This paper compares direct measures of content knowledge for students studying Chemistry through English Medium Instruction (EMI) and Japanese Medium Instruction (JMI). It also examines a range of contextual differences between the two mediums of instruction. A total of 53 undergraduate students undertook pre-post course content tests at a…

The case method (CM) is a powerful instructional tool for promoting active learning and has been encouraged by a number of universities and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan. In this context, the current research examined Japanese university instructors' understanding of this method, their practices in…

Socio-scientific decision-making necessitates reasoning from multiple perspectives and the use of trade-offs. This study examines how students decide on socio-scientific issues when they engage in an instructional intervention to enhance their socio-scientific decision-making towards consensus building that, in this study, emphasises generating…

Context: Although cultural competencies in athletic training education exist, there are limited international athletic training educational opportunities available. Study abroad experiences help students gain international and multicultural perspectives. The lack of study abroad opportunities is more pronounced in non--English-speaking countries.…

Reducing gender disparities in Japan is an urgent issue that requires the attention of multilevel stakeholders, including higher education institutions. Under Sustainable Development Goal 4, target 4.7 calls for educational institutions, including universities, to explore innovative approaches to tackle issues such as gender inequality. The…

This article examines how students' subject knowledge acquired in short-term international courses (SICs) developed while engaging in university studies in the year following their SICs. It also explores factors associated with their engagement and disengagement. Two interviews with a 1-year interval with 25 students revealed their transformations…

The current study focuses on an e-learning platform called Furago designed to provide language instructors with exercises complementing activities already implemented in their classes. Its objective was to assess the impact the use of Furago could have on the listening skills of first-year Japanese university students. Statistical analyses that…

This mixed-methods study explored the effects of employing a genre-based approach (GBA) to descriptive report writing on the understanding of text structure and ideational, interpersonal and textual meanings among Japanese university students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) over a 15-week course divided into three units. Applied within a…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of education for sustainable development (ESD) approaches in English as a foreign language (EFL) in Japanese higher education. Design/methodology/approach: A content and language integrated learning (CLIL) University-level course was run over two separate semesters--the first as a…

This longitudinal study examined whether and to what extent the production of voice onset time (VOT) for /p/, /t/, and /k/ in English was improved in second language (L2) learners by enrolment in a content-based instruction (CBI) program at a Japanese university. Measures of VOTs were elicited at the beginning, middle, and end of the academic year…

A multi-method approach was used to understand the attitudes of English Language Teachers working in universities in Japan to first language use (L1) in the second language (L2) classroom. Findings indicate that instructors recognise the benefits of the L1 and have awareness of current empirical findings, though, their approach is highly dependent…

This book proposes a new paradigm for English language teaching based on concepts from English for Specific Purposes (ESP) research and applications as well as from growing evidence relating pattern recognition to language learning ability. The contributors to the volume argue that learners should not try to become proficient all-around users of…

In 2009, the Japanese government launched the Global 30 (G30) Project, a new initiative to internationalize universities. Selected universities had to create English-medium degree programs at undergraduate level in order to stimulate "internationalization at home." The G30 Project represented a major shift in the focus of…

Japanese universities have lately begun to teach academic content in English instead of Japanese. In this article, I examine curricular and ideological issues related to having English as a medium of instruction (EMI) at a Japanese university before examining their links to larger cultural-political forces in Japan, including neoconservative…

A review of recent literature suggests that, although academics in several countries (such as Japan, Korea and Germany) now allocate more of their time to research, service activities and administration than they had in the early 1990s (Teichler, Arimoto, and Cummings, 2013), the majority of university professors still spend the largest proportion…