Developing Second Language Proficiency in a Study Abroad Context

This study attempts to investigate the development of English proficiency of four college students who took part in a one-year study abroad program in an American university. English proficiency before and after the study program was measured in terms of listening, reading, writing, speaking, and vocabulary. In addition, a questionnaire was also provided to examine students\u27 perceptions of their own language development as well as their attitude changes in language use. The writing skill significantly improved in fluency, accuracy, and, in particular, complexity. The speaking skill in the interview test also indicated a significant increase in all the categories (accent, grammar, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension). The listening skill changed favorably, but the gains were not statistically significant in spite of the students\u27 high self-evaluations on listening development. The improvement in reading skill was not obvious. Development of English proficiency for the individual students varied. The most proficient student before the program demonstrated the least improvement, while the least proficient student showed the largest increase

Stress Tolerance in Subjects with Myocardial Infarction

In our course of surveys to study the relationship between stress and myocardial infarction (MI), we have investigated whether stress tolerance may play a significant role when MI develops. To elucidate the possible role of stress tolerance, we examined 96 patients with MI (68 men and 28 women, age 40-90 years) with a stress tolerance check list in which stress tolerance was quantified as total points for 20 self-evaluated items, each scored between 1 and 4 points. Their scores were compared with control values obtained from persons not suffering from MI, and further analyzed by dividing them into 3 groups according to their grade of stress tolerance; that is, low (39 or less in score), moderate (40-49) and high (50-80). The mean stress tolerance score (± SD) was significantly lower in the 96 MI patients (49.5 ± 8.90 points) than in the controls (60.8 ± 7.3 points). The stress tolerance grade was low in 13 of the 96 (13.5%), moderate in 34 (35.5%) and high in 49 (51.0%). In MI patients, lowly or moderately stress-tolerant persons were significantly higher in percentage (49.0%) than in the controls (6.3%). These results clearly indicate that low stress tolerance is a risk factor in the development of MI

Language Skill Attrition and Affecting Factors

In the field of language learning and teaching research, much attention has been paid to aoquisition of FL/SL (foreign/second language) skills. It was not until 1980s, however, that a quenstion was raised regarding the opposite side of aoquisition: how much of this learning is retained over the years after the termination of formal (classroom) learning, when little or reduced opportunity to use the language exists. Most learners experience the disappearance of these skills gradually, i. e., attrition is at work. It is an important and inevitable question to be asked so that the tremendous efforts, in terms of time and money, made by both learning and teaching sides should be rewarded. It is particularly relevant within the FL learning context, where the exposure to and use of a FL is severely limited to the classroom. This short paper introduces several major research studies which addressed attrition/retention of adult leaners of FL/SL and focuses on the affecting factors. Studies report that the level of achievement at the end of formal language instuction is a strong factor and it shows an inverse relationship to attrition: the higher the level, the less the attrition. Attitude/ motivation toward the language learning and language use are also reported as strongly related to attrition rate in that reduced attitude/ motivation affects the use of language in FL/SL environment. The writer\u27s research in the Japanese speaking skill attrition among U. S. students supports these findings and the level that resists attrition is tentatively set at the Advancoed High on ACTFL oral proficiency scale. Implications are drawn toward the integration of course design that would help eager students reach this level in the Japanese university system, which would include studying in the target language country

言語(英語)帝国主義:概観

As more and more areas of human activities seem to be interpreted on a global scale, English has come to be considered to be the lingua franca necessary for the global family community. In Japan, the urgency seems to be felt at the government level, revealed in the proposal "English as the Second State Language," as well as at the educational and personal level that aspire to believe in the teaching and learning of English to be an indispensable part of getting on board. Where does this urgency come from? Is it a syndrome rooted in the so called "English Imperialism" as has been argued in recent years? This paper surveys linguistic imperialism first, and then English imperialism and its background, English language promotion of Britain and the U. S. A., a look at different views of English imperialism, and finally implication to the language teaching profession

Language and Gender Study in the United States : A Review

The study of language and gender is a new area in the field of linguistics which attempts to investigate how language, gender and society interact. A vigorous research in the United States has its root in the Women\u27s Liberation Movement, started in the 1960s, whose assumption was that the gender difference in the English language created gender discrimination against women. This paper follows the developments of research and shows what the Movement has gained, where the researchers are now and what the possible future directions would be. The main focus of the Movement was the generic use of "man", as studies had showed that it gave a male image regardless of gender or age. As more women joined the workforce and started having managerial positions, neutral words for job titles became necessary. Promoting the use of "Ms." in place of "Miss" or "Mrs." was another objective. Research papers and books began to appear in the mid 1970s and degree courses in Women Studies, which gave theoretical support to the Movement, were offered at universities. Since the 1980s, researchers\u27 focus was geared toward the gender difference in conversational patterns in social context. Discourse analysis is used to investigate how women\u27s cooperative/non-competitive patterns conflict with men\u27s aggresive/competitive patterns. Numerous studies have been conducted on the ways the power imbalance plays in discourse in all aspects of social interaction. In the 1990s, more studies on women\u27s language use in the broader world of communication, such as those on the power of silence and pause, language use in the male dominant workplace and cross-cultural setting, have started to appear. The research trend seems to continue into 21st century contributing to reducing the gender difference not only in the United States but the world community