How children participate in democracy has shifted toward more communicative, networked, and creative models than before. In political science and political theory, however, surprisingly little is understood about what if anything children can contribute to democracy and how they would do so. Traditionally, children have been considered as mere…

The present study compared Japanese and U.S. preschool children's knowledge of geometric shapes. The main goal was to explore if differences in shape-naming conventions in Japanese and English could explain differences in children's understanding of geometric shapes. In ancient Chinese-based languages (e.g., Japanese), all standard 2D shapes…

Language learning activities involving time-pressured repetition of similar content have been shown to facilitate improvements in fluency. However, concerns have been voiced about whether these gains might be offset by reduced levels of grammatical accuracy. This descriptive study tracked the oral proficiency of 32 Japanese university students…

This study investigates the impact of course delivery methods on perceived learning by analysing the shift from face-to-face to online courses among Japanese university students, using the COVID-19 pandemic as a natural experiment. Data were collected from approximately 750 students, and detailed analyses were conducted on a subset of 426…

This study examined number marking comprehension among Japanese learners of second language (L2) English, whose first language (L1) does not have an obligatory number marking system. The study conducted an online sentence comprehension experiment with 96 L1-Japanese learners and 32 native speakers of English, wherein participants engaged in a…

This qualitative, case-study research explores the English language learning history of a Japanese pre-service teacher by analysing five English-language poems and a self-reflective essay regarding her experiences of learning the target language. The methodology chosen in this study was a poetic inquiry through which the investigator reconstructed…

The present study investigates the use of generative strategies and their effect on second language (L2) vocabulary retention and learner confidence in vocabulary knowledge over time. Generative strategies (or generation) are one in a group of learning methods known as desirable difficulties -- strategies that improve long-term learning by adding…

Extensive Reading (ER) is widely recognized as an effective method for improving language proficiency and fostering reading motivation in English as a foreign language contexts. However, the success of ER programs depends on several factors, including student motivation, engagement, and preferences for book selection. This study examines the…

The development of information and communication technologies has created limitless prospects for using augmented reality (AR) in various fields. Unfortunately, the multitasking nature of AR systems prevents learners from successfully reflecting and retaining knowledge. This study developed and designed a learning analytics dashboard (LAD) with…