The purpose of the present study is to investigate the content and the nature of group discussions after reading a book together in the World Café style. We have adopted the World Café since ...participants talk about a shared topic while writing down their thoughts on a large piece of paper in this discussion format, which allows us to analyze the results of group discussion through written records. Two groups, a novice group and an expert group, participated in this activity after reading a post-modern picture book entitled Voices in the Park and exchanged their thoughts on the story as well as the illustration in groups. The analysis revealed that this interactional post-reading activity helped readers to access intellectually challenging and meaningful discoveries from the text; The records showed how participants made connections between their own ideas and other people’s inputs, thereby reaching a deeper level of understanding. We also found that a post-modern picture book worked well for book discussion since it allowed readers a wide range of interpretations. Furthermore, the study found that the novice group relied greatly on visuals compared to the expert group possibly in order to compensate for their linguistic limitations. It would thus benefit the learners if teachers could explain certain linguistics features (such as dialectal differences or subtle nuances that some expressions may carry) which may otherwise be left unnoticed.
This study reports reading survey results collected from 137 science and technology majors at a Japanese university. Reading is one of the most necessary skills for academic and vocational success, ...as well as personal growth for science and technology majors, but their English reading ability tends to be limited. For this reason, extensive reading (ER) instruction is in demand. However, the author found that students struggle with reading in general more than reading specifically in English when they start ER. Therefore, this study aims to examine science and technology students’ reading habits and attitudestoward reading in both Japanese and English to improve ER instruction in English. The survey results suggest that 1) science and technology majors have less positive attitudes toward English than arts majors, 2) 70 percent of them perceive reading in Japanese favorably, but the percentage drops to 50 percent for reading in English, and 3) their attitude toward reading is lower for English than for Japanese. Given these results, ER teachers should promote students’ intrinsic motivation, reduce the load of reading in English, introduce intercultural issues through reading, and build a reading community for more successful ER education.
This study is a qualitative and descriptive investigation of teacher gestures in EFL education. The specific aim is to describe the types, roles, and functions of gestures that are produced by native ...English speaking teachers in English as foreign language (EFL) classrooms in Japan by examining naturally occurring interactions. In addition to teacher gesture, I included some nonverbal behaviors such as suprasegmental features, nodding, and gaze direction so as to understand classroom interaction and communication in EFL classrooms. In order to accomplish these aims I employed a qualitative case study approach in five EFL classrooms at a university in an urban area in Japan. The primary data come from classroom interactions of a native English speaking teacher and his 26 students of one classroom over one semester that were analyzed through a microanalysis of videotapes of the naturalistic classroom interactions. In addition to videotapes, to better understand the interactions that occurred in the classroom, I gathered and analyzed observation notes from my perspective as a peripheral observer. I also collected retrospective stimulated video recall interview data from the teacher and some volunteer students for further analysis. Furthermore, in order to have wider understanding of multimodal foreign language (FL) classroom interactions, I observed four more EFL classes that were taught by two other native English speaking teachers at a university that was situated in a municipal capital in Japan as additional observations and a post-lesson survey with the teachers and students for additional analyses. My aim is not to seek causal explanation but to present plausible descriptions and interpretations of naturally occurring interactions in EFL classrooms. Analysis revealed that various types of teacher gesture were used by the teachers from five EFL classrooms. They were categorized into representational, referential, emphatic gestures, and emblems. The findings were further analyzed for the following functions: In EFL instruction, the teacher’s speech and gestures influence the transmission of knowledge and information as comprehension aids, classroom management, and students' affective states. All three teachers heavily relied on multimodal behaviors, primarily gestures. However, they not only used gestures, but also various nonverbal behaviors. The teachers selected a mode or a combination of modes according to their instructional purposes and personal styles such as giving knowledge and information, and giving directions. It was confirmed that the teachers presented visual input even when learners were not looking at them. The teachers' awareness of their gesture use differed individually. Whereas teacher 1 was not aware of his gesture production, Teacher 2 and Teacher 3 were conscious about their gesture uses and intentionally used certain types of gestures for pedagogy. Student interviews and survey suggested that the students perceived teachers’ gestures positively. Close analysis of the transcribed data suggests that multi-modes of communication including gesture serve to potentially enhance meaning-making in classroom interaction and communication. I assume that integration of these gestural functions of teacher gesture scaffold learning to some extent although the degree of its influence cannot be determined from this study. The teachers’ gestural and speech instruction might contribute to learning, in particular to multimodal semiotic meaning construction for the case of teacher gestures that function as comprehension aids, and that this kind of instruction definitely contributes to classroom management and atmosphere. Students reacted nonverbally to the teachers’ rich input in speech and gestural explanations, and followed the teachers’ speech and gestural directions. In addition, the classroom cohesion was promoted through the use of humor presented by bodily motions such as mimes and the use of students. This finding was confirmed by interview and survey results. This study contributes to the research on gesture in second and foreign language (L2 / FL) education, to the pedagogy of language education and subject matter education in the first language, and possibly to the larger body of research on gesture.
In this study, we examined how mind mapping, a type of graphic organizer widely used in Finnish education, may help Japanese university students reach a deeper understanding while reading in English, ...and whether such positive reading experiences would lead them to read more. We therefore compared two types of extensive reading classes over one semester: one with mind-mapping exercises (treatment) and one without them (contrast). The results indicated that the students in the treatment group read more than those in the contrast group; however, the difference in the average amount of reading was not statistically significant. Further, the average scores of the pre/post-class EPER (Edinburgh Project on Extensive Reading) level tests were not significantly different between the two groups. The survey results also revealed that while the majority of students found mind mapping helpful in thinking more critically, they did not consider it to be highly motivating for reading extensively. In sum, mind mapping is useful in promoting deeper understanding, but its effects may not be strong enough to motivate learners to read more.
This study is a qualitative and descriptive investigation of teacher gestures in EFL education. The specific aim is to describe the types, roles, and functions of gestures that are produced by native ...English speaking teachers in English as foreign language (EFL) classrooms in Japan by examining naturally occurring interactions. In addition to teacher gesture, I included some nonverbal behaviors such as suprasegmental features, nodding, and gaze direction so as to understand classroom interaction and communication in EFL classrooms. In order to accomplish these aims I employed a qualitative case study approach in five EFL classrooms at a university in an urban area in Japan. The primary data come from classroom interactions of a native English speaking teacher and his 26 students of one classroom over one semester that were analyzed through a microanalysis of videotapes of the naturalistic classroom interactions. In addition to videotapes, to better understand the interactions that occurred in the classroom, I gathered and analyzed observation notes from my perspective as a peripheral observer. I also collected retrospective stimulated video recall interview data from the teacher and some volunteer students for further analysis. Furthermore, in order to have wider understanding of multimodal foreign language (FL) classroom interactions, I observed four more EFL classes that were taught by two other native English speaking teachers at a university that was situated in a municipal capital in Japan as additional observations and a post-lesson survey with the teachers and students for additional analyses. My aim is not to seek causal explanation but to present plausible descriptions and interpretations of naturally occurring interactions in EFL classrooms. Analysis revealed that various types of teacher gesture were used by the teachers from five EFL classrooms. They were categorized into representational, referential, emphatic gestures, and emblems. The findings were further analyzed for the following functions: In EFL instruction, the teacher’s speech and gestures influence the transmission of knowledge and information as comprehension aids, classroom management, and students' affective states. All three teachers heavily relied on multimodal behaviors, primarily gestures. However, they not only used gestures, but also various nonverbal behaviors. The teachers selected a mode or a combination of modes according to their instructional purposes and personal styles such as giving knowledge and information, and giving directions. It was confirmed that the teachers presented visual input even when learners were not looking at them. The teachers' awareness of their gesture use differed individually. Whereas teacher 1 was not aware of his gesture production, Teacher 2 and Teacher 3 were conscious about their gesture uses and intentionally used certain types of gestures for pedagogy. Student interviews and survey suggested that the students perceived teachers’ gestures positively. Close analysis of the transcribed data suggests that multi-modes of communication including gesture serve to potentially enhance meaning-making in classroom interaction and communication. I assume that integration of these gestural functions of teacher gesture scaffold learning to some extent although the degree of its influence cannot be determined from this study. The teachers’ gestural and speech instruction might contribute to learning, in particular to multimodal semiotic meaning construction for the case of teacher gestures that function as comprehension aids, and that this kind of instruction definitely contributes to classroom management and atmosphere. Students reacted nonverbally to the teachers’ rich input in speech and gestural explanations, and followed the teachers’ speech and gestural directions. In addition, the classroom cohesion was promoted through the use of humor presented by bodily motions such as mimes and the use of students. This finding was confirmed by interview and survey results. This study contributes to the research on gesture in second and foreign language (L2 / FL) education, to the pedagogy of language education and subject matter education in the first language, and possibly to the larger body of research on gesture.
Language Arts
ObjectiveMajor histocompatibility complex strongly contributes to susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In the European populations, HLA-DRB1*03:01 and DRB1*15:01 are susceptibility ...alleles, but C4 locus was reported to account for the association of DRB1*03:01. With respect to DRB1*15:01, strong linkage disequilibrium with a variant rs2105898T in the XL9 region, located between DRB1 and DQA1 and regulates HLA-class II expression levels, was reported; however, the causative allele remains to be determined. Leveraging the genetic background of the Japanese population, where DRB1*15:01 and DRB1*15:02 are commonly present and only DRB1*15:01 is associated with SLE, this study aimed to distinguish the genetic contribution of DRB1*15:01 and XL9 variants.MethodsAmong the XL9 variants, two (rs2105898 and rs9271593) previously associated variants in the European populations and two (rs9271375 and rs9271378) which showed a trend towards association in a Japanese Genome-Wide Association Study were selected. Associations of the XL9 variants and HLA-DRB1 were examined in 442 Japanese SLE patients and 779 controls. Genotyping of the XL9 variants was performed by TaqMan SNP Genotyping Assay and direct sequencing. HLA-DRB1 alleles were determined by PCR-reverse sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes.ResultsAmong the XL9 variants, associations of rs2105898T and rs9271593C were replicated in the Japanese population. However, these associations became no longer significant when conditioned on DRB1*15:01. In contrast, the association of DRB1*15:01 remained significant after conditioning on the XL9 variants.ConclusionIn the Japanese population, HLA-DRB1*15:01 was found to be primarily associated with SLE, and to account for the apparent association of XL9 region.
