Authorship：Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)

Other Link： http://jalt-publications.org/archive/proceedings/2004/E22.pdf

Authorship：Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (bulletin of university, research institution)

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)

Other Link： http://jalt-publications.org/archive/proceedings/2005/E124.pdf

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (bulletin of university, research institution)

Japan   Miyazaki University   2005.12.10  -  2005.12.10

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)

Dubai   The InterContinental Festival City Event Centre   2016.02.27  -  2016.02.29

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)

This study focused on the grammatical accuracy of Japanese students who were learning English. The database for the errors came from the Japanese University Student Corpus (JUSC) comprising 61 transcripts containing 51,061 words. An inventory, containing 400 errors in context, was taken from this corpus. The first research question related to the most common errors Japanese L2 learners made in spontaneous speech whereas the second question focused on the interpretability and recognition of errors as being intralingual or interlingual. Results showed that the primary errors were articles, verb tense, prepositions, omission, modifier errors, and subject-verb agreement. These results indicate that L1 is a factor in grammatical accuracy. We concluded that this data highlights the need for language teachers to focus on getting students to use the grammatical forms in actual dialogues.

DOI： 10.5539/elt.v11n11p115

Kyutacar

Other Link： http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/elt/article/view/0/37174

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)

This study focused on the grammatical accuracy of Japanese students who were learning English. The database for the errors came from the Japanese University Student Corpus (JUSC) comprising 61 transcripts containing
51,061 words. An inventory, containing 400 errors in context, was taken from this corpus. The first research question related to the most common errors Japanese L2 learners made in spontaneous speech whereas the second question focused on the interpretability and recognition of errors as being intralingual or interlingual. Results showed that the primary errors were articles, verb tense, prepositions, omission, modifier errors, and
subject-verb agreement. These results indicate that L1 is a factor in grammatical accuracy. We concluded that this data highlights the need for language teachers to focus on getting students to use the grammatical forms in actual dialogues.

DOI： 10.18823/asiatefl.2018.15.3.26.890

Other Link： http://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v11n11p115

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)

Hungary   Budapest   2018.07.24  -  2018.07.27

Researchers in Japan now recognize that shyness and hesitation phenomenon is a sociolinguistic pandemic, especially where Japanese males and females avoid conversations, interactions, and
relationships. This trend has led to a demographic crisis in which fewer Japanese marry and have children. This study will report on the results of a gender attitude survey (and its development) and the
results of a questionnaire. The survey and questionnaire were implemented in 2016. Research questions focused on positive and negatives viewpoints that participants had of the opposite sex. Results showed that both genders felt that it was easy to relate to and understand the opposite sex; likewise, they felt that they showed interest in having discussions with the opposite sex. However, negative attitudes included issues relating to having to give long and informative replies, difficulty in understanding and making points or achieving goals with the opposite sex. Student replies on a questionnaire further indicated that a majority of students viewed themselves as open to experience. All of the comments,
however, from both genders, showed that during their gendered interactions that the participants were tense and uneasy. The high percentage of comments from females, 78 percent, indicated that most were antisocial as they found it difficult to interact with males. A gender disparity was found in the percentage of comments from males who thought that the opposite sex understood and appreciated what they had to say and those from females: 75 percent and 46 percent respectively. In short, student morale in both genders is timid, insecure and interactions are often unsatisfying and demoralizing.

Other Link： http://universitypublications.net/proceedings/1102/pdf/B8T107.pdf

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)

This study investigated whether Japanese university EFL learners' listening comprehension differed significantly on tests of authentic language (AL) or scripted language (SL). Possible differences in comprehension between low and intermedi­ate proficiency students, and how lexical density indices of the transcripts of the listening samples correlated with listening comprehension, were also explored. Concerning listening comprehension scores on SL and AL listening tasks, results also showed a significant difference between average SL and AL quiz scores. As for possible differences between the two groups of intermediate students, there was a significant difference in comprehension scores between the different groups of learners, significant, medium-sized effect of group was found. An independent samples t-test showed highly significant and large effect between participants' scores and listening texts with higher or lower lexical density values. The average lexical density of the texts accounted for 31% of the variance in students' average quiz scores; however, this correlation is positive, indicating that listening tasks with academic words aided in comprehension. It is argued that there is a need for authentic listening samples in the classroom, but teachers should consider how to introduce and effectively scaffold such them into their own classrooms.

Kyutacar

Other Link： https://jalt.org/system/files/journal/43.3TLT.pdf

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)

Hong Kong, China   Lingnan University   2019.11.08  -  2019.11.10

It is assumed that our educational lectures and materials are having some impact on students' knowledge and skills. This longitudinal study examined the reality of how Japanese L2 students' accuracy in English changed over an academic year. In April and May 2018, 23 Japanese students gave a self-introduction monologue, which was repeated again in early 2019. These L2 interactions by Japanese speakers formed the JUSFC2018 corpus and the JUSFC2019 corpus. Research questions related to whether or not there was a significant difference between in grammatical accuracy from the first interview session to the second year (regarding errors in clauses per 100 words, global errors and local errors, and in specific errors related to parts of speech) and what were the most frequently occurring errors in both corpora. Descriptive statistics showed marginal differences in error-free clauses per 100 words and with clauses with errors per 100 words. Similarly, while global errors did decline, local errors did increase; there was a 27.3 percent increase in local errors though the overall percentage in total words spoken decreased by half. For errors related to parts of speech, a t-test confirmed there was a significant difference between the two speech corpora. As for error re-occurrence, four types of errors were noted: incorrect phrasing, article omission, preposition omission, and errors related to plurals. No improvement in oral grammatical accuracy was noted, with some errors doubling or worsening significantly. This data highlights the difficulty of L2 teachers of having students self- edit themselves and paying more attention to being more accurate with their speech.

Kyutacar

Other Link： http://papers.iafor.org/wp-content/uploads/conference-proceedings/ACLA/ACLA2019_proceedings.pdf

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)

Abstract—As we are often blind to our conversational lapses and shortcomings, the presenter will discuss the issue of dysfluency based on L2 interactions by Japanese speakers based on the JUSFC2018 corpus. The study's first aim was to examine if the number of words and mean length runs increased with proficiency, as represented by TOEIC scores (Group 1: scores 150-370; Group 2: scores 371-570; Group 3: scores 571-770). The second aim was to compare the dialogic fluency of each group of Japanese EFL learners with that of native speakers to identify significant differences regarding speaking rates, as well as acoustic, lexical and syntactical dysfluency. Results showed that the number of words only increased in the second range, before dropping in the most proficient range; likewise, mean length runs (MLRs) showed an increase from 11.2 syllables from Group 1 to 30.2 syllables in Group 2, before dropping in Group 3 to 9.7. Concerning possible differences in the number of words, Kruskal-Wallis tests showed that there were statistically significant differences in speaking rates, cross-talk pausing, the total amount of silence, the percentage of silence, length of pauses, and the use of L1 among the three groups of EFL learners and native speakers. The post hoc tests of pairwise comparisons revealed that native speakers differed from all three EFL groups. The speaker will also discuss the issue of production, in particular how individuals can be more aware of their fluency to provide more meaningful, fluent and productive interactions.
Index Terms—Fluency, shyness, proficiency, hesitation phenomenon.

DOI： 10.18178/ijlll.2020.6.1.253

Kyutacar

Other Link： http://www.ijlll.org/vol6/253-AP3021.pdf

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)

Oral fluency is one of the more difficult variables to track and measure in L2 speech. This paper reports on an empirical study to identify how fluency in both monologues and dialogues changes over three ranges of proficiency as marked by the TOEIC standardized test. Twenty-seven Japanese students were asked to give a self-introduction monologue, which was then followed by a three-question dialogue. Based on the TOEIC scores of these participants, three groups were formed, with the first group having scores that ranged from 150 to 370, the second from 371 to 570, and the third from 571 to 770. The interactions were videotaped and transcribed, with the transcriptions making up the Japanese University Student Fluency Corpus (JUSFC2018), which has 23,539 words. Research questions focused on significant differences among the three groups concerning the variables of monologue speaking time, dialogue speaking time, total speaking time, articulation rate, speaking rate, and the number of words spoken, and mean length runs. Results showed that for the first two proficiency groups monologue speaking time, speaking rates, and the number of words spoken showed significant differences, whereas in comparing the second and third proficiency groups, no signifi- cant differences were found. Furthermore, fluency showed a decrease on all variables with the highest proficiency group.

DOI： 10.20469/ijhss.5.20001-6

Kyutacar

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)

This paper is about the issue of students' monologic speech, examining possible differences in fluency, production
over levels of proficiency (as represented by TOEIC scores), and how this speech improves over
an academic year. The data, which is based on the speech of 12 participants, was taken from the corpus
Monologic and Dialogic Corpus 2019 (20,368 words and 42 subjects), and from the second corpus Monologic
and Dialogic Corpus 2020 (16,997 words and 29 participants). Research questions focused on characterizing
the speech in monologues of higher and lower proficiency Japanese EFL (English as a Foreign Language)
learners in regards to the fluency variables of speaking time, articulation rate, mean length runs (MLRs),
number of words, and percentage of silence. Furthermore, research aims focused on how acoustic, lexical
and syntactical dysfluency might change over the year. Results showed that the average time of monologic
speech was higher in the high-proficiency group than in the low-proficiency group in 2019 and 2020, but this
difference was not statistically significant. In the high-proficiency group, there was a significant difference
between 2019 and 2020 in meaningless syllables, whereas the other acoustic, lexical, and syntactical dysfluency
variables showed no significant difference over the academic year 2019/2020. Further research will be
conducted on how direct feedback might impact students' output.
Keywords: Fluency, Dysfluency, Monologic Speech, Acoustic, Syntactical Complexity

DOI： 10.12792/JMTI.8.2.24

Kyutacar

Other Link： https://www2.ia-engineers.org/JMTI/index.php/jmti/index

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)

his study examines the grammatical errors in Japanese university students' dialogues over an academic year. The L2 interactions of 15 Japanese speakers were taken from the JUSFC2018 corpus (April/May 2018) and the JUSFC2019 corpus (January/February 2019). The corpora were based on a self-introduction monologue and a three-question dialogue; however, this study examines the grammatical accuracy found in the dialogues. Research questions focused on a possible significant difference in grammatical accuracy from the first interview session in 2018 and the second one the following year, specifically regarding errors in clauses per 100 words, the frequency of global errors and local errors, and the five most frequent kinds of errors. Results showed that error-free clauses/100 words decreased slightly from 8.78 clauses to 7.89, while clauses with errors/100 words increased by nearly one clause, from 3.16 to 4.05 clauses. Global errors showed a remarkable decline from 22 to 15, but local errors increased from 76 to 112. A t-test confirmed there was not significant difference between the two speech corpora in regard to global and local errors. The five most frequent errors were (a) lexical phrasing (71), (b) article omissions (41), (c) plural errors (19), (d) preposition omissions (19), and (e) verb usage (9). This data highlights the difficulty in having students self-edit themselves.

DOI： 10.37546/JALTTLT45.2-2

Kyutacar

Other Link： https://jalt-publications.org/tlt/issues/2021-03_45.2

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)

Hawaii, USA   Online   2021.01.06  -  2021.01.08

The problem of fossilized errors has been a problematic issue with EFL researchers because it shows that traditional methods of instruction are not effective. Fossilized errors were thus examined with university-level first-year Japanese EFL students to better understand the context in which they are occurring and their frequency over the course of an academic year. Data was collected from two corpora, the Monologic and Dialogic Corpus (MDC) 2019, which has 20,368 words, and 42 subjects, and the second corpus MDC2020, which has 16,997 words and 29 participants. Errors in the 2019/2020 corpora were identified and then coded for frequency; results showed the following fossilized errors: articles deletions (92/94), prepositions (39/43) plurals (54/55), subject-verb agreement (85/46), and general wording (60/69). However, in looking at clauses with errors/100 words, there were 5.29 errors in the 2019 corpus, whereas, in the 2020 corpus, there was a slight improvement of 3.35 errors/100 words, indicating that marginal progress was made. These results show many of these errors are interlingual and that students are unaware of their errors that they are making in their spontaneous speech. Alternative methods of instruction are thus needed in EFL education to highlight awareness and self-editing skills.

Kyutacar

Other Link： http://papers.iafor.org/wp-content/uploads/papers/iicehawaii2021/IICEHawaii2021_59166.pdf

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)

Students around the world are under more pressure to produce academic papers that reflect a high level of grammatical and analysis. This study examines the effectiveness of one online grammar checker, grammarly.com, comparing the effectiveness with that of self-editing. From four universities in Kyushu, Japan, 199 papers, which were collected over 2019, were examined, with 99 essays being proofed by an online grammar checker. The research questions concerned the number of grammatical changes that were made with both methods, and the kinds of errors that were identified and missed, and the characteristics of syntactical complexity before and after editing. Results showed that there were no significant differences in syntactical complexity with either method of editing. There were fewer errors with self-editing, however, there were no significant differences in the edited drafts regards to errors/100 ratios, error-free clauses, and error-free clause ratios. The study showed marginal differences between the two methods of proofing but indicates that online tools can be useful for identifying certain grammatical errors. It remains clear that educators need to work more with EFL learners on the editorial and proofing process, but online grammar checkers may be a useful pedagogical tool to help low-proficient L2 learners.

DOI： https://doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol7iss1pp441-458

DOI： https://doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol7iss1pp441-458

Kyutacar

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)

Italy   Online   2021.07.21  -  2021.07.23

This study examined the effect e-learning had on second-year Japanese university English as a Foreign Language (EFL) student Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) scores, which is a standardized English test. The English language learner e-learning system was developed by Gyuto-e ASP and had 800 multiple-choice listening questions. The four research questions were focused on the following: the possible differences in the TOEIC scores between the students who had completed the online module and those who had not; the possible score differences between genders; and whether any students had completed the e-learning but had not had any significant increases in their TOEIC scores. It was found that all tests were statistically non-significant at a 5% level. Further research is to be conducted on improving the e-learning program usage so that it has a more direct and meaningful effect on the students’ test scores.

DOI： 10.18178/ijiet.2022.12.4.1618

DOI： 10.18178/ijiet.2022.12.4.1618

Kyutacar

Scopus

Other Link： http://www.ijiet.org/show-168-2034-1.html

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (conference, symposium, etc.)

Japan   Online   2022.09.03  -  2022.09.05

As a result of increased globalization and the demand for higher-level abilities among graduating students, Japanese institutions are gradually modifying their curricula. Writing, which has long fallen behind in terms of staffing, funding, attention is now being treated more seriously, albeit the hurdles remain formidable. Professors must now teach basic processes in writing an academic research paper, ranging from knowing how to access and use the library's resources and digital facilities in order to gather information to forming outlines, topic/supporting sentences, and finally formatting the rhetorical framework properly for an academic research paper, because Japanese high schools continue to offer few real writing experiences, and writing tends to remain at the sentence or paragraph-level. Professors may still be required to engage closely with graduate students who have a wide range of talents and needs, as well as provide intensive one-on-one training. Furthermore, such students must be able to handle feedback from basic reviews of works they have submitted for publication. Classes may also include a large number of foreign students who have received completely different writing instruction, thus posing a new pedagogical problem. A further issue is that competition in attracting top students in both private and national universities, so facilities and new courses are being added each year; in some cases, writing centers are designated with offers for one-to-one instruction. Finally, another challenge is helping students to integrate their own writing skills to academic papers in their field, and so mastering the jargon, the technical English, and various style formats that their own conferences require. As there are so many changes and challenges ahead for EFL writing instructors in Japan, the aim of this paper is to investigate the recommendations that six EFL instructors gave about their own institutions, specifically how the process approach to writing has adapted, how often are assignments required, and how is evaluation carried out. Furthermore, the study will discuss analysis and recommendations for students’ needs and for innovative approaches to teaching writing. Analysis will focus on teacher concerns, and overall commonalities and important differences in the responses. In short, it is important to get a snap shot of the quality of EFL writing instruction within foundation courses, and how teacher educators have adopted various conceptual frameworks for organizing and evaluating their programs. The results might stress the importance of re-thinking and re-organizing current programs or to initiate new writing courses.

Kyutacar

Scopus

arXiv

Other Link： http://www.ijiet.org

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)

Japan   Nagoya   2024.01.05  -  2024.01.07

Japanese students are suffering from English learning. Data show that Japanese students fail to demonstrate desirable English proficiency despite decades-long efforts and promotion from the Japanese government. Foreign (native) teachers have helped with the development of English teaching in Japan in many respects, serving not only as teachers conveying language knowledge to students but also as representatives of foreign cultures helping students to appreciate incentives to learn about intercultural communication. The main emphasis of this study is to identify the problems with foreign English teachers in Japan to see whether there are any commonalities in the opinions of foreign EFL teachers related to cross-cultural challenges, labor concerns, workloads/working conditions, psychological and emotional well-being, which may have a negative impact on English education. The findings of surveys and semi-conducted interviews revealed that teachers’ perceptions of their teaching approaches were generally acceptable and unproblematic, and they seem to have received fair evaluation and support from their colleagues. The stress and demands on teachers were often excessive with increased administration, which consumed the energy of English teachers while not contributing to the improvement of teaching effectiveness. Although foreign teachers generally have positive outlooks on their own experience, their advice tends not to be taken seriously or given credit for their innovations or accomplishments. Cultural conflicts sometimes cause trouble for them. Foreign teachers should learn about Japanese culture and try to change their perspective in thinking to achieve a better understanding of intercultural communication.

DOI： 10.18178/ijssh.2024.14.2.1195

DOI： 10.18178/ijssh.2024.14.2.1195

Kyutacar

Other Link： https://www.ijssh.net/uploadfile/2024/IJSSH-V14N2-1195.pdf

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)

English grammar instruction in Japan seems unchanged for decades. One issue includes “the pedagogical divide” in English instruction, designating some styles to be more complicated and comprehended afterward with higher ability. Another problem is that forms in grammar are frequently taught, disregarding various contexts or recycling. This research aimed to investigate if a listening or a grammatical module would have the most impact on raising TOEIC scores. Over five hundred freshman Japanese college students took part in the investigation. The participants consisted of two groups, one doing a Moodle-based e-learning program and the other completing a conventional TOEIC-based listening lab. For the first grammatical module, an e-learning program for English grammar utilizing the concepts of strands and clusters was developed. A strand involves any grammatical form that is recycled in various contexts over several weeks. Grammar is then presented in clusters (clauses/phrases) and how each form might impact the other in various kinds of discourse. The research concentrated on distinctions between the two groups, dissimilarities in quizzes, classes, and progress during the two semesters. The findings indicated a difference between the two, with the listening lab achieving an approximately 38-point rise and the grammar e-learning program with a 43 rise. The test score revealed a linear increase in the standard deviation, with learners improving their points by 0.17 scores per quiz. The standardized scores rose through e-learning with mixed results.

DOI： doi:10.18848/2327-0136/CGP/v31i02/117-146

DOI： doi:10.18848/2327-0136/CGP/v31i02/117-146

Other Link： https://cgscholar.com/bookstore/cgrn/242/250

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)

In most traditional EFL writing classes in Japan and elsewhere, there has been an over-emphasis and data collection on exam scores, completed homework assignments, or e-learning modules, but there has been little research about students’ improvement in writing over a school term or academic year. This report is on research concerning the changes in Japanese EFL students’ writing complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) that occurred in the span of one academic school year. Research questions focused on differences between the control group (students who wrote 3 essays over an academic year) and treatment group (who wrote 8 papers), if grammatical errors decreased over the year, possible significant improvements between the first and second drafts for syntactical complexity, and accuracy, and if there was a significant difference between self-editing and the use of grammar online checkers. For the first research question, there was a significant difference between the groups in regards to syntactical complexity which improved in the second draft and that complexity did increase over time from paper 1 to paper 8. It was found that fluency did increase over time, but there were oscillations with clauses per T-unit having increased 3.2% on average. Also, for the treatment group, grammatical errors did decrease over the year. As for possible improvement between drafts, for syntactical complexity for both the control and treatment group, changes were found to be significant. It was also shown that those who used an online grammar checker had fewer errors. In short, the study indicates how EFL writing (CAF) is impacted by instruction and how more attention is warranted regarding such classes.

Other Link： https://jalt-publications.org/tlt/

Total pages：58   Language：Chinese

Foreword
In 620 BC, Aesop was born as a slave and was owned by two masters, the latter of whom freed him due to his wit and learning. In time, Aesop raised himself to a position of high renown, and he began to travel through many countries. He met with philosophers, Phadedo, Menippus, and Epictetus, along with such sages as Solon and Thales when he went to the court of Croesus. Croesus was so pleased by him that he was hired as a public official and as a diplomat. It was during one of the ambassadorial missions to Delphi that Aesop was killed—his death seemed to be avenged by a series of calamities. Aesop's travels, most likely, allowed him to become acquainted with all kinds of virtues and vices. Aesop wrote his fables to provide instruction and guidance for all mankind; likewise, these fables were written for the same purpose, particularly as people today are growing up without a moral compass to guide them through complex social issues.
As many of the characters in these fables represent common hopes, ideals, goals and shortcomings that shape society today, it is my hope that people, young and old, can learn and discuss the benefits of virtues, and the consequences of vices, so that they can develop the insight to more effectively shape their own lives and society in a more meaningful way. It's not easy trying to expand on the fables of Aesop, for their charm,
wisdom, humor, and characters transcend time, and speak to us as clearly as they did so long ago. It was, no doubt, because of Aesop's hard background that he was able to see the `lessons of life' that so many others miss. These fables I believe particularly appeal to Chinese parents with young children for bedtime stories because they can teach their children the wisdom they need in their future life. It is also a valuable book to help the kids to develop their bilingual skills in both English and Chinese while enjoy the interesting stories. “Taking It a Step Further– Moral Prompts" provide questions for readers to think about further. We suggest that parents have further discussion with their kids to help them think more creatively. Learners of Chinese can also practice speaking through retelling those fables. We sincerely hope that you will have a fruitful and relaxing experience with our book.

Total pages：54   Language：Chinese

Foreword

In 620 BC, Aesop was born as a slave and was owned by two masters, the latter of whom freed him due to his wit and learning. In time, Aesop raised himself to a position of high renown, and he began to travel through many countries. He met with philosophers, Phadedo, Menippus, and Epictetus, along with such sages as Solon and Thales when he went to the court of Croesus. Croesus was so pleased by him that he was hired as a public official and as a diplomat. It was during one of the ambassadorial missions to Delphi that Aesop was killed—his death seemed to be avenged by a series of calamities.
Aesop's travels, most likely, allowed him to become acquainted with all kinds of virtues and vices. Aesop wrote his fables to provide instruction and guidance for all mankind; likewise, these fables were written for the same purpose, particularly as people today are growing up without a moral compass to guide them through complex social issues. As many of the characters in these fables represent common hopes, ideals, goals and shortcomings that shape society today, it is my hope that people, young and old, can learn and discuss the benefits of virtues, and the consequences of vices, so that they can develop the insight to more effectively shape their own lives and society in a more meaningful way. It's not easy trying to expand on the fables of Aesop, for their charm, wisdom, humor, and characters transcend time, and speak to us as clearly as they did so long ago. It was, no doubt, because of Aesop's hard background that he was able to see the `lessons of life' that so many others miss.
These fables I believe particularly appeal to Chinese parents with young children for bedtime stories because they can teach their children the wisdom they need in their future life. It is also a valuable book to help the kids to develop their bilingual skills in both English and Chinese while enjoy the interesting stories. “Taking It a Step Further – Moral Prompts" provide questions for readers to think about further. We suggest that parents have further discussion with their kids to help them think more creatively. Learners of Chinese can also practice speaking through retelling those fables. We sincerely hope that you will have a fruitful and relaxing experience with our book.
Robert W. Long III
Rong Zhang March 16, 2021

Total pages：58   Responsible for pages：58   Language：English

In 620 BC, Aesop was born as a slave and was owned by two masters, the latter of whom freed him due to his wit and learning. In time, Aesop raised himself to a position of high renown, and he began to travel through many countries. He met with philosophers, Phadedo, Menippus, and Epictetus, along with such sages as Solon and Thales when he went to the court of Croesus. Croesus was so pleased by him that he was hired as a public official and as a diplomat. It was during one of the ambassadorial missions to Delphi that Aesop was killed—his death seemed to be avenged by a series of calamities.
Aesop’s travels, most likely, allowed him to become acquainted with all kinds of virtues and vices. Aesop wrote his fables to provide instruction and guidance for all mankind; likewise, these fables were written for the same purpose, particularly as people today are growing up without a moral compass to guide them through complex social issues. As many of the characters in these fables represent common hopes, ideals, goals and shortcomings that shape society today, it is my hope that people, young and old, can learn and discuss the benefits of virtues, and the consequences of vices, so that they can develop the insight to more effectively shape their own lives and society in a more meaningful way. It’s not easy trying to expand on the fables of Aesop, for their charm, wisdom, humor, and characters transcend time, and speak to us as clearly as they did so long ago. It was, no doubt, because of Aesop’s hard background that he was able to see the ‘lessons of life’ that so many others miss.
These fables I believe particularly appeal to Chinese parents with young children for bedtime stories because they can teach their children the wisdom they need in their future life. It is also a valuable book to help the kids to develop their bilingual skills in both English and Chinese while enjoy the interesting stories. “Taking It a Step Further – Moral Prompts” provide questions for readers to think about further. We suggest that parents have further discussion with their kids to help them think more creatively. Learners of Chinese can also practice speaking through retelling those fables. We sincerely hope that you will have a fruitful and relaxing experience with our book.

Other Link： https://www.amazon.com

Total pages：65   Language：Japanese

In 620 BC, Aesop was born as a slave and was owned by two masters, the latter of whom freed him due to his wit and learning. In time, Aesop raised himself to a position of high renown, and he began to travel through many countries. He met with philosophers, Phadedo, Menippus, and Epictetus, along with such sages as Solon and Thales when he went to the court of Croesus. Croesus was so pleased by him that he was hired as a public official and as a diplomat. It was during one of the ambassadorial missions to Delphi that Aesop was killed—his death seemed to be avenged by a series of calamities.
Aesop’s travels, most likely, allowed him to become acquainted with all kinds of virtues and vices. Aesop wrote his fables to provide instruction and guidance for all mankind; likewise, these fables were written for the same purpose, particularly as people today are growing up without a moral compass to guide them through complex social issues. As many of the characters in these fables represent common hopes, ideals, goals and shortcomings that shape society today, it is my hope that people, young and old, can learn and discuss the benefits of virtues, and the consequences of vices, so that they can develop the insight to more effectively shape their own lives and society in a more meaningful way. It’s not easy trying to expand on the fables of Aesop, for their charm, wisdom, humor, and characters transcend time, and speak to us as clearly as they did so long ago. It was, no doubt, because of Aesop’s hard background that he was able to see the ‘lessons of life’ that so many others miss.
These fables I believe particularly appeal to Chinese parents with young children for bedtime stories because they can teach their children the wisdom they need in their future life. It is also a valuable book to help the kids to develop their bilingual skills in both English and Chinese while enjoy the interesting stories. “Taking It a Step Further – Moral Prompts” provide questions for readers to think about further. We suggest that parents have further discussion with their kids to help them think more creatively. Learners of Chinese can also practice speaking through retelling those fables. We sincerely hope that you will have a fruitful and relaxing experience with our book.

Other Link： https://www.amazon.com

Total pages：130   Language：English

This is the THIRD edition of the book and encompasses many changes and includes now Space Engineering Topics. It is also going to be available in both flipgrid downloads and in paperback form.

Other Link： http://www.perceptiapress.com/books/tm/index.html

Total pages：217   Responsible for pages：217   Language：English

These fables we believe particularly appeal to Chinese parents with young children for bedtime stories because they can teach their children the wisdom they need in their future life. It is also a valuable book to help the kids to develop their bilingual skills in both English and Chinese while enjoy the interesting stories. “Taking It a Step Further – Moral Prompts” provide questions for readers to think about further. We suggest that parents have further discussion with their kids to help them think more creatively. Learners of Chinese can also practice speaking through retelling those fables. We sincerely hope that you will have a fruitful and relaxing experience with our book.

Other Link： https://www.lulu.com

Total pages：91   Responsible for pages：5-6   Language：English

David Lehman, a noted literary critic, and poet, once noted that poetry is called the lost art, adding that “poetry is the fox under our shirts that gnaws away at our hearts. Outside, we stand firm, inside, we are altered forever.” And for this very reason, in this rather
fragmented and broken world that we have today in 2022, where one’s attention span has become more and more limited, distracted, and shorten to digestible sound-bites and
images from blogs, toxic and high-energy conspiracy theories, cable “news” and TV game shows, we truly need that fox, to help us yearn for something more meaningful.
The idea of ‘Junkyard poetry’ (what I consider as a rather “futuristic” form of beat
poetry) comes from both the content and even the method of writing. The first volume of Junkyard poetry was published in early 2022 with the main purpose being to better
remember the current events for the year, as each poem was based on one particular event. Some of the events that took place from August to December 2021) include overwork, the collapse of Afghanistan, police brutality, environmental destruction and imbalance, death by drones, references to Japanese and Chinese business and political practices, Mars Rover (technology), 9/11, Confederate Monument Removals, British politics and Boris Johnson, Facebook renaming and rebranding, Steve Bannon, Donald Trump among many other issues.
For this volume, fifty themes were chosen including travel, technology, health, culture, biology, overpopulation, movie stars, music, nationalism and many others. Again, as
before, the methodology for composing was by noting words, phrases, and images from various poems that I found interesting. In time, the list (junkyard) became longer and
4
longer. Dozens of books and poets are referenced, beginning with “The Whole Island: Six Decades of Cuban Poetry” edited by Mark Weiss before moving on to Wallace Stevens and other Western poets (see bibliography) that have been published in various volumes.
In this junkyard poetry, there are several “poetic devices” that were used for this volume: alliteration, end, and internal rimes. In short, what I have learned is that these themes help to remind us what society is, and is becoming. As David Lehman notes, ‘poems are merely foot movements in a larger dance.’ The question is whether or not we are enjoying the dance and finding it meaningful.

Other Link： https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/Mr-Robert-William-Long-III/dp/B0BRGW8CP4/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2MRI9P0NECL1Y&keywords=Junk+yard+poetry+volume+2&qid=1675059828&sprefix=junk+yard+poetry+volume+2%2Caps%2C164&sr=8-1

Total pages：Online   Responsible for pages：Online   Language：English

This is a complementary learning system that complements the online and paper EFL textbook. It contains numerous innovative tasks for listening, speaking, writing, listening, grammar and vocabulary. (http://www.perceptiapress.com/TMKIT2023/The_Technical_Matrix_KIT_2023.html. [login: user1, password, Perceptia Press].

Other Link： https://app.zengengo.com/manageFolder.php?id=9679

Total pages：64   Responsible for pages：64   Language：English

At times, it is important to flip ahead in the script of life to better glimpse what can be—or will be—unfolding upon us. This collection of poetry tries to provide a means of telescoping into the future about a myriad of themes, events and problems that society has had to contend with. I point out with my first poem the fiction of money and of economic worries as we continually lurch from bond market collapse to real estate bubbles and how we should be counting the real currency of our experiences and memories as something we should truly value. And from my own personal experiences, I have written about issues relating to educational ennui, anti-aging medication, overwork, Prince Harry’s Memoirs, loneliness, banned images, and on to memory loss and bots. Essentially, there is something for everyone. Junkyard poetry, (a kind of beat poetry) comes from how various images, words, concepts, ideas, and even perspectives are “sourced” from a variety of poets, and are recycled—blowtorched, even welded—onto these new themes and poems. Nothing is wasted. For this year, I am indebted to Poets.org and their mailing list of a “Poem-a-Day” which provided the varied and thought-providing poems and images where were needed for this text.
As I have mentioned in my two previous volumes of Junkyard poetry, poetry has become a lost art, but in this rather divided, broken world that we have in 2023, where one’s attention space becomes limited and shallow from the endless blogs, toxic and high-energy conspiracy theories, cable “news” and Internet memes and games, we need something like poetry to anchor us back to reality—to something solid! Indeed, as David Lehman notes, ‘poems are merely foot movements in a larger dance.’ The question is whether or not we are enjoying the dance and finding it meaningful.

Other Link： https://www.amazon.com/Tin-Plated-Poetry-Prophecies-Robert-Long/dp/B0CRVSMBW7/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?crid=77P2ITIA9DT4&keywords=tin-plated+poetic+prophecies&qid=1705029845&sprefix=tin-plated+poetic+prophecie%2Caps%2C270&sr=8-1-fkmr1

Total pages：34   Responsible for pages：34   Language：English

These fables I believe particularly appeal to Chinese parents with young children for bedtime stories because they can teach their children the wisdom they need in their future life. It is also a valuable book to help the kids to develop their bilingual skills in both English and Chinese while enjoy the interesting stories. “Taking It a Step Further – Moral Prompts” provide questions for readers to think about further. We suggest that parents have further discussion with their kids to help them think more creatively. Learners of Chinese can also practice speaking through retelling those fables. We sincerely hope that you will have a fruitful and relaxing experience with our book”

Other Link： https://www.amazon.com/New-Aesop-Fables-Children-Bilingual-ebook/dp/B0CTHQW6VW/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1ZZ7E8WKI4JQ1&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.v-3NuEE5Nnpopw8C64cGG2CJde0nbKQM_A4Xmgve2UGIKgtIRvTCksYEigxL6iMxBjjB8eFiV2zryHGEb28Lyxah1cjzhxtazRqlci9_-1aQO5KqbDCxp7Nlf4Mxei5-7u2Kt-KNIpJOpE6Np-q78xImrRpJeCcatObxd5O_BtS2MFDq4DcsNzq8vCA-Iw7x3LA14hXicrSDanfBxEsr-FduRcgGRCxZd_5n2FVj7OM.-kKKm9puxGwArg3kos-wwyR55nwDoQBi-l971Pc30Sg&dib_tag=se&keywords=New+Aesop+Fables+for+Children+%28新儿童伊索寓言%29%3A+%28Bilingual+Version+-+Volume+7%29&qid=1713765469&sprefix=new+aesop+fables+for+children+新儿童伊索寓言+bilingual+version+-+volume+7+%2Caps%2C1315&sr=8-1

Total pages：40   Responsible for pages：2   Language：English

Aesop’s travels, most likely, allowed him to become acquainted with all kinds of virtues and vices. Aesop wrote his fables to provide instruction and guidance for all mankind; likewise, these fables were written for the same purpose, particularly as people today are growing up without a moral compass to guide them through complex social issues. As many of the characters in these fables represent common hopes, ideals, goals and shortcomings that shape society today, it is my hope that people, young and old, can learn and discuss the benefits of virtues, and the consequences of vices, so that they can develop the insight to more effectively shape their own lives and society in a more meaningful way. It’s not easy trying to expand on the fables of Aesop, for their charm, wisdom, humor, and characters transcend time, and speak to us as clearly as they did so long ago. It was, no doubt, because of Aesop’s hard background that he was able to see the ‘lessons of life’ that so many others miss.

These fables I believe particularly appeal to Chinese parents with young children for bedtime stories because they can teach their children the wisdom they need in their future life. It is also a valuable book to help the kids to develop their bilingual skills in both English and Chinese while enjoy the interesting stories. “Taking It a Step Further – Moral Prompts” provide questions for readers to think about further. We suggest that parents have further discussion with their kids to help them think more creatively. Learners of Chinese can also practice speaking through retelling those fables. We sincerely hope that you will have a fruitful and relaxing experience with our book.

Other Link： https://www.amazon.com/New-Aesop-Fables-Children-Bilingual-ebook/dp/B0D2DPJM79/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1OQ5XL67IVW14&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0Uriphnj-I2_iNnTmDRyb4HqIdDd3G1WiKsLYhJbhaYCQyIYMlyXzjkcwm-BiSJDrcEE1ahx5eyXUHGzvycoKMuTLMr8zxWPGLp20xXACFkez41iMfJRmY3fOnSoIkeyOoMB6IBNEoVfB9zmRBEE7thH1ez1eroEKauYVRb49yVk6d9NZ3iMGniogl-mr2a1_3iUG-56OqKddlzw5zeVHOHy-VCWDgMEysOCZbnyKhI.qcxvqoUo28J1ncBKkccYaDfAZ5PKfv6fiP4GAV4k2AA&dib_tag=se&keywords=New+Aesop+Fables+for+Children+%28新儿童伊索寓言%29%3A+%28Bilingual+Version+-+Volume+6%29&qid=1715060405&sprefix=new+aesop+fables+for+children+新儿童伊索寓言+bilingual+version+-+volume+6+%2Caps%2C1466&sr=8-1

Event date： 1996.11.01   Language：English  

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Event date： 1999.10.12   Language：English  

Event date： 1999.10.15   Language：English  

Event date： 1999.11.10   Language：Japanese  

This study focuses on technical English and how it is useful as a ESP course in Japan.

Event date： 1999.12.08   Language：English  

Event date： 2000.04.01   Language：English  

Event date： 2001.11.03   Language：English  

Event date： 2001.11.25   Language：English  

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Event date： 2004.11.21   Language：English  

Event date： 2004.12.05   Language：Japanese  

Event date： 2007.07.09   Language：Japanese  

Event date： 2006.11.27   Language：Japanese  

Event date： 2007.10.09   Language：Japanese  

Event date： 2005.10.27   Language：English  

Event date： 2006.11.05   Language：Japanese  

Event date： 2007.08.04   Language：English  

Event date： 2013.10.25 - 2013.10.28   Language：English  

Event date： 2015.03.04 - 2015.03.06   Language：English  

Event date： 2014.11.13 - 2014.11.14   Language：English  

Event date： 2018.07.23 - 2018.07.27   Language：English  

Researchers in Japan now recognize that shyness and hesitation phenomenon is a sociolinguistic pandemic, especially where Japanese males and females avoid conversations, interactions, and relationships. This trend has led to a demographic crisis in which fewer Japanese marry and have children. This study will report on the results of a gender attitude survey (and its development) and the results of a questionnaire. The survey and questionnaire were implemented in 2016. Research questions focused on positive and negatives viewpoints that participants had of the opposite sex. Results showed that both genders felt that it was easy to relate to and understand the opposite sex; likewise, they felt that they showed interest in having discussions with the opposite sex. However, negative attitudes included issues relating to having to give long and informative replies, difficulty in understanding and making points or achieving goals with the opposite sex. Student replies on a questionnaire further indicated that a majority of students viewed themselves as open to experience. All of the comments, however, from both genders, showed that during their gendered interactions that the participants were tense and uneasy. The high percentage of comments from females, 78 percent, indicated that most were antisocial as they found it difficult to interact with males. A gender disparity was found in the percentage of comments from males who thought that the opposite sex understood and appreciated what they had to say and those from females: 75 percent and 46 percent respectively. In short, student morale in both genders is timid, insecure and interactions are often unsatisfying and demoralizing.

Event date： 2019.10.14 - 2019.10.15   Language：English  

As teachers we often assume that our students are making progress, if not tremendous progress from our instruction and materials; this longitudinal study examines the reality of how students' L2 fluency changes over an academic year. In
April and May 2018, 23 Japanese students gave a self-introduction monologue that was followed with a three-question dialogue, which was repeated again in early 2019. L2 interactions by Japanese speakers were based on the JUSFC2018 corpus and the JUSFC2019 corpus. Fluency variables involved monologue and dialogue speaking time, total speaking time, articulation rate, and speaking rates. Acoustic dysfluency variables were micropauses, cross-talk pausing, monologue silence, dialogue silence, percentage of silence, and the length of pauses. Lexical fluency had three variables: mispronounced words, word fragments, and use of L1. Syntactical dysfluency had 6 variables: abandoned sentences, retracing, repetition, mean length runs, number of words, and meaningless syllables. Research questions related to significant differences in fluency and dsyfluency variables, and which variable showed the most and least progress. Descriptive statistics showed mixed results showed with fluency variables showing more cases of increased dysfluency (52 over 49). Acoustic dysfluency also worsened over the year with (61 cases over 40) while lexical and syntactical dysfluency showed marginal improvements. T-tests showed no significance for all variables except for the length of pausing. This data highlights the difficulty of L2 teachers of bringing about significant progress in conversational competency and fluency.

Event date： 2019.10.14 - 2019.10.15   Language：English  

Due to the amount of time it takes to correct and give feedback on students' writing, composition and writing classes tend to be minimized or ignored in the curricula of many Japanese educational institutions. Thus, many students do not have enough experience in drafting and editing their L1 and L2 compositions. An investigation about the development of complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) in the English writing of Japanese L2 university students was conducted. From four universities in Kyushu (Japan), 65 students were asked to write a self-introduction essay for 30 minutes with 10 minutes then given for editing, half of the students were to self-edit, and the other group used an online grammar checker. Research questions focused on how complexity, accuracy, and fluency in Japanese L2 writing can be characterized and whether there were significant differences in the writing of Japanese freshmen and sophomores among the four universities that were studied. Other questions concerned differences in syntactical complexity and grammatical accuracy between the first and second drafts. Results showed that students used 173.3 words (an average of 25.9 clauses) with 7.6 errors in their first draft whereas, in the edited drafts, students averaged 179.4 words, 26.7 clauses and had 5.9 errors in their edited drafts. There were significant differences in students' writing among the four universities. As for the third and fourth research questions, there were no significant differences between the two drafts in regard to complexity, but there were statistically significant differences in regard to error rates. Data showed that students needed more guidance in regard to writing longer sentences, improving overall fluency, and in editing their work.

Event date： 2019.11.08 - 2019.11.10   Language：English  

It is assumed that our educational lectures and materials are having some impact on students' knowledge and skills. This longitudinal study examines the reality of how Japanese L2 students' accuracy in English changes over an academic year. In April and May 2018, 23 Japanese students gave a self-introduction monologue, which was repeated again in early 2019. L2 interactions by Japanese speakers were based on the JUSFC2018 corpus and the JUSFC2019 corpus. Research questions related to whether or not there was a significant difference between in grammatical accuracy from the first interview session to the second year (regarding errors in clauses per 100 words, global errors and local errors, and in specific errors related to parts of speech) and what were the most frequently occurring errors in both corpora. Descriptive statistics showed marginal differences in error-free clauses per 100 words and with clauses with errors per 100 words. Similarly, while global errors did decline, local errors did increase; there was a 27.3 percent increase in local errors though the overall percentage in total words spoken decreased by half. For errors related to parts of speech, a t-test confirmed there was a significant difference between the two speech corpora. As for error reoccurrence, four types of errors were noted: incorrect phrasing, article omission, preposition omission, and errors related to plurals. No improvement in oral grammatical accuracy was noted, with some errors doubling or worsening significantly. This data highlights the difficulty of L2 teachers of having students self-edit themselves and

Event date： 2020.11.16 - 2020.11.23   Language：English  

The study seeks to understand how fluency differs between proficiency levels (as denoted by TOEIC scores) and if there is consistency in data between two sets of corpora. The research questions focused on possible differences in speaking times of monologues between the two proficiency groups, between the two corpora, and whether or not there was an inverse correlation between the number of words spoken and the total amount of silence. Analysis of the lexical complexity focused on possible differences between the two proficiency levels. Results showed that there were no significant differences between the two proficiency groups. Correlations were non-significant for the number of words spoken and the total amount of silence and between the number of words spoken and the total amount of silence. As for lexical complexity, t-tests showed no significance between corpora or levels. Further research needs to focus on the fluency of EFL speakers' dialogic output.

Event date： 2021.07.21 - 2021.07.23   Language：English   Country：Italy  

This paper examines the issue of the effect that e-learning had on second-year Japanese university EFL students regarding their TOEIC scores, a standardized test of English. The e-learning system was developed by Gyuto-e ASP for English Learners and involved having students answer an array of listening questions with multiple-choices, totaling 800 questions. The four research questions focused on possible significant differences in scores after students had completed the course, and between students who had completed the module and those who had not, on possible differences in scores between genders, and whether there were any cases of students who had completed e-learning but did not have significant increases in TOEIC scores. Results showed that all tests were statistically non-significant at level 0.05. Further research will be conducted on how to improve the usage of the e-learning program to have more of a direct and meaningful effect on students’ test scores.

Other Link： http://www.icedl.org

Event date： 2021.01.06 - 2021.01.08   Language：English  

The problem of fossilized errors has been a problematic issue with EFL researchers because it shows that traditional methods of instruction are not effective. Fossilized errors were thus examined with university-level first-year Japanese EFL students to better understand the context in which they are occurring and their frequency over the course of an academic year. Data was collected from two corpora, the Monologic and Dialogic Corpus (MDC) 2019, which has 20,368 words, and 42 subjects, and the second corpus MDC2020, which has 16,997 words and 29 participants. Errors in the 2019/2020 corpora were identified and then coded for frequency; results showed the following fossilized errors: articles deletions (92/94), prepositions (39/43) plurals (54/55), subject-verb agreement (85/46), and general wording (60/69). However, in looking at clauses with errors/100 words, there were 5.29 errors in the 2019 corpus, whereas, in the 2020 corpus, there was a slight improvement of 3.35 errors/100 words, indicating that marginal progress was made. These results show many of these errors are interlingual and that students are unaware of their errors that they are making in their spontaneous speech. Alternative methods of instruction are thus needed in EFL education to highlight awareness and self-editing skills.

Event date： 2021.07.21 - 2021.07.23   Language：English  

This paper examines the issue of the effect that e-learning had on second-year Japanese university EFL students regarding their TOEIC scores, a standardized test of English. The e-learning system was developed by Gyuto-e ASP for English Learners and involved having students answer an array of listening questions with multiple choices, totaling 800 questions. The four research questions focused on possible significant differences in scores after students had completed the course, and between students who had completed the module and those who had not, on possible differences in scores between genders, and whether there were any cases of students who had completed e-learning but did not have significant increases in TOEIC scores. Results showed that all tests were statistically non-significant at level 0.05. Further research will be conducted on how to improve the usage of the e-learning program to have more of a direct and meaningful effect on students' test scores.

Other Link： http://www.icedl.org

Event date： 2021.09.16 - 2021.10.17   Language：English  

Students around the world are under more pressure to produce academic papers that reflect a high level of grammatical and analysis. This study examines the effectiveness of one online grammar checker, grammarly.com, comparing the effectiveness with that of self-editing. From four universities in Kyushu, Japan, 199 papers, which were collected over 2019, were examined, with 99 essays being proofed by an online grammar checker. The research questions concerned the number of grammatical changes that were made with both methods, and the kinds of errors that were identified and missed, and the characteristics of syntactical complexity before and after editing. Results showed that there were no significant differences in syntactical complexity with either method of editing. There were fewer errors with self-editing, however, there were no significant differences in the edited drafts regards to errors/100 ratios, error-free clauses, and error-free clause ratios. The study showed marginal differences between the two methods of proofing but indicates that online tools can be useful for identifying certain grammatical errors. It remains clear that educators need to work more with EFL learners on the editorial and proofing process, but online grammar checkers may be a useful pedagogical tool to help low-proficient L2 learners.

Event date： 2023.11.24 - 2023.11.27   Language：English   Country：Japan  

One of the most serious problems in EFL teaching is giving students feedback on their interactions. In large classes, this can be quite problematic, but without this necessary feedback, students will continue to make similar errors. The presentation will review a means of eliciting student output for teacher evaluation through second-person roleplays. Four textbooks that rely, in part, on this technique (Reaching Out, Stepping Out, Explain It, and Technical Matrix, 3rd Edition) will be reviewed.

Other Link： https://jalt.org/conference/jalt2023/schedule

Event date： 2021.11.10 - 2021.11.14   Language：English  

This 60-minute Workshop will review the second edition of the author's textbook "Explain It: Discussing Japanese Culture in English." The presenter will discuss the rationale of the textbook, its format, task, task sequencing, and evaluation of students' responses, fluency reviews, testing, and video components.

Event date： 2024.01.05 - 2024.01.07   Language：English   Country：Japan  

Foreign teachers are indispensable for EFL teaching in Japan. They have helped with the development of EFL teaching in Japan in many respects. They are not only serving as teachers who teach The main emphasis of this study was to identify the problems with if there were any commonalities in the opinions of seasoned and retired EFL teachers related to cross-cultural challenges, labor concerns, workloads and working conditions, psychological and emotional well-being. The findings revealed that teachers' perceptions of their own teaching approaches and intercultural concerns were generally unproblematic, as there were fair evaluation and support from one's colleagues. Stress and demands received somewhat higher scores because of the increased administration including excessive quantity of meetings. Although teachers generally had positive outlooks on their experience, there were some negative comments about advice that wasn't being taken seriously or given credit for an innovation or accomplishment. The data indicates the need for further study on problematic labor issues and identifying how technology will further impact the EFL classroom.

Other Link： https://www.ichss.org/index.html

Event date： 2021.07.21 - 2021.07.23   Language：English   Country：Italy  

This paper examines the issue of the effect that e-learning had on second-year Japanese university EFL students regarding their TOEIC scores, a standardized test of English. The e-learning system was developed by Gyuto-e ASP for English Learners and involved having students answer an array of listening questions with multiple-choices, totaling 800 questions. The four research questions focused on possible significant differences in scores after students had completed the course, and between students who had completed the module and those who had not, on possible differences in scores between genders, and whether there were any cases of students who had completed e-learning but did not have significant increases in TOEIC scores. Results showed that all tests were statistically non-significant at level 0.05. Further research will be conducted on how to improve the usage of the e-learning program to have more of a direct and meaningful effect on students’ test scores.

Other Link： http://www.icedl.org

Event date： 2022.07.07 - 2022.07.10   Language：English   Country：Switzerland  

Grammar instruction in language teaching has remained unchanged for over four centuries. One problem has been “the pedagogical divide” in English education which designates that some forms are deemed more complex and have to be learned later when there is more proficiency. Another issue is that grammatical forms are often addressed without recycling or in-depth and varied contexts. Therefore, a unique E-learning program was designed based on grammatical strands and clusters to address this issue. The approach adopted the concept of strands (the repetition of grammatical forms to highlight various usage) and clusters (how grammatical forms interact in actual communication or writing). Five hundred eleven first-year Japanese university students participated in the study. The researchers formed two groups, one doing a TOEIC-based listening lab and the other, the Moodle-based e-learning program. Research questions focused on differences between the first and second groups, possible differences among classes, quizzes, and improvements over the year. The results revealed a five-point distinction between the two groups, with the e-learning group having an average of 43.2 rise and the listening lab a 37.7. The teacher-to-teacher difference in students’ scores revealed that classes 4 and 5 performed the best, while classes 1 and 2 did the worst. The variation in quiz scores indicated that the standard deviation rose linearly; students improved their results by improving by 0.17 points on average with each quiz. The E-learning program raised students’ standardized scores, with mixed results comparing pre-test and post-test outcomes.

Other Link： https://www.ictle.com

Event date： 2025.02.21 - 2025.02.25   Language：English   Country：Malaysia  

The results of a one-year study on the evolution of complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) in the compositions of Japanese L2 university students throughout a semester are presented in this study. One goal was to determine if any improvement in writing abilities over this academic term had occurred while another was to examine methods of editing. Participants had 30 minutes to write each essay with an additional 10 minutes allotted for editing. As for editing, participants were divided into two groups, one of which utilized an online grammar checker, while the other half self-edited their initial manuscripts. From the three different institutions, there was a total of 159 students. Research questions focused on determining if the CAF had evolved over the previous year, identifying potential variations in editing techniques, and describing the connections between the CAF dimensions. According to the findings, there was some improvement in accuracy (fewer errors) in all three of the measures), whereas there was a marked decline in complexity and fluency. As for the second research aim relating to the interaction among the three dimensions (CAF) and of possible increases in fluency being offset by decreases in grammatical accuracy, results showed (there is a logical high correlation with clauses and word counts, and mean length of T-unit (MLT) and (coordinate phrase of T-unit (CP/T) as well as MLT and clause per T-unit (C/T); furthermore, word counts and error/100 ratio correlated highly with error-free clause totals (EFCT). Issues of syntactical complexity had a negative correlation with EFCT indicating that more syntactical complexity relates to decreased accuracy. Concerning a difference in error correction between those who self-edited and those who used an online grammar correction tool, results indicated that the variable of errors-free clause ratios (EFCR) had the greatest difference regarding accuracy, with fewer errors noted with writers using an online grammar checker. As for possible differences between the first and second (edited) drafts regarding CAF, results indicated there were positive changes in accuracy, the most significant change seen in complexity (CP/T and MLT), while there were relatively insignificant changes in fluency. Results also indicated significant differences among the three institutions with Fujian University of Technology having the most fluency and accuracy. These findings suggest that to raise students' awareness of their overall writing development, teachers should support them in developing more complex syntactic structures, improve their fluency, and make more effective use of online grammar checkers.

Other Link： https://seace.iafor.org

Event date： 2022.07.07 - 2022.07.10   Language：English   Country：Switzerland  

In most traditional EFL writing classes in Japan and elsewhere, there has been an over-emphasis and data collection on exam scores, completed homework assignments or e-learning modules, but there has been little research about students’ improvement in writing over a school term or academic year. This article reports on research that was conducted in Hiroshima University concerning the changes with Japanese EFL students’ writing complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) over one academic school year. Students were divided into two groups, one who self-edited their second drafts, and those who used an online grammar checker; furthermore, there was a treatment group who were assigned essays for each month, and a control group that did essays only for three times over the year. Research questions focused on differences between the control and treatment groups, if grammatical errors decreased over the year, possible significant improvements between the first and second drafts for syntactical complexity, and accuracy, and if there was a difference between those who self-edited and those using grammar online checkers. Results showed that for the first aim, there was a significant difference between the groups; likewise it was found that fluency did not significantly increase over time whereas some syntactical complexity variables did show significant increases. For the third aim, it was found that errors for clause ratio (EFCR) and errors for clause total (EFCT) did decrease over time. For the final three research questions, results showed significant differences. Findings indicate that student output is varied, and complex, and needs more attention from educators.

CiNii Article

Other Link： https://www.ictle.com

Event date： 2022.09.03 - 2022.09.05   Language：English  

This paper investigated the recommendations
from six EFL (English as a foreign language) teachers about
improving EFL writing courses in Japan. The study focused on
any commonalities among the responses concerning three
themes: (1) describing the general writing curriculum, (2)
modifications in meeting student needs, and (3) identifying
innovative approaches. Answers also differed in how teachers
assessed the quality of their composition curriculum, with some
expressing doubts about the rubrics to evaluate students'
papers. Some instructors focused on academic writing, and
others emphasized writing emails and business and technical
reports. Regarding the second theme, teachers urgently agreed
on the need to improve vocabulary, particularly concerning
basic knowledge of collocation and grammar. Instructors
regarded their organizations as capable of meeting the demand
of advanced students with abundant academic writing
resources; nonetheless, the advanced students needed the
assistance of a trained tutor to improve their writing. Teachers
responded to the third question in various ways, with the
analytic method, a guided group writing approach, online
writing software, a process approach, and online grammar
checkers. Instructors implemented roleplay and other writing
activities to gain students' interest. Some teachers had
innovative ideas, but they faced constraints from their
universities or their students' proficiencies. This data clearly
shows varied methods among these universities and that
learners continue to require assistance with formatting and
essential writing functions.

Other Link： http://www.aets.net

Event date： 2023.01.05 - 2023.01.08   Language：English   Country：United States  

This presentation will discuss the findings of a three-year study concerning the development of complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) in Japanese L2 university students’ compositions over an academic year. One aim was to determine if progress was made over an academic year in writing skills; a secondary aim was to examine the issue of editing. Students wrote three essays over the year, with each one lasting for 30 minutes, with 10 additional minutes given for editing. Half of the students were instructed to self-edit their original drafts while the other group used an online grammar checker. A total of 100 students from seven institutions participated. Research questions focused on if CAF changed over the year, on possible differences between the methods of editing, as well as to describe the interactions among the CAF dimensions. Results showed accuracy and fluency changed the most significantly over time. Complexity remained almost unchanged though there were several peaks in the CAF indicators: the most significant variability related to complexity (CP/T indicator), and accuracy (EFCR indicator). As for editing, results showed no difference between the two methods. Accuracy and fluency are more correlated than accuracy and complexity, and complexity is correlated with fluency the most. In short, these data indicated that teachers should help students to increase their syntactical complexity, increase fluency (words per minute), and effectively use online grammar checkers, in order to bring about more awareness concerning their overall progress in writing.

Other Link： https://iicehawaii.iafor.org

Event date： 2024.01.05 - 2024.01.07   Language：English   Country：Japan  

Japanese students are suffering from English learning. Data show that Japanese students fail to demonstrate desirable English proficiency despite decades-long efforts and promotion from the Japanese government. Foreign (native) teachers have helped with the development of English teaching in Japan in many respects, serving not only as teachers conveying language knowledge to students but also as representatives of foreign cultures helping students to appreciate incentives to learn about intercultural communication. The main emphasis of this study is to identify the problems with foreign English teachers in Japan to see whether there are any commonalities in the opinions of foreign EFL teachers related to cross-cultural challenges, labor concerns, workloads/working conditions, psychological and emotional well-being, which may have a negative impact on English education. The findings of surveys and semi-conducted interviews revealed that teachers’ perceptions of their teaching approaches were generally acceptable and unproblematic, and they seem to have received fair evaluation and support from their colleagues. The stress and demands on teachers were often excessive with increased administration, which consumed the energy of English teachers while not contributing to the improvement of teaching effectiveness. Although foreign teachers generally have positive outlooks on their own experience, their advice tends not to be taken seriously or given credit for their innovations or accomplishments. Cultural conflicts sometimes cause trouble for them. Foreign teachers should learn about Japanese culture and try to change their perspective in thinking to achieve a better understanding of intercultural communication.

Other Link： https://www.ichss.org/CFP-ICHSS2024.pdf

Event date： 2025.02.21 - 2025.02.25   Language：English   Country：Malaysia  

A study on the evolution of complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) in Japanese L2 university students' compositions over a semester found some improvement in accuracy but a marked decline in complexity and fluency. The study also examined editing methods, with participants divided into two groups: one using an online grammar checker and the other self-editing their manuscripts. Participants had 30 minutes to write each essay with an additional 10 minutes allotted for editing. As for editing, participants were divided into two groups, one of which utilized an online grammar checker, while the other half self-edited their initial manuscripts. From the three different institutions, there was a total of 159 students. Research questions focused on determining if the CAF had evolved over the previous year, identifying potential variations in editing techniques, and describing the connections between the CAF dimensions.Results showed a correlation between clauses, word counts, and word counts, with word counts and error/100 ratios correlated with error-free clause totals. As for possible differences between the first and second (edited) drafts regarding CAF, results indicated there were positive changes in accuracy, the most significant change seen in complexity (CP/T and MLT), while there were relatively insignificant changes in fluency. The study also found that errors-free clause ratios had the greatest difference in accuracy, with fewer errors noted with online grammar checkers. The study suggests that teachers should support students in developing complex syntactic structures, improving fluency, and using online grammar checkers effectively.

Other Link： https://seace.iafor.org/registration/

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Invited lecture  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Invited lecture  

Presentation type：Discussion meeting  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Event date： 2003.03.01   Language：English   Presentation type：Special lecture  

Presentation type：Invited lecture  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Discussion meeting  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Event date： 2013.09.07 - 2013.09.19   Language：English   Presentation type：Keynote lecture  

Event date： 2019.04.10 - 2019.04.12   Language：English   Presentation type：Keynote lecture   Venue：Osaka, Japan  

As we are often blind to our own conversational lapses and shortcomings, the presenter will discuss the issue of dysfluency based on L2 interactions by Japanese speakers based on the JUSFC2018 corpus. The study's first aim was to examine if the number of words and mean length runs increased with proficiency, as represented by TOEIC scores (Group 1: scores 150-370; Group 2: scores 371-570; Group 3: scores 571-770). The second aim was to compare the dialogic fluency of each group of Japanese EFL learners with that of native speakers in order to identify significant differences regarding speaking rates, as well as acoustic, lexical and syntactical dysfluency. Results showed that the number of words only increased in the second range, before dropping in the most proficient range; likewise, mean length runs (MLRs) showed an increase from 11.2 syllables from the Group 1 to 30.2 before dropping in Group 3 to 9.7. Comparisons with the fluency of native speakers showed significant differences in regard to fluency rates and with acoustic, lexical and syntactical dysfluencies. Thus, the speaker will discuss the issue of production, in particular how audience members can be more aware of their own fluency so as to provide more meaningful, fluent and productive interactions.

Event date： 2020.09.19 - 2020.09.21   Language：English   Presentation type：Keynote lecture   Venue：Zoomed Presentation (From Kokura, Kitakyushu-city)  

This paper takes on the issue of student's monologic speech, examining differences in fluency, production over levels of proficiency (as represented by TOEIC scores), as well as how this speech improves over an academic year. The data, which is based on the speech of 12 participants, was taken from the corpus Monologic and Dialogic Corpus 2019 has 20,368 words, and 42 subjects, whereas the second corpus Monologic and Dialogic Corpus 2020 has 16,997 words and 29 participants. Research questions focused on describing the speech in monologues of higher and lower proficiency Japanese EFL learners in regards to the fluency variables of speaking time, articulation rate, mean length runs (MLRs), number of words and percentage of silence, as well as investigating how acoustic, lexical and syntactical dysfluency might change over the year. Results showed that the mean time of monologue speech was higher in the high-proficiency group than in the low proficiency group in 2019 and 2020, but this difference was not statistically significant. In the high-proficiency group there was a significant difference between 2019 and 2020 in meaningless syllables whereas all the other acoustic, lexical, and syntactical dysfluency variables showed no significant difference over the academic year 2019/2020. Further research will be conducted on how direct feedback might impact students' output.