Nakasendo conference proceedings 2013

NAKASENDO CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS 2013 • Todd Berozsky • Ivan Botev • Neil Conway • Bryan Darr • John Finucane • Hugh Graham-Marr • Deborah Grow • Satchie Haga • Decha Hongthong • Kazuma Horisawa • Robert Hughes • Takumi Inase • Ryotaro Inoue • Mariko Ishikawa • Hinata Kawasaki • Shunya Kobayashi • Yui Kobayashi • Sayuri Kodama • Yuka Kurosawa • Alistair Lamond • Chris Low • Junko Machida • Michelle Martinie • Yaoko Matsuoka • Tatsuya Miwa • Steven G. Morgan • Tim Murphey • Mayumi Nagata • Sae Narita • Andrew Northern • Erina Ogawa • Rob Peacock • Debjani Ray • Nessa Rowland • Robert J. S. Rowland • Hitomi Sakamoto • Chuck Sandy • Chie Sato • Honoka Sato • Brad Semans • Matthew Shannon • Saki Suemori • Takae Takada • Yukari Tanaka • George Truscott • Naoko Uchida • Miyu Uchima • Chung-yi Wu • Ellen Yaegashi • Kotaro Yoshida • ISSN 2187-8587

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The Nakasendo Conference Proceedings

ISSN: 2187-8587 Volume 1 November 2013 Published in Saitama City Find out more: http://nakasendoconference.org/

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Proceedings Coordinator: Robert JS Rowland Editors: Christopher Lowe, Matthew Shannon and Todd Berozsky Proofreaders: Allison Imamura, Christopher Low, Ellen Yaegashi, Erina Ogawa, John Finucane, Saki Suemori, Satchie Haga and Yaoko Matsuoka Translators: Jun Harada, Robert JS Rowland Cover Design: John Finucane Layout: Robert JS Rowland

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Foreword

On July 7th, 2013, 49 members of the educational community gathered at Toyo University’s Hakusan Campus in Tokyo for a small grassroots event called Nakasendo 2013. In thanks to the volunteers who helped pull together this little community, we’ve put their names all over the cover to these proceedings. Without them, we couldn’t have done it. In it’s sixth consecutive year, our little conference brought presenters and attendees from 6 different countries and 3 different generations together to share ideas about what makes education special to them. This journal is a gift to those people.

In the true grassroots spirit of Nakasendo, all submissions, translations, layout and design are volunteer contributions and this journal is brought to you free of charge. If you like what you see here, give a little back. Reach out and try to get involved in an area of research or professional development mentioned within these pages, and try to give credit to those who turned you on to it.

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- Nakasendo Planning Committee

Nakasendo 2013 Committee Members

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Conference Co-chair - Ivan Botev !

Conference Co-chair - Robert JS Rowland !

Program Chair - Brad Semans !

Web Coordinator - Decha Hongthong !

Publicity Coordinator - Chuck Sandy !

Site Chair - Robert Hughes !

Treasurer - Bryan Darr !

Advisor - Matt Shannon !

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Table of Contents

John Finucane The SCE contributor model for professional development さいたま市教育家会の人材育成法：貢献者モデル

Page 1

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Allison Imamura Encouraging Active Participation and Thinking in the Japanese Classroom 日本の生徒を積極的に授業に参加させよう

Page 5

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Christopher Low Using Kinesthetic Activities and Culture to Teach Pronunciation 発声を教えるために運動感覚の活動と 外国文化を使い方

Page 9

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Erina Ogawa Taking Multiple Approaches: An Introduction to the Bilingualism Special Interest Group 複数のアプローチで行こう： バイリンガリズム研究部会の紹介

Page 17

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Yaoko Matsuoka Developing Collaborative Writing in LMS Wiki 総合学習管理システムでのウィキを用いた 協調ライティング活動の開発

Page 21

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Satchie Haga Peer review: Meaningful interaction in a Japanese university 学生同士の査読：国内大学での意味ある交流

Page 27

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Ellen Yaegashi Tokyo International Children’s Choir: Unstructured Second Language Acquisition through Choral Participation 東京国際子ども合唱団: 合唱を通じた第二言語の自然な取得

Page 32

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Saki Suemori The Importance of Investigating Pre-service Teachers’ Beliefs 教育実習生のビリーフを調査する重要性

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The SCE Contributor Model for Professional Development さいたま市教育家会の人材育成法： 貢献者モデル

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John Finucane

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About

Abstract

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In an increasingly competitive job market, the traditional membership model is no longer fit for purpose. The Saitama City Educators (SCE) Contributor model is an attempt to reinvent what it means to be a member of a professional organization. 教職がますます狭き門となっている現状では、これま でのように教員組織に所属しているというだけでは不 十分であろう。埼玉市教育者会の「貢献者モデル」は、 職業組織の一員であるという考え方に革命を起こそう としている。

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John Finucane is an EFL Professional. He is the President and co-founder of さいたま市教育家会 (SCE). He edits the Journal of Saitama City Educators (JSCE). His interests are writing, teacher training, event planning, debate, critical thinking and LEGO. To find out more go to: www.john-finucane.com

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A Chaidre

What is the goal of membership in a professional organization? Perhaps a better question is what was your goal in joining? My goals were to learn, to get involved, to collaborate and to share. Ultimately I hoped membership would lead to a better job. However, I have found the traditional membership model of professional organizations to be restrictive and often frustrating. In October 2010, I and a colleague Brad Semans, started an organization called Saitama City Educators (SCE). What we have come to call the Contributor model developed quite naturally over time. Below are some reflections on professional development.

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The Membership Model

The traditional membership model presents several barriers to participation. First is cost. Participation can be expensive. Even organizations with free memberships, like ETJ, have paid events. As the music, movie and games industries can attest, it is difficult to get consumers to pay for content. Consumers are however, still willing to pay for a quality product. What is needed is an honest reevaluation of the costs and benefits of membership.

The traditional membership model is often a Hobson's choice. For example, as a local member of a JALT Chapter I cannot join a Special Interest Group (SIG). This is not an arbitrary rule but who does it benefit? If the rule exists for administrative reasons, then convenience not service seems to be the prime consideration. In a paid model is this reasonable? What is needed is a flexible, even bespoke, membership model.

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An army can only have so many generals. Arguably the best contribution anyone can make to a professional organization is to attend regularly, as a regular member.

Two important questions when considering membership:

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1. How are your contributions recognized?
 2. If your circumstances change how can you continue to reap the benefits of your work?

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For example, both JALT and ETJ are organized geographically. Both are niche teaching organizations.

What is needed is a membership model that doesn't become irrelevant if you move house or change career.

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T h e t r a d i t i o n a l m e m b e r s h i p m o d e l s e r ve s t h e organization rather than the member. Websites showcase the organization rather than the membership.

Publications often ask members to conform to extensive criteria they had no input in creating and have no ability

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to change. Events are planned with the presenters rather than the audience in mind. Ultimately the value of a paid membership to a member of a traditional professional organization is vague at best.

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Applications

Consider smartphone applications. A relatively new phenomenon, they share several characteristics of how we now consume content that traditional professional organizations lack. Consider cost. How much would free apps like Gmail, Evernote or Dropbox be worth to you a year? Each is customizable to a degree and can be changed to reflect shifting priorities or new goals. Each is available across platforms, through various devices and your data can be duplicated, moved or shared at will.

These applications are making a genuine difference to working professionals.

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What is needed then is a new membership model that lacks the barriers to participation identified above. One that is free, bespoke and portable. The challenge for the modern professional organization would then be to add as much value for the member as possible. What is needed is a Contributor model.

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The SCE Contributor Model

SCE does not have paid memberships. Anyone who contributes their time, work or ideas is referred to as a Contributor. Each Contributor is encouraged to set a goal and then create a plan, facilitated by SCE, to achieve it. Contributors are free to contribute as little or as much as they like. Every contribution is listed on the SCE website.

Each contribution is recognized with a digital badge issued by SCE through the Open Badges Infrastructure (OBI). The SCE ethos is: by collaborating under the aegis of an organisation we benefit each other by association.

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Recognition

Each Contributor has a Contributor’s page. All their contributions to SCE are listed on this page. Contributors can add any of their professional achievements to their page, not just those done through SCE. Every effort is made to create a page that will be easily indexable by search engines and is integrated with the Contributor’s existing professional online presence. 

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Progression

SCE does not have a fixed linear progression dynamic.

However, the most basic level of participation is reading and responding to articles in the Journal of Saitama City Educators (JSCE). Each potential Contributor is offered an opportunity to get involved. With each contribution further opportunities are offered. As a Contributor gets more involved, so the level of autonomy grows. At the highest level a Contributor will be defining the organization through their ideas and expertise.

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Demonstration

Degrees, publications, presentations and affiliations are now prerequisites rather than the qualifications they once were. A potential employer is looking for candidates that can add something to the business. For example, a private high school’s business has three elements: get more students, success with clubs, get students into prestigious universities.

SCE provides a forum in which you can demonstrate your expertise to a prospective employer, it provides a showcase.

◼ Proliferation

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Unlike a traditional professional organisation, our goal is not to create a national organization, rather a nation of organizers. We have found that a low key personal approach is the most effective approach. Consequently this places a limit on how many active Contributors can be facilitated. That said, the next step will be to create a suite of resources that will enable groups of like minded people to organize themselves to achieve a goal using the SCE Contributor model.

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In an increasingly competitive job market, there is a need for continuous professional development. Twice in the past three years I have been in the position of needing to find alternative employment. On both occasions I was fortunate to find good jobs. I attribute this success to how I was able to present myself to my eventual employer through my affiliation with SCE.

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To find out more, or to get involved, please go to: http://www.saitamacityeducators.org/ ◼

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Encouraging Active Participation and Thinking in the Japanese Classroom 日本の生徒を積極的に授業に参加させよう

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Allison Imamura

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About

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Allison Imamura is an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) at Seibudai High School in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. She is interested in finding creative and fun ways to teach English conversation to classes with large numbers of students who have varying levels of interest in studying.

Abstract

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In classrooms where students are expected to sit quietly and listen to lectures it is difficult to get the students to speak up and participate during class. This article will discuss ways to overcome this cultural barrier and get students to participate more in the classroom.

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日本では、生徒は先生の授業を静かに聞いていること が良いとされています。特に高校生にもなると、恥ず かしさもあり、質問やコメントを言って積極的に授業 に参加する生徒はほとんどいません。海外では生徒が 授業に積極的に参加することが当たり前なので、外国 の先生は文化の違いに戸惑うと思います。この記事は この文化の壁を乗り越える様々な方法を示します。

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Classroom Atmosphere

As a Westerner teaching English in Japan I have noticed several differences between education in western countries and Japan (specifically the United States of America, my home country). These differences are very frustrating and take time to adjust to. One particularly challenging aspect of teaching conversational English to students in Japan is the passivity of the students. Students are trained to sit and listen to their teacher, whereas, in the U.S., students are expected to ask questions, find answers and actively participate in the class.

A teacher expecting a typical western atmosphere in a Japanese classroom will be disappointed many times. This does not mean that the students do not wish to learn, are not paying attention, or do not understand at all (although at times this may be the case), it is just the result of different educational training.

What can a teacher, who wishes to get students involved in the process of learning English, do to draw students out and create a livelier atmosphere to work in? The following sections will discuss techniques and methods I’ve found useful in checking for understanding and increasing student involvement.

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What does this mean?

An effective way to draw students out is to ask them for meaning. The teacher can write the topic of the lesson on the board and ask them what they are going to discuss during class. If there is a specific grammar point they are studying, getting the students to explain the grammar point not only reinforces it in their mind, but also allows the teacher to see what areas still need work and what they already understand. For example, one of my lessons is on describing the physical appearance of people. My students have a hard time deciding when to use “has” and when to “is” (ex. He has blue eyes. She is cool.). To help them, I put a picture on the board and ask them to make descriptive sentences about that picture. Once all the sentences are written I ask them if they can tell me the difference between the usages of “is” and “has”.

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Answering Questions

The willingness to answer questions is another difference between American and Japanese students. I always try to let my students volunteer an answer, but usually I just get silence. Even if they all know the answer, no one is willing to respond. In this case, the best thing to do is just pick someone and make them answer. I like the “No Opt Out” (Lemov, 2010) method that Chris Low, a fellow

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Saitama Prefecture JET Program Assistant Language Teacher (ALT), mentioned he uses in his classrooms. He asks a student for the answer, and if they can not answer he has them say “I don`t know” and then moves on to another student. However, until he finds a student who can answer the question, the previous students who were called on must listen for the answer. Once he gets the answer, he goes back and has the previous students answer the question correctly. By doing this, he makes sure that students who didn’t know the answer have listened, processed and understood what the correct answer is.

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Is it okay to answer now?

Recently, one of the Japanese teachers of English I work with mentioned that my students do not know when I want them to respond. He said they know the answer and they understand, but they are not sure when to answer questions. He explained that they are afraid of being scolded for speaking during class.

In order to encourage students to answer questions like “Shall I repeat one more time?” he suggested that I give them a signal, something that tells them it is okay to answer. For “one more time?” I use my index finger to indicate the number one. If I want them to repeat after me, I typically gesture to them with both palms up. Depending on the class, I can sometimes do an exaggerated waiting pose as well. When they see these signs they know I would like them to answer.

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Volunteering Answers

Using some form of a reward system with students may help increase the number of students who volunteer answers. I use stickers with my students. If they listen and answer questions in class, they receive a sticker. If I strictly follow this policy from the beginning of my lessons, I find that most students pay attention and do their best to answer when I ask questions. As the semester continues you can decrease the amount of the reward you hand out.

The idea here is that students will continue to answer questions without an incentive, because they have come to enjoy an atmosphere where their own thoughts and answers are seen as useful and important to the lesson and the class as a whole.

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Find Your Mix

As with any situation, conditions vary. What may work well with one group of students may fail miserably with another. It is best to set a rhythm for the class from the beginning and let the students know what you expect from them and then constantly follow through with that.

Experimenting and finding the right mix of these techniques and methods will help students to understand what you want them to do so that they will come to enjoy a class with a freer atmosphere than they are accustomed to. ◼

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References

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Lemov, D. (2010). Teach like a champion: 49 techniques that put students on the path to college. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub. 

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Using Kinest hetic Activities and Culture to Teac h Pronunciation 発声を教えるために運動感覚の活動と外国 文化を使い方

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Christopher Low

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About

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Abstract

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Students can improve pronunciation at any age or level by filling in “pronunciation gaps” – sounds that are not inherently found in their native language. EFL/ESL teachers can use large muscle movements and sound representations of native cultural phenomena to help students fill those “gaps.”

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生徒たちは、発音上ギャップつまり母国語にはない種 類の発声を埋めることによって、どんな年齢でもまた どのようなレベルにあっても発音を同上させることが 出来る。

Chris holds a B.A. in Japanese Language and Culture from Ball State University, and completed graduate studies in Elementary Education through Indiana Wesleyan University. Chris has been a teaching assistant in Special and Emotional Needs programs in elementary and middle schools, and has taught economics, sociology and management fundamentals as an adjunct professor at the International Business College in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He lives in Saitama City with his family, teaches EFL/ESL, and has a decidedly hard time limiting his interests. To find out more, visit www.christophermlow.com

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How do I teach pronunciation and sounds using culture and movement?

Each culture produces sounds differently, and associates sounds with phenomena differently as well. In America, people agree that a cat sound is imitated by saying, “Meow,” whereas in Japan, the sound is imitated by saying “Nya.” To imitate a bird cry, Americans may say: “Chirp, chirp!” /ch/ /r/ /p/ As a result, young American English learners practice the /r/ and /ch/ sound naturally by saying this word.

However, Japanese children may imitate a bird by saying: “Chu, Chu!” (ちゅう、ちゅう) /ch/ /u/ Although both provide opportunities for children to practice the /ch/ sound, the “bird cry” sound in Japanese does not give the same opportunities to practice the /r/ sound (phoneme) or letter combinations /r/ + /p/.

Furthermore, we can see that the American sound provides opportunities to practice blending phonemes such as /ch/ with the /r/ phoneme.

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This difference provides two interesting educational opportunities for EFL/ESL students. Learning about culturally relevant words and sounds while filling in the phonemic gaps can help students better remember new sounds by learning cultural facts to associate with each sound. Likewise, students can learn how to associate new

sounds with related graphemes (letter and lettercombination representations.)

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What does ‘kinesthetic’ mean, and why is it important?

Kinesthetic means “movement,” and is described as one of four modes of the multimodal “VARK” learning model by Fleming in “I’m Different; Not Dumb” in 1995.

Any movement that involves large muscle groups or complex muscle movements are considered “kinesthetic.”

For example, students writing on a whiteboard, drawing in the air with their hands, or waving their arms overhead as if they are on fire are kinesthetic movements.

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According to an examination of Total Physical Response (TPR) by Professor Franz Ludescher of the International Bureau of PH Feldkirch, movements like these help students interact physically with learning experiences, encouraging active memory-encoding (Ludescher, 2013).

Various studies too numerous to list here have reached similar research conclusions over the past 18 years regarding kinesthetic learning. As we learn more about the benefits of kinesthetic integration, more and more educational programs like Brain GymTM (www.braingym.org) have developed programs based on movement with tremendous success.

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How do I teach this?

A culturally centered pronunciation lesson involving movement is ideal at the start of a lesson as 5-minute warm-up. Start by explaining that different countries represent sounds with different words. Next, introduce the phoneme, i.e. (/l/), the target sound, “La!”, and associated grapheme, “L.”

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Help students discover how to make the sound using large arm movements. For consonants, use your right arm to represent the mouth’s upper ridge. Bend your wrist toward the floor to represent teeth. Use your left arm and hand to represent the tongue’s motion.

(See Appendix B.)

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Example: “Let’s say the “L” sound, /l/. Press your tongue against the roof of your mouth, behind the teeth.

Flick your tongue forward. What does that feel like?

Talk to your partner. What do they feel?”

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For vowels, use your hands to move your facial features, such as lips and cheeks, into the appropriate places. Help students understand these formations by describing how deep the jaw should be open, or how wide the mouth and lips should be. Have students do the same. Show the shape of the tongue – curved, flat, or cupped – with your

hands. This may help some students visualize the movements within their mouths. Do not worry if it does not help everyone – you are simply providing another avenue with which students can reach understanding of the content.

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Have students briefly practice saying the sound while imitating your motions with their arms and tongue. Most will have trouble initially, which is fine. This is an introductory phase.

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Next, explain the cultural phenomena associated with the sound, such as “Chirp, Chirp” for the sound a bird makes. Invite students or a Team Teacher to share the equivalent in their culture. Use any of the phenomena described in the appendix, which are relevant to the Indiana/Midwest region of the U.S.A. However, I encourage you to create items that fit your culture, as they will likely be more relevant and interesting to your students.

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One point of caution: any sounds you describe MUST imitate actions or sounds found in your culture – not sounds from the beginnings of words. Students may not know a new sound well enough initially to make a word-association in a meaningful, long-lasting way.

If they do not have a way to recall how to create the new sound, they may revert to “katakana” approximations,

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such as /sh/ (“ship”) instead of /s/ (“sip”), or /ah/ (“hot”) instead of /a/ (“hat”), or other approximations relevant to their native phoneme set. You want to make sure that they have a memory road map guiding them back to actions and concepts that help them remember how to create the sound. The culturally relevant words, knowledge, and actions you introduce give students a rich, complex, lively experience to store in memory. That road map will help them recreate those new muscle formations again.

Simply remember, “you set the tone” for whether it is enjoyable or embarrassing. This should be a fun, quick way for students to develop understandings of missing phonemes, or develop phonemic awareness systematically at beginners’ learning stages.

Example: “In the U.S.A., we say singers’ voices sound like, “Lalalalala!!!!” What do singers sound like in your culture? Listen to me say it again. Watch how my mouth and tongue move. “Lalalalala!” I have a terrible singing voice, don’t I? Haha! That’s okay, let’s practice it together!

Place one hand on the lower part of your back, and hold the other hand out like an opera singer. “Lalalalala!!”

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Have students stand up and ACT OUT the sound while they produce it. Not only will it be fun, it will allow them to incorporate large muscle groups. Similarly, it allows students to develop a relaxed learning environment that encourages participation and risk taking, which is essential in an EFL/ESL classroom.

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You may find this activity works best in small groups, however it can also be very effective in classrooms of 40 – 50 students or more as students can feel more anonymous.

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Again, “you set the tone” – feel free to have fun with it.

Be positive and willing to laugh at yourself, so students can learn to enjoy making mistakes and taking risks with you.

What grade level or age will this work best for?

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Such an active lesson may make your first efforts difficult with your junior and senior high school students, but the most important aspect of integrating this kind of activity at any level is creating an atmosphere where students feel like you are approaching pronunciation challenges together. Some students at higher levels of education become concerned with social images and their peers’ approval. Therefore, initially this activity may seem best suited for young, elementary/lower-middle school learners because of the opportunities for movement, relaxation, and creativity.

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Initially, physically involved lessons can also work well in high school, college, and professional levels with a slightly different approach. You might use it as a physical introduction to a larger lesson or unit helping students develop public speaking confidence; a catalyst to discuss risk-taking and the western cultural perspective of “learning from mistakes;” or to start in smaller groups or one-on-one to help support students who are simply more quiet or unused to speaking aloud.When students feel like they can naturally enjoy the process of learning from their mistakes with you, everyone benefits from the positive, encouraging environment. If you enjoy the opportunity to relax and share your culture and the sounds that help you communicate for a moment, your students will gain a memorable, positive technique for exploring those sounds and their cultural relationship to you. ◼

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References !

Fleming, N.D. (1995), I'm different; not dumb. Modes of presentation (VARK) in the tertiary classroom, in Zelmer, A., (Ed.) Research and Development in Higher Education, Proceedings of the 1995 Annual Conference of the Higher Education and Research Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA), HERDSA, Volume 18, pp.

308 - 313

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International/Educational Kinesiology Foundation.

(2011).What is "brain gym"? Retrieved from http:// www.braingym.org/about

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Ludescher, F. (n.d.). Total physical response. Accessed on September 1, 2013. Retrieved from http:// www2.vobs.at/ludescher/total_physical_response.htm

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N.A. (n.d.) Kinesthetic learners: characteristics of kinesthetic learners. Accessed on September 1, 2013. Retrieved from http://www2.yk.psu.edu/learncenter/acskills/ kinesthetic.html

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Sporleder, R. (2011). Comprehensive guide to brain-based literacy instruction. (1st ed., pp. 1 - 298). Boston, MA: Pearson Learning Solutions

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If you would like other examples, or for collaboration, contact Chris at cmlow1@gmail.com

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Copyright 2013.

Appendix A & B originally created by Christopher Low for the Nakasendo 2013 English Conference.

Reproduced below for publication in the Nakasendo English Conference Proceedings under Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial, Share Alike License. CC BY-NC-SA 2013.

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Appendix A: Pho nem e

/b/

Sou nd Desc ripti on

wash er Win boat with gs mot shoe flapp or s ing in it

Sou nd

/d/

"buh "Du , h, buh, duh, buh, duh" buh"

/f/

Flap

Pho nem e

/s/

Sou Old nd Desc car ripti soun d on Sou nd Wor d Exa mple

/r/ Gro wlin g dog

pick

rake

sit

/j/

"kkk krac k!"

Hat

/t/

"t, t, t, t"

tick

/v/

/k/

/l/

/m/

/n/

Eati Larg Sing ng Driv e er som ing tree war ethin race fallin ming g car g up good

"heh , heh, heh"

Hissi Cloc ng k Snak ticki e ng

"P, p, "Rrr "Ssss p, p" rr, ." rrrr."

/h/ Out of brea th runn er

"Fff, fff, fff"

Wor d Dow Exa Boat n mple /p/

/g/

kick

/w/

Baby cryin g

/y/

"Lal alala la!"

laug h

/z/

Bees buzz ing

"Wa ah!

Waa h!"

"Zzz zz!!"

Witc h

zap

"M mm m."

Mo m

/th/

/ng/

Gon g soun d

"Nn nnn, (cha nge "Bon gear g!!!" s) nnn n no

flyin g

Pho nem e

/sh/ /zh/

/a/

"Ch! Ch!"

Chip s

/i/

/o/

/u/

/ae/ /ee/

/ie/

/oe/

Sou nd Desc ripti on

Eati ng Scre som amin ethin Surp g g soun rised that d taste s bad.

Broo klyn Scar Gree ed ting

Surp rised

Sou nd

"Eh "Aaa hhh? h!" "

"Iiic k!"

"'Ey! "Eek !" !"

"Oh h!!"

Wor d Exa mple

appl e

Italy

state sleep

toe

bed

Pho nem /ue/ /oo/ /ar/ /ur/ /au/ /er/ e

/th/ /ch/ Stap ler soun d

/e/

/ ow/

/oi/

A pirat e says:

Whe n getti ng in trou ble

Spri ng or pogo stic soun d

Sou nd

"Arr r!"

"Aw w!"

"Boi ng!"

Wor d Exa mple

Far

caug ht

join

Sou nd Desc ripti on

/ air/

/ ear/

/ ure/

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Appendix B:

Tongue placement in relation to the upper part of the mouth.

 

/L/ sound

Short /a/ sound

/r/ sound 15

Taking Multiple Approaches: An Introduction to the Bilingualism Special Interest Group 複数のアプローチで行こう： バイリンガリズム研究部会の紹介

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Erina Ogawa

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About

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Erina Ogawa is a New Zealander who teaches general and business English courses at Toyo University. She has recently stepped down from her position as Research Coordinator for the Bilingualism Special Interest Group of JALT. Although she has a number of publications about multicultural identities, her two current major research interests are Educational Manga and The Effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake on the Cultural Identities of Japanese University Students.

Abstract This report introduces issues and provides advice related to bilingualism, bi-literacy, and biculturalism in Japan.

Along with developing a child’s verbal communication skills in more than one language, as well as the often more difficult task of developing bi-lingual or multilingual literacy skills, there are also issues to ponder regarding the cultural identities of bicultural or multicultural children. Concrete advice to improve a child’s listening and speaking skills in the target language is presented.

The importance of reading in order to develop literacy skills is stressed and examples of options to develop writing skills are suggested. Questions related to identity issues are raised and research-backed choices are provided. Finally, ongoing support in the form of the Bilingualism Special Interest Group is recommended.

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このレポートは、バイリンガリズム、バイリテラシー、バ イカルチャリズムの話題に触れ、それらに関するアドバイ スを提供します。多言語の読み書き能力を高めるというよ り困難なタスクに加え、二つ以上の言語における子どもの 言語コミュニケーション能力を高めることの他にも、二つ 以上の文化的背景を持つ子どものアイデンティティについ て考えるべき問題もあります。目標言語において子どもの リスニングとスピーキング能力を向上させるための具体的 なアドバイスを示します。読み書き能力を高めるために読 書することの重要性を強調し、ライティング・スキルを向 上させるための具体例も示します。アイデンティティに関 する問題を投げかけ、研究に裏打ちされた選択肢を提供し ます。最後に、バイリンガリズム研究部会を紹介します。

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In Japan, there are parents who want their children to develop enriched cultural identities and to have competent language skills in more than one language for the purpose of fully being themselves and reaching their potential.

However, Japan is a country with one dominant language and culture. Although there are many cultures and subcultures in this society, they can struggle to be recognized for what they are, and for who they are. Therefore, it can be difficult to bring a child up to be bilingual, bi-literate, and bicultural in this environment. It goes without saying that the same applies to raising a child to be multi-lingual, multi-literate, and multi-cultural. The question is: How can parents, or in some cases one parent, do all this – on their own?

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Such a task can seem overwhelming. The advice provided in this presentation was to take multiple approaches and to focus on one thing at a time. The most important advice is to not give up. Below, is a summary of the brief introduction to raising a child to be bilingual, bi-literate, and bicultural in Japan, presented in power point form at the Nakasendo 2013 Conference at Toyo University on the auspicious day of Tanabata, July 7th, 2013.

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True to the name of the Bilingualism Special Interest Group, the first topic covered was the idea of bilingualism.

There are many ways to introduce your child to their target languages, or the languages you want them to become

fluent speakers in. Here are some options. First, speak to your child from birth; even from before birth. Anyhow, start speaking to them in the target language now, if you have not done so already. Some families choose to separate languages by person. For example, one parent will speak one language to their child, while the other parent speaks another. Other families choose to separate languages by place. For example, some families make their home an English-only zone. Remember that you do not have to be a native speaker to pass your language skills on to your child.

Next, understand that speaking skills can develop from listening skills. One option is to play songs in your target language and to let your children watch children’s programs on cable television, or movies on DVD in the target language. Also, if you have family or friends who speak the target language and are willing to speak with your child but are too far away to meet face-to-face, this is no longer a problem. Modern technology allows for real-time communication over distance with visuals through programs such as Skype.

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Strongly connected to the idea of bilingualism is the matter of bi-literacy. Often, written language skills are more difficult to foster than spoken ones. But, if your child can listen and speak in a certain language, it will be much easier for them to learn to read and write in that language. The most important thing to do to encourage literacy is to read to your child. And read, and read, and

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read. Do not stop once they start reading for themselves.

There are online courses like Starfall (which is free) and RazKids (which is not) that can develop your child’s reading skills, in a fun and easy way. Workbook drills can be bought from overseas and some from in Japan to help your child become literate, and particularly to learn to write.

Some language schools in Japan also offer English courses that can develop literacy in English.

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As well as bilingualism and bi-literacy, there is also the issue of biculturalism to consider. Your child may have issues with their identity, particularly during their teenage years.

More likely, other people will find it hard to come to grips with who your child is. Since labels, such as “haaf ”, are often used by people around them, some children (or their parents) find it useful to decide labels for themselves (Ogawa, 2009). Here are some questions regarding culture and identity, based on research into multicultural identities (Ogawa, 2008) that you may want to ponder. Do you want your child to feel that they have a place where their roots are, with Japan as their home? Will their Japanese identity be enriched by the cultures of their parents and extended family and friends? If your answer to these questions is yes, you may want to consider encouraging a mainly Japanese identity in your child. Alternatively, do you want your child to balance the two cultures of their parents? That is, assuming that they have parents with different cultural roots who want their child to share in their cultures. Are

there two cultures in your child’s life which deserve equal respect and recognition? If your answer to these questions is yes, then perhaps the answer for your child is to encourage an identity with two equal cultures. Finally, do you want your child to feel that they belong anywhere in this international world? Do you want them to not lay down their cultural roots in any particular place, so that they can relate to people of any country and culture as their own people? If so, a global identity may be what you want to help your child to develop.

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By assisting your child to develop their spoken language, their written language, and their cultural identity, you can help your child to develop fully, both linguistically and culturally. However, in a society where being monolingual, mono-literate, and mono-cultural appears to be the norm, this can seem to be a daunting task. Nevertheless, you as a parent can provide opportunities to develop more language and cultural skills for your child by taking multiple approaches. Although the above information may provide some hints for success in this task, it could be that having a support network like JALT’s Bilingualism Special Interest Group may be the missing piece in your family’s puzzle.◼

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Note For more information about the Japan Association for Language Teaching’s Bilingualism Special Interest Group, please visit www.bsig.org

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Bibliography !

Ogawa, E. (2009). Strategies in Cultural Identity Development.

Tokyo International University Language Communication Ronso 5, 71-108.

(This article describes strategies used by parents attempting to develop multicultural identities in their children and provides advice for parents, teachers, and others involved in raising multicultural children.)

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Ogawa, E. (2008). Identity Choices by Parents of Multicultural Children. Tokyo International University Language Communication Ronso 4, 75-100.

(This article examines choices parents of multicultural children make regarding what types of cultural identities they encourage their children to develop.) 

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Developing Collaborative Writing in LMS Wiki 総合学習管理システムでのウィキを用いた 協調ライティング活動の開発

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Yaoko Matsuoka

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About

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Yaoko Matsuoka graduated Teachers College, Columbia University, and is currently teaching at two universities in Tokyo and Kanagawa. Her research interests include pragmatics, communication strategies, and the use of ICT in language learning. She is now planning to implement a web-collaboration project with a class at Srinakharinwirot University in Bangkok, Thailand.

Abstract

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This paper reports on an attempt at applying on-line wiki writing in a second-year undergraduate English course at a national university in Japan and reflects on its benefits and deficiencies, aiming at future pedagogical improvement.

To promote critical thinking and academic writing skills, collaborative wiki writing was incorporated into a 15lesson, one semester course through the online learning management system (LMS) called WebClass. Students worked in small groups cooperatively to create a text for assigned topics. The track change function of the wiki enabled the teacher to track the footprints of students’ writing. Wiki activity seems useful from perspectives in sociocultural theory and interaction hypothesis because it facilitated collaborative writing: offered an environment where peer comments and more competent students’ written text served as ‘scaffolding for improvement: and promoted peer interaction. A follow-up university questionnaire, known as the ‘jugyo-hyouka’, indicated a certain degree of students’ satisfaction concerning the wiki writing.

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本稿は、ある日本の大学の2年生の英語授業に於ける、 オンラインのウィキを使った協調ライティングの試み を報告し、その利点と問題点とを検証して将来の授業 改善に役立てようというものである。このライティン グ活動は、批判的思考力とアカデミックなライティン グ技術の習得を目的とし、ウェブクラスというオンラ

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インの総合学習システムを介して、15週から成る１学 期の学習に組み込まれた。学生は小グループ単位での 協力のもと一つのテキストを作成し、教師はそうした 作成のプロセスを観察することもできる。ウィキの使 用が協調ライティングに効果的であることは、社会文 化論（Vygotsky）の視点や交流の仮説（Long）の視点 から説明することができる。つまり、ウィキの中での ピア（仲間）のコメントや、より優れた能力を持つ他 のメンバーの書いたテキスト等が、‘梯子掛け’の役 割を果たして、学習者の書く力を上達させたり、ピア との交流を促進させたりするというものである。大学 が学期末に行なう「授業評価」アンケートの結果から、 学習者は、Wiki による協調的活動を取り入れたこの ブレンド型授業に一定の満足感を感じていることが分 かった。改善点としては、グループ編成や課題デザイン などが示唆される。

Recent technology provides various computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools for classroom interaction, such as discussion forums, electronic chatting, and wiki building. Writing tasks using wiki may support collaborative writing in language education. Wiki, defined as, “web-based software that allows all viewers of a page to change the content by editing a page on line in a browser,” is “a simple and easy-to-use platform for cooperative work on text and hypertext” (Ebersbach, Glaser, Heigl, & Warta, 2008).

Collaborative writing is defined as “the joint production or the coauthoring of a text by two or more writers” (Storch, 2011, pp275). Collaborative writing is quite common in university L2 courses (Storch, 2011), and incorporating it into L2 learning programs benefits students by fostering reflective thinking and greater awareness and understanding of their audience (Bruffee, 1933; Storch, 2011). Wiki’s applicability and usefulness in language education has also been investigated with positive results in recent research (e.g., Bradley, Lindstrom, & Rystedt, 2010; Lin and Yang, 2011), though the number of studies on wiki is still scarce.

Still, L2 writing combined with CMC tools, as Felix’s (2005) meta-analysis shows, seems to increase participation and positive attitudes, empower students, decrease teacher control, and widen the variety of discourse functions.

However, analysis also reveals mixed results regarding syntactic complexity.

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Course Design

A collaborative wiki writing activity was incorporated into a 15-lesson, one-semester course through the learning management systems (LMS) platform called WebClass during a second-year undergraduate English course at a Japanese university. The course was utilized a blended learning style, combining face-to-face instruction and webbased activities to achieve course objectives developing critical thinking, academic writing, and academic presentation skills. Blended courses are advantageous because they expand the length and breadth of traditional face-to-face instruction, promote cooperative group activity opportunities, and allow easier adjustment to e-learning than adopting fully on-line courses (Garrison, 2011).

A Modified Instructional Design Model for TeacherDesigners, by Rogers (2002) proved helpful in designing this blended-course. The model is easy for teacher-designers to use, as it offers practical ways to design courses in real educational contexts and fits course designs that employ technological media. It provides seven design element steps: institutional requirements, learners’ needs and goals, assessments, strategies, instruction, media, and evaluation, with constant revision of all steps (Rogers, 2011).

Students, who divided into small groups of four to five, completed a wiki text collaboratively on assigned topics based on knowledge acquired through news articles and videos. Besides creating a wiki, they wrote entries individually on the weekly discussion forum to present opinions several times during the semester. Since all changes are recorded and visualized for an administrator in a wiki, the teacher can see how students’ writing changes over time. Wiki activity is useful according to Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and interaction hypothesis (Long, 1981) because it facilitates collaborative writing by offering an environment where peer comments and more competent students’ written text served as ‘scaffolding’ for improvement and peer interaction was promoted (Vygotsky & Cole, 1978.)

However, few students corrected other’s mistakes in language and structure, and nobody deleted other members’ entries. Editing the passage, students were careful not to change the sentences already written by others, and some expressed excuses in Japanese when they had to edit or modify them.

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Course Evaluation

The course was evaluated through the teacher’s selfevaluation and a questionnaire given by the university.

The teacher’s final self-evaluation employed Simplified Motivational Design Process Matrix (Suzuki & Keller, 1996), which parallels Keller’s ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction) motivational design model (Keller, 2010) but contains fewer design elements and a more simplified process. The ARCS model first focused on the affective domain of instructional design and provided systematic processes of incorporating motivation into the instructional systems design (ISD) (Shellnut, Knowlton, and Savage, 1999). Using Suzuki & Keller’s design elements: learner characteristics, learning task, medium, and courseware characteristics, and aligning them with the ARCS factors respectively, it was found that sustaining attention required emphasizing longer exposure to the target language and including more new resources.

A certain degree of relevance was shown, as the collaborative writing task seems to fit one of the course objectives to improve writing skills. In addition, while the course design enabled learners to become confident in using the system, anxiety regarding the unstable connection or system errors was not completely discarded. As for satisfaction, increasing exposure to English and a sense of task involvement seemed to lead learners to perceive the activity positively.

Questionnaire results collected by the university’s educational affairs at the end of every term indicated 65.2% (32.2% of strong agreement and 33% of agreement) of students asserted that using the wiki was effective in learning English writing. That figure far outweighed approval for the forum, which still totaled 56.2%. Finally, nearly 29 % answered that on-line writing, where they were able to understand other students’ opinions, was effective in promoting critical thinking skills. Because of the perceived effects, interactive CMC tools such as Wiki appear highly beneficial in an interactive language-learning environment. However, due to difficulties encountered during this attempt, educators may need to exercise additional caution while planning this kind of activity.

Sensitivity regarding group creation or member selection and assignment design are two possible areas that could be investigated for future improvement.

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Conclusion

The importance of interaction should not be overlooked in language instruction. Wiki facilitated collaboration by constructing a safe environment (Howard, 2012).

Classroom technology research has increasingly been focusing on the communicative and interactive effects of on-line communities. Using CMC technology as a pedagogical tool provides significant instructional

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advantage, providing broadened discourse options, performance opportunities, and meaningful interaction practice (Belts, 2007). Because of the perceived effects, interactive CMC tools such as Wiki appear highly beneficial in an interactive language-learning environment.

However, due to difficulties encountered during this attempt, educators may need to exercise additional caution while planning this kind of activity. Sensitivity regarding group creation or member selection and assignment design are two possible areas that could be investigated for future improvement. ◟ 

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References

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Beltz, J. A. (2007). The role of computer mediation in the instruction and development of L2 pragmatic competence.

Annual review of Applied Linguistics, 27, 45-75.

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Bradley, L., Lindstrรถm, B. & Rystedt, H. (2010).

Rationalities of collaboration for language learning in a wiki.

ReCALL : the Journal of EUROCALL, 22 (2), 247-265.

Howard, C. D. (2012). An instructional paradigm for the teaching of computer-mediated communication. Instructional Science, 40(3), 493-513.

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Keller, J.M. (2010). Motivational design for learning and performance: the ARCS Model approach. New York, Springer.

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Lin, W. & Yang, SC. (2011). Exploring students' perceptions of integrating wiki technology and peer feedback into english writing courses. English Teaching, 10 (2), 88-103.

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Rogers, P. L. (2002). Designing instruction for technologyenhanced learning. Idea Group Pub; Information Science Pub, Hershey, PA.

Bruffee, K. (1993). Collaborative learning: Higher education, interdependence and the authority of knowledge. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Ebersbach, D, Glaser, M, Heigl, R & Warta, A 2008, Wiki: Web-collaboration. Berlin: Springer.

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Uschi, Felix (2005). What do meta-analyses tell us about CALL effectiveness? ReCALL, 17, pp 269-288. doi:10.1017/ S0958344005000923.

Shellnut, B., Knowlton, A. & Savage, T. (1999). Applying the ARCS model to the design and development of computerbased modules for manufacturing engineering courses.

Educational Technology, Research and Development, 47(2), 100-110.

Garrison, DR. (2011). E-learning in the 21st century: Framework for research and practice. 2nd edn, New York, NY, Routledge.

Storch, N. (2011). Collaborative writing in L2 contexts: processes, outcomes, and future directions. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 31, 275-288.

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Suzuki, K. & Keller, J.M.(1996). Creation and cross cultural validation of an ARCS motivational design matrix. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Japanese Association for Educational Technology, Kanazawa, Japan.

Vygotsky, LS & Cole, M. (1978). Mind in society: the development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press, Cambridge.  

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Peer review: Meaningful interaction in a Japanese university 学生同士の査読： 国内大学での意味ある交流

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Satchie Haga

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About

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Satchie Haga is a lecturer at Tamagawa Univeristy. She graduated from Teachers College, Columbia University with an MA in TESOL. Research interests include, learner development, computer assisted language learning and intercultural pragmatics.

Abstract

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In this study, peer review was integrated over a semester long course and tied to a process focused writing assignment. Previous findings indicate that compared to Western cultures, peer review may not afford the same benefits to language learners in collectivist cultures such as Japan. However, the results from this study demonstrate that learners in Japan, with carefully constructed training and activities, found peer review activities to not only engage their interest in using the target language and help them to acquire new language, but also develop their higher order critical thinking skills. The peer review treatment was applied to 39 second-year Japanese university students with TOEIC scores between 200 and 430. Quantitative and qualitative findings are discussed.

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この研究では、１学期間にわたって、学生同士での査 読をプロセス重視のライティングの課題に取り入れた。 これまでの研究では、欧米と比べると、日本のように 集団志向の強い文化では、学生同士の査読の良さが生 かされないとされてきた。しかしこの研究では、慎重 に段階を経て指導を重ねれば、学生同志の査読は、目 標言語を使う意欲を高め習得の助けになるだけでなく、 高度な批判的思考能力向上にも役立つことが示された。 今回の査読作業に参加したのは、TOEICのスコアが200 から430の39人の大学2年生である。研究結果を質、量 の両方の側面から考察する。

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Introduction

Rec en t res ea rch i n d i c ates th at th e s u c c es s f u l implementation of peer review affords a number of benefits to language learners (Zhang, 1999; Kamimura, 2006; Myskow, Underwood & Hattori 2012). However, these studies found contradictory findings within collectivist societies such as Japan (Myskow, Underwood & Hattori 2012).

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The most successful results for peer review were found

by Kamimura (2006) who found that peer review played a significant role in enhancing language acquisition for Japanese students when they were provided with sufficient culturally relevant training. In Kamimura`s study the training was conducted in the students` L1 (Japanese), and language improvement was assessed by analyzing the changes made to writing assignments. This study investigates learners` attitudes toward peer review. Moreover, the training and activities were all conducted in the target language (English). 

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Participants

The students take the TOEIC IP exam twice a year.

In this class students` TOEIC scores ranged from 200 to 430 points. The curriculum in this program is integrated and equally weighted between listening, speaking, writing, reading and TOEIC preparation. Students have class with the same instructor twice a week for 100 minutes per class.

Most students are in the same department (Liberal Arts) and know each other.

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Method

A semester long peer review training was applied to 39 second year Japanese co-ed university students with high beginner/low intermediate proficiency. All instruction was provided in English. Prior to training, on the second day of classes, students were given a survey with regards to their previous experience with peer review, and a writing task.

In order to ensure accuracy of their understanding and responses, the questions were given in Japanese and English and students were allowed to answer in their preferred language. The day following the writing task, peer review was introduced using power point slides to indicate the difference between review from a boss or someone of higher social status like a teacher. Following this, introduction slides were introduced to emphasize the importance of

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constructive criticism and how to give constructive criticism.

The analogy of a “positive sandwich� was used where by one may give one compliment, and then a suggestion for improvement followed by another compliment. Students were given nonface-threatening activities to practice giving this form of constructive criticism (e.g. The instructor selected a picture of a room and had them give their opinions in terms of its design, layout etc.).

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Following several production activities over a week, students were given tasks that would gradually become more face-threatening (ex. selecting their favorite music video and asking others their opinion about it). Finally, with students comfortable about how to give constructive feedback, students were given a genre based on writing assignment and peer review each other`s work over 3 drafts.

Students were assigned in pairs and reviewed two of their classmates` work at random (they selected their partner by drawing their name from an envelope) in the first two tasks. For the final draft they could select who they wanted to review their draft. Grades were assigned to the peer review component to ensure that they took it seriously.

The first draft was worth 6 percent of their final grade (4% was evaluated in terms of their writing and 2% their peer review). The second draft was also worth 6% and the allocation was similar to the first draft. The final draft was 8% of their final grade, 2% was on writing, and the remaining 6% was equally distributed in terms of their

peer review of three of their classmates (2% per peer review). The language of their peer review was not assessed in terms of grammar or vocabulary, but in terms of their critical thinking skills and content. Students were provided the grading rubric the same time as the writing assignment.

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Results

All 39 students completed the pre-treatment survey and writing task. Only one student of the 39 respondents had previous experience with peer review.

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The results of the post treatment survey are discussed below.

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Question 1 Did you find your peer review to be useful?

Yes 36

No 1

Total Respondents 37

Please explain why or why not.

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93% of respondents found peer review to be useful. Of those that found it useful there were three main reasons.

32% found that it helped them point out their mistake, 34% indicated that it helped them to learn the opinions of others and 30% stated that it enabled them to learn new phrases that they could use to improve their English.

The person who did not find it useful did not respond.

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Question 3 What are some suggestions to improve the process?

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Suggestions to improve the process included technical issues. The classroom course management system (Blackboard) was used for peer review so that the teacher could grade their reviews. However the comment section was difficult for some to find. Also, the order of reviews were listed alphabetically, but a few students wanted it to be listed in terms of when the assignment was submitted.

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Discussion

The findings of this study demonstrate that peer review can successfully be implemented in collectivist cultures with similar results to Western cultures. This study extended the findings of Kamimura (2006) who found that with carefully structured training that was sensitive to the cultural background of the learners, Japanese students could find peer review to produce similar results as Western students. However, while Kamimura`s (2006) study analyzed the students` improvements in writing style and content, this study investigated the students` attitudes towards peer review. Over 90 percent of the students liked peer review and wanted to continue to use it as part of their course work. This finding implies that students find the process valuable, and that issues with incorporating peer review

in collectivist societies may not lay in issues related to culture, but rather in the limitations of applying methodology that is acceptable in one culture without adjusting it to suit the needs of a different culture. The implication is that in order for peer review to be successfully accepted culturally relevant methods and activities should be applied.

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Another significant finding was that when asked why they liked, did not like peer review 34% answered that they liked it because it helped them to learn the opinion of others. This finding combined with the result that 36% of respondents answered that they wanted to use peer review in future course work so that they could learn the opinions of others suggests that peer review can also be a useful tool to not only enhance language acquisition, but also deepen learner`s critical thinking skills. There has not been much research on peer review in Japan, however the findings of this study suggest that student learning would be enhanced not only with more future research be conducted in this area, but also with more practical applications in classrooms. ◟ 

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References

Kamimura, T. (2006). Effects of peer feedback on EFL student writers at different levels of English proficiency: A Japanese context. TESL Canada Journal, 23, 12-39.

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Myskow, G., Underwood, P. & Hattori, T. (2012). EFL Writing in Japan: Theory, Policy and Practice. Media Island, Tokyo: Japan.

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Zhang, S. (1999). Thoughts on some recent evidence concerning the affective advantage of peer feedback. Journal of Second Language Writing, 8, 321-326. 

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Tokyo International Children’s Choir: Unstructured Second Language Acquisition through Choral Participation 東京国際子ども合唱団: 合唱を通じた第二 言語の自然な取得

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Ellen Yaegashi

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About

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Ellen Yaegashi has an M.A. in Comparative Culture from Sophia University and is currently pursuing a second master’s degree in Library and Information Science at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. She has an interest in multilingual digital and educational environments.

She is currently pursuing research on the International Children’s Digital Library, started a bilingual children’s choir and has designed a bilingual K12 STEM outreach program, which was launched at Tokyo Institute of Technology in July 2013.

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Abstract

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Having lived, worked, and studied in six countries on three continents, I have experienced structured and unstructured second language acquisition. In this article, I will detail examples of unstructured second language acquisition through choral participation.

These include second language acquisition at the Ecole Ru d o l f S t e i n e r d e G e n e ve, i n t h e E v a n g e l i c a l Lutheran Church of Geneva’s Junior Choir, and in the Tokyo International Children’s Choir (TICC). All three organizations have used or currently use song as an engaging way to learn a language. The goals of the Steiner school and the Lutheran church were foreign language acquisition and worship respectively.

The primary goal of the TICC is to create a highquality performing arts experience for elementary and middle school children. However, the TICC has secondarily shown itself to be a valuable Englishlanguage activity for bicultural children.

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私はこれまで三つの大陸にある六か国で仕事または勉 学を行ってきってある。その中で外国語の系統的なあ るいは自然な取得を経験・観察してきってある。本日 は、合唱を通じた、外国語の自然な取得の例を説明し たいと思ってある。取り上げる例の中には、ジュネー ブのルドルフ・シュタイナー学校、同じくジュネーブ の福音派ルター協会ジュニア合唱団、東京国際子ども 合唱団それぞれにおける第二言語の取得が含まれてっ

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ている。これら三つの組織は、言語を学ぶため、また は他の目的を達成する魅力的な方法として、(意図的に せよあるいは意図せざるにせよ)歌を歌うことを用いて います。シュタイナー学校の目的は外国語取得であり、 ルター教会の目的は礼拝です。東京国際子ども合唱団 の主要目的は、小中学生に質の高い舞台芸術を経験さ せることです。しかし同時に、東京国際子ども合唱団 は、複数文化背景を有する子供たちに貴重な英語活動 を与える場ともなっています。

Theoretical literature displays many examples showing that music in general, and singing in particular, present an ideal means for learning a second language. Dwayne Engh, in his review of the theoretical literature of several disciplines, notes that there are numerous interdisciplinary theories arguing for the use of music to learn a second language (2013.) Kelli Paquette and Sue Rieg have examined the reasons instructors give for using music to teach a second language, which are also grounded in multiple disciplines (2008).

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Additionally, recent experimental research data provides concrete results showing that it is effective to use large amounts of song to successfully teach a second language.

L. I. Xianming and Manny Brand conducted a rigorous pre-test, immediate post-test, and delayed post-test experiment at Tsinghua University in China, which yielded positive results for the intensive use of song in terms of both student achievement and attitude toward learning a second language(2009). Their results also suggested that exclusively learning through song was the most effective for retention of learned material, followed by traditional non-song methods. Conversely, a mixed approach, some song coupled with traditional methods, yielded the poorest immediate and long-term recall results.

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While living abroad, my children and I experienced many different immersive and choral-based learning

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environments for acquiring a foreign language that resonate with the findings above. In Geneva, Switzerland in the early 2000’s, we met many bilingual and multilingual children. My children attended school at the Ecole Rudolf Steiner, a pre-K – 12th grade, Waldorf-style school where they learned French, their second language. They also participated in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Geneva’s Junior Choir. Finally, we continue to enjoy creating and participating in these environments through the Tokyo International Children’s Choir.

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Although Switzerland’s population is largely multilingual as a whole, the Geneva international community often spoke of Belgium as the premiere example of bilingualism during those years. People often said that Belgian schools teach their students’ core curriculum courses in their native language (French or Flemish) and teach the non-core courses, such as physical education music or the arts, in their second language. In my opinion, this method provided authentic language immersion in a way that simply “teaching” the language as a second language cannot do.

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The Ecole Rudolf Steiner de Geneve employs songs frequently for multiple purposes at all grade levels. Song and movement are used profusely for first language acquisition in the preschool years (birth to age 3). However, many non-native French-speaking parents attend this

weekly preschool with their toddlers, whether or not they plan to send their children to this school later on. The morning begins by kneading dough and then, while the bread is baking, they sing more than a dozen songs, usually accompanied by dance or movement. This musical morning session culminates with the sharing of a meal of baked bread. Song is also used in the three-year kindergarten, where songs are again usually sung in French to promote first language acquisition. However, from the first grade on, the curriculum includes both English and German.

These languages are also primarily taught through songs in the early years of primary school, before introducing grammar. As children progress through school, poetry, and long epic narratives are also used in the study of foreign languages.

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The second setting for foreign language acquisition was the Junior Choir (elementary through middle school) at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Geneva. As the home of the United Nations, Geneva has an incredibly international population. People from six continents frequent the church on a weekly basis, many of them non-native English speakers. The church is renowned for its exceptional instrumental and choral music, the latter taking the form of both an adult and a children’s or Junior Choir. My eldest child participated in the Junior Choir, which sang weekly during worship and rehearsed once a week during the school year. It attracted families from

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diverse nationalities as it presented a multi-language learning opportunity, in which songs were sung in numerous languages.

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Because of these experiences, I yearned to extend and recreate these choral opportunities for my youngest child.

In response to that, I decided to launch the Tokyo International Children’s Choir (TICC) in the fall of 2012.

I wanted to follow the Evangelical Lutheran Church’s Junior Choir model of a nine-month season, so I publicized the TICC heavily in the expatriate community. Yet, the TICC unexpectedly started to attract more and more local, bi-cultural kids, despite the different academic calendar. Because the TICC involves so many bilingual children who speak English natively and is conducted in English, it represents a unique, exciting English-language immersion opportunity for anyone in Tokyo.

Simultaneously, for bi-cultural children living in Japan enrolled in Japanese schools, the TICC presents an inviting break and an ideal opportunity to learn or use English in an immersive atmosphere. ◼

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For more information about language acquisition through song or how to become involved in our community, visit the TICC website at www.tokyochildrenschoir.com, contact us at tokyochildrenschoir@gmail.com, or visit us at St. Paul International Lutheran Church in Iidabashi, Tokyo.

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References

Engh, Dwayne. "Why use Music in English Language Learning? A Survey of the Literature." English Language Teaching 6.2 (2013): 113-27. Print.

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Mora, Carmen Fonseca. "Foreign Language Acquisition and Melody Singing." ELT Journal: English Language Teachers Journal 54.2 (2000): 146. Print.

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Paquette, Kelli, and Sue Rieg. "Using Music to Support the Literacy Development of Young English Language Learners." Early Childhood Education Journal 36.3 (2008): 227-32. Print.

Schön, Daniele, et al. "Songs as an Aid for Language Acquisition." Cognition 106.2 (2008): 975-83. Print.

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Xiangming, L. I., and Manny Brand. "Effectiveness of Music on Vocabulary Acquisition, Language Usage, and Meaning for Mainland Chinese ESL Learners." Contributions to Music Education 36.1 (2009): 73-84. Print.

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The Importance of Investigating Preservice Teachers’ Beliefs 教育実習生のビリーフを調査する重要性

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Saki Suemori

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About

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Saki Suemori is an undergraduate student at Ochanomizu University. She studied in Finland as an exchange student for an academic year and became interested in pre-service English teacher training. She is currently a pre-service teacher interested in pre-service teachers’ beliefs, people’s attitudes toward English, and English as a Lingua Franca in English education.

Abstract

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教育実習生のビリーフは彼らの生徒に大きく影響を与 えると考えられている。そのため、実習生のビリーフ を調査することは重要であると言われている。教育実 習生にとって、単に教職課程に在籍するだけでは、ビ リーフを変えることは難しい。よって自分たちがどの ようなビリーフを持っているのかという点について知 ることが必要であるのだ。本発表では英語教職課程を 履修している日本人学生の教科教育法模擬授業におけ るビリーフについて紹介する。授業内で実習生に配布 したアンケート、模擬授業の観察に基づき、模擬授業 を計画する際にどのように学生が自身の過去の学習経 験を使用しているのか、また大学で履修する教科教育 法がどのように影響を与えているのかについて提示す る。本発表ではまず教育実習生のビリーフを調査する 重要性について先行文献を用いて紹介する。そして調 査方法を示し、その結果について考察する。

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Introduction

Investigating pre-service teachers’ beliefs is becoming important these days. Pre-service teachers are university students interested in being teachers in the future.

Johnson (1994) and Peacock (2001) investigated pre-service teachers’ beliefs. They propose that studying pre-service teachers’ beliefs is crucial, as it is difficult to amend them.

In this article, I will show what kind of beliefs one group of Japanese pre-service teachers have when they engage in their teaching practices.

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The Case Study

This case study was conducted in one university in Tokyo. Two research methods were used: observation and questionnaire. I had an opportunity to observe 21 English practice lessons by pre-service English teachers in one teaching methodology course. In these lessons, all students are supposed to conduct a 15-minute in-class practice English lesson basically in English. They planed for a 50-minute English lesson for junior high school or high school students and they conducted first 15 minutes of this lesson in the class. Other students pretend and behave as if they were junior high school and high school students.

I distributed the questionnaire to all 21 students in the teaching methodology course and I got 12 of them back.

The following questions were prepared for this case study.

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Descriptive Questions 1.What did you find after you conducted a teaching practice in the class?

2.When something did not go as well as you planned, how did you deal with it?

3.How did you use your past learning experience?

4.How did you use what you have learned in teaching methodology courses in universities?

Multiple Choice Questions 1.Grade 2.Are you planning to be a teacher after you graduate from the university?

3.Have you studied abroad?

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The Results of Observation

21 students conducted practice English lessons and I observed all of them. In this class, students prepared materials such as textbooks and handouts by themselves and made a teaching plan for a 50-minute lesson. For example, one student planned a lesson for first grade students in a high school. She chose the textbook, “PROVISION English Course Ⅰ” and she selected Lesson 4 “Yukina’s Message; until the Battery Runs out.” In this practice lesson, she taught p.41 to p.42 in Lesson 4 and her aim is to help students understand the background of the poem written by Yukina.

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The Results of Multiple Choice Questions

I asked pre-service teachers some questions about themselves. Most students are junior and there is one senior. I asked them whether they are planning to be teachers or not and only three students confirmed that they will be teachers right after they graduate from the university. Five students answered they are not interested in being a teacher at all.

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The Results of Descriptive Questions

I asked pre-service teachers some questions about themselves. Most students are junior and there is one senior. I asked them whether they are planning to be teachers or not and only three students confirmed that they will be teachers right after they graduate from the university. Five students answered they are not interested in being a teacher at all. The result of each descriptive question will be summarized.

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1. What did you find after you conducted a teaching practice in the class?

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Many pre-service teachers illustrate that flexibility is necessary to conduct lessons. When they did lessons, other pre-service teachers pretended as if they were junior high school or high school students. Their behavior sometimes made pre-service teachers confused. In addition, many of them indicated that time management was difficult.

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2. When something did not go as well as you planned, how did you deal with it?

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I asked this question in order to understand what kind of strategies pre-service teachers have. Many pre-service teachers had the problem that students did not understand their instructions. To solve this problem, many pre-service

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teachers asked questions again by using different expressions. In addition, some pre-service teachers did not know what to do when they were confronted with a situation that they were unprepared for.

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3. How did you use your past learning experience?

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To know how past learning experience have affected pre-service teachers, I asked this question. The performance of some pre-service teacher indicated good experience, while others appeared to have very little. Many pre-service teachers plan their lessons using their experience from oral communication class and their studies abroad. In addition, some of them indicate that they tend to teach in the same way they were taught.

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4. How did you use what you have learned in teaching methodology courses in universities?

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To understand how methodology courses in universities affect pre-service teachers, I asked this question. It seems that pre-service teachers have learned a lot of theories, but some of them feel they are not sure how to utilize them.

It is difficult for pre-service teachers to reflect what they have learned and then apply it in a real classroom. 

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Discussion

Based on these results from the observations and questionnaire, the following four points were found.

First, every past learning experience has a considerable influence on pre-service teachers. Their lessons are organized based on both the good and bad past learning experiences. Second, there is a notable difference between the lessons they had before as students and lessons they are required to teach. In this teaching methodology class, pre-service teachers are required to conduct lessons mainly in English. However, most of them attended English classes conducted in Japanese. As a result, it was difficult for them to plan these kinds of lessons. In addition, I realized that each university has its own teaching methodology courses.

It was the first time for me to observe an English teaching methodology course in another university and I found that it is very different from ones I had in Ochanomizu University.

For example, in Ochanomizu University, there are only two methodology courses available for students, but the university where I conducted the case study has four teaching methodology courses. 

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Conclusion

Through this case study, the following two points can were identified. First, I believe that pre-service teachers need to know how English is taught in schools before they conduct their teaching. By doing so, students are able to concentrate more on teaching during their training and use the opportunity for professional development.

Second, the teacher training system should focus more on how theories are connected to teaching. Students are expected to learn a lot of theories, but whether they are using them effectively or not is unclear. The teacher training system should support students more in this respect. ◼

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References

Johnson, K.E. (1994) “The Emerging Beliefs and Instructional Practices of Preservice English as a Second Language Teachers,” Teaching and Teacher Education, 10 (4), 439-52.

Peacock, Matthew. (2001) “Pre-service ESL Teachers’ Beliefs about Second Language Learning: a Longitudinal Study,” System, 29 (2), 177-195.

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Voices of Nakasendo

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In the days and weeks following Nakasendo 2013, the conference committee reached out to presenters and attendees for an honest appraisal of the overall quality of our little grassroots event.

The following are accounts of the Nakasendo experience from the people who were there. Not all comments are kind, but every last one will help future Nakasendo organizers or any anyone else putting together a similar event, learn from our mistakes and put together a future event which better caters to the needs of all professionals involved. 

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Thank you for the opportunity to participate at Nakasendo 2013 both as a member of the audience and during the poster session. I enjoyed the intimate atmosphere of the conference and having the opportunity to talk to the presenters. I think the conference was well organized, although due to low attendance I was sorry to see that program A couldn`t be done. In general I think it was a good conference and good opportunity to meet others in the field. It would be nice if, for Nakasendo 2014, the attendance would increase as opposed to this year.

Allison Imamura

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I had a lovely time at Nakasendo 2013. The venue was perfect, as was the price. In addition to networking, I got to hear many different viewpoints on teaching, as well as take home a few ideas for my own lessons and professional development purposes. I would gladly attend next year.

The only thing I would hope for in the future would be a greater audience base.

The Nakasendo conference was terrific. The atmosphere was friendly and unpretentious yet thoroughly well-organized and the presentations highly interesting and of enduring value. I appreciated both the eclectic line-up of topics in the rooms, and the outside poster presentations and materials. Particularly I appreciated hearing directly from people taking on real-life challenges in various ways Professor Sakamoto bringing land mines and children caught in war into the conversation about global classrooms, the young returnees and language-and-culture crossers speaking directly about their own experiences in Japanese elementary schools, and Nesa Rowland's solidly fact-based and authentic report on working and studying through the university system in Japan when arriving from another country and culture. The bilingualism presentation, too, was of deep personal interest. Lastly, the student volunteers were very helpful, and I was grateful for the delicious lunch with a vegetarian option.

Anna Isozaki

Brian Darr

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Being my first time, I had no idea what to expect, but what I saw was extremely invigorating, and I was thrilled to have been a part of it! The Nakasendo Conference certainly helped me develop professionally – and feel connected with a group of people I could identify with personally.

I was delighted to meet not simply professionals in EFL/ESL roles, but people - native and foreign - living multicultural, multilingual lives successfully, both personally and professionally. I thoroughly enjoyed the lectures and felt there was a de facto, over-all theme that worked well; there seemed to be a collective agreement that movement, healthy living, and music were important to the learning environment. Comparing and contrasting how different people incorporated those elements was very intriguing, and I was able to generate a lot of contact with people interested in collaboration, which was great!

Thank you all for being so generous to me when everything seemed a little difficult for me to make a foreign conference presentation.

Nakasendo English International Conference is excellent at its outstanding facilities, close intimacy, team work, and immediate service responses.

I felt comfortable doing everything there, and I were happy to share everything about Nakasendo to my thesis adviser after I came back to Taiwan.

I hope you don't mind the content of my presentation being too academic or formal.

Chung-Yi Wu

Christopher Low

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Having two schedule options confuses things for people and this may have contributed to the low attendance rate.

Another reason could be that as the date approached and the end-of-semester madness began, I regretted committing to a full day event. Others may have felt the same and not come at all or left early.

Another reason was the heat. Some people may have decided they needed the rest for their health.

An idea for next time would be to label rooms by presentation category and have the discussion in that room after the last presentation finishes. Start the first presentation at 10am and have three in the morning , then two after lunch, followed by the discussion at 3pm. Posters could be up from 10 until the last presentation, with people looking at them during breaks between presentations.

Erina Ogawa 

I applaud your energy and commitment to professional development. I think this conference fills a nice niche. It's a place where language teachers and learners, regardless of experience, can share ideas and grow. Being free is also beneficial for those who teach in language schools or institutions that don't fund these kinds of things. In the future, try to maintain the conference being free if at all possible.

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You need better publicity. Also, few people stayed all day.

Quite a few of the presenters failed to attend which was unprofessional and that hurt the program. Also, the decision to change from program A to B was not well announced.

I understand that you were putting out fires all day trying to fix the schedule and make it work. And it did. However, better attendance in the afternoon would have greatly strengthened the conference.

I'd like to return again next year.

George Truscott 

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Thank you for all of the hard work you put into Nakasendo. For what it's worth, here's what I think: Nakasendo 2013 probably seemed less successful than previous conferences. In reality it was pretty similar just with less people. It had a very familiar feel and similar problems:

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- Attendees arrived late - Attendees left early - Attendees didn’t engage with presenters or their material - Presenters didn’t show up - Presenters left after their presentation - Presenters didn’t engage their audience - The event was too long

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There are two ways to do an event like this. It can be run like a commercial event or as a grassroots event. If your focus is university teaching the former is better, if compulsory education then the latter is better. I don’t think university educators and non university educators gain much from joint events.

It was my fourth time at Nakasendo and this conference has always been my favorite. It is grass-root and practical.

This year, in particular, we had a very nice venue, where we discussed a wide range of interesting topics. We were exposed to not only classroom techniques but also ideas behind bilingualism, secrets stories by a publisher, or a presentation by international school kids. I especially enjoyed hearing an exchange student’s adventures.

Another good idea was having a round-table discussion at the end of the conference.

Despite all these good features of the conference, attendance was disappointing, considering that the admission was free. Maybe promotion could have been better. When I typed in “Nakasendo English Conference”, the first hit at Yahoo co. jp. was Nakasendo a couple years ago and I had to search deeper to locate “Nakasendo 2013”.

Also, I wish we’d had more Japanese presenters.

Jun Harada

John Finucane

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I’d like to talk about the the cons before the pros.

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Before the event: -Nakasendo (surprisingly) had a big buzz, but everyone wanted a date and time in February at the JALT EBM and you didn’t have one.

-Presenters were hard to contact -Organizers were anonymous on the website -Names and Titles in different places on the program -No structure for confirming attendees On the day -Location on campus was hard to find -No refreshments Following up: -Confirmation of involvement and participation was slow -No clear structure for getting involved next year

I think the organization of the conference was very good, which means the potential for professional development could be easily achieved. There appeared to be a number of good poster presentations and presentations that showcase some of the practical ideas teachers shared during Nakasendo. That said, some of the presentation topics were questionable at best. There was one presentation that showcased five elementary school students from an international school, which was cute, but didn't necessarily have any significant takeaway for teachers. In short, the potential quality of Nakasendo is high, but the actual experience was just more than adequate. I look forward to next year, however.

Roehl Sybing

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In either case, the conference was smooth, it was not too long, you took great risks with the presentations, and your tracks and resulting roundtables worked out quite well.

You kept everyone together at lunch, kept a smart space or publishers, and it "looked like a conference."

I hope this conference continues to grow!

Matt Shannon

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Held at Toyo University, Nakasendo 2013 proved to be an exciting event. Conference participants experienced a wide range of presentations from diverse viewpoints. Not only did participants hear interesting lectures on current topics such as bilingualism, theoretical teaching issues and techniques, and professional development from educational professionals, but participants also heard the viewpoints of L2 learners such as those of elementary and junior high school students, and the experiences of a ryugakusei studying at Japanese university. The depth and range of perspectives put forth by the presenters made for a truly insightful experience for all of those in attendance. To the Nakasendo Planning Commitee: Thank you so much!

Keep up the excellent work!

I did a presentation on the research of Wiki at Nakasendo Conference 2013. As advantage of ‘grass root event’, the atmosphere of the conference was quite family-like. Since the audience was very friendly and supportive, I enjoyed presenting my findings and exchanging opinions and thoughts with them. There were both people who were familiar with ICT and those who had never used it among them, but they all listened to me with enthusiasm. Other presenters also presented interesting topics and I was able to get knew knowledge. The conference location was close to the station, in the center of Tokyo, and it was very convenient for me. Thank you for a nice opportunity to present my research. I would like to participate in Nakasendo again next year!

Tyson Rode

Yaoko Matsuoka

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Nakasendo 2013 was the first major event I have organized. For anyone looking to do something similar in the future, here's some advice.

- Surround yourself with brilliant people - Keep communication open and constant - Create a clear template for event emails - Never cc:, always bcc: - Pin down a date and location as soon as possible - Identify your target audience - Have a clear plan for filling seats - Have a clear time table through and after the event - Never make promises, just meet deadlines - Have clear criteria for presenters to follow - Make involvement a requirement for presenters - Give everyone involved clear responsibilities - Give everyone credit for what they do - Make the event valuable for everyone but you - Define event success by participant satisfaction - Save everything - Record everything - Learn from your mistakes

Robert JS Rowland

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