Search

This paper draws on a thematic discourse analysis of the written accounts about “English” produced by 32 Japanese college students. A constructionist psychological framework is used to explore the intermediary function of language in the construction of language attitudes. The study investigates how the respondents construct their multiple different attitudes as they interact with the social meanings and representations of the global language and the cultural context which reconstitutes these representations. It is evidenced that the respondents' language attitudes are occasioned in the social and political parameters of the cultural context of which they are a part. The respondents' positions in this cultural context, their past, present, and future images of self, and their alignment with socially induced ways of thinking about English together exert influences on language attitudes construction. The paper shows the immense complexity of the contestation processes between language learners' attitudes and the rapidly changing social climate in and around Japan. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Following over 30 years of conflicting research into how second language learners respond to word association tests this paper examines an alternative approach to analyse the data, individual profiling. In contrast to previous studies this paper argues that word association studies should be focusing on individuals, as opposed to attempting to create group norms. This paper demonstrates how such profiles can be created using data collected from a study of 50 low level Japanese college students. To exemplify this approach five profiles are compared. The results of this study suggest that learners should not be analysed as homogenous groups. The results also show that when confronted with words from different frequency ranges a learner’s response type remains constant. Implications for teaching, in terms of helping individual learners to identify more efficient ways to acquire words are discussed. Problems with the study are examined and areas for further research are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a case study conducted at a Japanese national university. Nine participants used the video recording feature on their cell phones to produce weekly video productions. The task required that participants produce one 30-second video on a teacher-selected topic. Observations revealed the process of video creation with a cell phone. The weekly video performances indicated that students were able to increase the number of words they spoke in one monologue. The surveys indicated that participants believed that using the cell phone video recording feature was a useful activity. However, they did not believe that such a task was transferable to other courses. The discussion emphasizes that, due to technological advances, educators need to understand the benefits and challenges of integrating cell phone devices as learning tools in their classrooms. In addition, whereas in the past researchers focused on reading and writing skills, this article reveals that it is now possible to use the video recording feature to evaluate learners’ speaking skills. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]