Kanda University of International Studies

The present paper analyzes the effects of participating in intercultural communication in English as a lingua franca among second- or third-language speakers from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. By analyzing English conversations between eight pairs of Japanese students and overseas students from China, South Korea, and Vietnam, this study demonstrates how the English learners attempt to find a way to connect with each other at their first meeting using the language they learned in different countries. Through the conversation analysis focusing on the number of utterances as well as the occurrence of silence and the use of back-channeling, it becomes apparent that social or cultural norms underlying the participants’ communication strategies can differ from those commonly shared in English-speaking countries. Unlike in English conversations between first-language speakers, these learners show a high degree of tolerance for frequent silence and for the extensive use of back-channeling that is often labeled as negative transfer from Japanese linguistic behavior. Silence can be interpreted as a process of making efforts to make themselves understood in English and back-channeling as a sign of showing interests rather than a lack of understanding of English communication style. Furthermore, the shifting degree of involvement in conversations observable in their utterances highlights the moments when their motivation to participate increases. The research on the factors contributing to these positive changes in attitudes supports the view that learning opportunities through multicultural communication should be actively incorporated into language education.

This article details English language education within the specific multilingual contexts of Ghana and Cameroon, highlighting how their distinct language policies and implementation practices reflect broader complexities within the sociolinguistic landscape of Sub-Saharan Africa. The interplay between linguistic imperialism, linguistic instrumentalism, national interests, and current challenges in language education is explored, with an emphasis on the experiences of teachers and students. By analyzing case studies from these nations, the authors underscored the role of multilingual education in enhancing ELT, promoting inclusivity, and fostering equity. Further discussed in this paper are the ways to influence educational policy and practice by advocating for multilingual approaches that optimize learning outcomes and inclusivity. Finally, the authors highlight parallel tendencies toward linguistic instrumentalism in Ghana, Cameroon, and Japan, and argue that a deeper understanding of these trends—especially as they relate to multilingualism, translanguaging, and English education in Africa—can yield valuable insights for crafting more equitable, context-sensitive language-education policies and practices worldwide. 本稿はガーナとカメルーンという多言語的な文脈での英語教育を考察し、両国の言語政策とその実施の実態が、サブサハラ・アフリカでの社会言語学的状況の広範な複雑性をいかに反映しているかを明らかにする。言語帝国主義、言語道具主義、国家的利益、そして現在の言語教育における課題が交錯する中で、教師や生徒の経験に焦点化した事例研究を通して、多言語教育が英語教育の質の向上、包摂性の促進、公平性の確保に果たす役割を強調する。また学習成果と包摂性を最大化する多言語的アプローチを提唱することで、教育政策と実践への影響についても論じる。さらに、ガーナ、カメルーン、日本に共通する言語道具主義の傾向を取り上げ、特に多言語主義、トランスランゲージング、アフリカにおける英語教育との関連において、こうした傾向を深く理解することが、より公平で文脈に即した言語教育政策と実践を世界的に構築するうえで有益な示唆を与えると主張する。

How should we handle generative AI in the classroom? Many educators create policies that restrict or limit its use, which may be effective short-term but overlook the long-term impact on language learners as global digital citizens. Limiting AI to specific activities can lead to misconceptions about its capabilities and limitations. It’s essential to dedicate class time to exploring AI’s true affordances and pitfalls, allowing students to make informed decisions about its use. This paper will outline a 10-lesson unit integrated into 1st and 2nd-year courses across several universities in Japan. The unit introduces students to the current AI landscape, covering the history and inner workings of generative AI, while also teaching effective usage. A final project involves designing a local newspaper using AI, with evaluation focused on reflection and prompt effectiveness rather than the product itself. The unit also addresses ethical issues in employing generative AI.

A pesar de las connotaciones ominosas que posee el término «casa encantada», en la tradición literaria japonesa se puede apreciar una variante de este tópico que inscribe el relato en la esfera de lo nostálgico y prescinde del habitual componente siniestro derivado de la transgresión del espacio cotidiano. Este trabajo persigue presentar una variante del tópico de la casa encantada en Japón que tiene su origen en uno de los relatos de la colección de cuentos Konjaku monogatari y que, perfeccionado algunos siglos después por el escritor Ueda Akinari, pervive en narraciones de célebres escritores japoneses actuales, como Nakajima Kyōko Shukawa Minato, Arisugawa Alice o Yoshimoto Banana. En los relatos de estos autores la casa encantada se convierte en imagen melancólica y en recuerdo del amor truncado, alejándose del modelo occidental y consolidando en la narrativa actual la variante japonesa.

Emotions in language learning are increasingly recognized as playing an important role in learner motivation and flourishing in the learning process. In consequence, much of the research published to date has focused on what happens when different emotions are experienced and the various states that these may lead to. However, studies that consider how language learners understand the importance of emotions in the context of their learning efforts as well as examine ways this understanding is experienced from the perspective of a language learner are scarce in the literature. To address this gap, the present study investigates how Japanese university language learners experienced a content and language integrated learning (CLIL) course specially designed to explore emotions in language learning, including emotional literacy, motivation, character strengths, mindsets, integrated emotion regulation, empathy, and confidence-building connected to positive and negative affect. To interpret this experience, we take a qualitative exploratory approach to analyse the final diary entries of 24 course participants, using the lens of positive psychology applied to language learning. The coding of the diaries uncovered four areas key to understanding the students’ experience, which included social capital, self-awareness of emotions, personal growth, and transformation. The findings suggest that the students profited in diverse positive ways through active engagement and reflection on the rich tapestry of emotion-related constructs connected to language learning, leading to the emergence of new perspectives, growth and transformation related to an enhanced awareness of emotions in language learning.

The article presents a heuristic approach to studying the strategies of refusal employed by advanced Japanese learners of Spanish as a foreign language when compared with those of native speakers of Spanish and of Japanese. It examines responses of refusal to requests, invitations, offers, and suggestions while observing the linguistic phenomena of pragmatic transfer used by the speakers. We administered a discourse completion to elicit refusal strategies from participants. The data include 1101 strategies employed in 432 responses formulated by 54 participants comprising advanced Japanese learners of Spanish, native speakers of Spanish, and native speakers of Japanese We found that linguistic ability among Japanese learners correlated positively with pragmatic transfer. The findings demonstrate how cultural priming and the degree of freedom with which learners prompt their responses are interrelated within their mental pragmatic interface in given situations.

Post-observation conversations (POCs) are now widely recognized as an important means to promoting teacher reflection through dialogic interaction.In particular, previous studies indicate that video can serve as a powerful tool to make POCs more evidence-based and data-led (Mann & Walsh, 2017).Most relevantly, Baecher and McCormack (2014) report the positive impacts of preservice teachers (PSTs) reviewing video prior to POCs on their participation, including talking at greater length about their teaching, citing evidence, and initiating topics, suggesting that integrated use of video could make supervisor talk less directive.Other research has shown that the use of video during the POC might enable co-participants to establish joint attention to relevant aspects of the classroom event under discussion (Kobayashi, 2021) and teacher educators to assess teachers' thinking, and to intervene as needed to co-construct new understandings (Johnson & Golombek, 2016).Despite these benefits, relatively few TESOL studies have examined the use of video in POCs.This inquiry aims to examine the affordances of a video-mediated POC (hereinafter VMPOC) in the context of PST supervision at a middle school in Japan.Because traditional POCs normally take place either formally or casually without the use of video in this context, the VMPOC can be seen as an educational innovation new-in-context (Mann & Edge, 2013).In this study, we examine one PST's sequential participation in a traditional POC and a VMPOC, which itself has rarely been reported in the literature.More specifically, we seek to answer these research questions:(1) How can a VMPOC conducted after completion of the practicum complement a traditional POC conducted onsite with mentor-teachers (MTs)?(2) What role can a university-based teacher educator play in promoting PST reflection? | THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKThe conversations that ensue regarding POCs are informed by multiple theoretical tenets, particularly Vygotskian views of language as a major tool for thinking, Bakhtinian views of

Over the last three years, we have engaged in the development of a web-based mobile application called Classmoto that uses the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) to measure cognitive, behavioral, and emotional engagement in near real-time, with minimal disruption to the teaching and learning experience. The current study implemented Classmoto in an intact university language class in a Japanese university for an entire semester. We focused on learners’ experiences of using the app for two purposes: (1) to determine its face validity, and (2) to identify any constraints on and benefits from its practical application in an authentic pedagogic context, from the learners’ perspective. The results show that the instrument was able to measure the three sub-domains of engagement, as designed. In addition, participants praised the ESM for (a) giving them an opportunity for self-reflection, and (b) enabling the instructor to react to the students’ feedback instantaneously, with no negative feedback reported.