In this publication, a method for creating a language textbook that satisfies the needs of short-term language exchange students is described. The method involves the continual collection and assessment of class feedback to produce biannual text revisions. Key steps of the feedback process, including the avoidance of potential pitfalls and the interpretation of results, are discussed in detail. The method has proven successful in the creation of a textbook that maintains and stimulates student interest both within and outside the classroom.

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The present study compared morphological features of two-kanji compound words in Japanese and Korean. Japanese adds -suru after these words to form a verb while Korean adds -hada to do the same. This study counted the number of compounds with -suru and -hada among the 1,871 compounds taken from the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (Revised Edition 2007) vocabulary list, from level 4 to level 2. Due to the difference between Japanese and Korean usages of -suru and -hada, two separate analyses for verbs and adjectives were conducted. The number of verbalization was 606 in Japanese and 627 in Korean. In case of adjectives, Japanese showed 170 adjectives, while Korean had 126. Based on these results, the present study made a proposal for Japanese language education for Korean students.

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This paper discusses a novel classroom reading activity, in which students in groups of three explain what has been understood after reading the same passage individually. The students do not simply agree or disagree with each other's explanations, but they also identify discrepancies between them, add supplemental explanations and raise issues, concerns or questions amongst each other, leading to a better overall understanding. Such mutual interactions encourage students to re-examine the appropriateness of their own understanding allowing them to comprehend the passage more deeply, which ultimately and on a whole, improves the efficacy of classroom reading activities.

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The aim of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of the Blended Learning Model improved as preparation for JLPT Level N1 Grammar. The improvement has been made in two respects: (1) 130 new grammar questions are added in this course, and (2) "the highest mark" instead of "the average mark" of each question is displayed so that it will motivate the learners. According to the questionnaire to the learners, it can be observed that 80.0% of them were satisfied with this model. In addition, the educational effectiveness of this model can be recognized by the fact that the average point of the test was improved by38.1%.

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The acquisition of the loan word seems a weak item for a lot of Japanese language learners. In the present study, the questionnaire survey was done for the learners in China and Japan, and the factor related to the acquisition of the vocabulary was analyzed. There was a difference by the environment in China and in Japan. However, it tended to have looked like in a high-ranking mean value of the word and the relation to the study period. The word of the subordinate position tended to have been different according to the vocabulary.

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Foreign care-worker candidates who take Japan's national certification exams have only a short preparation period. In this study, we identified the vocabulary items that have appeared frequently in past tests, excluding items from level 3 and 4 of the JLPT. We ranked these for frequency and developed a list containing 808 words with English and Indonesian translations and synonyms in easy Japanese. We also formulated an efficient method to learn kanji character compounds.

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The Japanese government is working on various policies to achieve thirty million international tourists. As a result, the number of international workers in the tourism industry is expected to increase, along with an increase in the number of international students studying tourism in Japan. With the intent to provide learning support for international students studying tourism, the author conducted a basic survey necessary to design a syllabus for intermediate to advanced learners of Japanese majoring in tourism. As a result, it became clear that the level 2 of "Tourism English Proficiency Test" is approximately the same as N2 level of JLPT. This paper presents the findings of the survey.

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Questionnaire survey and statistical work have been conducted for the purpose of research of teachers and classes sought by Japanese learners who study in Japan to enter schools. The result was different depending on the level of Japanese language skill of learners. Beginners desired for appointment after questions, and advanced learners desired for correction right after their incorrect use. Furthermore, many significant differences were recognized between beginners and advanced learners, and intermediate learners were seen between beginners and advanced learners in regard to Japanese language skills as well as thoughts towards teachers and classes.

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In this study a researcher considered how the Japanese teaching materials took up sports. As to the textbooks of the beginner's class level, many differences were seen in sporting events and in the terms depending on the textbooks. The textbooks for the intermediate and the advanced classes did not take up so much sports. And the researcher introduced the example of the class using the newspaper article about sports (Tokyo marathon).

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In the Japanese language intensive course at Kurume University, we have continued activities where L2 Japanese learners of Chinese can have contact with Japanese students who study Chinese in university classes. Through the analysis of questionnaires and interviews to learners and teachers, it can be seen that this activity has possibility of motivating both learners on L2 learning and realizing intercultural exchange.

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In our previous study (Ogasa, et.al., 2011) it was revealed that while self-assessments are relatively easy to implement and may motivate learners during communication tasks, they may not always be effective or reliable forms of feedback for learners who are unable to assess their performance objectively. Based on the results of the previous study we revised our self-evaluation form used by intermediate Japanese learners used to encourage learners to assign a purpose for a communication task and then later reflect on how effectively they achieved their goals.

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In this paper I introduce a visualization of newspaper views in order to understand logical structure of the opinions for Academic Writing. Based on the theoretical framework of Suzuki's (2004) multifaceted analysis method of the arguments, this study examines the logical structure of the opinions by visualization of horizontally continuing and vertically subordinate. I treat a formal paragraph on the opinion as one thought unit. Each paragraph has a relational function. I analyze the paragraphs' function and visualize the relation of these paragraphs.

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This study examines academic activities that are conducted in liberal arts curricula in universities in Japan. Online syllabi from 12 national universities were analyzed and categorized in order to find out what academic activities are prevalent. Classification was made according to both the content and the purpose of individual activities. In addition, this presentation will discuss how the result of the analysis can be applied to the creation of intermediate-level Japanese learning materials.

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This is a practical report based on case study research for the highly advanced level Japanese language learners. In the classes for rapid reading and writing papers, the teacher directed the students to make their portfolio and do self-check evaluations. This report discusses whether there was any improvement in the learners' achievement in reading and writing. This report will also evaluate the teacher's teaching skills in hopes of benefitting other teachers for future classes.

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The care worker trainees under current Economic Partnership Agreements must pass a State Examination for Certified Care Workers to continue working in Japan, but the Japanese language, especially kanji, used in the examination is a huge barrier for the trainees and there is a need for Japanese language learning support designed to focus on kanji used in the technical terms in the caregiving field. This paper describes the procedure to extract NIKANJIGO (two-kanji compounds) from the technical terms in the caregiving field and examines the frequency and trend of the two-kanji compounds.

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This paper aims at investigating how the descriptions of Cds items in speaking performance are actually construed. For this purpose, we asked Japanese learners in Japan to self-evaluate their Japanese performance by Cds and interviewed them. We have found that those who have specific knowledge and experiences in questions tend to use them for the evaluations through the result of the study. Non-linguistic aspects such as learners' anxiety may also be one of the factors to influence on their self-evaluation.

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Many foreign students living in the capital area were traumatized by the earthquake on March 11^<th> and the resulting Fukushima nuclear power accident. After the accident, although many foreigners initially fled from Japan, approximately 90% of the foreign students returned for the new school term. We were interested in investigating what factors were involved in the students' decision to continue studying in Japan. The results of the interview provided insight into the students' decision to study and live in Japan.

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How can Japanese language instructors assist learners who lack speaking opportunities outside the classroom, and who cannot find suitable speakers for practice? Learners progress effectively when they are conscious of their learning environment. They can begin speaking with those who are close, seek out opportunities to interact with others, overcome their anxieties about speaking, and widen the range of situations where they are able to speak and are comfortable speaking Japanese. This paper presents an analysis of university Japanese learners' reports of the situations where they use Japanese, and of interviews with these students based these reports.

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Working memory is a storage system that holds a limited amount of information for a brief time, where that information is in a rapidly accessible state. Although it is indicated that working memory plays crucial role in reading comprehension, very little research has been done in the field of Japanese language education. The purpose of this study was to examine working memory capacity of Japanese language learners. The capacity was measured with reading span test. Participants were forty-four learners who studied Japanese at Chinese university. The average reading span was 1.83 with a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 3.

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This paper shows the results of an evaluative survey of a Vietnamese learner's pronunciation by Native Japanese Speakers. Special attention is paid to the following areas: Wrong pronunciation within segments of a sentence, and its consequences on the understanding of the spoken utterance's message. Three possible cases are examined out of the viewpoint of Japanese native speakers; a) the contents of a sentence are understandable and the pronunciation is adequate, b) the contents of a sentence are understandable and the pronunciation is inadequate, c) the contents of a sentence are not understandable and the pronunciation is inadequate.

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At the University of Tsukuba, we have used can-do statements in a revision of methods for evaluating the oral ability of students in our intensive Japanese course. Two types of items were prepared based on can-do statements in CEFR and JF standards. The first of these is "interactive activities," and the other is "communicative language competences." As a result of this revision, we were able to develop a clearer understanding of the oral ability of learners based in their own descriptions of what they "can" and "cannot do," according to an inter-institutional set of standards.

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A report on materials development and implementation in training courses for Japanese language instructors in Korean middle schools. Together with the improvement of listening comprehension ability, the purpose of this study is to enable participants to construct and maintain a learning environment using educational resources available to them, even after completion of the training course. Additionally, participants should be able to apply the experiences gained through the series within their own classrooms. This paper introduces the use of the web diagram as a tool for listing and viewing all related materials that can be used in each lesson.

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This paper reports that "san bun setsu hou" is effective for speaking of intermediate and advanced Japanese learners. Indeed, they can perform well in speech activities. However, their speech sometimes misses its mark. Therefore we can't understand what they say. For solving this problem, we let them take "san bun setsu hou" and found out their significant improvement of speech by using it.

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