This study examined learning strategy use in mathematics among East Asian students in East Asian educational systems. By employing latent class analysis on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012 data, we found four classes of learning strategy types, namely memorization with metacognitive strategies (17.49%), metacognitive…

This study explores the effectiveness of Data-Driven Learning (DDL) approach to second-language (L2) English vocabulary learning in on-demand online distance learning at a private university in Tokyo, Japan. The participants were 49 Japanese undergraduates, intermediate L2 English learners at the B1 level in the Common European Framework of…

This paper presents the results of an interdisciplinary project in which English poetry and performance studies were integrated into a poetry performance project for EFL students in a language education programme at a Japanese university. The project used the theories and methods of But?¯, a contemporary Japanese form of dance and visual art, to…

The intellectual foundation of early modern Japan was provided by Confucianism--a system of knowledge set forth in Chinese classical writings. In order to gain access to this knowledge, the Japanese applied reading markers to modify the original Chinese to fit the peculiarities of Japanese grammar and pronunciation. Confucian education started by…

Using PISA 2009, an international education database, this study compares gifted and talented (GT) students in three groups with normal (non-GT) students by examining student characteristics, reading, schooling, learning methods, and use of strategies for understanding and memorizing. Results indicate that the GT and non-GT gender distributions…

Will my children's creativity be hindered if I place them within the rigidity of an East Asian school? Conversely, could my children's math and science skills benefit from the high expectations of an East Asian curriculum and teacher? The purpose of this study is two-fold. Firstly, it aims to demonstrate that comparison between Eastern and Western…

The aim of this study is to examine the advantages of Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL), especially vocabulary learning of English as a foreign or second language (L2) in terms of the two strands: automatization and learner autonomy. Previous studies articulate that technology-enhanced L2 learning could bring about some positive effects.…

In universities throughout Japan, English language learners are required to stand in front of their peers and make a presentation with the aid of software such as Microsoft PowerPoint. This type of public speaking activity can often be an anxiety-inducing, glorified reading or memorization exercise of text-heavy slides that fails to meet the…

Traditional Chinese proverbs such as: "The sea of learning knows no bounds; only through diligence may its shore be reached" and "If you don't succeed, try again." (p. 296) illustrate that educational success in the Asian culture is viewed as the result of a single notion--"hard work". This paper will examine how this…

Research findings indicate that specific instructional strategies, such as the use of real-world examples and independent learning activities, are positively related to mathematics achievement. This study was designed to investigate relationships between classroom instructional strategies and mathematics achievement of elementary-school students…

Here I emphasize the applicability of the sociological imagination to an international audience by sharing my journey of teaching sociology in Japan. I found my own sociological imagination helpful in critically evaluating the literature on Japanese higher education and the construction of the Japanese student as a form of Orientalism. As I…

Interview guides and a questionnaire were developed in order to find what factors demotivated students in Japanese high school English classrooms. Five college students who were attending two private universities and one public university shared their views about demotivation in the interviews. Forty-two students at a public university responded…

"Adult Language Learners: Context and Innovation" presents instructional practices that are particularly successful with adults. Adult language learners are goal oriented and direct their learning to fulfill particular needs or demands: to advance their studies, to progress up the career ladder, to follow business opportunities, to pass…

Strategies used by upper secondary school students to regulate their own learning processes were studied for 248 Australian students, 215 Japanese students in Japan, and 30 Japanese students in Australia. The pattern of strategy used varied for each cultural group, with Japanese students using memory strategies significantly more often. (SLD)

Used a children's story and interviews to compare how six-year-olds in three cultures conceptualize learning in their preschool environments. Found that Swedish and Japanese children who did not recall a coherent narrative relied on their own understanding of point of story rather than on words of story, whereas Chinese children looked for key to…