Richard J Walker | Reitaku University (original) (raw)
Papers by Richard J Walker
LEARNING LEARNING, 2024
This paper shows how it is possible to help students engage with the topic of intangible cultural... more This paper shows how it is possible to help students engage with the topic of intangible cultural practices in EFL classrooms in Japan, and asserts that the students attained tangible benefits from doing so. It explains why the topic of intangible cultural practices was used and how the teacher proceeded by providing examples of the activities and giving explanations of how they were implemented. Tangible benefits were obtained from a two-class focus on three intangible cultural practices that were candidates for inscription in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The benefits include consciousness-raising by broadening students' horizons, furthering cross-cultural understanding, and encouraging solidarity. They also include linguistic benefits such as providing students with the opportunity to develop their vocabulary, use new knowledge in classroom discussions and speeches, and, finally, by applying critical thinking skills to choose one of three cultural practices to support.
LEARNING LEARNING , 2024
In this article, I describe the evolution of Introduction to UN Studies, a four-skills-one-semest... more In this article, I describe the evolution of Introduction to UN Studies, a four-skills-one-semester course in which EFL students research, discuss, and present on topics in discussion at the UN on behalf of a Member State. Its evolution is intertwined with my role as Faculty Adviser for a student Model United Nations (MUN) committee at a Japanese university in Chiba, a role without which there would have been no course. After observing members of our MUN committee at a student conference in the USA, I recognised the need for a course that emphasised specific speaking skills. Since 2020, the course has gone through four iterations and, from 2021, has been taught at a second university in Tokyo, serving a wider community than the initial group. In my LD30 Conference presentation, I discussed responses from over 70 students to a survey I administered and sought ideas in my search for fresh sustenance.
Extensive Reading World Congress Proceedings, 5, , 2020
This paper reports on successful users of Xreading in one context. It considers students who used... more This paper reports on successful users of Xreading in one context. It considers students who used it within Supplementary Extensive Reading (SER) programs and refers to triangulated data (interviews, performance data, and questionnaire results) in investigating and hypothesizing on criteria for success within one institutional context. Focusing on ten students and three case studies, it includes reference to a 2nd-year student from the lowest stream who read 570,000 words outside of classroom conditions in four months by the end of August 2019.
The Pan SIG Journal 2018, 2019
This paper is about how Conversation Analysis (CA) helped us attain a deeper understanding of int... more This paper is about how Conversation Analysis (CA) helped us attain a deeper understanding of interactional dynamics in the classroom. We video recorded discussions of English language majors and initially used CA to investigate student use of taught discourse strategies (TDS) when turn taking. However, this investigation brought us an increasing awareness of two interactional phenomena we had not consciously considered: gesturing and intersubjectivity. Our focus therefore is on excerpts of classroom talk that highlight their importance. We believe that a recognition of the communicative potential of bodily gestures and an awareness of how intersubjective forces define the trajectory of a discussion may lead to a revision of grading criteria. The context specificity of our excerpts and their non-lexical focus may be of interest to ELT teachers: greater awareness of embodied communication and of the psychological dynamics within groups will increase the mindfulness of teachers to contextual contingencies that affect classroom performance. The experience of 'doing' CA has reminded us of the need to grade holistically, to pay more attention to the formation of groups, and to recognise a need to analyse patterns and sequences of both verbal and non-verbal communication in discussion groups.
Extensive Reading World Conference Proceedings, 2018
Until recently Extensive Reading (ER) programs for ELT students predominantly used paper-based bo... more Until recently Extensive Reading (ER) programs for ELT students predominantly used paper-based books. New developments in technology have, however, led to an increase in the use of screen-based media. This paper describes an ER context in which both media were used. Over two academic years, students (from eight courses in two universities) participated in what the writer termed Supplementary Extensive Reading (SER) programs and completed questionnaires at the end of the year. Student performances in SER programs were assigned a low percentage for each course. This paper describes why both media were used in the author's working contexts and also comments on their benefits and drawbacks. It concludes with analyses from a January 2017 questionnaire that had a special focus on screen-based reading.
The Pansig Journal, 2018
ELT teachers have always been aware of the educational potential of music. Songs often embody vàl... more ELT teachers have always been aware of the educational potential of music. Songs often embody vàlues found in various cultures and subcultures, and, as such, can be used as tools to teach content-based material. This short paper looks at the use of pop songs in a four skills course that applied a multimodal approach to the analysis of songs. It aims to raise awareness of different modes found within a pop song as a product and the effects of combining them. Following a discussion of how multimodality connects to music, I explain how I used three songs to help teach three themes. (p.188 - 195.)
The PanSIG Journal., 2017
This paper presents the perceptions of 70 English Language majors who practiced paper-based and s... more This paper presents the perceptions of 70 English Language majors who practiced paper-based and screen-based Supplementary Extensive Reading (SER) over one year at two Japanese universities. Students from four (two Reading and two non-Reading) courses practiced paper-based SER in semester one and screen-based SER in semester two (using online website, Xreading.com). An overall preference for screen-based SER is investigated through questionnaire responses and performance data. Insights into differential responses from first and second years, between genders, and between students from different contexts are considered as are reasons for the continued strong support for paper-based SER. Implications of this research may interest departmental course co-ordinators and influence future research programs.
Lit Matters, 2016
This paper outlines research conducted on a sophomore content-based Media English course taught a... more This paper outlines research conducted on a sophomore content-based Media English course taught at two private universities in Japan. The genesis of the course was informed by the belief that, as Western culture has saturated global media environments, attempting to bring an analysis of media into the Japanese classroom was of paramount importance. Because literary texts can provide authentic cultural enrichment, whilst training the mind and sensibility, the instructors strove to teach ideas from literary texts and critical theories. Through the use of thinkers such as McLuhan, Hall, Freud, and Wordsworth, ideas were scaffolded to allow for critical light to be cast upon recent trends in different media, such as music, movies, social networking and corporate news reportage. The study was also informed by a desire to see students utilize modern media and technology for creative, course-based means and also as a vehicle to input critical, substantial response. Effectiveness of the course is assessed through triangulated research data which encompasses i) evaluation of student questionnaire responses, ii) examinations of vocabulary comprehension data and iii) assessment of essay vocabulary usage and frequency. The paper concludes with a discussion that outlines plans for further course improvement and research.
This paper presents the perceptions of 70 English Language majors who practiced paper-based and s... more This paper presents the perceptions of 70 English Language majors who practiced paper-based and screen-based Supplementary Extensive Reading (SER) over one year at two Japanese universities. Students from four (two Reading and two non-Reading) courses practiced paper-based SER in semester one and screen-based SER in semester two (using online website, Xreading.com). An overall preference for screen-based SER is investigated through questionnaire responses and performance data. Insights into differential responses from first and second years, between genders, and between students from different contexts are considered as are reasons for the continued strong support for paper-based SER. Implications of this research may interest departmental course co-ordinators and influence future research programs.
Proceedings of the 3rd World Congress on Extensive Reading, 2016
This study documents the first two of three steps taken by one teacher to deepen and authenticate... more This study documents the first two of three steps taken by one teacher to deepen and authenticate the practice of Extensive Reading (ER) in non-Reading-based classes at a Japanese university. Step One began in the fall of 2014 through the establishment of a paper-based form of ER in a second year discussion course; Step Two was taken from spring 2015 and expanded the program to cover five
non-reading-skill focused courses. Step Two continued the use of paper-based books and included three first-year courses (two communication courses and one writing course) and two second-year courses (one communication course and a new discussion course). It differed from Step One in that two forms of ER were used: Communication students in first and second year courses read “x” number of books and wrote responses; Discussion course and Writing course students read
“x x 2” books, wrote responses, and noticed three words they either did not understand or were unclear about their meaning. In both forms a total of 99 students provided data through a) written responses, b) questionnaire responses, and c) the results of two vocabulary size tests that bookended semester one of academic year 2015-2016. The data allows for assessment on the worth of the ER practiced in the courses, to investigate the attitudes and performance of students, and to consider how such a program may be used with future students at the institution. The decision to give students vocabulary tests allowed for additional speculation on matters related to vocabulary acquisition, and utilized a research tool that may provide fruitful data with future students. Results saw students wholeheartedly endorse the practice of ER and approve the writer’s third step (currently in progress):
a movement from solely paper-based ER to a mix between paper-based and online screen-based ER.
The Reitaku Review, 2015
This paper is a study on the influence of home location on the work of three literarily-fuelled w... more This paper is a study on the influence of home location on the work of three literarily-fuelled working-class icons of the post-punk music scene in Manchester, England. Following an exploration on the ever-evolving meaning of psychogeography, I investigate how a past Manchester is revealed within the early works of Ian Curtis, Mark E. Smith and Morrissey, both through insights attained from contemporary writings and also by necessarily short analyses of output from the artists themselves. All three possess peculiarly Mancunian artistic and behavioural traits that emerged from a literate working-class artistic sensibility, one that has faded and arguably disappeared from the British working classes today but which possessed clearly defined links to established artistic traditions. This weakening of working-class based output in 'rock and pop' is perhaps a late-capitalist Internet–fuelled symptom of Guy Debord's spectacle deepening its impact on local art scenes and might help us understand why the financially privileged appear to dominate pop culture in the UK today.
Reitaku University Journal, Vol. 97, December 2013. Pages 107-139
1Malaysia, a political slogan attached to governmental campaigns and policies since the start of ... more 1Malaysia, a political slogan attached to governmental campaigns and policies since the start of Prime Minister Razak's administration, has been the focus of much discussion over what it represents vis-à-vis Malaysia's multi-ethnic population. This short paper considers the slogan within the context of six texts published in pro-governmental newspaper, The New Straits Times, and explores how identities are represented within them. Taken from August 2011 when the slogan was omnipresent around the country, they
The Pan-SIG Conference Proceedings, 2013
This paper reports on ongoing research within the field of content and language integrated learni... more This paper reports on ongoing research within the field of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) in a Media English course taught at two private universities in Japan. Following a discussion on the aims and objectives of CLIL, of our course, and issues regarding critical thinking in a second language, a description of the authors` pedagogic ambitions is outlined. Effectiveness of the course methodology is assessed with reference to statistics taken from student response questionnaire data. This data is examined in a paper which concludes with discussion on plans for further course improvement and research.
The Research Reports of Shibaura Institute of Technology: Social Sciences and Humanities, 2013
The Research Reports of Shibaura Institute of Technology: Social Sciences and Humanities, 2012, 2012
Reitaku Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 2011
This article focuses upon the role of laughter in a cross-cultural English language interaction b... more This article focuses upon the role of laughter in a cross-cultural English language interaction between a NSET (native speaking English teacher) and two NNSETs (non-native speaking English teachers) in a private high school staffroom in Tokyo, Japan. Within the transcribed interaction, laughter patterns that resemble laughter from a Japanese speaker’s L1/C1 (first language/first culture) are discovered in L2 (second language) speech and appear to have an overall positive effect on the talk. Using a Conversation Analysis (CA) approach, I seek to explore and increase awareness of two phenomena: the effect that laughter can have (locally and globally) in a bicultural interaction, and the effect of L1/C1 laughter patterns, from a type of laugh that is ‘particularly prevalent in Japanese communication (Hayakawa, 2006, p. 5), on second language speech. The importance that this laughter has on the mood and trajectory
of the talk may make it worthy of consideration in future recontextualisations of
communicative competences (Leung, 2005) in an emergent Japanese English.
The Reitaku Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 2011
This paper examines English students’ attitudes towards a web blog that was employed as an instru... more This paper examines English students’ attitudes towards a web blog that was employed as an instructional tool in order to facilitate and build on study performed in the classroom. Following a selected overview of previous studies into the pedagogical benefits of web blogging, a description of the instructional aims of the researchers’ web blogs is outlined. The effectiveness of the research is then assessed with reference to data taken from student response questionnaire data. Recommendations made in light of this data suggest that future research could focus upon ways to improve the effectiveness and presentation of future course web blogs.
LEARNING LEARNING, 2024
This paper shows how it is possible to help students engage with the topic of intangible cultural... more This paper shows how it is possible to help students engage with the topic of intangible cultural practices in EFL classrooms in Japan, and asserts that the students attained tangible benefits from doing so. It explains why the topic of intangible cultural practices was used and how the teacher proceeded by providing examples of the activities and giving explanations of how they were implemented. Tangible benefits were obtained from a two-class focus on three intangible cultural practices that were candidates for inscription in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The benefits include consciousness-raising by broadening students' horizons, furthering cross-cultural understanding, and encouraging solidarity. They also include linguistic benefits such as providing students with the opportunity to develop their vocabulary, use new knowledge in classroom discussions and speeches, and, finally, by applying critical thinking skills to choose one of three cultural practices to support.
LEARNING LEARNING , 2024
In this article, I describe the evolution of Introduction to UN Studies, a four-skills-one-semest... more In this article, I describe the evolution of Introduction to UN Studies, a four-skills-one-semester course in which EFL students research, discuss, and present on topics in discussion at the UN on behalf of a Member State. Its evolution is intertwined with my role as Faculty Adviser for a student Model United Nations (MUN) committee at a Japanese university in Chiba, a role without which there would have been no course. After observing members of our MUN committee at a student conference in the USA, I recognised the need for a course that emphasised specific speaking skills. Since 2020, the course has gone through four iterations and, from 2021, has been taught at a second university in Tokyo, serving a wider community than the initial group. In my LD30 Conference presentation, I discussed responses from over 70 students to a survey I administered and sought ideas in my search for fresh sustenance.
Extensive Reading World Congress Proceedings, 5, , 2020
This paper reports on successful users of Xreading in one context. It considers students who used... more This paper reports on successful users of Xreading in one context. It considers students who used it within Supplementary Extensive Reading (SER) programs and refers to triangulated data (interviews, performance data, and questionnaire results) in investigating and hypothesizing on criteria for success within one institutional context. Focusing on ten students and three case studies, it includes reference to a 2nd-year student from the lowest stream who read 570,000 words outside of classroom conditions in four months by the end of August 2019.
The Pan SIG Journal 2018, 2019
This paper is about how Conversation Analysis (CA) helped us attain a deeper understanding of int... more This paper is about how Conversation Analysis (CA) helped us attain a deeper understanding of interactional dynamics in the classroom. We video recorded discussions of English language majors and initially used CA to investigate student use of taught discourse strategies (TDS) when turn taking. However, this investigation brought us an increasing awareness of two interactional phenomena we had not consciously considered: gesturing and intersubjectivity. Our focus therefore is on excerpts of classroom talk that highlight their importance. We believe that a recognition of the communicative potential of bodily gestures and an awareness of how intersubjective forces define the trajectory of a discussion may lead to a revision of grading criteria. The context specificity of our excerpts and their non-lexical focus may be of interest to ELT teachers: greater awareness of embodied communication and of the psychological dynamics within groups will increase the mindfulness of teachers to contextual contingencies that affect classroom performance. The experience of 'doing' CA has reminded us of the need to grade holistically, to pay more attention to the formation of groups, and to recognise a need to analyse patterns and sequences of both verbal and non-verbal communication in discussion groups.
Extensive Reading World Conference Proceedings, 2018
Until recently Extensive Reading (ER) programs for ELT students predominantly used paper-based bo... more Until recently Extensive Reading (ER) programs for ELT students predominantly used paper-based books. New developments in technology have, however, led to an increase in the use of screen-based media. This paper describes an ER context in which both media were used. Over two academic years, students (from eight courses in two universities) participated in what the writer termed Supplementary Extensive Reading (SER) programs and completed questionnaires at the end of the year. Student performances in SER programs were assigned a low percentage for each course. This paper describes why both media were used in the author's working contexts and also comments on their benefits and drawbacks. It concludes with analyses from a January 2017 questionnaire that had a special focus on screen-based reading.
The Pansig Journal, 2018
ELT teachers have always been aware of the educational potential of music. Songs often embody vàl... more ELT teachers have always been aware of the educational potential of music. Songs often embody vàlues found in various cultures and subcultures, and, as such, can be used as tools to teach content-based material. This short paper looks at the use of pop songs in a four skills course that applied a multimodal approach to the analysis of songs. It aims to raise awareness of different modes found within a pop song as a product and the effects of combining them. Following a discussion of how multimodality connects to music, I explain how I used three songs to help teach three themes. (p.188 - 195.)
The PanSIG Journal., 2017
This paper presents the perceptions of 70 English Language majors who practiced paper-based and s... more This paper presents the perceptions of 70 English Language majors who practiced paper-based and screen-based Supplementary Extensive Reading (SER) over one year at two Japanese universities. Students from four (two Reading and two non-Reading) courses practiced paper-based SER in semester one and screen-based SER in semester two (using online website, Xreading.com). An overall preference for screen-based SER is investigated through questionnaire responses and performance data. Insights into differential responses from first and second years, between genders, and between students from different contexts are considered as are reasons for the continued strong support for paper-based SER. Implications of this research may interest departmental course co-ordinators and influence future research programs.
Lit Matters, 2016
This paper outlines research conducted on a sophomore content-based Media English course taught a... more This paper outlines research conducted on a sophomore content-based Media English course taught at two private universities in Japan. The genesis of the course was informed by the belief that, as Western culture has saturated global media environments, attempting to bring an analysis of media into the Japanese classroom was of paramount importance. Because literary texts can provide authentic cultural enrichment, whilst training the mind and sensibility, the instructors strove to teach ideas from literary texts and critical theories. Through the use of thinkers such as McLuhan, Hall, Freud, and Wordsworth, ideas were scaffolded to allow for critical light to be cast upon recent trends in different media, such as music, movies, social networking and corporate news reportage. The study was also informed by a desire to see students utilize modern media and technology for creative, course-based means and also as a vehicle to input critical, substantial response. Effectiveness of the course is assessed through triangulated research data which encompasses i) evaluation of student questionnaire responses, ii) examinations of vocabulary comprehension data and iii) assessment of essay vocabulary usage and frequency. The paper concludes with a discussion that outlines plans for further course improvement and research.
This paper presents the perceptions of 70 English Language majors who practiced paper-based and s... more This paper presents the perceptions of 70 English Language majors who practiced paper-based and screen-based Supplementary Extensive Reading (SER) over one year at two Japanese universities. Students from four (two Reading and two non-Reading) courses practiced paper-based SER in semester one and screen-based SER in semester two (using online website, Xreading.com). An overall preference for screen-based SER is investigated through questionnaire responses and performance data. Insights into differential responses from first and second years, between genders, and between students from different contexts are considered as are reasons for the continued strong support for paper-based SER. Implications of this research may interest departmental course co-ordinators and influence future research programs.
Proceedings of the 3rd World Congress on Extensive Reading, 2016
This study documents the first two of three steps taken by one teacher to deepen and authenticate... more This study documents the first two of three steps taken by one teacher to deepen and authenticate the practice of Extensive Reading (ER) in non-Reading-based classes at a Japanese university. Step One began in the fall of 2014 through the establishment of a paper-based form of ER in a second year discussion course; Step Two was taken from spring 2015 and expanded the program to cover five
non-reading-skill focused courses. Step Two continued the use of paper-based books and included three first-year courses (two communication courses and one writing course) and two second-year courses (one communication course and a new discussion course). It differed from Step One in that two forms of ER were used: Communication students in first and second year courses read “x” number of books and wrote responses; Discussion course and Writing course students read
“x x 2” books, wrote responses, and noticed three words they either did not understand or were unclear about their meaning. In both forms a total of 99 students provided data through a) written responses, b) questionnaire responses, and c) the results of two vocabulary size tests that bookended semester one of academic year 2015-2016. The data allows for assessment on the worth of the ER practiced in the courses, to investigate the attitudes and performance of students, and to consider how such a program may be used with future students at the institution. The decision to give students vocabulary tests allowed for additional speculation on matters related to vocabulary acquisition, and utilized a research tool that may provide fruitful data with future students. Results saw students wholeheartedly endorse the practice of ER and approve the writer’s third step (currently in progress):
a movement from solely paper-based ER to a mix between paper-based and online screen-based ER.
The Reitaku Review, 2015
This paper is a study on the influence of home location on the work of three literarily-fuelled w... more This paper is a study on the influence of home location on the work of three literarily-fuelled working-class icons of the post-punk music scene in Manchester, England. Following an exploration on the ever-evolving meaning of psychogeography, I investigate how a past Manchester is revealed within the early works of Ian Curtis, Mark E. Smith and Morrissey, both through insights attained from contemporary writings and also by necessarily short analyses of output from the artists themselves. All three possess peculiarly Mancunian artistic and behavioural traits that emerged from a literate working-class artistic sensibility, one that has faded and arguably disappeared from the British working classes today but which possessed clearly defined links to established artistic traditions. This weakening of working-class based output in 'rock and pop' is perhaps a late-capitalist Internet–fuelled symptom of Guy Debord's spectacle deepening its impact on local art scenes and might help us understand why the financially privileged appear to dominate pop culture in the UK today.
Reitaku University Journal, Vol. 97, December 2013. Pages 107-139
1Malaysia, a political slogan attached to governmental campaigns and policies since the start of ... more 1Malaysia, a political slogan attached to governmental campaigns and policies since the start of Prime Minister Razak's administration, has been the focus of much discussion over what it represents vis-à-vis Malaysia's multi-ethnic population. This short paper considers the slogan within the context of six texts published in pro-governmental newspaper, The New Straits Times, and explores how identities are represented within them. Taken from August 2011 when the slogan was omnipresent around the country, they
The Pan-SIG Conference Proceedings, 2013
This paper reports on ongoing research within the field of content and language integrated learni... more This paper reports on ongoing research within the field of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) in a Media English course taught at two private universities in Japan. Following a discussion on the aims and objectives of CLIL, of our course, and issues regarding critical thinking in a second language, a description of the authors` pedagogic ambitions is outlined. Effectiveness of the course methodology is assessed with reference to statistics taken from student response questionnaire data. This data is examined in a paper which concludes with discussion on plans for further course improvement and research.
The Research Reports of Shibaura Institute of Technology: Social Sciences and Humanities, 2013
The Research Reports of Shibaura Institute of Technology: Social Sciences and Humanities, 2012, 2012
Reitaku Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 2011
This article focuses upon the role of laughter in a cross-cultural English language interaction b... more This article focuses upon the role of laughter in a cross-cultural English language interaction between a NSET (native speaking English teacher) and two NNSETs (non-native speaking English teachers) in a private high school staffroom in Tokyo, Japan. Within the transcribed interaction, laughter patterns that resemble laughter from a Japanese speaker’s L1/C1 (first language/first culture) are discovered in L2 (second language) speech and appear to have an overall positive effect on the talk. Using a Conversation Analysis (CA) approach, I seek to explore and increase awareness of two phenomena: the effect that laughter can have (locally and globally) in a bicultural interaction, and the effect of L1/C1 laughter patterns, from a type of laugh that is ‘particularly prevalent in Japanese communication (Hayakawa, 2006, p. 5), on second language speech. The importance that this laughter has on the mood and trajectory
of the talk may make it worthy of consideration in future recontextualisations of
communicative competences (Leung, 2005) in an emergent Japanese English.
The Reitaku Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 2011
This paper examines English students’ attitudes towards a web blog that was employed as an instru... more This paper examines English students’ attitudes towards a web blog that was employed as an instructional tool in order to facilitate and build on study performed in the classroom. Following a selected overview of previous studies into the pedagogical benefits of web blogging, a description of the instructional aims of the researchers’ web blogs is outlined. The effectiveness of the research is then assessed with reference to data taken from student response questionnaire data. Recommendations made in light of this data suggest that future research could focus upon ways to improve the effectiveness and presentation of future course web blogs.
Reitaku University Journal, 2015
Recently published in John Benjamins’s Studies in Corpus Linguistics series, Patterns and Meaning... more Recently published in John Benjamins’s Studies in Corpus Linguistics series, Patterns and Meaning in Discourse is an interdisciplinary text that introduces ways to utilise corpus techniques for practitioners of discourse studies and, for seasoned corpus linguists, acts as a reminder of the expanding number of non-linguistic fields in which corpus techniques have been put to use.