An examination of free written recall tasks as listening comprehension tests

This small-scale study examined the concurrent validity and the construct validity of free written recall tasks as listening tests. Tasks have been used as an instrument to measure comprehension ability in reading and listening. In the tasks, test-takers are told to write everything they remember about the passage(s) they read or heard Tasks are considered to have the potential to clarify the comprehension process. At the same time, tasks have been criticized as being merely a test of memory ability. A multiple-choice task and a free written recall task were administered to 25 Japanese learners of English. Results showed a high correlation coefficient between the two tasks, and in addition, the free written recall task revealed a variety of listening processes, suggesting that the free written recall task is a useful tool as a test of listening comprehension ability.ArticleJABAET Journal. 9:49-62 (2005)journal articl

Hydrogen-assisted fabrication of spherical gold nanoparticles through sonochemical reduction of tetrachloride gold(III) ions in water

Spherical gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were selectively synthesized through sonochemical reduction of tetrachloride gold(III) ions ([AuCl4](-)) in an aqueous solution of hydrogen tetrachloroaurate(III) tetrahydrate (HAuCl4.H2O) with the aid of hydrogen (H-2) gas in the absence of any additional capping agents. On the other hand, various shaped-AuNPs such as spherical nanoparticles, triangular and hexagonal plates were formed from sonochemical reduction of [AuCl4](-) in argon (Ar)-, nitrogen (N-2)- or oxygen (O-2)-purged aqueous [AuCl4](-) solutions. The selective fabrication of spherical AuNPs assisted by H-2 gas is most likely attributed to the generation of hydrogen radicals (H center dot) promoted by the reaction of H-2 introduced and hydrogen oxide radicals (center dot OH) produced by sonolysis of water.ArticleULTRASONICS SONOCHEMISTRY. 21(3):946-950 (2014)journal articl

Beliefs of Japanese teachers of English regarding language, language teaching, and language learning

The purpose of this study was to explore English teachers' beliefs about language, language teaching, and language learning to answer the research question: What beliefs have been formed through teaching experience? A 28-item questionnaire was administered to 69 junior high school teachers of English in Japan and 69 Japanese-speaking university students. Results showed that the teachers think (a) that grammatical knowledge is not sufficient for communication, (b) that, in reading or writing instruction, Japanese need not be relied on, (c) that, in listening, students do not have to understand every word, and (d) that basically, progress is made in foreign language learning through mimicking. A comparison of teachers with university students further indicated that several beliefs may have evolved out of teaching experience.ArticleJABAET Journal. 13:47-59 (2009)journal articl

A METHOD OF IMPROVING THE MEASUREMENT OF KINEMATIC PARAMETERS ABOVE AND UNDER WATER IN SWIMMING START

The objectives of this study were to develop an improved method of measuring kinematic parameters of a swimmer at the start of a race from water entry through the initial glide in a seamless manner and to consider deceleration factors with reference to changes in the swimmer’s kinematic parameters during the start. Ten elite collegiate male swimmers participated in this study. To obtain accurate displacements of each reference point on a swimmer while avoiding interference from bubbles, waterproofed, super-luminosity LED markers were used. Additionally, a metallic frame (3 m × 2 m) and a nylon belt (6.1 m long with marks at intervals of 0.5 m) were used as calibration control points. Participants were asked to start from a starting block three times with their maximum effort and maintain a streamlined position without any kicking after water entry until they reached the 10-m point. The mean calibration error was 0.0046 m in the horizontal direction and 0.0047 m in the vertical direction across the measurement span (11 m × 6 m). This improved method enabled us to measure successive changes in the velocity and acceleration of the centre of mass both above water and following water entry