成長の追跡：第二言語として英語を学ぶ日本人のための、協同学習を通して英語の発音区別発音の改善

AbstractDeveloping pronunciation is a difficult skill that many overlook with the hopes that it will correct itself throughout the learning process. For this research, six Japanese university CEFR A2 learners of English were divided into a group of four and two, respectively. They were tasked with enunciating various English sound pairs for the first part of the study, followed by keeping a pronunciation diary about their practices for the second part whilst being exposed to poetry that was specifically designed to test English pronunciation. It was found that the diary was a valuable Assessment for Learning (AfL) tool, and pair work was a more effective method than group work for pronunciation development.概要発音を良くすることは、学習の過程で自然と直ることを期待し、多くの人が見落とす難しい技能である。この研究では、日本の大学生六名の英語のCEFR A2英語学習者をそれぞれ四名と二名のグループに分けた。一番初めの研究では、練習の発音の日誌をつけることが求められた。様々な音の組の英語を明瞭に発音すること、そして次の研究では英語の発音のテスト用に特別に作られた。参加者に色々な英語の発音を厳しく練習させるために、特別な詩をあげた。日誌は学習手段において貴重な評価（Assessment for Learning - AfL）であり、発音を伸ばす事は、グループ学習よりも二人組学習の方がより効果的な方法であるということがわかった

High pressure synthesis of FeO-ZnO solid solutions with rock salt structure: in situ X-ray diffraction studies

X-ray diffraction with synchrotron radiation has been used for the first time to study chemical interaction in the FeO-ZnO system at 4.8 GPa and temperatures up to 1300 K. Above 750 K, the chemical reaction between FeO and ZnO has been observed that resulted in the formation of rock salt (rs) Fe1-xZnxO solid solutions (0.3 \leq x \leq 0.85). The lattice parameters of these solid solutions have been in situ measured as a function of temperature under pressure, and corresponding thermal expansion coefficients have been calculated.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, 1 tabl

Anomalous In-Plane Anisotropy of the Onset of Superconductivity in (TMTSF)2ClO4

We report the magnetic field-amplitude and field-angle dependence of the superconducting onset temperature Tc_onset of the organic superconductor (TMTSF)2ClO4 in magnetic fields H accurately aligned to the conductive ab' plane. We revealed that the rapid increase of the onset fields at low temperatures occurs both for H // b' and H // a, irrespective of the carrier confinement. Moreover, in the vicinity of the Pauli limiting field, we report a shift of a principal axis of the in-plane field-angle dependence of Tc_onset away from the b' axis. This feature may be related to an occurrence of Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov phases.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Search for solar axions in XMASS, a large liquid-xenon detector

XMASS, a low-background, large liquid-xenon detector, was used to search for solar axions that would be produced by bremsstrahlung and Compton effects in the Sun. With an exposure of 5.6ton days of liquid xenon, the model-independent limit on the coupling for mass $\ll$ 1keV is $|g_{aee}|< 5.4\times 10^{-11}$ (90% C.L.), which is a factor of two stronger than the existing experimental limit. The bounds on the axion masses for the DFSZ and KSVZ axion models are 1.9 and 250eV, respectively. In the mass range of 10-40keV, this study produced the most stringent limit, which is better than that previously derived from astrophysical arguments regarding the Sun to date

Pressure induced high-spin to low-spin transition in FeS evidenced by x-ray emission spectroscopy

We report the observation of the pressure-induced high-spin to low-spin transition in FeS using new high-pressure synchrotron x-ray emission spectroscopy techniques. The transition is evidenced by the disappearance of the low-energy satellite in the Fe K$\beta$ emission spectrum of FeS. Moreover, the phase transition is reversible and closely related to the structural phase transition from a manganese phosphide-like phase to a monoclinic phase. The study opens new opportunities for investigating the electronic properties of materials under pressure.Comment: ReVTeX, 4 pages, 3 figures inserted with epsfig. minor modifications before submission to PR

Magnetic-Field Variations of the Pair-Breaking Effects of Superconductivity in (TMTSF)2ClO4

We have studied the onset temperature of the superconductivity Tc_onset of the organic superconductor (TMTSF)2ClO4, by precisely controlling the direction of the magnetic field H. We compare the results of two samples with nearly the same onset temperature but with different scattering relaxation time tau. We revealed a complicated interplay of a variety of pair-breaking effects and mechanisms that overcome these pair-breaking effects. In low fields, the linear temperature dependences of the onset curves in the H-T phase diagrams are governed by the orbital pair-breaking effect. The dips in the in-plane field-angle phi dependence of Tc_onset, which were only observed in the long-tau sample, provides definitive evidence that the field-induced dimensional crossover enhances the superconductivity if the field direction is more than about 19-degrees away from the a axis. In the high-field regime for H//a, the upturn of the onset curve for the long-tau sample indicates a new superconducting state that overcomes the Pauli pair-breaking effect but is easily suppressed by impurity scatterings. The Pauli effect is also overcome for H//b' by a realization of another state for which the maximum of Tc_onset(phi) occurs in a direction different from the crystalline axes. The effect on Tc_onset of tilting the applied field out of the conductive plane suggests that the Pauli effect plays a significant role in determining Tc_onset. The most plausible explanation of these results is that (TMTSF)2ClO4 is a singlet superconductor and exhibits Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) states in high fields.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures. To be published in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. (vol.77, 2008