According to the new Course of Study (2017, 2018) in Japan, promoting learners’ autonomous learni... more According to the new Course of Study (2017, 2018) in Japan, promoting learners’ autonomous learning through Active Learning in English lessons has been gaining much attention these days. In general, pair-work or group-work application in a classroom setting is frequently utilized in actual English language teaching practices, and deeper learning outcome is expected to happen as a result of such collaborative activities. However, a simple employment of such teaching framework does not guarantee pedagogical benefits as much as expected. The present study aimed to construe how English teachers serving at public high schools perceived a principle of active learning. More specifically, the study surveyed 53 in-service English teachers to clarify how they interpreted the principle of deep learning stated in the new Course of Study, how they reflected the principle in their actual practices, what concerns they had when converting the principle into the form of teaching practices. The resul...
This report is divided into three sections and is based on the iPad usage experiences of three pr... more This report is divided into three sections and is based on the iPad usage experiences of three professors: Mistsuyo Toya, Hideki Goya, and myself. The first section (A) will outline basic usage information, advantages and disadvantages associated with iPad usage as well as recent developments and activities. One of the most useful iPad features, text to speech (TTS) will be discussed in some detail. Finally, this section will conclude with recommendations for the future. The next section (B) is a report by professor Goya about his experiences using iPads in graduate and undergraduate classes. The final section (C) is a similar report by professor Toya.A) Reflections on the Use of IPads for Modern Foreign Language Instruction (George MacLean)B) iPad Educational Encounters in Undergraduate and Graduate Classes(Hideki Goya)C) iPad を活用した講義を実施して(東矢光代
Despite the fact that vocabulary knowledge is essential in all aspects of English as Second Langu... more Despite the fact that vocabulary knowledge is essential in all aspects of English as Second Language (ESL) learning, how that knowledge develops over time is still unknown. This study investigated how advanced learners ’ vocabulary usage changed via written compositions. Five graduate-level ESL learners wrote one essay per week over an eight week period responding to a given topic. The essays were analyzed in three aspects, following Laufer (1991): Language Density (LD), Language Sophistication (LS), and Language Variety (LV). The results suggest that mid-advanced learners ’ LD tends to remain low and spike randomly, while the LD of high-advanced learners remain high and static. In terms of LV, both groups of learners showed little change over the eight weeks dependent on their proficiency level. The high-advanced learners showed more changes across the eight weeks in LS than the mid-advanced group. Collectively, these findings suggest that vocabulary knowledge usage patterns seem t...
Despite the fact that vocabulary knowledge is essential in all aspects of English as Second Langu... more Despite the fact that vocabulary knowledge is essential in all aspects of English as Second Language (ESL) learning, how that knowledge develops over time is still unknown. This study investigated how advanced learners’ vocabulary usage changed via written compositions. Five graduate-level ESL learners wrote one essay per week over an eight week period responding to a given topic. The essays were analyzed in three aspects, following Laufer (1991): Language Density (LD), Language Sophistication (LS), and Language Variety (LV). The results suggest that mid-advanced learners’ LD tends to remain low and spike randomly, while the LD of high-advanced learners remain high and static. In terms of LV, both groups of learners showed little change over the eight weeks dependent on their proficiency level. The highadvanced learners showed more changes across the eight weeks in LS than the mid-advanced group. Collectively, these findings suggest that vocabulary knowledge usage patterns seem to r...
Measuring Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition by James Milton is an interesting book whose mai... more Measuring Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition by James Milton is an interesting book whose main concern actually focuses on vocabulary acquisition and its measurement; however, Milton also illustrates important issues that directly relate to the relationship between reading comprehension and vocabulary knowledge in English as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL) contexts. Therefore, a review of this book is relevant for readers of this journal.
Word knowledge is essential in any aspect of second language acquisition (e.g., Nation, 2001). De... more Word knowledge is essential in any aspect of second language acquisition (e.g., Nation, 2001). Despite such importance, even advanced L2 learners continually use L2 words inappropriately (Sonaiya, 1991). The present study attempted to shed more light on successful L2 word meaning knowledge development, which was investigated through an experiment called the semantic judgment test with English near-synonyms. Non-native speakers (NNS) and native speakers (NS) participated in the experiment. All NNS participants were homogeneous EFL learners (n = 20) who were enrolled in a four-year program at a university in Japan at the time of investigation. All NS participants (n = 20) were those who were working at a military base overseas or freshmen at a university in U.S. To examine NNS participants' (L2 learners) possible acquisition of L2 specific word-senses, the semantic judgment test was adapted from Jiang (2002, 2004a). This was a paper-pencil type of task where participants were asked to judge whether presented English word pairs (n = 79) were related in meaning as quickly as possible.
According to the new Course of Study (2017, 2018) in Japan, promoting learners’ autonomous learni... more According to the new Course of Study (2017, 2018) in Japan, promoting learners’ autonomous learning through Active Learning in English lessons has been gaining much attention these days. In general, pair-work or group-work application in a classroom setting is frequently utilized in actual English language teaching practices, and deeper learning outcome is expected to happen as a result of such collaborative activities. However, a simple employment of such teaching framework does not guarantee pedagogical benefits as much as expected. The present study aimed to construe how English teachers serving at public high schools perceived a principle of active learning. More specifically, the study surveyed 53 in-service English teachers to clarify how they interpreted the principle of deep learning stated in the new Course of Study, how they reflected the principle in their actual practices, what concerns they had when converting the principle into the form of teaching practices. The resul...
This report is divided into three sections and is based on the iPad usage experiences of three pr... more This report is divided into three sections and is based on the iPad usage experiences of three professors: Mistsuyo Toya, Hideki Goya, and myself. The first section (A) will outline basic usage information, advantages and disadvantages associated with iPad usage as well as recent developments and activities. One of the most useful iPad features, text to speech (TTS) will be discussed in some detail. Finally, this section will conclude with recommendations for the future. The next section (B) is a report by professor Goya about his experiences using iPads in graduate and undergraduate classes. The final section (C) is a similar report by professor Toya.A) Reflections on the Use of IPads for Modern Foreign Language Instruction (George MacLean)B) iPad Educational Encounters in Undergraduate and Graduate Classes(Hideki Goya)C) iPad を活用した講義を実施して(東矢光代
Despite the fact that vocabulary knowledge is essential in all aspects of English as Second Langu... more Despite the fact that vocabulary knowledge is essential in all aspects of English as Second Language (ESL) learning, how that knowledge develops over time is still unknown. This study investigated how advanced learners ’ vocabulary usage changed via written compositions. Five graduate-level ESL learners wrote one essay per week over an eight week period responding to a given topic. The essays were analyzed in three aspects, following Laufer (1991): Language Density (LD), Language Sophistication (LS), and Language Variety (LV). The results suggest that mid-advanced learners ’ LD tends to remain low and spike randomly, while the LD of high-advanced learners remain high and static. In terms of LV, both groups of learners showed little change over the eight weeks dependent on their proficiency level. The high-advanced learners showed more changes across the eight weeks in LS than the mid-advanced group. Collectively, these findings suggest that vocabulary knowledge usage patterns seem t...
Despite the fact that vocabulary knowledge is essential in all aspects of English as Second Langu... more Despite the fact that vocabulary knowledge is essential in all aspects of English as Second Language (ESL) learning, how that knowledge develops over time is still unknown. This study investigated how advanced learners’ vocabulary usage changed via written compositions. Five graduate-level ESL learners wrote one essay per week over an eight week period responding to a given topic. The essays were analyzed in three aspects, following Laufer (1991): Language Density (LD), Language Sophistication (LS), and Language Variety (LV). The results suggest that mid-advanced learners’ LD tends to remain low and spike randomly, while the LD of high-advanced learners remain high and static. In terms of LV, both groups of learners showed little change over the eight weeks dependent on their proficiency level. The highadvanced learners showed more changes across the eight weeks in LS than the mid-advanced group. Collectively, these findings suggest that vocabulary knowledge usage patterns seem to r...
Measuring Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition by James Milton is an interesting book whose mai... more Measuring Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition by James Milton is an interesting book whose main concern actually focuses on vocabulary acquisition and its measurement; however, Milton also illustrates important issues that directly relate to the relationship between reading comprehension and vocabulary knowledge in English as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL) contexts. Therefore, a review of this book is relevant for readers of this journal.
Word knowledge is essential in any aspect of second language acquisition (e.g., Nation, 2001). De... more Word knowledge is essential in any aspect of second language acquisition (e.g., Nation, 2001). Despite such importance, even advanced L2 learners continually use L2 words inappropriately (Sonaiya, 1991). The present study attempted to shed more light on successful L2 word meaning knowledge development, which was investigated through an experiment called the semantic judgment test with English near-synonyms. Non-native speakers (NNS) and native speakers (NS) participated in the experiment. All NNS participants were homogeneous EFL learners (n = 20) who were enrolled in a four-year program at a university in Japan at the time of investigation. All NS participants (n = 20) were those who were working at a military base overseas or freshmen at a university in U.S. To examine NNS participants' (L2 learners) possible acquisition of L2 specific word-senses, the semantic judgment test was adapted from Jiang (2002, 2004a). This was a paper-pencil type of task where participants were asked to judge whether presented English word pairs (n = 79) were related in meaning as quickly as possible.
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