Japanese EFL Research Articles

Developing an Analytic Rubric for Japanese EFL Learners’ Summary Writing

This study aimed to develop and revise an analytic rubric based on the results of a survey of the difficulties experienced by raters when assessing the English summaries of Japanese English learners, as reported in a previous study (Kato, in press). In this study, three raters repeatedly discussed and established four categories: “Integration,” “Language Use,” “Paraphrasing,” and “Content Accuracy.” They created descriptors for each category from 0 to 5. The three raters evaluated the summaries of 20 Japanese university students for two types of original English texts. The results showed that the inter-rater reliability of Texts A and B was sufficiently high in all categories. Moreover, the correlation between categories was confirmed to measure independent constructs. This indicated that the analytic rubric created, based on Kato’s (in press) survey report from the raters, is also useful in terms of reliability and validity. This study proposed an analytic rubric that can serve as a foundation for constructing a more user-friendly rubric for future raters.

Notes on the acquisition of L2 English intervention structures: a case of Japanese EFL learners

Abstract This paper discusses Japanese-speaking EFL learners’ acquisition of English object relative clauses (ORC), which have intervention (Relativized Minimality) structures. Specifically, we contrast their early understanding of the ORC and the Subject Control constructions with their late understanding of the Subject Raising (seem) construction that exhibits a structural effect of locality on the filler-gap relation. We argue that relativization and the Control structure in Japanese induce hierarchical structures on par with those in English. Therefore, the learners have acquired a way of avoiding intervention during the process of acquiring the ORC and the Control structures in Japanese. L1 grammatical knowledge helps nullify the intervention effect in acquiring the constructions in L2 English. On the other hand, it takes time for them to overcome the effect by learning the seem raising structure with a specific strategy because Japanese does not have a construction similar to it. L1 Japanese critically influences the acquisition of L2 English with respect to the intervention configurations.

Utilizing peer evaluation as a collaborative learning tool: fostering autonomy satisfaction in English presentation classes

Abstract The present two-phased sequential explanatory mixed-methods research investigates first and second-year Japanese university students’ perceptions of peer evaluation through self-reflection and its relation to learner autonomy satisfaction in English presentation activities. First, the qualitative data were collected through an open-ended survey questionnaire (n = 17). The findings revealed that students held a positive view of the peer evaluation process, which was facilitated by structured evaluation criteria developed collaboratively with the students using the Leaderful Classroom Practices framework. Furthermore, students’ ownership of the evaluation process enhanced their motivation and commitment to their own presentations. To explore the relationship between the peer evaluation process and students’ autonomy satisfaction, we conducted a survey with advanced-level first-year English major students (n = 87). Despite the small sample size, our multiple regression analysis also supported the qualitative findings, indicating a significant correlation between peer evaluation and learner autonomy satisfaction in English presentation activities. While peer-based activities have been thoroughly studied in the context of academic writing courses, we recommend that the influence of peer evaluation activities on learner autonomy satisfaction be further explored in oral communication activities within the Japanese university EFL settings.

Identifying ChatGPT-generated texts in EFL students’ writing: Through comparative analysis of linguistic fingerprints

The emergence of generative AI (GenAI) poses new challenges for L2 writing teachers. This study investigates the distinguishability of essays written by Japanese EFL learners from those generated by ChatGPT. Partially replicating Herbold et al. (2023), 140 first-year university students wrote essays and completed a survey on ChatGPT use. Among them, 125 wrote independently, 13 used ChatGPT for proofreading, and two asked ChatGPT to write the entire essay. To create a comparative dataset, 123 additional essays were generated by ChatGPT, imitating the two texts. The resulting 263 essays were then analyzed using the natural language processing (NLP) technique, including automated linguistic analysis and machine learning classification using random forest. The results reveal significant differences between human-written and ChatGPT-generated essays across all linguistic features, with the latter being easily identifiable. This study emphasizes the need for clear guidelines on the ethical use of AI in L2 writing, highlighting the potential risk of inappropriate AI use and the importance of fostering a mutual understanding of AI use with learners regarding responsible AI integration in academic work.

Exploring the Development of Progressive Construction in Chinese and Japanese EFL Writing: A Usage‐Based Approach

AbstractThis study investigates the developmental trajectory of progressive construction among Chinese and Japanese EFL learners through a usage‐based approach. A total of 600 written essays, produced by EFL learners from China and Japan with proficiency levels ranging from elementary to upper‐intermediate, were analyzed. The findings reveal that advanced EFL learners, irrespective of their L1 backgrounds, exhibit higher productivity in using progressive constructions, aligning more closely with native English speakers. Moreover, the results support the aspect hypothesis, as activity verbs are predominantly marked with progressive across all learner groups. As for the development of progressive construction, less prototypical verb types in progressives increase proportionally with proficiency levels in the top 10 contingencies. However, discrepancies in proportions among Chinese and Japanese EFL learners underscore the need for a further examination of the intricate patterns of non‐prototypical form‐meaning associations across L1 backgrounds. The present study bears significance in shedding light on the acquisition of tense‐aspect morphology influenced by L1 transfer and learner proficiency.

The impact of note-taking, peer feedback, and automated feedback on summary writing: A study in the Japanese EFL context

Summary writing can be challenging for Japanese EFL learners, who tend to have difficulty with over-copying from source texts, reaching appropriate lengths, and choosing information for inclusion. This study reports on three interventions taken in tandem in an academic writing class: note-taking, peer feedback, and automated feedback. The results suggest that combining these interventions into process-writing-based practice effectively enhanced students’ summary writing ability; text-length and content scores increased from a pre- to post-test and the amount of source text copying decreased. Furthermore, we found that students who had higher language ability and more of a tendency to over-copy initially were more likely to improve. Finally, students reported that they preferred the automated feedback and the greatest change in learners’ writing was observed after the automated feedback, so we think that plays an important role in improving summary writing ability. This article was published open access under a CC BY-NC-ND licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ .

The dynamics of changes in linguistic complexity and writing scores in timed argumentative writing among beginning-level EFL learners

Abstract This study investigates longitudinal changes in linguistic complexity and holistic scores in EFL timed argumentative writing among beginning-level learners using Complex Dynamic Systems Theory. It also explores relationships among linguistic complexity over time and with writing scores. Over nine months, 42 Japanese EFL learners completed six timed essays. Linguistic complexity was assessed through lexical, phraseological, and syntactic features. Findings indicate linear growth in writing scores, lexical sophistication, and noun phrase (NP) complexity, alongside stable phrasal complexity and non-linear subordination. Interrelated growth patterns included connections between lexical sophistication and phrasal complexity, and phraseological complexity and subordination. Competitive dynamics were observed between lexical diversity and NP complexity, and phraseological complexity and phrasal sophistication. Linear associations emerged between writing scores and lexical sophistication or syntactic complexity, while a non-linear relationship occurred with phraseological sophistication. This study illuminates the intricate dynamics of linguistic complexity and L2 writing scores among beginning-level learners in argumentative writing.

Enhancing Capacity to Speak through Scaffolding and Task Repetition in Japanese EFL Classrooms

Enhancing Capacity to Speak through Scaffolding and Task Repetition in Japanese EFL Classrooms

Integrating Online Collaborative Learning in Japanese EFL High School

Integrating Online Collaborative Learning in Japanese EFL High School

Vocabulary frequency and dispersion in Japanese junior high school EFL textbooks

Vocabulary frequency and dispersion in Japanese junior high school EFL textbooks

Advancing communicative competence in the digital age: A case for AI tools in Japanese EFL education

Advancing communicative competence in the digital age: A case for AI tools in Japanese EFL education

Teaching Phrasal Verbs and Idiomatic Expressions Through Multimodal Flashcards

This study investigates the effectiveness of various practice modes in learning multiword units, specifically phrasal verbs and idiomatic expressions, through a multimodal online flashcard delivery system that allows students to read, write, listen to, and speak the target multiword vocabulary items. The study, based on data from 229 first-year Japanese EFL university students, investigates how various practice modes in reading, writing, speaking, and listening impact short-term memorization and long-term comprehension of multiword units. The analysis involved multiple regression using random forests to ascertain significance, alongside dominance analysis with relative weights for determining relative importance. Results indicate that while productive practice modes (writing and speaking) are crucial for short-term memorization, register-specific practice modes (speaking and listening) play a significant role in long-term acquisition. This study highlights the importance of integrating multimodal flashcard practice with practical use activities in the classroom to enhance vocabulary learning outcomes. Finally, the results of this study suggest that encouraging students to interact with their target language through multiple modes is meaningful for greater acquisition of multiword vocabulary. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of effective strategies for EFL learners in acquiring multiword vocabulary units and underscores the importance of multimodal approaches in language education.

Reading to learn for learning to write: Japanese EFL teachers’ perceptions about reading to learn

Reading to learn for learning to write: Japanese EFL teachers’ perceptions about reading to learn

Japanese EFL undergraduate students’ use of the epistemic modal verbs may, might, and could in academic writing

Abstract Modifying and hedging one’s claims appropriately is an important characteristic of academic writing. This study focuses on the three main English modal verbs used to express “epistemic possibility” to avoid making strong statements, viz., may, might, and could. The purpose of this corpus-based study is to explore modal verb usage by Japanese EFL undergraduate students and consider pedagogical implications of our findings. Our analysis suggests that the Japanese students’ use of these modal verbs, especially could, has a tendency to be informal and insufficiently academic. While the Japanese students use could very frequently, they do not use it sufficiently in the sense of “epistemic possibility”, and some of their use is inappropriate not just in academic English but in English more generally. The observed high frequency of could may be related to topics and may also be due to the influence of L1. We discuss different factors that may explain the findings, based mainly on the overview of factors impacting on EFL learners’ use of academic English offered by Gilquin and Paquot (2008). Too chatty: Learner academic writing and register variation. English Text Construction 1(1). 41–61), suggest several additions to this overview, and discuss implications for the instruction of these modal verbs in academic writing and in order to improve relevant teaching materials.

The Effects of Task-Based Instruction on Japanese EFL Learners' Communicative Confidence and Willingness to Communicate

The Effects of Task-Based Instruction on Japanese EFL Learners' Communicative Confidence and Willingness to Communicate

Effects of Reading-While-Listening and Reading Only on Reading Comprehension of Japanese High School EFL Learners

Effects of Reading-While-Listening and Reading Only on Reading Comprehension of Japanese High School EFL Learners

A Study on the Acquisition of English Prepositions by Japanese EFL Learners: Influence of Prototypicality, Semantic Relations, Familiarity, and L2 Proficiency

A Study on the Acquisition of English Prepositions by Japanese EFL Learners: Influence of Prototypicality, Semantic Relations, Familiarity, and L2 Proficiency

A CASE STUDY OF ARGUMENT PATTERNS IN JAPAN AND KOREAN EFL LEARNERS’ ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

Argumentation is crucial in education in activating students’ critical thinking and increasing their ability in thinking reflectively. TAP model as an integrated assessment framework could be used to measure their critical thinking. Thus, the aims of the study are (1) to identify the elements of the argument structures in the Japanese and Korean EFL learners’ argumentative essays, based on the (adapted) Toulmin model, (2) to evaluate the quality of the Japanese and Korean EFL learners’ argumentative writing based on the uses of the Toulmin Argument Pattern (TAP), and (3) to determine whether female and male learners have the same or different quality of argument pattern. A qualitative descriptive research design and a library research approach were carried out on this study to answer the research questions. Library research was used to collect sources and evaluate the sources taken from the ICNALE and sophisticated contrastive interlanguage analysis of Asian learners of English. The data sources were the Japanese and Korean EFL learners’ argumentative writing. Based on the quality of arguments, all students covered 1–4 levels. The highest was level 2, and the lowest was level 4. It tends to be the majority of students who are still in level 2. It needs practice to write argumentatively in order to shape the writing ability to organize a good surface structure and acceptable arguments.

Does language teachers’ intercultural competence influence oral participation in EFL classrooms?: unveiling learner perspectives through a mixed methods inquiry

ABSTRACT The present two-phased sequential explanatory mixed methods study investigates the potential association between foreign language teachers’ (FLTs) intercultural competence and Japanese students’ oral participation through the perspectives of students. In Study 1, a survey questionnaire was administered to second-year advanced-level students at two Japanese universities (N = 115). The participants were asked about their learning styles and FLTs’ teaching practices that promoted and hindered their oral participation based on their prior language learning experiences. The results confirmed the associations between FLTs’ host language proficiency, host cultural understanding, and students’ oral participation. In Study 2, qualitative data were obtained from 21 students to explain and build upon the quantitative results. The findings showed that demonstrating intercultural competence by emphasizing group work, showing tolerance for silence, and using Japanese gestures, personal anecdotes, and stories from Japanese culture could create avenues to students’ own worlds and give them psychological safety to express themselves. The study concludes that FLTs’ intercultural competence needs to be further emphasized in teacher training manuals and school curricula in Japanese EFL settings.

The Impact of ASR-based Interactive Video Activities on Speaking Skills: Japanese EFL Learners’ Perceptions

This study looked at how video-based interactive assignments with automatic speech recognition (ASR) can be practically integrated into EFL classrooms for additional out-of-class speaking practice and what effects it will have on students. We created an ASR-based interactive video assignment using Google Scripts and gave it to students as a homework assignment between lessons in which students were learning to give opinions and respond to interrogatives. We used pre- and post-treatment surveys to examine shifts in students’ attitudes and gather their responses pertaining to the interactive video assignment. In general, students thought the assignment was good practice, and the majority of students showed positive shifts in confidence and feelings of liking English (p < .001 for both, rs =.28 and rs =.48, respectively). However, we found that students over-focused on pronunciation, especially when they were more proficient learners (p =.035, r =.015). Therefore, we believe that while the activity was somewhat successful, the feedback likely needs to be changed for ASR-based systems when the focus should not be pronunciation. Future possibilities are also discussed.