Anthony Sellick | Shumei University (original) (raw)
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Papers by Anthony Sellick
Routledge eBooks, Nov 25, 2020
成美堂 eBooks, 2013
Ｉｎｆｏｒｍａｔｉｏｎ Ｏｖｅｒｌｏａｄ Ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ ｏｆ Ｃｕｌｔｕｒｅ（Ｉｔ’ｓ Ｎｏｔ ｔｈｅ Ｅｎｄ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ—Ｙｅｔ！；Ｃａｎ Ｙｏｕ Ｓｐａｒｅ Ｍｅ Ｓｏｍ... more Ｉｎｆｏｒｍａｔｉｏｎ Ｏｖｅｒｌｏａｄ Ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ ｏｆ Ｃｕｌｔｕｒｅ（Ｉｔ’ｓ Ｎｏｔ ｔｈｅ Ｅｎｄ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ—Ｙｅｔ！；Ｃａｎ Ｙｏｕ Ｓｐａｒｅ Ｍｅ Ｓｏｍｅ Ｔｉｍｅ？—Ｔｈｅ Ｉｍｐａｃｔ ｏｆ Ｖｏｌｕｎｔｅｅｒｉｎｇ ほか） Ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ ｏｆ Ｈｅａｌｔｈ（Ｍａｃｈｉｎｅ Ｍｅｄｉｃｉｎｅ；Ｔｈｅ Ｐｏｗｅｒ ｏｆ Ｌａｕｇｈｔｅｒ ほか） Ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ ｏｆ Ｓｃｉｅｎｃｅ（Ｈｅａｄ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ Ｃｌｏｕｄｓ—Ｔｈｅ Ｒｉｓｅ ｏｆ Ｃｌｏｕｄ Ｃｏｍｐｕｔｉｎｇ；Ａ Ｔｏｕｃｈ ｏｆ Ｓｉｌｋ—Ｓｉｌｋ’ｓ Ａｍａｚｉｎｇ Ｐｒｏｐｅｒｔｉｅｓ ほか） Ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ ｏｆ Ｂｕｓｉｎｅｓｓ（Ｗｈａｔ ｉｓ Ｍｏｎｅｙ？；Ｇｏｏｇｌｅ—Ｔａｋｉｎｇ Ｏｖｅｒ ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ？ ほか） Ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ ｏｆ Ｐｏｌｉｔｉｃｓ（Ｉｍｍｉｇｒａｔｉｏｎ ａｎｄ Ｄｅｍｏｇｒａｐｈｉｃ Ｃｈａｎｇｅ—Ｐｒｏｂｌｅｍｓ ａｎｄ Ｓｏｌｕｔｉｏｎｓ；Ｔａｋｉｎｇ Ｂａｃｋ Ｆｒｅｅｄｏｍ—Ｌｉｖｉｎｇ ｏｆｆ ｔｈｅ Ｇｒｉｄ ほか）
The Language Teacher, 2012
A voluntary after school program to prepare students for external speech contests was introduced ... more A voluntary after school program to prepare students for external speech contests was introduced in a senior high school. The students’ perceptions of, and attitudes towards, the program were assessed. Analysis of the data shows a high level of satisfaction and the participating students reported their confidence and levels of speaking and writing had improved. Furthermore, the program offered new learning contexts that were beneficial to the students and developed their skills in the language areas that they found most difficult. The students also had the opportunity to voice their opinions and work autonomously, which empowered them to develop their English skills with a definite goal. 外部スピーチコンテスト対策プログラムが高校で開始された。その対策プログラムに参加する生徒のプログラムに対する認識、及び姿勢が調査された。データの分析の結果、プログラムに参加した生徒は高い満足度を示し、自信とスピーキングとラィティングのレベルが向上したと報告した。更に、その対策プログラムでは、生徒の役に立ち、なおかつ生徒たちが最も難しいと考えている言語分野のスキルを向上させる新しい学習内容が提供された。生徒たちは、自分の意見を発表し、自主的に学習をすすめる機会もまた持つことが出来た。それによって、明確な目標を持ち、英語のスキルを発展させようとする自立心が養成された。
Journal of Teaching English for Specific and Academic Purposes, 2018
With the Japanese government aiming to increase the proportion of foreign students attending Japa... more With the Japanese government aiming to increase the proportion of foreign students attending Japanese universities to 10 percent by 2020, it is important to understand the different perceptions students have. This paper reports on a comparison between students from Confucian heritage culture (CHC) countries and students from non-Confucian Heritage Culture countries. The study found significant differences in the non-CHC students’ self-assessments of English language ability and in their confidence in using English, while no differences were found in perceptions of course difficulty or in final grades. The report briefly discusses some of the pedagogical implications of teaching classes with mixed cultural traditions.
The Journal of AsiaTEFL
explanation; that of the Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC) construct. The CHC construct is the ide... more explanation; that of the Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC) construct. The CHC construct is the idea that students from certain countries, principally China, Vietnam, Singapore, Korea, and Japan, express a constellation of attitudes and behaviours derived from their shared Confucian heritage which can explain the relative academic success of students from those countries. While some research supports the CHC construct (e.g., Sellick & Bury, 2018), it is unclear whether students from CHC countries' attitudes towards study truly differ from those of students from non-CHC countries. Since students' self-perceptions of ability and self-efficacy are related to levels of classroom participation and performance (Katz et al., 2014), instructors should be aware of how they may vary among students with different cultural heritages. Consequently, this report describes an investigation into CHC and non-CHC students' attitudes to study. This is relevant and important as following PISA results, many countries are looking to East Asia for educational policies that can be incorporated into their own systems to improve performance (Deng & Gopinathan, 2016).
Journal of pedagogic development, 2016
Research has indicated that the font information is presented in can be used by readers as a visu... more Research has indicated that the font information is presented in can be used by readers as a visual guide to the potential difficulty of the content; specifically that disfluent fonts are perceived as indicating greater task difficulty. A series of preliminary experiments was conducted in a Japanese high school in order to determine if such effects can be found in second language learners. It was found that students do indeed use the font lesson materials are presented in as a guide to the perceived difficulty or enjoyability of a task. Furthermore, these decisions are made within seconds of first seeing the material. The potential effects of disfluent fonts in boosting vocabulary retention were also investigated. However, while the results were inconclusive, it was determined that the students believed that such an effect existed. While further research is needed, these results indicate that teachers can potentially engineer small increases (or decreases) in student motivation via ...
Journal of Teaching English for Specific and Academic Purposes, 2017
A voluntary English writing contest was introduced in a junior and senior high school. The number... more A voluntary English writing contest was introduced in a junior and senior high school. The number of entrants into the contest was more than double the initial target. The students’ perceptions of, and attitudes towards, the contest were assessed. Analysis of the data shows a high level of satisfaction with students identifying various perceived benefits gained from entering and indicating different reasons for participating. Suggestions on ways the contest could be improved are provided and other teachers are encouraged to consider introducing writing contests of their own.
The purpose of this paper is to address the introduction of a new national curriculum by the Japa... more The purpose of this paper is to address the introduction of a new national curriculum by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture (MEXT), which requires Japanese teachers of English to increase the amount of English used in their classes relative to the amount of Japanese used (MEXT, 2011). Sellick et al. ( 2014) found that the implementation of a program to encourage JTEs to increase their use of incidental classroom English resulted in an overall general and persistent small to moderate improvement in the students' perceptions of, and their attitudes towards, learning and using English. Furthermore, the students reported greater satisfaction with their lessons and with their JTEs in the classes that encouraged greater use of incidental classroom English. This paper will broaden the research on this topic by investigating whether there were real, identifiable, changes in classroom behavior among students or JTEs resulting from the introduction of greater incidental classroom English, by reporting on actual language use in the classroom before and after the introduction of the new classroom language corpus.
Ｉｎｆｏｒｍａｔｉｏｎ Ｏｖｅｒｌｏａｄ Ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ ｏｆ Ｃｕｌｔｕｒｅ（Ｉｔ’ｓ Ｎｏｔ ｔｈｅ Ｅｎｄ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ—Ｙｅｔ！；Ｃａｎ Ｙｏｕ Ｓｐａｒｅ Ｍｅ Ｓｏｍ... more Ｉｎｆｏｒｍａｔｉｏｎ Ｏｖｅｒｌｏａｄ Ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ ｏｆ Ｃｕｌｔｕｒｅ（Ｉｔ’ｓ Ｎｏｔ ｔｈｅ Ｅｎｄ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ—Ｙｅｔ！；Ｃａｎ Ｙｏｕ Ｓｐａｒｅ Ｍｅ Ｓｏｍｅ Ｔｉｍｅ？—Ｔｈｅ Ｉｍｐａｃｔ ｏｆ Ｖｏｌｕｎｔｅｅｒｉｎｇ ほか） Ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ ｏｆ Ｈｅａｌｔｈ（Ｍａｃｈｉｎｅ Ｍｅｄｉｃｉｎｅ；Ｔｈｅ Ｐｏｗｅｒ ｏｆ Ｌａｕｇｈｔｅｒ ほか） Ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ ｏｆ Ｓｃｉｅｎｃｅ（Ｈｅａｄ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ Ｃｌｏｕｄｓ—Ｔｈｅ Ｒｉｓｅ ｏｆ Ｃｌｏｕｄ Ｃｏｍｐｕｔｉｎｇ；Ａ Ｔｏｕｃｈ ｏｆ Ｓｉｌｋ—Ｓｉｌｋ’ｓ Ａｍａｚｉｎｇ Ｐｒｏｐｅｒｔｉｅｓ ほか） Ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ ｏｆ Ｂｕｓｉｎｅｓｓ（Ｗｈａｔ ｉｓ Ｍｏｎｅｙ？；Ｇｏｏｇｌｅ—Ｔａｋｉｎｇ Ｏｖｅｒ ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ？ ほか） Ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ ｏｆ Ｐｏｌｉｔｉｃｓ（Ｉｍｍｉｇｒａｔｉｏｎ ａｎｄ Ｄｅｍｏｇｒａｐｈｉｃ Ｃｈａｎｇｅ—Ｐｒｏｂｌｅｍｓ ａｎｄ Ｓｏｌｕｔｉｏｎｓ；Ｔａｋｉｎｇ Ｂａｃｋ Ｆｒｅｅｄｏｍ—Ｌｉｖｉｎｇ ｏｆｆ ｔｈｅ Ｇｒｉｄ ほか）
Routledge eBooks, Nov 25, 2020
成美堂 eBooks, 2013
Ｉｎｆｏｒｍａｔｉｏｎ Ｏｖｅｒｌｏａｄ Ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ ｏｆ Ｃｕｌｔｕｒｅ（Ｉｔ’ｓ Ｎｏｔ ｔｈｅ Ｅｎｄ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ—Ｙｅｔ！；Ｃａｎ Ｙｏｕ Ｓｐａｒｅ Ｍｅ Ｓｏｍ... more Ｉｎｆｏｒｍａｔｉｏｎ Ｏｖｅｒｌｏａｄ Ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ ｏｆ Ｃｕｌｔｕｒｅ（Ｉｔ’ｓ Ｎｏｔ ｔｈｅ Ｅｎｄ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ—Ｙｅｔ！；Ｃａｎ Ｙｏｕ Ｓｐａｒｅ Ｍｅ Ｓｏｍｅ Ｔｉｍｅ？—Ｔｈｅ Ｉｍｐａｃｔ ｏｆ Ｖｏｌｕｎｔｅｅｒｉｎｇ ほか） Ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ ｏｆ Ｈｅａｌｔｈ（Ｍａｃｈｉｎｅ Ｍｅｄｉｃｉｎｅ；Ｔｈｅ Ｐｏｗｅｒ ｏｆ Ｌａｕｇｈｔｅｒ ほか） Ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ ｏｆ Ｓｃｉｅｎｃｅ（Ｈｅａｄ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ Ｃｌｏｕｄｓ—Ｔｈｅ Ｒｉｓｅ ｏｆ Ｃｌｏｕｄ Ｃｏｍｐｕｔｉｎｇ；Ａ Ｔｏｕｃｈ ｏｆ Ｓｉｌｋ—Ｓｉｌｋ’ｓ Ａｍａｚｉｎｇ Ｐｒｏｐｅｒｔｉｅｓ ほか） Ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ ｏｆ Ｂｕｓｉｎｅｓｓ（Ｗｈａｔ ｉｓ Ｍｏｎｅｙ？；Ｇｏｏｇｌｅ—Ｔａｋｉｎｇ Ｏｖｅｒ ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ？ ほか） Ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ ｏｆ Ｐｏｌｉｔｉｃｓ（Ｉｍｍｉｇｒａｔｉｏｎ ａｎｄ Ｄｅｍｏｇｒａｐｈｉｃ Ｃｈａｎｇｅ—Ｐｒｏｂｌｅｍｓ ａｎｄ Ｓｏｌｕｔｉｏｎｓ；Ｔａｋｉｎｇ Ｂａｃｋ Ｆｒｅｅｄｏｍ—Ｌｉｖｉｎｇ ｏｆｆ ｔｈｅ Ｇｒｉｄ ほか）
The Language Teacher, 2012
A voluntary after school program to prepare students for external speech contests was introduced ... more A voluntary after school program to prepare students for external speech contests was introduced in a senior high school. The students’ perceptions of, and attitudes towards, the program were assessed. Analysis of the data shows a high level of satisfaction and the participating students reported their confidence and levels of speaking and writing had improved. Furthermore, the program offered new learning contexts that were beneficial to the students and developed their skills in the language areas that they found most difficult. The students also had the opportunity to voice their opinions and work autonomously, which empowered them to develop their English skills with a definite goal. 外部スピーチコンテスト対策プログラムが高校で開始された。その対策プログラムに参加する生徒のプログラムに対する認識、及び姿勢が調査された。データの分析の結果、プログラムに参加した生徒は高い満足度を示し、自信とスピーキングとラィティングのレベルが向上したと報告した。更に、その対策プログラムでは、生徒の役に立ち、なおかつ生徒たちが最も難しいと考えている言語分野のスキルを向上させる新しい学習内容が提供された。生徒たちは、自分の意見を発表し、自主的に学習をすすめる機会もまた持つことが出来た。それによって、明確な目標を持ち、英語のスキルを発展させようとする自立心が養成された。
Journal of Teaching English for Specific and Academic Purposes, 2018
With the Japanese government aiming to increase the proportion of foreign students attending Japa... more With the Japanese government aiming to increase the proportion of foreign students attending Japanese universities to 10 percent by 2020, it is important to understand the different perceptions students have. This paper reports on a comparison between students from Confucian heritage culture (CHC) countries and students from non-Confucian Heritage Culture countries. The study found significant differences in the non-CHC students’ self-assessments of English language ability and in their confidence in using English, while no differences were found in perceptions of course difficulty or in final grades. The report briefly discusses some of the pedagogical implications of teaching classes with mixed cultural traditions.
The Journal of AsiaTEFL
explanation; that of the Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC) construct. The CHC construct is the ide... more explanation; that of the Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC) construct. The CHC construct is the idea that students from certain countries, principally China, Vietnam, Singapore, Korea, and Japan, express a constellation of attitudes and behaviours derived from their shared Confucian heritage which can explain the relative academic success of students from those countries. While some research supports the CHC construct (e.g., Sellick & Bury, 2018), it is unclear whether students from CHC countries' attitudes towards study truly differ from those of students from non-CHC countries. Since students' self-perceptions of ability and self-efficacy are related to levels of classroom participation and performance (Katz et al., 2014), instructors should be aware of how they may vary among students with different cultural heritages. Consequently, this report describes an investigation into CHC and non-CHC students' attitudes to study. This is relevant and important as following PISA results, many countries are looking to East Asia for educational policies that can be incorporated into their own systems to improve performance (Deng & Gopinathan, 2016).
Journal of pedagogic development, 2016
Research has indicated that the font information is presented in can be used by readers as a visu... more Research has indicated that the font information is presented in can be used by readers as a visual guide to the potential difficulty of the content; specifically that disfluent fonts are perceived as indicating greater task difficulty. A series of preliminary experiments was conducted in a Japanese high school in order to determine if such effects can be found in second language learners. It was found that students do indeed use the font lesson materials are presented in as a guide to the perceived difficulty or enjoyability of a task. Furthermore, these decisions are made within seconds of first seeing the material. The potential effects of disfluent fonts in boosting vocabulary retention were also investigated. However, while the results were inconclusive, it was determined that the students believed that such an effect existed. While further research is needed, these results indicate that teachers can potentially engineer small increases (or decreases) in student motivation via ...
Journal of Teaching English for Specific and Academic Purposes, 2017
A voluntary English writing contest was introduced in a junior and senior high school. The number... more A voluntary English writing contest was introduced in a junior and senior high school. The number of entrants into the contest was more than double the initial target. The students’ perceptions of, and attitudes towards, the contest were assessed. Analysis of the data shows a high level of satisfaction with students identifying various perceived benefits gained from entering and indicating different reasons for participating. Suggestions on ways the contest could be improved are provided and other teachers are encouraged to consider introducing writing contests of their own.
The purpose of this paper is to address the introduction of a new national curriculum by the Japa... more The purpose of this paper is to address the introduction of a new national curriculum by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture (MEXT), which requires Japanese teachers of English to increase the amount of English used in their classes relative to the amount of Japanese used (MEXT, 2011). Sellick et al. ( 2014) found that the implementation of a program to encourage JTEs to increase their use of incidental classroom English resulted in an overall general and persistent small to moderate improvement in the students' perceptions of, and their attitudes towards, learning and using English. Furthermore, the students reported greater satisfaction with their lessons and with their JTEs in the classes that encouraged greater use of incidental classroom English. This paper will broaden the research on this topic by investigating whether there were real, identifiable, changes in classroom behavior among students or JTEs resulting from the introduction of greater incidental classroom English, by reporting on actual language use in the classroom before and after the introduction of the new classroom language corpus.
Ｉｎｆｏｒｍａｔｉｏｎ Ｏｖｅｒｌｏａｄ Ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ ｏｆ Ｃｕｌｔｕｒｅ（Ｉｔ’ｓ Ｎｏｔ ｔｈｅ Ｅｎｄ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ—Ｙｅｔ！；Ｃａｎ Ｙｏｕ Ｓｐａｒｅ Ｍｅ Ｓｏｍ... more Ｉｎｆｏｒｍａｔｉｏｎ Ｏｖｅｒｌｏａｄ Ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ ｏｆ Ｃｕｌｔｕｒｅ（Ｉｔ’ｓ Ｎｏｔ ｔｈｅ Ｅｎｄ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ—Ｙｅｔ！；Ｃａｎ Ｙｏｕ Ｓｐａｒｅ Ｍｅ Ｓｏｍｅ Ｔｉｍｅ？—Ｔｈｅ Ｉｍｐａｃｔ ｏｆ Ｖｏｌｕｎｔｅｅｒｉｎｇ ほか） Ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ ｏｆ Ｈｅａｌｔｈ（Ｍａｃｈｉｎｅ Ｍｅｄｉｃｉｎｅ；Ｔｈｅ Ｐｏｗｅｒ ｏｆ Ｌａｕｇｈｔｅｒ ほか） Ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ ｏｆ Ｓｃｉｅｎｃｅ（Ｈｅａｄ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ Ｃｌｏｕｄｓ—Ｔｈｅ Ｒｉｓｅ ｏｆ Ｃｌｏｕｄ Ｃｏｍｐｕｔｉｎｇ；Ａ Ｔｏｕｃｈ ｏｆ Ｓｉｌｋ—Ｓｉｌｋ’ｓ Ａｍａｚｉｎｇ Ｐｒｏｐｅｒｔｉｅｓ ほか） Ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ ｏｆ Ｂｕｓｉｎｅｓｓ（Ｗｈａｔ ｉｓ Ｍｏｎｅｙ？；Ｇｏｏｇｌｅ—Ｔａｋｉｎｇ Ｏｖｅｒ ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ？ ほか） Ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ ｏｆ Ｐｏｌｉｔｉｃｓ（Ｉｍｍｉｇｒａｔｉｏｎ ａｎｄ Ｄｅｍｏｇｒａｐｈｉｃ Ｃｈａｎｇｅ—Ｐｒｏｂｌｅｍｓ ａｎｄ Ｓｏｌｕｔｉｏｎｓ；Ｔａｋｉｎｇ Ｂａｃｋ Ｆｒｅｅｄｏｍ—Ｌｉｖｉｎｇ ｏｆｆ ｔｈｅ Ｇｒｉｄ ほか）
Each of the fifteen chapters in Complete Communication – Book 1 student’s book covers a specific ... more Each of the fifteen chapters in Complete Communication – Book 1 student’s book covers a specific topic, ranging from Hobbies and Pastimes to Travel and Vacations. Each chapter follows a set plan and incorporates easy to follow activities, starting with the Vocabulary exercise and finishing with the Find Out speaking activity. There are opportunities to learn and practice vocabulary in each chapter as well as listening activities that enable teachers and students to get the gist and the details of listening texts. Each chapter also incorporates three speaking activities that can be used in a controlled manner, with advice in the Useful Language boxes. The Pronunciation Check and Focus on Function sections in each chapter help with pronunciation and grammar. Each chapter is also accompanied by two activities that encourage further extended speaking and writing.
Complete Communication Book 1は、日常生活の身近なトピックから旅行で必要な表現など幅広い内容を含む15章から構成されています。ロールプレイの対話形式でリスニングとスピーキングの能力を高めながら、語彙力も強化できるよう様々な練習問題を設定しています。各章には、コミュニケーションに役立つフレーズの紹介や英語の発音で注意するべき点、簡単な文法の説明などもあり、効率よく英語を学ぶことができます。また、各章の最後にはスピーキングとライティングに特化した発表のためのアクティビティが用意されており、アウトプット・スキルを身に着けることも可能となります。
Available only at Shumei Daigaku Shuppankai (http://shuppankai.s-h-i.jp/).
Classroom Resources 1, 2016
This activity is a flexible, fun, and interesting way to introduce or review a lesson topic, and ... more This activity is a flexible, fun, and interesting way to introduce or review a lesson topic, and it can be extended to provide practice for all the major language skills. The example extension activities allow students that have already encountered the target vocabulary to develop further whilst remaining engaged with the material. The activity can be used in lesson types ranging from exam preparation to general English conversation, and students often enjoy the deductive side of the first stage.
In this article, we look at several different ways that teachers can score games in their lessons.
In many contexts, English language educators can be over-reliant on textbooks (Dashwood, 2005), w... more In many contexts, English language educators can be over-reliant on textbooks (Dashwood, 2005), which can be at an inappropriate level for the class and include materials that lack relevance or authenticity (McGroarty & Taguchi, 2005). This can demotivate students and reduce engagement (Bury & Sellick, 2015). Furthermore, there is a tendency for courses that are anchored to textbooks to be overwhelmingly teacher-led, despite MEXT’s attempts to emphasize learner-centred activities (Ozeki, 2011).
While a wide range of task-based activities and projects can be employed in language learning classrooms, Kagnarith et al. (2007) claim that student-generated surveys are particularly effective. Students creating, conducting, and presenting their own findings autonomously enhances their communicative skills and focuses on all four language skills (Alan & Stroller, 2005). In view of this, a task-based learning survey and presentation course was introduced at a Japanese senior high school. This presentation outlines the structure of the course and reports on feedback provided by the participating students (n=201) and teachers (n=9).
The large majority of students indicated that they believed this course helped them improve their English language skills and their confidence when speaking and writing in English, and that they had enjoyed making and conducting both the survey and the presentation. It was also noted that the students had learned new and interesting things about their classmates, showing that an authentic learning context had been created that enabled students to remember information relevant to them. While the participating teachers were initially concerned about introducing task-based activities into their classrooms, they generally reported finding the course rewarding and worthwhile.
As the results suggest that developing their own surveys and presentations is an engaging way for students to work towards authentic goals and develop their communicative competence, it is recommended that similar courses be implemented in other contexts where possible.
The use of incidental classroom English in regular 1st-year English lessons taught by Japanese te... more The use of incidental classroom English in regular 1st-year English lessons taught by Japanese teachers of English in a school in Japan was emphasized and encouraged. The students’ perceptions of, and attitudes towards, their teachers and incidental classroom English were assessed and compared with the previous year group of students.
Classes in which incidental classroom English had been encouraged, (i) demonstrated greater use of English communication between teachers and students, (ii) demonstrated a greater willingness to produce incidental language on the part of the students, (iii) students exposed to increased incidental classroom English reported significantly greater satisfaction with their teachers and their English lessons, (iv) students exposed to increased incidental classroom English reported greater confidence in using English.