"Akogare" [desire] is a Japanese word laden with cultural and emotive values. In the recent TESOL [Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages] studies, "akogare" has been conceptualized to emphasize the Japanese specific desire for English or "the West" in general. This study not only leverages such a…

Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL) is an innovative educational approach that is becoming increasingly popular among researchers and practitioners in technologically advanced countries in the West, but is largely unknown or ignored in the instruction of Foreign Languages (FL) in Japanese higher education. This is problematic because more interest…

This study examined the relationship between learners' motivation to learn a second language (L2) and persistence in their learning using self-instructional radio (SIR) materials with a sample of Japanese high school students learning English. L2 self-instruction remains under-researched, in spite of the importance of out-of-class learning…

This study is a quasi-experimental, longitudinal investigation into the role that extensive reading and reading strategies play in the cultivation of reading self-efficacy. Conducted over the course of one academic year, how changes in reading self-efficacy translate into changes in reading comprehension was examined. In addition, the…

This study examined the impact of a service-learning program on college students in an inclusive camp environment. Participants in the study completed a pre-post questionnaire to determine the impact of service-learning on the students' self concept, personal growth, and understanding of diversity as it relates to working with children with…

This study focuses on an analysis of a professional development program known as lesson study via data obtained during an in-service professional development program for secondary school science teachers. The purpose of this study was to examine the self-efficacy beliefs of one group of science teachers related to their experiences in a lesson…

This dissertation explores the issues related to the development of national identity amongst middle school students in Japan, from both macro and micro perspectives of the state's educational policy and the students' conception. While it is impossible to understand a national education without placing it in the larger context, the concept of…

In correspondence to an overall decline in the Japanese population, the number of young students in Japan has been dramatically decreasing to the extent that the Japanese government has predicted a situation in which as of 2009 admissions places in Japanese universities will be equal to the number of applicants. Currently, approximately fifty…

This study was an investigation of public elementary school students' affective changes through English Activities of international understanding lessons at Japanese public elementary school. The learners' expected affective changes were regarded as "International Posture", "Self-esteem", "Collective Self-esteem", and…

Immediacy is the closeness expressed by communicators which maybe observed in teachers as they try to engage students. Teacher immediacy may take nonverbal and verbal forms. U.S. studies have concluded that immediacy has positive effects on U.S. college students' learning. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of American faculty's…

The two main purposes of this study were to create a systematic observation instrument in order to obtain clearer and more specific feedback from junior high school teachers about student teachers' teaching performances during their practicum, and to provide a way for junior college, university teachers, student teachers, and practicum supervisors…