An investigation of students’ preferences in Japanese teaching and learning

The teachers in the individualist country usually teach students using individualist approach while teachers in the collectivist countries teach students using collectivist approach. However, teachers and students do not usually share the same educational culture in language classrooms. The purpose of this study has two: first, to examine individualist and collectivist characteristics; second, to ascertain the students’ teaching preference whether it is individualist or collectivist approach in a British university. Participants were 19 students who study Japanese language through institution wide language program at a British university in the South of England. The collected data consist of two: questionnaire and an informal interview, both of which were conducted at the end of spring term 2019. The data were analysed using mixed methods. The quantitative results showed that students preferred a mixture of both educational cultures. The ratio of individualist: collectivist: neutral position was 74:11:16 in spite of the fact that this study was conducted in an individualist education culture

Educational cultural analysis of language assessment rubrics: a case study of Japanese language at a British University

The standard of language assessment is considered to be similar within the same country, but it actually varies from institution to institution even within the UK. Rubrics are important for language teachers to access students' written work, and it also relates to teachers' objective or subjective marking. This paper looks at Japanese assessment criteria in a British STEM university where students study Japanese in the IWLP context. Using two dimensions from Hofstede et al.'s (2010) cultural taxonomy and Hall's (1976) concept of high- and low-context culture, Japanese language rubrics for the written assessment was analysed in 2017. The findings show that the rubrics examined in this study were under the influence of Hofstede et al.'s (2010) collectivist and strong uncertainty avoidance educational culture. The emphasis on the correct use of grammar was observed and also found that language teachers in this institution grade students' written work more objectively using quantitative method. The rubrics includes instructions which enhance the quality of grading consistent and standardise among all language teachers. This process also helps to justify the first marker's awarded marks to the second marker and also the external examiner. Recommendations are given to language teachers and managers who coordinate languages. Language teachers are recommended to inform students whether the focus is accuracy or creativity as this information affects students in working on their assessed work. It is also recommended for managers at language centres to revise periodically the definition of categories to examine if there are any duplication among the rubrics and update them. Incorporating some aspects of rubrics mentioned in this study may enhance the quality of language teachers' grading to be standardised and consistent

How Does Yield Curve Predict GDP Growth? A Macro-Finance Approach Revisited

This note analyzes the yield-curve predictability for GDP growth by modifying the time-series property of the interest rate process in Ang, Piazzesi, and Wei (2006). When interest rates have a unit root and term spreads are stationary, the short ratefs forecasting role changes, and the combined information from the short rate and term spread intuitively reveals the relationship between the shift of yield curves and GDP growth.

Japanese Yield Curves In and Out of a Zero Rate Environmnet: A Macro-Finance Perspective

This paper applies a tractable two-regime macro-finance affine term structure model to empirically investigate macroeconomic effects on Japanese government bond (JGB) yields in and out of a zero interest rate environment. The estimated results qualitatively assess how differently deflation and low growth contribute to lowering longer-term JGB yields between the normal and zero rate regimes.

Nonequilibrium Steady States and MacLennan-Zubarev Ensembles in a Quantum Junction System

Based on a recent progress in nonequilibrium statistical mechanics of infinitely extended quantum systems, a nonequlibrium steady state (NESS) is constructed for a single-level quantum dot interacting with two free reservoirs under less general but more practically useful conditions than the previous works. As an example, a model of an Ahoronov-Bohm ring with a quantum dot is studied in detail. Then, NESS is shown to be regarded as a MacLennan-Zubarev ensemble. A formal relation between response and correlation at NESS is derived as well.Comment: submitted to Progress of Theoretical Physic

Perturbative Matching of the NRQCD Heavy-Light Axial Current

A one-loop matching calculation between Lattice NRQCD and full QCD for the heavy-light axial current is described and the effects on f_B are discussed.Comment: Talk presented at Lattice '97, Edinburgh, July 1997. 3 LaTeX pages plus 2 postscript figures. Uses espcrc2.st