Establishing of a Local Study Program for Upper-intermediate and Pre-advanced Japanese Learners

　本稿は中級後半および上級前半の日本語学習者を対象とした文化クラスでの実践報告である。日本刀，ジーンズ・学生服などの繊維産業，団扇と扇子，麺文化の比較と伝統製法のそうめん，Ｂ級グルメと地域の農産物・海産物，といった地域の文化・産業に根差したトピックをとりあげた。このクラスの特徴は，留学生だけでなく，副専攻日本語教育コースの学生と国際交流に興味を持つ日本人学生がボランティアとして授業に参加している点にある。協働学習およびプロジェクトワークが留学生にどのような刺激を与えたか，このような形式のクラスを運営する上での課題は何かをアンケート調査から明らかにする

“Wisely, and slow. They stumble that run fast”: Learner-Friendly Shakespeare in an EFL Classroom

This paper discusses a learner-friendly and student-centred approach to introducing Shakespeare for less advanced English language learners in the university-level EFL classroom. Shakespeare becomes welcome material when the input is comprehensible and enjoyable. In this light, the teaching should first start with the story rather than the language. After hooking students by recounting stories from Shakespeare, the teacher needs to familiarise them with the authentic language through activities carefully designed to initiate them into the language. In approaching the content of Shakespeare’s plays, the students are asked to relate themselves to the world of Shakespeare through active methods advanced by the RSC and the world that students already know. Raising language awareness in learners rather than being taught the language, the students become less frustrated while learning to appreciate Shakespeare

What Do Learners Expect to Study in Intermediate-level Japanese Language Class?: A Survey in a Higher Education Institution

本稿は，アンケート調査を通じて高等教育機関で学ぶ学習者の中級レベルに対する学習 ニーズを明らかにすることを目的とする。アンケート調査結果は４点にまとめられる。（１） 教科書の説明および内容：初級に比べ評価が低くなる。母語による解説が望まれている。 （２）学習項目：アカデミックな日本語，日常生活での日本語の両方に対するニーズがある。 会話学習への要望が最も多く，次いで文法・文型，語彙が同数だった。（３）教え方に対 する要望：①既習表現と比較しながら説明する。②文型・表現は共通する意味・用法でま とめて効率的に教える。③文型・語彙の硬さ・柔らかさの区別を示す。（４）教室活動に 対する要望：短い会話練習，作文，ゲーム要素を取り入れた練習も増やす

Competing for Supremacy: The Origins of Shakespeare Studies in Japan

This paper reveals that Shakespeare studies in Japan originated through competing notions of literary studies. Traditional Japanese ideas about literature differed markedly from Anglophone ones, which focused on grammatical and literary-historical facts based on the notion of Shakespeare’s universal appeal. Their principles were contested by Sôseki Natsume, who questioned Shakespeare’s vaunted universality between the 1900s and the 1910s. Although specialist scholars began forming Shakespeare as an object of disinterested study in the 1920s, it was contested again by some reflective scholars who wished to employ Shakespeare as a means of liberal education. These contests for supremacy spawned divergent origins of Shakespeare studies in Japan

Evaluation of the New Japanese Language Curriculum at Okayama University: An International Student Survey Report in 2013

　岡山大学の全学日本語コースでは毎年カリキュラムの見直しを行ってきたが，受講生の 多様なニーズに対応するために大規模なカリキュラムの改編を行い，2013 年度前期から新 カリキュラムで授業を展開することとなった。その効果を把握するため，2013 年度前期末 および後期末にアンケート調査を実施し，前期74 名，後期78 名の回答を得た。分析の結果， 2013 年度から新たに導入したトピック／技能別クラスの開講に肯定的な者が８割以上，日 本語コース全体に満足している者が約８割おり，カリキュラム改編後の全学日本語コース に対する受講生の満足度が高いことが明らかになった。本稿では日本語コース全体に対す る評価，総合クラスおよびトピック／技能別クラスに対する評価，新規開講科目に関する 希望について報告する

Japanese Language Curriculum Reform at Okayama University

　近年岡山大学の全学日本語コースでは，従来の研究生や大学院生に加え，短期留学生の数が増加し，受講生の多様化が進んでいる。本コースでは毎年カリキュラムの見直しを行ってきたが，この度，受講生の多様なニーズに対応するため，大規模なカリキュラム改編を行った。この改編の大きな特徴は，従来の総合クラスに加え，さまざまなレベルに対応したトピック別の選択クラスを開講し，受講生の状況や興味に合った科目数と科目内容 の選択を可能にしたことにある。本稿では2013年度の大規模なカリキュラム改編にいたる背景とその準備過程，改編前と改編後のカリキュラムの相違点，改編後に行ったアンケート調査の結果概略，今後の課題について述べる

Adult T-Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma-Related Ocular Manifestations: Analysis of the First Large-Scale Nationwide Survey

Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) is a rare and aggressive T-cell malignancy with a high mortality rate, resulting in a lack of information among ophthalmologists. Here, we investigated the state of ophthalmic medical care for ATL and ATL-related ocular manifestations by conducting the first large-scale nationwide survey in Japan. A total of 115 facilities were surveyed, including all university hospitals in Japan that were members of the Japanese Ophthalmological Society and regional core facilities that were members of the Japanese Ocular Inflammation Society. The collected nationwide data on the state of medical care for ATL-related ocular manifestations and ATL-associated ocular findings were categorized, tallied, and analyzed. Of the 115 facilities, 69 (60%) responded. Overall, 28 facilities (43.0%) had experience in providing ophthalmic care to ATL patients. ATL-related ocular manifestations were most commonly diagnosed “based on blood tests and characteristic ophthalmic findings.” By analyzing the 48 reported cases of ATL-related ocular manifestations, common ATL-related ocular lesions were intraocular infiltration (22 cases, 45.8%) and opportunistic infections (19 cases, 39.6%). All cases of opportunistic infection were cytomegalovirus retinitis. Dry eye (3 cases, 6.3%), scleritis (2 cases, 4.2%), uveitis (1 case, 2.1%), and anemic retinopathy (1 case, 2.1%) were also seen. In conclusion, intraocular infiltration and cytomegalovirus retinitis are common among ATL patients, and ophthalmologists should keep these findings in mind in their practice

Polycomb-Mediated Loss of miR-31 Activates NIK-Dependent NF-κB Pathway in Adult T Cell Leukemia and Other Cancers

SummaryConstitutive NF-κB activation has causative roles in adult T cell leukemia (ATL) caused by HTLV-1 and other cancers. Here, we report a pathway involving Polycomb-mediated miRNA silencing and NF-κB activation. We determine the miRNA signatures and reveal miR-31 loss in primary ATL cells. MiR-31 negatively regulates the noncanonical NF-κB pathway by targeting NF-κB inducing kinase (NIK). Loss of miR-31 therefore triggers oncogenic signaling. In ATL cells, miR-31 level is epigenetically regulated, and aberrant upregulation of Polycomb proteins contribute to miR-31 downregulation in an epigenetic fashion, leading to activation of NF-κB and apoptosis resistance. Furthermore, this emerging circuit operates in other cancers and receptor-initiated NF-κB cascade. Our findings provide a perspective involving the epigenetic program, inflammatory responses, and oncogenic signaling