English Lessons at Elementary School in Japan Aimed at Improving Willingness to Communicate

In this paper, we explore practical strategies to enhance willingness to communicate (WTC) among elementary school students during English lessons. The study focuses on creating a supportive environment that encourages interaction and fosters confidence in communication. The research also aims to investigate the impact of communication strategy (CS) instruction on students’ attitudes toward communication. Specifically, it examines changes in WTC and confidence levels among fifth-grade students. The methodology involved designing a series of English lessons centered around interaction. Activities included exchanging business cards, sending birthday cards, and discussing timetables. Pre- and interim-questionnaires collected data on students’ self-assessment and reflections. The study focused on six students who exhibited notable changes in attitudes. The results showed that many students enjoyed communicating their thoughts and learning about others. Confidence levels increased as students actively participated in interactions. Successful experiences were linked to the teaching of CS expressions. Moreover, acceptance of others’ contributions played a crucial role in creating a safe space for communication. The study’s implications highlight the importance of fostering an accepting attitude toward others’ communication. Teachers can promote confidence by emphasizing receptive responses. Overall, the research underscores the significance of creating a positive classroom atmosphere for language learning, ultimately empowering students to express themselves effectively in a foreign language setting

スイソ ケツゴウ ヲ モッタ タンジュン ナ ブンシセイ ケッショウ ノ アツリョク ユウキ ソウイテン ト ハンノウ

Tamaoki, Mam

Antifreeze protein prolongs the life-time of insulinoma cells during hypothermic preservation.

It is sometimes desirable to preserve mammalian cells by hypothermia rather than freezing during short term transplantation. Here we found an ability of hypothermic (+4°C) preservation of fish antifreeze protein (AFP) against rat insulinoma cells denoted as RIN-5F. The preservation ability was compared between type I-III AFPs and antifreeze glycoprotein (AFGP), which could be recently mass-prepared by a developed technique utilizing the muscle homogenates, but not the blood serum, of cold-adapted fishes. For AFGP, whose molecular weight is distributed in the range from 2.6 to 34 kDa, only the proteins less than 10 kDa were examined. The viability rate was evaluated by counting of the preserved RIN-5F cells unstained with trypan blue. Significantly, either AFPI or AFPIII dissolved into Euro-Collins (EC) solution at a concentration of 10 mg/ml could preserve approximately 60% of the cells for 5 days at +4°C. The 5-day preserved RIN-5F cells retained the ability to secrete insulin. Only 2% of the cells were, however, preserved for 5 days without AFP. Confocal photomicroscopy experiments further showed the significant binding ability of AFP to the cell surface. These results suggest that fish AFP enables 5-day quality storage of the insulinoma cells collected from a donor without freezing

Time-dependent change in the survival rate (%) of rat insulinoma cell-line, RIN-5F, under hypothermic exposure (+4°C).

<p>A. The survival rate evaluated by counting the number of living cells (Fig. 1B). B. The survival rate evaluated by measuring the amount of insulin secreted from living cells (Fig. 1C). A freshly made Euro-Collins solution (EC) was used as a basic cell-preservation fluid to dissolve AFPI–III, trehalose, and BSA.</p

Analyses of purity and structural integrity of the AFP samples.

<p>A. Electrophoretogram of AFPI–III and AFGP samples provided by Nichirei Foods Inc. on 16.5% tricine-SDS-PAGE. The AFGP sample only contains molecules less than 10 kDa owing to a filtration step. B. The shape of an ice crystal and TH activity obtained for each AFP sample dissolved into the Euro-Collins solution. All protein concentrations were 10 mg/ml.</p

Confocal photomicroscope images of human hepatoma cells (HepG2) and rat insulinoma cells (RIN-5F) in Euro Collins-solutions containing 0.4 mg/ml of BSA (A), AFPIII (B and C), and AFPI (D) labeled with fluorescence.

<p>The images A and B show the slice data of 1 µm-width of HepG2, and A’ and B’ an intact cell images synthesized by stacking of the slices. These 4 images were reproduced from <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0073643#pone.0073643-Tsuda1" target="_blank">[22]</a> with permission. The images C and D are the slice data for RIN-5F cells. All the images were captured after 1 h-preservation at 37°C. Accumulation of AFPIII on the cell-surface is more evident compared with BSA.</p