Tokyo Kasei Gakuin, Tsukuba Women's University, Faculty of International Relations
Associate Professor
Abstract of Publications
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Patterns of Participation in Cultural and Media Activities
Using two groups of samples, this investigation looks into the patterns of interaction between reading books, as a communication media, and various modes of cultural behaviour such as the theater, concerts, museums and attending lectures. Active reading ( at least one book a month) correlates highly with traditionally called "high-cultural" activities such as theater, concerts, museums and other socio-cultural activities. Background factors such as age, level and length of formal schooling were found essential in this relationship. The findings can be used to limk reading research to the long controversy concerning the hierarchization of cultural activities (Berger, 1986) and the interrelation between "high" and "popular" or "mass" culture.
Active Learning in the Different Stages of ESL Acquisition
First, this paper defines active learning in relation to major concepts that have been promoted in language teaching and learning over recent years. This is done by summarizing the different contexts in which active learning can be explored: the larger scale environment. A working definition of the term is important before ESL teachers and researchers could put up a collection of classroom strategies that promote "active learning". Furthermore, the paper describes the different stages in second language acquisition in relation to two major trends in ESL instruction. The assumption is that active learning can best be promoted in the classroom depending on the language readiness level of the students. Not all teaching strategies aimed to develop active learning work well with all students. The reason is simple: students can do only certain things at certain levels of their ESL study.
Media Use and Involvement in World Affairs
A survey of university students in Japan shows that understanding involvement in world affairs: cognitive, behavioral and affective can help elaborate the relationship between knowledge - of world affairs and media use. Measuring involvement as cognitive and behavioral with regard to the US Presidential elections produced results indicating that under conditions of high involvement, newspaper use will be correlated more strongly with knowledge than will television news use, and that under conditions of low involvement, newspaper use will not be correlated more strongly with knowledge than will television news use. In terms of attitude extremity, among respondents with extreme attitudes towards the US Presidential election, the correlations between newspaper use and television news use were similar in magnitude. Among those individuals showing moderate attitudes toward the US Presidential election, newspaper use was more strongly related to knowledge than was television news use. Many studies have examined the impact of mass media on people's knowledge of public affairs. (Ven-Hwei-Lo, 1994) In line with this research tradition, this study attempts to use involvement to elaborate the relationship between media use and knowledge.
In recent years, involvement has become an important construct in communication research (Davis and Robinson, 1990). Studies have also demonstrated that involvement is related to persuasion, knowledge, attitude change and media use motives (Krugman, 1965: Rubin and Perse, 1988). The research findings of Greenwald and Leavith (1984) also suggest that involvement is associated with cognitive activity and interpersonal discussions after media use. Thus, on strictly empirical grounds, it is reasonable to assume that involvement could make a difference in the relationship of media use to knowledge. Very few researchers, however, have explored the relationships between media use, involvement and knowledge. The US Presidential election provided opportunities for Japanese to become involved with an event because of its importance that relates to them directly, and because of its extensive media coverage. It also provided an opportunity to pursue the possibility that involvement influences the amount of knowledge derived from media use.
This study proposes that involvement mediates the impact of news media on political knowledge. When involvement is high, is the relationship of newspaper use to knowledge stronger than the relationship of television news use to knowledge? When involvement is low, is the relationship of newspaper use to knowledge no stronger than the relationship of television news use to knowledge? This study was designed to fill a gap in media use and political learning research by showing that involvement may help explain the relationship between media use and knowledge. A review of media use, involvement and knowledge will follow a brief description of news media coverage of the US Presidential Election in Japan.
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Literacy in a multimedia environment
This study explores first of all , the relationship - if any- between the reading pattern and other cultural activities such as going to concerts, theaters, museums and lectures of some Japanese. This is conducted because it is impossible to study reading habits without relating them to other forms of cultural behaviour. Even more importantly, it explores the place of reading in our diverse, multimedia age characterized more and more by the new medial media such as computers and cable networks. The questions of interest were: are we moving into a period where computer -interactive literacy will develop and how will reading fit into the new media system, and is this something that can be
observed between the younger and older, working population?
Data were collected from a set of questionnaire consisting of more 20 questions. Ss were asked questions on: frequency of reading , books and other typres of reading materials. A list of media-related
needs were presented and the respondents were asked to rank the importance of each. Responses were
then correlated with responses to similar questions related to reading (of books). Interviews were conducted
whenever it was necessary and feasible to clarify answers to some questions.
The investigations reveal that the traditional pastime of rading is at least temporarily jeopardized by the time-
consuming computer - used indispensably both for work and fun. The rise of the electronic media has not displaced YET the reading behaviour of the Japanese. Different media can cater to the same psychosocial needs, and therefore a functional division exists among the various communication media, with each specializing in certain type of needs. These data show that although reading books has been found to be conducive in satisfying the cognitive learning need, we are witnessing a new type of computer-interaactive literacy, that will fit into the new media system organized along the principle of functional division of labor (Adoni, 85). Finally, the study also indicates that need satisfaction by means of communication media is a dynamic process for both young and adults.
Relationship between speech rate and listening comprehension
To a certain extent, the overall nature of the relationship SR and listening comprehension (hereafter LC) is somehow clear (Conrad, 1989) and (Griffith, 1990). What is not clear is that, on specific texts, (1) how much LC decreases at which SR and (2) what is the lower limit at which reduced comprehension is observed. This paper aims to find answers to these questions. More information about standard rates of speech is of practical value to researchers in the area of speech comprehension, and most especially to classroom teachers. My particular interest in listening comprehension materials as an EFL teacher in Japan and as a researcher prompted this investigation. So far, I have met two groups of EFL teachers with differing beliefs and practices. On one hand are those who argue that native English teachers should speak in the natural speech speed, regardless of whether students comprehend or not, because in so doing, students will be able to catch up later. On the other hand are those who argue that teachers need should slow down their SR in the classroom for students to understand, gradually increasing SR when students are ready for it. Rate control is potentially useful in recorded materials as well as in teacher talk. The possibility of employing recordings of speech at different rates (through speech compression and expansion) to facilitate L2 listening has a number of applications both in the classroom and outside.
It was hypothesized that (1) mean scores of LC for passages delivered at a slow speed would be significantly higher than for passages delivered at a fast rate; (2) mean scores of LC for passages delivered at slow SR would be significantly higher than for passages delivered at average SR; and (3) mean scores of LC for passages delivered at average SR would be significantly higher than for passages delivered at fast SR.
The significant ANOVA results showed fast SR resulted in more errors in comprehension, both at the level of higher order skills and lower order skillsS. Normal SR resulted in reduced comprehension, while Slow SR resulted in almost perfect scores. If the findings of this study will be confirmed in future studies, the oft repeated teacher-training direction to speak at normal rates (Hatch, 1983) appears to be empirically supported for lower-intermediate students but is therefore unlikely to be appropriate for beginners. For lower-intermediate learners, faster speech is seen to result in reduced comprehension. This case calls for a good deal more experimentation and confirmation.
Movies and Cultural Values
This paper is an attempt to discuss the relation between culture and (English ) movies and how each shapes and is shaped by the other. It is motivated by the writer's desire to provide a framework of analysis of motion pictures produced in a particular period in history and to show how this analysis can lead insights on the values and cultural orientation of that particular age. It is specifically addressed to graduate students who are recently enthusiastically turning to movies not only as a tool for language study, but likewise for the study of history, religion, social values and norms of a particular culture.
Movies are, no doubt, one of the more popular forms of entertainment. But far more than this, films have become a powerful means of "cultural reproduction". As such, they have proven a useful tool and a source of information for students' study of the dominant traits of a particular period in a particular society. While any culture remains in the process of formation, it is continually coming into being taking shape and changing its shape. It is impossible to separate films from the society in which it was produced and in which they exist.
Mini Talk Shows in the Classroom
Visuals are often said to increase students' comprehension of language material. However, the writer has often found out that after students are shown a material for the first time, they retain only about five percent of what they see. This activity combines purposeful watching, group work and creative expressions in an effort to improve students' rate of comprehension. Besides listening comprehension, this article presents a technique on checking oral communication.
One common problem in assessing speaking skills is that, because of their personalities or other factors, some students may not speak up at all when paired or grouped with other students. As a result, they do not produce enough language for the teacher to score them or give them any kind of feedback.This article is a section of the book on New Ways of Classroom Assessment that explains a group work technique for evaluating students' oral performance while improving active listening comprehension, which is so lacking among Japanese students as ESL learners.
Do Cloze Tests Discriminate Different Levels of ESL Proficiency
Do cloze tests discriminate levels of ESL proficiency? A study using one multiple choice cloze and a C-cloze was conducted using intermmediate and advance English level of Japanese students.
Stages in ESL Acquisition and Curriculum Planning and Design
This article is not a report of empirical findings on English (as a second) Language learning. It is rather a descriptive analysis of the stages of language acquisition as they relate to the needs of freshmen learners in this university. Based on a knowledge of which structures are commonly controlled at which level of proficiency, the grammatical coverage of the first year language program can be partially restructured. In addition to exploiting research studies that focus explicitly on developmental sequences, it is suggested that beginning language instruction particularly in the first year in the university might profit considerably from a more intensive listening course for the lower level students side by side with the teaching of speaking. It is hoped that the results of this kind of descriptive research would give materials and language program teachers valuable information for creating new and more effective sequences of methodology, textbooks and the curriculum in general.
ESL Learning Strategies of Japanese University Students
This paper presents the results of an investigation on the learning strategies of ESL students, with particular reference to Freshmen University students in different fields of study. The objectives of the study are: (1) to find out whether students are capable of identifying their individual goals of English study at the beginning of the schoolyear, (2) to relate goal-setting to particular student strategies: the amount and kind of effort individual students adopt in the daily ESL learning process; and (3) identify whether students are capable of periodic evaluation of their English classes. It was found that Japanese university students in different fields of study differ from another in the specific learning strategies they adopt. Identifying learning strategies may have wide-ranging implication in the areas of curriculum design, materials development, student orientation, and most importantly in adjusting to daily instructional strategies.
Testing the Relation between Recognition (Listening) and Production (Pronunciation)
of English Sounds of EFL (Japanese) students
A summary of the Paper delivered in the International Conference at Cambridge, Eurocenter
Testing & PRON N-SIG of IATEFL
Speak Out, Summer 1997.
Two major currents that run through any EFL courses in oral communication: The first current focuses upon (1) elements of phonological accuracy and provides students opportunities for gaining control over the sound system of English. The second focuses upon (2) broader aspects of interpersonal communication, namely fluency in speaking and listening.
As students develop greater accuracy skills and higher ESL proficiency in general, they need considerable practice with less tightly controlled opportunities to express themselves fluently and spontaneously using longer stretches of self-generated dicourse.
Improving English pronunciation of Japanese students is extremely hard. There is always the interference of the first language, especially when it comes to some vowel, consonant, cluster discrimination and production. In the best scenario, it places unnecessary constraints on the listeners, and in its worst, critically impeding communication.
One effective means of attacking the problem lies in teachers developing self-instructional, criterion-referenced pronunciation assesment programs (Futatsuya and Chick, 1996). One such program developed for Japanese students is the Criterion-referenced self-assessment pronunciation program developed by one of the Universities in Japan. Recognizing the common weaknesses among my students, I used some of the checkpoints indicated therein as a reference in constructing test items for this experiment.
The conceptual framework I propose is that focusing attention upon a single component of oral communication is insufficient. Speaking and listening can be defined as major skill areas of interpersonal communication; pronunciation encompasses both speaking and listenign development. Pronunciation skills, therefore, are an improtant slice of a significantly larger pie. I believe in the valid integration of testing the interconnecting language processes involved in oral communication.
Two sets of tests - pronunciation and listening-were administered, twiceF one on the week following the start of the schoolyear, and the other on the last week of the school year. For further details on research design, methodology and analysis, please e-mail me.
In conclusion, I would like to refer you back to the research questions I posted earlier. All other factors being equal, the significant gains in students scores in the Listening Test suggests that EFL learners can improve after a period of instruction on certain weak areas that have been previously identified. The same can be said about pronunciation skills, as observed by a very similar trend in improvement in the students scores in the first and second Pronunciation tests. The relatively high correlation between these two test scores indicates that these two variable / components of EFL study are highly correlated. Specifically and more importantly, this suggests that EFL learners are likely to improve their pronunciation ability after developing better listening, or higher accuracy in aural discrimination.
The Role of Visuals/ Video in ESL Instruction.
A study was conducted to investigate the effect of visuals on the comprehension ability of a group of Junior College students in Japan. The experiment was conducted in two stages. First, a section of a reading passage was read in class by both teacher and students, after which Test 1 was administered. Questions were given in printed form. Then a video segment of the material was shown, after which Test 2 was administered. In the second test administration, the questions were read out by the teacher. A fifteen item test of recall and comprehension was used for both tests: each group of questions controlled for both difficulty level. A mean analysis and a t-test were conducted on the scores obtained. The findings reveal that there is a slight increase in the mean scores after the second test was administered following a viewing of the material read. Further analysis, however, does not indicate highly significant statistical gains after treatment, presumably because questions in the second testing was read aloud by the teacher. The study points out further the need to develop aural comprehension skills of ESL students, as a prerequisite to improving productive oral communication.
Designing a Relevant ESL/EFL Curriculum.
The objectives of this presentation are three-fold: (1) it explores the different types of learning motivations as applied in the Asian context, (2) it identifies the different learning strategies employed by ESL students with focus on Japanese learners, and (3) it presents the scope and Sequence that may be useful in designing a curriculum in a language environment where learning English in formal settings (as in the classroom) is instrumental in its acquisition in functional settings.
How do these three aspects of teaching-learning English in a second / foreign language environment relate to each other? The basic answer may lie in the fact that: the specific actions students undertake to enhance their learning depend largely on the kind and level of motivation they have. Or it may be the other way round, that motivation leads the learners to a variety of learning strategies that can facilitate language learning. And as teachers, our role is to work on these learner characteristics by providing a relevant curriculum which is based on the scope and sequence scheme.
The vital role motivation plays in SLA is unquestionable. Within Asia alone, ESL and EFL learners carry with them different types of motivation in the classroom.The most widely known types of motivation are: integrative motivation and instrumental motivation.@In the former type, the learner has a burning desire to integrate himself with the target language (Gardner,1985). This is the case of the Japanese students studying English, where the degree of identification with the in-group and their speech is a crucial factor in the study. In contrast to the first type of motivation, the second type called instrumental motivation (Horwitz, 1990) is evident among learners in specific places where the purpose of learning English is for career and economic advancement. Many successful learners in Asian university programs have been instrumentally motivated by career concerns, rather than by an intense desire to know US culture/ English as a native language. For instance, Howard pointed out a research indicating that instrumental motivation was more predictive than integrative motivation for language learning success in the Philippines, where students need English for advancement, career and economi. Now which of these two types of motivation lead to greater ESL success? There are yet no cleas and definite research results indicating this? Also I would like to ask the audience, which of these types of motivation do you think your students possess?
A survey was conducted among university students in Japan to identify the individual effort students adopt to suit their individual purposes for English study. It was found out that students in different majors report similar goals in taking English classes. However, to achieve similar goals, learners use different learning strategies. The commonly reported need to speak the language can not be realized in a monolingual environment as in Japan. As a consequence, students resort to audio-lingual practice outside class hours, and at the same time go overseas to travel and study.
The scope and sequence is a type of curriculum that assumes that in second language acquisition there is a staged development in each of the four language skills, and that ESL learners go through stages of development towards the target language. At each stage, some structures or parts are thereof acquired while others remain unacquired (Pieneman, 1988).
Three steps are involved in putting up the SSS(1) identify specific goals of each development stage (2) plan the scope of subject matter or material that match each stage, and (3) spread out the sequence of skills students in each development stage need to master.
Considerations in planning a SSS:(1) know the nature of the particular set of students as well as the resources of the school, (2) do not overload the curriculum for each year level, (3) remember sequential planning of the components of the syllabus. The best way to teach structure, for example, in each language skill is to introduce all major topics in the first year, and to review and expand again in the following year levels.
Teaching Integrated Writing Skills.
This paper presents a technique used in the Advance Writing Class that has been proven successful in teaching the skills of summarizing, outlining, and expressing opinion through the medium of writing. In integrating Writing Lessons with reading, speaking and of course listening, students are able to produce dynamic writing output.
Each phase of the lesson can be either expanded or cut into smaller segments. Either phase can reinforce any of the other skills of summarizing, outlining and writing, without affecting in any way the teaching of the other skills. This technique allows Japanese university students to write freely and gives them a feeling that they have an investment on the topic to be able to produce really dynamic writing expected at their level.
ESL Competence and Self-Assessment of Student Returnees.
This paper reports the results of an investigation on the relationship between self-assessment and actual ESL proficiency of Japanese returnees in the university level. The self-assessment scores of the Ss were correlated with their test scores in listening comprehension, and scores in speaking tests. Objective criterion measures such as a listening comprehension test with a reliability of .88 by the KR 21 method, and the teacher's given summative rating for the students' speaking performance given at the end of the term. The use of teacher rating has often been viewed in the past as problematic because such ratings are themselves not necessarily reliable; their pragmatic validity, however, is a fact of life (Klein-Braley and Raatz, 1985). An inter-rater reliability of .92 was established between the teacher's rating and the Ss' self-given scores. A short questionnaire was employed as a kind of self-rating instrument.
Although the findings of this research can be regarded only as suggestive, due both to the small number of Ss and the fact that different interpretation of results are possible, they throw some light to some aspects of self-assessment theory, as well as to the value of the English program in the ESL maintenance of student returnees.
First on the one hand, there is some evidence for interest to function as a predictor of preformance in second language acquisition. Furthermore, ESL performance after return to the native country, particularly with regard to listening and speaking, seem to be influenced by length of stay overseas. Then too, the study is indicative of the needs of student returnees in the university. It leaves an open-ended question in terms of curriculum design and language development. Although there are questions raised regarding the socio-emotional issues in having separate classes for returnees (Rose and Fujishima, 1994), a carefully planned Overseas English Program (OEP) is highly desirable not only from the psychological points of view (Okamura-Bichard, 1985), but more importantly for the linguistic benefits it offers in maintaining ESL skills acquired by Japanese students upon return from overseas.
Cloze Testing Options in the Classroom.
This paper points out the apparent dichotomy between theoretical research on language testing and actual classroom testing. Specifically, the concept of cloze has often been confined within the walls of empirical research, R, which has often been considered distinctly different from practical language situations, labeled r by Lo Castro (1991). This chapter in the book brings the results of research on cloze testing into the practical classroom setting by offering a simplified review of empirical studies on four major types of clozes tests and presenting practical classroom applications supported by the research. A chronological discussion of four major types of cloze tests (fixed-rate deletion, rational-deletion, multiple-choice cloze, and C-test) is presented along with their theoretical justifications, the features of each, and their distinct merits and demerits. The accuracy of measuring the specific language traits language teachers want to assess may depend on the kind of cloze procedure that is selected.
A Struggle Towards Bilingualism.
This article relates the personal encounter, nothwithstanding the author's struggle towards developing a bilingual child, both from the theoretical as well as the practical points of view. The author's practical concerns are greater in that she is faced with the problem of how to reconcile theory with the hard reality of raising a "bilingual" child in a mono-lingual environment as in Japan. More importanly, the writer brings out an essential point often left out in discussions of bilingualism: the irony of a corresponding first language loss (or retrogression) while being immersed in an environment where his native tongue is the major language. "The specific strategies parents adopt in giving English instruction may depend on the degree of bilinguality they desire . ... But more often that not, it is something that goes beyond that. It is a level of competence a child attains in a target language, while maintaining the competence level he deserves in his native tongue. To stress the former so much to a point that the child suffers inadequacies in his first (native) language may lead to a form of "child abuse"."