A meta-analysis of second language cloze testing research

Numerous studies have accumulated over the last forty years in which second language testing researchers have examined various cloze test characteristics, including what cloze tests are measuring, under what conditions, and for what type of learners. In order to understand the accumulated knowledge of cloze procedures in second language testing research, the following research questions were posed: 1. What are the test and learner characteristics in the primary cloze test studies to date? 2. How does the deletion pattern affect the reliability of the cloze results? 3. How do various scoring methods (exact, acceptable, and clozentropy) affect the reliability of the cloze tests? 4. What is the strength of relationship between acceptable and exact scoring methods

Understanding and assessing intercultural competence: A summary of theory, research, and practice (Technical report for the Foreign Language Program Evaluation Project)

In this report we summarize theory and research on intercultural competence, paying particular attention to existing approaches and tools for its assessment. We also review examples of the assessment of intercultural competence in the specific contexts of general education and college foreign language and study abroad programs. It is our hope that these resources will provide a useful basis to foreign language (and other) educators as they seek to understand and improve the intercultural competencies of their students

A needs analysis for a Japanese high school EFL general education curriculum

Program evaluation is a systematic way to improve and account for programmatic actions that involves procedures that are useful, feasible, ethical, and accurate for the intended users of the evaluation process and findings (Patton, 1997). The current evaluation was motivated by an emerging need from the primary intended users for curriculum improvement and clarification of goals and objectives of a private Japanese high school’s English language program. A needs analysis survey was conducted with students and full-time teachers, and the results were triangulated with national curriculum guidelines. Needs discrepancies and problems were identified and solutions to the problems and discrepancies between groups were offered. The final recommendation section proposed program goals and improvements that were presented to the school

Developmental changes in point-light walker processing during childhood: A two-year follow-up ERP study

AbstractEvent-related potentials were measured in twenty-four children aged 6–15 years, at one-year intervals for two years, to investigate developmental changes in each subject's neural response to a point-light walker (PLW) and a scrambled PLW (sPLW) stimulus. One positive peak (P1) and two negative peaks (N1 and N2) were observed in both occipitotemporal regions at approximately 130, 200, and 300–400 ms. The amplitude and latency of the P1 component measured by the occipital electrode decreased during development over the first one-year period. Negative amplitudes of both N1 and N2, induced by the PLW stimulus, were significantly larger than those induced by the sPLW stimulus. Moreover, for the P1–N1 amplitude, the values for the eight-year-old children were significantly larger than those for the twelve-year-old children. N1 and N2 latency at certain electrodes decreased with age, but no consistent changes were observed. These results suggest that enhanced electrophysiological responses to PLW can be observed in all age groups, and that the early components were changed even over the course of a single year at the age of twelve

Do Larger Firms Have More Interfirm Relationships?

In this study, we investigate interfirm networks by employing a unique dataset containing information on more than 800,000 Japanese firms, about half of all corporate firms currently operating in Japan. First, we find that the number of relationships, measured by the indegree, has a fat-tail distribution, implying that there exist "hub" firms with a large number of relationships. Moreover, the indegree distribution for those hub firms also exhibits a fat tail, suggesting the existence of "super-hub" firms. Second, we find that larger firms tend to have more counterparts, but that the relationship between firms' size and the number of their counterparts is not necessarily proportional; firms that already have a large number of counterparts tend to grow without proportionately expanding it.

Analysis and comparison of the junior and senior high school level English textbooks for Japan and Korea

Japan and Korea share similar motivations towards EFL education, acknowledging the necessity of English ability for each nation’s further development. Although both countries outline similar EFL philosophies in their course-of-study guidelines, there seem to be differences in the ways the guidelines are reflected in the textbooks. This paper compares and summarizes the organization, content, linguistic skills, and tasks of the Japanese and Korean English textbooks used in 3rd-year junior high and 1st-year high school. The continuity of the textbooks between the two grades was also analyzed. The framework of educational approach, the balance of four skills, the continuity of the level and the difficulty of the text were the major observed differences. Learning through the differences and similarities, considerations for future textbook writers are suggested