Chapter 5: Japan has four seasons: Nihonjinron and native-speakerisms at the eikaiwa gakkou

10.47908/13/5 ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 64-72
Author(s):  
Martin Cater
Keyword(s):  
English Learners ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
Japanese Society ◽  
Learner Beliefs ◽  
Four Seasons ◽  
Japanese English

Focusing on his experiences and research on the apparent interaction between native-speakerism and nationalism, Martin Cater addresses how learner beliefs in eikaiwa can be shaped by larger influences from the ELT industry and Japanese society. He discusses how native-speakerism and the Japanese nationalist ideology of nihonjinron can be seen in the stated beliefs of Japanese English learners and how these ideas are sometimes promoted by eikaiwa schools. However, he also gives examples from his personal experience of how these problematic ideologies can be disrupted through grassroots action by teachers.

On the nature of morphological awareness in Japanese–English bilingual children: A cross-linguistic perspective

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
YUKO HAYASHI ◽  
VICTORIA A. MURPHY
Keyword(s):  
English Learners ◽  
Morphological Awareness ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Morphological Development ◽  
Morphological Knowledge ◽  
Japanese Learners ◽  
Reciprocal Transfer ◽  
Japanese English

While morphological awareness has received much attention to date, little is understood about how morphological awareness develops within bilingual children learning typologically different languages. Therefore, we investigated children's knowledge of inflections and derivations in Japanese and English, and also asked whether morphological awareness in one language predicted morphological awareness in the other. To that end, 24 Japanese learners of L2 English (ESL) and 21 English learners of Japanese as a heritage language (JHL) were recruited and participated in a range of tasks assessing both vocabulary and morphological knowledge. Cross-linguistic contributions of morphological awareness were identified in both directions (Japanese ↔ English), after controlling for age, IQ, and vocabulary knowledge. This bidirectional transfer was, however, identified only in the ESL group. The group-specific and reciprocal transfer observed is discussed in terms of morphological complexities and relative competence in each language. The potential role of different types of L2 instruction in morphological development is also discussed.

scholarly journals The Relationship between English Language Learner Characteristics and Online Self-regulation: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 3009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Wang ◽  
Ju Zhan
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation Modeling ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Learning Motivation ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
English Learning ◽  
Learner Characteristics ◽  
Learner Beliefs ◽  
Learning Anxiety

Learner beliefs, anxiety, and motivation are three common learner characteristics. They have consistently been found to account for language learning performance. Meanwhile, self-regulation is critical in sustaining online learners’ continuous efforts and predicting their learning outcomes. Despite the massive and rapidly increasing number of online English learners, few studies have clarified the assumed relationships between learner characteristics (learner beliefs, anxiety, motivation) and self-regulation in the online English learning context. This study aims to fill the gap by conducting structural equation modeling analysis to examine their relations. To fulfill the research purpose, we adopted the previous questionnaires with sufficient reliability as instruments to evaluate students’ online English learner beliefs, learning anxiety, learning motivation and online self-regulated English learning. The valid responses collected from 425 Chinese undergraduate university students enrolled in an online academic English writing course provided the data source. The results indicated that learner beliefs positively predicted, while learning anxiety negatively predicted, online self-regulated English learning. Online English learning motivation was a mediator in these associations. The findings suggested that stronger learner beliefs of self-efficacy and perceived value of English learning promoted learning motivation and self-regulation. In contrast, higher learning anxiety, such as test anxiety and fear of negative evaluation, harmed learners’ motivation and their online self-regulated English learning.

scholarly journals Exploring the Effects of Recursive Conversations on L2 Learner Beliefs

2019 ◽  
Vol 2018 (1) ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
David Bowyer
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
English Learners ◽  
First Year ◽  
Learning Beliefs ◽  
Learner Beliefs ◽  
Multiple Partners ◽  
Language Learning Beliefs ◽  
Belief Changes ◽  
Present Case Study

Recursion, developed from sociocultural perspectives on language learning, has been described by Kindt (2004) as the “return to a similar experience—but with wider knowledge” (p. 15). By engaging in recursive conversations, learners can iterate on their L2 oral interactions through the use of interaction-focused feedback and conversations with multiple partners. This study builds on preliminary research by Murphey (2003) and Kindt and Bowyer (2018) that explored the effects of recursion on learners’ L2 competence and beliefs but were too broad in scope and worked with limited data. This present case study employed a mixed methods approach in which interviews and surveys were conducted with 48 first-year English learners at a Japanese university, with the aim of examining the effects of recursive conversations on language learning beliefs. Results indicated belief changes in the areas of (a) peer interaction, (b) L2 oral competence, and (c) self-efficacy. However, further research is required. 反復とは、言語学習における社会文化理論の観点において発展した、「より幅広い知識を持ち、類似した経験に戻ること」であると定義されている（Kindt, 2004, p. 15）。反復会話活動を通して、学習者は第二言語を用いて多様なパートナーとの活動とフィードバックを受ける機会を得ることができる。本研究は、反復活動の学習者の第二言語習得度及び学習者の言語学習における考えに対しての効果について焦点が置かれたMurphey（2003）とKindt & Bowyer（2018）の研究に基づいて行われた。本事例研究では、反復会話活動の学習者の言語学習に関する考えに対しての効果について調査するために、日本の大学に在籍する1年生48名を対象としてインタビューとアンケートを用いての混合研究法が実施された。結果として、学習者の考えは、（1）ピアインタラクション（仲間との対等の相互作用）、（2）L2口頭（言語）能力、（3）自己効力感の3つの分野において変化が示された。しかしながら、より明確な結論を導き出す前に、さらなる研究調査の実施が必要とされるだろう。

A Sentence Repetition Placement Test for ESL/EFL Learners in Japan

2014 ◽  
pp. 971-988 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Sigmund Topor
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Global Environment ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Placement Test ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Sentence Repetition ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Japanese English

Informed by psycholinguistics, an aspect of the theory of Communicative Competence, this chapter explores the predictive utility of a Sentence Repetition (Placement) Test (SRPT) for L1 Japanese English learners. A bivariate correlational analysis shows a positive correlation (r = .643) between scores on the listening segment of the TOEIC and those on a Sentence Repetition Placement Test. Data for the Sentence Repetition Placement Test was generated from university students and working professionals in Tokyo, Japan (N = 35; 25 men and 10 women). A valid Sentence Repetition Placement Test may provide the solution to ESL/EFL placement in Japan. Future research on Sentence Repetition Placement Test for ESL/EFL should address the relationship between the espoused ESL/EFL Communicative Competence objectives and policies to achieve those objectives. Within the current global environment, internal adjustments are clearly necessary to cope with external communicative demands.

scholarly journals Obstacles to Japanese membership in the imagined global community of English users

2013 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Fifer
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Abstract Concept ◽  
Global Community ◽  
Japanese University ◽  
Japanese Students ◽  
The People ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Japanese English ◽  
Japanese Translation

Although Japanese English learners are well aware of the potential of English as a means to communicate with the world, this remains an abstract concept for most, who have limited English interaction outside the classroom and continue to associate the language primarily with the people and cultures of traditionally English-speaking countries. Japanese university students, furthermore, tend to have less experience with international online English communication than their counterparts in many other countries. In this article, the author discusses several factors that contribute to the difficulty many Japanese students have conceptualizing themselves as members of an imagined global community of English users: the Japanese discourses of Nihonjinron and kokusaika, the Japanese translation and publishing industries, and a preference for domestic social networking websites. He concludes by advocating increased employment of international Internet exchange projects in Japanese English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms as the best hope for facilitating membership in the imagined global community of English users. 日本人の英語学習者たちは、世界中の人々とのコミュニケーションをとる手段としての英語の可能性をよく理解しているが、教室以外で英語を使用することがあまりなく、多くの人々は英語を主に伝統的な英語圏の国の人々や文化に連想づけ、英語は抽象的な概念にとどまっている。さらに、日本の大学生は他の多くの国の大学生より英語による国際的なオンラインコミュニケーションをした経験が少ない傾向にある。本論では、多くの日本人に英語ユーザーとして自分自身を仮想国際社会の一員と見ることを難しくしているいくつかの要因を述べる。（例えば、日本人論と国際化という日本語の言説、日本の翻訳、出版業界、日本国内のソーシャルネットワーキングサイトを好む傾向など。）国際的なインターネット交流プロジェクトは、日本のEFLクラスで使用することによって日本人の英語ユーザーが仮想国際社会の一員となりうる最善の希望的方法であると締めくくる。

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