Active Learning Using Student Recorded Monologues

This paper will detail the planning, execution and feedback of an initiative to promote active learning and improve student speaking and writing using student recorded monologues. After determining the goals of the project, a rubric was created to clarify these goals and assessment criteria for both students and instructors. A 15-lesson unit was then developed based on four personal narratives. For each narrative, students completed a series of preparation activities before producing both written and spoken versions of their narratives and uploading these in the form of online assignments. Students were encouraged to review the rubric before, during, and after work on their texts. Feedback from students and instructors on completion of the program indicated that the goals were clear and relevant, there was a high level of student engagement with the unit, and that the rubric was an effective tool for guiding the learning process

Validating a Research Instrument for Evaluating Computer Assisted Language Learning Tasks

The aim of this project was to develop an evaluation tool for identifying which computer assisted language learning(CALL) tasks best enhance student motivation in the context of the Sojo International Learning Center, a dedicated language teaching facility at Sojo University in Kyushu, Japan

Developing a Test of Listening to Support the English Communication Curriculum at Sojo University

During the first semester of 2012/13, a listening test was developed to support the English Communication 3 course at the Sojo International Learning Center. The development team carefully considered how to design the test so as to align it as closely as possible with the construct being measured while remaining within the practical constraints imposed by the testing context. The test was administered to around 700 students in July 2012 and the results analyzed to determine the test\u27s overall reliability as well as the extent to which specific items appropriately targeted both the population and the construct. Following this analysis, a number of changes were proposed in order to improve the quality of the test for future administrations

University Entrance Exams Renewal - From Translation to Communication -

本論文は日本の私立大学における大学入試問題改正プロジェクトの経過報告である。入試問題の更新は、コミュニカティブ英語教育と実際の言語使用状況に基づいた教材活用の促進を推薦する文部科学省の新学習指導要領の実施に合わせている。本プロジェクトの第一段階として開発チームは試験背景にある多数の実用的制約を配慮しながら、試験目的に最も適合させるべく実行可能な一連の試験仕様を作成した。 それに続き、実地試験済みの二種類の試験形式見本に対し試験課題と項目を開発した。試験結果の記述統計量では試験項目の作成は大部分において成功したことを示したが、試験の信頼性、妥当性をさらに高めるにはまだ多くの取り組みが必要であることも示した。This paper is an interim report on a project to revise the English entrance examinations for a private university in Japan. The exam renewal coincides with the implementation of MEXTs revised high school curriculum guidelines which endorse communicative language teaching and promote the use of materials based on actual language use situations. During the first stage of the project the development team attempted to establish a workable set of test specifications in order to best meet the objectives of the examinations within the considerable constraints of the testing context. Subsequently, the team developed tasks and items for two prototype exam forms which were piloted and then field-tested. Descriptive statistics of the trial results suggested that the team had been largely successful in generating items but that considerable work still needs to be done in order to further enhance the reliability and validity of th

Perturbed myoepithelial cell differentiation in BRCA mutation carriers and in ductal carcinoma in situ.

Myoepithelial cells play key roles in normal mammary gland development and in limiting pre-invasive to invasive breast tumor progression, yet their differentiation and perturbation in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) are poorly understood. Here, we investigated myoepithelial cells in normal breast tissues of BRCA1 and BRCA2 germline mutation carriers and in non-carrier controls, and in sporadic DCIS. We found that in the normal breast of non-carriers, myoepithelial cells frequently co-express the p63 and TCF7 transcription factors and that p63 and TCF7 show overlapping chromatin peaks associated with differentiated myoepithelium-specific genes. In contrast, in normal breast tissues of BRCA1 mutation carriers the frequency of p63+TCF7+ myoepithelial cells is significantly decreased and p63 and TCF7 chromatin peaks do not overlap. These myoepithelial perturbations in normal breast tissues of BRCA1 germline mutation carriers may play a role in their higher risk of breast cancer. The fraction of p63+TCF7+ myoepithelial cells is also significantly decreased in DCIS, which may be associated with invasive progression

A new member of the family: The Sojo International Learning Center

The Sojo International Learning Centre (SILC) is a new facility which has been developed jointly by Sojo University and the External Language Consultancy Centre (ELCC) based at Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS). This report aims to explain the rationale for the SILC project and to briefly outline the services offered by the centre before going on to describe some of the practical challenges that were encountered in getting the SILC up and running

“It’s difficult not to intervene sometimes”: language teacher cognition, emotion, and agency in a self-directed learning unit

Despite the increasing recognition of language learning beyond traditional classrooms, little is known about how language teachers support and guide students in self-directed learning environments. Drawing on qualitative data from a team of experienced English as a Foreign Language teachers, this article reports on the intersections between teachers’ cognition, emotions, and agency in a self-directed language learning unit (SDLU) at a university in Japan. Thematic analysis of the data illuminated dialectal relationships between teachers’ feelings, beliefs, and agency during the implementation of the SDLU. Although teachers were supportive of SDLU’s goals and the overall approach it promoted, they were cautious of intervening in their students’ self-directed learning due to concerns about protecting the learner autonomy that SDLU was designed to foster. As well as confusion over how best to meet the needs of their learners in this novel context, they experienced vulnerability in relation to their professional identities and there was considerable variation in ways teachers enacted agency and managed the new learning environment. The findings suggest teachers may need guidance and support to help them recalibrate existing competencies and develop strategies for nurturing their students’ self-directed learning in novel classroom contexts