This study investigates the effects of instruction type, text imagery, and imagery abilities on text memory in second-language Japanese. The participants were advanced Chinese learners of Japanese with instruction type and imagery ability as between-participant factors and text imagery as a within-participant factor. The results of delayed free recall showed that an imagery instruction condition was more effective than a comprehension-instruction condition for the high imagery-ability group. These findings indicate that imagery instruction effectively enhances memory retention for textual material in learners with high imagery abilities.

　This study aims to examine the differences between the effects of reading novels and reading exposition texts on experiences of flow and mood changes. Eighty-five undergraduate and graduate students were divided into novel and exposition-text reading groups. We compared flow-experiences both before and during reading, as well as mood both before and after reading. The results indicate that micro-levels of flow occurred during reading in both groups. Moreover, negative mood and friendliness decreased after reading in both groups. Examining the relations between flow and mood changes, within the novel-reading group, participants who were immersed in the texts were more likely to experience mood improvements and, similarly, in the exposition-text group, immersion during reading led to decreases in negative moods. We conclude that reading effectively stabilizes a reader’s mental states.

　The purpose of this study is to analyze the content of “Chinese Classics” in the Chinese education guidelines for junior high school, issued in various editions since the founding of The People’s Republic of China in 1949. It seeks to sort out the official regulations in a timely manner, such as the goals design, selection of teaching materials, and teaching points. To build a foundation for comparative study with Japan, this study divided the overall goals of Chinese Classical education in China into two categories, “basics” and “attitudes,” and analyzed them in three periods with a view to forming the overall goals and modifying the goals related to “basics” and “attitudes”.
　In conclusion, from the first to the third period, the goals related to “basics” has been maintained as “reading and understanding the classics,” though it was excessively emphasized in the second period. The goals related to “attitudes,” which is to “inheriting (Chinese) with tradition and culture,” has evolved through a sequence of formation, disappearance, return and development.
　Along with this, there are inherent regulations on selection of teaching materials, and teaching points, as well as five major changes: 1. Clarification of examination subjects, 2. Emphasis on recitation and the use of Chinese Classics, 3. Deepening of thinking through diverse teaching materials, 4. Respect for the diversity of thought and culture.
　Overall, we summarized that there was a shift in Chinese classics education in China from “learning the classics” to “learning with the classics.”

　The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of presenting descending or ascending sequences of stimuli on estimates of critical print size (CPS) and maximum reading speed (MRS). A test with a 30-character text and a test with 24 kana words (20 stimuli each) were performed using two measurement methods (either a descending or ascending series) and CPS and MRS were estimated with the Weibull function. The results of Wilcoxon’s signed-rank test indicated significant differences in CPS and MRS between the descending and ascending series for the text test (p ＜.05). However, no significant difference was observed for the word test (p＞.05). Furthermore, to confirm the reproducibility of the two measurement methods, the Bland-Altman method was also applied. Both the descending and the ascending series revealed good reproducibility for CPS and MRS. The two measurement methods had effects on CPS and MSR for the text tests but not for the word tests. We believe that ascending series can estimate reading performance as well as descending series and can be applied as a new measurement method.

　Inner speech during reading is referred to as Inner Reading Voice (IRV). We investigated the frequency of IRV occurrence and the quality of the voice during narrative reading. Additionally, we examined their correlation to immersion characteristics during narrative comprehension. A survey was conducted with 499 native Japanese speakers. The IRV questionnaire assessed IRV frequency and auditory qualities. Additionally, participants' proneness to narrative story immersion was measured. The findings from IRV questionnaire indicated suggest that IRV is frequently generated when reading dialogue sentences in narrative stories. However, not all sentences are necessarily subvocalized. Some participants answered they use IRV very occasionally. Furthermore, dialogue sentences in narrative stories are often subvocalized with multiple distinct IRVs. Individual differences were observed in both IRV frequency and voice quality, consistent with previous studies. In terms of the relationship with readers’ immersion characteristics, individuals who engage in frequent IRV scored higher on measures of “immersion in the narrative world” than those who engage in less-frequent IRV. Individuals who employ multiple distinct voices during IRV also demonstrated higher scores on the immersion measures than those who employ one type of voices. These findings suggest a connection between rich IRV and the experience of empathy and image formation during narrative comprehension.