The preparation for English language teaching materials in Thai secondary schools rely primarily on the use of western-published textbooks. Reasons are given by teachers that the books have assured the accuracy of the language (Ulla, 2019), and they provide proper models of language use (Tomlinson, 2008; Ulla, 2019). By using these textbooks, one of the ultimate goals for every school is to prepare students for the Ordinary National Educational Test (O-NET) in the final year of their secondary education (Grade 12). It is therefore interesting to examine whether or not the textbook series equip students with the knowledge and skills of language which align with the secondary school final year assessment. The preliminary investigation of this study (Sritrakarn, 2021) found that the English O-NET test items designed during the years 2016-2019 were partially aligned with the learning domains of the basic education core curriculum. This present study examined further the alignments of the O-NET tests and the school’s equipped knowledge through textbook series. Taking the lens of Systemic Functional Linguistic (SFL) genre-based approach, the texts and discourses used in the textbook series of one school were compared with those found in the O-NET test items. This paper discusses the findings and the implications of how to prepare the sources of input knowledge for the national assessment.
{"title":"Textbook Series and English O-NET: Alignments of Prepared Knowledge and Secondary School Final Year Assessment","authors":"Napak-on Sritrakarn","doi":"10.56498/3682642022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56498/3682642022","url":null,"abstract":"The preparation for English language teaching materials in Thai secondary schools rely primarily on the use of western-published textbooks. Reasons are given by teachers that the books have assured the accuracy of the language (Ulla, 2019), and they provide proper models of language use (Tomlinson, 2008; Ulla, 2019). By using these textbooks, one of the ultimate goals for every school is to prepare students for the Ordinary National Educational Test (O-NET) in the final year of their secondary education (Grade 12). It is therefore interesting to examine whether or not the textbook series equip students with the knowledge and skills of language which align with the secondary school final year assessment. The preliminary investigation of this study (Sritrakarn, 2021) found that the English O-NET test items designed during the years 2016-2019 were partially aligned with the learning domains of the basic education core curriculum. This present study examined further the alignments of the O-NET tests and the school’s equipped knowledge through textbook series. Taking the lens of Systemic Functional Linguistic (SFL) genre-based approach, the texts and discourses used in the textbook series of one school were compared with those found in the O-NET test items. This paper discusses the findings and the implications of how to prepare the sources of input knowledge for the national assessment.","PeriodicalId":332189,"journal":{"name":"English as a Foreign Language International Journal","volume":"84 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121904108","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Although research has ascribed a number of virtues to critical thinking, what critical thinking means is itself open to debate. This paper, as a part of a larger qualitative study on critical thinking practice in a Vietnamese EFL context, presents the findings about how Vietnamese EFL teachers and students in a university interpreted critical thinking. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eight teachers and 22 students in a Vietnamese tertiary EFL context to seek their understandings of critical thinking. A majority of the interviews (28) were conducted in Vietnamese, then transcribed in their entirety, and translated into English. Thematic analysis was used to make sense of the data. The participating teachers and students defined critical thinking as involving cognitive skills (e.g., analysing, synthesising, evaluating) and affective dispositions (e.g., inquisitiveness, open-mindedness). Their understandings were found to be limited to the first two domains of criticality in Barnett’s (1997) framework. That is, they understood critical thinking mainly within the domains of “knowledge”, less in “self”, barely at all in the domain of the “world”. The findings further revealed three characteristics distinctive in the participants’ conceptions of critical thinking: (i) expressing personal opinions as an indication of critical thinking, (ii) right/wrong dichotomy as the aim of critical thinking, and (iii) others’ rather than one’s own opinions or arguments as the subject of criticism. The findings imply that the participating teachers and students appeared to have quite a rudimentary grasp of critical thinking and that their understandings were influenced to some extent by the Vietnamese culture of teaching and learning, which has some implications for the application of critical thinking in an EFL context.
{"title":"Critical Thinking: What it means in a Vietnamese Tertiary EFL Context","authors":"Thi Thanh Binh Nguyen","doi":"10.56498/3292632022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56498/3292632022","url":null,"abstract":"Although research has ascribed a number of virtues to critical thinking, what critical thinking means is itself open to debate. This paper, as a part of a larger qualitative study on critical thinking practice in a Vietnamese EFL context, presents the findings about how Vietnamese EFL teachers and students in a university interpreted critical thinking. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eight teachers and 22 students in a Vietnamese tertiary EFL context to seek their understandings of critical thinking. A majority of the interviews (28) were conducted in Vietnamese, then transcribed in their entirety, and translated into English. Thematic analysis was used to make sense of the data. The participating teachers and students defined critical thinking as involving cognitive skills (e.g., analysing, synthesising, evaluating) and affective dispositions (e.g., inquisitiveness, open-mindedness). Their understandings were found to be limited to the first two domains of criticality in Barnett’s (1997) framework. That is, they understood critical thinking mainly within the domains of “knowledge”, less in “self”, barely at all in the domain of the “world”. The findings further revealed three characteristics distinctive in the participants’ conceptions of critical thinking: (i) expressing personal opinions as an indication of critical thinking, (ii) right/wrong dichotomy as the aim of critical thinking, and (iii) others’ rather than one’s own opinions or arguments as the subject of criticism. The findings imply that the participating teachers and students appeared to have quite a rudimentary grasp of critical thinking and that their understandings were influenced to some extent by the Vietnamese culture of teaching and learning, which has some implications for the application of critical thinking in an EFL context.","PeriodicalId":332189,"journal":{"name":"English as a Foreign Language International Journal","volume":"41 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127513078","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Japanese learners of English as a foreign language often do not attain levels of English proficiency that allow them to conduct even simple conversations in English. If a predictor of foreign language learning outcomes were available, educators could potentially identify and support students at risk of poor outcomes. This study investigated the non-cognitive trait of grit as a possible predictor of foreign language learning outcomes in Japanese university students. An online anonymous survey was conducted at two universities in eastern Japan. In addition to demographic information such as sex, age, and year in school, respondents were asked to self-report their most recent score on a standardized test of English, such as TOEIC or TOEFL, as well as their current GPA. Additionally, participants were administered a Japanese translation of the Grit-S measure. After confirming the validity of both the data and the measure, regression analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between grit and the English proficiency test scores both before and after controlling for prior academic achievement as measured by GPA. It was found that higher grit was predictive of higher English proficiency test scores, even after controlling for GPA. After presenting these findings, the implications of these results and ideas for future research are discussed.
{"title":"Grit as a Predictor of Foreign Language Proficiency: An Investigation of Grit and EFL Proficiency in Japanese University Students","authors":"Jared R. Baierschmidt","doi":"10.56498/3302632022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56498/3302632022","url":null,"abstract":"Japanese learners of English as a foreign language often do not attain levels of English proficiency that allow them to conduct even simple conversations in English. If a predictor of foreign language learning outcomes were available, educators could potentially identify and support students at risk of poor outcomes. This study investigated the non-cognitive trait of grit as a possible predictor of foreign language learning outcomes in Japanese university students. An online anonymous survey was conducted at two universities in eastern Japan. In addition to demographic information such as sex, age, and year in school, respondents were asked to self-report their most recent score on a standardized test of English, such as TOEIC or TOEFL, as well as their current GPA. Additionally, participants were administered a Japanese translation of the Grit-S measure. After confirming the validity of both the data and the measure, regression analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between grit and the English proficiency test scores both before and after controlling for prior academic achievement as measured by GPA. It was found that higher grit was predictive of higher English proficiency test scores, even after controlling for GPA. After presenting these findings, the implications of these results and ideas for future research are discussed.","PeriodicalId":332189,"journal":{"name":"English as a Foreign Language International Journal","volume":"29 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129773553","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Second language acquisition (SLA) studies have not proposed a comprehensive theoretical and epistemological framework to capture both the object-level social interactions in which language learning occurs and meta-level practices of research describing it. Therefore, this study introduces the linguistic anthropological theory of “metapragmatics” into SLA research and demonstrates how it can manage both meta-level and object-level of social practices regarding language learning, with the primary focus on the latter. After considering SLA research in terms of the metapragmatic practice articulated by specific sociocultural perspectives, this study analyzes word learning during four months of language exchange conversations between two native and two non-native Japanese speakers. The results indicate that the state in which “someone has learned something” is indexically created through the metapragmatics of interaction, that is, by fading metapragmatic frames that focus on learning objects and related acts, highlighting the nonlinear, dynamic, indexical, and contextual aspects of language learning. This study concludes that the concept of metapragmatics can open new lines of SLA research to enhance the understanding of the social nature of learning and its research.
{"title":"Application of Metapragmatics to Language-Learning Research: A Longitudinal Study of Word Learning in Language Exchange Conversations","authors":"Jiwon Lee","doi":"10.56498/3312632022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56498/3312632022","url":null,"abstract":"Second language acquisition (SLA) studies have not proposed a comprehensive theoretical and epistemological framework to capture both the object-level social interactions in which language learning occurs and meta-level practices of research describing it. Therefore, this study introduces the linguistic anthropological theory of “metapragmatics” into SLA research and demonstrates how it can manage both meta-level and object-level of social practices regarding language learning, with the primary focus on the latter. After considering SLA research in terms of the metapragmatic practice articulated by specific sociocultural perspectives, this study analyzes word learning during four months of language exchange conversations between two native and two non-native Japanese speakers. The results indicate that the state in which “someone has learned something” is indexically created through the metapragmatics of interaction, that is, by fading metapragmatic frames that focus on learning objects and related acts, highlighting the nonlinear, dynamic, indexical, and contextual aspects of language learning. This study concludes that the concept of metapragmatics can open new lines of SLA research to enhance the understanding of the social nature of learning and its research.","PeriodicalId":332189,"journal":{"name":"English as a Foreign Language International Journal","volume":"7 11 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132042144","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
English has become an essential language in Vietnam, and innovation in English teaching and learning has received considerable attention in recent years. Recognizing the importance of foreign languages, the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training has recently developed the National Foreign Languages Project 2020 and, according to this project, bilingual education is encouraged to implement in high schools, but little attention has been paid to primary schools. In this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews have been conducted to explore Vietnamese primary teachers’ perceptions of bilingual education. According to the participants’ responses, ultimately collected in a SWOT matrix, bilingual education in Vietnam is considered to be more student-centered, creative and practical than the official system, and prepares students with language and knowledge to be global citizens. Nevertheless, there is certain concern over the negative linguistic impacts of English on Vietnamese, as it may have a negative impact on the national language. Finally, in terms of research, the findings of this paper suggest that further research is needed regarding the impact of L2 on L1 in the perspective of Vietnamese primary teachers in bilingual programs, including the L1 loss phenomenon and the L2 writing style in L1 literacy.
{"title":"Teachers’ Perspectives of Bilingual Education in Primary Schools in Vietnam: A Qualitative Study","authors":"Hà Tú Anh, Cristina A. Huertas-Abril","doi":"10.56498/195222022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56498/195222022","url":null,"abstract":"English has become an essential language in Vietnam, and innovation in English teaching and learning has received considerable attention in recent years. Recognizing the importance of foreign languages, the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training has recently developed the National Foreign Languages Project 2020 and, according to this project, bilingual education is encouraged to implement in high schools, but little attention has been paid to primary schools. In this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews have been conducted to explore Vietnamese primary teachers’ perceptions of bilingual education. According to the participants’ responses, ultimately collected in a SWOT matrix, bilingual education in Vietnam is considered to be more student-centered, creative and practical than the official system, and prepares students with language and knowledge to be global citizens. Nevertheless, there is certain concern over the negative linguistic impacts of English on Vietnamese, as it may have a negative impact on the national language. Finally, in terms of research, the findings of this paper suggest that further research is needed regarding the impact of L2 on L1 in the perspective of Vietnamese primary teachers in bilingual programs, including the L1 loss phenomenon and the L2 writing style in L1 literacy.","PeriodicalId":332189,"journal":{"name":"English as a Foreign Language International Journal","volume":"93 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114441207","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In the absence of studies on leadership skills of English language instructors, this enquiry explored transformational leadership skills of ten English teachers in the contexts of five private language institutes in Tehran. Purposive sampling was adopted to choose ten experienced male and female teachers, holding an academic degree in English, teaching intermediate level students in five English language teaching centers. Data was collected through classroom observations, field notes, and semi-structured interviews. The framework for transformational leadership offered by Bolkan and Goodboy (2011) was utilized. Thematic analysis of the data revealed that our participants represented the majority of behavioral indicators of transformational leadership skills- including indicators of charisma, individual consideration, and intellectual stimulation- in their classroom practice.
{"title":"Teachers as Leaders: Probing into the Class Routines of Selected Iranian ELT Contexts","authors":"Leila Tajik, Khadijeh Karimi Alavijeh, Maryam Hosseinpour, Bioprofiles","doi":"10.56498/194222022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56498/194222022","url":null,"abstract":"In the absence of studies on leadership skills of English language instructors, this enquiry explored transformational leadership skills of ten English teachers in the contexts of five private language institutes in Tehran. Purposive sampling was adopted to choose ten experienced male and female teachers, holding an academic degree in English, teaching intermediate level students in five English language teaching centers. Data was collected through classroom observations, field notes, and semi-structured interviews. The framework for transformational leadership offered by Bolkan and Goodboy (2011) was utilized. Thematic analysis of the data revealed that our participants represented the majority of behavioral indicators of transformational leadership skills- including indicators of charisma, individual consideration, and intellectual stimulation- in their classroom practice.","PeriodicalId":332189,"journal":{"name":"English as a Foreign Language International Journal","volume":"13 4 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125638896","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
There is scanty information about the practices of higher education teachers in integrating intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in language teaching particularly to the Purposive Communication course. Given this gap, this research sought to explore and study teachers’ level of ICC integration, and the ways on how they integrate it to their classes, through mixed-methods, particularly sequential explanatory design. The study employed the initial gathering of quantitative data through surveying Purposive Communication teachers and students in all state universities and colleges in three provinces and refining and explaining these data in the qualitative phase, which included the interview with teachers and students and the content analysis of learning materials used in the course. Results revealed that teachers showed high integration of ICC in their classes. They integrate ICC by linking culture to communication, adapting authentic materials in teaching intercultural communication, and providing role-playing and inquiry-based activities to foster students’ ICC. Though the teachers acquired an overall high integration rating, it was found out that ICC framework was only moderately integrated in components such as use of ICT-based materials, provision of authentic activities and assessments targeting social interaction, reflection and responsibility. Given the findings, it is concluded that strengthening the integration of ICC activities in the Purposive Communication course by capacitating language teachers in terms of content and pedagogy is needed.
{"title":"Integration of Intercultural Communicative Competence: A case of English Language Teachers in Higher Education","authors":"Jamaica Vizcarra Garcia","doi":"10.56498/163212022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56498/163212022","url":null,"abstract":"There is scanty information about the practices of higher education teachers in integrating intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in language teaching particularly to the Purposive Communication course. Given this gap, this research sought to explore and study teachers’ level of ICC integration, and the ways on how they integrate it to their classes, through mixed-methods, particularly sequential explanatory design. The study employed the initial gathering of quantitative data through surveying Purposive Communication teachers and students in all state universities and colleges in three provinces and refining and explaining these data in the qualitative phase, which included the interview with teachers and students and the content analysis of learning materials used in the course. Results revealed that teachers showed high integration of ICC in their classes. They integrate ICC by linking culture to communication, adapting authentic materials in teaching intercultural communication, and providing role-playing and inquiry-based activities to foster students’ ICC. Though the teachers acquired an overall high integration rating, it was found out that ICC framework was only moderately integrated in components such as use of ICT-based materials, provision of authentic activities and assessments targeting social interaction, reflection and responsibility. Given the findings, it is concluded that strengthening the integration of ICC activities in the Purposive Communication course by capacitating language teachers in terms of content and pedagogy is needed.","PeriodicalId":332189,"journal":{"name":"English as a Foreign Language International Journal","volume":"2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131991904","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Distance learners can be accepted as autonomous, self-regulated learners who can design their own learning processes since they are active users of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs). With this perspective, the first aim of this study was to detect the usage frequency of self-regulated learning skills and digital literacy skills; and to find out if there was a correlation between these skills of Open Education Faculty (OEF) students’ English learning. The succeeding aim of the study was to find out if there was a significant relationship between digital literacy skills and self-regulated learning skills of the OEF students in terms of age, gender, English proficiency levels and duration of ICT use. To reach these aims, the data were gathered from a total of 203 students by using Digital Literacy Scale and Self-Regulated Learning Skills Scale. The results divulged that students’ self-regulated learning perception levels increase in parallel with their digital literacy skill levels. Based on the results, various implications were drawn from the study in order to raise students’ awareness towards Digital Literacy Skills and Self-Regulated Learning Strategies.
{"title":"The Relationship between Digital Literacy Skills and Self-Regulated Learning Skills of Open Education Faculty Students","authors":"Ilknur Istifci, Nil Goksel","doi":"10.56498/164212022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56498/164212022","url":null,"abstract":"Distance learners can be accepted as autonomous, self-regulated learners who can design their own learning processes since they are active users of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs). With this perspective, the first aim of this study was to detect the usage frequency of self-regulated learning skills and digital literacy skills; and to find out if there was a correlation between these skills of Open Education Faculty (OEF) students’ English learning. The succeeding aim of the study was to find out if there was a significant relationship between digital literacy skills and self-regulated learning skills of the OEF students in terms of age, gender, English proficiency levels and duration of ICT use. To reach these aims, the data were gathered from a total of 203 students by using Digital Literacy Scale and Self-Regulated Learning Skills Scale. The results divulged that students’ self-regulated learning perception levels increase in parallel with their digital literacy skill levels. Based on the results, various implications were drawn from the study in order to raise students’ awareness towards Digital Literacy Skills and Self-Regulated Learning Strategies.","PeriodicalId":332189,"journal":{"name":"English as a Foreign Language International Journal","volume":"15 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125839405","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
As societies become increasingly diverse, there is a corresponding rise in cross-cultural contact, particularly in educational environments. In Japan, international teachers are frequently recruited to teach English to Japanese students, raising questions about the impact of culture distance on this educational encounter. This paper describes a quantitative investigation, which used the Cultural Dimensions of Learning Framework (Parrish & Linder-VanBerschot, 2010) to examine culture distance by comparing the cultural learning preferences of 119 Japanese EFL students and 24 native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) at various universities in Japan. No strong preferences were discovered among either group for preferences categorized as epistemological beliefs or temporal perceptions, while strong preferences were discovered among both groups for preferences categorized as social relationships. Although statistically significant differences were discovered in preferences categorized as social relationships, epistemological beliefs, and temporal perceptions, practical significance was small. These findings both challenge and support depictions of Japanese students and NESTs in academic literature, and suggest a significant number of shared meanings between the two groups in this study. Therefore, the author concludes that the culture distance between these two groups may not be as large as the research suggests, while acknowledging that both groups may have adjusted to each others’ teaching / learning styles. The study illustrates the inherent difficulty in conceptualizing and operationalizing culture distance, particularly through “essentialist” frameworks constructed in a Western context.
{"title":"Culture Distance and Cultural Dimensions in Diverse ELT Environments: A Quantitative Investigation","authors":"M. Lieb","doi":"10.56498/162212022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56498/162212022","url":null,"abstract":"As societies become increasingly diverse, there is a corresponding rise in cross-cultural contact, particularly in educational environments. In Japan, international teachers are frequently recruited to teach English to Japanese students, raising questions about the impact of culture distance on this educational encounter. This paper describes a quantitative investigation, which used the Cultural Dimensions of Learning Framework (Parrish & Linder-VanBerschot, 2010) to examine culture distance by comparing the cultural learning preferences of 119 Japanese EFL students and 24 native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) at various universities in Japan. No strong preferences were discovered among either group for preferences categorized as epistemological beliefs or temporal perceptions, while strong preferences were discovered among both groups for preferences categorized as social relationships. Although statistically significant differences were discovered in preferences categorized as social relationships, epistemological beliefs, and temporal perceptions, practical significance was small. These findings both challenge and support depictions of Japanese students and NESTs in academic literature, and suggest a significant number of shared meanings between the two groups in this study. Therefore, the author concludes that the culture distance between these two groups may not be as large as the research suggests, while acknowledging that both groups may have adjusted to each others’ teaching / learning styles. The study illustrates the inherent difficulty in conceptualizing and operationalizing culture distance, particularly through “essentialist” frameworks constructed in a Western context.","PeriodicalId":332189,"journal":{"name":"English as a Foreign Language International Journal","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121726320","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In this study, the researchers propose that the ratification of The Act for Eliminating Discrimination against People with Disabilities in Japan in 2016, may precipitate a rise in the number of students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) entering universities. As English language learning is compulsory at most universities in Japan (Poole, 2005), the researchers also propose that English language teaching faculty are likely to regularly encounter SEN students if this rise occurs. Past research (Wilson, Getzel, & Brown, 2000) has shown that SEN students view university faculty members as being integral to their academic success. Given this, this qualitative research project focuses on the levels of knowledge and awareness of SEN held by 15 English language teaching faculty at nine universities in Japan. Interviews were undertaken with the participants in which teacher perceptions, experiences and knowledge of SEN were investigated. The interviews also focused on knowledge of SEN policy and implementation and teacher training. The findings showed that all participants had experience teaching SEN students, that knowledge of SEN students and SEN policy lacked in most cases, and that most interviewees had not received any specific SEN training. Ideas for improvement included more information sharing between administrators and teachers, informing teachers of the kinds of SEN students had before classes begin, raising awareness of SEN amongst the student body at universities, and improved SEN-specific pedagogical training. Finally, we offer some implications for practice and future research.
{"title":"English Language Teaching Faculty Members’ Knowledge and Awareness of Special Educational Needs at Universities in Japan: A Qualitative Study","authors":"Michael Ruddick, Simon Pryor, Matthew Diaz","doi":"10.56498/822562021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.56498/822562021","url":null,"abstract":" In this study, the researchers propose that the ratification of The Act for Eliminating Discrimination against People with Disabilities in Japan in 2016, may precipitate a rise in the number of students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) entering universities. As English language learning is compulsory at most universities in Japan (Poole, 2005), the researchers also propose that English language teaching faculty are likely to regularly encounter SEN students if this rise occurs. Past research (Wilson, Getzel, & Brown, 2000) has shown that SEN students view university faculty members as being integral to their academic success. Given this, this qualitative research project focuses on the levels of knowledge and awareness of SEN held by 15 English language teaching faculty at nine universities in Japan. Interviews were undertaken with the participants in which teacher perceptions, experiences and knowledge of SEN were investigated. The interviews also focused on knowledge of SEN policy and implementation and teacher training. The findings showed that all participants had experience teaching SEN students, that knowledge of SEN students and SEN policy lacked in most cases, and that most interviewees had not received any specific SEN training. Ideas for improvement included more information sharing between administrators and teachers, informing teachers of the kinds of SEN students had before classes begin, raising awareness of SEN amongst the student body at universities, and improved SEN-specific pedagogical training. Finally, we offer some implications for practice and future research.","PeriodicalId":332189,"journal":{"name":"English as a Foreign Language International Journal","volume":"83 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121706173","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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