Research has shown that learning a known-and-unknown word combination leads to greater learning than learning an unknown word alone (Kasahara, 2010, 2011). These studies found that attaching a known adjective to an unknown noun can help learners remember the unknown noun. Kasahara (2015) found that a known verb can serve as an effective cue to…

Unlearning is a recurrent theme in Japan. To further understanding of what this entails, we focus on the view of learning laid out by a revered 13th century Zen-inspired playwright. For Zeami, learning involved a movement from the acquisition to unlearning of skills, punctuated by an experience of "mushin," followed by creative…

International comparative studies on mathematics teaching and learning often provide unitary and harmonious images of classroom practices. This paper aims to complement those studies by describing the complex aspects of those practices. Adopting activity theory as a framework, this paper considers classroom teaching and learning of mathematics as…

Purpose: This study proposed a metacognition-inclusive self-regulated learning (SRL) approach to out-of-class listening practice and explored its impact on learners' listening performance and their reported use of self-regulatory listening strategies. Design/methodology/approach: Participants comprised 45 students learning English at a university…

Purpose: This study builds a new system for automatically assessing learners' speech elicited from an oral discourse completion task (DCT), and evaluates the prediction capability of the system with a view to better understanding factors deemed influential in predicting speaking proficiency scores and the pedagogical implications of the system.…

Aural vocabulary knowledge (AVK) of high-frequency words is critical for second language listening comprehension. However, learners of English as a foreign language (EFL), despite considerable periods of language study, often do not have the AVK needed for basic communicative competence. A mixed methods approach is applied to determine whether…

Previous research comparing communicative to non-communicative computer-mediated tasks requiring output production found an advantage in L2 vocabulary learning efficiency in favor of the communicative task (Hughes, 2023). The present study analyzes the chat data from Hughes (2023) to determine what features of interaction may have contributed to…

Atypical learning and memory in early life can promote atypical behaviors in later life. Less relational learning and inflexible retrieval in childhood may enhance restricted and repeated behaviors in patients with autism spectrum disorder. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the mechanisms of atypical memory in children with autism…

This project aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an academic success center at a Japanese public university, in terms of the reciprocal learning that took place during academic writing and reading tutorials and the academic achievement of tutees. Using a multi-method design, the researchers analyzed feedback data from tutors and tutees, and…

Emotion plays important roles in learning, memory, and other cognitive processes; it does so not only in the form of "macro-level emotion" (e.g., salient affective states and self-reportable motivational currents) but also in the form of "micro-level emotion" (e.g., subtle feelings and linguistic attributes that are usually…

In this study, we investigated which section of a page was difficult for students to read, based on eye movement data and subjective impressions of the page's difficulty, with the aim of helping teachers revise teaching materials. It is problematic to manually model relationships between eye movements and subjective impressions of the page's…

Objectives: Two sets of intercultural learning resources incorporating Global Englishes learning content were developed for self-access use in the higher education context. The resources were investigated in terms of student learning experiences across two contexts in Japan: an English language major program and a nonlanguage major program. The…

Cognitive psychology research has shown that interleaving, wherein learners practice multiple skills or concepts at once, facilitates learning more than does blocking, wherein learners practice only one skill or concept at a time. Despite the advantage of interleaving over blocking observed across a number of domains, limited attention has been…

Structured problem-solving lessons are used to explore mathematical concepts such as pattern and relationships in early algebra, and regularly used in Japanese Lesson Study research lessons. However, enactment of structured problem-solving lessons which involves detailed planning, anticipation of student solutions and orchestration of whole-class…

Literature from education, educational psychology and second language acquisition has consistently found that self-efficacy is a key factor leading to increased language learning success. Students with more self-efficacy are claimed to have higher motivation and to expend more effort in the learning process. On the other hand, those with less…