A Pilot Study of Emotions of Writing in L2: Unpacking the Felt Sense of an EFL Writer

This study explores one EFL writer’s emotional aspects towards writing in second language (L2) through verbalizing her felt sense using the Thinking at the Edge (TAE) approach. Data collected include the participant’s autobiography of learning English, TAE-based reflective worksheets, and an individual interview. To analyze the data, thematic analysis (Boyatzis, 1998) in a qualitative method was employed. The findings reveal that the participant showed difficulty in expressing herself clearly in English and remained apprehensive about using English words and expressions properly. However, she realized the importance of English writing, which has promoted her creating a sense of confidence and writing proficiency. This study indicates that the findings obtained by the TAE approach will enhance the importance of seeking learners’ psychological engagement with writing in L2 in a qualitative manner

Implications of the Course of Study Reforms on English Language Teaching in Japanese Secondary Schools: Toward Teaching English as an International Language

Many universities in Japan have been offering the teaching certificate programs to train highly qualified teachers. Even though graduate schools have set up programs for more disciplinary courses for English language teaching (ELT), few have been developed at the undergraduate school level. Thus, pre-service English teachers can only learn about ELT pedagogical issues in English Teaching Methodology courses. Moreover, ELT in Japan still adheres to a principle of English speakers’ norms and aims for native speakers of English for communication partners. Since English has become an international language or a lingua franca in the globalized society, prospective English teachers must recognize the growing importance of English language variations to teach English as an international language. This paper focuses primarily on pedagogical issues to teach in English methodology classes in accordance with the future reforms of the teaching-training program. To do this, discussions include revision of the Communicative Language Teaching approaches and application of World Englishes into ELT at the secondary school level

A Study on Application for Moral Education of a Learning System to Promote Reconstitution on grounds of Thought and Judgment: “The 8 in 4 Problem-Solving System” incorporated “Matrix Method”

　今日の道徳の時間では，読み物資料の主人公の気持ちの読み取りを中心とした心情主義的 な授業の型が中心をなしている。しかし，この型においては，多角的・批判的に考えさせた り，多様な価値観を引き出し考えを深める学習の実現については限界がある。そこで本論で は，プラグマティズムに基づく道徳の問題解決的な学習過程を，４つの学習段階の中に８つ の学習活動を取り入れた「８in ４課題解決システム」として構成し，その中心に思考・判 断の根拠の再構成を促進するために開発したマトリクス・メソッドという思考ツールを組み 込んだ。このシステムは，課題となる事象や資料の多面的・多角的な分析，自らの考えの根 拠のさらなる裏付けとなる情報の収集，及び当初の判断の未来の結果に対する因果の洞察を 踏まえた上での討論等によって，学習者の道徳的な思考・判断の根拠の再構成を促進するも のである。この指導法の導入により，道徳教育の充実，及び今日の道徳教育における実践的 な課題改善への有効なアプローチが可能になると考えられる

Suggestions for the Teaching of Writing: From Students’ Reflective Narratives of English Writing

Narratives have emerged in the area of second language (L2) writing and have played a key role as a proper research method. Reflective narratives have identified significant benefits by analyzing the writer’s experiences and insider perspectives in depth. Furthermore, stories shared by writers have validity in enriching their understanding further about personal realities and unraveling interpretive accounts with a critical eye. However, few studies demonstrate the findings of writing problems that students encounter and offer suggestions for teaching writing based on students’ experiences and practices of writing in English utilizing their detailed reflective narratives, especially in EFL contexts. This study focuses mainly on broadening possibilities for writing approaches suitable for teaching contexts as teacher development. The data analysis employed the categorization of 15 Japanese EFL undergraduates’ reflective narratives in three phases: the careful reading of all sentences in their reflective accounts of writing in English, the development of a temporary coding system, and the evaluation of the reliability of the coding system. The research findings show that the participants referred to the further importance of written structures (e.g., topic sentences and thesis statements), reader awareness for English writing at the university level, and joint work in the writing classroom. Suggestions for teaching writing are discussed in conforming to the findings of the students’ reflective narratives

Constructing Writer Identities in a Japanese EFL Setting

This paper explores how Japanese English language learners construct their writer identities as college students. Specifically, this study examines the autobiographical narratives of five college-level English language learners, describing their activities and experiences of writing classes in high school and college. This present study shows that the participants have constructed their writer identities, negotiating their past and present practices of writing in school. Finally, this paper discusses implications for teaching writing in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) settings in Japanese higher education