical emotion, experienced as thrills andchills, and the rewarding and reinforcing aspects oflistening to music seem “to be mediated by increasing
dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens, and by
the cerebellum’s contribution to regulating emotion
through its connections to the frontal lobe and thelimbic system” (Levitin, 2006, p. 191). Dopamine is aMusic, Mind and Embodied Simulation, pages 45-50
hormone known to have a positive influence on mood.
Wolfe (2010) explains that emotion drives attention
and that attention drives learning. “The brain isbiologically programmed to attend to informationthat has strong emotional content first” (p. 119-120).
It is also programmed to remember this information
longer.

Music and the whole brain
Listening to a piece of music we know and likeinvolves logical prediction systems as well as emotional
reward systems. It also activates memory traces ofthe emotional times in our lives when we have heard
the piece of music before. In fact, music listening,
performance, and composition engage nearly every
area of the brain that has been identified, and involve
nearly every neural subsystem (Levitin, 2006).

Synesthesia: Hearing with our whole body
It is generally assumed that we hear music through ourears when sound waves hit our eardrums and set off achain of mechanical and neurochemical events thatlead to an internal mental image of the sound we hear.
The sound waves do not make any noise until they
strike our eardrums, and they are not music unlessheard by someone because “sound is a mental image
created by the brain in response to vibrating molecules”(Levitin, 2006, p. 24). However, people like Evelyn
Glennie, a world famous percussionist, demonstratethat it is possible to appreciate music without relying
on stimulation of the eardrums alone (Stillhardlife,2008). She has been profoundly deaf since the ageof 12. She has learnt to hear music not through herears, but through her feet, fingers, arms, in fact her
whole body (Glennie, 2003). Her ability to interpretthe vibrations she feels into sounds demonstrates theamazing plasticity of the human brain.
However, it is not just gifted musicians like
Glennie who listen not only with their ears. We are
all doing this subconsciously to some extent. Such a
mingling of the senses is called synesthesia. There area lot of extreme synesthetes: Some see colours when
they see a number or letter (5 is blue, g is yellow, etc.)
Others see colours when they hear a musical tone (Cis red, F is yellow, etc.) These people are normal in

all other respects. There are two interesting points
related to synesthesia and this current discussion.
First, synesthesia runs in families and seems to have agenetic basis. Secondly, synesthesia is eight times morecommon among artists, poets, novelists and othercreative people than it is in the general population.
Nevertheless, we are all synesthetes to a certain extent.
Vilayanur Ramachandran demonstrated this point
in his TED talk using the examples of two shapes that
represent the sounds “kiki” and “buba”, two words ina fictitious Martian language (Ramachandran, 2007,
21:14–22:36). The audience was asked to identify
which sound corresponds to which shape. They almost
unanimously agreed that “kiki” referred to the pointed
shape and “buba” to the rounded shape. For thisaudience, and others who have tried this experiment,
the harsher, angular sound of “kiki” clearly matched
the shape with straight lines and narrow angles, while
the softer, rounder sound of “buba” corresponded tothe softer, curved shape. It is a common human featurethat we hear with our eyes and see with our ears mostof the time, albeit subconsciously.

How does musical information get into ourbrains?
Tokuhama-Espinosa (2014) explains that:
Information gets into the brain through different
pathways depending on sensory input. When welisten to a song played by a live musician with theintention of remembering it, it enters our brain
through the auditory pathways, is heard in thebrain, and can be reheard by tracing this auditory
network in the auditory cortex. However, when
we remember the way the musician looked as heplayed, we are triggering slightly different neuralpathways and a memory system linked more to
the visual (occipital) cortex. (p. 34).
This explains why listening to a familiar pieceof music can evoke a wide variety of memories andassociations.

Bergen’s theory of embodied simulation
The role of activated memories and associations is
explained by Bergen’s (2012) theory of embodied
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Gillis-Furutaka
simulation. When you hum or sing a song in yourhead, the same parts of your brain are active as when
you first heard the song. We use mental simulation tocreate meaning and we do this both consciously andunconsciously. When we recall a song, we often see
people, places, a music video, or something memorable
that is associated with hearing the song. This is why
music is such a rich source for students’ stories.

Recognizing musical patterns and making
memory links
Our brains learn to recognize associations such as, inWestern cultures, the use of minor scales to express
sad or defeated emotions and major scales to express
happy and triumphant emotions (Levitin, 2006).
Asian and Middle Eastern cultures use different scales
and Westerners learn to recognize these so that bylistening to just a few notes can they be transported to
the Orient. Our brains get to know such associations
through daily exposure to musical idioms, patterns,
scales, lyrics, and the connections between them.
Each time we hear a musical pattern that is
new to our ears, our brains try to make anassociation through whatever visual, auditoryand other sensory cues accompany it; we try tocontextualize the new sounds and eventually, we
create these memory links between a particular
set of notes and a particular place, time, or set of
events. (Levitin, 2006, p. 38-39)
Playing unfamiliar music to students can therefore
generate a lot of thought and discussion.

Activities and suggestions for how to
use music in the classroom
The activities outlined below are ones that I use
regularly in language-focused classrooms. Some ofthem require a projector and screen in the classroom,
but others require audio equipment only, or even thestudents’ own music players.
Start lessons with music or a music video for moodsetting, establishing rapport, allowing time to settle
down and focus on the lesson, and even introducing
the topic of the lesson. Putting on instrumental

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background music while students are working on
grammar exercises or project work can create a relaxedbut engaged atmosphere. There is a wide range of such
music selections on YouTube.
Include music in short breaks to allow the students
to relax and refresh their brains and bodies between
activities. Energetic music is good and videos withdancing, animals, great surprises, and heart-warming
scenes work especially well. They need not be Englishlanguage videos and they need not be the original
versions. Many of the parodies and covers of wellknown videos are new and stimulating to the students.
(Some examples are videos by OK Go, Bruno Mars,
Ylvis, Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, Sakanaction, GReeeN,
Babymetal, Pet Collective Parodies, Pentatonix, andthe many cover versions available on YouTube.)
Make use of synesthesia by playing instrumental
music and inviting students to let their imaginations
create the scene and/or a story. After listening,
students share with others what they saw, the place(s),colours, time of day, the feeling of the place (cold,
warm, safe, scary, etc.) The opening two minutes of
Art of Noise’s “Moments in Love” generates a lot of
discussion and vivid imagery.
Use synesthesia to draw on familiar patterns
and associations in music. The opening minutes ofKitaro’s “Silk Road” theme music conjures up scenesof slow-moving rivers and Chinese landscapes evenfor students who are unfamiliar with the music and
the NHK TV series. Challenge the students to try
to explain why this music made them see such similar
scenes in their mind’s eye or to develop a story basedon what they see while they listen.
Use synesthesia to show how we often cannot
block out visual memories (often of an accompanying
music video or of a memorable occasion when) when
we hear certain songs, such as “Gangnam Style” byPsy. Invite students to talk about other songs that havestrong visual memories for them.
Use mash-ups/covers of well-known songs. Tellthe students to stand up and move together to check
quietly with each other as soon as they recognize themusic. Performers such as The Piano Guys do a lot ofgreat covers. I used their version of “Let it Go” from
Disney’s Frozen (ThePianoGuys, 2014) and followedMusic, Mind and Embodied Simulation, pages 45-50
this up by pairs sharing their stories of when they saw
the movie, or what they see in their mind’s eye when
they hear this music, and which version they prefer,
the Japanese or English, and why.
Further exploitation of well-known movie songs/
theme music. Students can discuss where the song fits
into the story of the movie, what the song expresses,
and in the case of a song like “Let it Go”, compare themeaning of the original lyrics and the Japanese version.
Ghibli Studio/ Miyazaki Hayao film music ismuch loved and evokes many memories among
Japanese students. Students can be invited to share
their stories about when they first or last saw the film,
or other things or occasions that the song reminds
them of.
Music videos with a strong storyline and great
melody can be used as a paired activity where one
student (A) watches and the other (B) has their backto screen and only listens. B tells A what s/he thinks
the story of the song may be about based on the
melody, rhythm, mood of the music and the lyrics(which can be provided if you wish.) (A) then recounts
the story of the video. Last of all, they can watch thevideo together. Some videos that work well for thisactivity are: “Take On Me” by Ah-ha, many videos by
Nickelback, “Paradise” by Coldplay, “Girlfriend” by
Avril Lavigne, “Part of Me” by Katie Perry).
Let students be DJs and VJs to get a chance toshare the music they like and that they think theirclassmates may not know. Challenge them to create
their own activity. This can be done as a whole classactivity or in small groups using smart phones withearphones (if allowed).

Conclusion
Whether music is an evolutionary accident or not,it is an integral part of human consciousness and of
all human cultures. As such, it can be used as a tool
for aiding learning in the language classroom in avariety of ways. It can manipulate mood, stimulate
imagination, evoke memories, build rapport, as well as
provide English-language texts for study. Music of all
genres and origins, used wisely and well, can help raiseboth the learning and happiness quotient of language
classrooms.

References
Balkwill, L. L., & Thompson, W. F. (1999). A crosscultural investigation of the perception ofemotion in music: Psychophysical and culturalcues. Music Perception, 17, 43–64.
Bergen, B. J. (2012). Louder than words: The newscience of how themmind makes meaning. New
York, NY: Basic Books.
Cog-Sci-Wiki. http://courses.evanbradley.net/wiki/
doku.php?id=the_cross_activation_theory
Freeman Dhority, L. & Jensen, E. (1998). Joyful
fluency: Brain-compatible second language
acquisition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Glennie, E. (2003, Feburary). How to truly listen[Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.
com/talks/evelyn_glennie_shows_how_to_listen
Levitin, D. (2006). This is your brain on music: The
science of a human obsession. New York, NY:
Plume.
Nattiez, J. J. (1990). Music and discourse: Toward asemiology of music (C. Abate, Trans.). Princeton,
NJ: Princeton University Press.
Patel, A.D. (2008) Music, language, and the brain.
New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Pinker, S. (1997). How the mind works. New York,
NY: W. W. Norton.
Rachmadran, V. S. (2007). 3 clues to understanding
your brain [Video file]. Retrieved from http://
www.ted.com/talks/vilayanur_ramachandran_on_your_mind
Stillhardlife. (2008, September 10). Eveline Glennie– Maple Leaf Rag [Video file]. Retrieved fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHBsFOlSnA
ThePianoGuys. (2014, February 19). Let it go(Disney’s “Frozen”) Vivaldi’s Winter [Video file].
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=6Dakd7EIgBE
Tokuhama-Espinosa, T. (2014). Making classrooms
better: 50 practical applications of mind, brain, andeducation science. New York, NY: W.W. Norton &Company Ltd.
Wolfe, P. (2010). Brain matters: Translating research
into classroom practice (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA:
ASCD.
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Gillis-Furutaka

Author’s Biography:
Amanda Gillis-Furutaka taught in a variety of countries before taking a full-time position at
Kyoto Sangyo University. Her research interests include using media and music to teach language
and culture and she is currently working on a PhD in the Department of Music at Goldsmiths
College, University of London. She can be contacted at gillisfurutaka.amanda@gmail.com

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Redressing Imbalanced Positioning through Narrative

Kaori Hata
Osaka University
hata@lang.osaka-u.ac.jp
The aim of my paper is to clarify how the participants in an institutional framework co/de-construct
or redress imbalances in status by using characters in narratives. In such a framework, so many
imbalances exist. They are not always necessarily redressed, but in more than a few cases they canbe redressed in a here-and-now narrative situation. In my data, it can be seen that the participants
effectively use characters in narratives to create multiple dichotomies which the participants use
to put themselves into the same category as each other and redress their imbalanced positions/knowledge. By analysing layers of dichotomies, the multiple identities of one of these participants
can be better discerned.
本論文は半構造化インタビューというフレームにおいて、その参与者達が語るナラティブを通して、
今・ここの場における不均衡な立ち位置をどのように是正していくかを解明するものである。
インタビ
ュー場面におけるインタビュアーとインタビュイーという絶対的立場の違いや、社会的な立ち位置や知識を持つもの／持たざるものなど、場合によっては是正する必要がない不均衡もあるが、本論文で扱う不均衡は、参与者間での不均衡を是正するために多層的な二項対立などの手段を用い、均衡になる事によって話題を終わらせる例である。
この例を通して、物語世界の中での不均衡よりも、今・ここで集う者同士が均衡を保つ事、そのためには、対立軸を参与者達の外に見出だし、自分たちを一つの範疇に収める事などが観察された。

In the last two decades, the study of narrative hasdeveloped explosively. However, it has been dispersed
throughout various fields like linguistics, linguisticanthropology, psychology and so on, which you caneasily see if you search through the themes of theconferences and journals in these disciplines. Now,
this trend has reached the area of Language Teaching,to the extent that Pan-SIG has allowed ‘narratives’ tobecome part of its conference theme.
This paper follows the trend of examining
narrative through linguistics that has recently
developed as an umbrella field and currently forms oneof the strongest backgrounds of narrative analysis. In
Hata, K. (2016). Redressing imbalanced positioning
through narrative. In G. Brooks, M. Porter, D.
Fujimoto, & D. Tatsuki (Eds.), The 2015 PanSIG
Journal (pp. 51-57). Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

this study, sociolinguistics and related theories suchas positioning and small stories have been examinedwith a focus on the relationship between narrativeand identity in order to reveal the function of verbal
elements represented in narratives, especially themultiple functions of small stories that occur ininteractively constructed narratives. Following thisconcept, the aim of this study is to discover in whichsituations small stories are used and their functions,especially those through which participants in a visà-vis situation can 1) not only show their ‘position’ inboth the taleworld and their lived reality, but 2) also
redress the imbalanced positions among participants.
This study especially insists on the importance of thesmall story’s function in the redress of the participants’relative positions to one another, which consequently
leads the flow of interaction towards final closure on
the topic being discussed. Although the data in thisThe 2015 PanSIG Journal

51

Hata
paper is not directly related to language teaching, it
could be applied to the situation of language teaching.

Theoretical Background
The theoretical background of this study follows recent
trends in narrative theory. First, the foundationalmodel of narrative from a linguistic perspective(Labov & Waletzkey, 1987; Labov, 1972, 1997) was
taken as a starting point. Narrative was treated as astory which ‘‘begins with an orientation, proceeds tothe complicating action, is suspended at the focus ofevaluation before the resolution, concludes with theresolution and returns the listener to the present time”(Labov & Waletzkey, 1987). This definition, however,
was revised as ‘‘a sequence of events that have enteredinto the biography of the speaker by a sequence ofclauses that correspond to the original events” (Labov,
1997, p. 393) in concert with the development andcriticism of narrative studies.This was followed by
new perspectives that made possible the examinationof identity as represented or recreated in narratives:
positioning theory (Bamberg, 1997) and the conceptof big/small stories (Bamberg, 2004; Bamberg &Georgakopoulou, 2008; Georgakopoulou, 2006,2007) have been introduced and applied to empiricalresearch in order to reveal what happens and why it
happens in actual situations. In positioning theory,
Bamberg divides the positions into three parts
purposely in order to excavate identities in narratives:
The first is positioning level 1 which represents
the speaker’s position and reveals the character ofthe self in the speaker’s taleworld; the second ispositioning level 2, in which the relational positions
among the participants in here-and-now situations
are illustrated; and the third is positioning level 3,
which represents identity in the question, ‘Who am
I?’, including transportable and deeply embedded
identities. In other words, even if you are away fromyour normative base situation, the identity to which
you belong (including gender, nationality, ethnicity,etc.) will be evident in positioning level 3. In response
to positioning theory, the idea of the small story, aperspective that pushes against Labov’s definitionof narrative, has been proposed. This perspective has

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come to the fore because the traditional definitionof narrative has avoided dealing with some types ofstories. In traditional narrative theory, a story is a
representation of past experiences and hypotheticalstories, stories about the future, and ‘fragments’ ofstory are not treated as narratives. In order to examine
identity through the interaction of speakers, however,these ‘small stories’ must be analysed.

Data and Analysis
In this study, one of a series of semi-structured
interviews conducted among Japanese women living in
London in 2012 has been analysed. In this interview,
three participants who were close friends chatted
together: one was the interviewer (researcher), theothers were interviewees. In this scene, the interviewer
asked two interviewees some questions about culturaldifferences between Japan and the UK. Answering
these questions, the interviewees, permanent
residents whose nationality is Japanese, effectively
used characters in their narratives to create multiple
dichotomies through which the three participants
were able to put themselves into the same category asthat of the characters in the narrative. Evidence showsthat there is an attempt to redress the imbalance inposition and knowledge that exists between the role ofthe speakers and that of others involved. For example,
the data shown below demonstrates how threeparticipants (one interviewer and two interviewees,
who have known each other for 3 years and are closefriends) collaboratively redress their imbalanced
positions by narratively identifying themselves withina ‘traditional’ family type vs. the contemporary family‘unit.’ Kaori, the interviewer, begins her narrative by
explaining that she has found that there are two family
types: one is the ‘traditional’ family type, in which
women should do housework following the social
norms typically observed in Japan, while the other isthe family ‘unit’, in which it doesn’t matter who does
what work if it functions appropriately as a ‘family’.
Yayoi empirically understands what Kaori wants tosay. However, as in line 11 of Excerpt (1), Yuki cannot
understand what the difference they are talking about
consists of.
Yayoi used a small story about her acquaintance,Redressing Positioning Through Narrative, pages 51-57
Excerpt 11.

やよい：		
なんかともだ アメリカ人の同僚が(.)
Yayoi:		
you know, (his) frien(d) (his) American colleague
2.			 彼女が出来て 日本人の			
got a girlfriend who’s Japanese
3.
ゆき：		
うん
Yuki:		
yeah
4.
やよい：
家来た時に 彼が仕事行ってる時かな
Yayoi:		
when she came home while he was off to work
5.			 なんか ぶあっとま 部屋を片付けたらしくて			
you know, he said she cleaned up every inch of his room6.
かおり：		
ああ
Kaori:		
oh
7.
やよい：		
それをアメリカ人の彼はすごく引いた↑
Yayoi:		
the American boyfriend felt out of love for her very much8.
かおり：
あ:: [そうなんだ
Kaori:		
oh, really9.
やよい：		[んん なんで↑ なんで↑ なんで↑Yayoi:		
what? why? why? Why?
10.			
なんで掃除すんの↑みたいな 彼女が			like, why does she clean up my room?
11.
ゆき：		
え どういう わかんなかった
Yuki:		what? I cannot understand.
12.
やよい：だから アメリ マイケルの友達のアメリカ人が↑Yayoi:		
so, the Ameri Michael’s American friend
13.
ゆき：		
うん
Yuki:		yeah14.
やよい：		
日本人の彼女 できて[::[彼女がYayoi:		
got Japanese girlfriendshe15.
ゆき：			
[お:::: また [彼女が来た時にYuki:			oh:::::so when she came home16.
やよい：		
彼の家来て 彼がちょっと留守にしてる間にYayoi:		
she came to his home and while he went out
17.			
片付けたわけ全部			she cleaned up everything

who behaved herself just as if she was following
Japanese social norms. Japanese society tends to operate
based on a tradition of male dominance, in which
women are praised for doing housework perfectly,
a role that is fixed to sexual identity. However, thisdoesn’t work for the American boyfriend. As a result,she fails to show her love to him because he doesn’t
understand Japanese social norms. At this point, using
this small story, Yayoi presents a story about culturaldifference without any added evaluation. However, inline 6, Kaori already expects the final evaluation of thisstory and completely understands that this is a story
about cultural difference, as demonstrated when shesays “oh, really” in line 8, while Yuki confesses that
she cannot understand the situation itself because she

has never thought that the behaviour of the girlfriend
was unnatural. Then, listening to this small story
repeatedly with Observer Viewpoint gesture, Yuki canfinally understand the situation and co-construct thestory collaboratively in lines 14, 15, and 16 with Yayoi.
Then, Yayoi in Excerpt (2), starts evaluating thissmall story and uses her own small story to reveal her
opinion that the unit type of family is better and fair,and is the social norm of British/American culture.
In Excerpt (2), while Yayoi compares Japaneseculture to British/American culture, in line 31 Kaori
proposes a new dichotomous way of thinking among
British/American men: some think Japanese womenare convenient, while others feel they go overboard
with housework. Yayoi overlaps Kaori’s words and
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Hata
Excerpt 2
18.

やよい： だからなんでそんなことすんのかわからないって
Yayoi: so he didn’t understand why you did such a thing?
19.		
アメリカ人もね		
for the American, too
20.		
なんで日本人女性ってそんなことすんの↑		
why do Japanese women do such a thing?
21.		
そんな お手伝いさんじゃないじゃないみたいな		
she is not a housekeeper
22.
ゆき： [は:::::::::::::::::::::
Yuki: haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
23.
やよい： [頼んでもいないのに片付けて頼んでもいないのに
Yayoi: the behaviour of her cleaning up the room even when he didn’t ask her
24.		
料理作って待ってるっていうのを		and waited for him with handmade meals is25.		
日本人の男の人だったら すごいもうありがとうって		“very thankful for it” for Japanese men, maybe
26.		
いう感じだったかも知れないけど そのアメリカ人は(.)
		
but for the American guy,
27.		
ひいたって言ってて		
it was too much, he said
28.
かおり： は::::Kaori: yeah::::29.
やよい： でマイケルも そう思う なんか
Yayoi: and Michael thinks so, too you know,
30.		
なんでそんなことすんのかわからないみたいな↑		
he also doesn’t understand why she did so, you know
31.
かおり： そこでなんか(.)うわあ嬉しいすっごい便利って思うか
Kaori: it is the point whether the guys think ‘wow I love it because it is convenient.
32.		
引くか [どっちかで		or feels out of love for her
33.
やよい：
[そうそう
日本人女性ってYayoi:		
yeah yeah
what Japanese women34.		
いいじゃんめった使えるって思って=		
think is useful for a man
35.
ゆき： =多分 多分うちのだんなは うわあ[便利Yuki: maybe, maybe my husband thinks ‘wow, so convenient’
36.
かおり：			
[そ（んな）hhhhhh					no way37.
やよい：			
[そうそうYayoi:		
yeah yeah38.
ゆき： 便利タイプ 便利タイプ [うんYuki: yeah, I am a convenient type
39.
やよい：		
[便利と思ってYayoi:
because of its convenience
40.		
そういうの好んで日本人女性を選ぶ人と		(there are) such guys who choose Japanese women as it is convenient
41.		
なんか なんでその(.)ね つくしすぎる↑		and (as for the other type of guys) you know, like, it is too much
42.		
ていうの嫌っておもっ もっと自立した		such guys who think more autonomous women43.		
なんていう そういうのが好きって思う人と		
how can I say, there are such guys who like such women54

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Redressing Positioning Through Narrative, pages 51-57
44.		
45.
46.
47.

別れるのかもね↑(you will find) two separate types, probably
ゆき： でた そういうことですね::
Yuki: that’s the final answer. I see
かおり： でた [そこだぁKaori: that’s it. it is
やよい：[そこ違うと思う=
Yayoi:
that’s the point (these two are different)shows strong agreement with her. However, this is
the point when the imbalanced positions of thesethree participants start to be represented. In line 35,
Yuki uses the quoted speech of someone who thinks
it is convenient for wives to do all the housework, inorder to joke and be self-denigrating. Interestingly,
while Kaori denies her self-denigration in line 36,
Yayoi continues the dichotomous evaluation. After
that, all three participants share the idea that there are
two dichotomous types in the world and they belong
to one or the other of these types. Moreover, they alsointeraction in the here-and-now situation, theparticipants cannot leave the imbalanced positions
and try to redress them. Excerpt (3) shows the processof ‘distorted’ agreement that is used to make a balanceamong participants.
For instance, in line 48, Yuki repeatedly presents
a self-denigrating image of herself in a joke by saying‘I am thought of as convenient (by my husband),yeah?’ while using the final particle ‘ne’ to request
agreement. Yayoi, finally, realises that the conversation
threatens Yuki’s personal dignity because of her

share the idea that the roles associated with these types
are not only different, but also imbalanced: Yayoi
and Kaori believe that autonomy is good, while Yuki
comes down on the side of convenience.
This reminds me of Goffman’s participation
framework (Goffman, 1981), in which threeparticipants position themselves in an imbalanced(unequal) framework. However, in the Japanesedichotomous evaluation. In this evaluation, the threeparticipants fit into two dichotomous sides: Kaoriand Yayoi are aligned with the unit type of family(evaluated as sophisticated) vs. Yuki, who is alignedwith the traditional type (evaluated as out of date but
convenient). In lines 49 and 50, Kaori and Yayoi start
trying to repair their imbalanced positions. However,
it is not so easy to redress this imbalance after all the

Excerpt 3
48.

ゆき：		
Yuki:		49.
かおり：		
Kaori:		
50.
やよい：
Yayoi:
51.			

=私便利だと思われてるんだ(.)ねっ
I am thought of as convenient (by my husband), yeah
いや::: どうだ[ろうuh::: I am not sure
[やっまあそれだけじゃないと思うよ
not only like that, I think
もちろん もちろん
surely, surely
52.
ゆき：		
うん うん
Yuki:		yeah yeah53.
やよい：		
そりゃやってくれてう::::::::れしくない人は
Yayoi:		
there’s no one who doesn’t feel thankful for such behaviour
54.			>いないんじゃないかと思うけど多分<h			I think, maybe you know
55.			
彼女の段階で::(.) [それをやったから(.)
			but in her case she did it even though she was only his girlfriend
56.
かおり：[そうだよね:::Kaori:
yeah I think so too
57.
ゆき：		
[あ:::::::
Yuki			yes::::::The 2015 PanSIG Journal

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Hata
participants agree on the single opinion that they are“different.” In the end, interestingly, Yayoi suddenly
adds a new evaluation in line 55 to the former story,
which doesn’t change the overall evaluation of thestory but does change Yuki’s positional category. Yayoi
shifts the focus of the story from the difference offamily types to the fact that the character in her small
story is just a girlfriend, while Yuki is a wife. As a result,the participants remove the girlfriend from theirshared category so they, all three participants in theimmediate situation, can share in the same category,that is, in the status of being wives. Eventually, theirconversation diminishes the difference among theirfamily types, which had been the central topic of the
discussion. After they include themselves in a single
category, even if they end up ignoring some differencesand evading the point of the argument they are having,
they succeed in creating closure for the topic at theend.

Conclusion
The case above is just one example, but it illustrates
the function of small stories. The most important
point is that the evaluation of the small story can be
freely changed if necessary, even if the contents ofindividual stories are inconsistent. This fact leads us tothe conclusion that the small story is not just a kindof digression, nor just a ‘small’ story in comparison
with the so-called ‘big’ story, which has a beautiful
flow of elements, but has an existence of its own
that is fully functional and important. Therefore, inteaching language in particular cultural settings, weneed to pay attention not only to the big story but
also to any small stories, because they could change
the evaluation of the story as a whole and generate
misunderstandings and inappropriate behaviour inthe L2 learners. Language teachers tend to focus ongrammatically correct language use. However, as thispaper has shown, in practical situations, we need tobe more careful about what we are foregrounding andwhat points we put into the background in accordance

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with the flow of the interaction.

References
Bamberg, M. (1997). Positioning between structure
and performance. Journal of narrative and life
history, 7(1-4), 335-342. doi:10.1075/jnlh.7.1-4
Bamberg, M. (2004). Talk, small stories, andadolescent identities. Human Development,
47(6), 366-369. doi:10.1159/000081039
Bamberg, M., & Georgakopoulou, A. (2008).
Small stories as a new perspective in narrativeand identity analysis. Text & Talk - AnInterdisciplinary Journal of Language, Discourse
Communication Studies, 28(3), 377–396.
doi:10.1515/text.2008.018
Georgakopoulou, A. (2006). Small and large
identities in narrative (inter)-action, In A.
De Fina, D. Schiffrin, & M. Bamberg (Eds.),
Discourse and identity (pp. 83-102). Cambridge,
England: Cambridge University Press.
doi:10.1017/cbo9780511584459.005
Georgakopoulou, A. (2007). Small stories, interaction
and identities. Amsterdam, Holland: John
Benjamins. doi:10.1075/sin.8.
Goffman, E. (1981). Forms of talk. Philadelphia, PA:
University of Pennsylvania Press.
Labov, W. (1972). Language in the inner city.
Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania
Press.
Labov, W. (1997). Some further steps in narrative
analysis, In M. Bamberg (Ed.), Oral versions of
personal experience: three decades of narrative
analysis, Special Issue. Journal of Narrative andLife History, 7(1–4), 395-415. doi:10.1075/
jnlh.7.1-4
Labov, W., & Waletsky, J. (1967). Narrative analysis:
Oral versions of personal experience. In J. Helm(Ed.), Essays on the verbal and visual arts: 1966
Annual Meeting of the American EthnologicalSociety (pp. 12-44). Seattle, WA: University ofWashington Press.

Redressing Positioning Through Narrative, pages 51-57

Author’s Biography:
Kaori Hata’s recent work deals with the linguistic/multimodal representation and reconstructionof normative consciousness in Japanese women’s narratives living in the UK. She is currently
affiliated with Graduate School of Language and Culture, Osaka University. Email: hata@lang.
osaka-u.ac.jp

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Teaching World Englishes in a Global Studies Program

John Herbert
Hiroshima Jogakuin University
herbert@gaines.hju.ac.jp
The Liberal Arts Department of a small private university in western Japan recently started a Global
Studies in English (GSE) program conducted almost entirely in English. This paper looks at one
course within this program, “English in the World,” that was designed to raise student awarenessof the diversity of the types of English that are spoken in the world. This paper gives the rationale
for providing such a course, the course themes and teaching methodology employed, and theperceptions of the students and teacher concerning World Englishes in a Global Studies program.
The paper concludes that, in spite of a substantial lack of data, early indications are that a course on
World Englishes in a Global Studies program is worthwhile.
最近、日本西部の小規模な私立大学のリベラルアーツ学部が、英語のグローバル・スタディーズ
プログラム
（GSE）
を開始した。講義は、ほとんど英語で実施される。
この論文では、プログラム内の「English in the World」
コースに関して考察する。
「English in the World」
コースは、学生の意識を世界で使用される英語の多様性に向けるものだ。
この論文ではGSEプログラムの簡潔な説
明の後に（a）GSEプログラムで「English in the World」のコースを提供する理論的根拠（b）
シラ
バスのテーマと主要内容（c）教育の方法（d）「English in the World」
に関する生徒の初期の認識（e）コースの価値に関する教員の認識を説明する。結論としては、データが大きく欠如しているのに関わらず、初期の指標はグローバル・スタディーズプログラムの「English in the World」に関するコースに価値があることを示している。

In the Japanese education system, “globalization” hasreplaced “internationalization” as the new buzzword.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Scienceand Technology (MEXT) has recently started upa system of Super Global high schools “to nurture
students who are internationally well-grounded”(MEXT, n.d.). This follows on from the Global 30
Project in the Japanese university system that aims
to “nurture internationally competent individuals by
creating an academic environment where international
and Japanese students can learn from one another andbuild lasting international bonds that will propel them
Herbert, J. (2016). Teaching world Englishes in a
global studies program. In G. Brooks, M. Porter, D.
Fujimoto, & D. Tatsuki (Eds.), The 2015 PanSIG
Journal (pp. 58-64). Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

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into the international scene” (Global 30, 2015).
These two MEXT projects are large-scale, butmany schools and colleges are finding their own
smaller-scale ways to try to meet MEXT’s goals for“nurturing internationally competent individuals” –for making their students think globally. This paper
looks at the “English in the World” elective classwithin one university’s global studies program that has
the goal of creating global citizens.

Global Studies Program
Global Studies in English (GSE) is one major thatstudents can choose (out of fourteen) at a Liberal Arts
Faculty at a small private women’s university in westernJapan. The GSE program provides a curriculum wherestudents can study all day, every day, only English. The

Teaching World Englishes in Global Studies, pages 58-64
classes are multidisciplinary content classes that are
taught in English within the field of Liberal Arts.
The number of students enrolled in the GSE major
is small, and most of the classes have fewer than adozen students. Most of the students are from Japan,
but there are also a number of full-time international
students from the Philippines, Kenya, Malaysia, Iran,and the USA. Furthermore, it is also possible forinternational exchange students from the USA andstudents from non-GSE majors to participate in theseclasses, which can further increase the number ofparticipants.
Within the GSE curriculum, one elective course
available to students is “English in the World.” Ten
students completed the course in its inaugural year,
and their nationalities were Japanese (7), American(1), Malaysian (1), Filipino (1). With the exception of
one student who had a TOEIC score of less than 500,
all of the Japanese students had TOEIC scores above
600, and all were able to communicate effectively inEnglish. All three non-Japanese students were native
or near native-like speakers of English. The course
was conducted almost entirely in English, althoughfrom time to time, all participants (including the nonJapanese students and the British teacher) used a little
Japanese when linguistic references were made to theJapanese language.

Rationale for Teaching about World
Englishes
Most people would agree with McIntyre (2009, p. 31)
when he states, “English is now commonly referred toas a global language.” The titles of a number of books
support this claim (see for example Brutt-Griffler,
2002; Crystal, 2003). Seargeant (2012) states that thisglobal English can function “as a language that operates
across traditional linguistic and cultural borders, andbecome an international lingua franca” (p. 4). There
has also been recognition of the plurality of Englishes
in the world, as shown in various book titles that use
the terms “World Englishes,” and “Global Englishes”(see for example Melchers & Shaw, 2003; Kirkpatrick,2007). Clearly, there is a realization that English is nolonger confined to what are commonly referred to as
native speaker (NS) countries, and that non-native

speakers (NNS) far outnumber NS ( Jenkins, 2015).
Within a Global Studies program that aims tonurture global citizens, it is imperative to not only
understand the global nature of English, but also
to recognize the validity of a variety of Englishes
from around the world. An “English in the World”
course is one way to raise the students’ awareness of
this diversity and help them to respect the differing
varieties of Global Englishes that are used in the world
today.

Syllabus Themes & Main Content
Languages and the World
In order for students to fully comprehend the placeof the English language among the languages of theworld, the first theme for the course is about theworld and its languages. Students are introduced tosome basic facts about languages in the world today
including: the number of languages in the world,
the countries with the most languages, the languages
with the most native speakers, and issues surrounding
endangered languages.

Development of English/ English(es)In this unit students listen to examples of how theEnglish language has changed over time (Bryson,2008). They also learn how the language developedin the British Isles by absorbing words from otherlanguages, such as Old Norse, Norman French, andLatin (Bragg, 2004). Students are then taught about
the spread of English to other parts of the world.
Using the dispersal pattern laid out by Jenkins (2015),
students are introduced to the “first dispersal” to the
New World (North America, Australia, New Zealand)
and the “second dispersal” to Asia and Africa, and how
new varieties of English developed there.

Classification of World Englishes
In this unit of the course students look at the different
models for the classification of World Englishes. These
include: (1) Kachru’s (1992, as cited in Jenkins, 2015)
widely used three-circle model that split English
into English as a native language (ENL) in the inner
circle, English as a second language (ESL) in the
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Herbert
outer circle, and English as a foreign language (EFL)in the expanding circle; (2) Strevens’s world map ofEnglish (Strevens, 1992, as cited in Jenkins, 2015); (3)McArthur’s circle of world English (McArthur, 1998,
as cited in Jenkins, 2015); and (4) Modiano’s English
as an international language (Modiano, 1999, as citedin Jenkins, 2015).

the opportunity to be creative and critical in theirthinking. Students are introduced to the content
in a number of different ways: through the course
materials provided by the teacher; by participating inclassroom discussions; through research projects; andfinally through presentations.

Content Materials
Inner Circle Englishes
Next, students learn about the Englishes of Kachru’s
inner circle. Special attention is paid to a comparison
between the standard varieties of American andBritish English. All students in the inaugural class
had had experience of both kinds of English, and theyfound it easy to talk about their personal experiences
and opinions on this subject. However, recognitionof non-standard varieties is considered an importantelement of ENL, so students also study about African
American Vernacular English.

Outer Circle Englishes
In this unit students study about the varieties ofEnglish that are found in India and about the various
forms of Singapore English. Students are given
detailed information about the English situation in
Singapore from the lecture notes of a visiting scholarfrom Singapore (S. Lim, personal communication,
June 16, 2010). In the inaugural class the Malaysian
student provided valuable commentary on this
topic by comparing the Singapore English language
situation with that of her own country.

Expanding Circle Englishes
The students consistently make comparisonsthroughout the course with how English is usedin Japan. Therefore, Japanese English acts as the
expanding circle (or EFL) variety of English that werefer to the most in class.

Teaching Methodology
It is important to stress that this course is not seen as
an English language course, but as a content course
taught through the medium of English. The classes
are designed to be student-centered, allowing students

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The content materials take the form of reading
assignments that are given for homework. In addition,
in-class content is disseminated through mini-lectures,
carefully selected DVD and YouTube clips, andstudent presentations.

Classroom discussion
Each class discussion centers on a particular theme thatis chosen by the teacher to be the focus of that class.
The subject matter is personalized as much as possible.
The students in the inaugural class were very active inthe discussions and forthcoming with their ideas andclearly enjoyed this part of the course. In class, wewere fortunate to have students from Malaysia, USA
and the Philippines, as well as from Japan, meaningthat the personalization of the topics went beyond
the borders of Japan. For most discussions, students
prepare answers to questions given for homework andthey are then able to use these answers in the followingclass’s discussion. An example of a ninety-minutediscussion worksheet from the fourth class is shown in
the Appendix.
The questions on the discussion worksheets aredesigned to help the discussion groups exchange ideas
and opinions, make predictions, share knowledge,
and give personalized answers relevant to their own
variety of English. In the inaugural class, the students
were usually split into two groups of five students.
Each group carried out a separate discussion for
approximately ten minutes before coming together
to summarize their ideas in plenary. The process was
repeated for all of the questions on the discussion
worksheet. This proved to be an effective way to carryout the discussion. The teacher was able to monitor
both discussions, and then focus students’ attention
on the most important points during each summary
stage.

Teaching World Englishes in Global Studies, pages 58-64

Research Projects
Research projects (with model frameworks) are set
for homework, and the results of these projects areused in classroom discussions and presentations.
These discussions often take the form of student-led
informal quizzes. These informal quizzes consist of
students asking the class to speculate on the answers
to questions that they had prepared for homework
such as having other students try to guess the countryof origin of a loanword that is currently being
used in English. Two of the research projects thatwere particularly successful were one that involved
having the students research about the etymology ofloanwords in English and another that focused on the
differences between American and British English.

Presentations
Presentations take two forms, informal and formal.
Informal mini-presentations take place prior to thediscussions. These are sometimes made to othermembers of the same group and sometimes tothe whole class. Formal longer presentations takeplace twice during the course. For the first formal
presentation students have a choice of themes suchas the development of English, the classification ofEnglishes, or an inner circle variety of English. For
the second presentation they present about one typeof English from either the outer circle or expanding
circle. The most popular presentation in the inaugural
year was about Korean English (from the expanding
circle). The students were particularly interested in
the similarities between Korean English and JapaneseEnglish and the historical connections between Korea
and Japan that caused these similarities.

Student Perceptions ConcerningWorld Englishes
After the “English in the World” course had been
completed and grades assigned, students were asked
to reflect on the course themes by completing a shortsurvey. This survey consisted of seven open-ended
questions that were intended to find out student
attitudes toward the diversity of Englishes in the world
and the value of learning about World Englishes.

The survey was conducted by email thereby allowing
students to provide detailed answers without time
constraints. Of the 10 students enrolled in the classeight (5 Japanese and 3 non-Japanese) completed thequestionnaire. A summary of their answers to the mostsalient questions is shown below.

Is it a good idea for students to learn about“World Englishes”?
In general the Japanese students thought that it
was a good idea. One student was very enthusiastic,
commenting “Yes!!!!! There are so many types ofEnglishes that have different accent or pronunciation,or even grammar. There are no right or wrong...I think
Japanese people can be encouraged to speak in English
with learning the variety of Englishes.” However, one
student introduced an important caveat when she said,“I think it’s good for university students, but it can be
confusing for junior high and high school students.
I think they should learn some kind of standard
English.”The non-Japanese students were all in favor of thistype of course; for example, the Malaysian student
said:
Yes, it’s a very good idea, because when we learn
about “world Englishes,” we open our minds tothe possibility that someone else has grown up
speaking a completely different form of English
than the one we speak, and they may not be less
adept at speaking English than we are. It also
helps with cross-cultural communication andunderstanding.
The American student said, “By students learning
this, whether ESL learners or perfect English speakers,
I think they will have a more open mind about theworld and a world where there is no stereotyping or
judging others by the way they speak.”Is it easier for you to speak English with NS
or NNS of English?
The three non-Japanese students all said it was easierto speak with NNS, because they felt less pressure andthey felt native speakers judged them when they were
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Herbert
talking with them. The student from the Philippines
summed up her feelings by saying, “there is no sense of
intimidation in communicating with a NNS.”
The Japanese students gave mixed answers. Threeof the students said that they found it easier to speakwith NNS for similar reasons to the students above,
while two said they sometimes found it hard tounderstand NNS and therefore found it easier tospeak with NS.

All the non-Japanese students agreed with thestatement.

Is it okay to speak English with a Japanese
accent?

Conclusion

Four of the Japanese students thought it was okay aslong as the accent was understandable; one thought
it was unacceptable. However, nearly all the students
wanted to speak English with a “native” accent.
The non-Japanese students thought that it wasokay as long as the accent was comprehensible. The
student from the Philippines said:
Using [E]nglish language does not require people
to use one specific accent, and also [I] believe that ina world of multilingualism and multiculturalism using[E]nglish with your own accent is a common tool forevery people to understand and to be understood bypeople from different cultures with different accents.

English belongs to the native Englishspeaking countries. Do you agree?
The answers to this question showed the greatest
disparity between the Japanese students and nonJapanese students. All but one of the Japanese students
agreed with this statement, whereas all the nonJapanese students disagreed. The American student
said, “I think we should give a little credit to thecountries that developed English to the way it is now...
but let me make it clear that they do not own English.”

To become more global, Japan should havesome English teachers from NNS countries.
Do you agree?
Four out of five Japanese students agreed with thisstatement, with one student commenting, “We should
follow the serious situation of globalization. And I
think English is one of the biggest features of it.”62

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

NNS Englishes are okay as long as they canbe understood. Do you agree?
There was widespread agreement to this question withjust one dissenter - a Japanese student. Interestingly,
this dissenter was the only student who did not belong
to the GSE major.

The teacher was pleased with the mature and critical
approach the students took to the course and thiswas reflected in their responses to the questionnaire.
The responses showed ample evidence of a growing
awareness and respect for the global nature anddiversity of Englishes in the world, particularly
concerning NNS varieties of English. Many students
expressed the positive points (such as feeling a lack ofpressure when speaking with NNS), and most felt inorder to become more global Japan should have moreteachers from NNS countries. However, the survey
also revealed that students were not unanimous in
their opinions and this showed the course promoted
critical thinking. Some students addressed practicalissues, such as comprehensibility problems that facesome users of NNS Englishes, with one student evenfeeling that NNS Englishes were actually not okay.
Some survey responses revealed points thatdeserve more attention in future class discussions.
These include issues such as ownership of the English
language, why many Japanese students feel the needto speak English with a NS accent, and what age
is suitable for students to start learning about thediversity of Englishes.
Overall, the survey responses showed all students
believed learning about World Englishes was valuableat the university level, with such a course encouraging“a more open mind about the world” and helping with“cross-cultural communication and understanding.”
It is not known to what extent student opinions wereaffected by the “English in the World” course itself,
and to what extent by their experiences of studying in a
multicultural environment. Therefore, to make a more

Teaching World Englishes in Global Studies, pages 58-64
robust conclusion, in subsequent years the additionof a pre-course survey will help to determine how
students’ opinions are affected by the course. However,in spite of the small number of survey respondents,
and the lack of a pre-course survey, preliminary results
suggest that in a globalizing world, there seems to be aplace for an “English in the World” course in a Global
Studies program.

References
Bragg, M. (2004). The adventures of English: Thebiography of a language. New York, NY: Arcade
Publishing.
Brutt-Griffler, J. (2002). World English: A study of its
development. Clevedon, England: Multilingual
Matters.
Bryson, B. (2008). Journeys in English [CD]. London,
England: BBC Worldwide Limited.
Crystal, D. (2003). English as a global language.
Cambridge, England: Cambridge University

Press.
Global 30. (2015). The “Global 30” project to invite
300,000 international students to Japan. Retrieved
July 31, 2015 from http://www.uni.international.
mext.go.jp/global30/
Jenkins, J. (2015). Global Englishes: A resource book forstudents. London, England: Routledge.
Kirkpatrick, A. (2007). World Englishes: Implications
for international communication and English
language teaching. Cambridge, England:
Cambridge University Press.
McIntyre, D. (2009). History of English: A resourcebook for students. London, England: Routledge.
Melchers, G. & Shaw, P. (2003). World Englishes.
London, England: Arnold.
MEXT. (n.d.). The second basic plan for the promotionof education. Retrieved July 31, 2015 from http://
www.mext.go.jp/english/topics/1338141.htm
Seargeant, P. (2012). Exploring world Englishes:
Language in a global context. London, England:
Routledge.

Author’s Biography:
John Herbert has taught in the Japanese university system for more than twenty years. He
teaches and researches in the fields of sociolinguistics and EFL. He is particularly interested in
the crossover between the two fields. (herbert@gaines.hju.ac.jp)

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Herbert

Appendix
Fourth Class Discussion Questions Worksheet
Class 4: Mini-presentation & Discussion
Create a 1-2 minute presentation to answer one of the first four questions. Write notes for the remaining ninequestions for a discussion.
1. What kind of English do you like best? Explain.

2. Is it easier for you to speak with “native English” speakers or “non-native English” speakers? Explain.

3. Japanese schools employ some non-Japanese to teach English. What countries should those teachers
come from?

4. John uses British English. If he were an elementary school or JHS English teacher in Japan, should he use
American English?

5. Is it okay to speak English with a Japanese pronunciation?

6. If you went to do a homestay in Australia, would you be disappointed if your host family spoke IndianEnglish?

7. Is it a good idea for the world to learn an easy version of English (such as Globish which has just 1500
words and no idioms)?

8. Is it okay for Hispanic people in the USA not to speak English?

9. Do you think English will become more diverse (more different Englishes) or less diverse in the future?

10. Where do we draw the line between a person who can speak English and one who can’t?

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Creating Teaching Materials (Writing aBook) for ICT Reading Classes

Michihiro Hirai
Kanagawa University
mjhirai@beige.ocn.ne.jp
The author has published a self-study book on comprehension of authentic ICT texts, drawing
on his dual experience as a computer engineer and college English teacher. First he analyzed thetypical weaknesses of Japanese in reading comprehension and identified several common causes. He
then collected suitable texts from a number of published materials on ICT, provided annotations
and model translations, and integrated them, along with various study tips, into a book. Althoughoriginally meant for self-study, the book generated some interest in the tertiary educational
community, which has led the author to create a number of college and company courses in ICT
reading comprehension based on the book, while at the same time incorporating some additional
materials of current interest.
筆者は、コンピュータ・エンジニアおよび大学英語教師という二重の経歴を活かし、ICT 分野の真正素材（生素材）の読解に関する自習本を出版した。最初に、英文読解における日本人の典型的な弱点を分析し、幾つかの共通的原因を突き止めた。次に、出版されている ICT 関連のさまざまな素材から、適切な文章（記事）を選び、注釈を付し、模範翻訳例を作成し、それらを、学習上のポイントとともに１冊の本にまとめた。本来は自習用として書かれたこの本が、高等教育分野で一定の関心を呼んだので筆者は、それを基にした ICT 読解講座を、大学および企業向けに幾つか開発するに至った。講座としては、受講生の興味を維持すべく、最新の話題となっている記事を適宜追加している。

While English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is drawing
growing attention worldwide these days, it is still facedwith a number of challenges before it establishes asolid foothold in college and professional education in
Japan, including the lack of suitable teaching materials
and the scarcity of teachers and materials writers
competent enough both in field knowledge and inlanguage teaching.
The suitability of teaching materials can beassessed by a variety of criteria such as how challenging
Hirai, M., (2016). Creating teaching materials(writing a book) for ICT reading classes. In G.
Brooks, M. Porter, D. Fujimoto, & D. Tatsuki(Eds.), The 2015 PanSIG Journal (pp. 65-70).
Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

the language is for the targeted level, to what extent
they contain non-standard English, and how neutral(unbiased) they are in terms of social and politicalorientation, all of which apply in common to many
types of English, most notably English for General
Purposes (EGP). In the case of ESP, which bydefinition deals with a specific domain and therefore
attaches greater weight to information content
than EGP does, some additional criteria need to be
introduced such as how relevant and interesting thematerials are, how practical and useful the knowledge
gained will be, and how well they represent the typesof text the intended audience will encounter later intheir professional life. As it stands now, the author has
been under the impression, shared by many engineers,that there are only a limited number of ESP textbooks
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Hiraiand self-study books on the Japanese market thatsatisfactorily meet these additional criteria. Two
solutions can be considered: first, to seek materials
for teaching ESP outside the traditional communityof English textbook writers and publishers, in otherwords, to utilize authentic sources, and second, tohave an individual or a team of individuals withcomplementary backgrounds of field experienceand language teaching create such teaching/study
materials. In this paper, the author focuses on theformer approach, which seems more practical because,
for the latter, it would not be immediately feasible tofind such an individual or form such a team.
While there are various definitions of authentic
materials, the one offered by Nunan (1989) “anymaterial which has not been specifically produced
for the purpose of language teaching” (as cited in
Macdonald, Badger & White, 2000, pp.253-267) andthat of Bacon and Finnemann (1990) “texts producedby native speakers for a non-pedagogical purpose”(pp.459-473) seem to neatly summarize their essential
properties. The use of authentic materials in language
education has also been frequently discussed inrecent years. As summarized by Berardo (2006), theadvantages of using authentic materials include thefollowing:•• authentic materials expose the students to real life
English,•• they inform the students of what is happening in
the field,•• they contain a wide variety of text types andlanguage styles not found in conventional teachingmaterials, and•• they encourage the students to read for pleasure as
they are likely to contain topics of interest.
On the other hand, the disadvantages include thefollowing:•• they are often too culturally biased or difficult tounderstand outside the language community,•• they can become outdated easily,•• they may contain vocabulary not relevant to thestudents’ immediate needs, and•• they may mix too many sentence structures,causing lower-level students to have a hard time
decoding the texts.

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Acutely aware of the advantages of authentic
materials in ESP and realizing the need for learning/teaching materials that enhance reading skills in
information and communications technology (ICT),the author has written a book for that purpose,
utilizing a variety of real-life sources and drawing on
his dual experience as a computer engineer and college
English teacher. This report presents the writing
process, focusing on how he first analyzed the market
needs, how he next shaped the organization andcontent, and how he finally handled the legal issues
associated with the use of authentic materials.

Affinity between the Writing Process
and an Engineering Project
As previously discussed by the author (Hirai 2008),
the process of book-writing can be likened to that ofproduct development, its main phases being market
analysis, design, and production. Market analysis
primarily comprises two steps: realizing what themarket wants; and knowing the competition, inother words, analyzing what is already on the market.
Using the results of the market analysis, the designphase forms the shape of the product in terms ofspecifications and requires decisions on individualfeatures and functions. During the production
phase, the specifications are fleshed out in the formof a product, either tangible or intangible, whichcorresponds to the actual text and diagrams in the caseof book writing.

Phase One – Market Analysis
In writing a book, as in developing a product, itis critically important to first analyze the market.
Although the author did not conduct any formal
market survey per se regarding reading skills, he had
noticed, during more than 10 years as a teacher at
the tertiary level, a pressing need to improve Japanese
students’ and engineers’ reading comprehension andhad been compiling a list of their typical problems,in the hope of putting this knowledge to practicaluse one day. Table 1 presents a short excerpt of hiscollected data.
Thus, when approached by a Japanese publisher inCreating Materials for ICT Reading Classes, pages 65-70
Table 1Analysis of Typical Problems in Reading
Grammar Point / Sentence Structure

Description/Note

ExamplePage

Subject of-ing

The subject of the -ing is placed justbefore the “-ing” as necessary.

HSM is essentially theautomatic movement of data
between media, the media typeused depending on when it waslast accessed.

138

-ing
(Gerund)Is “-ing” amodifier orthe object of a
preposition?

In “prevent/stop sby from …-ing,”“from” is often omitted.

They stopped those kids using
iPads.

-

it … that

Omissionof “that” in“it ... that”
structure•

What does “it” in the example
sentence refer to?
“that” in an “it ... that” structure
is often omitted.
This “that” should not be
confused with “that” as a relative
pronoun.

Whether it’s demos, full
freeware or shareware products
you are looking for, ...
= Whether it’s demos, full
freeware or shareware productsthat you are looking for, …

102

In subjunctive mood, the condition isoften hidden (not expressly appearing
as an “if ” clause).

Connectivity enables
computers and softwarethat might otherwise be
incompatible to communicate
and to share resources.

9-ing(Pr. Participle)••

Subjunctive
Mood

Hiddencondition in
subjunctivemood

Note. Example sentences were adapted from Oxford English for Information Technology by E. H. Glendining and J. McEwan.
Copyrighted 2002 by Oxford University Press.

2009, the author had already formed a general idea ofwhat to write. In terms of how to write, he examined
14 self-study books on reading comprehension
then on the market, all written in Japanese since
their intended readers were Japanese, as part of acompetitive analysis. These particular titles werechosen because they appeared to analyze problems
in reading comprehension and offer useful tips.
Twelve of these targeted scientists, engineers and/or science/engineering students, while the other two
were intended for general readers. The former twelve
items focused, to varying degrees, on authentic texts
but were found to be rather skewed in genre or text
type. On the other hand, those written for generalreaders turned out to be analyses of syntactical andgrammatical points. Thus, somewhat ironically, theauthor found the latter to have a broader appeal, evenfor scientists and engineers, and decided to write hisbook using the latter approach.

Phase Two – Design
The analysis of the market, particularly thecompetition, led naturally to the design phase,in which a concrete idea on the book’s overall
organization and content took shape. First of all, as
for the domain, the publisher and the author decided
to focus on ICT, which is one of the largest and mostimportant fields of science and technology in termsof population and media attention. An initial surveyof books on the market revealed that only few ofthem actually incorporated the kinds of text suchas magazine articles that were current and of directinterest to the intended audience, which the author
identified as a potential area of differentiation.
As in product development, the key to success isvalue to the market, which the author translates into
three objectives: enlightening content, practicality,
and attractiveness. First and foremost, the content
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Hiraishould be enlightening; in other words, it shouldmake the readers acutely aware of why they stumble
to grasp the meaning of a given text. Through many
years of in-class observation as well as from his own
experience, the author has noticed that most Japaneselearners of English try to decipher each given sentence
as an object external to them, by first checking the
vocabulary and then identifying the grammaticalstructure. Therefore it is very effective to diagnose
their problems primarily from the points of grammar
and sentence structure and explain the results in theseterms.
Furthermore, in analyzing typical Japanese
problems, the author also identified a variety of othercontributing factors, as summarized in Table 2.
Table 2Abridged List of Causes of Reading Problems
A. Knowledge/Skill in English(A-1) Lack of vocabulary(A-5) Poor grasp of sentence structure
B. Knowledge of Background(B-1) Lack of technical knowledge
C. Environmental Conditions(C-1) Inability to concentrate(C-3) Shortage of time
D. Personal Disposition/Inclination(D-1) Laziness in consulting dictionaries(D-4) Narrow vision (scope of parsing)(D-5) Laziness in exploring various sources(D-7) Poor reasoning(D-8) Lack of imagination(D-9) Lack of flexibility
E. Complexity of Idea/Concept(E-1) The idea/concept discussed is very complex(independent of language)

Of these common causes, worth particularattention are those resulting from personal disposition
or inclination, as they tend to be overlooked despite
their importance. For example, many Japaneselearners, especially those at a low level, take in only a
few words at a time, instead of several lines (D-4 inTable 2). Also, they do not anticipate that there are

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various kinds of deviations from school English inreal life (D-9 in Table 2). Therefore the author began
the book with a discussion of these common causes inorder to prepare the minds of the readers.
Another way of enlightening the intended readers
is through exposure to real-life English. Most off-theshelf English textbooks tend to deliberately ignore
and omit non-standard English such as informal
expressions, jargon, and slang, let alone downright
mistakes that may appear from time to time evenin prestigious journals and magazines. In real life,
however, this non-standard usage frequently occurs,and native speakers inherently know how to cope withthem. In this regard, the use of authentic materials
is invaluable as it familiarizes readers with the way
English is used in actual professional life.
Still another approach to bringing enlightenmentis exposure to what is happening in the subject field,
especially in the context of ESP. Indeed, one of themost important attractions of using authentic materials
is the fact that they appeal to the students’ interest andenhance their motivation. In this respect, information
content is especially important in ensuring that theylearn not only the language but also something usefulfor their current or future profession. It should be
relevant, up-to-date, and meaningful. The author
chose a variety of current topics that are of common
interest to those engaged in ICT, paying attention to
how closely the articles relate to what they do on thejob. Here, the author’s experience as an engineer wasvery beneficial.
The second aspect of value is practicality. First,
to assist readers in quickly finding the definitions oftechnical terms that they are unsure of, the author
compiled a handy glossary. Second, to help themnavigate the Internet on their own, he also provided
lists of useful Web links to authentic sources and slangsites. Finally, for those who often communicate with
non-Japanese, he included a list of snappy expressions.
The third aspect of value is attractiveness, in otherwords, the book should be enjoyable to read. Indeed,
one of the secrets to continuing to learn anything is
to find joy in it. Thus, the author reproduced, withpermission, several ICT-related jokes taken from ajoke site and also inserted a few episodes of his own inCreating Materials for ICT Reading Classes, pages 65-70
an attempt to entertain the envisaged readers.

Phase Three – Production
Following the opening section discussing common
causes of problems, the main body of the bookcomprises two parts. Part 1 consists of nine chapters,
each of which presents several example sentencesthat are challenging to Japanese learners of English
and explains where the problem lies in the respective
category of grammar/structure. For Part 1, the author
drew on his compilation of students’ problems and the
diagnostic analyses elaborated above.
Part 2 presents authentic texts as exercises,
followed by annotations and model translations. They
are taken from a range of magazines, journals, websites,
reports, books, and manuals, and are from 500 to
3,000 words in length. In order to write Part 2, bothfield knowledge and translation skills were essential.
For Part 2, the initial step was the selection ofmaterials, and the choice was overwhelmingly vast,reflecting the extremely active nature of ICT. In
selecting the right materials, one needs to consider
many factors, such as whether the content is interestingenough, how technical it is, how challenging thelanguage is, and how easy it might be to obtain
permission or license for reproduction. Thus, making
the right judgement here requires both a familiarity
with the state of the art in the field and a sensitivity to
the needs of the intended readers.
One of the most important issues peculiar toauthentic materials is how to handle third parties’
rights properly so as to avoid any legal disputes. In using
authentic materials for publication or educational
purposes, at least three rights need to be addressed:
reproduction, translation, and use in courses, which
are just three instances of the generic term “copyright.”
In principle, each of these rights needs to be considered
and negotiated separately. For materials that containnot only text but also pictures, videos, music, graphics,
and illustrations, usually as many rights holders exist as
the number of different contributors and in many cases
one needs to negotiate with them individually. While
government-recognized educational institutions
are given certain legal privileges, it is generally safer,even in such settings, to obtain permission or license(these two terms seem to be used synonymously in thiscontext) from the respective rights holders.
In obtaining permission for use in publication,
one needs to consider several factors such as whether
the rights holder is in education, manufacturing, orother business, and how the permission might affectits financial results. Manufacturers and vendors areusually generous because reproduction may serve as
an advertisement, whereas publishers of educational
materials tend to be unfriendly because it may eat into
their business. Other factors include the amount andform of reproduction. Still another factor that should
be kept in mind is whether the rights are exclusive. For
a book which compiles a number of small excerpts
from different materials, one would not seek exclusive
permission. Problems typically arise when anotherindividual has already published a translation of thematerial in question. It may happen that the person
who has given permission for translation has forgottenthat the same publisher had already given permission
to another individual. To avoid embarrassment atleast, it would be advisable to discuss how to handle
the situation with this individual in advance.
Obtaining permission or license is basically abusiness negotiation, and as such, the author paid due
attention to legal matters, for example, clearly stating
his intention to use the material both for a book andfor courses at for-profit educational institutions.
Playing fair is the safest practice. Also, he has been
making sure that all the relevant correspondence,
mostly emails, and their attachments are backed up
electronically, with the critical ones kept also in paperin case of accidental PC crashes.

Conclusion
This book-writing project was not a straightforward
process. The author ended up writing essentially
two books with the same theme. The first edition
was called 速く正確に読む IT エンジニアの英語 (Hayaku Seikakuni Yomu IT Engineer no Eigo),or English Skills for Engineers – Improving Speed andAccuracy in Reading (Hirai 2011) and was publishedby The Japan Times in February 2011. The book wasselling fairly well for about three years until April
2014, when suddenly the stocks were depleted. In the
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Hiraianemic business situation at that time, the publisher
decided not to print any more copies. As the author
had started a course designating it as the textbook
a few years previously, he made arrangements withanother publisher to publish an enhanced edition,
which came out in April 2015 under the title エンジ
ニアのための英文超克服テキスト (Engineer notame no eibun chou kokufuku text – The Way IT Really
Happens) (Hirai 2015) through Ohmsha, Ltd. In thisedition, all the 14 authentic texts in the first edition
were replaced with 10 more recent articles on eyecatching topics, such as bitcoin, the Internet of Things(IoT), and Big Data.
A final note: Based on this book, the author
subsequently developed a college course and a numberof industry courses designed to help improve reading
skills in ICT and has been teaching them together
with a colleague. To keep the course content up todate, the author has been introducing new authentic
materials on an ongoing basis.

References
Bacon, S. and Finneman, M. (1990). A study of
attitudes, motives, and strategies of university
foreign language students and their disposition
to authentic oral and written input. Modern

Language Journal, 74(4), 459-473.
Berardo, S. (2006). The use of authentic materials in
the teaching of reading. The Reading Matrix, 6(2), 60-69.
Glendinning, E. H., & McEwan, J. (2002). Oxford
English for information technology. Oxford,
England: Oxford University Press.
Hirai, M. (2008). A systematic approach to writing
EFL self-study books for engineers. Divergence
and Convergence, Educating with Integrity:
Proceedings of the 7th Annual JALT Pan-SIG
Conference, 52-57.
Hirai, M. (2011). Hayaku seikakuni yomu IT engineer
no eigo [English skills for engineers – Improving
speed and accuracy in reading]. Tokyo, Japan:
The Japan Times.
Hirai, M. (2015). Engineer no tame no eibun choukokufuku text [Tips for engineers on how to hone
English comprehension skills]. Tokyo, Japan:
Ohmsha.
Macdonald, M., Badger, R., and White, G. (2000),
The real thing?: authenticity and academic
listening. English for Specific Purposes, 19, 253267.
Nunan, D. (1989). Designing tasks for thecommunicative classroom, Cambridge, England:
Cambridge University Press.

Author’s Biography:
Michihiro Hirai, a certified Professional Engineer in IT, is currently a part-time instructor ofEnglish at Kanagawa University, while he also teaches professional English at various companies,
drawing on his decades-long experience as a computer engineer. His research interests include
materials writing, professional communication, testing, and translation.

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Temptation vs Conscience: A Remedial
Action for Narrative Researchers

Mikio Iguchi
Maebashi Institute of Technology
iguchim@maebashi-it.ac.jp
In modern society narratives have become instrumental in depicting the psychological traits
of individuals, such as identities, beliefs and values. While narrative research is a useful researchtradition, the use of narratives lacking in academic rigour can jeopardise claims derived from them.
This paper will focus on the necessity of going beyond mere “cherry picking” of participants’narratives in order to be rigorous and systematic. The writer will expose his own shortcomings ofa lack of methodological awareness by showing how he was tempted to follow a pattern of only
representing interesting monologues as narratives. He then takes remedial action reflectively andsuggests that all researchers should rely on their conscience and develop methodological awarenessin order to guarantee academic integrity when conducting narrative research.
ナラティブは現代社会における個人のアイデンティティ、信条、価値観などの心理的な特徴を描写する上で有用なものとなった。
ナラティブ・リサーチは有益な研究手法ではあるものの、研究方法としての厳密さを欠いたナラティブの運用は研究成果の正当性を損ないかねない。本研究は研究参
加者のナラティブを提示するにあたり、単なる「いいとこ取り」を超えて厳密性と系統性を備える必要性について提唱する。
また、筆者がまず興味深いモノローグをナラティブとして提示するというパターンにならった失敗事例を紹介し、自身の研究方法論に関する見識不足を披露する。
そして筆者がその後に省察的に取った改善措置の事例を示し、ナラティブ・リサーチを用いる研究者が研究に関する誠実さを保証するために自らの良識に従い、また研究方法論に関する見識を深める必要性について提唱する。

While narratives have become pivotal in depicting
psychological traits of individuals in modern society,such as identities, beliefs and values, unsystematic useof narratives lacking in academic rigour can jeopardise
any claim or theory derived from such misuse. To
begin with, the present study will be written with apersonal and a self-reflexive style in which the firstperson I is the author reporting and reflecting on the
Iguchi, M. (2016). Temptation vs conscience: A
remedial action for narrative researchers. In G.
Brooks, M. Porter, D. Fujimoto, & D. Tatsuki(Eds.), The 2015 PanSIG Journal (pp. 71-77).
Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

use of narrative research.
I conducted a qualitative research in the UK
to explore the identity of adult Japanese people
in the UK, and to illustrate their integration andacculturation (Iguchi, 2011). I adopted narrative
research, an important research tradition in social
science to explore their lived experience from the past
to present. In order to test the validity of a narrative
research, there are two questions worth posing:
1. Whose stories are the narratives? Do they
accurately reflect the research participants’ voices,or are they created by the researchers?
2. Are narratives made by impartial data that typify
the research participants’ views or ones that
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Iguchiconveniently suit the researchers’ views?
So what is the essence of a narrative research?
Narrative does not point to a mere story, but indicates“a system by which people organize their experiencein, knowledge about, and transactions with the socialworld” (Bruner, 1990, p. 35). Narrative research is a
research tradition which is:[A]ny study that uses or analyzes narrative
materials. The data can be collected as a story (alife story provided in an interview or a literarywork) or in a different manner (field notes ofan anthropologist who writes up his or her
observations as a narrative or in personal letters).
It can be the object of the research or a means forthe study of another question. It may be used forcomparison among groups, to learn about a social
phenomenon or historical period, or to explore apersonality. (Lieblich, Tuval-Mashiach, & Zilber,
1998, p. 2)
This detailed definition encompasses thebroader definition of narrative materials, whereassome researchers (e.g. Croker, 2009; Murray, 2009)
virtually equate narrative materials with interview
data. I support this broader interpretation of narrative
research because I believe that findings derived
from multiple data collection instruments such as
participant observations, recordings, e-mails and SNS
diaries are wider and richer.
According to Bell (2002), narrative research“involves working with people’s consciously told
stories, recognizing that these rest on deeper stories ofwhich people are often unaware” (p. 209). In this way,
narrative research is not just a series of descriptions
and stories, but it requires researchers to make acritical evaluation of what lies behind them. Thus
it is essential to uncover and (co-)construct latent
meanings and reasons underlying participants’ life
experience. In other words, if research only presents
the stories and anecdotes of the participants, it would
lack academic rigour. Hence, it is through a systematic
analysis of their stories that a narrative research meetsthe academic demands.

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The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Data Categorisation: A Posteriori or
A Priori?
Silverman (2006) warns about anecdotalism, that is,having preconceived claims and showing convenient
supporting data without providing adequate analytic
or methodological frameworks to establish theirscientific credibility. In order to avoid such “cherry
picking”, impartial data categorisation to persuade
readers is crucial. This discussion leads to the questionof having a posteriori or a priori categories for data
analysis, and it is more sensible to rule out the latterand adopt the former.
Embracing grounded theory, which is a
representative research tradition adopting only aposteriori categories, seemed an appropriate approach.
According to Glaser and Strauss (1967):
An effective strategy is, at first, literally to ignore
the literature of theory and fact on the area understudy, in order to assure that the emergence of
categories will not be contaminated by concepts
more suited to different areas. (p. 37)
Data analysis should certainly focus on andidentify regular patterns of action and talk which marka group of people (Eisenhart, 2001), and we should be
open to unexpected phenomena.
Although I agree that patterns and themes canemerge out of researchers’ expectations, I do notbelieve that this is the only case because I do notbelieve that I can literally ignore the literature oftheory, and eliminate my knowledge by transcendingtime and space to reach a vacuum state. As Pavlenko(2007) points out, grounded theory “obscuresthe sociohistoric and cultural influences on the
researcher’s conceptual lens” (p. 167). Such striving foran aseptic condition may be applicable in cultural orsocial anthropological research in which researchers
are completely unfamiliar with the norms of researchsettings, but it cannot be directly applied to my own
research which was done in a familiar research settingby exploring the identity of Japanese people in theUK, in which I can at best adopt a deliberate naïveté
(Kvale 1996, pp. 31, 33), that is voluntarily choosing
to be open and naïve to various phenomena.

A Remedial Action for Narrative Researchers, pages 71-77
To the contrary, Miles and Huberman (1994)
maintain the usefulness of codes derived fromresearchers’ conceptual frameworks, researchquestions, hypotheses, problem areas and key variablesprior to entering the field. Wellington (2000) contends
that returning to research questions is a valuable tactic
in categorising data. Hence, I believe it is legitimate toutilise research questions to narrow down themes at
the initial stage and to apply them to data analysis.
Therefore, I take an eclectic view and my data
categorisation was comprised of a mixture of aposteriori and a priori categories, which is themost common and rational approach to analysing
qualitative data (Wellington, 2000). Some patterns
and themes emerge whilst others need the help of
the research questions and at times, literature review.
However, I emphasise that I primarily support an
inductive rather than deductive approach. Thus, myviews on categorising data and finding patterns is
illustrated in Figure 1.

CodingFrom the macro-view of categorisation, I turn now
to the micro-view of coding. There are three essential
elements: codes, categories and themes (Holliday,
2010; Murray, 2009). After summarising the textual
data, coding converts them to key words or phrases
such as anxiety and aspiration. In my study similar
codes were grouped together into higher categories, as

shown in Figure 2.
Similar categories were grouped and integrated
into higher themes. I have been influenced by theconstant comparative method which was shaped
through grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967),
and I have adopted the technique of continuously
comparing data and placing them in suitable
categories. Thus, two features of this method worthyof highlighting are coding an incident for a category
and comparing it with others in the same category, andlooking for theoretical saturation in which creating
further categories becomes redundant. Relationships
and patterns among the categories were sought, which
led to the generation of themes as shown in Figure 3.

Data Representation as the Site ofStruggle: Temptation vs Conscience
Data representation is the stage that needs to betreated with utmost care in that the way narratives
are shown to readers will expose the researchers’
expertise in research methodology. As has been
discussed, narratives could be formed through various
qualitative data. Nevertheless, interviews are the mostfrequently used instruments, and therefore I will
discuss the pitfalls of misrepresenting interview data
as monologues without sufficient methodologicalawareness and justification.
To further continue explaining my data analysis
steps, I gathered the themes and organised them

Figure 1. Categorising data and finding patterns.

The 2015 PanSIG Journal73

IguchiFigure 2. Codes and categories.

Figure 3. Themes.

in temporal order, and subsequently I was able toconfigure the participants’ narratives and represent
their voices. Respondent validation was done to ensurethat the participants could check their narratives
before dissemination.
Narratives tend to project vivid and rich stories
of people’s lives that could have a strong and a longlasting impact on others. I have often been impressedby interview accounts of people in oral presentations
and articles, and I had gradually developed the desire to74

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

be able to present impactful data to others. However,this is where I unexpectedly faced challenges, which
was triggered by a criticism raised from my research
participants. I initially presented my participants’voices in a monologue style which is a common data
representation style found in qualitative research, astyle that has often impacted and attracted me. Having
taken this approach, I unexpectedly received criticism
from one of my participants who felt uncertain about
the content and style of the data represented, as shown

A Remedial Action for Narrative Researchers, pages 71-77
in Extract 1, which presents one of my participants’thoughts about the significance of the English
language.
Narrative in Extract 1 is presented as a summarisedmonologue, which follows the conventional style.
However, some of the issues that received criticism
were the omission of hedging, understatement
and correction, the fact that participants’ remarks
sounded too direct for Japanese people, and the overall
impression of dramatisation. I initially struggled
to accept these points because I simply thought I
was doing what all other researchers do, but I had
to swallow my pride and acknowledge that thesepoints were valid. I therefore decided not to present
the interview data in monologue style and not todecontextualise the data.
In a revised approach, I did not present
participants’ voices as monologues, but tried topresent as much of the turn-taking during interviews
as possible to indicate how the data were actually coconstructed, as is shown in Extract 2.
Extract 2 shows a co-constructed narrative, which
is a more truthful version of an interview account.
What deserves strong criticism is how I misused theword tool in Extract 1, Lines 02 and 04. In Extract 1,
it seems as if Naomi mentioned that English is a tool(Line 04), whereas Japanese is her identity (Line 01).
The term tool was convenient for me to depict theimage that English was not as significant as Japanese
was for her, and ultimately to convince the readerswith a clear-cut and a contrasting example. However,
it is self-evident in Extract 2 that I was the one who
checked her statement and asked, is it rather a tool, so
to speak? (Lines 06-07), whereas Naomi did not use
the word tool at all. This is where I was clearly culpablefor exaggeration and dramatisation.
People using narrative research might be tempted
to make research more interesting and impactful. For
this reason, data representation could possibly become
the actual stage in which researchers using narratives
might seek the limelight. I would like to extend thislesson learned to all researchers who have presented
narratives as monologues without providing the actualinterview transcripts lest they be held culpable forsimilar misconducts. What is at stake here is academic
integrity.
Hence, in order to resist temptation with clear
conscience, I suggest that researchers should present
narratives as co-constructed data, and not as mere
answers, as has been pointed out by Cortazzi (2001).
Furthermore, interview data are “voices adopted byresearch participants in response to the researcher’s
prompts and questions” (Duff & Block, 2000, p.
759, original italics). Rapley (2001) rightly contends
that, “an attempt should be made to include somedegree of the interactional detail and at the very least
interviewers’ talk should always be included” (p. 306,
original italics). This issue has not been addressedsufficiently as Mann (2016) points out that transcripts
of interview interaction is still not provided in most

Extract 1 (Naomi, homemaker; 10 years in the UK; married to a British husband)
01
02
03
04

Having been a writer in Japan, Japanese is my identity and my competency
whereas English is a tool for communication which I need for living. My
ideal in using English is to be able to communicate to other people. I think
English is a tool which belongs to anyone in the world

Extract 2 (Naomi, homemaker; 10 years in the UK; married to a British husband)
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08

Naomi: So English is about communication or, hmm…. Well, Japanese issomewhat my identity and also… my competence.
Mikio: Uh-huh.
Naomi: That’s what I’m thinking. So I don’t have much competence inEnglish. It’s necessary for communication, necessary for living.
Mikio: Oh, right. Umm, umm…. English…. So, is it rather a tool, so to
speak?
Naomi: That’s right.

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

75

Iguchiresearch that were shaped by interviews.

Conclusion
So far, I have discussed the importance of keeping
narrative research systematic and rigorous to assure
its academic quality, especially by sharing the coconstructed narratives. Now, I will conclude by
discussing the strengths and limitations of this
remedial action for narrative research.
First and foremost, the strength of the remedialaction is in how it can assure academic integrity. While
it may be tempting to present an interesting case andimpress the audience or readers, researchers engaged inqualitative research such as narrative research should
primarily guarantee its validity and trustworthiness.
The steps I have provided thus far are in line with thethree principles proposed by Holliday (2010), firstly
to make the research method transparent, secondly
to submit to data instead of allowing preconceived
ideas to take the lead, and thirdly to make appropriate
claims which are not aimed at proving something, but
to generate ideas to make people realise what is goingon in the society.
As for the limitations of the remedial action I
have proposed, the first thing to point out is that
it is time-consuming. It requires tremendous timeand energy to plan and administer data collection,transcribe interview data, write fieldnotes, code,
categorise, thematise and represent data. For instance,(Dörnyei, 2007) points out that it should take about
5 – 7 hours to transcribe an hour long interview. Thus,
researchers are often challenged with the temptation
to skip these steps, and cherry-pick handy data that
could conveniently support their claims and makeinteresting presentations.
The second point that is worth noting is theexcessive word count that narrative research requires.
When I wrote articles and gave oral presentations, I
often found that narratives were long and wordy, evenwhen I blindly followed the conventional monologue
data representation approach. This issue became evenworse after I reformed my approach and adopted theremedial action, for the word count became enormous
after providing an accurate account which included
detailed turn-taking during interviews. It will surely

76

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

be difficult for presenters to finish oral presentations
within their given time, typically 20-25 minutes in aninternational conference, and for researchers to makedecent claims within limited space in journals which
could range between a few thousand to 10,000 words.
Possible countermeasures against the issue ofexcessive word count hinge on the researchers’
ability to be able to typify, that is, to carefully andpersuasively present the best data that support theiridea. A reasonable method might be to present themost relevant data during presentations or on the main
article on journals without failing to provide detailed
data of transcripts as handouts or appendices. Such
practice might seem unfamiliar, but is in fact, gradually
spreading. For example, Mann (2016) recognises thedifficulty of squeezing transcripts in limited word
count, but gives two examples of improvements.
Firstly, journal publishers have started providing theoption for authors to provide online supplementaryresources, in which such transcripts could be included.
Secondly, he points out that it has become an accepted
practice for graduate schools to allow their doctoral
students to submit theses or dissertations with data
storage devices which would allow ample room fortranscripts.
In this way, it goes without saying that narrative
researchers need to recognise the significance of being
loyal to data in transcripts, but a wider understanding
and support from the academia such as publishers,
doctoral supervisors, examiners and editors arenecessary to change the status quo. Though suchpractice is a minority in the academia, it is worth
passing it to the future generation to advance academic
integrity.

References
Bell, J. S. (2002). Narrative inquiry: More than justtelling stories. TESOL Quarterly, 36(2), 207-213.
doi:10.2307/3588331
Bruner, J. (1990). Acts of meaning. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
Cortazzi, M. (2001). Narrative analysis in
ethnography. In P. Atkinson, A. Coffey, S.
Delamont, J. Lofland & L. Lofland (Eds.),
Handbook of ethnography (pp. 384-394). London,

A Remedial Action for Narrative Researchers, pages 71-77
England: SAGE Publications.
Croker, R. A. (2009). An introduction to qualitative
research. In J. Heigham & R. A. Croker (Eds.),
Qualitative research in applied linguistics: A
practical introduction (pp. 3-24). Basingstoke,
England: Palgrave Macmillan.
Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied
linguistics: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed
methodologies. Oxford, England: Oxford
University Press.
Duff, P., & Block, D. (2000). Interview research in
TESOL. TESOL Quarterly, 34(4), 757-763.
doi:10.2307/3587788
Eisenhart, M. (2001). Educational ethnography
past, present, and future: Ideas to thinkwith. Educational Researcher, 30(8), 16-27.
doi:10.3102/0013189X030008016
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss A. L. (1967). The discovery ofgrounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research.
New York, NY: Aldine de Gruyter.
Holliday, A. (2010). Analysing qualitative data. In
B. Paltridge & A. Phakiti (Eds.), Continuum
companion to research methods in applied
linguistics (pp. 98-110). London, England:Continuum.
Iguchi, M. (2011). Integration, identity and beyond:
A narrative case study of two Japanese women
living in Britain (Doctoral thesis, The Universityof Warwick, UK). Retrieved from http://wrap.
warwick.ac.uk/55925/
Kvale, S. (1996). InterViews: An introduction toqualitative research interviewing. Thousand Oaks,
CA: SAGE Publications.
Lieblich, A., Tuval-Mashiach, R., & Zilber, T.
(1998). Narrative research: Reading, analysis,
and interpretation. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE
Publications.
Mann, S. (2016). The research interview: Reflective
practice and reflexivity in research processes.
Basingstoke, England: Palgrave Macmillan.
Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative
data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd ed.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Murray, G. (2009). Narrative inquiry. In J. Heigham& R. A. Croker (Eds.), Qualitative researchin applied linguistics: A practical introduction.
(pp. 45-65). Basingstoke, England: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Pavlenko, A. (2007). Autobiographic narratives asdata in applied linguistics. Applied Linguistics,
28(2), 163-188. doi:10.1093/applin/amm008
Rapley, T. J. (2001). The art(fulness) of open-ended
interviewing: Some considerations on analysing
interviews. Qualitative Research, 1(3), 303-323.
doi:10.1177/146879410100100303
Silverman, D. (2006). Interpreting qualitative data:
Methods for analyzing talk, text and interaction(3rd ed.). London, England: SAGE Publications.
Wellington, J. (2000). Educational research:Contemporary issues and practical approaches.
London, England: Continuum.

Author’s Biography:
Mikio Iguchi is an assistant professor at Maebashi Institute of Technology, where he teaches
English to engineering students. He received a doctoral degree (Ed.D. in Applied Linguistics andEnglish Language Teaching) from The University of Warwick, in which he conducted researchon identity and motivation under Ema Ushioda, and on intercultural communication under
Helen Spencer-Oatey’s supervision. Mikio can be contacted at iguchim@maebashi-it.ac.jp.

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Minimal English Test Versus the TOEIC

Masaya Kanzaki
Kanda University of International Studies
kanzaki-m@kanda.kuis.ac.jp
This study compares the results of the Minimal English Test (MET), a gap-filling dictation test
designed to evaluate the language proficiency of English learners in five minutes, with the resultsof three different types of the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) in orderto determine the degree to which the scores correlate. Participants in this study were 90 university
students. They completed the MET and the TOEIC listening, reading and speaking tests, and theirscores were then examined for correlations. The speaking score was correlated more strongly with
the MET score than with the listening score, the reading score, and the combined listening andreading score.
本研究では、英語学習者の言語能力を5分で測定するように作られた穴埋め式ディクテーションテ
ストであるMinimal English Test (MET、最少英語テスト)と3種類のTOEICテストとの結果を比較し、各テスト間の相関関係を検証する。本研究の参加者は90名の大学生である。彼らはMETとTOEICのリスニングテスト、リーディングテスト、
スピーキングテストを受験し、彼らの得点に対して相関関係の検証が行われた。
スピーキングの得点は、リスニングの得点、リーディングの得点、およびリ
スニングとリーディングの合計点との間よりもMETの得点との間に強い相関があった。

Some Japanese universities administer the Testof English for International Communication(TOEIC) or the paper-based version of the Test ofEnglish as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) in order
to measure students’ English proficiency (Institutefor International Business Communication, 2015;
Council on International Educational Exchange,2013). Although the results of these standardized
tests can be useful for school administrators andEnglish teachers, administering them requires timeand money; it takes a student two hours to complete
each test, both of which cost more than 3,000 yen
per person. Because of this there have been calls for aless expensive and more efficient alternative to these
Kanzaki M. (2016). Minimal English test versus the
TOEIC. In G. Brooks, M. Porter, D. Fujimoto, &D. Tatsuki (Eds.), The 2015 PanSIG Journal (pp.
78-85). Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

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The 2015 PanSIG Journal

standardized English proficiency tests. In an effort
to address this need, Maki, Wasada and Hashimoto(2003) developed the Minimal English Test (MET).
The MET is a dictation test consisting of two
passages with 72 blanks that the test-taker needs to fillin; the test-taker listens to pre-recorded monologues
and writes down a word in each blank. Because of thegap-filling text completion format used by the MET
it could be viewed as a type of a cloze test. Cloze tests
were first introduced by Taylor (1953) as a measure of
the reading ability of native English speakers. Cloze
tests attracted a lot of attention in EFL literature fromthe 1960s to the 1980s as a means of measuring EFL
learners’ reading abilities or overall English proficiency(see Brown, 2013, for issues regarding cloze testing).
However, while similar in some respects, theMET has two distinct features that are different frommost cloze tests; auditory cues are given to the testtaker and the number of words between one blankMinimal English Test Versus the TOEIC, pages 78-85
to the next varies. This is because the MET has its
roots not in the cloze test but in a Japanese language
test for non-native speakers of Japanese called the
Simple Performance-Oriented Test (SPOT), which
was developed by Kobayashi, Ford and Yamashita(1995). The SPOT consists of 60 unrelated sentences,each of which has one purposefully-chosen hiragana
character blanked out; the test-taker listens to a
pre-recorded audio of the sentences and fills in theblanks. It takes only a few minutes to complete theSPOT. Kobayashi et al. (1995) reported a correlation
coefficient of .82 between the scores of the SPOT and
Tsukuba University’s placement test, which consists ofvocabulary, grammar, listening and reading sections
and requires 150 minutes to complete. The MET wasmodeled after the SPOT, and Goto, Maki and Kasai(2010) called the MET “an English version of the
SPOT” (p. 95).
Some correlation studies have been carried out toinvestigate the relationships between MET scores andscores of other English tests, such as the English testin the university entrance examination in Japan (rsbetween .60 and .72, reported in Goto et al., 2010),
the TOEIC (r = .74, reported in Maki, Hasebe &Umezawa, 2010), the STPE Eiken 2nd Grade (r= .59, reported in Maki & Hasebe, 2013), and the
Vocabulary Levels Test (r = .81, reported in Kasai,
Maki & Niinuma, 2005). For a comprehensive list of
papers on the MET, see Maki (2015). However, there
has been no correlation study comparing the results of
the MET and a speaking test. This study was therefore
designed to compare the results of the MET and theTOEIC speaking test for correlations. This would thenbe compared to the correlation between the results of
MET and the TOEIC listening and reading tests.

MethodThe MET and the listening, reading and speaking
tests of the TOEIC (hereafter TC, TR and TS) wereadministered to 90 participants, and the scores of thefour tests were then analyzed for correlations.

Participants
The study participants were 90 students who

were attending a private university specializing inforeign languages in the Kanto area. They agreed toparticipate in the study in exchange for a cash rewardof 1,000 yen, although they had to pay the 3,500 yen
to take the TOEIC listening and reading tests on
July 29, 2014. Initially, 94 students were to take part,but four of them were excluded because their MET
scores were below 30 out of 72, which indicated thatthey had not taken the test seriously. The purposes ofthe study as well as the procedures and requirements
were explained to the participants before they signed
a consent form.
Among the 90 participants, seven were in theirfirst academic year, 47 were in their second, 16 werein their third, and 20 were in their fourth; 15 of
the participants were male and 75 were female. In
terms of fields of study, there were 51 international
communication majors, 26 English language majors,
11 international business majors, one Chinese
language major and one Portuguese language major.
All the participants were native Japanese speakers
except for two native Korean speakers and one
native Chinese speaker. One of them was enrolled in
the TOEIC-860 course, seven in the TOEIC-730
courses, 42 in the TOEIC-650 courses and six in the
TOEIC-600 courses (860, 730, 650 and 600 indicate
the target scores of the courses). The remaining 34
were not taking any TOEIC course.

Materials
The MET and the three types of the TOEIC (TL,
TR and TS) were used in this study. The TL and TR
are always administered together and are therefore
usually treated as two sections of one test. The TS,on the other hand, can be taken independently when
it is administered as part of the Institutional Program(IP). With the TOEIC IP the institution that is
administering the test sets the time, date and place ofthe exam. The three TOEIC tests used in the study
were administered as IP tests. These tests were notcomputerized adaptive tests and all of the participantsin this study would have received the same questionsin the three tests.
Minimal English Test (MET). The MET consistsof two passages; one with 200 words and the other
The 2015 PanSIG Journal79

Kanzakiwith 198 words. Both of these passages are taken froman English textbook for university students written
by Kawana and Walker (2002). The accompanying
audio for this book is also used during the MET. The
two passages are spread out over 36 lines of between
six and 17 words and the average number of words
per line is 11. Each line has two blanks, and only
words that have four letters or fewer are blanked out.
Because of this restriction, the deletion frequency of
the MET is not regular; the number of words between
two blanks is between 0 and 10, with an average word
number of 4.24 between blanks, excluding the interval
between the last blank of the first passage and the first
blank of the second passage. For the actual test sheet
along with the answer key, see the Appendix. The
test-taker listens to the audio, which is set at a speedof 125 words per minute, and fills in the 72 blanks.
There is a short pause of 10 seconds between the two
passages (between lines 18 and 19). Because auditory
cues are given, only the intended word is accepted
as the correct answer, and semantically acceptable
alternatives are counted as wrong as were spelling
mistakes. However, in this study the author made one
exception for the misspelling of “paid” in line 9, andanswers such as “payed” and “paied” were accepted on
the ground that those who misspelled this were able tohear the word correctly and knew that it was the past
form of “pay”.
TOEIC Listening Test (TL). The TL consistsof 100 multiple-choice questions, and raw scores ofbetween 0 and 100 are converted to scaled scores ofbetween 5 and 495. The TL has four parts, the detailsof which are shown in Table 1.
TOEIC Reading Test (TR). The TR consistsof 100 multiple-choice questions, and raw scores ofbetween 0 and 100 are converted to scaled scores ofbetween 5 and 495. The TR has three parts, the detailsof which are shown in Table 2.
Note. The TR starts with Part 5 because it
immediately follows the TL, which ends with Part 4,
and the two tests are always taken as a set.
TOEIC Speaking Test (TS). The TS is acomputer-based test requiring the test-taker tosit in front of a computer wearing a headset witha microphone. Instructions are provided on thecomputer screen and through the headset. The testtaker speaks into the microphone and their speeches
are recorded and sent to certified raters for evaluation.

Table 1
Four Parts of the TL
Part

Task

# of Qs

1

For each question with a photo, listen to four sentences and choose the one that best describes theimage.

10

2

Listen to a question or statement followed by three responses and choose the most appropriate
response.

30

3

Listen to a conversation and answer comprehension questions.

30

4

Listen to a short talk and answer comprehension questions.

30

Table 2Three Parts of the TR
Part

Task

# of Qs

5

Choose a word or phrase to fill in a blank in a sentence.

40

6

Choose words or phrases to fill in blanks in a passage.

12

7

Read a passage or a set of two passages and answer comprehension questions.

48

80

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Minimal English Test Versus the TOEIC, pages 78-85
There are 11 questions in the TS and scores are givenin the range of 0 to 200. Table 3 shows the details of
the TS.

Results
All the statistical analyses were conducted using IBM
SPSS Statistics for Windows version 22.

Descriptive Statistics
Table 4 shows the descriptive statistics for the scoresof the MET and the three TOEIC tests. The average
TL score is 113.44 points higher than the average TR
score. The average combined score of the TL and TR
is 625.78.

Reliability
The reliability index (Cronbach’s alpha) for the MET

is .85, which is quite high for a simple test that canbe completed in five minutes. The reliability indicesof the TL, TR and TC for a particular test form are
not available because the Educational Testing Service,
which administers the TOEIC tests, does not disclose
them. However, the Educational Testing Service(2013) reported that the reliability index (KR-20)of the TL and TR scores across all forms of theirnorming samples is “approximately .90” (p. 16). Also,
the Educational Testing Service (2010) reported thatthe reliability of the TS is .80 “based on the data fromJanuary 2008 to December 2009 administrations in
the Public Testing Program” (p. 18).

Correlations
Three TOEIC tests. Table 5 shows the correlations
between the scores of the three TOEIC tests. Among

Table 3
Details of the TS
Question #

Task

1–2

Read aloud the text that appears on the screen.

3

Describe the picture on the screen.

4–6

Answer three questions about a single topic as though you are participating in a telephone interview.

7–9

Read the information on the screen and answer three questions about it as though you are responding
to a telephone inquiry.

10

Listen to a recorded message about a problem and propose a solution for it.

11

Express an opinion about a specific topic.

Table 4
Descriptive Statistics for MET, TL, TR and TS (N = 90)

Test (possible scores)

Mean

SD

Minimum

Maximum

MET (0-72)

47.49

8.55

31

67

TL (5-495)

369.61

56.67

170

495

TR (5-495)

256.17

71.52

100

430

TLR (10-990)

625.78116.22310925

TS (0-200)

112.36

21.39

60

170

Note. TLR = TL and TR combined.

The 2015 PanSIG Journal81

Kanzaki
the three combinations, the highest is between the TL
and TR scores (r = .64) and the lowest is between the
TR and TS scores (r = .38). The correlation between
the TL and TS comes between them (r = .45). Thisorder is in agreement with the correlations reported
by Kanzaki (2015), which are .68 between the TL andTR, .50 between the TL and TS, and .48 between the
TR and TS.
The correlation between the TS scores and the
combined scores of the TL and TR is .45 (p < .001).
MET vs. TOEIC. Table 6 show the correlations
between the MET and the three TOEIC tests. The
MET correlates with the TS at .59 and the figure ishigher than those between the MET and the TL (r =.39) and the MET and the TR (r = .51).

Discussion
One of the most striking aspects of the results is the
MET scores correlate with the TS scores more strongly
than with the TL scores or with the TR scores. The
MET only requires the test-taker to listen and write
down what is heard, and so it does not measure
speaking skills. It is unclear how the MET, a gap-filling
dictation test, can be said to evaluate the speaking
abilities of learners. However, there are two features ofthe MET that might relate to speaking abilities. One
is the multitasking nature of the MET. When taking

the MET, one has to listen to the audio, read the text,
write down words and anticipate what will come next.
Similar multitasking abilities are needed for speaking;when we speak with someone, we have to listen, speak
and think about what to say next at the same time.
The other point is the processing speed needed
to perform well on the MET. In order to complete
the task satisfactorily on the MET, the test-takerhas to process information quickly when listening
and reading in order to write down what they hear.
This type of quickness is also necessary for speaking,especially in the TS, where the test-taker has to comeup with something to say within a certain amount oftime and then has to say what he or she wants to say
within a given timeframe.
Another striking aspect of the results is thecorrelation between the MET and TL, which is lower
than those between the MET and TS and between the
MET and TR. This is surprising, considering that the
MET consists of auditory cues that the test-taker has tolisten to and complete a task based on what they hear.
Moreover, ordinary cloze tests, which do not provide
auditory cues, “have consistently correlated best withmeasures of listening comprehension” (Oller, 1973, p.
114). It is puzzling that a test with listening elements
correlates poorly with a listening test while the ones
that do not have listening elements correlate well

Table 5
Correlations Between 3 TOEIC Tests (N = 90)

TL

TL

TR

TS

1

.64*

.45*

1

.38*

TR
TS

1

* = p < .001
Table 6
Correlations Between MET and TOEIC (N = 90)

MET

TL

TR

TLR

TS

.39*

.51*

.50*

.59*

Note. TLR = TL and TR combined.
* = p < .001

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Minimal English Test Versus the TOEIC, pages 78-85
with a listening test. One possible explanation is that
the MET does not function as a tool for measuring
the listening comprehension of learners because theaudio for the MET is not designed to test listening
comprehension. It only gives auditory cues and what
it tests is whether or not the test-taker recognizes
words while the TOEIC listening test measures thetest-taker’s ability to listen to and process sentencesof varying degrees of difficulty. Thus the test-taker’s
ability to multitask and move from one question to
the next quickly plays a more important role thantheir listening ability on the MET. If you are not able
to listen while writing down a word, you will miss thenext word, and if you are slow to answer, it will be hardto catch up with the pace.

Conclusion
The results suggest a possibility that the MET may
be able to predict the test-taker’s speaking abilities
better than the TL and TR, as there was a stronger
relationship between the TS and MET than between
the TS and the TL and TR with the group of students
involved in this study.
One limitation of the study is the compositionof the participants; they were all language majors
and most of them regularly had English lessons withnative English-speaking teachers and they were moreused to speaking English than the average English
learner in Japan, and therefore the findings cannot be
generalized. Another limitation is that a sample size of
90 participants is not large enough to make definitive
generalizations about the MET. Finally, it should be
remembered that the results presented above wereobtained from a particular group of participants
taking particular forms of the TL, TR and TS; if
different participants take different forms of the tests,
the results may not be the same.

Acknowledgements
The author would like to express his gratitude to Dr.
Hideki Maki of Gifu University for providing the METrelated materials. Without his support, this study would
not have been possible. Also, the author is grateful toProfessor Norihito Kawana of Sapporo International

University and Seibido Shuppan Cooperation for
granting permission to reproduce the MET in this paper.
This study was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant
Number 25370727.

References
Brown, J. D. (2013). My twenty-five years of cloze
testing research: So what? International Journal of
Language Studies, 7(1), 1–32.
Council on International Educational Exchange(2013). TOEFL web magazine: Yuuza No
Koe [Voice from a user] [Report on the web].
Retrieved from http://www.cieej.or.jp/toefl/
webmagazine/educators-voice/1303/
Educational Testing Service. (2010). TOEIC user
guide: Speaking and writing. Princeton, NJ:
Educational Testing service. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ets.org/s/toeic/pdf/toeic_sw_score_user_guide.pdf
Educational Testing Service. (2013). TOEIC user
guide: Listening and reading. Princeton, NJ:
Educational Testing service. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/Test_of_
English_for_International_Communication/
TOEIC_User_Gd.pdf
Goto, K., Maki, H., & Kasai, C. (2010). The Minimal
English Test: A new method to measure English
as a Second Language proficiency. Evaluation& Research in Education, 23(2), 91-104. doi:
10.1080/09500791003734670
Institute for International Business Communication(2015). TOEIC newsletter vol. 125 [Online
newsletter]. Retrieved from http://www.
toeic.or.jp/library/toeic_data/sys/letter/
TOEICNewsletter125.pdf
Kasai, C., Maki, H., & Niinuma, F. (2005). The
Minimal English Test: A strong correlation with
the Paul Nation Proficiency Test. Bulletin of theFaculty of Regional Studies, Gifu University, 17,
45–52. Retrieved from https://repository.lib.
gifu-u.ac.jp/bitstream/123456789/4588/1/
KJ00004182420.pdf
Kawana, N., & Walker, S. (2002). This is Media.com.
Tokyo, Japan: Seibido.
The 2015 PanSIG Journal83

Kanzaki
Kobayashi, N., Ford, J., & Yamamoto, H. (1995).
Nihongo Nouryoku Kani Shiken (SPOT) No
Tokuten Bunnpu Keikou: Tyuukyuu Muke Tesuto
To Syokyuu Muke Tesuto [Distribution of scores in
the Simple Performance-Oriented Test (SPOT):
Comparison of scores between easy and difficult
versions of SPOT]. Journal for Japanese Language
Education, 10, 107-119.
Kanzaki, M. (2015). TOEIC survey: Speaking vs.
listening and reading. In P. Clements, A. Krause& H. Brown (Eds.), JALT2014 Conference
Proceedings (pp. 626-636). Tokyo: JALT.
Maki, H. (2015) The Minimal English Test (MET)[Webpage]. Retrieved from http://www.
geocities.jp/makibelfast/MET.html
Maki, H., & Hasebe, M. (2013). The Minimal
English Test and the test in practical English
proficiency by the STEP. Bulletin of the Facultyof Regional Studies, Gifu University, 32, 25-30.
Retrieved from http://repository.lib.gifu-u.ac.jp/
bitstream/123456789/45802/1/reg_030032003.

pdf
Maki, H., Hasebe, M., & Umezawa, T. (2010). A
Study of correlation between the scores on
the Minimal English Test (MET) and thescores on the Test of English for International
Communication (TOEIC). Bulletin of the Facultyof Regional Studies, Gifu University, 27, 53-63.
Retrieved from http://repository.lib.gifu-u.ac.jp/
bitstream/123456789/34847/1/reg_030027005.
pdf
Maki, H., Wasada, H., & Hashimoto, E. (2003)
Saishoo Eego Tesuto: Shoki Kenkyuu [TheMinimal English Test: A Preliminary Study].
Eego Kyooiku, 53(10), 47-50.
Oller, J. W., Jr. (1973) Cloze tests of second language
proficiency and what they measure. Language
Learning, 23(1), 105-118. DOI: 10.1111/j.14671770.1973.tb00100.x
Taylor, W. L. (1953). Cloze procedure: A new tool formeasuring readability. Journalism Quarterly, 30,
415-453.

Author’s Biography:
Masaya Kanzaki teaches at Kanda University of International Studies. His research interests
include vocabulary acquisition, language testing and corpus linguistics. He can be reached at
kanzaki-m@kanda.kuis.ac.jp.

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Minimal English Test Versus the TOEIC, pages 78-85

Appendix
MET with answer key
1. The majority of people have at least one pet at (some) time in their (life).
2. Sometimes the relationship between a pet (dog) or cat and its owner is (so) close
3. that (they) begin to resemble (each) other in their appearance and behavior.
4. On the other (hand), owners of unusual pets (such) as tigers or snakes
5. sometimes (have) to protect themselves (from) their own pets.
6. Thirty years (ago) the idea of an inanimate (pet) first arose.
7. This was the pet (rock), which became a craze (in) the United States and8. spread (to) other countries as (well).
9. People (paid) large sums of money for ordinary rocks and assigned (them) names.
10. They tied a leash around the rock and pulled (it) down the street just (like) a dog.
11. The rock owners (even) talked (to) their pet rocks.
12. Now (that) we have entered the computer age, (we) have virtual pets.
13. The Japanese Tamagotchi—(the) imaginary chicken (egg)—
14. (was) the precursor of (many) virtual pets.
15. Now there (are) an ever-increasing number of such virtual (pets)
16. which mostly young people are adopting (as) their (own).
17. And (if ) your virtual pet (dies),
18. you (can) reserve a permanent resting place (on) the Internet in a virtual pet cemetery.
19. Sports are big business. Whereas Babe Ruth, the (most) famous athlete of (his) day,20. was well-known (for) earning as (much) as the President of the United States, the average
21. salary (of ) today’s professional baseball players is (ten) times that of the President.
22. (And) a handful of sports superstars earn 100 times (more) through their contracts
23. (with) manufacturers of clothing, (food), and sports equipment.
24. But every generation produces (one) or two legendary athletes (who) rewrite
25. the record books, and whose ability and achievements (are) remembered (for) generations.
26. (In) the current generation Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan are two (such) legendary
27. figures, (both) of whom (have) achieved almost mythical status.
28. The (fact) that a large number of professional athletes (earn) huge incomes
29. has (led) to increased competition throughout (the) sports world.
30. Parents (send) their children to sports training camps (at) an early age.
31. Such (kids) typically practice three to (four) hours a day,
32. (all) weekend (and) during their school vacations
33. in order (to) better their chances of eventually obtaining (a) well-paid position
34. on a professional (team) when they grow (up).
35. As for the (many) young aspirants who do (not) succeed,
36. one wonders if they (will) regret having (lost) their childhood.

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85

Character Analysis and Character Development
in Dialogues and Role-Plays

Aya Kawakami
Nanzan University
kawakami@nanzan-u.ac.jp
Role plays and dialogues are a staple EFL tool, yet character analysis development may not be getting
the focus it deserves. Character analysis is a process that actors use to delve deeper into a character.
This can include a backstory and also examining the lines to glean the character’s personality,
motivation, and inner emotions. When a student is both invested in and can benefit from the safety
provided by playing a character, that student’s expressiveness, situational investment, and creativity
are engaged. This paper discusses some of the theory behind why character development can
improve role-play activities, provides practical examples from the author’s classroom, and discusses
the authors own reflections and observations from using character analysis and development withher own students.
ロールプレイや会話例を使って英語学習を行うのは、今や一般的な方法であるが、一方でローオプ
レイの登場人物の性格分析は蔑ろかにされている。
しかしながら、学生が役の性格、背景等を深く検討分析することにより、表現力、状況を把握する力、創造力を喚起する事となる。本論文において、私の授業中の実例や、人物分析等をもとに、前述の学説を論じています。

Textbook dialogues and role-plays are staples in the
EFL classroom, yet students and teachers alike often
view these activities with disinterest, even trepidation.
Students often go through the motions of readingout lines from textbook dialogues with little or no
emotion. Even role-play activities, a great intermediatestep for those who wish to communicate in English,
either become something of a joke or something
students struggle shyly through. Free conversation,
another staple, tends to be limited to a small rangeof topics that are based on students’ life experiences.
Kawakami, A. (2016). Character analysis andcharacter development in dialogues and role-plays.
In G. Brooks, M. Porter, D. Fujimoto, & D. Tatsuki(Eds.), The 2015 PanSIG Journal (pp. 86-92).
Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

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I’ve experienced first hand trying to conduct a freeconversation topic from a textbook only to find outthat none of my students had anything significant
to contribute. How can we as educators broaden therange of conversations, increase interest and meaning
to textbook dialogues, and breathe life into role-play
activities? Adding drama to dialogues and role-plays
can aid students in learning how to express theirideas and emotions in a second language (Ntelioglou,
2011; Duff & Maley, 2001; Gaudart, 1990) and thus
warrants a closer look. This paper builds on previous
papers about drama techniques in the EFL classroom(Kawakami, 2014; Kawakami, 2015) and focuseson two processes; character analysis and character
development. These two techniques can be used to not
only enrich the activities themselves, but also to help
students to develop additional skills such as criticalCharacter Analysis and Development in Role-Plays, pages 86-92
thinking, non-verbal communication, and emotional
intelligence (Ntelioglou, 2011; De la Roche, 1993).
The first section of this article begins with a discussionof textbook dialogues and character analysis, including
practical examples. The second section introduces thereader to how the foundations of character analysis canthen be applied to character development and suggests
various ways teachers can go about helping students
create real, meaningful characters.

The First Step: Character Analysis
and Textbook Dialogue Enrichment
Activities
Kao and O’Neil (1998) state that textbook dialogues
are there “to encourage students to perform particularlinguistic structures, practice particular idioms, orrecite lines according to pre-written scripts using
certain items of vocabulary” (p. 6). While these
dialogues can help with grammar, vocabulary, andpronunciation, they do not allow students to practice,emotion and motivation driven dialogue. In essence
they do not encourage the connection between thegrammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation and realworld use. However, adding character analysis anddrama activities to a class can provide students withthe opportunities they need to practice these otherskills. I would like to demonstrate this through an
example from my own practice, utilizing a sample
dialogue from the textbook Breakthrough Plus 3(Craven, 2012) (see Figure 1), which I use in my firstand second year university communication classes.
This particular dialogue is a great starter forcharacter analysis as it already has a good elementof drama built in. After reading the dialogue, thestudents are asked to discuss the dialogue and analyze
it by examining how they would react to Sally’s lastline. They are asked to think about what is funnyor awkward about the situation and discuss with agroup how they were able to know that through thelanguage. This is, I am sure, a typical activity for an
EFL classroom. It is also the initial step of character
analysis.
To deepen the analysis, I ask the students to comeup with a back story for each of the characters in pairs,
often with a worksheet that has prompt questions. A
typical backstory from my classes has been that Sally
was actually very much a shy and awkward student
in high school and that Sally and Akiko had been
good friends, but Akiko was always kind of mean to
Sally, which is why they haven’t spoken for many
years. The variety of backstories elicted creates a great
opportunity to introduce the idea of motivationhidden and apparent agendas that the characters may
have, driven by personal relationships and history.
It also has allowed me to broach with students theconcept of internal and external emotions, what
people show on the outside and what they try tohide, their true feelings. This has been easy for mystudents to grasp due to their familiarity with the

Figure 1. Sample dialogue from Breakthrough Plus 3, p. 4.

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Kawakami
ideas of “honne” (inner truth) and “tatemai” (outsideface) in Japanese culture. This process gives students
a wonderful opportunity for discussion, criticalthinking, and creativity. It also creates an opportunity
for empathy with the character which creates aninvestment in what they are doing (Dracup, 2012).
Once the students have developed some of their own
ideas about the relationships and personalities of
the characters, they begin to try to demonstrate thisthrough verbal and non-verbal signals (tone and bodylanguage), either privately, in pairs, or in front of small
groups of peers.
From my observations, this process helps these
dialogues to come alive. Students are more animatedand interact with each other actively. They are nolonger just facing each other, staring down at their
textbooks. Students start to advise one another on
how to make the backstories more evident throughtheir action, thus reflection occurs naturally.
This can be taken a step further by having students
take on the role of a director and filming theirenactments. The students can watch the films, taken on
their phones, and discuss how to improve their actions
and acting. They do this for themselves, with little sidecoaching from the teacher, and give feedback to eachother, creating a wonderful peer learning opportunity.
It is essential here that the teacher guide students
gently and provide positive feedback, during and after
these activities, so that students can improve without
feeling judged (De la Roche, 1993). This is an essential
part of creating the type of nurturing, supportive andsafe environment that is necessary for learning tooccur (Duff & Maley, 2001). Personal observations
have shown me that students tend to enjoy being theactors and directors of these scenes as they seem tofeel ownership over how it progresses. I have foundeven shy students really engage, particularly if they are
given the opportunity to be the director before being

Figure 2. Sample role-play card.

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the actor. Students seem to forget about their normal
shyness and fears as they are acting in character and thesituation is fictional. It is important to note that while
the situation and characters are fictional, the dialogue
is authentic ( Jackson & Schneider, 2000), particularly
when the students extend the dialogue beyond what is
written in the text in extension activities.
The greatest challenge is the first time this activity
is introduced. It should be a topic that is rich withdrama and is one that the students can relate to.
Starting with a difficult dialogue with concepts thatare far from their own experience can cause students
to lose confidence. Simple, relatable dialogues thatcan be infused with the students’ imagination seemto be the recipe for initial success. So, in essence,character analysis is taking somewhat predeterminedcharacters, stories, and scripts, and infusing them withrich descriptions, making them three dimensionalso students can experience them more intensely andauthentically. Character development takes thisfurther.

Character Development and RolePlays
Whilst character analysis, the exploration ofrelationships, and the addition of emotionally driven
motivation adds more authenticity to the dialogues,role-plays are a step closer to what students will haveto be able to do if they want to be able to use thelanguage that they are studying in the real world. If
the main goal of having students engage in discussions
in the classroom is for these discussions to be as realas possible, one could argue then that perhaps freeconversations, where students interact as themselves,
would be more realistic. While there is some meritto free discussions and free discussion activities dohave a role to play in the language classroom, for theCharacter Analysis and Development in Role-Plays, pages 86-92
most part, many of the young students we teach do
not have a wide range of life experiences from whichto draw upon (De la Roche, 1993) which can makethese types of discussions rather limited. Additionally,
the power relationships both among students andbetween students and their teacher are quite stagnant
and so the students are unable to explore more
complicated and varied positions if free discussionis the only type of conversational activity that they
engage in in the classroom (Kao & O’Neil, 1998).
This is where role-plays are essential. Students canplay different characters as can the teacher. In fact, it
is highly advisable that teachers demonstrate in role as
it helps to establish the tone of the role-play activities.
This also adds validity to the activities and helps toemphasis the fact that the classroom is indeed a safeand equal environment.
In the past, I followed the typical procedure forrole plays. Students were taught useful phrases toutilize and given a brief description of the characters(see Figure 2). Then students were tasked to performthe role-play, either in front of a class, for the teacher(myself ), or privately amongst the members of a small
group. Feedback was then given on the language being
used in the role plays. This feedback could include
such things as a few pronunciation or grammaticalcorrections on errors noticed by the teacher whenmonitoring the role play activities. It is also possible tocomment on the physicality, which is how the student
is using body language, posture, and facial expressions
to convey the character’s personality and emotions.
After this feedback session the activity was done.
This process always felt like a gamble, as the successrate was highly varied. Learning from my peers, I tried

to include props or sound cues, such as ambient music,
to create a sense of reality. These were good additions,and often helped, but they did not get to the core ofwhat a role-play activity could, and should, be trying
to achieve. Reality is created within the participants
themselves, the actors. Once they are able to become
the character and see the situation, then true, authentic
communication can occur.
Character development is essentially taking
character analysis a step further, adding more creativity.
The student or actor puts their own imagination towork to bring a character to life. This will allow thestudents to be able to work “off script” and create
original language in character. Granted, actors usuallywork with a script, but many take it a step further sothey can, when it moves them, create action and words
that go beyond the script, as if they were actually thecharacter they are pretending to be. Also, the moredetailed a back-story is, the more strongly attached
one become to their character. The balance between
this and the fact that characters are very clearly not theactor themselves gives more freedom to performers.
The character is like a mask or a costume, almost likean avatar, and this is what allows even the most shy
actor to put on sensitive, vulnerable performances. If
this is the case for actors, then this could be applied to
the language learner.
While it is not being suggested that teachers try
to make their language learners turn into professional
actors, the psychological mechanism of bothinvestment in and distance from the characters they
are pretending to be is something that can be utilized
to help the students open up and be more expressive.
Many studies have also shown that the students’Figure 3. Character card.

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Kawakami
motivation to do research or engagement in activities
can be increased with the use of in depth character
preparation in role-plays and extended role-play
dramas such as process drama (see for example, De
la Roche, 1993; Dracup, 2012; Jackson & Schneider,
2000). The buffer of “it’s not you, it’s your character”
can have a strong impact on the students, somethingthat has been shown both in the literature and in myown classrooms.
Character development can also allow students
to explore character conflicts, both internal andinterpersonal, so as to add genuine emotion totheir communication activities (Duff & Maley,2001), something that is often lacking in classroom
conversation activities. In my own classroom, I havenoticed that my conflict adverse students actuallyseem to relish conflict, and the resolution of thisconflict, once they understand it is their character andnot themselves that are participating in this conflict.
However, this can only happen if the students havereally gotten into their character. The process of“putting on” their character, for both students andactors, necessitates a connection to that character and,for this to occur, character development is an essential
step.
Let us now examine a practical example from myuniversity classes. This activity is a role-play that is
intended to allow students to practice arguing andnegotiating. In this role-play three characters argue
over a daughter’s desire to marry someone the parents
disapprove of. Students are given various character
cards (see Figure 3 for an example) and are asked towork. These groups can be composed of students
who each play a different role (for example a group

Figure 4. Character development sheet- KEIKO.

90

The 2015 PanSIG Journalof three students with one student each playing thepart of either the mother, the father or the daughter)or in groups of students who are all playing the samecharacter (for example, all members are the mother).
The students created details about the characters
based on a character development sheet (see Figure4) that has been provided by the teacher. Note thatthe questions in the character development sheet
should be tailored to the different characters and act
as a starting point for discussion. The goal is to get thestudents to think about their character’s personality,
their relationships with the other characters, and theirmotivation within the scene. Here the focus is about
why Keiko is against the marriage of her daughter andwhat aspects of her life have led her to be against it. It
is important that the teacher asks students questions
that will help them to discuss their character’s internaland external feelings, as well as to develop their ideas
about the relationships between the various characters.
A hot-seating activity prior to doing the role-play canbe helpful, and I have often used it at this stage. Hotseating is an activity where the student sits, in role, inthe middle of a circle of other students and possibly
the teacher, and answers questions in character. It ismeant to aid the student in developing their character
further, filling in some blanks that could have been
missed in their previous discussions.
After the development stage, the students arethen asked to do the role-plays. The teacher may
choose to have all the students do the role-plays intheir groups, with no observers, or can choose to havegroups observe each other, either in pairs of groups orin plenary. Naturally, it is important that the teacher
uses discretion and takes into account the comfort

Character Analysis and Development in Role-Plays, pages 86-92
level of the students. I generally start with an initialpractice within their individual groups. After they
have completed this initial role-play with their group
I give them time to reflect on how the role play wentand brainstorm ways that they could have improved
it. I then have the groups perform in front of a larger
group. Feedback can be given after the students have
performed in front of the larger group. At all times, thefeedback must be positive and constructive. It should
be given in a way that nurtures self-reflection andself-awareness whilst maintaining a safe environment.
Reflecting on making the characters more realistic,
brainstorming physicality, tone, and language
content and trying it again, after reflection, was very
beneficial and, especially when done peer to peer, theimprovement shown in the students was noticeable.
The biggest issues that I have encountered withdoing character development is that it can be time
consuming. Assigning the development worksheet
for homework is an ideal way to cut down the classtime required for this type of activity and it also
allows the students to reflect at their own leisure andcomfort. Whilst this type of activity may not be aweekly activity, having this as a regular componentof my communication classes has lead to noticeable
improvements in my own classes both in terms of thetime it takes to prepare for role-plays and in the qualityof communication that occurs during the role-plays.
It has also helped to improve my students attitudes
towards the class which has, in turn, lead to an increasein student motivation.

Conclusion
Character analysis and development are additional
steps that can be included in the teaching repertoire.
While these activities can be time consuming, thebenefits are worth it. The development of criticalthinking and emotional intelligence is a valuable side
effect, but the primary benefits are that the students
be able to experience a wide range of situations and be
given the opportunity to use their voice, body language,
and vocabulary in an authentic way. These are the skills
that allow students to truly express themselves in asecond language. The activities suggested here are only
an example of the myriad of possible activities that canbe used to develop characters and the teacher should
use their own discretion and modify these activities tosuit their own students.

Acknowledgments
The Speech, Drama, and Debate SIG has been
extremely supportive in providing me with
opportunities to present on my field and to work
collaboratively on many events. I would like to thankthe hard working officers and members for helping todevelop our SIG into the organization it is today.

References:
Craven, M. (2012). Breakthrough plus 3. London,
England: Macmillan Education.
De la Roche, E. (1993). Drama, critical thinking,and social issues. Washington, D.C.:
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www.eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/
ERICServlet?accno=ED379172
Dracup, M. (2012). Designing online role playswith a focus on story development to support
engagement and critical learning for higher
education students. Journal Of Learning Design,
5(2), 12-24.
Duff, A., & Maley, A. (2001). Drama techniquesin language learning: A resource book ofcommunication activities for language teachers.
Cambridge, England: Cambridge University
Press.
Gaudart, H. (1990) Using drama techniques inlanguage teaching. Retrieved from ERIC database.
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Jackson, S. A. W., & Schneider, J. J. (2000). Process
drama: A special space and place for writing. The
Reading Teacher, 54(1), 38-51.
Kao, S., & O’Neil, C. (1998). Words into worlds,
Learning a second language through process drama.
Stamford, CT: Ablex Publishing Corporation
Kawakami, A. (2014). Adding drama to role plays-theroad to authentic communication. The 2013 PanSIG Proceedings JALT pp. 41-46
Kawakami, A. (2015). Using process drama in
EFL discussion classes. The 2014 Pan-SIG
Proceedings, JALT, pp. 59-63
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Kawakami
Ntelioglou, B.Y. (2011). But why do I have to takethis class?’ The mandatory drama-ESL class andmultiliteracies pedagogy. Research in Drama

Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre andPerformance, 16(1), pp. 595-615.

Authors’ Biographies:
Aya Kawakami teaches a variety of classes, including a process drama based discussion class at
Nanzan University. She is a founding member of the Speech, Drama, and Debate SIG and an
active member. In addition, she works for several theater companies in the Nagoya area as anactor, vocal coach, interpreter, and director.

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Uncovering Emotivation through Students’
Narratives on Language Learning
Liliana Landolfi
Naples Eastern University
lilando2@tin.it
The present contribution focuses on Emotivation, a type of self-discovered motivation that isstudent-activated, which emerged from the analysis of self-narratives produced during a five
year long study in the field of second language acquisition. The research was carried out at the
University of Naples “L’Orientale.” Nearly 500 Italian freshmen EFL students took part in the
research that aimed to identify certainties, preferences, hopes and desires about second language
learning (LL2), as well as students’ current/projected visions about themselves and Englishrelated matters. Autobiographically and anonymously, participants produced a total of nearly
1,000 written narratives written before (pre-V) and after (post-V) a guided visualization (GV).
GVs were carried out using the Neuro-Linguistic-Programming (NLP) framework. Digitalized
narratives were clustered in the EFL P.Æ.C.E . Corpus. Ongoing qualitative analysis has brought tolight unexpected features, uncovered emotions, showed students’ realities, and opened interesting
windows for analyses on LL2. Emotivation, in particular, shows a new pedagogical path toeducators who intend to obtain successful results in language teaching/learning.
本稿はEmotivationという、第二言語習得の領域における5年間の長期的な学習の中で生み出されるセルフナラティブの分析から生み出される、学生たちが自主的に見出し活発にするモチベーシ
ョンのタイプに着目している。調査はUniversity of Naples “L’Orientale.”にて行われた。
およそ500人の英語を外国語として学ぶ(EFL)イタリア人学生たちに、彼らが第二言語の習得に関して確信していること、好み、希望や願いはどのようなものなのか、
また、自分たち自身や英語に関する事柄についての現在/過去のヴィジョンはどのようなものなのかをはっきりと知るためことを目的とした調査に参加してもらった。匿名、記名を問わず、参加者たちはガイデッドビジュアライゼーション(GV)の前(pre-V)と後(post-v)とでそれぞれ合計で1,000ほどの物語を作成した。
ガイデッドビジュ
アライゼーションは神経言語プログラミングのフレームワークを使用して実施された。
デジタル化された物語は EFL P.Æ.C.E . Corpusに保存された。現在進行中の質的分析は予期しなかった特徴を明らかにし、感情をあばき、学生たちの現実を映しだし、第二言語の分析にとって興味深い窓を開いてくれた。特に、Emotivationは言語の教授/学習において実りある成果を得ようとしている教育者たちに新たな教育の道を示してくれた。

The present study reports on the uncovering of aninternal driving force, called Emotivation, which
Landolfi L. (2016). Uncovering emotivation
through students’ narratives on language learning.
In G. Brooks, M. Porter, D. Fujimoto, & D. Tatsuki(Eds.), The 2015 PanSIG Journal (pp. 93-100).
Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

emerged through the analysis of the data gatheredfrom 2005/06 to 2009/10 at the University of Naples“L’Orientale” (UNIOR), Italy, which are clustered in
the ELF P.Æ.C.E. Corpus (Landolfi, 2012a).
The intent behind data gathering was tounderstand clearly and from students’ direct voices,
aspects of the L2 acquisitional path students manifest
once they attend their first EFL course at university
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Landolfi
after school training, a period that varies from 8
to13 years. A beta test run in 2005 uncovered thatmany Italian freshmen approach university withinadequate competence in EFL (below B1 using
the Common European Framework of Reference),
wavering motivations, self-defeating attitudes, andhigh expectations.
In order to overcome the acquisitional blocks
mentioned above, a transformative learning solution
was necessary; a tool that could activate a change instudents’ learning perspective(s) and offer them new,self-assuring/self-induced rewarding acquisitional
scenarios. Over other traditionally valid tools,
preference was given to GVs performed within the
NLP format that activates all five senses (Dilts, &DeLozier, 2000). Two reasons motivated the choice:GVs could be specifically designed (Webster, 2005) for
pedagogical matters and could generate self-induced
resolutions, which turned out to be the case as thefollowing examples will illustrate.
GVs refer to the ability to mentally project images,
situations, events, people and any other forms ofcontent. They have already proved to be functional invarious fields: sports (Porter, 2003), personal evolution(Denning & Phillips, 2003), creativity (Hall, Hall,
Stradling, & Young, 2006), as well as in pedagogicalsettings (Hall, Hall, & Leech, 1993). They can favorchanges in students’ perspectives (Putcha, 1999),
activate functional learning scenarios (Arnold, 1999),
and provoke attitudinal mindset transformations(Landolfi, 2008).
In the pages to come, I will first introduce someexamples of the ELF P.Æ.C.E. Corpus to frame anddiscuss students’ narratives, then I will present thephenomenon Emotivation and its processes.

The ELF P.Æ.C.E. Corpus
The ELF P.Æ.C.E. corpus is slightly larger than
100,000 words articulated in five sections, one pereach year of data collection. When compared to otherknown corpora, P.Æ.C.E. may result as being small
but the authentic and anonymous narratives it gathers
make it unique. P.Æ.C.E. narratives “are culturally richand go far beyond the merely linguistic into the selfexpressed affective factors of attitude, […], identity and94

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

awareness, but coupled with linguistic form” (Selinker
in the Forward to Landolfi, 2012b). They vary frompluri-paragraphed narratives to short messages, letters,
abrupt statements, unexpected stream-of-thought
introspections, in/direct requests of help, and more.
An identical protocol structured all datacollections. It foresaw three-phases: two writing
moments (Phase One and Phase Three) spaced out by
a GV articulated in Italian (Phase Two). In Phase One,
students were invited to talk about their past histories
with English, EFL educators and their learning path,touching upon any of the factors synthesized by
the acronym P.Æ.C.E. (see below). In Phase Three,students were to deal with a visualized journey andpersonal relevant experiences. Participants could selfselect the language (English or Italian), the length,
the genre and the style but they had to respect theallotted time. In synthesis, the delivered GV invited
participants to relax, delete whatever might be
impinging on their LL2 path, get ready to take anairplane to their beloved L2 town and once thereintermingle with native speakers. One assumptionof this research was that by examining texts written
by participants at pre and post visualization it may
be possible to isolate the both the facilitating anddebilitating factors affecting SLA.
Just a few typical extracts have been selected fromthis large P.Æ.C.E. corpus in order to give readers asense of it. The extracts present pre-Vs (left text) andpost-Vs (right text) written by the same participant
in order to present a snapshot of their mental states
before and after the GV. The texts have not been
linguistically polished; ‘xxx’ signals students’ erasures.
Square brackets indicate omitted sections and curly
brackets frame translated segments.
In Extract 1, the pre-V presents this student’s selfdepicted representation of his/her own present reality
and personal desiderata about future life. Having in
mind the acronym P.Æ.C.E., we discover that His/herPreferences (“I would like be,” “I know”) are unveiled aswell as Æxpectations, dreams/hopes (“From this course
I expect,” “I hope,” etc.), and Certainties (“I know,” “I
can do it”), all impregnated with Emotions (“My fears
are,” “be wrong”). The post-V deals with the effects ofthe visualization, in which the participant indicatesUncovering Emotivation Through Students’ Narratives, pages 93-100
Extract 1. From Collection Five (Landolfi, 2012a, p. 278)

Extract 2. From Collection Three (Landolfi, 2012a, p. 188)

that the journey “was so nice,” a beautiful journey really,”which made him/her “so happy.”) The possibility of
being “in the USA,” and visiting “New York” gave him/
her a novel push, sustaining the process of LL2 andrefreshing his/her own motivation (“This experiencegive me in some way power”).
The student in Extract 2, reports “A great [post-V]
sensation.” In the pre-V, we learn that, despite problems
with grammar and listening, s/he likes English,classmates, living in Naples (probably a commuter),English lessons and the teacher. We also discover thats/he would like to have a good pronunciation and pass
the exam easily.

In the post-V, the scenario changes, the student
feels different (“I hear my voice in English and isdifferent.”). The desire expressed in the pre-V “I want
to be native English” has materialized in the post-V (“Iseem native”). The GV has permitted “two dreams infive minutes” to come true in turn nourishing the desire
to make it become reality “I want it … real” because
the sensation “I seem native” must be lived again.
Experiencing “no mistakes, no failure, no bad grades” issuch “a great sensation!!!” that pushes toward decision
making: “I study.” In a word, s/he became emotivated(see below).
Looking at the Extract 3 pre-V, we can perceive
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Landolfi
Extract 3. From Collection Two (Landolfi, 2012a, p. 90)

that, despite the fact that the student may have lived
abroad with his/her family (“since all my family lived
for a while abroad”) and his/her good linguistic/
textual competence, still doubts are present (“I had
many doubts”) as well as uncertainties about actions,abilities and personal comparisons in class (“I’m afraidof comparison”).
These are factors that would almost certainly
impinge upon classroom performances andinteractions and possibly lead this student to notattend class (attendance is not compulsory at
UNIOR). If one limits the analysis of this student’s
self-portrait to just the pre-V, one would have an
image of a rather anxious and timid student. Thanks
to the post-V, however, it becomes clear that indeed,s/he could feel “strong, brave, proud of my abilities inspeaking English” to the point of “feeling at home” withthe target language (TL). S/he expressed disbelief after
having “deleted problems” and was described “flying
into the candy clouds.” S/he then goes into a poetic,
rather detailed description of the mental journey until,

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toward the end of the narrative, s/he confesses thisevent to be “the first step into the infinity walk […] toundertake for my/[his/her] future life.” Though in avisualized context (“Obviously I was dreaming,”) all thesame, the GV could change a skeptical and a fearfulstate into a “really feel better” state.
It is this state of feeling empowered (Extract 1),
experiencing the incredulous realization that even a
student may succeed and sound ‘native like’ (Extract2), as well as a sensation of well-being (Extract 3)(which are all direct consequences of a GV) thatdefines a turning point capable of activating a different
type of motivation: Emotivation.

From Motivation to Emotivation
This study has been informed by research on
motivation in general (Deci & Ryan, 1985), motivation
in foreign language (Gardner, 1985; Oxford &Shearin, 1994; Weiner, 1979) and motivation in thefield of cognition/brain (Bandura, 1986; Maslow,

Uncovering Emotivation Through Students’ Narratives, pages 93-100
1954). Most continue to posit dichotomous visions(integrative/instrumental,
intrinsic/extrinsic).
However, in the examples presented, regardless of
their self-described motivations, the students all seemto be blocked and lack the force to undergo the risks
required for language acquisition. Assertions similar
to I can “achieve my dream” rarely appear in pre-V
data. What is missing is a motivation grounded on
an internal emotional certainty, (Emotivation) newly
released, which pushes them to act.
The concept of ‘Emotivation’ is known in the fieldof psychology (Roseman, 2011). Prior to this study, it
had never been applied to educational contexts. Thechanges reported in post-Vs unveiled its presence inpedagogical settings. Emotivation is a force that can beother-induced (e.g. by an educator) but must be selfactivated and will precisely respond to one’s specificvision. Being self-generated, it provokes a positivemindset transformation and activates self-awareness.
Further, the many occurrences of “Now, I understand,”and “For the first time, I feel,” that post-Vs contain,

suggest that this force was previously unknown tostudents. However, once emotivated, students could
project positive self-visions recharged by a new
motivation and get rid of prior negative feelings about
EFL. For a detailed description on Emotivation and its
processes see Landolfi (2012b).
Another emergence of Emotivation is captured in
Ex. 4., which is interesting because of its differencesin length/word count (pre-V 31 words versus 221 inpost-V). Pre-V depicts a rather skeptical, demotivated,
fearful and hurt female student who wants to “forget
about her past history” with L2. In just a few words, sheshares a learning scenario that would hardly support
her new demanding path at university. Although she
is intentioned to “give it a try,” still she is “skeptical”
about her future and her heart is “full of fears.”
In the post-V writing, the difference in mood,
attitude, motivation, desire, awareness and willingness
to persist between her pre- and post-V narratives
is striking. The unsuccessful, anchored doubts,
skepticism, unresolved fears, and unconstructive class

Extract 4. From Collection Four (Landolfi, 2012a, p. 220)

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Landolfi
relationships describe in the pre-V narrative all vanishand new images emerge. They allow her to express
a new determination “I must grit my teeth and fightwith all of my strengths,” and a new self-generated
awareness “I am even more aware.” She enjoys a new
vision, experiences “serenity” and “calmness.” Herdream is now “full of hope,” her new reality is just readyto start because “it is time now to build” it. With herheart so “full of joy” that “it’s almost ready to explode”
even the final feeble doubt “will I make it?” seems easy
to be overcome because she “will do [her] best.” She
could feel empowered by the GV and experience theactivation of an emotivational desire to act in her life.

Discussion of Emotivation Processes
The mindset transformation that these examples
have illustrated, define the major difference between
motivation and Emotivation. Emotivation, once
activated and recognized, allows learners to overcome
bad memories and unrewarding experiences with EFL,
deletes personal limiting beliefs, leads emotivees totrust in their own capacities, and build a new mindset
where personal emotivational forces are the sustaining
pillars.
Emotivation is a self-governed and self-activatedphenomenon. It allows learners to avoid stagnatingplateaus and induces self-inspiring resolutions topersist on the L2. Emotivation functions both at a
deep level and at a surface level, which is summarized
in Figure 1. The overlapping grey oval represents theinitial portions of transformation that emotivees may
have already achieved. Mindset transformation is an

Figure 1. Basic characteristics of Emotivation.

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ongoing process.
Emotivation at the deep level induces emotions,build awareness, and changes mindset. It uninstalls
negative past experiences and potentiates positive
ones thus provoking a mindset transformation.
It favors the manifestation of a new self-activatedawareness that in turn triggers a novel determination
to pursue a given goal (i.e., competence in EFL). Eachof these five processes would have remained abstract,unnoticed and undiscovered without the interventionof a GV and the possibility of analyzing participants’narratives.
Emotivation at the surface level completes thestudents’ transformation. It looks forward and has
effects on the here and now situation as well as on
temporarily projected, possible future manifestations.
In both cases, it induces calmness, serenity and novel
energy reestablishing an inner homeostasis that
replaces L2 anxious states or pessimistic mindsets withlightness, freedom and self-trust. Once homeostasis
has been recreated, novel visions and decisions canpromote and push for the right actions to perform inorder to achieve emotivees’ intended goals.

Conclusion
The examples presented above, although in varying
degrees of intensity, have illustrated emotivationdriven sets of positive mindsets unlocking negative
states. Students report being freed from negative
entanglements and profess to be projected toward afuture where studying/learning and communicating in
English can become their reality. The narratives in the
EFL P.Æ.C.E . corpus show that when limits vanish,
when anxiety and fears disappear, when negativemindsets are supplanted by positive beliefs and selfattainments (even if in a visualized modality), thedesire to do whatever is needed to reach the intended
goal (generally, competence in English) is activatedand/or empowered. Once this new mindset has been
activated, it can sustain students’ desires and efforts tolearn an L2.
Although students were not monitored after theGVs in a formalized way, many students over the years
have confirmed the validity of the visualized experience
they had undergone in personal communications.

Uncovering Emotivation Through Students’ Narratives, pages 93-100
They even stated that the GV had helped themthroughout their entire career at university, regardlessthe subject matter. Indeed, well-structured andpedagogically-oriented GVs may work in favor of thisactivation and transform motivation into Emotivation
thus changing the learning scenario. At a deep level, inthat inner space where no one else may enter, where
the Self governs, projected dreams become realities
and emotivees can become constructors of their own
success.
This research continues thanks to a newly received
grant. The goal is to operationalize Emotivation
constituent factors and identify those affectiveemotional linguistic indicators that typify thephenomenon in pedagogical settings. It will hopefully
underpin the linguistic and social/psycholinguistic
factors that connect Emotivation to learning, as well as
those that favor/inhibit or enhance acquisition.
Contemporary learners seem to be ready for
novel ways to approach language education. Are we,researchers and educators of today, ready too? Are
we offering them learning environments, materials
and practices that empower them to discard negative
past histories with L2 situations and EFL educators?
The analysis of narratives in EFL P.Æ.C.E . leads me
to hope that more emotivating practices can find aplace in student-oriented learning practices. As L2
educators, we also may be called upon to change ourown mindsets.

Acknowlegements
This research was supported in part by the 2011/2012
and 2012/2013 grants from the DSLLC Department at
UNIOR, Naples, Italy.
Correspondence concerning this article should be
addressed to Liliana Landolfi, Dipartimento di Studi
Letterari, Linguistici e Culturali (DSLLC), Universitàdegli studi di Napoli “L’Orientale” – Palazzo Santa
Maria Porta Coeli, Via Duomo 219 – 80138 Napoli,
ITALIA.

References
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought andaction: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs,

NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Deci, E., & Ryan, R. (1985). Intrinsic motivation andself-determination in human behaviour. New
York, NY: Plenum.
Dilts, R., & DeLozier, J. (2000). Encyclopedia ofsystemic neuro-linguistic programming and NLP
new coding. Santa Cruz, CA. NLP Universty
Press.
Gardner, R. C. (1985). Social psychology and second
language learning: The role of attitudes andmotivation, London, England: Edward Arnold.
Hall, E., Hall, C., & Leech, A. (1993). Apprendere lafantasia: L’immaginazione guidata nella classe.
Gardolo, TN: Edizioni Erickson.
Hall, E., Hall, C., Stradling, P., & Young, D. (2006).
Guided imagery: Creative interventions incounseling & psychotherapy. Los Angeles, CA:
Sage.
Landolfi, L. (2008). Ugly ducklings or swans?
The magic of NLP in transforming students’certainties. In: M. Pirozzi (Ed.) Journey in thehuman brain: Neuroscience and foreign language
learning (pp. 45-67). Santa Maria a Vico (CE),
Italy: Melagrana.
Landolfi, L. (2009). Emotions and visualizations:where heart and mind intermingle. In A. Shafaei
and M. Nejati. (Eds.). Annals of Language andLearning: Proceedings of the 2009 International
Online Language Conference (pp. 192-208). Boca
Raton, FL: Universal Publishers.
Landolfi, L. (2012a). P.Æ.C.E. an Italian-English
corpus based on EFL students. Naples, Italy:
Liguori Editore.
Landolfi, L. (with L. Selinker). (2012b). Behind andbeyond the EFL P.Æ.C.E. Corpus. Naples, Italy:
Liguori Editore.
Landolfi, L. (2013). Fears and language learning:
The unsolved knot. Frontiers of Language andTeaching Journal, 4, 224-237.
Maslow, A. H. (1954). Motivation and personality.
New York, NY: Harper and Row.
Oxford, R., & Shearin, J. (1994). Language
learning motivation: Expanding the theoreticalframework. Modern Language Journal, 78(1),12-28.
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Porter, K. (2003). The mental athlete. Champaign, IL.
Human Kinetics Press.
Putcha, H. (1999). Creating a learning culture towhich students want to belong: the applicationof Neuro-Linguistic programming to language
teaching. In J. Arnold. (Ed.), Affect in language
learning (pp. 246-259). Cambridge, England:
Cambridge University Press.
Roseman, J. I. (2011) Emotional behaviors,
emotivational goals, emotion strategy: Multiple

levels of organization integrate variable andconsistent responses. Emotion Review, 3(4), 434443. Retrieved from http://emr.sagepub.com/
content/3/4/434
Webster, R. (2005). Creative visualizations
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Weiner, B. (1986). An attributional theory of
motivation and emotion. New York, NY: SpringerVerlag.

Author’s Biography:
Liliana Landolfi currently works at the Dipartimento di Studi Letterari, Linguistici e Culturali(DSLLC), Università degli studi di Napoli “L’Orientale” (UNIOR). You can contact the author
at lilando2@tin.it

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The Joy of Using Narratives in Bilingual Preschools

Eric Shepherd Martin
Osaka Prefectural Board of Education
walkshep@hotmail.com
This paper presents five storytelling tasks that were chosen by two classes of bilingual EFL preschool
students in Japan as their favorite storytelling activities. While enjoyable, these tasks also motivate
bilingual EFL preschool students to engage in English through narratives, as well as increase thequantity and variety of English output over the course of a school year. The activities involve theuse of props, such as puppets, markers, and mini-whiteboards and generally follow communicativebased language learning principles and encourage autonomous learning through peer interaction.
This paper describes the five tasks and explains how to adapt them for learners of different ages,
dispositions, and language levels..
本論文では、
日本の幼稚園に通うEFLバイリンガル幼児対象の二クラスのお気に入りである、５つのストーリーテリングタスクについて述べる。
これらのタスクは、生徒が楽しめるものであると同時に、
ナ
ラティブを通してEFLバイリンガル幼児が英語に触れるようモチベーションを与えるだけなく、年間を通して英語のアウトプット量および表現力を増やすものである。指人形、マーカー、
ミニホワイトボー
ド等の道具を使用したこれらのアクティビィティは、
コミュニケーションに基づいた言語学習の法則に概ね則っており、生徒同士のやり取りを通じて自立学習を促すものである。
本論文では、５つのタス
クの詳細を説明し、それらを年齢、性格、レベルの異なる学習者に対して、
どのように適合させるかについて述べる。

English education in Japan has been criticized forproviding students with teacher-centered lessons
in which students primarily receive English input
through reading and listening exercises, but are given
few opportunities to produce English output (Amaki,2008). However, L2 research has shown that students
cannot depend on input alone if they are to become
proficient L2 speakers (Swain, 1985). Furthermore,
students commonly rely on rote memorization of
vocabulary and grammar forms to pass their English
language courses, a process which can be both time
consuming and demotivating. By adding narrative
activities to their lessons, teachers can foster an
Martin, E. S. (2016). The joy of using narratives inbilingual preschools. In G. Brooks, M. Porter, D.
Fujimoto, & D. Tatsuki (Eds.), The 2015 PanSIG
Journal (pp. 101-106). Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

environment which encourages students to produce
output and keeps learners engaged.
This paper presents five activities that have beenshown to be effective for engaging young bilingual
EFL students in storytelling tasks. The activities
were designed by myself and my colleagues, Japaneseteachers of English and native English teachers. Whilethey were originally intended for use in international
school kindergarten classes in Japan, these activities
also can be adapted for use in non-bilingual classes.
Of the dozens of language-focused and content-based
activities we used with learners over the course of ayear, the activities that are presented in this paper are
the ones we found to be the most useful in eliciting
student output and maintaining a fun atmosphere.
These were also the activities that teachers were most
likely to demonstrate to other teachers and to parents
during open days.
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MartinBackground
It has been shown that students should produce L2
output if they are to become proficient in their second
language. For example, in a study of English students
attending French immersion classes in Canada, Swain(1985) found that Canadian English students receiving
content-based in French developed a near-native
ability to understand that language, but continued
to have difficulty producing it. She attributed thisto the fact that the students were learning in French,
but had comparatively few chances to speak or writein it. She hypothesized that students process new
L2 language more deeply when they produce it thanwhen they receive input. Long (1995) similarly argued
that output is a necessary part of language acquisitionin that it gives students an opportunity to test theirunderstanding of new L2 knowledge, and to makenecessary adjustments based on the feedback theyreceive. Nation (2007) suggested that learners spend
half of their L2 study time producing output. One
benefit of narratives is that students who are engaged
in a narrative activity are required to produce output
to successfully participate.
Another benefit of narratives is their utility as
mnemonic tools. Narratives have been strongly linked
with memorization (Buchanon, 2007). It has beenshown that emotional arousal strongly influences longterm memory. By engaging students in storytelling
activities, emotional associations can be made withthe language being used. This makes it more likely thatstudents will remember language used in storytelling.
The narrative activities that are presented in thispaper are the ones in which myself and my colleagues
found the students most willing to engage in. These
activities foster a classroom environment that closely
follows Mendelsohn’s (1992) eight keys to teachingspoken English; supportiveness, awareness, fun,feedback, interest, relevance, enthusiasm and strategies.
With each of these activities, the teacher creates a
supportive atmosphere through group work in which
team involvement is the key to success. At the sametime, the teacher ensures that each student is aware of
the purpose of the task and is participating. Students
are generally interested in the storytelling and creative
aspect of narrative-based tasks because the stories

102 The 2015 PanSIG Journalthat they hear and tell are relevant to their lives. The
teacher’s job is to spread enthusiasm and teach learning
strategies, such as planning and turn-taking, that canhelp the students better express themselves throughtheir stories.
The goals of these activities are to motivate
students to use English in order to express what
they already know, and perhaps to generate new andcreative ideas. Such an outcome is itself intrinsicallymotivating. There is little competition, and points
for creativity and effort can be given or withheldby the teacher depending on the atmosphere of theclassroom. Many of these activities involve group
activities that promote learner autonomy, and each
student is expected to contribute. However, not every
student is required to stand before the entire class andspeak. The natural leaders are given an opportunity toshine, and the more reluctant students can produce
English in smaller groups until they are comfortableenough to have their moment in the spotlight as agroup representative. As a result these tasks can serve
as a means of engaging unmotivated students andincreasing the interest of already engaged students.
While these activities were designed for five- andsix-year-old EFL students, variations of the activities
have been used with four-year-olds and eight-yearolds, and they can be used with non-bilingual classes
with some adjustments. In this paper, variations aresuggested to help teachers implement similar activities
that can be used in a different learning environment toengage learners while enhancing their language ability.

Activity 1: The Liar
Description
With a teacher acting as the puppet master, a puppet(“The Liar”) narrates a story about a topic that thestudents are familiar with, such as jungles, dinosaurs,
or the previous day’s events. The puppet, however,tells lies about the events. Upon hearing a lie, thestudents respond in unison, saying “That’s not true!” A
volunteer then corrects the story. For example:
Puppet (to students): Yesterday, I went on a trip to
Africa. I saw a white giraffe with stripes all over itUsing Narratives in Bilingual Preschools, pages 101-106
swimming in a river!
Students (together): That’s not true!
Puppet: Oh, really? Why not?
Student A (to puppet): Giraffes aren’t striped! They
have spots, and they don’t swim in rivers.
Puppet: Oh, right! That’s what I meant. After that, …
The teacher/puppet then continues the story,calling on other volunteers for correction. This activity
is very effective at involving reluctant students andgetting the attention of students who are distracted. If
students do not hear the lie the first time, the puppet
can elaborate.

during individual speaking and planning activities witha partner, or as part of a production in front of the classas a whole. For lower level students who are not yet
able to produce their own sentences, the puppets canbe used in shadowing activities. As the teacher reads a
passage, students can create different puppet voices to
use to add a silly variation to the standard shadowing
routine. Also, students iswhile the teacher encourages
them to use voice variations Alternatively, if older
students need more time to develop their story, they
can compose a narrative in writing before performing
it with their puppets.

Rationale and Evaluation
Rationale and Evaluation
While this activity involves some speaking on the partof the students, it is largely a selective listening activity.
It includes a number of Brown’s (2007) principles forteaching listening skills. Students can also use listening
strategies, such as making clarification requests,
listening for key words, and looking for nonverbal
cues from the puppet or the teacher. In other language
classes, narration can be used as an alternative to simple
true or false questioning, with or without a puppet.
Although this activity is useful for engaging
unfocused learners and encouraging selective
listening, it is important for the students to maintaina positive social image and high self-esteem (Dörnyei,2001). For this reason, it is important for the teacher
to be careful when attempting to elicit responses fromreluctant students by using them as characters in the
narrative being created. If the puppet says student B
caught a balloon and flew away, and student B does
not catch the puppet in its lie, other students might
use that to ridicule student B later. In general, however,“The Liar” boosts the students’ confidence once they
have outsmarted the puppet.

Activity 2: Sock Puppets
Description
Each student is handed a sock puppet to use during
a creative speaking activity. Such activities include
participating in role-plays, designing a skit, or simply
reading aloud. Students can use the sock-puppets

A number of articles have advocated the use of
puppets in young-learner ESL classrooms and havedemonstrated its effectiveness in getting morelearners to use their L2 (Ernst-Slavit & Wenger, 1998;
Wilhelm & Leverett, 1998). Young learners become
excited upon seeing the puppets, and that excitement
carries over into the narratives that they create. The
use of puppets is also a good opportunity for students
to practice varying their intonation and emphasis tocreate a personality for the various puppets. In ourclassroom, the Big Bad Wolf puppet spoke in a slow,
low voice, while the children who voiced our Three
Little Pigs did so with bright and cheerful speech.
The use of sock puppets can be very effective for
eliciting output from reluctant students who might
be afraid of making a mistake and losing face in frontof their peers. The use of puppets can help to reduce
students’ language anxiety by allowing them tomaintain a positive self image (Dörnyei, 2001). Sock
puppets can help with this by lightening the mood in
the classroom and by creating a distance between the
speaker and the peer or teacher, allowing students toassign the speech and the mistakes to the puppets.
This can also encourage students to accept corrective
feedback more readily than they might have otherwise.

Activity 3: Narratives as Mnemonics
Description
After the teacher introduces new vocabulary words,
the students form groups and create stories that can
The 2015 PanSIG Journal

103

Martinhelp them to remember the meaning of the words.
For example, the word “kidnap” might be broken
into two previously-learned English words, “kid” and“nap.” Students might then create a story in which anapping kid was taken away by a robber, later to be
saved by a superhero or detective. Once the students
have created a story, a representative from the groupillustrates the story on a mini-whiteboard, andanother representative presents the group’s story to
the class. The students then write the new vocabulary
word in their personal dictionary notebooks and draw
a picture of the story/mnemonic next to the word.
As a variation, students might compose a mnemonicstory in English for homework, using their L1 as amnemonic. For example, if a student is learning theword “goose,” they might associate it with the Japanese
gussuri, an adverb which means “sleeping soundly.”The story could then involve a goose sleeping soundly.

Rationale and Evaluation
This activity is a variation of a mnemonic vocabulary
learning technique known as the keyword technique,which Nation (2008) suggests can improve thelearning of words by around 20-percent. While the
keyword technique encourages students to use their
L1 to create a mnemonic for new L2 vocabulary,
this activity encourages students to learn new L2
vocabulary through previously learned L2 vocabulary.
While many learners might find it too difficult to use
English to develop a story, non-bilingual students
can still remember a new English word by composing
an English mnemonic story that explains how L2
vocabulary is used. Nation (2008) gives the example
of an Indonesian learner using the Indonesian word
parit, meaning “ditch,” to memorize “parrot”. The
learner might tell a story of a “parrot” that got lost andflew into a parit (“ditch”), rather than up into the sky.
This activity was an effective way to have students
create a narrative using a single word as a starting point
for their story. While there is not enough time toprovide a mnemonic for every new vocabulary wordthat students come across, our students brought up
the mnemonic stories and the words used in them on
several occasions. Our students particularly enjoyed

104 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

discussing “Mommy the Mummy” and the “Where?Wolf,” months after they learned about “mummies”
and “werewolves” in their Halloween unit.

Activity 4: Phonics Stories
Description
The teacher chooses a phonetic sound or sounds andteaches the sound and spelling to the students. Using
flashcards, the teacher draws the students’ attention towords that contain the phonetic sounds being taughtthat day, such as phone, photo, and graph for “ph,” ormight, fight¸ and light for “igh.” After the students
become familiar with the pronunciation, spelling,
and meaning of the words, the students form groupsof four with each student receiving one word card.
Each group is instructed to create a story composedof four sentences, one for each word card. Group-bygroup, the students tell their stories, with each student
speaking one sentence of their group’s story to theclass. Points can be awarded for creativity, length, andpresentation.
In a variation of this activity, the students meet ingroups and use the cards to write and draw their stories.
This gives the students more time to consider the
language that they want to use, while still encouraging
learning and the use of the target phonemes throughpeer interaction.

Rationale and Evaluation
Phonics is not uniformly taught in Japanese publicschools (Kyrala, 2009). As classroom time is limited,teachers might feel that when compared with
developing students’ grammar knowledge, vocabularybase, reading, writing, listening, and conversational
speaking skills, phonics are a relatively low priority.
By using phonics as a basis for communicative
activities, students can still learn the sounds which
are associated with English letter combinations, while
also continuing to develop their other language skills(Naiman, 1992; Pica, 1984; Wong, 1985). In thisway, a simple phonics lessons becomes an engaging
communicative activity that encourages learners toactively read, listen to, and orally produce phonetic
features in authentic communication.

Using Narratives in Bilingual Preschools, pages 101-106

Activity 5: Ba-Bam Vocabulary
Description
After giving each student a copy of a short passage
or graded reader, the teacher previews the story andselects between eight and ten target vocabulary words
from the story. The teacher explains the meaningof the words and writes them on a whiteboard. The
whiteboard remains in view during the reading period.
The students take turns reading sentences or pages inthe story out loud. As they read a target vocabulary
word, the rest of the class says, “Ba-Bam!”
In classes with older students, teachers can provide
students with a relatively small list of either highfrequency, or academically useful, vocabulary, and ask
students to underline the words as they come acrossthem while reading throughout the year. Teachers canalso play popular songs and ask students to count theamount of times certain words are sung.

Rationale and Evaluation
This activity keeps the students focused on boththe content and the language of the story, while also
helping them to notice the target vocabulary used invarious contexts. By explicitly drawing attention to
the vocabulary and language features, the students
are more likely to retain that language information(Schmidt, 1990). Through this activity, students
learn to examine the texts for specific vocabulary andexplain the meaning of the words in the context inwhich they appeared. Furthermore, this activity allows
students to encounter lexical items multiple times andin different forms, something that has been show to be
essential for vocabulary acquisition to occur (Nation,1982). This activity is also very successful in keeping
the students on-task and engaged in the story.

Conclusion
While there are many different types of narrative
activities that can be used in the language classroom
the activities presented in this paper were the ones
which students requested the most and which
the teachers observed to elicit the most English
production from the students. While further researchis necessary to determine the exact effect of these

activities on students learning both the teachers andthe parents in the school where these activities wereconducted agreed that the students demonstrated
improvement in their speaking abilities and andincrease in their confidence with using English.
Students also improved their ability to communicate
using English. For example, at the end of the year
students generally wrote one or two more lines perjournal entry than they had at the beginning of theyear with improved spelling and grammatical accuracy.
There was also evidence that the activities themselves
were having a positive effect on the students’ learning.
For example when tested periodically throughout
the year, most students also demonstrated the ability
to read new words using the letter groupings, suchas “igh”, that they had been introduced to using the“Phonics Stories” activity described in this paper.
The activities follow communicative-based
language learning principles and encourage
autonomous learning through peer interaction.
These activities give students incentive to learn andencourage frequent L2 output, two qualities that are
missing in many EFL/ESL classrooms. Furthermore,
the storytelling aspect makes the language use relevant
to students, and this emotional connection shouldmake it easier for students to remember the new
language they encounter.

References
Amaki, Y. (2008). Perspectives on English educationin the Japanese public school system: The viewsof foreign assistant language teachers (ALTs).
Educational Studies in Japan: International
Yearbook, 3, 53-63.
Brown, H. D. (2007). Teaching by principles: Aninteractive approach to language pedagogy (3rded.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall
Regents.
Buchanan, T. W. (2007). Retrieval of emotional
memories. Psychol Bull, 133(5), 761-779.
Dörnyei, Z. (2001). Motivational strategies in thelanguage classroom. Cambridge, England:
Cambridge University Press.
Ernst-Slavit, G., & Wenger, K. J. (1998). Using
creative drama in the elementary ESL classroom.
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Martin
TESOL Journal, 7(4), 30-33.
Kyrala, C. K. (2009). Phonics as gateway: EFL
reading in primary school. Retrieved from:<http://jalt-publications.org/recentpdf/
proceedings/2008/E041.pdf>.
Long, M. (1996). The role of the linguistic
environment in second language acquisition.
In W. Ritchie & T. Bhatia (Eds.), Handbook of
second language acquisition (pp. 413-468). New
York, NY: Academic Press.
Mendelsohn, D. (1992). Making the speaking classa real learning experience: The keys to teachingspoken English. TESL Canada Journal, 10(1),72-89.
Naiman, N. (1992). A communicative approachto language teaching. In P. Avery & S. Ehrlich(Eds.), Teaching American English pronunciation(pp. 163-171). Oxford, England: Oxford
University Press.
Nation, P. (1982). Beginning to learn a foreign
vocabulary: A review of the research. RELC
Journal, 13(1), 14-36.
Nation, P. (2007). The four stands. Innovation in

Language Learning and Teaching, 1(1), 2-13.
Nation, I. S. P. (2008). Teaching vocabulary: Strategies
and techniques. Boston, MA: Heinle Cengage
Learning.
Pica, T. (1984). Pronunciation activities with anaccent on communication. English Teaching
Forum, 23(3), 2-6.
Schmidt, R. (1990). The role of consciousness insecond language learning. Applied Linguistics,
11(1), 17-46.
Swain, M. (1985). Communicative competence:
Some roles of comprehensible input andcomprehensible output in its development. In
S. Gass & C. Madden (Eds.), Input in second
language acquisition (pp. 235-253). Rowley, MA:
Newbury House.
Wilhelm, K. H., & Leverett, T. (1998). Tips from theclassroom. TESOL Journal, 7(4), 34-40.
Wong, R. (1985). Does pronunciation have a place inthe communicative classroom? In D. Tannen &J. Alatis (Eds.), Georgetown University roundtableon language and linguistics (pp. 226-236).
Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.

Author’s Biography:
Eric Shepherd Martin has taught English and life skills to young children in Japan for sevenyears. He is currently in the M.S. Ed. program at Temple University Japan’s Osaka campus, andlives with his wife in Amagasaki. He can be contacted at walkshep@hotmail.com.

106 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Culture, Identity, and the Native-EnglishSpeaking EFL Teacher in Japan

Paul Mathieson
Leicester University & Tennoji High School
ianturpie@gmail.com
For native-English-speaking teachers in Japan, our cultural background underpins how we teachEnglish and also how we see ourselves as teachers. Far from being a fixed, static phenomenon, ourteacher identity is formed and reformed by numerous contextual and discursive factors. These
include our previous experiences as learners, our cultural Othering compared to Japanese teachers
and learners, and the roles that we fulfil (and are expected to fulfil) as teachers. One such role is thatof teacher of culture. However, essentialised views about culture and uncertainty about what andwhose culture we should teach often leads to problems (and problematic cultural representations)in the classroom. As native-English-speaking teachers, our role as teachers of culture involves
emphasising the pluralist nature of ‘Western’ culture. This includes attempting to address thepotential marginalisation of non-Caucasian cultural narratives.
日本の英語を母国語とする教師にとって、我々の文化的背景が、英語の教え方及び我々が知るところの教師としての我々自身をどう判断するかの基礎となっている。定着し変化がない現象とは程遠
く、教師のアイデンティティは多数の文脈的かつとりとめのない要因により形成、再形成されている。
それらの要因は我々の学生時代の経験、日本人教師や生徒と比較しての差別化、そして教師として全うすべき役割が含まれている。
なかでも文化教育としての役割だ。然しながら、狭い視野や教えるべき文化について不確かな情報は授業中に問題になり得る。文化を教える役割を担った英語を母国語とする教師として、我々の役割は西洋文化の多元的性質を強調する事に関わっている。
この役
割には非白人文化の将来的な排斥を含まれている。

Whereas culture was once largely associated withmatters of ethnicity/nationality or art, it is now used
to describe a broad range of social phenomena (fanculture, workplace culture, school culture, and so on).
Culture is ever-present in EFL teaching, and it affects
not only how teachers view themselves as teachers, butalso the kinds of teaching practices they engage in. As
Duff and Uchida (1997) highlight:
Mathieson P. (2016). Culture, identity, and theNative-English-Speaking EFL teacher in Japan. In
G. Brooks, M. Porter, D. Fujimoto, & D. Tatsuki(Eds.), The 2015 PanSIG Journal (pp. 107-113).
Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

Whether they are aware of it or not, language
teachers are very much involved in thetransmission of culture, and each selectionof videos, newspaper clippings, seating plans,
activities, and so on has social, cultural, andeducational significance (p. 476).
Defining “culture” precisely is difficult, but
the notion of culture as representing group-levelnegotiated perceptions and assumptions about how
the world is or should be is a common view (Barker &Galasinski, 2001; Norton, 1997). Yet, as Leung, Harrisand Rampton (1997) highlight, generalising about
the culture of a particular group (such as along ethnic
The 2015 PanSIG Journal107

Mathieson
lines) contains inherent danger, because the world is
not divided into neatly defined, uniform linguistic andcultural groups. Thus, it is highly problematic to positthat a British EFL teacher shares the same culture asan Australian EFL teacher, even though both speak
the same language; and it is equally problematic tosuggest that a Caucasian American EFL teacher anda Hispanic American EFL teacher share the same
culture, notwithstanding that both are American. Oneof the themes that will emerge in this paper is that, in
relation to EFL teaching in Japan, culture should beconceptualised in a “pluralist” (Bhabha, 1994, p. 8),
multidimensional, non-essentialised sense, which takes
account of both intercultural differences (for example,
between Japan and ‘the West’) and intraculturaldifferences (such as between French Canadians andEnglish Canadians).
With the foregoing in mind, the focusing
questions of this paper are how culture influencesclassroom practices in Japanese EFL classrooms, andhow this in turn affects the identity of native-Englishspeaking teachers (NESTs) working in Japan. A keyelement underpinning both questions is the notion ofnative-speakerism (Holliday, 2006), and particularly
the widely-held perception in Japan that NESTs –who are conceptualised as cultural Others in relation
to Japanese non-native-English-speaking teachers(NNESTs) and students – are the ideal English
language teachers (Geluso, 2013; Rivers, 2011a).

Native-Speakerism within the Japanese
EFL Context
Debate about what (or rather who) constitutes anative-speaker is a very contentious issue. For the
purposes of this paper (and with particular regard to
the Japanese EFL context), I define NESTs to be people
hailing from one of Kachru’s (1986) Inner Circle
countries (for a fuller discussion of the complexities
surrounding native-speakerism, see Davies, 1991, 2003
and Medgyes, 2004). This contextualised definitionof NEST is reflected in the make-up of the Japan
Exchange and Teaching ( JET) Programme, whichis the principal provider of non-Japanese English
teachers within the Japanese public school system.
As of 2010, over 90% of teachers working in the JET

108 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Programme were NESTs from Inner Circle countries,
including roughly 50% from America alone (CLAIR,
2010). And although Japanese public schools now
employ increasing numbers of English teachers from
Expanding and Outer Circle countries, NESTs arewidely regarded as ideal models of and resources forteaching English. Holliday (2006) illustrates thispoint:
Native-speakerism is … characterized by the belief
that ‘native-speaker’ teachers represent a ‘Westernculture’ from which spring the ideals both of
the English language and of English language
teaching methodology (p. 385).
This characterisation results in the ‘Othering’ of
NESTs, who are positioned as binary opposites of
NNESTs and students. NESTs, as members of the
English language ‘in-group’, are perceived to possess
unique knowledge of pragmalinguistic, sociolinguistic,
and cultural English norms, in addition to masteryof communicative competencies such as producing
fluent, connected speech. In contrast, NNESTs, as
members of the ‘out-group’, are seen to be trained
analysts and expounders of English as a “static code”(Geluso, 2013, p. 103), whose principal area ofexpertise is in linguistic competence (understanding
grammar structures, and so on).
A corollary of the Othering of NESTs in Japanis the somewhat controversial notion of the ‘ideal’NEST. Many see the employment of NESTs in Japanas a heavily racialised practice, whereby, in addition
to hailing from an Inner Circle country, the ideal
NEST is also Caucasian (Kubota & McKay, 2009;
Rivers, 2011b; Rivers & Ross, 2013). This view not
only essentialises ‘Western’ culture as a homogenous
whole (Leung, Harris & Rampton, 1997), but also
marginalises non-Caucasian cultural narratives (suchas Maori culture in New Zealand, or Vietnamese
immigrant culture in Australia).

Identity
General Theories of Identity
One of the dominant strands in the literature on
identity is the idea that identity is “dynamic acrossThe Native-English-Speaking EFL Teacher in Japan, pages 107-113
time and place” (Norton, 1997, p. 419). A key
component of this dynamism is the idea that identity
extends beyond the individual, and is co-constructedwith others, principally through language (Duff &Uchida, 1997; Holliday, Hyde & Kullman, 2012). Tsui(2007) develops this further by positing that identity
evolves through negotiation (particularly negotiationof meaning) and identification (how we relate to theenvironment around us, and our ‘lived’ experience ofparticipating in and belonging to that environment).
Related to this is the notion of identities being
formed and re-formed discursively. Ivanic (2006)
posits that identity is constructed discursively within
particular social contexts in three ways: by address(how the person is spoken to or written about), by
attribution (representations made by others regarding
the person’s status), and finally by affiliation (how that
person relates to others). An example of this kind of
discursive identity construction within the Japanese
EFL context is the role of the Assistant Language
Teacher, which is not only a form of address but isalso a role description that is widely used in relation
to NESTs working in Japan – particularly on the JET
Programme.
However, this discursive element to identity
construction does not represent the complete picture
as far as identity construction (or identification) is
concerned. As Fairclough (2003) states, “people are
not only pre-positioned in how they participate insocial events and texts, they are also social agents
who do things, create things, change things” (p. 160).
Thus, our life experience and our attitudes and views
are of course also fundamental aspects of our identity
construction and identification.

Teacher Identity
These negotiated, reflexive, and discursive aspectsof identity construction are particularly relevant for
NESTs in Japan, particularly given that many NESTs
come to Japan with little or no formal teachingexperience (McConnell, 2000). Accordingly, NESTs’
teaching environments and experiences in Japan havea hugely significant impact on the shaping of theirteacher identities.
One of the crucial drivers in the ongoingnegotiation of teacher identity is the tension between
teachers’ views about teaching on the one hand, andthe teaching roles that are (sometimes unwillingly)
thrust upon them on the other. Walkington (2005)
sees teachers’ ideas about teaching and being a teacher
as having a symbiotic relationship with the teachingroles they are expected to fulfil, noting that the“functional competencies of being a teacher are …
shaped by the individual’s evolving perspectives andphilosophies of teaching” (p.54). This view is echoedby Duff and Uchida (1997), who see the constructionof EFL/ESL teacher sociocultural identity as aninterplay between previous learning, teaching, andcultural experiences, and contextual factors such asclassroom and institutional environments.
Obviously such experiences and contextual factors
will vary from teacher to teacher, as will the roles
which they are expected to fulfil. There are a widearray of EFL teacher roles identified in the literature,including entertainer (Rivers, 2011b), collaborator
with other teachers (Walkington, 2005; Cohen,2008), language model and verifier of English usage(Geluso, 2013), vendor or salesperson of English(Farrell, 2011), and of course teacher of culture (Duff& Uchida, 1997). My focus in this paper is on NESTs
as teachers of culture, and in particular how this roleplays out in Japanese EFL classrooms, and also how it
affects the construction of NESTs’ teacher identity.

Classroom Manifestations of Target
Language Culture
Cultural Content Issues
What language teachers teach and their actions
within the classroom are both directly and indirectly
influenced by cultural norms (Duff & Uchida, 1997).
This is particularly so for NESTs in Japan, most ofwhom are expected to teach about aspects of ‘Western’or national culture, in addition to teaching English.
But exactly what aspects of culture are we
expected to teach, and how can we combat seemingly
widespread essentialised notions of ‘Western’ andnational culture in Japanese EFL classrooms? I
contend that it is crucial that NESTs convey to ourstudents (and NNESTs) the multifaceted, pluralist
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Mathieson
nature of culture. One means of doing so is providing
students with opportunities to reflect on their own
culture (and other cultures) by developing their criticalcultural awareness, which Byram (1997) defines as “anability to evaluate, critically and on the basis of explicit
criteria, perspectives, practices and products in one’s
own and other cultures and countries” (p. 53). Suchcritical cultural reflection can be achieved by, forexample, having students (perhaps with some teacher
prompting) brainstorm commonly-held ‘outsider’
conceptions of Japan (about its culture, its people,
and so on), and then discussing why they think theseconceptions exist, and to what extent they agree ordisagree with them.
And from that introspective, critically reflexive
starting point, students could examine the nature of
their own cultural assumptions and stereotypes aboutother cultures – such as Abrams’s (2002) ‘culture
portfolio’ projects, through which students studying
German as a foreign language examined particularstereotypes about Germans, Austrians, and Swiss
through initial critical discussion, Internet research,and ultimately correspondence with people from theculture to which the stereotype related (via interviews,
online forum discussions, and so on).
Crucially, I believe that part of this inculcationof critical cultural reflection includes dispelling
essentialised views of NESTs and their culture(s), andequally importantly, addressing the marginalisationof non-Caucasian cultural narratives. As an exampleof the latter, teachers could implement a culture
portfolio project similar to that developed by Abrams(2002), whereby student pairs or groups are required
to research and give presentations about minority
ethnic groups within ‘Western’ countries (for example,
native-Americans, or immigrant groups such as West
Indian Britons). And in order to satisfy the ‘critical’
facet of critical cultural reflection (particularly tomeaningfully address actual or potential culturalstereotypes), the research phase could involve online
correspondence with representatives of the minority
ethnic groups, as well as members of the wider society
within which those ethnic groups reside (native
Americans and Caucasian Americans, for example). In
these and other ways, NESTs in Japan can and should

110 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

do even more to include more disparate aspects of thetarget culture(s) in their lessons.

Culturally-Loaded Practices?
In addition to what NESTs teach, a further way
in which culture impacts upon the EFL classroom
dynamic (and indeed teacher identity) is in how
NESTs teach. The communicative approach tolanguage teaching is perhaps one such example ofan arguably culturally-loaded teaching method.
Specifically, Ellis (1996) highlights the emphasis thatis placed on language learning processes and meaning
in the communicative approach, which he contends
are born out of Western values and pedagogical norms,
and which he and others also claim are at odds withthe preoccupation with language learning outcomes
and form in many Asian EFL contexts (Ellis, 1996;
Simpson, 2008; Zhang, Li & Wang, 2013).
In Japan, notwithstanding the fact that many
NESTs may aspire to teach communicative English,
many who are teaching at junior and senior high schoollevel find themselves teaching English classes which
focus on preparing students to pass university entrance
examinations, with little emphasis on communicative
English (Geluso, 2013). In such cases, NESTs should
perhaps aspire to fulfil the role of “cultural mediator”(Ellis, 1996, p. 217). This involves acting as a conduit
between contrasting (possibly culturally-bound)teaching methods and styles by showing understanding
and empathy regarding cultural differences on the
one hand, and identifying and exploiting elements ofconfluence on the other. For example, supplementing
form-focussed instruction on how to logically present
ideas in English essay writing with meaning-focussed
pair and small group discussion exercises (wherestudents generate and test ideas) is a simple andeffective way of mediating between outcome- andprocess-oriented teaching methods.

Culture and NEST Identity
These cultural features and practices also play a
crucial role in shaping NESTs’ identities as EFL
teachers. NESTs are culturally Othered – as nativeEnglish-speakers, we are positioned as experts ofcultural, sociolinguistic, and pragmalinguistic aspects

The Native-English-Speaking EFL Teacher in Japan, pages 107-113
of English, which, as I noted earlier, contrasts with
NNESTs, who are regarded as linguistic experts (given
their formal English language training background).
This division of classroom roles – with NESTs
effectively cast as culture experts, and NNESTs
as language experts – contributes to the common
perception in Japan that NESTs are not seen by their
NNEST colleagues and students as ‘real’ teachers(McConnell, 2000). This is reinforced by the useof the term Assistant Language Teacher to describe
many NESTs, and also by common experiences such
as NESTs being seated separately from their NNEST
colleagues. In this sense, the identity of the NEST as
cultural oddity is not only co-constructed (throughthe interplay between our teaching environment andour relationships with our NNEST colleagues andour students), but is also a product of the way we are
addressed and represented discursively.
However, underpinning this co-constructed anddiscursive dynamic to NEST teacher identity is ourown sense of what Fairclough (2003) refers to as social
agency (our background, beliefs, and so on), as wellas our previous learning and teaching experiences,and our overall teaching philosophy (Duff & Uchida,
1997; Walkington, 2005). And here again culture
is implicated. Thus, Carol (from Duff and Uchida’s
study) chose to seat her students in a circle, which she
attributed to her positive learning experiences fromthe alternative school that she attended in America(Duff & Uchida, 1997).
A final thought on NEST teacher identity is theimportance of critical self-reflection, particularly in
relation to how culture is bound up in our identity as
NESTs, and how it plays out in classroom interactions(Duff & Uchida, 1997; Cohen, 2008; Farrell, 2011).
Through such reflection, NESTs can develop a better
understanding of their role as acculturators, and canhopefully help Japanese learners (and NNESTs)
develop non-essentialised, pluralist views of target
language culture (be it ‘Western’ culture generally, or
NEST national culture).

Concluding remarks
Culture not only defines our identity as NESTs in
Japan (we are predominantly seen as repositories

and transmitters of target language culture), but it
also features prominently in classroom interactions– particularly through essentialised ideas about
target language culture on the part of NNESTs andJapanese learners, and how NESTs address such
issues. Reflecting on the role culture plays in theclassroom and its role in shaping our NEST identity is
crucial, as it will not only help us to develop a deeper
understanding of what and how we teach, but it will
also better equip us to negotiate our identity as NESTs(Duff & Uchida, 1997).
Finally, and with the above in mind, I hopethat future research in this area brings to the fore
more diverse (particularly non-Caucasian) cultural
narratives. This will (hopefully) not only help to dispel
the notion of the Inner Circle, Caucasian NEST as the‘ideal’ English language teacher, but will also open up
Japanese learners and NNESTs to non-essentialised,
more pluralist representations of target language
culture.

References
Abrams, Z. I. (2002). Surfing to cross-culturalawareness: Using internet-mediated projects to
explore cultural stereotypes. Foreign Language
Annals, 35(2), 141-160.
Barker, C. & Galasinski, D. (2001). Cultural studies
and discourse analysis: A dialogue on language andidentity. London, England: Sage Publications.
Bhabha, H. (1994). The location of culture. London,
England: Routledge.
Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and assessing interculturalcommunicative competence. Clevedon, England:
Multilingual Matters.
Byram, M. (Ed.). (2004). Routledge encyclopediaof language teaching and learning. London,
England: Routledge.
CLAIR (2010). JET Programme participant
numbers. Retrieved from http//www.
jetprogramme.org/e /introduction/statistics.
html.
Cohen, J. L. (2008). That’s not treating you as aprofessional: Teachers constructing complex
professional identities through talk. Teachers and
The 2015 PanSIG Journal

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Mathieson
Teaching, 14(2), 79-93.
Davies, A. (1991). The native speaker in applied
linguistics. Edinburgh, Scotland: Edinburgh
University Press.
Davies, A. (2003). The native speaker: Myth andreality. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.
Duff, P. A. & Uchida, Y. (1997). The negotiation ofteachers’ sociocultural identities and practices
in postsecondary EFL classrooms. TESOL
Quarterly, 31(3), 451-486.
Ellis, G. (1996). How culturally appropriate is thecommunicative approach? ELT Journal, 50(3),213-218.
Fairclough, N. F. (2003). Analysing discourse: Textual
analysis for social research. London, England:
Routledge.
Farrell, T. S. C. (2011). Exploring the professionalrole identities of experienced ESL teachers
through reflective practice. System, 39, 54-62.
Geluso, J. (2013). Negotiating a professional identity:
Non-Japanese teachers of English in pre-tertiary
education in Japan. In S. A. Houghton & D.
J. Rivers (Eds.), Native-speakerism in Japan:
Intergroup dynamics in foreign language education(pp. 92-104). Bristol, England: Multilingual
Matters.
Holliday, A. (2006). Native-speakerism. ELT Journal,
60(4), 385-387.
Holliday, A., Hyde, M. & Kullman, J. (2012).
Intercultural communication: An advanced
resource book for students (2nd ed.). London,
England: Routledge.
Houghton, S. A. & Rivers, D. J. (Eds.). (2013).
Native-speakerism in Japan: Intergroup dynamics
in foreign language education. Bristol, England:
Multilingual Matters.
Ivanic, R. (2006). Language, learning andidentification. In R. Kiely, H. Rea-Dickens, G.
Clibbon, & P., Woodfield (Eds.), Language,
culture and identity in applied linguistics (pp7-29). London, England: Equinox Publishing.
Kachru, B. (1986). The alchemy of English: The spread,functions and models of non-native Englishes.
Oxford, England: Pergamon.
Kiely, R., Rea-Dickens, H., Clibbon, G. & Woodfield,

112 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

P. (Eds.). (2006). Language, culture and identity
in applied linguistics. London, England: Equinox
Publishing.
Kubota, R. & McKay, S. (2009). Globalization andlanguage learning in rural Japan: The role ofEnglish in the local linguistic ecology. TESOL
Quarterly, 43(4), 593-619.
Leung, C., Harris, R. & Rampton, B. (1997). The
idealised native speaker, reified ethnicities, andclassroom realities. TESOL Quarterly, 31(3),543-560.
McConnell, D. L. (2000). Importing diversity: Inside
Japan’s JET program. Berkley, CA: University ofCalifornia Press.
Medgyes, P. (2004). Native speaker. In M. Byram(Ed.), Routledge encyclopedia of language teaching
and learning (pp. 426-438). London, England:
Routledge.
Norton, B. (1997). Language, identity and theownership of English. TESOL Quarterly, 31(3),409-429.
Rivers, D. J. (2011a). Japanese national identificationand English language learning processes.
International Journal of Intercultural Relations,35, 111-123.
Rivers, D. J. (2011b). Evaluating the self and theother: Imagined intercultural contact withina ‘native-speaker’ dependent foreign language
context. International Journal of Intercultural
Relations, 35, 842-852.
Rivers, D. J. & Ross, A. S. (2013). Idealized English
teachers: The implicit influence of race in Japan.
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12(5), 321-339.
Simpson, S. T. (2008). Western EFL teachers andEast-West classroom-culture conflicts. RELC
Journal, 39(3), 381-394.
Tsui, A. B. M. (2007). Complexities of identity
formation: A narrative inquiry of an EFL teacher.
TESOL Quarterly, 41(4), 657-680.
Walkington, J. (2005). Becoming a teacher:
Encouraging development of teacher identity
through reflective practice. Asia-Pacific Journal of
Teacher Education, 33(1), 53-64.
Zhang, D., Li, Y. & Wang, Y. (2013). How culturally

The Native-English-Speaking EFL Teacher in Japan, pages 107-113
appropriate is the communicative approachwith reference to the Chinese context? Creative

Education, 4(10a), 1-5.

Author’s Biography:
Paul Mathieson has recently completed a master’s degree in TESOL at the University ofLeicester, and has been teaching high school English in Osaka for nine years. His interests include
intercultural communication, learner motivation and anxiety, and pragmatics. ianturpie@gmail.
com

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113

An Introduction to Self-Access Learning
Centers at the University Level

Scot Matsuo

Stella Maxwell

Mark Pileggi

Kwansei Gakuin University
scotmats@gmail.com

Osaka Gakuin University
smm@ogu.ac.jp

Kobe Kosen University
mark2014@kobe-kosen.ac.jp

Self-access Centers are a place where motivated students may study to find additional outlets fortheir desire to learn more and provide resources to help the students attain the goals they wish toachieve. Studies into Self-Access Centers are still not mature and the cost-performance issues arealways challenging university budgets. The contributors will briefly present useful suggestions to
help the student body with higher motivation and access to tools to meet their second language
acquisition goals.
セルフアクセス（自己学習）
センターとは、モチベーションの高い学生が自分の学力を延ばすための手段を見つけることができる場所である。
また、学生が言語能力を習得するために必要な資源を用意しています。
セルフアクセスセンターの効率性についての研究はまだ浅いため、費用・効果分析や妥当な予算は定めにくいことが現状である。
このリポートは、
モチベーションの高い学生が自分の語学習得の目標を達成するために必要な手段や資源を提案します。

Because of individual differences, language separation,and differences in teaching styles, it is difficult todetermine the exact amount of time needed byan individual to acquire a second language (L2).
However, researchers have tried to establish some sortof baseline for how long it takes, on average, to reacha certain level of proficiency in an L2. For example,
Nakashima (2006), found that between 3,000 to 5,000
hours are necessary to achieve basic proficiency in an
L2 if the learner starts from an early age. That numberof hours is probably unattainable for most Japanese
students. Most students in the Japanese Educational
system typically receive only 740-920 hours of English
classroom education by the time they graduate fromhigh school (Hato, 2005).
Matsuo, S., Maxwell, S., & Pileggi, M. (2016).
An introduction to self-access learning centers at
the university level. In G. Brooks, M. Porter, D.
Fujimoto, & D. Tatsuki (Eds.), The 2015 PanSIG
Journal (pp. 114-119). Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

114 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

How can universities get the number of hours
students are exposed to an L2 up so that students
can reach a basic level of proficiency in that language,
be more communicative, and have more intrinsic
motivation? Creating more opportunities on campus
for interaction outside of class in the L2 is one way
to increase the opportunities students have to speak
English. Self-Access Centers (SACs) are one way that
universities are doing this (Reinders & Lazarro, 2008).
Self-access Centers also have the added advantagesof helping students to be more motivated, to study
autonomously, and to stretch themselves (Hughes,
Krug, & Vye, 2011). For many students these
SACs provide them with their first experience withindependent study and can result in them learning
many skills that they will be able to apply for the restof their lives.
A Self-Access Center can be defined as an area
open to students on campus that provides a convenient
space for learning to take place independent of theteaching they receive in the classroom. It also provides

An Introduction to Self-Access Learning Centers, pages 114-119
another place where students can receive exposure to
English, or other languages. Students join these centers
to learn more about a topic or skill that interests
them, to improve their grades, or to improve theirgrammatical understanding and vocabulary. Some of
the SACs that the authors of this paper observed in
the Kansai area also gave students guidance and advice
on how to create their own self-study program.
SACs allow students to focus on both increasing
their linguistic knowledge as well as improving theirfluency, while at the same time encouraging them todevelop effective learning strategies. The center may
also provide practice with reading or writing; havegrammar or vocabulary exercises available for the
students to practice with; or may have the previous
years’ tests or exams for students to use to help themstudy. SACs are beneficial for students because they
can provide students with assistance in areas thatthe students’ classroom teachers may have difficulty
addressing. This is because classroom teachers may
not have the time to spend helping each student
individually with certain problems or they may not
be trained to counsel students on an individual level.
Other secondary roles of SACs are to provide an
encouraging learning space, applicable resources, andadvisors who are sensitive to the individual needs ofthe students and have the ability to facilitate students'
development as independent learners.
For an SAC to be successful it needs to havestaff that are able to cater to the various needs andpersonalities of the students and the facilities to allow
them to do this. The physical layout of the SAC canvary depending on the space and equipment available
and the purpose of the SAC. Some SACs have places
to study using multi-media sources. These centers may
have DVD’s, tablets, or computers that the students
can make use of while visiting the SAC. Some havereading rooms where students may choose frommagazines, books, graded readers, or newspapers.
The most important resource of the SAC is thestaff. At the most basic level, staff members provide
practice for students in both listening and speaking.
The staff of the SAC are also tasked with creating
a positive learning environment for the students,
helping students to improve their language skills, andgiving students the assistance they require to develop
as independent learners.

Development of Self-Access Centers
In the 1960’s, research in English language learningand teaching tended to focus on the teaching methods
rather than the learner. The change in the focus froma teacher centered to a learner-centered curriculum inthe 1970’s and 1980’s resulted in a more humanistic
approach in the English language teaching process(Morrison, 2008). As this trend deepened, students
began to search for, “some personal control overeither or both the planning (goals) and management(support) of the learning process” (Reinders &Lazarro, 2008). SACs are one way that universities
can provide students with more control over their own
learning process.
SACs can find their roots in the domain ofresourced-based learning, which is a type of learningwhere the learner’s focus of interaction is with thelearning resources. The students are given the resources
to learn in the manner of their choosing outside of
the teaching/classroom environment. One importantpart of the ‘self-access’ aspect of this learning style isthat these SACs further develop the progression of
the learner’s autonomy by giving them opportunities
to exercise their intrinsic motivation to acquire an
L2 outside the classroom without having to worry
about the connected burdens of grades and meeting
instructor’s expectations.
Close integration with teachers of foreign
language classes, international students, and thecorresponding center for International Studies is also
key to the success of the SAC. When these various
entities are well connected, the staff members of
the SAC are able to work with language teachers toprovide tasks or homework to help students overcome
the fear that they may experience when attempting
to communicate in a foreign language outside of theclassroom setting. Without the structure that exists inthe EFL classroom, many students are unsure about
how to communicate in English. However, the ability
to experience the freedom of communicating in an
L2 outside of classroom constraints is key to forcing
the students to confront their paradigm of language
The 2015 PanSIG Journal

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Matsuo, Maxwell, & Pileggi
learning, and allows them to experience first hand
how languages can be used to communicate and relate
ideas.
There are a number of things that a teacher can doto help ensure that their students make use of the SAC
in ways that will create a positive experience for eachindividual student. For example, passports could bemade to record students’ attendance in the SAC andthe record could be shown to the teacher for rewards.
Classes can also be brought to the SAC facilities for
an introduction to the services that are offered by thecenter. Having students go to the SAC as part of theclass will help to familiarize them with how the SAC
works. This increased familiarity could then, in turn,make them more likely to attend the SAC on theirown, even when they are no longer required to do sofor class.
Of course, using such extrinsic motivation is
not in itself ‘self ’ access, but training students to feel
relaxed often stokes the fire of intrinsic motivation.
Scaffolding between classes and the SAC can bringa quasi-outside of class experience that may lead to
students being more motivated to study a language
outside of class.

Assessment is Still a Work in Progress
As research on SAC is still in its infancy, deciding
how to assess the centers has brought to light someof the difficulties in measuring success in this typeof educational setting. The difficulties inherent inmeasure the success of these centers can be problematic
because various parties within the university systemwith vested interest in SAC would like to see resultsthat prove it is a cost effective and time effective
approach to learning.
The difficulty in assessing the success of SAC isthat these centers can be examined on multiple levels.
Measuring the gains students make from accessing thecenter is difficult at best. It is difficult to determine
if the gains that students make in their L2 learning
after going to a SAC is because of the opportunities
afforded to the students by the school, or because of
the students motivation to learn the language. Gardnerand Miller (1999) suggest some ways of evaluating theeffectiveness of the SAC such as:

116 The 2015 PanSIG Journal•• Asking learners which facilities they used most•• Asking staff about their work at the SAC andthe learners there•• Conducting observations of the facilities andstudent interactions•• Giving out questionnaires to a random sample
of users to find out why they use the SAC.
One other way of measuring the success of the
SAC is to see the roles it played on campus and how
it fulfilled those roles. Some of the roles include theuse of a SAC as a language and independent learning
center, as a learner support area, as a resource center,or as an enabling center. While the other roles may be
more clearly defined the role of a SAC as an enabling
center is one that is often overlooked. According toMorrison (2008), the enabling role is one where thecenter will act as a catalyst for the development of
independent learning skills and encourage further
experimentation and enhancement to language
learning skills.
Other research provides other suggestions as
to how a SAC can be evaluated. Reinders (2005)
emphasizes the need for teachers and staff to stress tostudents the importance of learning these self-accessskills and being proactive. He suggests that giving
school credits to students for their effort in the SAC
may help improve student involvement in SACs as
they would perceive the credit as recognition of theirtime spent and this would encourage them to invest
more time and effort in coming to the language center.
This may also, in turn, lead to higher motivation levels
from the language center participants, which would
keep the effort of the staff who are involved with therunning of the SAC from going to waste. Reinders
continues to suggest that students may benefit fromstaff teaching students how to study to become moreof an independent learner.
The ability to measure the success of SACs is notready to be labeled tried and true. The SAC is not a
regular part of curriculum; student participation is100% voluntary, so students study at their own paceand on their own volition. In this respect the very
fact that students have this facility available to themand that they are willing to use it shows that an SAC

An Introduction to Self-Access Learning Centers, pages 114-119
is succeeding. However, further research needs to bedone on how a SAC operates and how it interacts withthe process of learning if we are to be able to provide
a more concrete method of evaluating the success of
SACs.

Self-Access Center Success Stories
Much of the previous research on SAC has included
surveys, interviews, questionnaires, and evaluations
given to students. Students who are willing to put theextra effort into learning have insightful comments on
how the centers have changed their lives. Morrison(2008)interviewed individuals who were participantsin a SAC at a Hong Kong tertiary institution language
center about their ideas with regards to the roles of a
SAC. By looking at how different stakeholder roles
view the purpose of a SAC we can better understandhow to evaluate the success of SACs.
One learner gave his reason for visiting theSAC, “…when I find there is something I need touse in English and then I will go to the centre tofind things out” (Morrison, 2008, p. 129). For thislearner the SAC fulfills the role of resource center,and it is possible to see how a SAC could be a sourceof resource based learning and independent learning
skills for students.

Other ways that SAC are measured are throughthe staff and their comments on their interactions withthe students. One staff mentioned on how the SAC
will further students’ learning strategies, “… I think
the more that students experiment with things, themore they learn about themselves, strategies that aresuitable for themselves, the ways they like to learn…”(Morrison, 2008, p. 130).

The SAC at Osaka Gakuin University
The authors of this paper have been involved inresearch into SAC at the universities where they work.
This includes an unpublished survey of 129 freshman
students at Osaka Gakuin University in 2013 near theend of their first academic year. The SAC at Osaka
Gakuin University is open every day and the students
are encouraged to use the facilities any time they are
free. Students’ top three reasons for attending the
SAC were first to talk with native English speakers,
second to enjoy learning English through enjoyable
activities, and third, in order to improve their TOEIC
scores (see Figure 1). Having this knowledge let the
SAC staff prepare materials for the students that were
better catered to these needs.
On the same survey the staff asked about thestudents’ career goals concerning English and their

Figure 1. Student answers to survey question “Why is OGU’s SAC Important to You?”The 2015 PanSIG Journal

117

Matsuo, Maxwell, & Pileggi

Figure 2. Student Answers to Survey Question “How Important is English to Reaching Your Career Goals?”

future jobs. Many students recognize certain career
paths require better English communicative skills thanthose they can obtain in their limited English classes.
Some students travel abroad on exchange programsor study at English conversation schools outside of
their regular classes, but those are both costly options.
Considering the fact that the SAC’s services are offeredto the students for free, many students understandthe SAC as an invaluable resource. The majority ofthe students who attended the SAC, 85 of the 129
freshman students, recognized the fact that the extra
English conversation practice and advice provided
by the staff would help better themselves for more
rewarding future job opportunities (see Figure 2).

english/campus/facilities.html•• The International Chat Lounge – Osaka Gakuin
University. http://www.osaka-gu.ac.jp/english/
campus/ichat/
For more information on SAC at Japanese schools
and institutions nationwide, please check the JASAL
website for a database of SAC which is freely available
to the public (https://jasalorg.wordpress.com/llsregistry/). JASAL is the Japan Association for SelfAccess Learning. While their list has SAC registeredfrom all over Japan, the list is only partial.

Conclusion•• O-Zone at The Cube – Konan University,

With the growth of the number of L2 learners aroundthe world, support for these students has become
increasingly important at the university level.
As research into SACs is still in its infancy there
is no clear scale by which the success, or failure, of a
SAC can be judged. Because of this many universities
are reluctant to invest the time and resources needed
to establish and maintain a SAC at their institution.
However, the benefits of providing this type of service

Nishinomiya Campus. http://www.konan-cube.
com/•• The Village E³ [e-cube] – Kinki University,
Higashi Osaka Campus. http://www.kindai.ac.jp/

for students may not be that easy to quantify. In theliterature, the majority of the authors expressed
trepidation, or the need for further research, on how
to measure the success of SAC. Lumping students

SACs in Kansai
One way to understand the benefits offered by SAC
is to visit one. The following is a list of SAC facilities
in the Kansai area of Japan. Several of these facilities
will, by appointment, introduce their system, as well as
answer questions for those considering creating a SAC.

118 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

An Introduction to Self-Access Learning Centers, pages 114-119
into one group as in a survey or some other latitudinal
study does not do justice to the independent work
each student accomplishes and the effort they maketo take part in something outside of class. Success canbe measured in test scores, but can also be measured
in student satisfaction, changed lives, and a growth
in independent learning. Success could be as simple
as providing a place that supports learners in theirlifelong linguistic endeavors.
SAC will have a part to play in L2 acquisition as
their use becomes even more widespread. Students will
have the opportunity to see language outside of theclassroom; not as a subject or something to be learned,
but rather as something to be used to get to know
another person and to communicate with others.
Having a better command of an L2 will at the sametime lead to greater self-efficacy that may create theesprit de corps of a community of L2 users on campus.

References
Gardner, D., & Miller, L. (1999). Establishingself-access: From theory to practice. Cambridge,
England: Cambridge University Press.
Hughes, L., Krug, N., & Vye, S. (2001) The growthof an out-of-class learning community throughautonomous socialization at a self-access center.
SiSAL Journal, 2(4), 281-291.
Hato, Y. (2005). Problems in top-down goal setting
in second language education: a case study of the“Action Plan to Cultivate Japanese with English
Abilities”. JALT Journal, 27(1), 33-52.
Morrison, B. (2008). The role of the self-accesscentre in the tertiary language learning process.
System, 36(2), 123-140. doi:10.1016/j.
system.2007.10.004
Nakashima, K. (2006). Bokokugoigaino kotobawo
kodomoga manabuigi: Bairingaru kyouiku karano shiten [The importance of children learning
vocabulary in a language that is not their mothertongue: From the perspective of bilingual
education]. BERD 5, 18-22.
Reinders, H. (2005). Nonparticipation in university
language support. JALT Journal, 27(2), 209-226.
Retrieved from http://www.jalt-publications.org/
jj/articles/2005/11/index
Reinders, H. & Lazarro, N. (2008). The assessment ofself-access language learning: Practical challenges.
Language Learning Journal, 36(1), 55-64.
doi:10.1080/09571730801988439

Authors’ Biographies:
Scot Matsuo is currently a lecturer at Kwansei Gakuin University. He worked four years at a SAC.
His research interests include autonomous learning, extensive listening, and World Englishes.
Stella Maxwell is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Foreign Languages at Osaka Gakuin
University. She has worked as the Program Director, learning advisor and international student
intern coordinator for five years at a self-access center in Osaka, Japan.
Mark Pileggi is a full-time lecturer at Kobe City College of Technology. He worked at a SAC in
Osaka, Japan for three years just prior to his current employment. His current research involves
the development of English language acquisition tools and activities.

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

119

Understanding Japanese Language Teachers’
Experiences of Failure Through Narrative Inquiry

Yoshio Nakai
Doshisha University
yonakai@mail.doshisha.ac.jp
Through sharing narratives, two Japanese language teachers redefined their failures and innerconflicts, and came to a deeper understanding of their teaching beliefs. It was revealed thatinner conflict, with its resultant unpleasant feelings, was created by ‘sacred stories’ (Clandinin &Connelly, 1996), lying deep in teachers’ consciousness, that teacher should not make mistakes, andthat relationships of mutual trust with co-workers reduced their sense of conflict. Their narratives
suggest that relationships of trust between fellow teachers came to be seen as crucial in terms of
their on-going teacher development. Applying narrative inquiry to teachers’ recounted experiences
can allow them to identify sacred stories which cause inner conflict and the necessary steps needed
for their future development through reflecting on their situations. It may be said that reflecting on
their narratives of teaching practice is a crucial component of teachers’ professional development.
本稿ではナラティブがもたらした教師の実践知への影響について検討する。
２名の日本語教師と筆者とで行った語り合いは、それぞれが抱えていた失敗と葛藤の捉え直し、教師の役割や教育の捉え方を知る機会をもたらした。
また、不快感情を伴う葛藤は、教師は間違えるべきではないという教師の意識の奥深くにある「聖なる物語」（Clandinin & Connelly, 1996）
が原因となって生じていること、教師間の信頼関係があれば、その葛藤が軽減されることが明らかとなった。
そして、
この同僚
間の信頼関係は２名のそれぞれの異なる経験の振り返りから、教師の成長にとって重要であることが示唆されている。
ナラティブ・インクワイアリーによる振り返りは、現状の問題を見直すことで、葛藤をもたらす聖なる物語の同定を可能にするだけではなく、今後の成長に必要な環境についての指摘を生み出した。教師の成長には日々の実践を過去の経験を含むナラティブを通して内省することが重要であると言える。

This is a narrative inquiry study into how Japanese
language teachers deal with the negative feelings
resulting from failures in their teaching practice.
Teachers’ experiences and the stories they tell about
them form part of their “professional knowledge
landscape” (Connelly & Clandinin, 1995), which in
Nakai, Y. (2016). Understanding Japanese language
teachers’ experiences of failure through narrativeinquiry. In G. Brooks, M. Porter, D. Fujimoto, &D. Tatsuki (Eds.), The 2015 PanSIG Journal (pp.
120-125). Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

120 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

turn has an effect on their emotions and professional
practice. Talking about and listening to these kindsof stories of practice with co-workers is one of theways to promote teacher development (Hargreaves,1994). Teachers’ feelings about their practice have an
influence on their perception, thinking, and overall
development (Hargreaves, 2000). Emotional events
that generate negative feelings such as dissatisfaction,
resentment, pain, and uneasiness remain especiallystrongly in teachers’ memories. Sharing these eventswith others might further a teacher’s development(Day & Leich, 2001).

Understanding Failure, pages 120-125
Clandinin & Connelly (1996) divide teachers’
stories into three categories: 1) ‘sacred stories’ —stories which lie deep in teachers’ consciousness
and which form the basis of their practice, 2) ‘coverstories’ —stories told outside the classroom todemonstrate their competence as teachers, 3) ‘secretstories’ —stories lived out in their own classroom. In
the context of Japanese as a Second Language ( JSL)
teacher education, Aoki (2009) claims that sharing‘secret stories’ and other types of story between trusted
teachers changes their perspectives on practice, which
in turn will lead to teacher development. Moreover,
Aoki (2010) suggests that JSL teachers use a smallscale narrative inquiry to try and identify ‘coverstories’ told to protect themselves (and perhaps evenaggressively put down others), and free themselves
and others from the ‘sacred stories’ of the all-knowing
never-erring teacher.

Narrative Inquiry into the Experiences of
Two Teachers of Japanese as a Second
Language
I began this research after observing that a colleague,
Hiroko (pseudonym), was visibly upset after a classand, after talking about it, it became apparent that she
was experiencing some internal conflict. Conflict isdefined as a situation arising when we have divergent
perspectives on a problem and it occurs both
externally and internally. Conflict arising from playing
the role of teacher can lead to mental and physicalfatigue or cause burnout (Tanaka & Takagi, 2008). It
is necessary to support teachers who are experiencing
mental fatigue in order to avoid teacher burnout(Kinoshita, 2009). Firstly, we need to understandthe situation that the teacher is involved in.
According to Rushton (2004), narrative in the formof stories is a powerful research tool in educationalsettings because teachers’ knowledge is narrativeknowledge created and constructed through stories
of lived experiences (Bruner, 1986). Narrative inquiry
provides a means to understand teacher experience(Clandinin & Connelly, 2000) and “a rich back dropfor understanding the contextualized situations inwhich teachers come to know what they know andmake the decisions that they do” (Sudtho, Singhasiri& Jimarkon, 2014, p. 453). Moreover, Connelly and
Clandinin (2000) state that through narrative inquiry,teacher’s knowledge is positioned along each of threedimensional spaces, which are temporal (past, present,
and future), personal or existential, and place.
Following the above, I conducted this researchto hopefully make opportunities to explore teachers’
inner conflict and development by re-positioning themalong three dimensions. In this paper, I would like toshare two teachers’ narratives that were co-constructedwith me, elaborating on how this narrative inquiry
into their experiences of failure and internal conflictpromoted their teacher development.

Participants and Context
Both participants teach Japanese as a second language
for overseas students at universities in Japan. I becameacquainted with the participants as colleagues who
provided Japanese lessons during our time working
together for three years at a university in the Kansaiarea. In this intensive program, teachers provided fourand a half hours of classes per day, five days a week.
Each language class was tiered according to ability andconsisted of about 20 students. We have been on goodterms with each other within and outside the work
place. The reason why I selected them is that ‘secretstories’, including emotional events, must be sharedwith trusted people in a safe environment (Clandinin& Connelly, 1996) .
The first participant is Hiroko (pseudonym). She
majored in law at university, but after taking a Japanese
language education class, she became interested inteaching Japanese. After graduating from university,
she went to China to teach Japanese for two years.
After returning to Japan, she entered graduate school
to study Japanese language teaching, and since then she
has been teaching Japanese to international students at
various universities and language institutions for nine
years.
The second participant is Toshi (pseudonym). He
studied English at a university and while majoring in
English, he went to Australia as an exchange student
gaining some experience in teaching Japanese. After
returning to Japan, he also went to graduate school tomajor in Japanese language teaching. After graduate
The 2015 PanSIG Journal

121

Nakaischool, he moved to Korea to teach Japanese at auniversity. He came back after two years, and has beenteaching Japanese language at various universities for
six years.

Methodology
Two interviews were conducted face-to-faceindividually for about 90 minutes each. Before thefirst interview, I informed them about the purposeof the research, which was to examine how and why
inner struggles stemming from the experience offailure affects teachers’ practice and development. I
conducted the interviews in Japanese at a quiet café
where the atmosphere was comfortable enough toensure that we felt free to talk about their experiences.
The interview was audiotaped and transcribed. I
translated all of the quotations used below fromJapanese into English. I started the interviews withquestions about their teaching experience, focusing
on topics such as the experience of failure, recent
classroom practice, and pivotal events. In addition, I
encouraged them to reflect on all of their experiences
including memories of our teachers when they werechildren because it is necessary to look at the outsideclassroom world to understand teachers’ knowledge(Clandinin & Connelly, 1995). After the firstinterview, I sent them an e-mail detailing my analysis
to confirm whether I had understood them correctlyor not. After about three weeks, I conducted a second
face-to-face interview to further my analysis.

Teachers’ Narratives
Narrative inquiry with Hiroko
During the first interview, Hiroko recounted adisappointing event.
I taught a wrong answer in an advanced readingclass at the university. I didn’t notice at that time, but
I found I had made the mistake when my co-worker,
Mrs. K, asked me what I had taught the students as thecorrect answer. Two excellent learners went to K-sensei
to confirm whether my answer was right or not. Then
K-sensei told me that I might have made a mistake, andI was really really shocked. I had been feeling down for a

122 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

while.
Having also had a similar experience of feeling
low after teaching an incorrect answer, I shared myexperience and we thought about why she had felt so
depressed. However, we failed to find a satisfactoryreason to explain the intensity of her negative feelings
given that she had simply confused her learners. In
order to find the reason, I needed to explore our sacredstories, so we first shared our teaching and learning
experiences, and then the topic turned to teachers we
had in our childhood. Her parents are both teachersand she had been surrounded by teachers since she wasvery young. It emerged that she often used to assess
her teachers and now didn’t want to be assessed by her
students (in the same way she had done as a student).
It became apparent to me that Hiroko held a sacredstory that teachers must maintain good reputations. I
sent her an e-mail detailing my initial analysis and she
replied during the second interview:After the first interview, I looked back and noticed
that I felt blue just because I was deeply ashamed to have
my mistake pointed out by K-sensei. Even though she is
now one of my friends, I was embarrassed. Even though I
made a mistake in the classroom, the learners didn’t hateme and I haven’t been badly assessed by the institution.
Since I accumulated many such experiences like this over
the years, I’ve gotten used to making mistakes and becomerather numb to them. That’s why I don’t remember any
failures that I have made in recent years. I think it can’t
be helped, unless there was some sort of penalty system formy mistakes.
As Hiroko reflected on her sense of failure that she
had discussed in the first interview, she came up witha reason to explain why she had felt depressed. During
the second interview, she pointed out a problem thatshe perceived as common among teachers who havetaught for several years. Moreover she reflected on herpractice and concluded that the problem stemmed
from the relationships among teachers:
For instance, if I teach an unfamiliar subject that
I have never taught before, I would ask my co-worker

Understanding Failure, pages 120-125
how I should teach every time I experience trouble. But
I won’t ask anyone now because I already have teachingexperience. So, I think that we should point out ourcolleagues’ mistakes when we carry out team teaching,
but actually we don’t. If we don’t change this situation,
we will repeat the same mistake. It would be better forour development to be frank with each other.
Through our interview, she could come to termswith her ‘secret stories’ regarding the negative feelings
arising from her recent mistake. Moreover, shethought about how to improve work issues for her
future development.

Narrative Inquiry with Toshi
The mistake that really sticks in my mind is one that I
made while I was in Korea. I conducted language classes
without thinking about the goal of the course. I justfollowed what my predecessors taught me. But the more
I did this, the more I regretted that I had no policy for
language education. I still feel very sorry for students atthat time and even now I sometimes feel like this in myclassroom.
In the beginning of the interview, Toshi told
me about this inner conflict. Interestingly, he often
pointed out how his teachers had taught him in juniorhigh school and what he guessed the teachers had
wanted to do. At this point I noted that he seemed to
pay a great deal of attention to teaching methods, andasked him what he thought a teacher should be like.
I thought that teachers must not make a mistake,should answer correctly and need to organize classes
completely. I felt so much pressure. But as I got used
to teaching, my focus on issues shifted to educational
philosophy and purpose. I always fail in explaining
Japanese grammar. I never feel I’m doing well, and I
think there is no success in my language classes.
It is clear that one of Toshi’s ‘sacred stories’ is thatteachers must not make mistakes. Midway throughthe interview, after he recalled his failure to establish
a goal for the course he was teaching, he reflected onwhat he thought the problem was. Then I asked him

about his practice in more detail.
I was so disappointed. For example, when I couldn’t
explain the difference between similar words, but it was
ok. I forget that kind of negative feeling soon because I can
explain again in the next lesson, or ask my co-workers tocorrect my explanation. Rather, I have gotten to a place
where I know I will be able to handle it well next time.
I paid attention to the ‘co-workers’ he mentioned
because I had discussed teacher relationships with
Hiroko before this interview. I told him that if he had
a good relationship with his co-workers, then he would
not have to worry, even if he did something wrong. I
asked more deeply about the relationship with his coworkers, and then Toshi went on to describe it likethis:
At the university I worked at, almost all of my coworkers were senior teachers. That makes me feel at ease
to work there. And there are no vertical relationships,
novice teachers and experienced teachers, part timeteachers and full time teachers are all equal. Even
experienced teachers are so humble that I can ask
them something easily. I wonder if this is based on arelationship of trust. I couldn’t really articulate thisexact nature of our relationship but now I think aboutit, I think it was based on trust. You’re right. You taughtme that we trust each other. We have some meetings to
prepare textbooks and to study, so I realized that wehave relationship of trust. This is so interesting that I
think I’m going to tell them. Maybe I changed like thisbecause of the situation I worked in. We need this for ourdevelopment.
He looked back on his teaching experience andnoticed his ideas about language education havebeen changing as he develops relationships among
co-workers. Our discussion could lead to finding thatthe trust and equitable relationships built between
co-workers at his work place gave him opportunities
to resolve his errors and reduce any resulting innerconflict. We can see that this reflection was asignificant part of his on-going teacher development
through narrative inquiry.
The 2015 PanSIG Journal123

NakaiConclusion
By conducting narrative inquiry into two participants’experiences of failure, they could reflect and reconceptualize their practice in terms of their own
past experiences, extract their problems from theircontext and examine what they would need for future
development. Looking across the two narratives, I canidentify some common problems Japanese language
teachers encounter.
1) Inner conflict related to ‘sacred stories’ lying
deep within teachers’ consciousness
Both teachers have suffered from inner conflict
when they made an error, affected by the ‘sacred story’that teachers never make mistakes. They reflected onthese errors, not as isolated incidents, but as stemmingfrom their meta-level pedagogic approach. They
became able to resolve errors they made while teachingquickly and almost automatically as they acquired
knowledge and teaching skills through practice.
However, this did not solve their inner conflict.
Fundamentally, from the point of view of teacher
development, it was necessary for them to reveal their‘sacred stories’ that caused their inner conflict to be
extracted and they could subsequently reflect upon
their experiences outside of the classroom.
2) Inner conflict reduced by the relationship oftrust with co-workers
Hiroko drew the conclusion that teachers needto build a relationship of trust from her unpleasantexperience, as mentioned above. A teachingcommunity consists of relationships between coworkers and is a professional learning community(Hord, 1997) where teachers can learn and develop
as Toshi’s narrative proved. Both of them have taught
for several years and are thus neither novice teachers
who need advice, nor professional teachers who are
expected to give advice. They are, from a professional
development point of view, more isolated than novice
and professional teachers. They need more professional
connections with co-workers or need to be actively
involved in professional learning communities.
In conclusion, narrative inquiry provided teacherswith a chance to reappraise their practice as theyreconstructed their teaching histories and transformed
these experiences into better future practice. Between

124 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

trusted teachers in a safe place, ‘secret stories’ aredifficult to some extent to be shared because ‘secretstories’ are perceived in teachers’ perspective affectedby ‘sacred stories’, and might be easily transformed into
‘cover stories’ when being told to others. If teachers
share their ‘secret stories’, they unconsciously reflect
on their own experiences in the context of ‘sacredstories’ and then rationalize them for self-preservation
to convey to other teachers. ‘Sacred stories’ lying deepin teachers’ consciousness persistently influence theirperceptions of teaching practice, therefore, sharing‘secret stories’ must uncover what ‘sacred stories’ lie
behind them. Through this type of sharing, teachers
can reflect their own practice free from negative
feelings and thereby further their professional
development.

References
Aoki, N. (2009). A small-scale Narrative Inquiry
for teacher development. In T. Yoshida, H.
Imai, Y. Nakata, A. Tajino, O. Takeuchi, & K.
Tamai (Eds). Researching language teaching andlearning: An integration of practice and theory (pp.
201-213). Bern, Switzerland: Peter Lang.
Aoki, N. (2010). Teacher anxiety revisited: Apermeating sacred story. Handai Nihongo
Kenkyuu, 22, 1-10.
Bruner, J. (1986). Actual minds, possible worlds.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Connelly, F. M., & Clandinin, D. J. (1995). Teachers’
professional educational qualities of thelandscape: Desires, tensions and possibilities. In.
F. M. Connelly & D. J. Clandinin (Eds.), Teachers’
professional knowledge landscapes (pp. 153-163).
New York, NY: Teachers College.
Clandinin, D. J., & Connelly, F. M. (1996). Teachers’
professional knowledge landscapes: Teacher
stories-stories of teachers-school stories-stories ofschool. Educational Researcher, 25(3), 2-14.
Clandinin, D. J., & Connelly, F. M. (2000). Narrativeinquiry: Experience and story in qualitative
research. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Day, C., & Leitch, R. (2001). Teachers’ and teacher
educators’ lives: The role of emotion. Teaching
and Teacher Education, 17, 403-415.

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Hord, S.M. (1997). Professional learning
communities: Communities of continuous inquiry
and improvement. Austin, TX: Southwest
Educational Development Laboratory.
Hargreaves, A. (1994). Changing teachers, changing
times: Teachers’ work and culture in the postmodern
age. London, England: Cassell.
Hargreaves, A. (2000). Mixed emotions: teachers’
perceptions of their interactions with students.
Teaching and Teacher Education, 16, 811-826.
Kinoshita, Y. (2009). Support in the resolutionof teaching related problems and conflicts-Educational supervision element “Conflict andproblem resolution”-. Educational Research inSocial Studies, 7, 1-10.
Rushton, S. (2004). Using narrative inquiry tounderstand a pre-service personal practicalknowledge while teaching in an inner city school.
Urban Review, 36, 61-79.
Sudtho, J., Singhasiri, W., & Jimarkon, P. (2014). Useof narrative inquiry to unveil novice teachers’
professional identity. In M. K. Aishah, S.K.
Bhatt, W. M. Chan, S. W. Chi, K. W. Chin, S.
Klayklueng, M. Nagami, J. W. Sew, T. Suthiwan,& I. Walker (Eds.), Knowledge, skills andcompetencies in foreign language education (pp.
451-462). Singapore: NUS Centre for Language
Studies.
Tanaka, K., & Takagi, R. (2008). Japanese teacher’ssimilar type of job stressors, Bulletin of Faculty of
Education, Okayama University, 137(1), 133-141.

Author’s Biography:
Yoshio Nakai analyzed learners’ motivations using a modified grounded theory approach.
Now he promotes and conducts research on collaborative learning in his teaching in order tohelp Japanese language learners to be more autonomous. His e-mail address is yonakai@mail.
doshisha.ac.jp

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

125

The “I Have Seen It, but Don’t Know It”
Yes-No Vocabulary Test Option

Kaori Nakao

Raymond Stubbe

Seinan Gakuin University
nakao.k.n@gmail.com

Kyushu Sangyo University
raymondstubbe@gmail.com

Yes-no vocabulary (YN) tests offer two options: yes (I know it) or no. Although pseudowords wereintroduced to deal with the problem of overestimation of lexical knowledge commonly found in
this format, previous research has shown that underestimation also occurs. The aim of this study
is explore a third (I have seen it, but I don’t know it) option designed to capture underestimation.
Undergraduates (n =303) knowledge of 10 words measured by a translation (L2 to L1) test wascompared to their responses on a YN test of the same items, in order to identify instances ofover- and underestimation. The translation mean of 6.57 was higher than the YN mean of 6.27,
suggesting overall underestimation on the YN test. Direct comparison of the two tests found that
92.5% of all instances of underestimation occurred with the “I have seen it, but ...” option (283 of306).
Yes-no語彙テストではyes (私はこの単語を知っている) またはnoの2つの選択肢が用いられている。疑似語は、この形式でよく見られる語彙知識の過大評価問題に対処するために導入されたにもかかわらず、過小評価もまた生じることがこれまでの研究で示されてきた。本研究の目的は、過小評
価を捉えるために考案された第三 (私はこの単語を見たことはあるが、意味は知らない) の選択肢
について調査することである。翻訳（L2からL1）
テストによって測定された大学生（303名）の10語の語彙知識は、過小評価と過大評価について確認するため、同じ項目のYN語彙テストにおける彼らの回答と比較された。翻訳テスト結果の平均は6.57であり、YN語彙テスト結果の平均6.27より高く、全体にYN語彙テストにおける過小評価が示された。2つの調査結果の直接比較では、過小評
価の全回答数の92.5% が“I have seen it, but ...” の選択肢（回答数306のうち283）
で生じたことが分かった。

Yes-no checklist tests rely on students self-reporting
their knowledge of the items presented by either
checking the words they know or selecting between
two options, either a “yes” (I know this word) or “no”
(I do not know it). One of the weaknesses of such selfreporting that has been identified is the participants’
Nakao, K., & Stubbe, R. (2016). The “I have seen it,
but don’t know it” Yes-No vocabulary test option.
In G. Brooks, M. Porter, D. Fujimoto, & D. Tatsuki(Eds.), The 2015 PanSIG Journal (pp. 126-132).
Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

126 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

tendency to over-estimate their actual word knowledge
by signaling “yes” when in actuality they do not know
the correct meaning. To counter-act this tendency toover-estimate lexical knowledge, pseudowords wereintroduced to the self-report format by Anderson andFreebody (1983), and to the field of second/foreign
language acquisition by Meara and Buxton (1987).
To better adjust yes-no (YN) test scores to account forsuch overestimation various scoring formulae, using
the pseudoword data, have been introduced (Andersonand Freebody, 1983; Meara and Buxton, 1987; Meara,
1997; Huibregtse, Admiraal & Meara, 2002), as have

"I Have Seen It, but Don’t Know It" Test Option, pages 126-132
Table 1
Previous Studies Focusing on Overestimation and Underestimation
Study

criterion measure

overestimation

underestimation

Eyckmans (2004)

Trans. (L2 to L1)

30.6% - 48.0%

12.0% - 25.4%

Mochida & Harrington (2006)

MC test (VLT)

5.4%

6.4%

Stubbe (2012)

MC test4.5%

21.23%

Stubbe (2014)

Trans. (L2 to L1)

24.6% - 25.8%

0.07% - 4.4%

Note: Trans. denotes translation test. VLT denotes Vocabulary Levels Test (Nation, 1990; versions 1 and 2, designed by
Schmitt, Schmitt & Clapham, 2001).

correction formulas based on multiple regression(Stubbe and Stewart, 2012; Stubbe, 2013). However,overestimation is not the only weakness of the selfreport format. Huibregtse, Admiraal and Meara(2002) explain that the format assumes that either aparticipant either really knows the word or she/hedoes not. “This assumption does not allow for various
degrees of knowing, apart from perfect knowledge
and absence of knowledge” (Huibregtse, Admiraal &Meara, 2002, p. 232). It has been demonstrated that
low-level Japanese university students often possesspartial word knowledge (Stubbe, 2014), which might
go unmeasured by the usual two-choice YN checklist
test format. In addition to partial word knowledge,
uncertain word knowledge can also lead to some testtakers selecting “no” (I do not know this word) toitems which they actually do know the meaning of.
This is referred to as an underestimation and, unlike
overestimation, nothing has yet been devised toaccount for underestimation in the YN testing format.

Prior studies focusing on overestimation
and underestimation in YN tests
A number of researchers have investigatedoverestimation as well as underestimation of lexical
knowledge on the self-report checklist format bycomparing participants’ results from a YN test witha criterion measure such as a subsequent multiplechoice (MC) test or a translation test of the same
items. Eyckmans (2004), in a series of experiments
comparing YN results with a subsequent L2 to
L1 translation test with low-intermediate Belgian
French-speaking learners of Dutch, reported

overestimation rates (self-report “yes” matched withan incorrect translation) between 30.6% and 48%,
with underestimation (self-report “no” matchedwith a correct translation) rates ranging from 12.0%
through 25.4% (see Table 1). Comparing self-reportresults with a subsequent MC test, the Vocabulary
Levels Test (Nation, 1990; versions 1 and 2, designed
by Schmitt, Schmitt & Clapham, 2001), Mochidaand Harrington (2006) reported overestimation rates
of 5.4%, and underestimation rates of 6.4% for theirhigh-proficiency learners. This greater amount ofunderestimation can be viewed as a result of the MC
test being an easier than format than the translation
test (Laufer and Goldstein, 2004). Similarly comparing
self-report results with a subsequent MC test, butwith lower-proficiency learners in Japan, Stubbe(2012) reported an underestimation rate that greatly
surpassed the overestimation rate (21.3% versus 4.5%,
respectively). More recently Stubbe (2014) compared
YN results with an L2 to L1 translation test, again
with lower-proficiency Japanese university students.
Overestimation rate for that study’s loanwords wereslightly lower than for the non-loanwords (24.6%
and 25.8%, respectively), while underestimation was
significantly greater for the loanwords (4.4% versus.07%, respectively).
Finally, Pellicer-Sanchez and Schmitt (2012),
confirming Laufer and Goldstein (2004), foundslight underestimation overall when YN scores werecompared to MC results, but none when compared
to translation test results. The above studies provide
no clear consensus on the degree of underestimationcommonly found in YN vocabulary tests.

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

127

Nakao & Stubbe

Research Question
The purpose of the present research was to determine
the possibility of assessing the partial or uncertain
word knowledge which causes underestimationof lexical knowledge commonly found in the YN
checklist test by introducing a third option to theformat. In addition to the usual “Yes” (I know thisword), and “No” (I do not know this word) options;this short study explored the inclusion of a third
choice: the “I have seen it, but don’t know it” option.
The research question is: Can the “I have seen it, but
don’t know it” be of use in determining the amount ofunderestimation found in a YN test?

MethodSample and Research Context
The sample consisted of first year and second year
undergraduate students (n = 303) of mixed majors,
studying English as a compulsory subject, at a private
university in southern Japan.

Item Selection
Five loanwords and five non-loanwords were chosenfrom the university’s wordlist: 1600 words from themost frequent 2000 words of the English language, aspresented by the Longman English-Japanese Dictionary(Bullon, 2007). Based on the item difficulty estimatesfound in Gibson and Stewart (2011), five loanword– non-loanword pairs of comparable difficulty wereselected (see Table 2.). Item difficulty means for the
loanwords were -.81 and -.73 for the non-loanwords(negative figures are easier). A t-test revealed that thedifference was not statistically significant (t = .878, df= 4, p =. 430). The effect size (Cohen, 1988) was also
very small (d = .071), confirming that the loanwords
were on average only slightly easier than the nonloanwords.

Testing Proceedure and Evaluation
A testing instrument was developed which contained
three parts. For each word students were asked to:A) self-report their knowledge using the YN format
containing three choices: (1) I don’t know it; (2) I
have seen it, but I don’t know the meaning; or (3) I
know it; B) write two meanings for each item; andC) write one sentence for each definition they had
written. Students were encouraged to try to write
definitions and sentences for all words. Participants
were not made aware of the presence of loanwords
in the item list as this may have encouraged them toselect “(3) I know it” in the self-report section forwords they did not actually know, then simply provide
katakana transcriptions in the translation section.
The test took between five and fifteen minutes forstudents to complete. All test taking was undertaken
during regular class time. The short length of the test
(10 items) was chiefly due to the depth of the test
and the “in class” nature of the study. As students
were asked to write full sentences for each word, thevariance in completion time was substantial. Finally, as
participants were aware of the translation and sentence
generation requirements prior to commencing thetest, they may have been more conservative than theywould have been on a YN test without these additional

Table 2Item Difficulty for Loanwords and Non-Loanwords
Loanword

Item Difficulty

address

-1.79

Send

-1.73

original-1.93

Choose

-1.64

Cover

-1.18

Law

-1.01

Suit

0.79

Meaning

0.52

balance

0.06

Result

0.23

Mean

-0.81

Mean

-0.73

SD

1.19

SD

1.05

128 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Non-loanword

Item Difficulty

"I Have Seen It, but Don’t Know It" Test Option, pages 126-132
obligations. This conservatism likely increased theamount of underestimation while decreasing theamount of overestimation of lexical knowledge inthe self-report section. The self-report section was
graded using an optical scanner. The translation
section was graded by one of the co-authors who is anative Japanese speaker with a high level of English
proficiency. A word was considered known in thissection, and awarded one point, if one or both of thetranslations were correct.

Results and Discussion
Means, standard deviations (SD) and reliabilities forboth sections of the research instrument are presented
in Table 3. Overall, students reported knowing a meanof 6.27 of the 10 words on the self-report section. The
second section, translation results, had a higher mean at
6.57, suggesting that the students were conservatively
under-estimating their knowledge on the self-reportsection. A paired t-test revealed that the difference
between the two means was statistically significant(t= 2.259, df = 302, p =.025, two-tailed). However,
the effect size of the difference was small (d = .104).
The reliability of the self-report section (.90) showed
good internal consistency, which is generally perceived
as acceptable at approximately Cronbach’s Alpha =.7 (Devellis, 2012). The reliability for the translation
section was lower at .78. This can be attributed chiefly
to the limited number of items. The “I have seen it, but…” option was selected more than four times as often
than the “I don’t know it option”, possibly suggestingthat the students had partial knowledge of the items,
or were uncertain of the accuracy of their knowledge.
Table 4 presents a direct comparison of the selfreport and translation results for all 10 items and
303 participants, which allows for determinationof overestimation and underestimation of word
knowledge on the self-report test. Overestimation

Table 3
Mean, Standard Deviation (SD), and Reliability for Each Section of the Research Instrument (n = 303, k = 10 items)
Meanreliability

SD

Self-Report.90

3. I know it.

6.27

3.36

2. I have seen it, but …

3.00

2.91

1. I don’t know it.

0.73

1.76

Translation

6.58

2.54

.78

Note: Reliability is Cronbach’s alpha.
Table 4
Mean, Standard Deviation (SD), and Reliability for Each Section of the Research Instrument (n = 303, k = 10 items)
Self-report result

overallcorrect translation

incorrect translation

I know it.

1899 (62.7%)

1688 (55.7%)

211 (7.0%)

confirmed known

overestimation

283 (9.3%)

628 (20.7%)

underestimation

confirmed unknown

I have seen it, but ...

911 (30.1%)

I don’t know it

220 (7.3%)

23 (0.8%)
underestimation

197 (6.5%)
confirmed unknown

Overall

3030 (100%)

1994 (65.8%)1036 (34.2%)

Note: percents are based on full 3030 incidents (303 students X 10 items), rounding-off errors exist.

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Nakao & Stubbe
occurred when an “I know it” on the self-reporttest was matched with an “Incorrect translation”.
Underestimation occurred when either an “I haveseen it, but ...” or “I don’t know it” was matchedwith a correct answer on the translation test. The
overestimation rate of 7% seems low compared to
Eyckmans (2004; 30.6% - 48.0%) and Stubbe (2014;
24.6% - 25.8%), which also featured a translation
test as the criterion measure. The combined
underestimation rate of 10.1% (306 of 3030) is greaterthan this 7% overestimation rate, and close to the 12%reported in Eyckmans (2004). That underestimation
exceeds overestimation was not previously observedwith translation test criterion measures (Eyckmans,
2004; Stubbe, 2014), but was with the easier multiplechoice criterion measures (Mochida & Harrington,
2006; Stubbe, 2012).
The percentage of selections of the “I haveseen it, but I don’t know it” option followed by acorrect translation of the item (underestimation) is
substantially higher than for selections of the “I don’tknow it” option followed by a correct translation.
It appears as if adding the “I have seen it, but I don’tknow it” option to the YN checklist format is usefulfor capturing partial, or uncertain, word knowledge. A
full 92.5% of all instances of underestimation occurredwith the “I have seen it, but ...” option (283 of 306).
Put another way, while 283 of the 911 uses of the “I
have seen it, but I don’t know it” option were followed
by a correct translation (31%), only 10% of the uses of“I don’t know it” were (23 of 220).

Conclusion
This study has been a short exploration into thepossible usefulness of including the “I have seen it,
but I don’t know it” option into the standard twochoice YN checklist test format. Low-level Japanese
university students (n = 303) sat a three option YN
self-report test followed immediately by a translation(L2 to L1) test of the same 10 items. Mean test scores
were higher on the translation test, suggesting thatthe students had under-estimated their knowledge
on the YN test. Overall, underestimation was foundto be greater than overestimation (10.1% versus

130 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

7.0%, respectively). It was also found that 92.5% of
the underestimation was captured by the new “I haveseen it, but I don’t know it” option. In this study
31% of the uses of this new option resulted in casesof underestimation. To answer the research question
presented above, it appears as if this new option can be
useful in determining the amount of underestimation
present in YN test results. Whether this 31% rate isapplicable to other samplings of items and English
learners warrants further investigation.

Future Research
As the participants represent a convenience sample
and the items were limited and not randomly selected,
it is difficult to generalized beyond this specificuniversity and the selected words. Future research that
repeats this experiment with a different sampling oflearners and a much larger pool of items is necessary
to gain a greater understanding into the usefulnessof this new option. Conducting the YN test separate
from and prior to the translation test may result inunder- and overestimation rates more in keeping withprevious studies. Future research could also investigate
whether a change in the wording of this additional
option improves results. For example, an option like
“I am unsure of this word’s meaning” may be more
effective than the “I have seen it, but I don’t know it”
option used in this study. It may also be possible that
adding this option had an effect on the overestimation
rate of 7% as well as underestimation rate. Regrettable
this study was not designed with any items presenting
the traditional two-choices, “I know it” or “I do notknow it”, as a control. Future studies should include
both types of YN test questions: one type containing
the traditional two options and the other typecontaining these two plus a middle option. If theseexperiments are carefully controlled, it may be foundthat including this new option affects the amount oflexical overestimation and/or underestimation, andthis knowledge could be used to improve the YN
vocabulary test.

References
Anderson, R. C., & Freebody, P. (1983). Reading

"I Have Seen It, but Don’t Know It" Test Option, pages 126-132
comprehension and the assessment andacquisition of word knowledge. In B. Hutson(Ed.), Advances in reading/language research: A
research annual. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 231256.
Bullon, S. (Ed.) (2007) Longman English-Japanesedictionary. Edinburgh Gate, England: Pearson
Education Limited.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the
behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum.
Devellis, R. F. (2012). Scale development: Theory andapplication (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Eyckmans, J. (2004). Measuring receptive vocabulary
size. Utrecht, the Netherlands: LOT (Landelijke
Onderzoekschool Taalwetenschap).
Gibson, A., & Stewart, J. (2011). Using Yes/No tests
to examine the relationship between frequency
and difficulty in the vocabulary knowledgeof second language learners. Kyushu Sangyo
University Language Education and ResearchCenter Journal, 6, 23-35.
Huibregtse, I., Admiraal, W., & Meara, P. (2002).
Scores on a YN vocabulary test: Correction forguessing and response style. Language Testing, 19,
227–245. 10.1191/0265532202lt229oa
Laufer, B., & Goldstein, Z. (2004). Testing vocabularyknowledge: Size, strength and computer
adaptiveness. Language Learning, 54(3), 399–
436. 10.1111/j.0023-8333.2004.00260.x
Meara, P., & Buxton, B. (1987). An alternative
to multiple choice vocabulary tests.
Language Testing, 4 (2), 142–154.
10.1177/026553228700400202
Meara, P. (1997). Towards a new approach tomodelling vocabulary learning. In: N. Schmitt
and M. McCarthy (eds.) Vocabulary: Description,acquisition and pedagogy. Cambridge, England:
Cambridge University Press, 109-121.
Mochida, A., & Harrington, M. (2006). Yes/No test
as a measure of receptive vocabulary. Language
Testing, 23, 73–98. 10.1191/0265532206lt321oa
Nation, I.S.P. (1990). Teaching and learning
vocabulary. Boston, MA: Heinle and Heinle.
Pellicer-Sanchez, A. & Schmitt, N. (2012). Scoring
Yes–No vocabulary tests: Reaction time vs.
nonword approaches. Language Testing, 29(4),489-509. 10.1177/0265532212438053
Schmitt, N., Schmitt, D., & Clapham, C. (2001).
Developing and exploring the behaviour of
two new versions of the vocabulary levels
test. Language Testing, 18, 55–88. doi:
10.1177/026553220101800103
Stubbe, R. (2014). Do Japanese university students
overestimate or underestimate their knowledgeof English loanwords more than non-loanwords
on yes-no vocabulary tests? Vocabulary Learning
and Instruction, 3 (1) 29-43. doi:10.7820/vli.
v03.1.stubbe
Stubbe, R. (2013). Comparing regression versus
correction formula predictions of passive recall
test scores from yes-no test results. Vocabulary
Learning and Instruction, 2 (1), 39-46. doi:
10.7820/vli.v02.1.stubbe
Stubbe, R. (2012). Do pseudoword false alarm rates
and overestimation rates in YN vocabulary tests
change with Japanese university students’ English
ability levels? Language Testing, 29 (4), 471–488.
doi: 10.1177/0265532211433033
Stubbe, R., & Stewart, J. (2012). Optimizing scoring
formulae for YN vocabulary checklists using
linear models. Shiken Research Bulletin, 16 (2),2-7.

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Nakao & Stubbe

Authors’ Biographies:
Kaori Nakao is an instructor for pre-service teachers and English as a foreign language at Seinan
Gakuin University and Kyushu Sangyo University, Fukuoka, Japan. Her research interests
are young learner language education and cross-linguistic influence in language learning.
<nakao.k.n@gmail.com>
Raymond Stubbe holds an M.A. in Applied Linguistics and TESOL and a B.Ed. As a lecturer at
Kyushu Sangyo University his research interests include vocabulary acquisition and assessment.
<raymondstubbe@gmail.com>

132 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Connecting Reading, Writing, and Culture througha Literacies-based Approach to Narrative

James Owens

Neil H. Johnson

Kanda University ofInternational Studies
james-o@kanda.kuis.ac.jp

Kanda University ofInternational Studies

Globalization has had an impact on many different aspects of higher education in Japan. In
particular it has led to an increase in the number of universities that are choosing to promote
an international experience as a way of fostering intercultural awareness. This has created issues
for many English language programs as research has suggested that the dominant skills-based,
communicative approach to teaching English may not be effective for developing the kinds ofliteracies that allow students to succeed while studying overseas (Kramsch, 2006; 2014). In thispaper, we focus on one unit of a course. This unit is built around the use of narrative texts anddemonstrates how a program can meaningfully connect reading and writing to help students
both understand academically challenging cultural content and to promote textual and linguistic
awareness. We argue that this ‘linking of literacies’ (Hirvela, 2004) is necessary if we want students
to develop the kinds of reflexive disposition towards language and discourse that will enable themto actively participate in different cultural contexts.
グローバリゼーションは日本の高等教育の様々な側面に影響を与え、殊にグローバル意識の育成を目指した国際経験促進のためのポリシーは、英語教育プログラムにおける問題を生んでいる。具体的なものとして、応用言語学の文献では、現在優勢を振るっているスキルベースのコミュニカティ
ブアプローチは既に学習者に対し最も役立つかもしれない種のリテラシーの構築には効果的でな
いかもしれない（Kramsch, 2006；20１４）と論じられている。本論文では、プログラムがどのようにしてリーディングとライティングを学問的挑戦を要する文化的内容とテキスト及び言語意識を一つにするリテラシー演習として意味深く繋げることができるか、
それを明らかにするナラティヴのユニットに焦点を置き、複数リテラシーのリンク（Hirvela, 2004）
が、学習者が異なる文化環境で活躍するのに必要不可欠な学問的および社会的参画を可能とする種の、言語と談話に対する再帰傾向の構築に重要であることを論じる。

Government funding, through the “Global 30
Project”, to selected universities that encourages
Japanese college students to study abroad (seeOwens, J., & Johnson, N. H. (2016). Connecting
reading, writing, and culture through a literaciesbased approach to narrative. In G. Brooks, M. Porter,
D. Fujimoto, & D. Tatsuki (Eds.), The 2015 PanSIG
Journal (pp. 133-141). Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

Aspinall, 2013) is emblematic of the strategic
increase in the global nature of Japanese higher
education. Internationalization, however, comes withconcomitant pressure to raise proficiency standards
and foster greater intercultural understanding, at atime when standards in education in Japan have beenfalling through demographic pressure and as a resultof the yutori kyoiku (or relaxed education) policies of
the 1990’s (see Lassegard, 2006). In this educational
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Owens & Johnson
context, the dominant discreet, communicative skillsbased approach to foreign language education may not
be effective, due to its lack of cultural content and its
narrow view of language as a set of skills to be mastered(see Kramsch, 2006; MLA, 2007; Schulz, 2006).
In this paper, we focus on a unit of work withina first-year university reading and writing course thattries to address these problems by using a syllabusthat involves learners progressing through units ofwork focusing on different text types and discourses(see Gee, 2002; Byrnes, Crane, Maxim, & Sprang,
2006). We also present and discuss an assignment
submitted by one of the students who was enrolled
in this course to demonstrate the effectiveness of thisnew course in raising genre awareness in students.
The course being discussed in this article is structured
so that the students are involved in iterative cycles oftextual analysis, interpretation, and production as thefocus of the content shifts from the familiar texts ofdaily interaction, progressing through literary texts,
and again onto the texts and discourses of public
and academic settings (Gee, 2002). This is done sothat students are able to experience and produce
a range of genres, discourses and rhetoric types, as
research has shown that this experience will better
allow them to “participate effectively in the world
outside the ESL classroom” (Hyland, 2007, p. 48).
This course demonstrates further how meaningfully
connecting reading and writing as literacy practice
can help students to begin to understand academicallychallenging cultural content as well as improve their
textual and linguistic awareness.

Background to the Program
In 2012, Kanda University of International Studies(KUIS) was the beneficiary of a large government“Global 30” grant to promote study abroad
opportunities for our learners in western universities
and colleges. A primary concern for preparing learners
for longer study abroad experiences is to have students
reach the requisite levels on institutional tests suchas IELTS and TOEFL. Universities in the UnitedStates, for example, typically require a score between
450 and 500 on the TOEFL IBT for an undergraduate
student to enter a program as an international student.

134 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Reading proficiency is an important component of the
TOEFL and the TOEIC examinations that are used as
markers of progress at our university. So, in planning
the redevelopment of our courses, we were mindful of
this aspect of student proficiency. However, anotherimportant concern is with our learners’ experience
once they actually make it abroad. Our program
needs to prepare learners for multiple literacies,
both digital and text based, if they are to succeed inmeeting the challenges of studying and living abroad.
A preliminary needs analysis was done across theentire first year population of our students and thisconfirmed, amongst other things, the fact that for thisgeneration of students, online and digital texts are now
the most common way that they interact and accessinformation and entertainment (for a discussion of theimportance of digital literacy see Kress, 2003). With
this emerging online literacy, it has been argued, comesthe need for critical thinking and interpretation skills,
or as McPherson (2008) explains it: “students needto learn how to master reading and writing, but also
learn how to communicate – to compose, to problem
solve, and understand across a wider set of culturally
diverse and multiple meaning making forms” (p. 37).
The curriculum in place at KUIS up until 2012 lacked
the appropriate content or approach that could reallydevelop this kind of disposition towards language,
culture and text.
Indeed, up until 2012, the reading and writing
program for first year students had been developedwith commercial textbooks that focused on the two
aspects of written text as if they were entirely separate.
The reading course featured extensive reading, throughgraded readers, and the writing course focused
almost exclusively on the five-paragraph essay. If weconsider Kern’s (2000) argument that literacy involves
interrelated cognitive, linguistic and sociocultural
aspects, it is clear that what was really missing fromthe courses was the sociocultural element. More
importantly, the program was also lacking the sensethat reading and writing are intimately connecteddimensions of written communication. It became
clear that we needed to base our instruction around “amore unified discussion of relationships between readers,writers, culture, and language learning” (Kern, 2000, p. 2).

A Literacies-based Approach to Teaching Narrative, pages 133-141

Combining Reading and Writing:Foundational Literacies
The multiliteracies-based approach (New London
Group, 1996) was chosen to provide the foundationof the program because it offers a theoreticallycoherent orientation to language education that
deals with both the textual and the cultural diversitythat define globalization. As explained above, thecourse was designed to allow students to encounteras large a variety of text types as possible - that is,they were exposed to a range of different discourse
types and rhetorical modes, to build awareness andtextual capacity (Widdowson, 1983) in preparation
for more advanced foreign language literacy courses
in their second year of study, and beyond, in future
study abroad contexts. Gee (2002) argues that most
texts fall into primary (experiential, sense-of-self ),blurred (literary) and secondary (institutional,‘public’) discourse types. Additionally, ‘narration’is traditionally seen as one of the four rhetoricalmodes, the others being exposition, description
and argumentation (Meurer, 2002) that comprisethe fundamental ways that meaning is constructedin academic and public contexts. Given this basic
structure, we were able to map out an overall scheme
for the new course that ensured learners were exposed
to, and came to understand, different discourse types,
as represented in Table 1.

Organisation of the Narrative Unit
The course is then organized into seven different
content units, with narrative texts being taught as oneof four content units in the first semester (along withemail, recipes and product reviews). Key to the designof all of the content units was the overall pedagogicalheuristic that is provided in the multiliteracies
literature (See Table 2).
Throughout the progression of the narrative unit
(approximately ten lessons in total) students are first,
in situated practice, asked to tell meaningful stories
from their own experiences. They are then, in asequence of overt instruction activities, introduced to
Labov’s (1972) model of narrative structure, exposed
to a range of different sub-genres of narrative, andasked to analyse the extent to which the five-partmodel is applicable to the examples they have been
given. The sub-genres that feature in the narrative unit
include travel blogs, personal narratives, traditional
folk stories, news stories, and constructed narratives.
The folk stories include fables and legends from avariety of different countries and different culturalcontexts in order to accentuate the universality ofcertain forms and features of narrative texts (suchas narrative structure). When exposed to each subgenre, learners are given vocabulary tasks and within
the unit there are also explicit lexicogrammar focus
activities. Throughout the course, students are also
asked to reflect on the field, tenor and mode of given
texts; to consider the writer, their purpose and thetarget audience; and to consider the idea of ‘language
as choice’, that is fundamental to the literacies-based
approach. Within fairy tales, for example, students
are asked to think about what unique, literary words
or phrases are used, and why. With news stories they
are asked to consider why news narratives often use a
mixture of formal and informal lexis. Most of these
activities take place as group discussions. Students

Table 1
Overview of the Course
Discourse TypeClassroom Texts

Production Texts: Assessment

Primary

Personal email,
Recipes, Recounts
Personal narratives

Personal email
RecipeRecount

BlurredFolk tales, Poem, Song lyrics, Short story

Literary narrative

Secondary

Information report,
Essay, Business correspondence, Formal email,
Product review, Newspaper feature article

Information report
Product review
Persuasive essay

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Owens & Johnson
Table 2
Overview of the Narrative Unit
Pedagogical Sequence

Realization in the Narrative Unit

Situated Practice: Immersion in meaningful practices
within a community of learners

Personal narrative: learners tell, read and analyze personal
narratives with a view to creating their own story and voice
based on their own experiences

Overt Instruction: Scaffolding learning through explicit
attention to key concepts and metalanguage

Narrative structure and vocabulary: Learners study
Labov’s (1972) narrative structure (main theme, scene
setting, complicating action, further action, result andevaluation) and apply the model to several different
narratives in different discourses

Critical Framing: Problematizing or looking again at what
has been learned and applying the knowledge to newsituations or problems.

Contrast between western and Japanese folk tales:
Japanese folk tales often lack the moral aspect of western
folk or fairy stories. Understanding why this might be thecase is an important insight into narrative and culture.

Transformed Practice: Shifting meaning across boundaries
of genre, mode, and or context (New London Group,1996).

Re-writing a narrative for a different textual genre:
Applying the new understanding of how narratives
work to a different rhetorical situation is both a learning
experience and provides opportunity for summative
assessment.

are also exposed to a ‘genuine’ (as opposed to a
constructed) personal narrative, written by a student
of approximately the same age but from a different
culture, based on the theme of growing up/change(Charlton, 2010). This particular narrative was chosen
as it provides a relevant example of a ‘small’ narrativein which very little drama occurs, demonstrating tostudents that a narrative does not need to be dramatic.
Students are then exposed to pseudo-personal
narratives that are superficially similar to this personal
narrative. These samples are taken from online sourcesthat are used to sell a spiritual guide/ series of selfhelp books (Secret, 2016), where the ‘customers’

which is the final assignment, where, in the case of
the narrative unit, students write their own personal
narrative. The rubric for this assignment grades thestudents on their ability to show understanding of andto apply narrative structure, as well as their ability to
produce the mechanics, lexicogrammar and content
appropriate to their task.
The other productive activity that students are
asked to do in each unit is a more creative one and isin keeping with the idea of transformed practice, as
described briefly in Table 2. Starting with a text in
one sub-genre, students are asked to redesign the text
according to different rhetorical and functional aims,

supposedly share their own personal experiences,
but where the actual intention is probably persuasive
rather than informative or humanistic. Students areinvited to notice and then reflect on these underlying
differences.

ultimately producing a text that has the same content
but that is appropriate for a different audience andpurpose. In the narrative unit, learners are typicallyshown a video from a famous advertisement thathas redesigned the ending of the Three Little Pigs
fairytale in the form of a news story (Guardian, 2012).
In this case, both the mode (from written/oral toaudio-visual) and sub-genre (from fairytale to news
narrative) have been transformed, and this has led toother differences, for example the meaning and thetarget audience of the two narratives are different.

Example of Student Work:
Transformed PracticeThe key tasks within each unit feature reading andcomprehension activities. There are, however, typicallytwo key ‘production’ activities in each unit, one of

136 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

A Literacies-based Approach to Teaching Narrative, pages 133-141
After reflecting on these changes, students are asked to
re-write one of the narratives they have read, either afairytale into a news story or vice versa. After they havechanged the genre of the narrative, students are thenasked to describe and explain the changes that they
made. For example, why the changes they made to the
vocabulary or structure of the narrative were seen as
more appropriate for their new purpose, etc. A student
example is shown in Appendix A. This student choseto transform the Japanese fairy tale Yuki Onna into
a news story (the student’s name has been changed).
The Japanese folk tale offers us a different cultural
perspective on narrative and is a good example ofcritical framing, where students are asked to look again
at material they feel they have already understood. The
idea of human agency in light of the overwhelming
power of nature is a common theme in Japanese
literature and art, and having Japanese learners rethink not only narrative, but other cultural texts (e.g.
the famous Hokusai woodblock print ‘the great wave’)that they are familiar with, from this new perspective,
can lead to interesting classroom discussions.
Looking at this transformed narrative that was
produced in class, we can observe that the student
has clearly made some significant changes to theoriginal text that suggest that she has, to a large
degree, achieved ‘genre consciousness’. She is clearly
aware of the differences in form, style and content
of each sub-genre (fairytale and news narrative) andher transformative practice here makes that salient.
In terms of content, the student has changed themeaning of the story. While the original tale wasabout a mysterious and beautiful ghostly lady who
killed one man and married another in a human guise,
the transformed news story instead foregrounds the‘crime’ itself and the suspicion surrounding it. It also
places the action in the modern day. Mystery andhorror, which work well in traditional tales, make way
for rumour and suspicion, as is often the case withgenuine news reports of this type.
The student, in her reflection (see Appendix B),
confirms these choices were rooted in her awarenessof the traits of different sub-genres: “In the Japanesestory we never know why the action happened andusually fairy tales have a reason. This was difficult todecide, and so finally I made it a story that hasn’t beensolved.” Similarly, she later comments, “The story is
not a Japanese folk story and so I must to make (sic)the explanation clear to the reader.”The student demonstrates awareness of thestylistic differences that exist between fairytales andnews stories. Visually, she has chosen to use a pictureand has a headline that is written in a large text. She
also makes use of sub-headings. Once again, we know
these are conscious choices the student has made as she
explains in her reflection, that, “Sub-headline can beused in a newspaper to help the reader”, and “I put inthe picture… to a follow (sic) tabloid style. If there is acriminal the tabloid tries to show them and especiallythey like to have pictures of beautiful girls!”
In terms of lexicogrammar, here too she has chosen
to make significant changes in her retelling of events.
As she explains, “I used more conversational style. I
took out literary words for the different newspaper
style”, hence “dazzling white garments” become Gucci
designer clothes. The news narrative, deliberately,
also makes greater use of “short paragraphs.” In doing
so, the student has clearly thought about the target
audience and typical tabloid reader and engineered
her language with this in mind: “This makes it easierto read for audience who doesn’t have much time –maybe they are reading on the train to work.”
In completing a transformative task, students
are acting with agency and as authors are taking amore active role in their own learning: “The focus ontransformation rather than on acquisition makes thedesigner agentive… with the designer’s interests in thisoccasion of design and in relation to that audience”( Jewitt & Kress, 2003). In transforming meaningacross genres, the affordances and constraints ofdifferent ways of representing meaning are highlighted,
thus facilitating a creative and critical disposition
towards the rhetorical work of narrative. This activity,
we argue, leads to heightened awareness of the act ofcommunication in written text itself. For educators,
looking at the student complete a transformational
task allows us to gain “insight into the variation andrange” of a student’s “meaning-making” abilities(Stein, 2008, p. 44).

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Owens & Johnson

Conclusion
In this short paper, we have argued that discreet,skills-based approaches to reading and writing areproblematic due to their restricted cultural content
and inherent lack of awareness of written text as
essentially an act of sociocultural communication. We
have used the example of a unit built around narrative
genres to highlight a productive way that we are using
bring reading and writing together through a focus
on the construction of textual meaning. We have also
included an example of a transformational narrative
assignment written by a student to illustrate the ways
in which this technique is succeeding in our context.
This is by necessity only a brief snapshot of the kindof work and activity that our learners are engaged
in, and we believe that it is important to design our
individual courses and then the overall curriculum toengage learners in this type of meaningful engagementwith texts, language and culture. Additional work
is required to further develop our materials and tobetter understand the efficacy of our approach for
language education in the increasingly global context
of Japanese higher education.

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138 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

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Kress, G. (2003). Literacy in the New Media Age.
London, England: Routledge.
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Pennyslvania University Press.
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language, literatures in English and cultural
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MLA Ad Hoc Committee on Foreign Languages.
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Authors’ Biographies:
James Owens has lectured at Kanda University of International Studies for 5 years. His
main research interests are in systemic functional grammar, sociolinguistics and curriculum
development. <james-o@kanda.kuis.ac.jp>
Neil H. Johnson currently works at the English Language Institute, Kanda University ofInternational Studies. His main research interests are in curriculum development, multiliteracies,
and sociocultural theory. <johnson-n@kanda.kuis.ac.jp>

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Owens & Johnson

Appendix A: Student’s news story
Police Looking for Mystery Woman: Is She the Sendai Murderer?
By Staff Writer: Yuri Saito
Police yesterday were looking for a woman who
they think might be very dangerous. She wasreported as disappeared from her family home bya neighbor. Nobody can understand the story of
how she has left her family and police are asking
for help with this mystery. According to thereports, the woman is called Yuki Onna and she
has black hair and is very tall. She is usually seenwearing expensive designer-label white clothes.

Mrs. Yuki Onna: Have you seen her?

A witness said they saw her leaving the home very quickly with suspicious behavior. Her husband is very upset.
His name is Minokichi. He is famous in Sendai because he was the apprentice who lost his boss in the famous
accident that was never solved 20 years ago. He now has 10 children. Where has his wife gone?
Nobody could talk with Minokichi yesterday but one of his friends told us he was very happy with his life
recently. However, neighbours told our reporter that they heard a woman screaming and threatening to killsomebody late at night yesterday.
The famous accident happened when Minokichi, and his boss, Mosaku were cutting wood in a nearby forest.
Because of the bad weather they stayed in the business hotel. But the next morning Mosaku was found dead. It
was a very strange story because Minokichi was fine and there were no witnesses. Sources close to the family said
in a rumor that people nearby thought Minokichi had killed his boss during the night.

Big Suspicion
There was big suspicion in Sendai. Did Minokichi steal money from his boss and company? It was neverunderstood the story of their relationship. Minokichi said it was the snow and cold that killed his boss but it wasdifficult to show evidence in court to support this story.
Shortly after this event, Minokichi got married and had many children. He didn’t seem so sad about the death of
his old boss after all. Many people thought so.
Police are thinking there might be a relationship to the disappearing woman and Mosaku. Did he kill her as
well? Is she the murderer? If you have information, please help the police with this terrible story.

140 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

A Literacies-based Approach to Teaching Narrative, pages 133-141

Appendix B: Student’s reflection

Reflection:
1. How did you change the organization?
The story has to be shorter to fit tabloid style. Headline is not full sentences. Sub-headline can be used in a
newspaper to help the reader. I tried to make the story modern with a new police force and fitting the style ofnewspapers of today. In the Japanese story we never know why the action happened and usually fairy tales havea reason. This was difficult to decide, and so finally I made it a story that hasn’t been solved. It is difficult to fitthat part of the story into a new kind of text for me.
2. How did you change the style?
I used more conversational style. I took out literary words for the different newspaper style. For example, inthe story describes her clothes as “dazzling”. But since this is modern times I wanted to use designer-wear, like
Gucci. I also had to break up the story into short paragraphs. This makes it easier to read for audience who
doesn’t have much time – maybe they are reading on the train to work.
3. How did you change the story?
The story is not a Japanese folk story and so I must to make the explanation clear to the reader. In the folk story
nobody knows why it happened. A newspaper tries to tell the story to be clear. I found that tabloids like to use
gossip and rumor to make their story and so I used the neighbors and things that people said to tell the story.
4. What other changes did you make? Why?
I put in the picture for Yuki Onna to a follow tabloid style. If there is a criminal the tabloid tries to show themand especially they like to have pictures of beautiful girls!
.

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Authorship in Task-Based Performance

Daniel Parsons
Kwansei Gakuin University
daniel1124@kwansei.ac.jp
Scholarship in task-based learning abounds with recommendations for practitioners in the design
and implementation of tasks that can facilitate language learning. However, the psycholinguistic
focus that this scholarship pursues rarely sheds light on the interactional procedures of peers during
tasks. This paper takes conversation analysis as a tool to show how two learners perform a story
construction task. The analysis reveals how learners actively negotiate their subject positions during
tasks. Implications for teacher intervention in task design and task implementation which cancomplement current task-based teaching recommendations are suggested.
タスク中心の学習研究では、言語取得を促すタスクを活用した授業構成と実施に対する提言が溢れている。
しかしながら、心理言語学に基づいたその研究は学習者がタスクを参与する相互行為の組織をまれに明らかにしていない。本稿では会話分析を手段として、学習者がストーリーの復元というタスクをどのように実行するかを検討する。
この分析においては、学習者は能動的に主観のポジシ
ョンを交渉することが分かり、また、その結果の焦点にあて、近代のタスク中心の指導方法の提言を補完するタスクデザインと実施を着目する。

Recommendationsfortask
designandimplementation are abundant in task-based language
learning scholarship (Ellis, 2012, 2006; Samuda& Bygate, 2008; Willis & Willis, 2007). However,Hall, Vitanova and Marchenkova (2005) point out
that pedagogy design has been based on research ina psycholinguistics tradition. This has focused on
facilitating “learners’ assimilation of new systemic
knowledge into known knowledge structures” (p.
2). Firth and Wagner (1997) argue that this view of
second language acquisition is “individualistic andmechanistic and that it fails to account in a satisfactory
way for interactional and socio-linguistic dimensionsof language” (p. 287).
In a review of peer-interaction research, Philp,
Parsons, D. (2016). Authorship in task-based
performance. In G. Brooks, M. Porter, D. Fujimoto,& D. Tatsuki (Eds.), The 2015 PanSIG Journal (pp.
142-149). Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

142 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Adams and Iwashita (2014) called for more research
into how peers can enhance or constrain learning.
Recently, a number of studies have examined how
language learners gradually change the way they
participate in tasks (Hellerman & Cole, 2008; Platt,2005). Block (2007) reviewed interviews with astudent, and he highlighted the importance of thesubject position of learners in the foreign language
classroom (p.151-163). In other words, learners’
identities are implicated during L2 interaction.
In spite of the emerging research into peerinteraction, practical insights are still lacking in theliterature and there is little for teachers to take into
the classroom. Wong and Waring (2010), however,use insights from conversation analysis (CA) of native
speaker interaction to provide practical classroom
ideas. Gardner (2013) argues that CA can shed lighton the interactional features of learners as they engage
in tasks. The conversation analytical method involves
identifying the actions of participants in interaction inAuthorship in Task-Based Performance, pages 142-149
order to understand the practices of particular typesof interaction (Sidnell, 2013). In fact, Wooffitt (2005)
asserts that “(d)uring interaction speakers orient to,
and display to each other in the design of their turns,
what they understand to be the salient features of
their context” (p.64). This research uses conversation
analysis to examine learners’ subject positions during
peer interaction to add detail to our understandingof these interactions and suggest practical insights toimprove task design and implementation.

Methodology
Two second-year university students volunteered totake part in the study. They were non-English majors
and had both studied English for approximately
seven years. Their TOEIC scores placed them at the
low-intermediate level, but probably due to a lack of
speaking experience, their oral proficiency was low.
The data analysed here is taken from the learners’communication class, in which this researcher was
their teacher. During the lesson, the students created,
re-told, and wrote very short stories (see Appendix
A for the lesson plan), and the discussions between
the two students during the pre-task provided theconversation data. The students agreed for the task to
be recorded with a voice recorder placed on their table.
The recordings were transcribed by the researcher
using Jefferson’s CA notation as outlined in Wooffitt(2005) (see Appendix B).
In the pre-task, the students created four shortstories, each using a different picture taken fromEnglish Firsthand (Helgesen, Brown, Mandeville &Rost, 2001). The pictures were partially hidden so thatthe scenes required inferencing and interpretation.

This encouraged more collaborative discussion tocreate the story. The students were each given theirown worksheet and were instructed not to show eachother the sheets. This ensured that the students madespoken reference to items in the pictures, and avoided
pointing to the items.

Analysis
The basis of CA’s empirical approach is known as nextturn proof procedure. Participants in interaction create
turns through action formation and action ascription(Levinson, 2014). Action ascription occurs when thenext speaker assigns an action, such as requesting, tothe current speaker’s turn. This is a projection of what
the current speaker is doing, and the next speaker
begins to form a response to this projection (Hayashi,2004). The ascription is revealed in the responseof the next speaker, and provides the conversation
analyst with the empirical evidence to interpret theconversation. The next-turn proof procedure is applied
to the extracts below. The students’ language journals
are also employed to assist the interpretation.

Extract 1: Friendship Identity
The pictures were arranged on the worksheet in a
block of four, two at the top and two at the bottom.
In Extract 1, the students, A and B, are trying to referto the picture on the top left. Turns 9 and 12 aresignificant in that they show A’s dispreferred responses
to B’s previous turns.
In turn 8, B attempts to refer to the picture bystating its location relative to other pictures on theworksheet. In turn 9, A is perhaps simplifying thereference to the top left picture by assuming a left to

Extract 1
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.

B:
A:
B:
A:
B:
B:
A:
B:
B:

(0.5) hmm let’s start
Yah hah (clearing throat)[hmmmm left . uhhh(.) first pict-hh-ure hh= (smiley voice)=a- first pictu:::reer: lefto::::(struggling sound)up=   [˙h      ˙h     ˙h    ˙h yah ha   ˙hhhhh ha ha ha ha=[huh huh (.) huh huh (.) huh huh>okay ↑ <The 2015 PanSIG Journal143

Parsonsright reading frame. However, turns 10 and 11 showthat B has mistaken A’s reference for a sequence repair.
It is possible that B has interpreted A’s utterance as thefollowing unspoken ground rule: this opening stageof the discussion needs to be announced as the “first
picture”. After making the announcement in turn 10,
B continues the search for a location reference wordin turn 11. A makes another dispreferred response
in turn 12, by refusing to help B find a locationreference word. Instead, A uses laughter to cue Bthat he understands which picture is being indicated.
Simultaneously in turn 13, B shares the laughter, but
his low pitch intonation seems to signal confusion. In
turn 14, he suddenly realises that A understands thereference and progresses the discussion.
Although only nine turns, Extract 1 shows
how the students work to create intersubjectivity
at the beginning of a task. From B’s perspective, A
is displaying dispreferred responses. However, thishelps B to realise that his partner understands which
picture is being referenced. In fact, A chooses to use
within-speech laughter ( Jefferson, 1979, pp. 82-83) tosimultaneously cue B that he understands. In this way,
he mitigates the dispreferred responses.
A deployed conversational strategies to build
intersubjectivity while simultaneously showing
consideration for his partner. It could be argued that
A is authoring himself in those moments as a friend.
In fact, in his language journal, A indexicalised
friendship and cooperation on a number of occasions,writing “I want to enjoy talking with my friends during
our discussion”, “I want to hear my friend’s ideas”, and“We should build good discussion together”. This
complex juggling of task focus and friendship-identity
negotiation is reflected in this sequence of turns.

rights (Clayman, 2013). Extract 2 is an example of how
the students demonstrated adherence to fundamental
turn taking principles and utilised strategies to deal
with the limits of their own English production skills.
Through these strategies, specific roles for the students
emerged out of this conversation.
In this extract, the students are trying to describe
the scene and formulate a plot. B starts by suggestingthat the character had had a good day, to which A
asks for follow up details with the question “why?” B
supplies his idea in turn 137. In turns 135 and 137, B
begins his utterance with a::::: and u::::, signaling histurn, but gaining time to find the words. Turn 137 isa tonally and syntactically complete turn construction
unit, but there is a pause at turn 138, followed by“mm”. Turns 137 and 138 suggest that A may havebeen expecting more information from B. This
assertion is supported by earlier sequences in which
A had provided many of the details for the plot of thefirst picture. A may have expected that, in the spirit ofcollaboration, B should provide details of the second
picture.
Thus, the pause in turn 138 constitutes a dilemmafor A. Should he lengthen the pause and thereby
refuse to take the turn, or should he take the turn?
Lengthening the pause might risk putting morepressure on B, but taking the turn would mean taking
the responsibility to add details to the story. In turn139, A fills the ensuing silence. Then, in turn 141, the“Okay” utterance acts as a sequence transition whichchanges the footing of the conversation. In otherwords, A now has the responsibility of adding details
to the story.
With the conversation footing now changed, inExtract 2: Pressure Reduction

135: B: a::::: good day maybe
136:  A:  why:: ↑137: B: u:::: (1.4) she looks like happy
138: A: (0.4) mm
139:		Yah (.) I see
140: B:[mm
141: A: Okay142:
She is good day so:
143:
mmm
144: B: mm::::::::

Real time conversation is often fraught with thepressure of needing to follow up a turn with anotherturn. Speakers will be aware of transition-relevanceplaces (Sacks, Schegloff & Jefferson, 1974) within aturn, and the grammatical, tonal and pragmatic designof these within any turn-construction unit acts as asignal that the next speaker can talk or the next turncan be taken. This gives rise to the issue of speaker

144 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Extract 2

Authorship in Task-Based Performance, pages 142-149
turn 142, A acts to diminish the responsibility on
them both. This provides conversationally legitimate
breathing space. In other words, the conversationpressure of turn taking has been reduced, and both A
and B are comfortable with thinking out loud in turns
143 and 144. In sum, this sequence shows that A waspositioned with the task of reducing the conversationpressure by B, and A actively constructed a subject
position as someone willing to do so.

Extract 3: Problem Solver
Extract 3 is a continuation of Extract 2 and shows how
A moves away from a cooperative role to focusing on
the task itself. What is interesting about this sequenceis that A employs dispreferred responses in order tofocus attention on task completion. In turn 145, A
refers to what the character is doing in the picture.
However, it is difficult to see what the character isholding. Perhaps A’s upwards intonation in turn
145 demonstrates hedging of the item (a letter). B
provides his idea in turn 148. Both turns 146 and 148
show that B is taking a collaborative role. In fact, B’stendency to support the flow of information and build
on A’s utterances was a consistent feature in the earlier
extracts, in particular in turns 11 and 137.
Turn 149 is A’s dispreferred response to B since
he does not build on B’s suggestion. B remains
cooperative in turn 150 by trying to follow A’s thread.
It is possible that the dispreferred response could beseen as A’s attempt to make more salient a problematicfeature of the task. A continued to make suggestions
about the plot, and by turn 171 it becomes apparent

that A was trying to connect plot details with thedetails in the picture.
The number of vocalisations, such as “mm”, inthis extract suggests that A was thinking deeply, andthe degree to which he was aware that turn 149 wasa dispreferred response cannot be inferred from theextract alone. Nonetheless, the change of focus brings
out A’s complex thought processes. In his language
journal, A makes it clear that he values a step by step
approach to learning. In explaining his successes, hewrites: “First I suggested it to decide whether it was agood day or a bad day. Second we thought about why
we thought it was a good day and a bad day. Third I
started to think about a situation. I can derive this talkvery well.”

Discussion
A cursory glance at the extracts could lead to theconclusion that student A was dominant and student
B was passive. However, closer examination of theextracts and correlation with the language journals
suggests that A is using dispreferred responses to cue
his partner towards intersubjectivity, to alleviate turntaking pressure, and to make salient the problematicfeatures of the task. B is using collaborative responses
in his turn allocations to show support for theseconversational shifts. In fact, while student B was theless proficient of the two, he did have opportunities formore extended output at times. These often occurred
during collaborative responses and built on A’s ideas.
Interactionist and socio-cultural approaches often

Extract 3
145: A:
146: B:
147: A:
148: B:
149: A:
150: B:…
169: A:			
170: B:
171: A:			˙hh she hhh (clear throat) she has letter ↑ (.) maybe[yahso:::: (1) mm::::        [letter from Obama ↑ ha ha ha
˙hh mm >why< w(hh)hy (2.5) (struggle) eh hhh ˙h n this place==o::: (5)(1.5) a:: gomen nashi dea:: sorry scratch that[hah ha ha
Tsunagaranakatta (laughter)I couldn’t connect it.

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

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Parsons
discuss the appropriateness of peer interaction interms of dominant/passive and high/low-proficiency
dichotomies (Philp, et al. 2014). However, the analysis
here shows that students authored their respective
subject positions in the task as learning director andlearning collaborator while successfully maintaining
their friendship roles. The analysis offers observations
into how students strategically deploy conversational
elements in ways which display their various learner
identities. Further research is required to demonstrate
whether or not these sequences are common.

Conclusion
The above analysis provided insights into the finer
aspects of peer interaction, and these insights have
implications for teaching practice. Teachers canintroduce “identity negotiation” resources thatstudents can use during tasks. One example is what
I call the “Pit Stop”. It acts as a time-out from thediscussion in English (Ellis, 2006) with the option
to use L1, but with the sole purpose of solving an L2
language problem collaboratively. This may provide
students a way to enact their agency to become
legitimate participants in their group while at thesame time directly eliciting the help of their classmateswith language issues. Another example is to embedcommunication strategies into the curriculum. Certain
communication strategies could be presented tolearners as “leadership skills” or “collaboration skills”.
As a specific example, students could analyse short
discussion transcripts, looking for specific strategies,
such as holding the floor through self-selection (Wong& Waring, 2010, p.48-49). The idea is to imbue
communication strategies with values congruent withor having the potential to develop learners’ identities.
The efficacy of these teaching approaches would needtesting in the real world, and given the insight thatconversation analysis has provided here, a similar
methodology could be employed to measure theeffects of these techniques on learning.

References
Block, D. (2007). Second language identities. London,
England: Bloomsbury Publishing.

146 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Clayman, S. E. (2013). Turn‐Constructional Units
and the Transition‐Relevance Place. In J. Sidnell& T. Stivers (Eds.), The handbook of conversation
analysis (pp. 151-166). Malden, MA: WileyBlackwell.
Ellis, R. (2006). The methodology of task-basedteaching. Asian EFL Journal, 8(3), 19-45.
Ellis, R. (2012). Language teaching research andlanguage pedagogy. Malden, MA: John Wiley &Sons.
Firth, A., & Wagner, J. (1997). On discourse,
communication, and (some) fundamental
concepts in SLA research. The modern language
journal, 81(3), 285-300.
Gardner, R. (2013). Conversation analysis in theclassroom. In J. Sidnell & T. Stivers (Eds.), The
handbook of conversation analysis (pp. 593-611).
Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Hall, J. K., Vitanova, G., & Marchenkova, L. A.
(Eds.), (2004). Dialogue with Bakhtin on secondand foreign language learning: New perspectives.
New York, NY: Routledge.
Hayashi, M. (2004). Projection and grammar:
notes on the ‘action-projecting’ use of the
distal demonstrative are in Japanese. Journal ofpragmatics, 36(8), 1337-1374.
Helgesen, M., Brown, S., Mandeville, T., & Rost, M.
(1998). English Firsthand 1. Hong Kong, China:
Pearson Longman Asia ELT.
Hellermann, J., & Cole, E. (2009). Practices for social
interaction in the language-learning classroom:
Disengagements from dyadic task interaction.
Applied Linguistics, 30(2), 186-215.
Jefferson, G. (1979). A technique for inviting laughter
and its subsequent acceptance/declination. In
G. Psathas (Ed.), Everyday language: Studies in
ethnomethodology (pp. 79-96). New York, NY:
Irvington Publishers.
Levinson, S. C. (2013). Action formation andascription. In J. Sidnell & T. Stivers (Eds.), The
handbook of conversation analysis (pp. 101-130).
Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Nunan, D. (1989). Designing tasks for thecommunicative classroom. Cambridge, England:
Cambridge University Press.

Authorship in Task-Based Performance, pages 142-149
Philp, J., Adams, R., & Iwashita, N. (2014). Peer
interaction and second language learning. New
York, NY: Routledge.
Platt, E. (2005). “Uh Uh No Hapana”:
Intersubjectivity, meaning, and the self. In J. K.
Hall, G. Vitanova, and L. Marchenkova (Eds.),
Dialogue with Bakhtin on second and foreign
language learning: New perspectives (pp. 119148). New York, NY: Routledge.
Sacks, H., Schegloff, E. A., & Jefferson, G. (1974). A
simplest systematics for the organization of turntaking for conversation. 50(4), 696-735.
Samuda, V. & Bygate, M. (2008). Tasks in second
language learning. Basingstoke, England: Palgrave

Macmillan.
Sidnell, J. (2013). Basic conversation analytic
methods. In J. Sidnell & T. Stivers (Eds.), The
handbook of conversation analysis (pp. 77-99).
Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Willis, D., & Willis, J. (2007). Doing task-basedteaching. Oxford, England: Oxford University
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Wong, J., & Waring, H. Z. (2010). Conversation
analysis and second language pedagogy: A guide for
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introduction. London, England: Sage.

Author’s Biography:
Daniel Parsons is an Instructor of English as a Foreign Language at Kwansei Gakuin University,
School of Science and Technology. He has been working in Japan for eleven years, first as an
assistant language teacher in a small elementary school in Naoshima, Kagawa prefecture, thenteaching kids classes and business classes at a private school in Hiroshima.

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Parsons

Appendix A: Lesson Plan
Task Sequence

Student Role

Additional Information

Warm upIntroduction to story telling

Overview of story structure.

Pre task

Create a short story in pairs basedon pictures. There are four picturesand students have to create a story
for each picture.

Some information is missing
from the pictures, so students areencouraged to make up a story tocomplete the missing information.

Task

Students choose one of the stories
they made and re-tell the story toanother classmate.

Review story structure and allow
students to make notes to plan
their story.

Post task

Students write the story which
they told.

Completenecessary.

148 The 2015 PanSIG JournalforhomeworkifAuthorship in Task-Based Performance, pages 142-149

Appendix B: Transcription Symbols
The transcription symbols used here were taken from Wooffitt (2005, p. 211-212), and are based on thosecreated by Gail Jefferson.
(0.4)

The number represents a time gap in seconds.

(.)

A pause less than two tenths of a second.

-

An abrupt stop in speaking

˙hhIn-breathhhOut-breath> <Speech speeds up noticeably:::

Preceding sound is stretched. More colons indicate more stretching.

↑Intonation rises(explanation)

The researcher describes non-verbal events.

=

Contiguous speech[

Concurrent speech.

A full stop means a stopping fall in tone.

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An Introduction to Gamification: Developing a
Personal Narrative through Questing and Blogging

Andrew Philpott
Kwansei Gakuin University
andrewphilpott83@gmail.com
Gamification has shown great potential to motivate people to do a wide range of activities.
Gamification is “the use of game elements and game-design techniques in non-game contexts”(Werbach & Hunter, 2012, p. 26). In EFL education, gamification does not mean using games tolearn language but refers to leveraging game design techniques such as competition, collaboration,and narratives to engage and motivate students. This paper introduces the concept of gamificationin education, suggests how students can develop their own personal narrative through questing
and blogging, and examines data collected in relation to student opinions towards the quests. Data
collected over a 14-week semester at a Japanese university showed that students (N = 42) enjoyed
the quests, and by doing the quests they felt they had improved their English ability. The data also
showed that the quests made students not only reflect on their own lives, but also the world aroundthem.
ゲーミフィケーションは人々に幅広い分野においてやる気を出させる偉大な潜在能力を秘めている。
これはゲームの要素、設計技術をゲームではない環境に取り入れる事である。
これは言語学習にゲームを用いる事ではなく、競争、協力、物語等、一種のゲームの技法を教育に導入する事で学生を引き込みやる気を出させる事である。本論文は、教育においてのゲーミフィケーションの定義と、どの様に学生が「冒険(タスク)」の完成により物語を成長させるのかの研究と生徒の感想を調査したものである。資料は１学期(１４週間)でこれらの冒険を完成させた日本の大学２クラス (N = 42) の学生がこれらを楽しんだ事を示している。更に、彼らはこの冒険の旅に出る事により、英語能力が向上したと実感したのである。加えてこのデータは、これらの冒険が学生を彼ら自身の人生を深く考える機会を与えただけでなく、彼らの視野を世界に広げた事を示している。

A common misconception by people not familiar
with gamification is that gamification is the concept ofplaying ‘fun’ games to learn something. That is known
as game-based learning which is different to what iscurrently referred to as ‘gamification’. Gamification isPhilpott, A. (2016). An introduction to
gamification: Developing a personal narrative
through questing and blogging. In G. Brooks, M.
Porter, D. Fujimoto, & D. Tatsuki (Eds.), The 2015
PanSIG Journal (pp. 150-157). Tokyo, Japan:
JALT.

150 The 2015 PanSIG Journal“the use of game elements and game-design techniques
in non-game contexts” (Werbach & Hunter, 2012,
p. 26). It is about motivating and engaging people
by applying game elements such as competition,
collaboration, and rewards to the structure ofan activity or course. There are a wide range of
gamification techniques. This paper will firstly outline
gamification and then explain how the gamification
technique ‘narrative’ could be implicitly encapsulated
on a student’s weekly blog using ‘quests’ and personal
diary entries as the content. Data collected in relation
to students’ attitudes toward the quests will also be

An Introduction to Gamification, pages 150-157
examined and discussed.

Gamification
Gamification has shown great potential to motivate
people to do a wide range of activities. One of thecatalysts for the recent gamification movement was
the Nike+ Running App in 2010. The Nike+ RunningApp motivated people to run more often by tracking,analysing, and comparing individuals’ running data.
Since then, businesses have been increasingly looking
to gamification as a way to motivate and engage
employees and customers (Werbach & Hunter, 2012).
In his seminal book The Multiplayer Classroom,
Sheldon (2011) examined how gamification can beapplied to educational courses from primary school
to university. Eight case studies included in the bookshowed positive trends in relation to:•• points, badges, and leaderboards,•• allowing students to choose their own activities,•• collaboration and competition,•• engagement levels of students which led to
improved grades and class attendance.
The most common and easiest way to gamify anactivity is to just add points, badges, and a leaderboard(PBL) (Werbach & Hunter, 2012). However, justadding these components is a narrow approach togamification which may not lead to the learningand engagement a teacher desires (Kapp, 2012). It
could also damage existing interest and motivation(Deterding, 2012). By focusing on PBL, teachers are“taking the thing that is least essential to games andrepresenting it as the core of the experience” (Werbach& Hunter, 2012, p. 106). Jenson (2012) states that theobjects of desire in a game such as points and badges
need to have meaning. Rich meaning can come fromcareful consideration of all the dynamics, mechanics,
and components.
Werbach and Hunter (2012) say that there
are three major design elements to consider when
gamifying an activity: dynamics, mechanics, andcomponents (DMC). Components are the ‘things’(e.g., tasks, achievements, avatars, badges, points,
leaderboards, levels, teams), mechanics are thespecified interactions between the ‘things’, theprocesses that drive the action (e.g., challenges, chance,competition, cooperation, feedback, rewards), anddynamics are the higher-level emergent interactions
which are a result of the implementation of thosecomponents and mechanics (e.g., emotions, narrative,
progression, relationships, etc.). With the right blendof mechanics and components a teacher can attempt
to achieve a certain dynamic. A teacher should only
use the gamification elements which are suitable for
their classroom.
Kapp (2012) conceptualises gamification as being
either ‘structural’ or ‘content’. Structural gamificationis the “the application of game elements to propel alearner through content with no alteration or changes
to the content” (Kapp, Blair, & Mesch, 2014, p.
55). The primary focus is to motivate by using gamecomponents such as points, badges, and leaderboards.
“Content gamification is the application of gameelements, game mechanics, and game thinking toalter content to make it more game-like” (Kapp et al.,2014, p. 55). For example, incorporating a narrative
into a task makes the task more game-like but it
does not make it a game. Kapp states that ‘structural’and ‘content’ design are not mutually exclusiveand gamification implementations work best when
they are used together. Research (Hamari, Koivisto,& Sarsa, 2014) has indicated that gamification isuseful in education but more research is required tounderstand the effect of specific elements. This paper
will focus on the gamification elements of quests andnarrative; however, content unlocking using levels is
also addressed.

Quests
A game generally uses a variety of quests to challenge,
engage, and entertain the player. A quest typicallyhas an objective and task description; with successful
completion of the task leading to some type of reward(Ashmore & Nitsche, 2007). Education-related
gamification implementations often utilise quests asa novel way to deliver learning content to students.
The quests in this study are language learning tasks
developed by the author of this paper, who is also theresearcher and teacher, to improve students’ English
ability, encourage students to interact and build
relationships with various people through real-world
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PhilpottTable 1
Levels and Quests
Quest #

Quest Type

Level 1: Week 1

Theme: Introduction to the game

Level 2: Week 2 - 3

Theme: Getting to know you

Quest Theme

1

Narrated PPP

About yourself & language learning history

2

Write

Self-Assessment: Strengths and weaknesses

3

Video

Goals for the semester

Level 3: Week 4 - 5

Theme: Thinking about others and improving your own life

4

Write

Interview a foreign friend

5

Write or Video

Pay it Forward

6

Write

30 Day Challenge

Level 4: Week 6 -7Theme: Looking forward to the future

7

Video

Interesting job discussion

8

Write

Travel research

9

Narrated PPP

Something related to your major

Level 5: Week 8 - 9Theme: The World Around You

10

Write

Video news discussion

11

Video

Conduct an interview

12

Speak & Write

Respond to a TED Talks presentation

Level 6: Week 10 - 11

Theme: Learning through new media

13

Video

Documentary Discussion

14

Write or Video

ELLLO website

15

Listen & Write

Learning English Podcasts

Level 7: Week 12 - 14

Theme: Reflection

16

Write

Presentation critique

17

Write

Reflecting on the semester

18

Write

Design your own quest

English usage, and increase students’ L2 motivation.
Based on highly renowned and relevant motivational
theories, the researcher developed over 20 quests
that can be used in any EFL context with students
who have achieved at least a pre-intermediate level ofEnglish.
The first is Deci and Ryan’s Self-Determination
Theory (SDT) (1985), which says that when people
are engaged in activities requiring competence,autonomy, and relatedness, they become intrinsicallymotivated to succeed. The second is Dörnyei’s “Ideal
L2 Self ” (Dörnyei, 2005, p. 105), which states that

152 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

when learners visualise the person they want to becomein the future, they are motivated to become thisperson. The third is Yashima’s (2002) ‘International
posture’ construct which is concerned about Japanese
EFL learners “interest in foreign or international
affairs, willingness to go overseas to stay or work,
readiness to interact with intercultural partners, and,one hopes, openness or a non-ethnocentric attitude
toward different culture” (p. 57). International
posture was included as studies (Yashima, 2002;
Yashima & Zenuk-Nishide, 2008; Yashima, ZenukNishide, & Shimizu, 2004) have shown that JapaneseAn Introduction to Gamification, pages 150-157
students who are more internationally inclined tend
to demonstrate more motivated learning behaviours
compared to students who are not.
The quests utilise various types of media (e.g.,
narrated PowerPoint presentations, video and voicerecording, internet websites), each with different
requirements on how it should be completed and thendisplayed on the students’ blogs. An outline of the
18 quests used in this study is presented in Table 1.
Although not actually used in this study, an example
quest can be found in the Appendix.

Narrative
Employing a narrative is another element of gamedesign theory that can be applied to gamification
implementations. Just like a game, a narrative is
not essential for structural gamification; however, anarrative can help provide a rich context for learning(Kapp, 2012). The context of learning is considered
an important factor in second language acquisition(Collentine & Freed, 2004) and also in gamification(Hamari et al., 2014). Game mechanics tied together
with a narrative can pull the game together into a
coherent form (Kapp, 2012) which should lead todeeper engagement, progression, personal growth, andself-development (Rodrigo, 2015).
There are some basic elements to consider
when developing a narrative. Stories generally
require characters, a plot, tension, and resolution(Kapp, 2012). Booker (2004) describes stories as
fitting into one of seven basic plots: Overcoming
the monster, Rags to riches, The quest, Voyage &return, Comedy, Tragedy, or Rebirth. In order tochange the behaviour and minds of the players, it isbest if the storyline mirrors real-world issues and isrelatable to the lives of the players (Rodrigo, 2015).
Many gamification implementations in educationsuch as Classcraft incorporate a fantasy narrative(Keeler, 2015; Sheldon, 2011). A fantasy narrative
may be effective for students in elementary school,
but possibly unsuitable for university-level students.
Post-structuralist research suggests self-narratives
can play a positive role in SLA by destabilising first
language identities and provoking reconstruction of
an individual’s sense of self (Benson, 2011; Giddens,

1991). Therefore, for this study, the researcher choseto not incorporate an explicit narrative but hoped
students would develop their own personal narrative,
probably without realising it, by combining evidenceof quest completion with a personal English diary into
one blog post. This combination was an attempt by the
researcher to more deeply connect the quests to thestudents’ real lives, ideally with each weekly blog post
acting as a chapter of their personal narrative over thesemester. The blogging platform Blogger was used forthis purpose as it is robust, can handle various media
easily, has privacy controls, and it is easy for authorised
people to access and leave comments. Their personal
narrative may not be clear to students whilst making
their blogs, but it is hoped that when they look at their
blogs in the future, they will remember the narrative of
their life during that time. See the Appendix ‘How tosubmit section’ for more information.
The basic outline of the levels, quests, and theircorresponding themes are outlined in Table 1. Eachlevel, excluding the Level 1 introduction, should becompleted over a two-week period. The gamification
technique of ‘content unlocking’ was incorporated
to limit access and encourage completion of certain
quests at specific times of the semester; this would
also help students progress through the quests without
being overwhelmed by too many quests to choose
from. Each level has a choice of three quests. When astudent completes two of the quests, the teacher will
give the student the URL to access the next level. The
levels and quests were published on the researcher’s
blog which the students had access to. Due to current
copyright concerns, a link to this resource cannot beprovided.

Methodology
Procedure
Students in this study were part of an elective English
course (four-skills, TOEIC 550-650) that met threetimes a week, for 90-minute lessons at a private
Japanese university. The classes were approximately
50% male and 50% female. One class a week for eachclass was conducted in a computer room. Students
were told to complete their weekly blog entry before
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PhilpottTable 2
Mean Data from Surveys
Q1: How much did you like Level …?

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

Level 5

Level 6

Level 7All levels
combined

M

3.83

3.79

3.69

3.80

3.95

3.90

3.81

SD

0.85

0.82

0.94

0.84

0.90

0.80

0.87

Q2: Did you like being able to choose
which quest to do?

M = 3.95
SD = 0.90

Q3: Did these quests improve yourEnglish ability?

M = 3.83
SD = 0.75

Q4: Did the quests change the way
you think about yourself ?

M = 3.32
SD = 0.80

Q5: Did these quests change the way
you think about other people and theworld around you?

M =3.42SD = 0.72

Q6: Do you feel motivated to keep
studying English?

M = 4.22
SD = 0.77

the start of that class. Students primarily worked on
the quests and updating their blogs for homework;
however, about 30 minutes of the computer room classtime was allocated for students to share and discuss
their most recent blog entries in small groups. Students
were also encouraged to read and comment on otherstudents’ blogs. Any remaining time of the 30 minutes
was used by students to discuss, plan, and work on
future quests. These quests were worth a maximum of
40% of the students’ final grade for the semester. Eachquest was worth up to 4% of their grade depending
on how well the student completed the task. Only the
top-ten graded quests were incorporated into the 40%.
To understand students’ attitudes toward thequests, a survey was administered to collect data fromthe two participating classes (N = 47) after every levelfrom Level 2 to Level 7 during the 14-week semester.
After each level, students responded to the survey
items using a 5-point Likert scale (from 1 = Strongly
disagree, to 5 = Strongly agree) which asked students
how much they liked each level. The survey after Level
7 included five extra items which required students
to reflect on the semester. The survey was conductedusing Survey Monkey in English as the researcher felt
students had the ability to comprehend and respondto the questions comfortably. Forty two students

154 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

successfully progressed through the seven levels
and also completed all the surveys. Data collectedfrom students who did not complete everything wasomitted from this data analysis. The pertinent survey
items and the averaged data are displayed in Table
2. The surveys also included open-ended questions
which asked students to explain why they liked or
disliked a certain quest; however, the analysis of thisdata is outside the scope of this paper.

Results and Discussion
Table 2 shows that all the data collected from thestudents generally showed positive attitudes towards
the quests. There were only minor fluctuations in thedata collected about how students felt about eachlevel. Data in relation to Q2 shows that students liked
being able to choose which quest they could workon. Data about Q3 shows that students believed thatthe quests helped them improve their English. Data
collected for Q4 were not as strongly positive as theother questions; however, students generally felt thatthe quests made them reflect about their own lives.
Data from Q5 shows that more than just thinking
about their own lives, the quests made students think
about the lives of other people and the world aroundthem. The extremely positive data from Q6 cannot

An Introduction to Gamification, pages 150-157
be purely attributed to the quests as many factors
affect student motivation; however, it does show thatstudents have finished the course with high motivation
to continue studying English. All this data suggeststhat designing quests based on the tenets of Deci and
Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory (1985), Dörnyei’s
L2 Motivation Self System (2005), and Yashima’s(2002) ’International posture’ construct can be aneffective approach to engage and motivate students.

Conclusion
If based on sound pedagogical theory and relevant
contextual knowledge, it appears that gamification
techniques can be used in educational settings as
an innovative way to engage and motivate students.
However, it is probably not the most appropriate
approach for all courses. Teachers should hopefully
understand the context of their classroom and beable to decide whether implementing gamification
would be an effective approach or not. Gamification
implementations do not have to be obtrusive
endeavours that overwhelmingly encapsulate the classby incorporating as many game mechanics as possible.
In fact, teachers may only need to utilise one or two
mechanics to achieve their goal without students being
aware that the class or activity was even gamified.
Inspired by post-structuralist ideals, the researcher
in this gamification-related study attempted to allow
students to weave their own personal narrative, insteadof incorporating a generic narrative. If successful, thistype of personal narrative in educational gamification
could evolve into a meaningful alternative to the
traditional, stale narratives. However, a limitation ofthis study was that no data were collected to answer
whether students felt that the quests and diary entiries
actually led to the development of a tangible, personal
narrative for the semester; this will be rectified witha future follow-up study in which students reflect on
their blog.
Finally, based on casual observations made by
the researcher, the omitted data due to incompletionof levels and surveys came from some students who
appeared to not be interested in the quests; possibily
due to laziness, or failing to get off to a good start tothe quests. This should be addressed at the beginningof future courses by the teacher providing lots ofsupport and explaining to the students why and how
this student-centered learning approach is beneficial
for their English language development.

References
Ashmore, C., & Nitche, M. (2007). The quest in a
generated world. In the Proceedings of the 2007
Digital Games Research Association. (DiGRA)
Conference: Situated Play (pp. 503-509). Tokyo,
Japan: Authors & Digital Games Research
Association.
Benson, P. (2011). Teaching and researching autonomy(2nd ed.). London, England: Pearson.
Booker, C. (2004). The seven basic plots: Why we tellstories. London, England: Continuum.
Collentine, J., & Freed, B. F. (2004). Learning
context and its effect on second language
acquisition: Introduction. Studies inSecond Language Acquisition, 26, 153-171.
doi:10+10170S0272263104062011
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic
motivation and self-determination in humanbehavior. New York, NY: Plenum.
Deterding, S. (2012). Gamification: Designing
for motivation. Interactions, 19(4), 14–17.
doi:10.1145/2212877.2212883
Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language
learner: Individual differences in second language
acquisition. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and self-identity: Selfand society in the late modern age. Stanford, CA:
Stanford University Press.
Hamari, J., Koivisto, J., & Sarsa, H. (2014, January).
Does gamification work? – A literature review of
empirical studies on gamification. Paper presented
at the meeting of the 47th Hawaii International
Conference on System Sciences, Hawaii, USA.
Jensen, M. (2012). Engaging the learner: Gamification
strives to keep the user’s interest. T+D, 66(1),40-44.
Kapp, K. M. (2012). The gamification of learning andinstruction: Game-based methods and strategies
for training and education. San Francisco, CA:
Pfeiffer.
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Kapp, K., Blair, L., & Mesch, R. (2014). Gamificationof learning and instruction fieldbook: Ideas into
practice. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.
Keeler, A. (2015, April 22). Gamification: Engaging
students with narrative [Blog post]. Retrieved
from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/
gamification-engaging-students-with-narrativealice-keeler
Rodrigo, I. (2015). Gamification design 2015:
Storytelling in games and gamification.
Retrieved from https://iversity.org/en/courses/
gamification-design-20
Sheldon, L. (2011). The multiplayer classroom:
Designing coursework as a game. Boston, MA:
Cengage Learning.
Werbach. K., & Hunter, D. (2012). For the win: How

game thinking can revolutionize your business.
Philadelphia, PA: Wharton Digital Press.
Yashima, T. (2002). Willingness to communicate ina second language: The Japanese EFL context.
The Modern Language Journal, 86(1), 54-66.
doi:10.1111/1540-4781.00136
Yashima, T., & Zenuk-Nishide, L. (2008). The impactof learning contexts on proficiency, attitudes,and L2 communication: Creating an imaginedinternational community. System, 36(4), 566-585.
doi:10.1016/j.system.2008.03.006
Yashima, T., Zenuk-Nishide, L., & Shimizu, K.
(2004). The influence of attitudes and affect on
willingness to communicate and second language
communication. Language Learning, 54(1), 119152. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9922.2004.00250.x

Author’s Biography:
Andrew Philpott is an Instructor of English as a Foreign Language at Kwansei Gakuin University.
He is currently pursuing a doctoral degree related to gamification in EFL. His other researchinterests are related to motivation, autonomous learning, task-based learning, and CALL. He canbe contacted via email at andrewphilpott83@gmail.com

156 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

An Introduction to Gamification, pages 150-157

Appendix
Example Quest: Narrated Cultural PowerPoint Presentation
Goal:
To make a narrated PowerPoint presentation.
What is a narrated PowerPoint presentation?
It is a PowerPoint presentation in which you have recorded your voice and set the timings for each slide
so that the presentation can run automatically.
Example narrated PowerPoint presentation:
http://tinyurl.com/gt4ubrw
How to make a narrated PowerPoint presentation:
Search YouTube for “how to make a narrated powerpoint presentation” or ask your teacher for a specific
URL.
Topic:
Anything related to domestic or international culture. For example: politics, festivals, history, food,
relationships, school ...... anything you are interested in!
How to submit:
In PowerPoint use the File -> Export -> Create a Video function to convert your narrated PowerPoint
presentation into a movie file. Post this video to your blog after your weekly diary entry.

Length: 5-10 minutes

Grading Rubric

Score

Choice of topic and interesting information/4

PowerPoint presentation design/5

Length of presentation/3

Clarity of voice/3

Submitted correctly

/5
Total

/20

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157

Can Narrative Stories Engage and Provide Enjoyment
to Beginner-level Learners of Japanese?

Vicky Ann Richings
Kwansei Gakuin University
Richings@kwansei.ac.jp
This paper illustrates an experiment introducing a narrative story in a small beginner-level Japanese
language class. It will describe how the target learners perceived this experience after a few weeks ofstudying Japanese. This experiment also helps us think about whether the introduction of narrative
texts at an early stage can benefit the learning process of Japanese language learners and whether
reading narrative stories can engage and provide beginner-level learners of Japanese with enjoyment.
本稿では、入門レベル日本語学習者のクラスにおける物語の導入の試みについて述べ、物語の読みに対する学習者の反応を提示する。初めて日本語を勉強する日本語学習者
は物語の読みをどう捉えるのか、物語文を読むことが日本語学習初期段階において役立
つか、学習の動機付けにつながるかについて検証する。

Previous studies in English as a Foreign Language(EFL) have indicated that language learners canbenefit from using literature in the language class andthe position of literature in the language classroom
has been explored in many ways (Duff & Maley, 1991;
Hall, 2005; Paran, 2006, 2008). Although literature
was the main input in the era of the Grammar
Translation Method (GTM) and then later neglectedwith the start of Communicative Language Teaching(CLT) where the focus was on practicing conversationand communicative skills, there has been a strong
move towards the study of literature as a learningmaterial in the foreign language class. Research on
the relationship among foreign language learning,
culture and literature has also increased in recent
years (Bobkina, 2014). Many researchers claim that
Richings, V.A. (2016). Can narrative stories engage
and provide enjoyment to beginner-level learnersof Japanese? In G. Brooks, M. Porter, D. Fujimoto,& D. Tatsuki (Eds.), The 2015 PanSIG Journal (pp.
158-161). Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

158 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

literature can help promote L2 learners’ vocabularyknowledge, grammatical knowledge, sociolinguistic
and pragmatic knowledge, cultural awareness, andcritical thinking (Gajdusek & van Dommelen, 1993;
Hall, 2005; Kramsch, 1993; Maley, 1989; McKay,
2001; Paran 2006, 2008). Literature is also considered“inherently authentic” and “very motivating due toits authenticity” (Khatib, 2011, p.202). Furthermore,
reading literature in the language class can be an
enjoyable learning experience (McKay, 2001; Richings2012). In this sense, recent studies indicate thepotential benefits of literary texts in foreign language
learning. On the other hand, in Japanese as a Foreign
Language ( JFL) little attention has been given to theuse of literature. More precisely, there is little explicit
discussion about its usage and its potential benefits,
and Japanese literature as a learning material is rarely
used in the JFL class (Richings, 2012). If used, it is
only used in advanced-level classes or for the study ofJapanese literature itself. Furthermore, many teachers
are reluctant to use literature because they lackconfidence about their literary skills or knowledge

Narrative Stories, pages 158-161
about and the way to use it. As a result, most Japaneseclasses focus on “practical Japanese” only (Richings,2013). This study forms part of ongoing research into
how literature is used and perceived in JFL and reports
on an investigation of the perceptions of beginnerlevel learners of Japanese toward the use of Japanese
literature in the JFL class. It also examines if reading
narrative stories can engage and provide beginnerlevel learners of Japanese with enjoyment, and helps
us think about whether the introduction of narrative
texts at an early stage can benefit the learning processof Japanese language learners.
The two research questions addressed in thepresent paper are:
1. How do beginner-level Japanese language
students perceive the reading of a narrative
story after less than a year of studying Japanese?
2. Can reading a narrative story engage andprovide enjoyment to beginner-level learners ofJapanese?

Methods
Participants and Context
The participants were a group of beginner-level
learners of Japanese at a private Japanese university.
The group consisted of seven masters and doctoral
students. They were on an exchange program in
English, meaning that they did not have to take any
Japanese language classes if they did not want to. The
class the researcher taught was a volunteer Japanese
language class, so the participants could not get any
credits for this class. Some students had learnt a few
Japanese words before coming to Japan but none of thestudents could read or write hiragana or katakana. The
class met once a week, 12 times per term, for two terms.
Each class was 90 minutes long. The class was initiallytaught using mostly English, and gradually shifted tousing Japanese. Although this was a volunteer class,the syllabus was to teach the students basic Japanesegrammar and basic Japanese sentence patterns, in otherwords, to teach them “survival Japanese.” Teaching the
hiragana and katakana writing system was a curricular
option that the teacher exercised. The primary goal of
the teacher was to examine if the reading experienceof a short narrative text after a two semester course
was in any way fruitful in the learning process of
beginner-level learners of Japanese. In order to answer
the two research questions mentioned above, a shortquestionnaire with two open-ended questions which
took no longer than 5 minutes to complete wasadministered to the participants immediately after thereading experience. The first question was, “How did
you feel about reading a Japanese narrative text at thisstage in your learning process?” The second question
was, “Did you enjoy this reading activity, why or why
not?” At the time of the reading and the questionnaire
all seven students were present.

About the ClassIn the first class, the teacher told the students thatthe objectives for this class were to be able to express
simple sentences and ask simple questions in Japanese,and to read at least the hiragana writing system. The
final goal set out was to be able to read and understandthe content of a short simple text in Japanese andas Murdoch (2001) mentions, to obtain a basic
understanding of context, events, and characters. All
students agreed to these goals. The first 20 minutesof the class focused on reviewing the previous class,the next 50 minutes were spent on new content, andthe last 20 minutes were spared for practicing first the
hiragana writing system. Once all hiragana syllables
were learnt this time was dedicated to learning the
katakana writing system. By the end of the first term,
most of the students could produce simple sentences:introducing themselves, asking for directions, going
shopping etc. Also, they were able to recognize andread almost all hiragana symbols. The katakana writing
system was only introduced in the second term. By theend of the year, after a total of 24 classes of Japanese, allstudents could recognize and read almost all hiragana
and katakana symbols, but still with difficulty. At thisstage they had not read any Japanese text longer than
100 words, other than the conversation dialogues
in their textbook. So, at the beginning of the second
term, the teacher announced again what the final goal
was: being able to read and understand the content
of a short simple text in Japanese. The students weretold they would read a short Japanese story in hiragana
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Richings
without the alphabet readings. All students were
enthusiastic about the idea of being able to read a text
completely in Japanese.

About the Text
The text used for the reading was Urashima Taro.
Urashima Taro is a traditional Japanese folk tale said
to date back to the 8th century and first appeared in
the popular illustrated fiction style, called Otogizoshi,
during the 15th century. The story is about a fisherman
who rescues a turtle from the bullying of children
who are playing on the beach. He is rewarded for thiswith a visit to the Palace of Ryujin, the Dragon God,
under the sea. He stays there for a couple of days andreceives the kind welcome of the princess. But after
his return to his village, he finds himself more thana hundred years in the future. First, the story and its
history were introduced in English to build students’background knowledge. Next the text was read out
loud by the teacher and the students were asked tofollow the hiragana readings and to think about themeaning while listening. After the first reading, theteacher read the text again looking at content rather
than word for word translation, and asked if thestudents could retell the story in English. Finally, somewords and expressions considered useful for their
daily conversations were looked at more closely andthe class finished with a few minutes of discussion.
The students’ grammatical knowledge, vocabulary,and Japanese writing system reading skills werevery limited, so consequently this activity was a big
challenge for most.

Results
In the questionnaire, all the students reported thatreading a text in hiragana after this short period oflearning Japanese was really difficult. They statedthat only one 90-minute class per week was notenough to master Japanese quickly, and the class,being a volunteer class, wasn’t motivating enoughto do additional study at home or work beyond theclassroom. But in spite of these disadvantages, all thestudents mentioned that they enjoyed reading thestory and the text that had been chosen. Some students

160 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

also wrote that although they could not understandevery word they could understand the storyline andcontent. This shows that students who have a limited
degree of grammatical knowledge, vocabulary, andJapanese writing system reading skills could stillreach a good level of understanding. Other students
reported that reading a narrative text could be usefulfor learning the Japanese writing system, in this casehiragana, and Japanese sentence structure in general.
Furthermore, they commented that reading more ofthis type of texts could help them build reading skills.
In all, the student responses to the reading activity
and the teaching methodology proposed by the study
were extremely positive, in spite of the fact that all ofthem had encountered a Japanese literary text for the
first time. But what is most important for this study
is that the students could acquire the confidence toread something in a new language and writing sytem.
Taking these results into consideration, in answer toresearch question 1, it can be concluded that beginnerlevel Japanese language students think that reading anarrative text after a limited amount of instruction isvery challenging but meaningful. In answer to researchquestion 2, it can be said that reading a narrative
story can engage and provide enjoyment even to
beginner-level students. Moreover, the results showedthat this kind of reading experience can benefit thelearning process of beginner-level students in termsof their reading skills and knowledge of Japanese
sentence structure. In that event, even at this stage,interaction with literary texts can provide not only abasic understanding of the story, but also conditions
for enhancing students’ more general language skills(Murdoch, 2001).

Discussion
Notwithstanding its small scale, the results of thisstudy confirmed previous research from EFL about theusage of literature in the foreign language classroom.
Notably, that reading narrative stories can engage andprovide learners with enjoyment, and can benefit thelearning process even at an early stage. This study also
revealed that, as in EFL, the use of literature in JFL
is a research field with many possibilities and could
therefore be further explored. However, it should beNarrative Stories, pages 158-161
noted that the present study dealt with one single
and particular JFL situation, with a limited numberof participants. Also, for further research, the usageof a different text could have generated different
results which is an important factor to consider. Thus,
to generalize the possible benefits of literature in a
beginner-level Japanese classroom environment a moredetailed comparitive study would be needed with afocus on specific approaches and associated activities.
On the other hand, the present study is partof ongoing research into the usage of literature in
JFL that contributes knowledge to the practicalapplications of literature in JFL. Through exploring
how literature is perceived and can actually be used inJFL, the researcher hopes to provide reasons for using
alternative instruction methods in the future.

References
Brumfit, C.J., & Carter, R. A. (1986). Literature andlanguage teaching. Oxford, England: Oxford
University Press.
Duff, A., & Maley, A. (1991). Literature. Oxford,
England: Oxford University Press.
Gajdusek, L., & van Dommelen, D. (1993). Literatureand critical thinking in the composition
classroom. In J. Carson & I. Leki (Eds.), Readingin the composition classroom: Second language
perspectives (pp. 197-215). Boston, MA: Heinle& Heinle.
Hall, G. (2005). Literature in language education.
Basingstoke, England: Palgrave Macmillan.
Khatib, M. (2011). Literature in EFL/ESL classroom.

English Language Teaching, 4(1), 201-208.
Kramsch, C. (1993). Context and culture in language
teaching. Oxford, England: Oxford University
Press.
Maley, A. (1989). Down from the pedestal: Literature
as resource. In R.Carter, R. Walker & C. Brumfit(eds.), Literature and the learner: methodologicalapproaches (pp. 1-9). London, England: Modern
English Publications and the British Council.
McKay, S. (2001). Literature as content for ESL/EFL.
In M. Celce-Murcia (Ed.), Teaching English as asecond or foreign language. Boston, MA: Heinle &Heinle.
Murdoch, G. (2001). Scheming ways: Preparing lower
level EFL learners to interact with literary texts.
CAUCE, Revista de Filología y su Didáctica, 24,
493-506.
Paran, A. (2006). Literature in language teaching andlearning. Alexandria, VA: TESOL.
Paran, A. (2008). The role of literature in instructed
foreign language learning and teaching: An
evidence-based survey. Language Teaching, 41(4),465-496.
Richings, V.A. (2012). Nihongo kyōiku ni okeru
bungaku kyōzai no kanōsei [Potential ofliterature as a learning material in JFL]. Gengo
Komyunikēshon Bunka, 10(1), 91-105.
Richings, V.A. (2013). Nihonbungaku no atsukai ni
taisuru nihongokyōshi no ninshiki no kōsatsu[Perceptions of literature usage in JSL teaching].
In N. Sonda & A. Krause (Eds.), JALT 2013
Conference Proceedings. Tokyo, Japan: JALT, 577583.

Author’s Biography:
Vicky Ann Richings is a part-time teacher of English and Japanese at Kwansei Gakuin University.
Her research interests are in the usage of literature in the language classroom and material
development.

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

161

Using Focus Groups for Qualitative Feedback
on Psychometric Instruments

Michael James Rupp
Tokai University
michael.rupp@gmail.com
The paper reports on the qualitative results which emerged from a focus group study conductedin order to troubleshoot and adapt a psychometric instrument measuring locus of control (LoC).
Psychometric instruments are used to measure psychological traits and aptitudes as an aid toresearchers in a variety of fields, including second language acquisition and language education.
While statistical factor analysis and other statistical methods can be used to assess their reliability
and validity when creating, adapting and attempting to improve instruments, it can also be valuable
to gain a qualitative perspective, such as can be had through focus groups. The results of this study
showed that the use of focus groups yielded a wide variety of useful insights.
本論は統制の所在(LoC)を測る心理測定尺度の問題を解消し他の状況に適応させるためにフォー
カス・グループ研究から得られた質的結果を報告するものである。心理測定尺度は第二言語習得
や言語教育を含め、様々な分野の研究者が心理特徴や能力を測るために使われている。尺度の作成、適応や改善の場合では統計因子分析やほかの統計方法で尺度の信頼性 妥当性を評価できるがフォーカス・グループのような質的な観点から見ることも価値がある。本論の研究からフォーカス・
グループは様々な有益な示唆を与えることが分かった。

This qualitative focus group study was conducted
as part of a mixed methods approach to the analysis
of a psychometric instrument with the dual aimsof adapting the instrument to the Japanese tertiary
educational setting, as well as troubleshooting
problems with the scale which were discovered
through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (Rupp,
2016). This focus group study is not meant replace, butrather to augment the statistical analysis conducted on
the instrument as a means of providing an additional
resource for interpreting the scores provided by CFA.
The instrument under consideration was the Kambara
Rupp, M. J. (2016). Using focus groups for
qualitative feedback on psychometric instruments.
In G. Brooks, M. Porter, D. Fujimoto, & D. Tatsuki(Eds.), The 2015 PanSIG Journal (pp. 162-170).
Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

162 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Locus of Control 43-Item Scale (see Appendix). This
scale was designed for use at the secondary level inJapan but was deemed suitable through contact withthe scale’s author, Professor Kambara [M. Rupp,
personal communication, May 14, 2014], for use at
the tertiary level with modifications.

Adopting the Focus Group Approach
In order to obtain the emic perspective of tertiarylevel Japanese students, a focus group approach
using university students was judged to be the mostappropriate method, as this method allows for ideas
and opinions to emerge from natural discussions,and for the emergent discourse to be further elicited,developed and confirmed. Among group interview
methods, the focus group approach is considered to be
one of the most popular qualitative research methods,
and having been used for decades in academic social

Focus Groups for Feedback on Psychometric Instruments, pages 162-170
science research it has now come into its own as astandalone data collection method. For researchers
trying to find out why people believe certain things,
focus groups are viewed as one of the best approaches
as they allow the researcher to gain access to thenuanced reasons behind the answers to questions(Stokes, 2005).
This method exploits a group effect whereincomplementary interactions of the group allow for
unique insights due to the cross stimulation of ideas
expressed among the members through a process
known as the cascading effect (Lindlof & Taylor,2002). Gill, Stewart, Treasure and Chadwick (2008)
found that focus groups are a useful complement toquantitative research methods in the social sciences as
an exploratory tool and when verifying the results ofa quantitative study. Morgan and Spanish (1984) also
indicate that focus groups can provide opportunities
for triangulation in research when added to otherqualitative or quantitative data collection strategies,
and while Morgan (1988) notes that though focus
groups cannot substitute for other kinds of research,
they occupy a distinct position among methods in thatthey can provide access to otherwise difficult to obtaindata.
In this study the focus group discussions werepreceded by individual surveys about the instrument inorder to provide a basis for the group discussions that
followed. In this way, the focus group approach canalso provide a triangulation of the data on a number oflevels: the individual level – as the student comments
are first individually obtained without consultation
among members; the intragroup level – through a
comparison among group members as they elaborate
the data through their discussions; and finally theintergroup level – here a broader triangulation of theresults arises from comparing the outcomes that arise
among the different focus groups.

in this construct the controlling location for eventsin an individual’s life can be viewed as being external(E) or internal (I). LoC is conceptualized as referring
to a uni-dimensional continuum, ranging from E to
I in various domains. Internal LoC means that theperson believes that they are in control of their life,and external LoC means that the person believes
that their life is controlled by external factors suchas chance, fate, or powerful others. A high internal
LoC has been shown to play a positive role in EFL
learning as it can help students take control of theirown learning (Ghonsooly, 2010) and is usually viewed
as a healthy and desirable trait. However, being overlyinternal can also have adverse consequences, such asa tendency to excessively blame oneself for failure
and to become neurotic. Conversely, though having
high levels of external orientation is usually seen as
too passive and fatalistic for successful outcomes,
sometimes individuals that have a high level external
LoC can actually benefit from the happy-go-lucky andeasygoing attitude they may have towards life.
Rotter (1975, 1990) emphasized that locus ofcontrol is not a binary typology, but rather represents
points on a continuum, as opposed to an either/or
proposition. Although locus of control is a generalized
expectancy, and can be used to predict behavior acrosssituations, there may be domain specific situations inwhich people switch from behaving like externals to
behaving like internals. One example of where thistype of switch can occur is in domains in which theperson has notable skills and experience, or conversely,a lack thereof. Some of the domains in which LoC
scales are used include: health – to predict patient
outcomes through protocol compliance; business –for employee evaluations; education – for student andteacher evaluations; and psychology –for the psychiatricevaluation of prisoners, parents, and children.

Locus of Control and Learner Autonomy
What is Locus of Control?
Locus of control (LoC) is a psychological constructthat originated from the work of Julian Rotter (19162014), having its roots in his Social Learning Theory(1954). He later developed the first LoC scale in 1966
(Rotter, 1966). Locus means location or place, and

The LoC construct is one of a number of constructs,
such as those offered by attribution theory (Heider,
1958; Kelley, 1967), self-efficacy theory (Bandura,
1977), and self-determination theories of intrinsic
and extrinsic motivation (Deci & Ryan, 1985) thatare all notionally related to the construct of learner
The 2015 PanSIG Journal

163

Rupp
autonomy (Holec, 1981; Duttweiler, 1984; Oxford,2003). Although promotion learner autonomy
is seen as a trait important enough to have beenemphasized by the Japanese Ministry of Education,
Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)
for more than a decade (MEXT, 2003) there has been
little empirical research which shows its predictive
power on learning outcomes. Learner autonomy
is a complicated construct with many dimensions(Oxford, 2003; Tassinari, 2012), and given the failures
to date to directly measure learner autonomy (Horai,
2013a; Horai, 2013b), the author has proposed analternative solution through the measurement of
notionally related constructs, such as LoC (Rupp,
2016), of which this study is a qualitative component.

The Importance of Kambara LoC Scale
In the Japanese literature, the most prominent LoC
scale found was one created by Kambara (1982,
1987). This scale was developed for investigating the
LoC levels in a Japanese high school context. It was
originally an 18-item scale that was later expanded to
43 items in order to better measure LoC as it relates
to the lives of high school students. It is this expanded
version, the Kambara 43-Item LoC Scale, that has
been predominantly used for the last 30 years in Japan
with studies using it appearing in a wide variety of
domains, ranging from developmental psychology(Kanda, 2006), educational studies (Hosaka,
2007; Kambara, 1987) to studies about employee
psychological distress in Japan (Fushimi, 2011). The
popularity of this instrument made it a good candidate
for investigation and adaptation to the tertiary level inJapan. The Kambara 43-Item LoC Scale consists of
43 statements for which students answer on a 4-point
Likert scale which ranges from strongly disagree,somewhat disagree, somewhat agree to strongly agree.

MethodWhile psychometric instruments are normally dealt
with using quantitative methods, this study is reportingon a qualitative focus group approach adopted as ameans of providing explanatory resources for issues
which emerged in a prior statistical analysis by the

164 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

author (Rupp, 2016) and also as a means of adapting
the instrument to the tertiary level of education.

Participants
Five mixed-gender focus groups consisting of firstyear university students majoring in the sciences werecreated with each focus group ranging in size fromfour to six members, with a total of 27 participating
students (N = 27). Members were randomly assigned
to a focus group. The author was also a participatory
member in the discussions, and all sessions were audio
recorded, transcribed and translated by the author.

Procedure
Before beginning the focus group discussions,the students were first given the Kambara 43Item LoC Scale Appropriateness Survey (results
shown in the Appendix), consisting of the actual
LoC instrument, which the students were asked tocomplete prior to evaluating the scale, and a separate
survey for the students to evaluate the scale in terms
of appropriateness to the tertiary level and for bothpotentially problematic scale items as well as overall
scale issues. After writing their overall impressionsof the instrument, students then analyzed andjudged each item in a separate section with space for
writing comments next to each item. With regards toappropriateness to the tertiary context, the students
also had check boxes for “yes”, “no” or “not sure” next
to each item, in answer to the question “Do you feelthat this item is appropriate for university students?”,along with space for writing elaborative comments.
After completing the survey individually,
students were moved to the focus group sessions.
The discussions included issues related to the items’appropriateness to the tertiary level, as well as theoverall perceived fitness of the LoC scale in general,
including all aspects of both form and content. The
time required for the actual focus group discussions,excluding the time needed for the students’ individualcompletion of the instrument and the appropriatenesssurvey questions, ended up being approximately 15
minutes per group. The amount of time for discussion
was not predetermined, but rather based on the needsof acquiring information on the items which theFocus Groups for Feedback on Psychometric Instruments, pages 162-170
students found problematic. When the discussion on
those items was exhausted, the focus group sessions
were closed. These feedback and discussion sessions
were later transcribed and translated from Japanese
into English by the author. The author took partin the focus group discussions, mainly by taking
meeting notes, eliciting elaborations and clarifying theopinions given by the focus group members, allowing
the students lead the discussions.
After the results of the focus group meetings weretranscribed and translated, the students’ comments
were gathered together for each scale item, as well as
into the categories which had emerged for generalscale feedback. The data from the meeting notes werealso analyzed and categorized for emergent themes.
The item appropriateness data were also enteredinto a spreadsheet in order to calculate the numberof votes each item for the three categories regarding
item appropriateness: YES; NOT SURE; and NO.
Comments regarding each item were also collated
according to item, along with general comments
about the scale from both the written surveys, andtriangulated with the data that emerged in the focus
groups based on the analysis of the meeting notes andaudio transcriptions.

Results
The results of the focus group study yielded data thatcan be categorized as general survey issues and item
specific issues. Additionally, scale items were ranked
in terms of perceived appropriateness based on thetabulated results (shown in the Appendix). The
following general survey issues emerged from the focus
group discussions:
Likert Scale Issues
Japanese Language Issues
Age Inappropriateness
Item Content Difficulty
Survey Length and Item RepetitivenessLikert Scale Issues
The first surprising point that came up in thediscussions was that a number of students felt thatthe ordering and range of the Likert scale should bereversed, going from positive to negative:
1 = I agree 2 = I somewhat agree 3 = I somewhat
disagree 4 = I disagree. Some students felt confused by
the Kambara scale starting with 1 = I disagree. Though
not a universal sentiment, students who pointed thisout appeared to feel quite strongly about it. Many
students also expressed a desire for a 5-point Likert
scale as they felt they could not give accurate answers
when there was truly no preference. This can be a tricky
issue as some researchers feel it is important to force
a choice, rather than leaving an easy middle answer
which can be chosen with less serious consideration. In
this case more nuanced results might be possible witha 6-point scale.

Japanese Language Issues
Another unexpected theme that emerged was that
the Japanese language seemed somewhat unnatural
to some of the students, even though it was a native
speaking Japanese researcher had created the items.
Some students felt that the Japanese seemed like it wastranslated from English. Others also felt that the items
should be qualified by adding the words “I think” tothe beginning of the statements. The grammar itself
did not appear to be questionable, with the exceptionof Item 6 – “My good fortune and misfortune aredetermined by chance.” The students recommended
including the particle “ni” (に) in the underlined
phrase to read as follows: 自分が幸福になるか不幸になるかは偶然によって決められる。It was alsosuggested to change the ending of Item 6 to “depends
on your mindset” (自分の心次第）because even after
random events, whether one feels they are fortunate or
unfortunate about the results depends on that person’s
unique outlook and values. As a non-native speakerof Japanese, these subtle nuances would be nearly
impossible to catch without the free flowing feedback
and discussion as provided in the focus group format.
There were many other examples of suggested changes
to the Japanese wording of various items.

Age InappropriatenessThe next theme that unexpectedly emerged was that
although this instrument was designed for use at theThe 2015 PanSIG Journal

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Rupp
secondary school level, a number of students in thishigher tertiary focus group study conversely felt thatsome items were set at a much higher target age group.
Some students said that they felt this instrument
would be very hard for high school students andyounger to answer, as they are likely not to have given
thought to such issues yet. Item 26 – “Getting into
my first choice university depends more on luck thanability” was the only item explicitly directed at highschool students and for this item it was suggested thatit either be removed or merely changed to the pasttense.
Item 21– “If I try hard, I will be able to get thejob I want” and Item 22 – “Marrying an ideal partner
depends on fate or luck” were cited as examples wherestudents said they had not yet even begun to think
about such topics. One student said that perhaps
around the age of thirty, this would be a more relevant
question. Along those lines, Items 5, 6, 9 and 14 werenoted as being hard judge for someone who had only
lived for twenty years.

Item Content Difficulty
Item 25 – “I often do impulsive things without being
aware of them” was said to be unclear in meaning. It
was criticized for requiring someone to be aware of
not being aware, which was viewed as a contradictionin terms. Item 31 – “In your case, when it comes totest results, they are often influenced by your physicalcondition or other random events”, Item 36 – “Thereis no use in thinking about how to make friends
with members of the opposite sex as such things are
determined by fate/depend upon luck” and Item 41 –“My grades depend on the teacher”, were all noted asdifficult questions to answer, as they were too childish(31), too negative (36), or excessively taboo (41).
The issue of negativity also arose with a numberof students noting that the entire instrument had an
overabundance of negative words and connotations.
They would have preferred more positive questions to
be included in the instrument. Additionally, Items 24
and 36, which involved making friends “with membersof the opposite sex”, were viewed as unnecessarily
placing an emphasis on gender, and a number ofstudents felt that simply using the word “friends”

166 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

would be sufficient.

Survey Length and Item RepetitivenessFinally, a common complaint about the instrument
was the amount of repetition through similar
questions, or questions asking the same thing, merely
using reverse language through negative modifiers.
This seems to have been very tedious for many students
and is likely to produce bad data as student test fatigue
sets in towards the latter half of the items, leading torandom responses. An example of an item highlighted
by the focus groups is Item 4 – “I decide my own
life.” and Item 5 – “My life is decided by fate.” While
the students experienced these kinds of questions
as redundant, there is a measurement rationale formeasuring a construct from both a positive andnegative frame as a means of addressing response set
bias and issues of item skew.

Discussion
Numerous issues emerged from the focus group
discussions, but the most critical one appears to be
the length of the instrument. The original Kambara
LoC Scale (1982) had only 18 items, and based on thestudents’ feedback, a much a shorter scale appears to bepreferable. The author’s experience in an earlier pilot
study of the instrument involving 1200 high school
students confirms this notion, as it was observedthat as item fatigue set in, towards the latter half ofthe questionnaire, the students made an increasing
number of mistakes, such as skipping questions, orcircling answers in a predictable pattern such as a
zigzag. The reduced implementation time required
for an instrument with fewer items scale would be an
additional benefit.

Recommended Changes based on Focus
Group Feedback
Based on the feedback from the students, the changes
that should be made to the instrument are as follows:
Vastly reduce the number of items and repetitive
content, while avoiding items with high numbers of“no” votes, while including items with the highest
numbers “yes” votes.

Focus Groups for Feedback on Psychometric Instruments, pages 162-170
Avoid the unclear and age inappropriate items.
Make the scale more refined by adding further
points for discrimination to it, and reverse the orderingof the scale to conform with the what the students
perceive to be the standard ordering.
Adopt focus group suggestions for Japanese
language changes where appropriate or necessary.
The author plans to implement a modified andabridged instrument based on the recommendations
above and conduct a confirmatory factor analysis
to check the validity and reliability of the modified
instrument.

Conclusion
Adopting a focus group approach has allowed theauthor to become aware of many issues that would
likely have never been noticed otherwise. The focus
group format also provided the students with a chance
to express themselves more fully and freely than innormal student-teacher interactions. This was a role
they seemed to appreciate, feeling empowered as theiropinions about the instrument were being valuedby the teacher. They were given a chance to say what
they thought about the instrument rather than merely
being surveyed under it. In this study, the focus was on
the form and content instrument itself, but one could
also adopt a focus group approach towards an analysisof the results of instruments, as a way to gain deeper
insight into the thinking underpinning the students’answers. By going beyond the statistical data throughthe use of focus groups the author was both pleased
and humbled find answers to questions that were
not even known to ask beforehand, adding a valuable
avenue of understanding through which to improve
the psychometric instrument.

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Author’s Biography:
Michael James Rupp lectures at Tokai University (Aso Campus and Kumamoto Campus),
Kumamoto University and Kumamoto Gakuen University. His research interests include teacher
development, ESP/EAP, learner autonomy, communities of practice, psychometrics, Chineseand Japanese linguistics and translation/interpretation. He can be reached at michael.rupp@
gmail.com.

168 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Focus Groups for Feedback on Psychometric Instruments, pages 162-170

Appendix
Kambara 43-Item LoC Scale(Translated by author; including the Item Appropriateness Results - YES, NOT SURE, NO)
Note: “I” refers to items measuring internal LoC and “E” for those measuring external LoC. Students taking thesurveys do not see such information.
NOTYES SURE

NO

Item

I/E

1

E

It is best to just go with the flow.

10

4

20

2

I

I can be a great success if I work hard.

5

1

20

3

I

Anyone will be able to understand me if I try my best to communicate
with them.

5

1

19

4

I

I decide my own life.

6

1

10

5

E

My life is decided by fate.

7

9

14

6

E

My good fortune and misfortune are determined by chance.

6

5

16

7

E

What happens depends on the situation.

8

1

13

8

E

My friends can’t understand me no matter how hard I try.

9

2

15

9

E

Life is like gambling.

4

8

21

10

I

It is useful (meaningful) to think about what I want to be in the
future.

3

0

17

11

I

If I try hard, I can do anything on my own.

3

4

17

12

I

Usually, things turn out better if I make my own decisions.

8

0

20

13

I

My happiness or sadness will be determined by my own efforts.

4

0

14

14

I

I will be able to life my entire life as I plan to.

7

3

15

15

E

My future is determined by fate or chance.

4

6

12

16

E

What happens does not depend on my efforts.

5

7

18

17

I

I can be a friend with anyone if I try.

6

1

15

18

E

Your efforts and success are not really related to each other.

4

5

16

19

I

If I am careful about my actions, people will trust me.

6

2

16

20

E

My ability to make good friends depends on the class or club’s
atmosphere.

5

4

18

21

I

If I try hard, I will be able to get the job I want.

6

1

14

22

E

Marrying an ideal partner depends on fate or luck.

7

4

18

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

169

Rupp
23

I

It is easy to get a good score on tests if I prepare for lessons andreview afterwards.

7

1

16

24

I

I can make friends with the opposite sex if I try.

6

2

14

25

E

I often do impulsive things without being aware of them.

9

2

11

26

E

Getting into my first choice university depends more on luck thanability.

7

7

17

27

E

Being able to maintain long friendships depends on the externalsituation (environment).

6

1

19

28

E

When you take actions, it is more often the case that others havesuggested them rather than you acting upon your own desires.

5

1

17

29

I

If a class in school is boring, it is because you are not interested inthat subject.

5

2

20

30

I

I always decide what I’m going to do.

4

0

13

31

E

In your case, when it comes to test results, they are often influenced
by your physical condition or other random events.

6

6

18

32

E

It is hard for me to do things as I have planned.

5

1

15

33

E

We can’t change how smart or stupid we are.

5

5

19

34

I

Maintaining friendships depends on your effort.

5

0

16

35

I

If necessary, I can suppress my desires at any time.

7

1

10

36

E

There is no use in thinking about how to make friends with membersof the opposite sex as such things are determined by fate/depend
upon luck.

7

7

17

37

E

My actions tend to end up going along with the flow of circumstances.

6

1

21

38

I

The results are far better when I prepare for exams in advance.

3

0

20

39

I

It is important to think about my actions in order to have good
relationships with my friends.

4

1

17

40

I

Even if my friends have different ideas, I place a priority on my own
actions.

7

1

18

41

E

My grades depend on the teacher.

3

3

18

42

I

If I am kind to my friends, someday they will help me.

6

2

0

43

E

I often find myself doing things that I don’t like to do.

2

17

6

170 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Expanding Horizons: Scaffolding
Techniques for Teaching Global Issues

Jack Ryan
Shizuoka University of Art and Culturej-ryan@suac.ac.jp
This paper explains how the introduction of a number of English content courses at the author’s
university has led him to explore the use of various techniques to scaffold the content of his classes
so that students get the most out of the courses. The author will briefly outline theoretical support
for scaffolding and then share many of the techniques he uses in his English-medium courses tobridge the gap in level between the course material and the current English proficiency-levels of his
students.
本稿は、大学に英語のcontent-based coursesを導入するにあたり、効果的かつ効率的なコースをどのように構築するかについて説明するものである。content-based coursesとは、
言語そのものについてではなく学習する内容や情報を中心に構成された第二言語指導のことである。そのコースにおいては、学生が最大限に授業の内容を理解できるように、いわゆるscaffolding（足場）としての様々な方法と工夫を探求する必要がある。本稿では、まずscaffoldingの理論的背景を説明し、次に、学生の現在の英語力と授業内容のレベルの差を埋めるために使用する様々な方法を共有する。

The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology (MEXT) established the
Global 30 program in 2008 to “nurture internationallycompetent individuals by creating an academic
environment where international and Japanese
students can learn from one another” (MEXT,
2009, p. 3). One important feature of the programis that non-Japanese students will be able to earn afour-year degree entirely in English. The program
has an ambitious goal of having 300,000 foreign
students studying in Japan by 2020. Though Shizuoka
University of Art and Culture (hereinafter SUAC),
where the author teaches, is not eligible to participate
Ryan, J. (2016). Expanding horizons: Scaffolding
techniques for teaching global issues. In G. Brooks,
M. Porter, D. Fujimoto, & D. Tatsuki (Eds.), The
2015 PanSIG Journal (pp. 171-176). Tokyo, Japan:
JALT.

in the Global 30 due to lack of English-medium
content courses and its small size, the program has hada knock-on effect nonetheless on the curriculum at
SUAC.
While there are a number of terms used to refer
to English-medium instruction, these terms are often
pedagogically indistinguishable from each other(Cenoz, 2015). As such, I have chosen to use the term“English-medium instruction.” Ultimately, the goal is
to teach both the subject content and the language thesubject matter is presented in. Noteworthy benefits ofEnglish-medium instruction include that students are
exposed to a large amount of language via stimulating
content (Brinton, 2003). Another important benefit
is that language is contextualized; language is nottaught as isolated fragments but in context, allowing
students to draw connections to what they alreadyknow (Snow, 2001). Also, successful learning can leadto an increase in intrinsic motivation as students see
The 2015 PanSIG Journal

171

Ryan
themselves improving (Grabe & Stoller 1997).
According to Wood (1976) the concept of“scaffolding,” or “providing assistance to students
to help them achieve what otherwise would be too
difficult for them” (p. 91), is a useful concept to keep
in mind when planning English-medium courses.
Benson (1997) notes that scaffolding is a “bridge used
to build upon what students already know, to arrive at
something they do not know” (p. 126). A useful way
to do that is by breaking concepts, lessons and tasks
into smaller, more manageable parts and presenting
them to students with some type of support.
Implicit in any attempt to grade material for easiercomprehension is an understanding of the student’s
prior knowledge and abilities. Experienced instructors
familiar with particular contexts, student populations
and their needs can make deliberate choices based on
direct knowledge of ability levels and standardized
test scores. The aim of this paper is to explain someof the techniques used in English medium courses tobridge the gap between course content and the current
English proficiency-levels of students.

Context
SUAC is a small, prefectural university of about 1,500
students located in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan. The
university is purposefully marketing itself as a smaller,
regional school strong in foreign language educationand features its English program and English-medium
content course offerings prominently in marketing
materials.
Currently, the author teaches a Survey of English
Literature course in English. Until 2015, when a new,three-course English-medium Global Studies module
was introduced, this was the only English-medium
course at SUAC. Experimenting with the techniques
explained in this paper in the English Literature
course has proved to be good preparation for the new
Global Studies module. In addition to the Survey ofEnglish Literature course, the author currently teaches
one of the Global Studies courses. Each semester-longcourse meets 15 times for 90 minutes per session, andonly one section of each course is offered.
These four English-medium courses are available
to students in the Department of International

172 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Culture. The departmental TOEIC average for firstyear students was 534 points on the test administeredin December 2015. The available English-medium
courses have had enrollment averages of 40-50
students to date. Despite a relatively high averagedepartmental TOEIC score, currently, there are no
prerequisites and any student in the department may
take the courses. Predictably, student performancehas proven to be somewhat uneven; some students
do quite well and others struggle. In order to provide
the best quality instruction possible for all students,
the author has begun exploring approaches andtechniques that will allow him to deliver Englishmedium instruction while ensuring that the content isaccessible considering the current proficiency-level ofstudents.

Scaffolding TechniquesThis section will describe some scaffolding techniques
used by the author that can help students achieve
mastery of English-medium content that mayotherwise be beyond their current proficiency-level.

Goals
In planning lessons it can be very useful to set clear
and achievable lesson goals and articulate them tostudents. At the beginning of each lesson, a teacher
may write the objectives for the day on the board. The
goals should be simple and, importantly, achievablefor students, otherwise they could end up being demotivating if not achieved. An example of a goal fora lesson from a unit on climate change may be “tolearn the five main causes of climate change.” This
goal is clear, measurable and achievable. The last few
minutes of the lesson could be used to have students,
individually or in pairs or groups, make a list of the fivecauses of climate change. If a majority are unable to doso, the teacher may choose to either adapt his or her
lesson (or the goal) to ensure that it is reached the nexttime.

Schemata
The author has noticed significant differences in theamount of background knowledge students have for
his Global Studies course and his English Literature

Techniques for Teaching Global Issues, pages 171-176
course. Most students have some knowledge of issues
such as climate change, migration or terrorism.
However, many of them are unfamiliar with English
literature beyond perhaps Shakespeare. This suggests
spending time on an activity to help students activate
their schemata about a topic at the beginning of a unit
could be useful. Students can work in pairs or groups
to brainstorm words or phrases (or even draw pictures)
about a topic. Next, they can either share their list withanother pair or group, or contribute to a whole-classmind map compiled on the whiteboard. This activity
can build student confidence by demonstrating thatthey know more about a topic than they may realize.

Pre-teaching Vocabulary
However, even when students do have somebackground knowledge about a topic it can still benecessary to pre-teach vocabulary and expressions
that they are unlikely to have met previously. For
example, words like “atmosphere,” expressions like“sustainable development” and concepts like “tragedyof the commons” in a unit on climate change may
be unknown (at least in English) to a majority ofstudents. How much time to devote to pre-teachingthese terms should depend on how important thewords or expressions are to the overall understandingof the unit.

Visual Support
Many Japanese university students are used to theirprofessors lecturing for 90 minutes without any visual
support at all. This may be acceptable for students
hearing an academic lecture in their native language
but it is not satisfactory pedagogy when teaching
an English-medium course to students with far lessthan native English proficiency. It is necessary to use
visuals to make input more comprehensible (and to
reduce boredom). A well-chosen image with a brief
explanation can often convey information that would
take many minutes to explain, and possibly still notlead to understanding. For example, a visual showing
a field with different ranchers grazing increasingly
more cattle on common land and the resulting
damage to the land can often convey the “tragedy ofthe commons” concept much easier than a wordy

explanation. As with pre-teaching vocabulary, theteacher should decide how critical the information isand how to most efficiently and effectively present it.
Another factor that may considerably help
improve comprehension is the pairing (or grouping)of students. There are many possible ways to do this;students can be assigned a different partner every
lesson or left to choose their own partner. Classmates
can stimulate each other to achieve more than theywould be able to achieve on their own. They willcertainly be able to ask each other’s questions, checkcomprehension and gauge their understanding incomparison to each other. Pairing students is usuallymore of an art than a science as some pairs work
wonderfully together and others fall flat. The author
has found that allowing students to choose their own
partner one week and assigning them a partner thefollowing week often works well. In this way, teachers
can purposely pair a higher-level student with a lowerlevel student and also ensure that unproductive pairs
are not together longer than one week while also
allowing students the opportunity to choose who theywork with, at least some of the time.

Providing a Model
Providing a model, for example of how to take goodnotes, can be another effective technique to scaffold
challenging content. Preparing a handout withan outline of a PowerPoint-based lecture can help
students understand what the key points of the lectureare. This is something they may be unlikely to be able
to do without the outline. An outline can serve as amodel to guide students as they learn how to take goodnotes. For example, a note-taking outline for a lecture
about Soft Power may have the following entry: “SoftPower can be contrasted with _______________”
in which students would be required to listen andfill in the words “Hard Power” on the blank spaceprovided on the outline. As students improve, theamount of detail in the outline can be reduced as
the bridge that scaffolding provides is progressively
removed. One drawback of this technique that I havefound is that students sometimes tune out for muchof the lecture and only pay attention when they see
a slide with an answer that goes on their note-taking
The 2015 PanSIG Journal

173

Ryan
outline. One way around this problem is to requireless closed-ended “right or wrong” answers on thenote-taking outline and more open-ended questions
that ask students to interpret and draw conclusions
based on what they have heard. Rather than ask for
only the words “Hard Power” a better example might
be “Explain two ways in which Soft Power and Hard
Power are different?”

simply to watch and number a set of words in theorder in which they are heard. Two or three simple
comprehension questions can be asked during asecond listening, and a third listening could involvea Cloze/gap-fill activity. Creative activity design canallow virtually any video to be productively used inclass. Again, the ability of students to answer correctlyor not can give a teacher valuable hints as to whether
the activity has been well designed or not.

Checking Comprehension
Comprehension questions provide a good checkfor students to gauge how much of the content
they understand. For example, students can work
individually to answer questions about a topic andthen compare their answers with a partner. Pairs canjoin another pair to form a group for a final check ofanswers. Students can then ask the teacher to answer
any questions that are still unclear. In a multipleweek unit or in the latter part of a lesson, questions
can become more difficult to promote discussion anddeeper inquiry into a topic. Questions could movefrom comprehension questions to more challenging
inference questions and finally discussion questions.
As noted above, questions without one “right” answer
can encourage students to share opinions and ideas
and allow teachers to get a sense of whether students
are getting a deeper understanding of the material.
Many incorrect answers or unproductive discussions
can indicate to teachers either that they must do
a better job of presenting the material or choose
different questions.

Information Gap Activities

Graphic Organizers

Review & Reflection Techniques

Another useful technique to help students make senseof challenging material is to use graphic organizers.
This can be incorporated into the note-taking modelor used independently. Organizing material visually
can help students make connections between concepts
that they may otherwise be unable to make (Katayama,
2000). Similarly, video can be another good medium
to make challenging content more accessible and to
break up a lengthy lecture. Even a dense video can bemade comprehensible when multiple listenings are
permitted and tasks move from easy to increasingly
difficult. In a first listening, students may be asked

Reflective journals can help students think about
their performance and consider areas in which they
may have room for improvement. They can be a wayof “encouraging students to think more deeply andteachers to listen more effectively” (Beveridge 1997,
p. 34). One way to approach reflective journals could
include a combination of entries based on teacher
prompts like asking students to share how they felt
about course content, assignments or level of difficulty
and students being free to write anything they’d like
about a lesson or unit. In addition to the checks built
in to the activities mentioned above, reflective journals

174 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Information gap activities can also be particularly
useful in English-medium classes because they haveinherently clear outcomes. Info gaps can be used toreview or confirm comprehension when students are
randomly given one of two handouts with incomplete
information. Students can then be asked to fill in theempty spaces on their handout by asking questions ofclassmates with the other handout. They will know
they have completed the task when their handout isfilled-in and will be getting communicative speaking
practice as well. One way to utilize information gaps
in content classes is as a review of material presented in
the lecture. For example, many of the important pointsof the lecture can be listed on the info gap handout.
After they have compiled all the information on theirhandouts, students can work together to complete
another column asking if the statements about thelecture material are true or false. Too many incorrect
answers can be another indication that material is noteffectively getting through to students.

Techniques for Teaching Global Issues, pages 171-176
can also be useful for teachers to gather data about
student learning experiences in order to improvea course when it becomes clear that students havefound something too challenging, inaccessible, or the
opposite.
Reviewing important vocabulary and concepts,
perhaps with a fun activity such as a crossword puzzle,
could also be included in a content-based course.
Some may question the pedagogic value of doing thisbut, in the author’s experience, crossword puzzles get
an overwhelmingly positive response from students,
which has convinced me of their utility. Playing a quiztype game, with students in pairs and the first pair toanswer a question correctly receiving a point, is anotherfun way to review material. Friendly competitions cankeep students on task, increase motivation, reduce
students’ affective filter and promote cooperation
while also reinforcing lesson content.
Finally, reserving the last few minutes of classfor students to do a self-assessment is also often
productive. Students answer a few questions about
what they learned that day, what was difficult for themand what they have questions about. Finally, they canassess their overall performance for the day on a fiveitem Likert scale from excellent to poor. This can beseen as a modified version of a reflective journal andis a chance for students to let a teacher know how
difficult they find the lesson content and, therefore,
what parts of a lesson may need more scaffolding or
should be redesigned.

Conclusion
Teaching content courses in English to non-native
speakers in an EFL context requires experimentation
with various techniques and activities to ensure thatcourse material is comprehensible to students. This
paper has attempted to explain some useful techniques
for scaffolding course content. It seems clear that
there is a trend in university-level education in Japan
towards more English-medium instruction. The
need for effective scaffolding techniques and activity
sequencing to make challenging high-level content
accessible to non-native level students will continue tobe an important issue and one deserving of ever more
attention. Therefore, teachers interested in providing

the best quality instruction possible would be wise
to, at a minimum, be aware of some of the manytechniques to scaffold challenging content to meet ourstudents’ needs.

References
Benson, B. (1997). Scaffolding (Coming to Terms).
English Journal, 86(7), 126-127.
Belhiah, H. & Elhami, M. (2015). English as a
medium of instruction in the gulf: When
students and teachers speak. Language Policy,
14(1), 3-23.
Beveridge, I. (1997). Teaching Your Students toThink Reflectively: the case for reflective journals.
Teaching in Higher Education, 2(1), 33-43.
Brinton, D. (2003). Content-based instruction. In
Nunan, D. (Ed.), Practical English Language
Teaching (pp. 199-224). New York, NY: McGraw
Hill.
Cenoz, J. (2015). Content-based instruction andcontent and language integrated learning:
the same or different? Language, Culture andCurriculum, 28(1), 8-24.
Grabe, W. & Stoller, F. L. (1997). Content-based
instruction: Research foundations. In M. A.
Snow, & D. M. Brinton (Eds.), The content-basedclassroom: Perspectives on integrating language andcontent (pp. 5–21). New York, NY: Longman.
Katayama, A. D. & Robinson, D. H. (2000), Getting
students “partially” involved in note-taking usinggraphic organizers. (pp. 119-133). The Journal of
Experimental Education, 68(2).
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, andTechnology. (2009). Study in English at Japanese
Universities. Retrieved from https://www.uni.
international.mext.go.jp/documents/Study_in_
English_at_Jp_Univ.pdf
Snow, M. A. (2001). Content-based and immersion
models for second and foreign language teaching.
In Celce-Murcia, M. (Ed.), Teaching English
as a Second or Foreign Language (3rd ed.) (pp.
303–318). Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle.
Wood, D., Bruner, J. S. & Ross, G. (1976). The role oftutoring in problem solving. Journal of Psychology
and Psychiatry, 17(2), 89–100.
The 2015 PanSIG Journal

175

Ryan

Author’s Biography:
Jack Ryan teaches at Shizuoka University of Art and Culture in Hamamatsu, Japan. He teaches
English Literature, Global Issues and English Composition among other English courses. His
research interests include content-based instruction, vocabulary acquisition and the future ofEnglish education in Japan.

176 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Problem Solving and Community Engagement
at a University Student ConferenceMark D. Sheehan

Edward Pearse Sarich

Todd Thorpe

Hannan University
mark@hannan-u.ac.jp

Shizuoka University of Art & Culture
suacted@gmail.com

Kindai University
toddthorpe@hotmail.com

Robert Dunn
Kindai University
robertopithecus@gmail.com
This paper reports on a conference designed to help Japanese university students develop practicalEnglish skills. In Japan, students seldom have an opportunity to use English in any real context,
which lowers motivation and hampers the development of integrated language skills. This was theimpetus for the creation of the Asian Community Engagement Conference (ACE), a platform
for raising social awareness and community engagement through English discussion, presentationand problem-solving activities. This paper discusses the ACE Conference goals, problem-solving
activities, consensus building and group dynamics, and student experiences at the conference.
ＥＦＬ環境下において、学生達にとって、各課程で学んだスキルを実践する機会は皆無に等しい。英語話者があまり在住しておらず、
コミュニケーションの手法として英語を用いる観光インフラが整っていない日本において、これは顕著に現れる。英語を使用する機会が欠如しているために、結果として、日本の教育システムは、英語による伝達能力の発達よりも、言語知識に特化した言語能力を重点的に行っている（2009年、 岩井）。
改善方法として、学生が実践的な英語スキルを発達させることのできる現実的なシナリオを用意することが挙げられる。
これを元に、
アジア・コミュニティ・エンゲ
ージメント・カンファレンス（Asian Community Engagement Conference (ACE)）が誕生した。
ＡＣＥ会議の目標、問題解決への取り組み、合意形成、集団力学、および会議において学生が経験したことについて説明する。

Conference Goals
This paper reports on a university student conference
designed to help develop the productive English
skills of students. As Japan relies more heavily oninternational trade, it is believed that the development

Sheehan, M. D., Sarich, E. P., Thorpe, T., & Dunn,
R. (2016). Problem solving and community
engagement at a university student conference. In
G. Brooks, M. Porter, D. Fujimoto, & D. Tatsuki(Eds.), The 2015 PanSIG Journal (pp. 177-184).
Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

of communicative competence is an essential partof preparing Japanese students to become membersof a global workforce (Iwai, 2009). However, many
university students have not had experience in thecollaboration, creation, and the exchange of ideasthat is necessary to fostering students with practicalEnglish skills (Xiaoping, Mohan, & Early, 1998).
The university student conference discussed inthis paper took place on January 24 and 25, 2015 ata university in Osaka, Japan. The conference included
48 students from various universities and majors. The
two-day conference consisted of two parts: poster
The 2015 PanSIG Journal

177

Sheehan, Sarich, Thorpe, & Dunn
presentation sessions by students who reported on
their current research and presentations by student
teams who worked together at the conference todevise solutions to problems related to global issues
and community engagement. After an explanationof the pedagogical and theoretical background on
collaborative learning, a description of the processes
used to engage students in problem solving andcollaborative learning at the conference will follow.
The paper will conclude by listing some of thelimitations of these activities and give suggestions toteachers who are interested in replicating this event.
The student conference had a number of goals
that were intended not only to improve students’language skills, but also to give the participants achance to network with people from other academic
fields and universities, and to take part in problemsolving activities and collaborative learning. The
aims of the conference were two-fold: (1) to give
students an opportunity to create and deliver aposter presentation in their area of study; (2) to give
students an opportunity to work together on a team to
discuss problems, reach a consensus, and present theirsolutions.

Studies of communicative skills andcooperative learning
English education in Japan has always suffered from a
gap between the ideal and the reality. The Ministry of
Science Education and Technology (MEXT) states on
their homepage that in response to rapid globalization,
the development of communication skills is especially
important for Japanese students (MEXT, 2014).
However, a recent report on a comparison of world
TOEFL scores indicated that Japanese scores inEnglish speaking and writing are the lowest in Asia
(ETS, 2014).
In Japanese junior and senior high schools, mostEnglish classes tend to be non-communicative andteacher-centered, taught in a familiar classroom
setting with classmates that all know each other, andare roughly at the same level of language proficiency.
This traditional methodology does not foster thedevelopment of productive English skills among

178 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

students. Students taught using the abovementioned
methodology need to be exposed to a new learning
environment and different approach to English
language study in order to meet the needs of a diverse
workforce.
Much has been written about the benefits oftask-based and collaborative learning in EFL settings(McDonough & Chaikitmongkol, 2007; Richards& Renandya, 2002). Larsen-Freeman states that,“cooperative or collaborative learning essentiallyinvolves students learning from each other ingroups” (p. 164). In this setting, students must shareideas and listen to the opinions of others. Theseessential skills will be necessary for many students
in their future careers. Encouraging students to see
the benefits of learning from each other in English
creates a positive language-learning environment,
helps develop confidence, creates more opportunities
for language output, and improves students’ English
comprehension. Moving students outside of theclassroom, and away from the teacher-centered,textbook-focused setting “helps students learn how
to learn more effectively” (Larsen-Freeman, 2000, p.
164).
Similarly, Apple (2006) pointed out thatcooperative learning fosters intrinsic motivation
among students; and Shaaban and Ghaith (2005)
have shown that cooperative learning among students
helps develop integrated learning, which “addresses
and integrates the pedagogical implications of the subskills as well as the functional and interactional modelsof language” (p. 14).
The ACE student conference was designed tocreate cooperative learning opportunities by having
students work on teams with students from otheruniversities, from different academic backgrounds,
and with different language levels. It was hoped thatthe chance to work with a diverse group of students
would be stimulating, and working on familiar social
problems would be relevant to students as well as help
build community awareness and unity. For educators
who are interested in having their students take partin the activities described below, please refer to a
description of the conference format given in Table 1
in the appendix.

Student Problem Solving and Community Engagement , pages 177-184

Poster Presentations
Holding students individually accountable for theirwork is thought to be one of the main tenants ofcollaborative learning ( Johnson, Johnson, & Smith,1998), and poster presentations are thought to be aneffective way of motivating students to explore subjects
more deeply (Morgan, 2012). Poster presentations at
the ACE conference were intended to give students
a chance to present on a familiar topic that they hadstudied in their university courses in the preceding
fall semester. This activity helped build confidence,
encouraged students to become experts in theirfields of study, and also provided a warm-up to themore challenging problem-solving presentations thatwould be required of them in the second part of theconference. Having the students use a familiar topic
to prepare and practice their poster presentations overthe course of a semester enabled them to develop theskills and confidence that would be called upon when
they took part in the larger, more complex tasks of the
problem-solving presentations.

Problem-solving Presentations
After the morning poster presentation sessions, theremaining part of the conference was devoted to a
problem-solving workshop and subsequent teampresentations of the students’ solutions. Students were
put into four teams and each team of 10-12 students
was given a list of four problems. The teams were given
materials to help guide them through the process,including a handout on brainstorming techniques, aguide on how to define problems, instruction in thesteps to follow in the problem-solving process, and astatus timeline so that students could monitor theirprogress and stay on task. Within each team, thestudents discussed each of the problems and chose
one problem to solve. Table 2 lists the problems thatstudents were given. Students were teamed up withlearners from other majors and universities as a way tomake this process more interesting and to encouragea wide range of ideas from people with different
backgrounds. Table 3 lists information about theconference participants.

Consensus Building
After agreeing on which problem to solve, students
worked in groups to define it and discuss it. They
brainstormed possible solutions, and after negotiation,
settled on the solution they would advocate. They thenbegan to formulate a plan to implement their solution.
During the discussions and presentations, the mediumof communication was English.
Using a self-created process, the groups examined
their solutions. Within each group, students had
to discuss, question, answer, make suggestions, andexplain their ideas. The goal of this stage was todetermine what needed to be done, who would do it,
when it would be started, how it would be carried out,
and why these actions would solve (or at least alleviate)
the problem. The process that students took part in is
an example of cooperative learning.

Group Dynamics
The students that attended ACE were organized into
four groups based on the principles of cooperative
learning ( Johnson & Johnson, 1998). Students wereseparated into heterogeneous groups, consisting ofdifferent backgrounds and English proficiency levels
in order to approximate the kind of group dynamic
they may experience in a global work environment.
A secondary motivation was to lessen anxiety among
lower-level students by having them rely on thestrengths of some of their higher-level peers.
Assigning a realistic task that was socially relevant
fostered positive interdependence among groupmembers. The outcome was completed by cooperating
together within a common workspace. The tasks wereintended to raise students’ desire to participate.
Large group assignments with students of different
levels and backgrounds and the limited teacher
involvement fostered an environment where roles andresponsibilities formed organically. Naturally, senior
students with higher English levels tended to takeon leadership roles, but working with peers on therelevant task created a sense of obligation among thosestudents with lower linguistic levels to offer support
in different ways, such as working on the PowerPoint
presentation, or providing solutions or ideas.

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Sheehan, Sarich, Thorpe, & Dunn

Presentation Planning
After deciding on their solutions, students beganplanning their presentations. This process included
researching background information on their chosen
topic, writing, creating multimedia artifacts, revising,and eventually rehearsing for the presentation.
The defined goals of the presentation were tocreate a clear, attention-grabbing title slide, followedby an outline slide. Students were then expected todefine the problem, its symptoms and causes. They
then had to explain their solution in detail, usinggraphics, charts, and data to support and elucidate
their ideas. In their conclusion, students were expected
to suggest a viable resolution to the problem, as well as
follow-up plans for future remediation.

Teacher involvement
One of the precepts of developing communicativecompetence is student-centered learning in which
the teacher takes on the role as facilitator (Iwai,2009). During problem solving-tasks at ACE, muchof the work done by teachers was undertaken behindthe scenes, deciding on the schedule and terms ofthe conference agenda, determining the problemsolving themes, and organizing the students into
groups. During the actual group work, five advisors(teachers) helped the students begin the projectwith brainstorming tasks to get started, and thenestablished highly motivated learners as group leaders
to help facilitate the groups in the beginning. Afterinitial ideas began to form and group leaders started
to take over, the advisors stepped back, rotating
among rooms to question students on their ideas, give
feedback, and to help spur things forward.

Presentations
The student presentations took place during theafternoon on the second day of the conference.
Students adhered to the presentation scheduleand arrived at the presentation area prepared andready to present. More information on the student
presentations and materials can be viewed at the ACE
website: http://acestudentconference.weebly.com/.
The presentations were delivered successfully andstudents were able to feel a sense of accomplishment

180 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

brought about by cooperative learning and teamwork.
The conference advisors were pleased with the variety
of solutions and creativity of the presentations thatwere developed in such a short period of time. Teamspresented solutions to problems 1, 2 and 3 respectively(see Table 3).

Students’ Reactions
Examples of student testimonials are listed in Table
4. More testimonials can be found at the ACE
website: http://acestudentconference.weebly.com/.
The student testimonials from this two-day student
conference indicate that the conference provided anumber of valuable learning experiences. Students
could use English in a setting that was outside of theclassroom with people they had never met before,
listen to new ideas from a variety of people, work ona team to think of a practical solution to a problem,
and then present their ideas and rationale to a large
audience.

Limitations
After the positive results of the first ACE conferencein January 2015, the organizers have also successfullycompleted the second ACE conference on December
19 and 20, 2015. The second ACE conference allowed
the organizers to refine the conference format,
and overcome some of the limitations of the first
conference. Instructors interested in replicating theevent described in this paper, should be aware of thefollowing limitations. Access to university facilities
on weekends or when classes are not in session is an
essential element to holding a successful conference.
Furthermore, teachers must be teaching coursesthat allow them to have students work on poster
presentation assignments. Finally, since there are
multifarious benefits to having students from different
universities and majors work together, organizers mustbuild a network of teachers who are willing to dedicate
a significant amount of time preparing their students,organizing the event, and seeing it through over aweekend.
If the above requirements are not feasible, analternative format must be considered. For instructors
who are eager to have students take part in poster

Student Problem Solving and Community Engagement , pages 177-184
presentations and problem-solving and collaborative
learning activities, the events described above may
be able to be replicated on a smaller scale with one
or two courses (depending on class size and student
levels). If teachers do not have access to information
related to community problems, they may be able
to substitute the problems with issues around their
university campus. However, if this is done, much may
be lost in terms of authenticity, and students will wind
up working in the familiar setting of the classroom
with students they may already know. Furthermore,
there are time constraints since university courses inJapan generally meet once a week for 90 minutes. As aresult, the authors would advise instructors to at least
collaborate with colleagues who are teaching similarcourses at their home university, and take time outsideof regular lesson periods for the event.

Conclusion
As language educators, we are all aware of the benefitsof working together to share ideas and present on our
research at academic conferences. The ACE conference
has taught the authors that these activities can beequally beneficial (and inspirational) to our students.
Insights gained from this student conference will be
used to organize other conferences. It is hoped that
other educators will be inspired to either participate
in future conferences, or organize their own student
conference.

References
Apple, M. (2006). Language learning theories andcooperative learning techniques in the EFL
classroom. Doshisha Studies in Language andCulture, 9(2), 277-301.
Educational Testing Service. (2014). Test and scoredata summary for TOEFL iBT tests. 1-14.
Iwai, Y. (2009). Toward communicative competencein the Japanese context: The challenges facing
Japanese English teachers. The Journal or Asia
TEFL, 6(2), 77-99.

Johnson, D.W. & Johnson, R. (1999). Making
cooperative learning work. Theory into Practice,38(2), 67-73.
Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R., & Smith, K. (1998).
Active Learning: Cooperation in the college
classroom. Edina, MN: Interaction Book Co.
Larsen-Freeman, D. (2000). Techniques and principles
in language teaching. Oxford, England: Oxford
University Press.
Hovane, M. (2009). Teaching presentation skills
for communicative purposes. Kansai University
Foreign Language Education Forum, 8, 35-49.
McDonough, K. & Chaikitmongkol, W. (2007).
Teachers’ and learners’ reactions to a Task-BasedEFL course in Thailand. TESOL Quarterly,
41(1), 107-132.
Richards, J.C., & Renandya, W.A (Eds.) (2002).
Methodology in language teaching: An anthology
of current practice. Cambridge, England:
Cambridge University Press.
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, andTechnology. (2014, September 26). Report on the
future improvement and enhancement of English
education (outline): Five recommendations on the
English education reform plan responding to therapid globalization. Retrieved from http://www.
mext.go.jp/english/topics/1356541.htm
Morgan, J. (2012). Growth and learning throughposter presentations: Global education andlanguage development. In A. Stewart & N. Sonda(Eds.), JALT2011 Conference Proceedings.
Tokyo: JALT.
Shaaban, K., & Ghaith G. (2005). The theoreticalrelevance and efficacy of using cooperative
learning in the ESL/EFL classroom. TESL
Reporter, 38(2), 14-28.
Sego, A. F. (1991). Cooperative learning: A classroom
guide. Cleveland, OH: INFO-TEC, Inc.
Xiaoping, L., Mohan, B., & Early, M. (1998). Issues ofcooperative learning in ESL classes: A literature
review. TESL Canada Journal, 15(2), 13-23.

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Sheehan, Sarich, Thorpe, & Dunn

Authors’ Biographies:
Mark D. Sheehan has over fifteen years of tertiary-level teaching experience in Japan. His
teaching interests include CALL, academic reading, extensive reading, and exploring ways toengage students with language through content-based English courses.
Edward Pearse Sarich has been working in the field of language education for more thanfifteen years. He is interested in all issues concerning English education in Japan, particularly
standardized language testing and evaluation, communicative language teaching and second
language vocabulary acquisition.
Todd Thorpe has over fifteen years of secondary and post-secondary teaching experience inJapan. His teaching and research interests include experiential learning, CALL, critical thinking,problem-solving and curriculum development.
Robert Dunn teaches a wide variety of English and ESL courses to Humanities, and Economics
majors. His research interests include psycholinguistics, the use of incentives in language
acquisition, and the economics of study abroad programs. He also works as a freelance journalist
covering the automotive and motorcycle industries in Japan.

182 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Student Problem Solving and Community Engagement , pages 177-184

Appendix
Table 1
Format of the Conference
Pre-conference Preparation

Activities at the conference

Poster Presentations(Day 1, 9:30am- 12:00pm)

Students who volunteered to join theconference were enrolled in courses withconference advisors or organizers. As
part of their coursework, students did
research on a topic, prepared a poster
presentation and practiced delivering theposter presentation in the course.

Students set up their posters in an open
area at the conference site and tookturns presenting their posters and also
viewing other poster presentations.
Each session took approximately one
hour and included Q&A sessions. There
were two sessions to accommodate thenumber of presentations.

Problem-Solving Presentations(Day 1, 1:30pm-5:00pm;
Day 2, 9:30am-5:00pm)

Students were given instructions on
the conference format and goals andtold that they would receive four
problems to discuss and would have tochoose one problem to solve and give

Students were put into teams of 10-12
students. The teams consisted of mixed
levels with students from different
universities and majors. Students
had to choose a problem to solve,a team presentation on. Students did
not receive the problems until they
met in groups at the conference in theafternoon of day 1.

brainstorm ideas for the solution, makea PowerPoint presentation, practice thepresentation, present the presentation
to an audience of about 50 people, andtake part in a Q&A session about theirpresentation.

Table 2
Problems Given to Teams to Discuss and Solve
Problem 1
Elementary schools have long summer vacations. It can be difficult for working mothers to take care of their children
during summer vacations. Children have a lot of homework, but may not have many healthy, fun or educational
activities to take part in. Children need to spend their summers doing healthy and educational activities. Working
mothers need support.
Think of an innovative plan to solve this problem. What can you do to make summer vacation more healthy,
educational and fun for elementary school students in your community? Propose specific ideas to solve this problem.
Problem 2Japan has been trying to increase the number of foreign visitors and become more international. Communities willplay an important role in welcoming foreigners to Japan.
Create a plan for a sustainable, international-friendly community. What innovative events or services will help
communities become more welcoming to international visitors?
Problem 3
There are many benefits to having young people interact with older people in their communities. Both generations
have a lot to teach each other.
Think of an innovative plan to foster interaction between these two generations. You can consider a number of areas:
education, childcare, Information Technology, and the environment.

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Sheehan, Sarich, Thorpe, & Dunn
Problem 4
According to a United Nation’s report, the number of people aged 65 and above in Asia is expected to grow to 857
million in 2050, which will then account for 18% of the total population. This will likely pose a great challenge on
the healthcare and social welfare system. However, at the same time, an increase in the number of elderly people
will also expand the seniors market, creating many business opportunities. These opportunities do not only refer tothe traditional healthcare products, like walking sticks or wheelchairs, but also entertainment and service needs.
Think of an innovative business idea that caters the needs of the elderly in your community.
Note. Teams had to discuss all four problems and agree on one problem to solve.

Table 3
Problem-Solving Team Member Backgrounds
University

Major

Language Level

Nationality

Hannan University

Economics

Low-intermediate

Japanese & Chinese

Hannan University

International
Communication

Intermediate

Japanese

Kindai University

English Communication

Upper-Intermediate

Japanese

Shizuoka University of Art
and Culture

International Culture

Intermediate

Japanese

Note. Teams had mixed levels and majors

Table 4Student Comments on the Conference Experience
I am a little shy. But at the ACE conference, I could speak English with the other members and they could
understand me. I was also able to present my ideas in front of many people in English. After the conference, I became
motivated to study English more, because it was fun to use it. I want to go again next year!

In this two-day-conference, I met many new friends and had progress in learning English. In order to complete theproject presentation, we exchanged views with each other and achieved consensus finally. I felt very happy.

I have never been overseas and so I have never used English before. At the ACE conference, we didn’t care about ourEnglish level. We all could talk freely and at our own pace. I also learned from the other students many great ideas
about developing an internationally-minded local community. It was a great experience for my life!

It is an amazing event and we have to use our knowledge at a maximum and create something fast.

Note. Comments edited for clarity by the authors

184 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Mindfulness in Educational Settings

John Spiri
Gifu Shotoku Gakuen University
johnspiri@gmail.com
Although the word mindfulness originally applied to Buddhist doctrine, it is coming to berecognized for having educational applications. Educators may seek to find ways to cultivate greater
mindfulness in students, or they make seek ways to become more mindful themselves. Research isindicating that subtle changes in the way teachers give instructions could have the effect of making
students more mindful, and some schools are introducing mindfulness meditation training forstudents. As for teacher mindfulness, mindfulness meditation practices are being developed andtried while mindfulness workshops and programs are being offered. This paper identifies several
approaches to cultivate mindfulness in education and provides brief descriptions of their efficacy.
マインドフルネスは、
もともと仏教の教義に適用されるが、教育用アプリケーションを持つために認識され始めています。教育者は、
マインドフルネスを学生に育成するため、そして自分自身の意識を高めるための方法を模索することができる。
その研究では、教師の微妙な変化や命令は、学生を意識させる効果を得ることができることを示しています。教師のマインドフルネスとして、数々の研究、開発が行われ、試みられています。本稿では、いくつかのこのようなアプローチを識別し、それらの効果を簡単に説明します。

Mindfulness became commonly used in English after
Buddhist scholar Thomas William Rhys Davids
used it to translate the Pali term sati. In Buddhism,sati is important as the first of seven factors ofenlightenment. Piyadassi Thera (1960) goes so far
as to write that sati is the “most efficacious in selfmastery, and whosoever practices it has found the path
to deliverance (enlightenment)” (p. 7).
While the English translation mindfulness nevercontained the loftiness or nuance of the Pali term,
it did maintain the basic meaning of “being in thepresent” and having presence of mind. In simplest
terms, it means paying complete attention without
confusion or forgetfulness.
Spiri, J. (2016). Mindfulness in educational settings.
In G. Brooks, M. Porter, D. Fujimoto, & D. Tatsuki(Eds.), The 2015 PanSIG Journal (pp. 185-190).
Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

Heffernan (2015) writes that in the 1970s,
American Buddhist teacher Jon Kabat-Zinn sought to“scrub mindfulness of its religious origins” (para. 4).
Kabat-Zinn refined the definition to “the awarenessthat arises through paying attention on purpose in thepresent moment, and non-judgmentally” (as quoted in
Heffernan, 2015, para. 4).

Mindfulness in Education
It’s not difficult to imagine why a term like mindfulness
would find its way into education. Maintaining
composure in class is of utmost importance for ateacher. Attending to the educational needs of 20 ormore individuals is not a simple matter. Classes do
not unfold smoothly for teachers who themselves
do not notice the atmosphere, setting, and mostimportantly the way students are interacting with
their environment and with each other. And yet, as theterm mindfulness implies, the challenge for teachers is
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Spirito not only pay attention to what is happening in theclassroom, but what we are feeling as well. As Jennings(2015a) writes, “With mindful awareness we canboth sense and observe our internal states” (xii). As
such, mindfulness in education may refer to programs
or movements to cultivate teacher mindfulness, orlessons to help learners become more mindful.

Mindfulness for students
In The Power of Mindful Learning, Langer (1989) has
claimed that no measure such as new school curricula,higher standards for testing, or increased budgets,“will make enough difference unless students are given
the opportunity to learn more mindfully” (p. 3).
Furthermore, Langer has demonstrated thepositive effects of mindfulness and the conditions
under which it flourishes. Her approach has been to
research relatively small ways in which teachers canhelp lead students to mindfulness. For example, in
one unpublished study, Dudkin, Brandt, Bodner andLanger showed that teaching material conditionally“allows students to manipulate the information
creatively in a different context” (as cited in Langer,
1989, p. 18). High school students with the sameeducation in physics were split into two groups.
One group received straightforward directions
explaining a video and subsequent questionnaire. The
second group was given identical directions with theadditional conditional statement: “The video presents
only one of several outlooks on physics, which may or
may not be helpful to you. Please feel free to use any
additional methods you want to assist you in solving
the problems” (p. 18). The result was that both groups
performed equally well on direct tests. However, thesecond group, who had received additional conditional
instructions, was more able to use the informationin the video creatively. In addition, students who
were not given the additional instructions tended tocomplain more about the material.
The theme of exploring whether open-ended
directions lead students to lateral thinking is common
in Langer’s mindfulness research. Langer writes, “Ifnovelty (and interest) is in the mind of the attender,
it doesn’t matter that a teacher presents the same oldthing or tells us to sit still and concentrate in a fixed

186 The 2015 PanSIG Journalmanner” (p. 43). In a study involving math lessons forhigh school students, Ritchhart and Perkins (2000)
similarly found that “conditional instruction may be
useful in reframing traditional didactic, including
textbook, instruction in mathematics” (p. 39).
In addition to Langer’s research on how rewording
instructions can make students more mindful, there
are other approaches teachers can take. One way is
to take time in the classroom to have students do a
mindfulness meditation. This meditation involves
silently sitting with an erect spine—usually crosslegged
or in a lotus position on a floor cushion—for about
5-15 minutes. BBC reporter Nikki Mitchell describes
a mindfulness program in Berkshire, England: “… ten
and eleven year-olds are focusing on their breathing,and learning to let go of any destructive thoughts”(Mitchell, 2015, 0:04). Any school with adequate
floor space can have learners do this sitting meditation
either directly on the floor or sitting on a small
cushion.
Sitting meditation on a floor cushion is notpractical for most foreign language classes in Japan
which tend to have over 20 students in rooms withclunky or immovable desks and hard floors. However,Freedman (n.d.) of the Insight Meditation Center
notes that while sitting on the floor is best because of
the stability it offers, a chair can serve as an adequate
alternative. In this case hands can be kept on thighs
or folded on the lap. The key point is keeping an erectspine, which can be achieved by sitting more towards
the front of the chair with feet flat on the floor. This
option makes mindfulness meditation a possibility
in any classroom, including crowded university
classrooms.
A teacher in the Berkshire mindfulness meditation
program explains, “We had such success with(mindfulness meditation in the classroom), and it had
an impact on behavior, concentration, (and) learners,
we decided that this year we’re going to roll it out toevery class ranging from our nursery children to ouryear sixes” (Mitchell, 2015, 0:16).
In addition to mindfulness meditation in chairs,
university and other language teachers can find more
subtle ways to introduce students to mindfulness.
Without ever mentioning mindfulness, I have

Mindfulness in Educational Settings, pages 185-190•• I will become aware of any tendency to stop
listening during class and focus my attention on
language learning tasks.

Mindfulness for teachers

Figure 1. Yoga “Standing Pose” adapted for classroom withshoe bottom not touching body.

asked students to take a few deep “calming breaths”
during class. Furthermore, students may also be asked
to do a yoga “standing pose” (see Figure 1) as part ofa stretching routine. To avoid having shoes contact
clothing, the ankle (not the shoe) can be placed on
the upper thigh. Students may hold this pose for one
minute while focusing on breathing.
A verbal way is to introduce mindfulness
affirmations. Ray Davis, founder of the “Affirmation
Spot” website explains: “Affirmations are a thought
replacement tool. They help you become consciousof the thoughts you’re thinking and replace habituallynegative thoughts with habitually positive ones”(Davis, n.d., para. 5). He has suggested 30 educationalaffirmations for students such as “Today I set aside
my fears and achieve all my educational goals” (Davis,2013). Educational affirmations, which students
can read and take a minute to silently reflect on, canbe adapted to promote mindfulness. A few sample
affirmations written by the author are below:•• I am calm, focused, and ready to learn.
•• Today I will listen deeply, notice subtle things,
and have keen awareness of my interactions withclassmates.

In contrast to Langer’s approach to introduce or
encourage more mindfulness in students, a second
way that mindfulness is being introduced into
education is the training of teachers to be more
mindful themselves. A teacher’s attentiveness is not a
traditional area of focus for professional development.
Bransford, Darling-Hammond and Bradford (2005)
have identified three major areas that can improve ateacher’s classroom performance. First, teachers candeepen their knowledge of their subject. For example,
knowing more about the English language will help
English teachers teach more effectively. Second,teachers should have pedagogical knowledge, knowing
the best and most appropriate methods and activities
from a wide range of choices. And third, teachers
should make the right professional commitments to
help students reach their full potential. It would seema focus on mindfulness would be outside the realm of
these domains.
However, a fourth area of importance has beensuggested, and that is “professional dispositions”(Dottin, 2009). “Disposition” can also be looked at aspresence, or the character of the individual teacher. A
focus on disposition might create discomfort among
educators and researchers because a person’s characteris not generally seen as malleable. Roeser, Skinner,
Beers, and Jennings (2012), however, see disposition
largely as a skill. The “habits of mind” that compose
disposition include “tendencies to gather data
through all of the senses, to be aware of and reflect on
experience in a nonjudgmental manner, to be flexible
when problem solving, to regulate emotion and be
resilient after setbacks, and to attend to others with
empathy and compassion” (p. 167).

The Practice of Mindfulness
Writing for Greater Good: Science for a Meaningful
Life, educator Patricia Jennings (2015b) suggests
various practices such as focused breathing, open
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Spiriawareness (a meditation practice aimed at noticing
how we’re feeling, etc.), and loving-kindness (ameditation practice that aims to cultivate loving
acceptance of yourself and others) that will bringabout seven benefits of mindfulness for teachers. These
were originally Buddhist practices aimed at getting
practitioners into the mode and habit of mindfulness.
Jennings then articulates seven educational
benefits of these practices: understanding our own
emotions; realizing more effective communication
with students; managing difficult students; setting
up a positive learning environment; strengthening
relationships with students; slowing down; andbuilding community. One of the keys in the classroom
is to improve the quality of listening. Teachers who
slow down and take a deep breath (both literally
and figuratively) have greater capacity to listen andrespond to students in an appropriate manner.
North American educators have createdworkshops and programs to make more teachers awareof the benefits of mindfulness. Below are three suchinstitutes with their varied aims and approaches.

The Center for Mindfulness
The Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Healthcare
and Society (http://umassmed.edu/cfm/), an institutewithin the University of Massachusetts Department ofMedicine, is perhaps the oldest mindfulness institutein the world having been started by Jon Kabat-Zinn
in 1979. In over 35 years of programs more than
22,000 individuals have completed their eight-week
mindfulness-based stress reduction program. The
institute offers programs such as “Beginning to Teach:
Living Inside the Classroom” and tools that address
stress reduction, professional education, and research.

Mindful Schools
This organization (http://www.mindfulschools.org/)
was set up to address problems with students in U.S.
public schools such as a pervasive inability to focus,
impulsiveness which leads to classroom management
issues, high levels of stress for both students andteachers, and a lack of connection between students
and their school communities. Mindful Schools
offers online training courses to help teachers learn

188 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

mindfulness techniques and subsequently utilize thosetechniques with learners. Their six-week fundamentals
course covers the basics of mindfulness meditation,
dealing with emotions and the role of mindfulness
when communicating. Meanwhile, their “Mindful
Educator Essentials” online course helps practitioners
learn more about mindfulness and eventually
introduce mindfulness in the classroom.

Garrison InstituteOne of the three key fields that the Garrison Institutefocuses on for reform and development is education.
The Garrison Institute’s “About Us” page explains
their goal is to “apply the power of contemplationin practical, systematic ways” (Garrison Institute,n.d., para. 7). The institute offers programs that help
teachers reflect deeply to skillfully deal with day to day
stress. Relevant research seeks to integrate methods
and insights from neuroscience. Methods such as
meditation to cultivate attention are grounded inscience and expected to pass the rigors of proper
studies to investigate their efficacy.
In addition to institutes and programs that
explicitly help educators cultivate mindfulness, there
are other programs that seek to help educators gainawareness and improve their interaction with learners.
Like mindfulness, these approaches address internal
states to improve classroom teaching. Two suchapproaches are explained below.
The NLP practice of The Circle of Excellence.
Neurolinguistic programming (NLP) was developedby Richard Bander and John Grinder in the 1970s
as a way to enhance communication and facilitate
personal development. NLP has since been applied
to numerous educational settings, including those in
English as a Second Language (ESL) or English as a
Foreign Language (ESL). For example, Pishghadam,
Shapoori, and Shayesteh (2011) showed a significant
relationship between NLP and teacher success.
The Circle of Excellence practice is based on the
NLP technique known as “anchoring.” This involves
focusing on positive and successful moments until you
actually have that positive feeling (such as confidence).
The practitioner imagines that these positive feelings
are somehow stored (i.e. “put in your pocket”) to beMindfulness in Educational Settings, pages 185-190
accessed when needed. Later, in a classroom situationfor example, the calmness, compassion, or confidence
can be readily accessed. Hence, the practitioner
cultivates a reservoir of positive states that can later beaccessed.
Counselling-style listening in EFL. Although
this research was conducted in an English lounge, themethods can be applied to a classroom situation. In
order to build rapport with lounge students and realize
greater conversational flow, Taylor (2012) followed
the explicit directions of Friedman (2005) regarding
how to conduct “experiential listening.” This involveda kind of meditation and focusing on slowing thebreath in order to realize a state of greater calmness.
It also had an element of the Circle of Excellence
practice as the facilitator focused on an incident ofsuperior rapport in order to make that feeling manifest
again. Taylor (2012) explained that once she reached
the desired state, she followed Friedman’s practice of“observing or ‘grokking’ the whole of the student sothat (she) could be aware of their physical presence,
postures and motions” (para 2). This entire process canbe seen as an effort to cultivate a state of mindfulness
that makes a positive impact on interactions withlanguage learners.

Conclusion
The cultivation of mindfulness can include students
and/or teachers. In the case of students, teachers
may introduce a mindfulness meditation. Due to thegreater number of contact hours and the advantages of
having a homeroom that can be equipped as the teacher
sees fit, this approach may be most appropriate forprimary age children. In a university second language
classroom, teachers may make instructions more openended, introduce a short yoga standing pose, or havestudents read and reflect on mindfulness affirmations.
Having students who practice such mindfulness
methods do questionnaires with comments would be agood starting point for mindfulness researchers.
There are various factors that make teachinga challenging profession. Class size may be large,
students may be unmotivated or tired, and teachers
may feel pressure and stress to perform or have students
perform well on tests. Along with learning pedagogy

and enriching content knowledge, teachers may seek
to cultivate mindfulness to better handle classroom
interactions. There are many promising approaches
to cultivate mindfulness that could be researchedin future studies. Teachers may take up the study
and practice of mindfulness. In addition to doinga mindfulness meditation for 10-50 minutes every
morning in their own homes, teachers may do a 5-10
minute pre-class meditation. This would incorporate
some aspects of a formal meditation but include
class preparatory approaches such as visualizationof teaching the approaching class. Keeping a journal
during a semester of mindfulness training would
provide self-reported data for researchers. Finally,
if practiced long enough with enough focus, future
researchers may want to look at the effect that a
pre-class meditation has on brain waves utilizing
electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring.

References
Bransford, J., Darling-Hammond, L., & LePage, P.
(2005). Introduction. In L. Darling-Hammond,& J. Bransford (Eds.), Preparing teachers for achanging world: What teachers should learn and beable to do (pp. 1-39). San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass.
Davis, R. (n.d.). About Ray. Retrieved from http://
www.theaffirmationspot.com/aboutray.html
Davis, R. (2013, January 30). Student and learning
affirmations [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://theaffirmationspot.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/
student-and-learning-affirmations/
Dottin, E. S. (2009). Professional judgment anddispositions in teacher education. Teaching andTeacher Education, 25, 83-88.
Freedman, I. (n.d.). Postures for Meditation.
Retrieved from http://www.
insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/
articles/postures-for-meditation/.
Garrison Institute. (n.d.). Garrison institute: Inspired
thinking thoughtful action. Retrieved fromhttp://www.garrisoninstitute.org/.
Heffernan V. (2015, April 14). The muddied
meaning of ‘mindfulness.’ The New York Times
The 2015 PanSIG Journal

189

SpiriMagazine. Retrieved http://www.nytimes.
com/2015/04/19/magazine/the-muddiedmeaning-of-mindfulness.html?_r=0.
Jennings, P. A. (2015a). Mindfulness for teachers:
simple skills for peace and productivity in theclassroom. New York, NY: W. W. Norton.
Jennings P. (2015b, March 15). Seven ways
mindfulness can help teachers [Blog post].
Retrieved from http://greatergood.berkeley.
edu/article/item/seven_ways_mindfulness_can_
help_teachers.
Langer, E. J. (1997). The power of mindful learning.
Cambridge, M.A.: Perseus Publishing.
Mitchell, N. (Reporter). (2015, November 10).
Meditation classes introduced into timetables[Video File]. BBC South Today. Retrieved fromhttps://www.facebook.com/BBCSouthToday/
videos/934795656611025/.
Pishghadam, R., Shapoori, M., Shayesteh, S. (2011).
NLP and its relationship with teacher success,gender, teaching experience, and degree: A

comparative study. World Journal of English
Language, 1(2), 2-8. http://dx.doi.org/10.5430/
wjel.v1n2p2
Ritchhart R. & Perkins D. (2000). Life in themindful classroom: Nurturing the dispositionof mindfulness. The Society for the PsychologicalStudy of Social Issues, 56(1), 27-47.
Roeser, R., Skinner, E., Beers, J., & Jennings, P.
(2012). Mindfulness training and teachers’
professional development: An emerging areaof research and practice. Child Development
Perspectives, 6(2), 167-173.
Taylor, C. (2012). The effects of attentive,
counselling-style listening on the participationof Japanese students in conversation: An action
research project. Humanising Language Teaching,14(3). Retrieved from http://www.hltmag.co.uk/
jun12/mart02.htm
Thera, P. (1960). The seven factors of enlightenment.
Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society.

Author’s Biography:
John Spiri is an Associate Professor teaching in the Education Department at Gifu Shotoku
Gakuen University. He has maintained some sort of mindfulness practice for 25 years.

190 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Class Narratives through a Language Portfolio

Motoko Teraoka
Kindai University
teraokamotoko@gmail.com
This paper explores the role of a Language Portfolio (LP) implemented in TOEIC preparatoryclasses at a Japanese university in the 2014 spring semester. LPs were used as a means of improving
student autonomy and facilitating classroom interaction. LPs have been identified as an effective
tool in the language classroom as they necessitate active involvement by students as well as allow for
an appropriate level of intervention by teachers. In the class discussed in this paper, the LP playeda significant role as a tool for students to reflect on class content and as a resource that they could
use while reviewing for quizzes. The majority of the students surveyed reported that their LPs had
contributed positively to their learning. The LP also served as a communicative tool between theteacher and the students, allowing the whole class to share individual learning narratives.
本論では、日本の大学で２０１４年度前期ＴＯＥＩＣ準備コースに導入したランゲージ・ポートフォリオ（
ＬＰ）の役割を検証した。
ＬＰは学生の自主性を向上させ、クラス内のやりとりを促進させるために用いられた。
ＬＰは学習者の積極的な関与、教員の適宜な介入を要するという点で、語学学習において効果的な学習ツールだと考えられている。研究の対象になったクラスでは、
ＬＰは授業内容の振り返りや、小テストの準備を助けるツールとして重要な役割を果たし、過半数以上の学生はＬＰが彼らの学習に寄与したと報告した。
また、ＬＰは教員と学生の間での伝達手段としての役割を担い、個々の学生の学習記録をクラス全体で共有することもできた。

The European Language Portfolio (ELP) is one of
the most prominent examples of LPs. It was first
introduced in 2001 as an application of the Common
European Framework of Reference for Languages(CEFR) to promote learner autonomy including selfreflection, self-assessment, and self-regulated learning,by encouraging teachers and students’ involvement inthese processes (Little, 2012). Martyniuk (2012) offersa description of three key components of the ELP: theLanguage Passport, Language Biography, and Dossier.
The Language Passport serves as a certification of alearner’s language competences, and can be used to

Teraoka, M. (2016). Class narratives through alanguage portfolio. In G. Brooks, M. Porter, D.
Fujimoto, & D. Tatsuki (Eds.), The 2015 PanSIG
Journal (pp. 191-197). Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

evaluate the learner’s language proficiency level using
a proficiency checklist, which is based on common
criteria accepted throughout Europe (for more details
about the Language Passport see CEO, 2001). The
Language Biography describes a learner’s experienceswith language learning focusing on what they can
do in the target language. In this component, goalsetting and self-assessment checklists, such as “I can”
checklists, which expand on the descriptors containedin the self-assessment grid, are essential to facilitate thelearner’s involvement in planning, reflecting on, andassessing their own learning processes and progress (formore details about the Language Biography see CEO,
2006). The Dossier is a collection of examples of alearner’s personal work to illustrate his or her language
competences. Given that the ELP was developed fora learning situation where a variety of languages and
The 2015 PanSIG Journal

191

Teraokacultures converge, it was necessary to adapt the ELP tomeet the requirements of a Japanese monolingual EFL
class.
For example, with the Dossier, the author wanted
to use documents that all of the students in the classwould have in common as examples of students’personal tasks. This was done to allow her to observe
individual students’ overall learning processes in
the class. The tasks that the author was interested inmonitoring included class preparation (before class),class work (during class), and class review (afterclass). For this purpose, three types of documents
were created by the author to be included in the LP:
vocabulary lists, a daily worksheet, and review quizzes.
Before every class, students were required to look up
approximately 30 vocabulary items on the vocabulary
list that would be learned. These items were selectedby the author. The daily worksheet outlined the tasks
that would be covered in that class, and students
were required to complete it in class. They werealso required to reflect on their leaning for the day
by commenting on the worksheet about what they
had learned, what they had achieved, and what theyfound to be the most challenging (see Appendix A).
The review quiz was an assessment tool that was used
to measure students’ learning. It focused mainly on
the vocabulary and grammar learned in the previous
class. It also aimed to encourage students to revisit
their LPs and reflect on their learning, as the content
of the review quizzes were mainly derived from thevocabulary list and the daily worksheet. Students wererequired to compile these three documents after eachclass and place them in an A4 file with 20 pockets.
This file and its contents were what constituted theLP. The LP was examined by the author at the middle
and the end of the semester. Students were given a
grade on the file using the following grading criteria:“completion” (whether or not the daily worksheet had
been completed) and “organization” (how well thehandouts had been organized).

Methods
Participants
The participants were 133 university students from192 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

three TOEIC preparatory classes: two TOEIC A
classes for 2nd-year students and one TOEIC 1class for 3rd and 4th-year students. There were 80
male students and 53 female students. The English
proficiency level of all the participants was preintermediate, corresponding approximately to TOEIC
scores between 350 and 450. During the 2014 springsemester, the students met with the author once aweek for 90 minutes over a 15-week period. The class
was an elective class and the main goal of the class wasto help students to achieve a TOEIC score of 520
or above. The textbooks used in the two TOEIC A
classes and the TOEIC 1 class were different, but both
had separate instructions for the listening and reading
parts, and focused on improving the test-taking
strategies of the students.

Procedure
Two self-assessment checklists were created by theauthor and given over the course of the semester. Selfassessment checklist 1 was distributed in the middle
and Self-assessment checklist 2 was given at the endof the semester. These self-assessment checklists were
designed for the students to assess their own learning
progress and processes using a 5-point Likert scale.
The questions on these checklists focused on both thestudents’ perception of their acquisition of the learning
strategies they were being taught for the listening andreading parts of the TOEIC and their ability to meetthe class requirements. Other aspects that were selfassessed were revisitations of their LPs, class review,class preparation, class participation, and out-of-classstudy, all of which would promote students’ selflearning and learner autonomy. In Self-assessment
checklist 1, two open questions were included toseek information from the students regarding theirindividual learning goals for the latter half of thesemester and how they planned to achieve them. Selfassessment checklist 1 served as an introductory tool
for the students to get accustomed to self-assessing
their learning processes and their ability to meetclass requirements. One of the difficulties related tothe implementation of LPs in Japan’s EFL context is,
as Horiuchi et al. (2010) point out, that students are
not accustomed to self-assessment. The participants

Class Narratives Through a Language Portfolio, pages 191-197
in this study were no exception. After the author
looked at Self-assessment checklist 1, it was returnedto the students with the written feedback from theauthor. Self-assessment checklist 2 included threeopen questions regarding the students’ judgements
about their achievement of their own learning goals,
whether the students did something additional to
improve their learning after they had conducted Selfassessment checklist 1, and how the students feltthat their LPs had contributed to their learning (seeAppendix B). Self-assessment checklist 2 was used to
discover and analyze students’ perceptions about therole of their LPs.

hand, 17% (n = 22) answered that they were notcertain about the LP’s positive effect on their learning,
while 2% (n = 2) of the students said that their LPs
did not benefit their learning at all (see Table 1).
When asked how the LP had benefited theirlearning, 96% (n = 128) left some comments.
Among them 57% (n = 73) said that it had helped
them to review what they had already learned andto prepare for the review quizzes. In addition,
15% (n = 19) reported that their LPs helped themto acquire learning strategies for the TOEIC, andanother 15% (n = 19) reported that revisiting theirLPs had given them a better understanding ofgrammar and vocabulary (see Table 2).

Results
The majority of the 133 students who completed Selfassessment checklist 2, 82% (n = 109), answered that
the LP had benefited their learning. On the other

Discussion
The majority of the students reported that they
believed that their LPs had made a positive

Table 1
Study Skills and Class Requirements for Self-assessment
5

4

3

2

1

n

n

n

n

n

%

%

%

%

%

Did you organize worksheets and handouts in your portfolio?

98
(74%)

28
(21%)

5
(4%)

2
(2%)

0
(0%)

Did you often revisit your textbook and portfolio to prepare
for review quizzes?

43
(32%)

71
(53%)

18
(14%)

0
(0%)

1
(1%)

Did you bring your textbook and portfolio to class?

95
(71%)

30
(23%)

5
(4%)

2
(2%)

1
(1%)

Did you actively participate in class through individual orgroup work?

31
(23%)

72
(54%)

24
(18%)

5
(4%)

1
(1%)

Did you study for TOEIC outside of class?

13
(10%)

41
(31%)

57
(43%)

13
(10%)

9
(7%)

Did you reflect on your learning through your portfolio?

17
(13%)

70
(53%)

40
(30%)

4
(3%)

2
(2%)

Did your portfolio benefit your learning?

35
(26%)

74
(56%)

22
(17%)

0
(0%)

2
(2%)

Questions and Assessment

Note. 5 = very much; 4 = to some extent; 3 = neither yes nor no; 2 = not very much; 1 = not at all

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

193

Teraoka
Table 2
LP Contribution to Learning
Reasonn%Helped with review practice for review quizzes

73

57%

Helped to acquire learning strategies for TOEIC

19

15%

Enhanced grammar understanding and built vocabulary

19

15%

Helped with TOEIC preparations before the test

7

5%

Helped to discover weaknesses of learning areas

6

5%

Helped as a concise reference book4

3%

contribution to their learning. As discussed above,
there were a number of reasons the students gave for
why they thought their LPs had a positive effect on
their learning. The majority of the students surveyed
felt that their LPs had helped them to prepare forreview quizzes. This result could be interpreted tomean that the value of the LP for these students isdirectly related to its ability to help them to pass thecourse, rather than its role in expanding the scopeof their out-of-class learning. This is not surprising,as the main reason the majority of the students gave
for registering for these courses was to accumulatecredits. The benefit of this is that, for these students,
the LP was seen as a practical tool that they could use
to study for review quizzes. Because of this, they weremore likely to complete the tasks involved in making
the LP. As such, teachers need to be flexible with theaims of LPs while still ensuring that it is constructed ina way that enhances learner autonomy including selfreflection, self-assessment, and self-regulated learning.
The LP showed improvement of the qualityof students’ self-reflections over the course of thesemester. At the beginning of the semester, when
asked about the most challenging task during the classas part of self-reflection for the day, some students
used to respond by merely writing “Part 4: shorttalks listening” or “Part 7: reading comprehension.”
However, as they became more accustomed to selfreflections, they began to include more details about
the difficulties that they had. For example, some

194 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

students reported that they became more confusedin the listening part of the TOEIC when the order of
information heard and the order of questions asked
were different. Furthermore, others said that although
they knew the answer to the question asked in thereading passage, it took a certain amount of time todetermine the best possible answer from four choiceitems because they had to interpret and paraphrase thewords and phrases used in these items.
It was also possible to identify ways in which
students customized their LPs. Some students useddifferent colored inks to highlight their mistakes orachievements, while others created their own cartoon
characters for the worksheet and had them talk about
learning strategies or study skills. Through fifteen
sessions, the students’ LPs became a storybook of theirlearning processes, experiences, and achievements. LP
customization can infer that students were actively
engaged in self-recording their learning in class.

Limitations
While the initial results of this study are promising,
there are still some issues that need to be looked atwhen assessing the value of LPs in the classroom.
One of them is that the validity of self-assessment
can be difficult to establish. Sato (2010) discusses
inconsistencies between how students and teachers
assess students’ learning performances. She attributes
this discrepancy to students’ lack of self-knowledge
and insufficient understanding of the importance ofClass Narratives Through a Language Portfolio, pages 191-197
self-reflection. Therefore, it is important to encourage
students to set achievable and realistic learning goals
and plans, and reflect on their own learning both inand out of class.

Conclusion
Implementing an LP in the class needs active
involvement by students as well as teachers. It is alsoessential for teachers to appropriately intervene
in students’ learning processes in the class and toencourage them to be a self-regulatory learner. In
this study, even though the same handouts were
distributed, the same instructions were made, andthe same requirements were imposed, individual
students’ LPs were not the same. The LP turned out
to be a storybook of each student’ learning processes,
experiences, and achievements. Therefore, LPs may
provide students a good opportunity to keep theirown learning records or narratives that help them toassess, reflect on, and plan their own learning.

References
Council of Europe (2001). Common European
framework of reference for languages: Learning,teaching, assessment. Cambridge, England: Press
Syndicate of the University of Cambridge.
Council of Europe (2006). European language
portfolio: Key reference documents. Strasbourg,

Germany: Council of Europe.
Horiuchi, S., Harada, Y., Imoto, Y., & Atobe, S.
(2010). The implementation of a Japaneseversion of the “European language portfoliojunior version-” at Keio: Implications from theperspective of organizational and educational
anthropology. In M.G. Schmidt, N. Naganuma,
F. O’Dwyer, A. Imig, & K. Sakai (Eds). Can dostatements in language education in Japan andbeyond: Applications of the CEFR (pp. 138-154).
Tokyo, Japan: Asahi Press.
Little, D. (2012). The European language portfolio:
History, key concerns, further prospects. In B.
Kühn & M. L. Cavana (Eds.), Perspectives from theEuropean language portfolio: Learner autonomy
and self-assessment (pp.55-65). Oxford, England:
Routledge.
Martyniuk, W. (2012). The European language
portfolio (ELP) in its original Council of Europe
context. In B. Kühn & M. L. Cavana (Eds.),
Perspectives from the European language portfolio:
Learner autonomy and self-assessment (pp.59-70).
Oxford, England: Routledge.
Sato, Y. (2010). Using can do statements to promotereflective learning. In M.G. Schmidt, N.
Naganuma, F. O’Dwyer, A. Imig, & K. Sakai(Eds). Can do statements in language education in
Japan and beyond: Applications of the CEFR (pp.
184-199). Tokyo, Japan: Asahi Press.

Author’s Biography:
Motoko Teraoka has been teaching English in various institutions, from English conversation
schools for young learners and adults to universities. Her interests include language portfolios,
self-regulatory learning, learner autonomy, and ESP. <teraokamotoko@gmail.com>.

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

195

Teraoka

Appendix A

Appendix A

Can-do for today
Unit 2: Fundamentals 2 (Check it : when you can do ���Part 2: Write key words and phrases
�Part 5: Analyze each questionØ Part 2: Questions and Responses
1. (

):

2. (
3. (

):
):

Ø Part 5: Incomplete Sentences: Form vs. Meaningl Pre-task: Identify either grammar questions or vocabulary questionsl Post-task: Regarding grammar questions, what grammatical knowledge is necessary?
l Post-task: Regarding vocabulary questions, what are the key words that determine the answer?
1.
2.
3.
Ø Self-reflection
1. What I’ve learned:
2. What I’ve achieved:
3. What I’ve found most challenging:
Note. This is not a complete version of the can-do for today. Examples of listening and reading parts
are chosen.

196 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Class Narratives Through a Language Portfolio, pages 191-197

Appendix B

Appendix B
Self-assessment checklist 2
1. Acquisition of learning strategies
Part

Strategies

Self-assessment

1

Focus on content words: nouns & verbs especially

5

4

3

2

1

2

Focus on question types: WH, Yes/No, Choice etc.

5

4

3

2

1

3/4

Pre-read questions and predict the situation

5

4

3

2

1

5

Identify either grammar or vocabulary

5

4

3

2

1

6

Look before and after the missing parts

5

4

3

2

1

7

Look at the title or the email subject and predict the content
Look carefully for paraphrased expressions

5

4

3

2

1

Did you organize worksheet handouts in your portfolio?

5

4

3

2

1

Did you often revisit your textbook and portfolio to prepare forreview quizzes?

5

4

3

2

1

Did you bring your textbook and portfolio to class?

5

4

3

2

1

Did you actively participate in class through individual or group
work?

5

4

3

2

1

Did you study for TOEIC outside of class?

5

4

3

2

1

Did you reflect on your learning through your portfolio?

5

4

3

2

1

Did your portfolio benefit your learning?

5

4

3

2

1

2. Requirements for the course and promotion of your own learning

3. Open questions
Did you achieve your learning goal? Justify.
Referring to the Self-assessment checklist1, what did you do to improve your learning?
How did your portfolio benefit your learning?
Note: 5 = very much; 4 = to some extent; 3 = neither yes nor no; 2 = not very much; 1 = not at all

The 2015 PanSIG Journal

197

JUEMUN Journalism: Taking Digital
Journalism Simulations to a New Level

Todd Thorpe

Mark D. Sheehan

Edward Pearse Sarich

Kindai University
toddthorpe@hotmail.com

Hannan University
mark@hannan-u.ac.jp

Shizuoka University of Art andCulturesuacted@gmail.com

Robert Dunn
Kindai University
robertopithecus@gmail.com
This article describes a digital journalism simulation called JUEMUN Journalism. JUEMUN, theJapan University English Model United Nations, is an annual event in Japan that brings together
students from around the globe to participate in a Model United Nations (MUN). A componentof this event includes teams of journalists who cover the activities that take place at the MUN, andreport on them in four media formats: podcasts, video broadcasts, written chronicles and editorial
cartoons. The planning, negotiation, and collaborative experience coupled with the technologicalexpertise students gain by participating in JUEMUN Journalism supports them in many areas of
the workforce that require 21st century skills. After an explanation of the origins of this project, adescription of the implementation of JUEMUN Journalism will be given.
本稿は、
ＪＵＥＭＵＭジャーナリズムと呼ばれるデジタル・ジャーナリズム・シミュレーションに関する。
Ｊ
ＵＥＭＵＭ（日本大学英語模擬国連大会）
は、世界各国からの学生が参加する年に1度のイベントである。
その中の部門の一つとしてジャーナリスト・チームがある。彼らは、本イベントの取材し、4つのメディア（ポッドキャスト、
ビデオ、文書記録、漫画）を用いて報告を行う。計画、交渉、技術担当学生との協同等を行い、21世紀において社会で必要なスキルを習得する。本プロジェクトの始まりに続き、ＪＵＥＭＵＭジャーナリズムについて説明する。

Shortly after the founding of the Japan University
English Model United Nations ( JUEMUN)
conference in 2010, two needs became apparent. First,
the organizers needed a way to document the eventin order to assist in promoting it. Second, there were
Thorpe, J., Sheehan, M.D., Sarich, E.P., & Dunn,
R. (2016). JUEMUN journalism: Taking digitaljournalism simulations to a new level. In G. Brooks,
M. Porter, D. Fujimoto, & D. Tatsuki (Eds.), The
2015 PanSIG Journal (pp. 198-204). Tokyo, Japan:
JALT.

198 The 2015 PanSIG Journala large number of students who showed interest, butlacked the skills, time, or confidence to participate
as country delegates. Being a country delegate at
a JUEMUN conference can be an overwhelming
experience in terms of preparation and participation.
In the preparation phase, students are required
to conduct detailed research into their assigned
countries as well as familiarize themselves with therules and protocols of the United Nations. During
the JUEMUN conference, they must participate in asimulation of the United Nations that includes giving
speeches, attending lectures, and discussing global

Digital Journalism Simulations, pages 198-204
issues, all in English.
To encourage more students with various interests
and abilities to gain important 21st century skills,
JUEMUN’s cofounder, Todd Thorpe, establishedJUEMUN Journalism in 2013. The inaugural teamof seventeen JUEMUN journalists from Kinki
University provided in-depth coverage of the 2013
JUEMUN conference. The three digital formats ofvideo, podcasts, and newspaper chronicle still remainstrong and JUEMUN Journalism has evolved greatly
since its initial year. The additions that have been madeto JUEMUN Journalism and the rationale behindthose changes will be described below along with an
explanation of the implementation of JUEMUN
Journalism and the various aspects involved.

Educational Goals of JUEMUN Journalism
In Japan, English education has often been criticized
for focusing too heavily on linguistic competence,
meaning the ability to understand the component
parts of language, at the expense of fosteringcommunicative competence, or the ability to use
language in a meaningful and productive way.
JUEMUN journalism seeks to extend opportunities
for JUEMUN participants by offering them a method
through which they can develop real-world skills in
an authentic environment. Moreover, Stillar (2009)
reported that Japanese universities need to provide
more activities that have a consciousness raising effecton students. JUEMUN journalism addresses theseissues by exposing students to global issues and having
them report on them as news stories. This approach
fosters a greater depth of understanding of the issues
while concurrently helping lower-level students toimprove their English language skills. Furthermore,critical thinking, and the ability to express one’s
own opinion is a crucial part of English educationthat has often been found lacking in Asian countries
such as Japan (Long, 2003). JUEMUN Journalism
attempts to remedy this situation by having students
demonstrate their understanding of what they learned
at JUEMUN in a meaningful and productive way.
Participation in JUEMUN Journalism fosters an
integrated set of skills and background knowledge,
both about important global issues, and more

specifically about the craft of journalism. It also
does so in an environment in which students candevelop their English skills, while at the same raising
student awareness of cultural differences throughinternational exchange. Students are taken throughthe stages of story production from brainstorming
and storyboarding all the way through to online
publishing. Students are responsible for gathering
relevant information, evaluating and processing it,
observing events and conducting interviews. This
is no small task considering JUEMUN 2015 had
276 participants from 30 different countries, 47
participating universities, 25 advisors, five guest
speakers, and a large number of volunteers and staff
that participated in ongoing events from Friday
morning to Sunday afternoon. The number ofsimultaneous activities that take place at JUEMUN
can appear chaotic to the untrained eye. Amidst all thisactivity, journalists are tasked with developing stories
in different formats, editing and revising their work,and finally publishing high-quality final products to
the JUEMUN Journalism website.

JUEMUN Journalism Implementation
Journalism Formats
In 2015, 28 students participated as JUEMUN
journalists in four different digital journalism formats.
The newspaper journalists reported on JUEMUN
events by writing articles. The podcast journalists
covered various JUEMUN events by creating audio
broadcasts, and the video journalists used a variety ofskills to cover events in a digital video format. Editorial
Cartoons, the fourth JUEMUN journalism format,
were added to the JUEMUN Journalism experiencein the 2015 conference. Editorial cartoonists captured
their impressions of JUEMUN events by creating
several drawings and short manga.

JUEMUN Journalism teams and preconference assignments
After applying for positions and being vetted byadvisors, JUEMUN journalists were assigned to twoperson teams and put in contact with each otherapproximately three months before the JUEMUN
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Thorpe, Sheehan, Sarich, & Dunn
2015 event, which was held in June. The teams wereencouraged to get to know each other and participate
in pre-JUEMUN journalism assignments for each
respective format they were assigned to. The goals ofthese assignments were to help students get to knoweach other as well as become familiar with any softwareor hardware that they would be required to use at
the event. The assignments also helped the student
journalists learn about the global issues that theywould be reporting on in their assigned meeting room.
Study guides were also made available to the students
to prepare them to use the equipment, software, andfamiliarize them with the events that they were going
to cover. For the most part, the JUEMUN teams
consisted of multi-cultural pairs of one Japaneseand one international student and the medium ofcommunication was English. However, the journalists
were given the freedom to report in other languages aswell. One video team included Korean subtitles andnarration in their videos, and the podcast journalists
included two Chinese students who created podcasts
in English and Chinese. In addition, some of theinternational newspaper journalists wrote stories inJapanese, while Japanese journalists wrote in English.
The editorial cartoonists included students with aninterest in drawing and art; some of the students
have aspirations to be manga artists or illustrators in
the future. All of the student journalists submitted
assignments to their advisors before the JUEMUN
conference; these tasks allowed the advisors to evaluate
students’ work and have an indication of their level ofmotivation and storytelling skills.

Journalism equipment and support
Each journalism team was given access to equipmentthat would help them create their materials. The
podcast teams had IC recorders and computers with
Audacity software on them. Each video team had theirown dedicated video camera with a microphone andtripod, and a Mac computer with iMovie video editing
software. The newspaper journalists were provided
with IC voice recorders, digital cameras and computersthat included word processing software. The editorial
cartoonists were given a variety of stationery supplies
for drawing cartoons.

200 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Journalism advisors were available throughout
the conference to consult with the students onstoryboarding, taking footage, recording audio, using
the editing software, and on how to upload the videos
and podcasts, and chronicle stories to the JUEMUN
Journalism website; cartoonists received support inscanning and uploading their editorial cartoons to thewebsite. All of the news that the students produced
was uploaded to the JUEMUN Journalism website:
http://juemunjournalism.weebly.com/ during theevent so that all of the JUEMUN participants, and the
public, could see stories of the events at JUEMUN inreal time. For JUEMUN 2015, a promising graduate
student who is majoring in journalism was assigned
the role of Editor-in-Chief; she was responsible foroverseeing the journalism teams and managing theworkflow. This assignment gave the Editor-in-Chiefhands-on experience managing a newsroom and inproject management.
The role of the advisors consisted mainly of
troubleshooting, encouragement, and facilitating,as it was felt that empowering the teams to takeownership of the stories that they produced would
maximize the development of practical skills andtheir JUEMUN experience. Overall, the student
teams were highly independent and required very
little oversight. Although each JUEMUN team was
responsible for every aspect of the process, different
roles and responsibilities developed organically. Someteams tended to divide the responsibilities, having
one student responsible for gathering footage, oraudio, while the other member focused on editing.
Other teams preferred to consult on every aspect ofthe process together. Teams were also encouraged toexperiment with a variety of reporting and production
styles such as straight one-on-one interviews,
condensed versions of lectures, and the use of subtitles
and narration.

Challenges
In the initial stages of JUEMUN journalism, one
practical consideration that came up involved
equipment use and maintenance. The equipment
needed to be checked to see that it was in goodworking order, and the method of transferringDigital Journalism Simulations, pages 198-204

Figure 1. JUEMUN 2015 Journalism teams and formats.
Note. There were 28 journalists.

information among the cameras and IC recorders had
to be verified. In this regard, a brief explanation of how
to use the equipment and how the materials were to be
uploaded helped streamline the process. One problem
that occurred during JUEMUN 2014 was that thebatteries on two of the camera microphones diedand some of the first videos that were taken had poorsound, or no sound at all. This problem was turned
into a learning opportunity, however, since students
chose to experiment with different reporting methods,
using subtitles, background music and narration torelay their messages rather than lose the footage.
They were able to create quality videos despite having
encountered technical problems.
The journalist teams experienced several issues
during the course of JUEMUN, such as dealing withequipment malfunctions, learning how to use editing
software, and interpersonal communication. In someinstances, student journalists had to overcome theirown shyness or lack of assertiveness that initially wasan obstacle to getting interviews or scoops. However,these are all issues that real journalists will have toface, and helping students overcome these challenges

in a safe and nurturing environment fostered thedevelopment of several life skills. In this regard, theadvisor’s role is to facilitate the process, guiding
rather than instructing, and offering advice andencouragement when needed.

Covering events and gathering information
To keep all of the journalist teams on target at the2015 conference, JUEMUN Journalism coverageboards were made by the conference organizers andprovided to the journalists in each format. These
coverage boards included a list of the scheduled events
throughout the conference and designated different
teams to report on them. This information gave thestudents clear goals and also ensured that there would
be balanced coverage of all the events at JUEMUN.
The coverage board outlined all of the stories thatneeded to be covered throughout the conference, butthere was also enough time and freedom built in forjournalists to be able to report on other stories thatthey thought would be interesting. The daily coverageboards for each format were printed as posters anddisplayed in front of each of JUEMUN Journalism
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Thorpe, Sheehan, Sarich, & Dunnediting room as visual guides to keep them onschedule. The journalist teams, Editor-in-Chief andthe advisors documented the status of their stories onthese posters throughout the conference. An example
of a coverage board is shown in Figure 2.
One component of JUEMUN is to have anumber of guest speakers come to the conference
and give lectures to a select group of students andlater participate in question and answer sessions. The
educational benefits of these lectures are considerable;
giving delegates at JUEMUN a chance to learn
from experts in the field and bring back valuable

Figure 2. JUEMUN 2015 Journalism Coverage Board, Podcast Teams, Day 1.
Note. Enlarged, colored coverage boards were made for each day of the event.

202 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Digital Journalism Simulations, pages 198-204
information that will help them in their discussion
groups. Journalists are also invited to attend theseguest speaker sessions and report on them. After oneof the guests gave his speech at JUEMUN 2015,
several journalists were allowed access to a question
and answer session, an important opportunity for thejournalists because the chance to interact with theguest speakers, rather than just cover events from theoutside was particularly engaging. This smaller, more
intimate environment not only allowed the journalists
to ask specific questions, but the guest speaker was able
to answer questions from the students in greater detailand more candidly.
One issue that was particularly pertinent forthe journalists was to find the best time to interview
JUEMUN participants. During formal and informal
debates, the delegates were often so focused onunderstanding the content of the sessions thatthey were somewhat reticent to be interrupted orinterviewed. Lunch breaks and when the delegateswere moving between sessions were often the busiest
times for the journalists because that was when
the delegates were relaxed enough to share theirimpressions with everyone. Finding the balance
between when to interview and when to produce
content was a big challenge that the journalists needed
to overcome, and the advisors saw a huge improvement
over the course of three days. In addition, many of
the journalists originally saw their roles as one offilmmaker, podcaster, writer and editor. They cameto realize, however, that skills such as planning,
implementation and getting the participants to open
up about their experiences, were also integral partsof the process. One team learned very quickly, forexample, that asking a delegate for permission to beinterviewed was less successful than simply walking up
to them and asking questions.
One final project that the JUEMUN video
journalists were given was intended to explore thelighter side of JUEMUN. Each of the teams was
asked to take a series of short five-second videos of thedifferent JUEMUN participants performing for thecamera. All of the shorts were then gathered together,edited, and put to music. The final video was played forall of the JUEMUN members at the closing ceremony.
The teams enjoyed working together with the advisorson this group project; it was well received by all of theparticipants and advisors and provided a fun memory
for all the participants at JUEMUN.

Journalism simulations and education
JUEMUN Journalism started as a way to give students
an opportunity to participate in an international
event on their own terms. Students were able to get
the support they needed from their peers and advisors
while also learning technical skills and developing
language skills. Students also showed a great deal of
creativity and experimentation, as well as problemsolving skills. All of these experiences will help themin a number of careers. Students were given the chance
to work in an international setting and create materials
that can be archived and added to their portfolios andused to help them attain jobs in the future.
The types of activities that students partookin at JUEMUN Journalism can be duplicated inother educational settings and at other events. Some
examples include setting up a team of journalist tocover speech contests, sporting events, community
festivals, or open campus events.
Now that the formats have been proven to appeal
to learners with various skill sets and learning styles,
additions will continue to be made to JUEMUN
Journalism in the area of additional languages andmedia formats such as photo journalism. JUEMUN
Journalism also plans to expand by incorporating
live streaming video of breaking news reports as wellas the use of twitter for frequent updates on what is
occurring at the JUEMUN conference. In its thirdyear, JUEMUN Journalism continues to play a positiverole in preparing university students for the rigors of amore international and multicultural workforce bothnationally and internationally, by providing them withmore multicultural cooperative learning opportunities
in English and hands-on digital communication
experiences. Learn more about JUEMUN Journalismand enjoy the high quality stories that were publishedby student journalists’ at: http://juemunjournalism.
weebly.com/.

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Thorpe, Sheehan, Sarich, & Dunn

References
Long, C. (2003). Teaching critical thinking in AsianEFL contexts: Theoretical issues and practicalapplications. In the Proceedings of the 8th
Conference of the Pan-Pacific Association of Applied

Linguistics (229-234). Tokyo, Japan: Waseda
University Media Mix Corp.
Stillar, S. (2009). Critical consciousness raisingin Japanese classrooms. In A. M. Stoke (Ed.),
JALT2009 Conference Proceedings (526-533).
Tokyo, Japan: JALT.

Authors’ Biographies:
Todd Thorpe has over fifteen years of secondary and post-secondary teaching experience inJapan. His teaching and research interests include experiential learning, CALL, critical thinking,problem-solving and curriculum development. Email: toddthorpe@hotmail.com
Mark D. Sheehan has over fourteen years of tertiary-level teaching experience in Japan. His
teaching interests include CALL, academic reading, extensive reading, and exploring ways toengage students with language through content-based English courses. Email: mark@hannan-u.
ac.jp
Robert Dunn teaches a wide variety of English and ESL courses to Humanities, and Economics
majors. His research interests include psycholinguistics, the use of incentives in language
acquisition, and the economics of study abroad programs. He also works as a freelance journalist
covering the automotive and motorcycle industries in Japan. Email: robertopithecus@gmail.com
Edward Pearse Sarich has been working in the field of language education for more thanfifteen years. He is interested in all issues concerning English education in Japan, particularly
standardized language testing and evaluation, communicative language teaching and second
language vocabulary acquisition. Email: suacted@gmail.com

204 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Bringing Theory into the Classroom:
Widdowson’s Framework for Pedagogic
Mediation in Individual Practice

Larry John Xethakis
Kumamoto University
lxethakis@gmail.com
Widdowson’s (1990) teacher mediation framework presents a means for practitioners toincorporate professional knowledge into their classroom practices. While outlining a model for
putting the framework into practice, Widdowson does not, however, suggest the specific meansor procedures by which this might be done by individual teachers in their own classrooms, norhave such been described in the literature. This paper presents a narrative description of a teacherresearcher’s efforts to develop a practical process for implementing this framework in the classroom
by describing the process as well as raising several issues overcome in the course of doing this. It also
discusses some of the consequences of implementing the model and its limitations.
ウィドウソンの提唱する教師が介在するフレームワークには、実践者がその教室での実践に、専門知識をどう組み込むかという手法が含まれる。
ウィドウソンはこのフレームワークを実践に用いるモデ
ルについて触れはしているものの、教室で教師がどう具体的な方法や手順を取るべきかについては提言しておらず、先行研究もなされていない。本研究は、このフレームワークを教室での実践に結びつける事を目的に、教師が実用的プロセスを築くために行った取り組みをナラティブに描写したものであり、
この実践中に起きた問題点の解決例を挙げつつ、
そのプロセスを明らかにしたものである。
またモデルの実践によって導かれた変化と、研究の限界についても検討する。

The gap between educational theory derived fromresearch and classroom practice is a long-standing
concern in language teaching (Lantolf & Pohner,2014), as is the need to provide teachers with atool to bridge this gap and assist them in bringing
professional knowledge into their classrooms (Kessels& Korthagen, 1996).
One means for bridging the theory-practice gap
Xethakis, L. J. (2016). Bringing theory into theclassroom: Widdowson’s framework for pedagogic
mediation in individual practice. In G. Brooks, M.
Porter, D. Fujimoto, & D. Tatsuki (Eds.), The 2015
PanSIG Journal (pp. 205-213). Tokyo, Japan:
JALT.

is suggested in Kumaradivelu’s suggestion to teachers
to “theorize from practice and practice what they
theorize” (Kumaradivelu, 1999, p. 458). To do this,teachers need to ground their classroom practice intheory by operating within a framework of “principledpragmatism” (Kumaravadivelu, 1994, p. 30).
Widdowson (1990) defines this as “a continual processof self-education through an evaluation of practicein reference to theory” (p. x), and his framework forpedagogic mediation is presented as the means to do
this.
The need for such a tool in this study was the resultof this teacher-researcher’s experiences in employing
collaborative learning techniques in a third-year
university level ESP class. The purpose of the class
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Xethakis
was for small groups of students to plan and present
an original architectural design. One of the difficulties
found in the class was the degree of interaction andcooperation among group members. A number ofcollaborative learning techniques were incorporated
into the lessons in an attempt to improve these. While
employing these techniques led to better interaction
and cooperation among the students overall, some of
the techniques worked well and some did not; somewere effective in one class and not in another, and thisraised the question of why. It was felt that a bettergrasp of the underlying principles of collaborative
learning might provide a better understanding of how
and why these techniques worked, as well as insights
into why they did not work in some instances.
Block (2000) characterizes Widdowson’sframework for pedagogic meditation as a model for“what teachers do with research which is alreadydone independent of their contextualized needs”(Block, 2000, p. 139) and as a framework for explicitly
tying professional knowledge to aspects of practiceby grounding it in principles derived from thisknowledge.
While presenting a model for implementing theframework in practice, Widdowson (1990) does not,however, describe the means or a process by which
practitioners might implement the framework in theirown practice to bring theory into their classrooms.
The teacher-researcher in this study attempted to put
the framework into practice and to ascertain whether
or not a practical process for implementing theframework could be developed.
This paper presents a narrative description of theauthor’s efforts to accomplish this. It describes theprocess (See Appendix A for an outline of this process)and examines a number of issues faced in doing this.

appraise theoretical ideas and concepts in light of
their own teaching situation in order to determine
the relevance of any theoretical proposition to theirown particular practice. They make connections
between the techniques they employ in their practiceand the professional knowledge that informs them.
They work to draw out principles which can serve
as guides for practical action in the classroom, andusing these principles as their foundation, they thendevelop activities or techniques which embody theseprinciples.
In this framework, theories and other forms ofprofessional knowledge do not provide ready-madeanswers to problems or puzzles teachers face in theclassroom but serve as a means to help teachers“identify factors that call for further enquiry in theclassroom” (Widdowson, 1984, p. 30). Widdowson(1990) sees this process as analogous to a process ofscientific research. After coming to an understandingof the theory in question, the teacher then develops
hypotheses (principles for practice). These hypotheses
are then tested out in the classroom throughtechniques and activities based on them. The impactof these activities on learning and classroom practice
is observed and these observations serve as evidence tojudge the validity of the hypotheses and the activities.
The model Widdowson provides to give structure
to this process consists of two stages (Figure 1). The
first of stage of the model, appraisal, is concernedwith theory. The two steps that make up this stage,interpretation and conceptual evaluation, areconcerned with coming to an understanding of thetheoretical knowledge in question and drawing out

Putting the Framework into
Individual Practice
Pedagogical mediation is a process through whichteachers work to understand how the concepts andideas taken from professional knowledge can be madeapplicable to their individual contexts and how they
can be brought into the classroom. Teachers must

206 The 2015 PanSIG Journal

Figure 1. Widdowson’s model of pedagogic mediation..

Widdowson’s Framework in Individual Practice, pages 205-213
principles and concepts to be examined for relevanceto one’s own practice.
As my own first step in this process, I began byreading a range of sources on collaborative learning,
including its philosophical bases and theories oflearning which underlie it (Moll, 1992; Smith& MacGregor 1992; Doolittle, 1995; Oxford
1997; Swain & Kinnear, 2010), principles for its
implementation (McGroarty, 1992, 1993; Cohen,
1994) and techniques for its operationalization in
the classroom (Kagan & McGroarty, 1993; Barkley,
Cross, & Howe, 2004). Potential principles from eachreading were drawn out and recorded for each reading.
Through this process, I drew out almost one
hundred principles on a wide variety of topics related
to collaborative learning and collaborative language
learning. I did not feel as though I had really expressed
my understandings of the theories with this process,however. I felt that I had merely collected a long list of
maxims, lacking a sense of connection to my practice:
Just drawing out the pedagogical principles may leadto a mastery of techniques, but it lacks the contextual
knowledge to truly internalize it and be able to put it
into action. Simple maxims, like principles, are good forreminding us or as guides in planning but might not giveenough information to truly adapt them to any situation.
(Entry 24)
Porter, Goldstein, Leatherman and Conrad (1990)
recommend that journals be used in helping to makesense of theory, as a place for “exploring, reacting”
and “making connections” (p. 229). To better express
my understanding of the readings, I chose to write
journal entries after re-reading each of the sources.
These entries were organized around a set of questions
to help make clear the arguments the author was
making, the information they were trying to present
and the possible principles that could be drawn outof the article, its concepts and its theories. The aim
was to present a synthesis of the ideas, concepts andtechniques found in the readings.
Verity (2000) notes that journals are often used
as a place to give “one thoughts a more objective
reality” (p. 183), and my own journals began to takeon this role – allowing me to see how the principles
were tied to the theories they were based on andgiving me a forum to explore my own understandingsof the theories and how they might relate to my own
practice, as I noted in one of my journal entries:
Some means of expressing understanding provides
context for the pedagogical principles. The bare principles
only provide the ‘how’ and the ‘what’; the context
provides the necessary ‘why’. The ‘why’ is needed to beable to alter the principles to meet new contexts; the‘why’ provides flexibility…making it easier to adapt the
principles to better fit your context. (Entry 23)
The second stage of Widdowson’s model,
application, is focused on putting principles to workin the classroom. The two steps in this stage, operationand empirical evaluation, are concerned with
developing classroom techniques and evaluating theireffects on the learning process.
To carry this out, I wrote out lesson plans for eachof the lessons, detailing the activities I was to carry out
in the class. Each class was focused around a specificgoal or topic and collaborative learning activities wereused to scaffold the students’ interactions from moreto less structured. It was hoped that this would provide
guidance, set up problems and suggest proceduresto help create more productive interaction (Cohen,
1994, p. 21-22) in their group discussion on theirdesigns in the latter part of each class.
An example of this, the first class encouraged
team building among the members (Barkley, et al,
2004; Kagan & McGroarty, 1993) using a think-pairshare activity to provide them with a low-pressure
opportunity to discuss their choices for the groupproject and a three-step interview activity to create
a comfort zone and come up with a team name.
The group as a whole then discussed their ideas anddecided on their project as well as the location, thetarget customers and the overall concept of the design.
After writing up each lesson plan, I conducteda retrospective written report to bring to light thethought processes behind the planning of each lesson.
(See Appendix B for an excerpt from one of thesereports.) This report served as the means for making
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Xethakis
clear my reasons for choosing specific activities andtheir hoped-for outcomes, as well as the connections
between the materials and activities in the lesson andthe pedagogical principles that informed my choices.
It provided a frame of reference for reflecting on theroles the principles played in the lesson, with principles
from some sources (e.g., Smith & MacGregor, 1992;
Donato, 1994; Doolittle, 1995) informing everything
I was doing in the cycle of lessons as a whole, principles
from other sources (e.g., Barkley, et al, 2004; Cohen,
1994, Foster, P., & Ohta, A. S. 2005) focused oneach particular lesson, and yet others (e.g., Kagan &McGroarty 1993, McGroarty 1992) focused on aparticular activity or set of activities. These principles
provided me with a powerful means of conceiving of
the purpose of the activities and a strong rationale forusing them in my class. This was my first attempt at themediation of theory.
However, the sheer number of principles andthe lack of some overarching principles to guide
my decisions presented difficulties in planning thesecond lesson. This led me to go back and re-examine
Widdowson’s description of the conceptual evaluation
step. I realized that simply using the principles as I
had was not truly what mediating theory meant. For
Widdowson (2003), “the findings of research, and thetheories they sustain, cannot be directly transferredto the contexts of particular classrooms” (p. 27). This
is what I had mistakenly tried to do. The principles
drawn from the literature provided rationales for using
the activities and materials, but they did not express
my own reasoning nor provide a justification for
implementing them in my own practice. I had failed
to develop a set of my own “valid principles of general
relevance,” as Widdowson (1990, p. 32) terms them.
The purpose of the framework and the model is
not for teachers to apply theory, but to appraise it, to“use it as a catalyst for reflection on your own teachingcircumstances, or…as a point of reference from which
to take bearings on your own practice” (Widdowson,
2003, p. 27).
Following this realization, I worked to develop
several more general principles which were to serveas my own “bearings”. These self-created principles
guided my choices in planning and implementation

208 The 2015 PanSIG Journal(the operation step of the model) throughout thecycle of classes, and so they were termed “operational
principles” to distinguish them from the pedagogicalprinciples drawn out of the readings, which served to
inform my own principles. These principles brought
together the many principles from the literature andexpressed my own understandings of them, serving
as a bridge between the evaluation of professional
knowledge and putting it into operation. They
provided self-articulated reasons for my classroom
practices and a rationale for using collaborative
learning in my classroom. They came to form an
important part of the classroom evaluation process aswell.
To gather empirical evidence to evaluate the effectsof the activities on the learning process, I employed
a number of data collection methods. A teaching
journal recorded my impressions of the class and thestudents’ learning. The classes were videotaped andobservation notes detailing classroom events weretaken. In addition, the students were given short (5to 7 questions) surveys at the end of each class, witha longer (11 questions) survey given at the end of the
final class. The data were given a sense of reliability andvalidity through the triangulation found in the threedifferent views of the same events – my viewpoint,
an objective reference and the students’ viewpoint –present in the data.
The question that arose in this step of the process
was how to tie my observations and the students’surveys to the operational principles guiding myplanning. One possible solution to this was suggested
in a journal entry:
Should or could these principles be restated asquestions? If I can develop a question or questions basedon the principles this might allow me to see them assomething whose answers I can find in the observations I
make in the class. (Entry 34)
Following up on this idea, I used my operational
principles and the activities carried out in the class as
the basis for questions that would give me something
to look for when observing the student’s interactions
as well as guide the entries in my teaching journals.

Widdowson’s Framework in Individual Practice, pages 205-213
Additionally, I revised the surveys, which had
focused on the students’ interest in the class as a whole
and the projects which they were carrying out, andtheir use of English in the class, by adding questions
which restated my principles in language the students
could understand and yet still maintained their central
ideas. Using these questions helped to reveal student
attitudes towards the activities and materials based onthese principles. The surveys now more fully examined
the student’s view on their learning and the effects ofcollaborative learning on this.
The process as portrayed above (and outlined inAppendix A) provided me with a preliminary working
procedure for the implementation of Widdowson’sframework in the classroom. My attempts to resolve
the above issues led me to several realizations
concerning the role the framework was playing in mypractice, two of which are discussed below.

its four steps I gained a deeper understanding of theprofessional knowledge and how it related to myown practice. By putting these ideas into operationand then observing and evaluating their effects, I
was able to begin to perceive the ways in which these‘abstractions’ could be made concrete, and how tomore explicitly link theory and my practice together. It
provided the means for going from theory to practiceand back, as I noted in a journal entry:

Realizations

Conclusion

First and foremost was the centrality of developing
one’s own theory-grounded principles. Simply using
principles drawn from theory as maxims to guidethe choice of classroom activities (Long, 2009) isinsufficient to truly engage with the ideas in question,
as I found out in my initial attempts. Practitioners
must develop their own interpretations of the theory
and work out their own principles to put into practicefor the model to be effective.
In my case, the operational principles I developed
guided my lesson plans and activities, the way I
conducted my classes, and the way I hoped the students
would react to the materials and their classmates.
The principles were grounded in theory, focused myobservations and were reflected in the student surveys.
They tied together what I did and saw and what thestudents did and saw, allowing me to see much moreclearly how my actions in the classroom led to learningby the students. My principles brought all aspects ofmy practice together, allowing me to see the class as a
unified whole from top to bottom.
Secondly, implementing Widdowson’s model
provided me with an organized framework to carefully
consider the issues involved in putting professional
knowledge into my practice. By working throughSmith (2000, p. 8) remarks that developing an“appropriate methodology in and for their own
classrooms” is “the heart of what it means toteach appropriately, in any context”. Widdowson’sframework can provide practitioners with a toolfor doing this. Its recursive nature provides thepractitioner with multiple opportunities to reflect on
and learn from their experience, allowing them to see
how professional knowledge can be applied in specificteaching contexts. Tools such as these are needed forteachers to be able to take charge of their own teachingsituations and aid them in their own development of
their pedagogical skills.
The process outlined in this paper can provide
individual practitioners with the means to criticallyengage with theory in a reflective manner and so
consider the relevance of particular theories totheir own context. It also encourages practitioners
to explicitly bring theory into the decision-making
process and link it to specific aspects of their practicethrough the development of self-derived principles
which guide their classroom actions. Finally, it allows
them to gather evidence from the classroom on
the impact of these principles. First, by using theseprinciples as guides for classroom observation and

The model is making the ways in which professional
knowledge is put to use in my classroom more apparent-- bringing it out into the light day in a sense. And at thesame time giving me the chance to think more clearly andpurposefully about why I’m doing what I’m doing. Thismodel provides a means of focused reflection – targetedat how a teacher sees their classroom practices in relation
to professional knowledge. (Entry 44)

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journal entries, and second, by using them as the basisof surveys to gain the students’ perspective on theimpact of these principles in the classroom.
While the time and effort needed to implement
the process outlined above, may not be available to allpractitioners, it is hoped that this paper will provide
both an impetus and a basis for other teachers to
explore their own means of employing Widdowson’sframework in their classroom in order to help better
ground their practice in professional knowledge.

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Author’s Biography:
Larry Xethakis graduated from Kumamoto University in 2105 with an MA in Applied
Linguistics and now lectures at Kumamoto University. His research interests include teacher
development, teacher autonomy, conceptions of practice and the role of philosophy in education.

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Appendix A
Steps Followed in Implementing Widdowson’s Framework for Pedagogic Mediation in
Individual Practice
The figure below shows the steps that were followed in putting Widdowson’s framework to use in individual
practice.

Steps followed in implementing Widdowson’s framework for pedagogic mediation in individual practice..

212 The 2015 PanSIG JournalWiddowson’s Framework in Individual Practice, pages 205-213

Appendix B
Excerpt from Retrospective Written Report on Planning Lesson 1
Activity: Pick projects – Write-Pair-Share activity
The pedagogical principles I’m following here are:
1. Simultaneity Principle – having Ss speak in pairs or small groups increases overall speaking time andnumber of students engaged. (Kagan and McGroarty, 1993, p 55)
2. One-way tasks (listen to a speaker and then switch) may provide lower level learners with more practicein extended speaking and listening. It may provide them with the opportunity for extended discourse in
L2 and give them confidence in their ability to express themselves and understand others. (McGroarty,
1992, p 49)
3. Create a productive non-threatening environment that encourages effort. (McGroarty, 1993, p 40-41)
This is the first true collaborative activity. After I quickly go over the project options on the sheet, the individual
students will choose their top three choices and give a reason why for each one, they will then tell their partner
their choices, the partner will ask 1 follow-up question and the students will switch roles. (2)This format will give the students time think on their own and allowing them to write out their answers and readout their answers will help alleviate the tension of speaking and expressing their opinion (1). Asking 1 follow-up
question ensures that the listener pays attention.
This also acts as a rehearsal for students to express their preferences later in their group when deciding on thegroup project. (3)Activity: Icebreaker/Three-step interview
The pedagogical principles I’m following here are:
4. Include one-way (giving and justifying opinions) and two-way (sharing of information) tasks.
(McGroarty, 1993, p 34-35)
5. Students must have a responsibility to make their own contributions to the interaction, i.e. each student
has to exchange information or resources (to interact) to achieve group success (positive interdependence
and individual accountability). (Kagan and McGroarty, 1993, p. 50)
6. Team Building can help create a supportive environment within the team. (Kagan and McGroarty, 1993,
p 59)
7. Icebreakers ease tension creating a more comfortable environment and they create an expectation ofinteraction and so are useful as introductions to meaningful and ongoing collaboration. (Barkely, et al,
2004, p. 30)
8. Setting aside sufficient time for students to get to know each other to build trust to develop a sense ofcommunity…can ensure the course gets off to a positive start by helping to orient students towards CL.
(Barkely, et al, 2004, p. 41)
The goal of this activity is for the team to find out what they all have in common by discussing six prompts inpairs, then switching partners and repeating the activity. All four members will then use the prompts to findwhat they all have in common and to use this to come up with a team name (2, 4, 5). This will help build a senseof team spirit as well as serving as a low-stress means of getting the group members to interact with each other inEnglish allowing the group members to feel comfortable with each other (3, 6, 7, 8)
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