This study reports the survey results of Japanese Pronunciation Teaching in a 15-week intensive program for international students. The results showed that Cambodian students found it difficult to distinguish between "tsu" and "su", "shi" and "chi", "ji" and "chi", unvoiced and voiced consonants, and double consonants and that Vietnamese students found it difficult to distinguish between "tsuu" and "chuu", "zo" and "jyo", "ne" and "e", and unvoiced and voiced consonants. The results from the questionnaire indicate that students can become conscious of their pronunciation, and its improvement, after pronunciation exercises are practiced for at least 10 minutes a day.

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This study investigated how three international first-year students took notes and retold the contents of the source text through a writing task. Analysis of the notes revealed that some symbols and abbreviations were commonly used, but the selection of important information and note organization varied among the students. Results also indicated that notes that relied heavily on the language of the source text often led to verbatim overlaps with the original source material in the written retelling, whereas notes less reliant on the original text led to production using the students' own words but often with low accuracy.

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The purpose of this research is to illustrate how the student role of Korean international students changes as they develop their own career, and to propose what kinds of career support are effective. For the purpose, interviews were conducted with two Korean students studying in Japan. What was said in interviews was analyzed qualitatively through the life-span, life-space approach. As a result, it was revealed that although the student role was inactive soon after they entered into universities, they interacted with Japanese friends and used the Japanese language a lot during that time.

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In an extensive reading course, in which reading is emphasized, incorporating opportunities for students to express themselves and communicate with each other in class is challenging. Therefore, the author introduced a final course project in which students themselves created books for extensive reading. This experience provided the students an opportunity to creatively use the knowledge they acquired through extensive reading. Consequently, the students expressed themselves on various themes using various methods.

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In academic writing, citation instruction is necessary, but there has not been sufficient study on teaching it effectively. Especially in the case of indirect quotations, the tendency to summarize or explain the original text can be seen and there has been very little discussion on how to adapt a summary to an indirect quotation. On the other hand, summarization has long been carried out and researched as a part of reading and writing instruction and that knowledge has accumulated. This paper will examine whether or not the summarization taught in reading/writing is relevant for the purpose of indirect quotation instruction.

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We incorporated extensive reading activities in intermediate-level academic classes and conducted practical reports based on class records. Extensive reading activities include reading books with content of interest that can be read even without a dictionary, writing a reading report, discussing, and presentation. Also, we compared the number of phrases before and after performing extensive reading using nursery composition and evaluated its effect on the student's output. As a result, both class participation and number of clauses that students use within a sentence increased. Specifically, those who used fewer clauses before the extensive reading activity were inclined to use more clauses.

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At Tokai University, there are about 1000 international students coming from about 50 different countries. Diversifying international students are required to deal with them in many situations. Regarding mathematics course, an "international student class" was offered for teaching effectively. It was started from 2018 spring semester. In this course, it is most important to understand the contents, but it is also indispensable to increase the degree of understanding of technical terms. Therefore, the Kanji exercise book for mathematics is necessary in order to instruct within a limited time. The author has been developing the Kanji practice book for basic mathematics class. This time, it was created that conforms to the textbooks used in the "linear algebra" class. In this paper, these are shown: its creation method, selected vocabulary and layout of kanji exercise book.

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This paper reports on the practice of teaching oral and auditory skills and the progress made by students over the course of one year. The classes were aimed at developing academic listening and speaking proficiency required by university students. The present paper focuses on activities for oral skill development: a 1-, 3-, and 5-minute prepared speech and discussion in the first term, followed by self-debate, debate and Bibliobattle in the second term. An analysis of audio and video recordings made in class, participants' reflections, questionnaires and interviews with selected participants revealed a conclusive improvement in students' listening and speaking skills, as well as their overall Japanese proficiency.

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Knowing what kind of expressions to employ in business writing is a difficult challenge not only for Japanese language learners but also for Japanese students. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the meaning and use of tsukimashite wa, a conjunction frequently used in business writing, through an examination and analysis of model sentences cited in commercially available business documents. Based on the results of this analysis, this paper will state that tsukimashite wa is an expression often used when making a proposition to the reader in such a way that the writer explains his or her circumstances or emotions without appearing pushy or coercive.

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The authors implemented activities which involved reading about the experiences of former international students in Japanese intermediate classes, aiming at supporting international students' career development. This study analyses the roles teachers played in the activities, based on the utterances during the discussions. The teachers mainly used the following utterances: indicating issues, promoting utterances, controlling discussions, explaining contents, introducing social/cultural knowledge and their own/others' experiences, stating opinions/advice, aizuchi, repetition, rephrasing, confirmations, assessments, agreements, and questions. Using these utterances, the teachers played the role of encouraging students' utterances and helping to deepen discussions, in an effort to promote students' career development.

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The purpose of this trial is to become aware about our evaluation schemas, which are used when evaluating writing materials by Japanese language learners. For the purpose, we compared our own feedback on writing materials by eighteen intermediate learners. As a result, it was illustrated that a teacher and a teaching assistant evaluate materials based on different evaluation schemas. For example, the teacher was thought to value "structure" a lot while the teaching assistant valued "format" more. Moreover, self-reflection revealed some factors affecting the evaluation schemas of each.

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This is a practice report of usage of video on-demand broadcasting. The data in this paper is based on the comments written by the learners after every session. It reveals that many of them recognized Japan from different perspectives than ones they had abroad, and some developed diversified and critical attitudes. It also made a teacher take actions for self-improvement such as selection of appropriate programs, which are not usually necessary for teaching with textbooks. This is an effective practice for teachers in today's world, where advanced technology is being implemented in Japanese-language education and teachers are required to know the current of the times and occasionally update their recognition. Video on-demand broadcasting can be effective raw teaching resources for both learners and teachers to cultivate multilateral perspectives.

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In this research, I report on the teaching practice of language skills in two kinds of subjects in a graduate school of humanities; namely advanced writing for international students as language subjects, and Japanese language education as specialized subjects. In these subjects students learn academic language skills as a preparatory stage for research in a master course. Especially they learn academic approach methods through different types of presentations and reports. In both subjects learning language skills is important for international graduate students to develop their own research.

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We use common sense knowledge, or schemas, to understand what is happening in our daily lives. These schemas also exist when learning foreign languages. The Japanese and Chinese languages are both written in kanji, or Chinese characters, however, there are differences in the meanings of the words between the languages. When studying Japanese, Chinese students do not realize this and believe that it is easy to learn Japanese, because it is represented by kanji. However, there are isomorphic synonyms between Japanese and Chinese, which hinders the learning of Japanese. The first and most important step in studying isomorphic synonyms between Japanese and Chinese is to remedy this misapprehended schema. To do so, Chinese students must experience the contradictions and assumptions they hold and acknowledge that their preconceived ideas are misguided. This study aims to prepare language students to be aware of the differences between Japanese and Chinese isomorphic synonyms.

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A new method of kanji vocabulary learning was applied for an intermediate Japanese course. Words in the textbook were rearranged in order of word frequency (high to low), then two learning steps were taken. The first step was to learn words WITHOUT Kanji, and the second step was to learn the written forms for those already learned words WITH use of Kanji. Intervals of several days were placed between the two steps throughout a term. Students kept marking good scores on the formative tests during the term, and their results on the end-of-term exam outperformed all of the previous exams.

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This study proposes an instructional method on structuring a discourse in order to improve writing coherence and cohesion. In the past, a typical writing instruction had been limited to mainly correcting grammatical errors and word choices, but there have been some improvements, which of these is about how to structure a discourse. However, although a lot of writing textbooks recognize the importance of a discourse, their instructions have not been effective. Therefore, based on the point of view from academic language proficiency, this study examines the writing skill to create a text with coherence and cohesion and shows some practical methods on teaching a writing discourse.

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The present study aims to make clear the usage of phonetic learning strategies and attitude towards Japanese pronunciation. Thirty one Chinse Japanese learners are required to complete a questionnaire concerning the learning strategies of phonetics and attitude towards pronunciation. As a result of questionnaire, "imitate Japanese speakers' pronunciation strategy" is most often used. And the least used strategy is "Recording own voice and practice" strategy, and "Shadowing Japanese news" strategy or "Shadowing Japanese anime, dramas or movies" strategy are also not often used by Japanese learners.

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This research compares two primary and secondary education institutions established by experienced students in Japan, Mongolia and Paraguay. It is about reasons and purposes of Japanese education institutions 'establishment and it has been researched by Japanese language based interviews with experienced people and written materials. As a result, both schools are trying to contribute to the society of their country with experience of studying in Japan. However, the effect of geographical distance and different social backgrounds has been seen on Japanese education in these facilities. While the aim of Mongolian school is study in Japan, school of Paraguay aims study of Japanese language based on Japanese culture.

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I interviewed a Japanese Peruvian international student, Erika, and analyzed her talk qualitatively. As a result, it was revealed that Erika's consciousness of Japanese language learning and the Japanese language had underwent a process of change as Erika learned the Japanese language. Erika's consciousness, such as why is she learning Japanese and what her purpose was for learning Japanese, had transformed in the following manner: to connect herself with Japan and her family in Peru → to maintain that connection → to connect families in Peru and Japanese Peruvian children to Japan. In conclusion, this study shows the necessity of Japanese language education to consider the existence of such consciousness.

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This study looks at ways to utilize literary texts and how to organize class activities in "Japanese Literature and Culture" for foreign students not majoring in these disciplines. In this program, we read passages from Tsurezuregusa translated into modern, simple Japanese, while students reflect on the recurring themes and explain their thoughts and opinions in Japanese. Finally, we consider the effects on learning when using these texts and how it compares with other teaching materials.

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This study analyzes the usage of 'V-yoo to omou' in an e-mail task given to 30 native speakers and 90 learners of Japanese. The e-mail task was to reply to a request to bring something to a picnic. It was found that Japanese language learners never used 'V-yoo to omou' despite having learned it, while it was a common choice of Japanese native speakers. 'V-yoo to omou' was used in this task to let the other person make the final decision, but learners did not understand this nuance. In conclusion, we found that we need to reconsider how 'V-yoo to omou' is taught.

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This paper is a practice report on reading materials development by learners using public relations magazines of the faculty of engineering. The purposes of this study were: 1) to develop reading skills focusing on engineering research, 2) to learn technical terms and expressions, and 3) to improve the ability to summarize the contents through making questions and presentation. The results showed that developing research based reading materials enhanced learners' motivation and autonomy. Furthermore, presentations about the reading materials helped motivate other students too. Therefore, we can conclude that reading materials which involve learner input are of utmost importance.

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This research is to investigate the causal attribution and solutions of conflicts in the Japanese language instruction settings at a private Japanese language school. The differences of the teachers and students were analyzed. As a result, they have common understanding about causes of the conflicts. However, they have different opinions towards solutions of the conflicts. Teachers think that they should put more efforts to improve their teaching. Students think teachers should encourage the students to set up their aims of the study. In order to solve these conflicts, it is necessary to incorporate solutions of both teachers and students.

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This research investigated the language learning beliefs of Japanese learners who were living in a plurilingual environment. Based on question items of questionnaire BALLI constructed by Horwitz (1987), semi-structured interviews were conducted for Japanese learners under plurilingual environment and Japanese learners under monolingual environment. By comparing with the language learning belief possessed by Japanese learners in a monolingual environment, this study showed the influences of plurilingual environment and usage of plural languages on their Japanese learning beliefs.

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Visually-impaired learners use learning tools different from those for sighted learners. This may cause difficulty in mass teaching with sighted learners. For this reason, beginners have difficulty in getting opportunities to learn and, if any, constant learning opportunities are limited under the current situation. As a countermeasure for this situation, the authors practiced a class via an online call system, which turned out useful for the visually-impaired, who learn mainly via voice, even in face-to-face class. This paper reports our practice of Skype-based class for visually-impaired learners and discusses problems in class operation and views towards further utilization.

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As more foreigners are starting to live in Japan, this study application is established with an objective of supporting their gathering life-style information and offering longitudinal learning opportunities from Kanji to composition, by utilizing PR brochure articles published by local authorities categorized into the following group; 'Kanji,' 'vocabulary,' 'short sentences,' and 'composition.' This report mainly introduces how the application is produced and how articles are chosen from the PR brochure.

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This study presents cultural introductions in 5 Korean [Practical Japanese] textbooks. Contents which are considered important in practical Japanese language usage took large part of textbooks. However, it seems in some textbooks these sort of contents were not treated enough in depth. Lack of chances to educate practical communication is another problem. For smooth communication, it is important to expand education related to Language Usage.

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Since 2016, this author has been studying how grammatical knowledge can be applied in classroom situations in a Japanese teacher training program. This paper reports on activities to improve skills of correcting and explaining the problems of learners' grammatical misuses. Students were provided example sentences containing grammatical errors and asked to correct and explain each problem intelligibly, assuming beginning level learners. Their performances were recorded and reviewed. As the training progressed, students recognized that they need grammatical knowledge as well as skills to deliver clear explanations, and their performance gradually improved.

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Four teachers held discussions with each other regarding their experiences teaching Japanese overseas and then took a cooperative look back on their own experiences. First, each individual shared their stories with the others. Then they made their own Teaching Portfolio Charts and explained them to each other. The text data from the charts was analyzed utilizing the SCAT method. What became apparent as a result were the beliefs mutually held by the teachers with respect to the creation of workplace relationships, the development of networks inside and outside the workplace and the teaching philosophies and ideas for Japanese language education.

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There are few Japanese residents in Belarus, so there is little opportunity to use Japanese and interact with Japanese people outside of the classroom. There are few workplaces that utilize Japanese, too. In addition, there is a narrow window of opportunity for Belarus students to study abroad in Japan. Results will be shared regarding an interview with a Belarusian student who studied Japanese in university, and came to Japan after graduating. This paper shall highlight his reflections on his learning experience, and how the study of the Japanese language and culture expanded his perspective on life and himself.

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Adverbs often express information on the mental state and the perspective of the communicator, which makes them a difficult part of speech for teachers and learners alike. The research tests whether the learning process could be simplified by choosing adverbs that have a higher priority. Adverbs were drawn from the Balanced Corpus of Contemporary Written Japanese (BCCWJ) and the Nagoya University Conversation Corpus and were listed in a chart. The research consulted beginner adverbs from Shimazaki (2015), Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) Standards, and the survey of the correlation of the Properties of Japanese Vocabularies in order to select adverbs for intermediate and advanced learners.

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In recent years, the number of people using anime and manga in Japanese language classes are attracting attention. In this presentation the authors will show how they taught benefactive verbs using anime. The purpose of this research is to investigate whether or not teacher use of anime, is related to long term memorization, as it deepens understanding through awareness raising of the context. The authors divided the learners into an experimental group and a control group. The results of 3 experiments, with these groups, showed that the experimental group scored better than the control group. Also, long term memorization was seen more in the experimental group than the control group.

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This study aims to examine the influence of activities in a Japanese language course to support the improvement of undergraduate international students' autonomous learning ability, and to consider ways to better respond to individual differences. "Explicit use of strategies" and "regular implementation of introspective activities" were utilized to promote metacognitive activation which is known to be effective in improving autonomous learning ability, and the metacognitive changes were observed. The results indicated that the activities promoted metacognition and improved the autonomous learning ability, although some learners were reluctant to accept unfamiliar learning methods. The promotion of learning style awareness and expansion, and measures to reduce anxiety about evaluation may be effective countermeasures.

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While foreign students are increasing in Japan, smooth cooperation to major subjects after entering to higher education institutions is required. There is a report (the Asian Students Cultural Association, 2016) that students from Myanmar struggle to learn mathematics and scientific subjects in Japan. In order to distinguish the difference due to in language and in curriculum, we conducted a comparative study of Japanese textbooks and Myanmar's national textbooks. In the process, it turned out that a lot of unstudied items existed in the field which has been considered to be studied in Myanmar. In this research, we focus on the field of vectors in mathematics as well as referring in adjacent subjects, physics, and present a way of collaboration between major subjects and Japanese language education in university's preliminary education.

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In Pre-Advanced reading class for Japanese learners, the teacher conducted an activity that learners communicate their interpretation of the text by their own words and construct an interpretation cooperatively with others. In that process, learners have questions that it is difficult to solve by themselves at times. In that case, teacher intervene in their dialogue to solve questions. This paper analyzed how teacher interventions affect group dialogue, in case of problems concerning text interpretation. As a result, it was suggested that teacher interventions that indicate the possibility of interpretation as choices result in "authoritative discourse" which restrict and direct their dialogue.

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This research describes how the use in elementary-level Japanese classes of illustrations created using presentation software was effective in helping students better understand lesson topics and in galvanizing classroom activities. While it has long been the practice to use paper cards in the classroom, using presentation software enables teachers to 1.) reuse the same illustrations, 2.) add additional information, 3.) make changes or add emphasis, and 4.) visualize grammar points. It must be noted however that, in using presentation software as a classroom tool, teachers must take responsibility to respect copyright.

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A reading comprehension lesson was conducted, which consisted of teams of 2–3 people working together, reading texts, writing summaries, and group presentations. Activities such as reading specified texts, writing summaries, and giving presentations are frequently performed in university classes; however, preparing a summary to explain a text to others requires a deep comprehension of the text in order to reconstruct the content that one has understood. Preparation of summaries as a collaborative learning exercise clarified the activity's learning objectives. Additionally, a higher quality level of peer reading was observed.

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This report describes the e-learning system for introducing basic Japanese grammars to the learners of Japanese following the concept of active-learning. The system was developed so that learners can understand the basic grammar items by guessing their usage based on multiple pictures and also by talking with peer learners and teachers. In addition, to let learners check the correctness of their guessing, brief English grammar explanation was added to the system. It was found that the system promotes learners' active leaning on Japanese basic grammars.

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Previous researches have shown that non-native Japanese learners believe it's unchallenging to be proficient in using passive sentences. On the contrary, passive sentences are tough to master, and learners are prone to make mistakes on them. This study aims to enhance intermediate-level Japanese learners' ability to apply passive sentences, we'll elaborate it in two methods. The first method emphasizes the literal meaning of passive sentences; the second method introduces story-telling and peer tasks. Based on our experimental test results, we found that the first method is effective in aiding learners to understand sentence structures better, while the second one helps them to apply passive sentences more accurately in situational conversations. However, these methods failed to meet our expectation on improving learners' capability to identify grammatical logics. In conclusion, to improve Japanese learners' ability to apply passive sentences, it is crucial to choose correct subjects and form grammatically logical sentences.

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Smartphones are widely used among language learners for second/foreign language learning. This study presents analyses of the use of smartphones during second language Japanese conversations. This study shows how second language speakers utilize linguistic and/or non-linguistic resources to achieve sophisticated conversations while consulting smartphone dictionaries. Also discussed will be the tendency of the second language speakers to abandon consultation of smartphone dictionaries as necessary, for the sake of achieving the current conversation.

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