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This paper explores Japanese elementary school students’ attitudinal responses toward diverse English accents presented in their multimodal course material. In the study, 86 sixth‐grade students (m = 48, f = 38) watched four self‐introduction videos representing Inner Circle and Expanding Circle accent varieties and rated the comprehensibility of each accent using 7‐point Likert‐type scales. In addition, they answered questions about proximity to their own accent and desirability as a learning model. Significant results suggest two major contradictions from previous studies; (1) that the White male American‐English speaker was rated least comprehensible among the four; (2) that the participants did not base their appraisal on closeness to a “native‐speaker” model in evaluating the idealness of an accent as a learning model. Based on the findings, I discuss the possible relationship between extended exposure and enhanced comprehensibility, the absence of “native‐speaker” benchmark among novice learners, and novice learners’ agency as an English user. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sleep is crucial for children’s health and eating habits. The decline in family meals has raised concerns about its impact on children. Previous research indicated associations between family meals and psychological health and dietary habits, but their relationship with sleep behavior is less understood. This study examined the association between family meals (breakfast and dinner), sleep patterns, and quality of life among Japanese preschoolers and elementary school students (1st to 3rd grade). The cross-sectional study involved 6,177 children aged 3–8 years in Japan. Mothers completed an online survey on family meal habits, sleep patterns, and the KINDL-R questionnaire to assess quality of life. Results showed that family meals were associated with sleep behaviors and KINDL scores. Multiple regression analysis indicated that family breakfast was associated with earlier bedtime and wake-up time, shorter weekend sleep duration, reduced social jet lag, and a morning chronotype, as detected by the Munich ChronoType Questionnaire. Family dinners were linked to later sleep and wake-up times and an evening chronotype. Family breakfast and dinner were associated with higher KINDL scores, with dinner having a stronger positive impact. These findings underscore the significance of family meals in associating sleep patterns and quality of life among Japanese children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Studies examining the relationships among suicidal ideation, emotional vulnerability, and depressive symptoms are scarce. This study examined the effects of emotional vulnerability and depressive symptoms on suicidal ideation among Japanese university students Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted with 370 Japanese university students. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis Results: In the multiple regression analysis, depressive symptoms were significant (β =.46, p <.001) but emotional vulnerability was not (β =.05, p =.318). A significant interaction emerged between emotional vulnerability and depressive symptoms (β =.22, p <.001). The model's R 2 value was.31 (p <.001). Simple slopes tests revealed the impact of depressive symptoms on suicidal ideation, even with low emotional vulnerability (b =.06, β =.27, p <.001), and a higher impact with high emotional vulnerability (b =.15, β =.65, p <.001) Discussion: The negative interaction between emotional vulnerability and depressive symptoms may heighten suicidal ideation among Japanese university students. Interventions targeting emotional vulnerability may help reduce suicidal ideation and achieve lower suicide rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study, based on Jiang's (2000. Lexical representation and development in a second language. Applied Linguistics 21(1). 47–77) bilingual lexicon model, investigates the learnability of collocations among 34 Japanese EFL learners and examines the influence of their L1 on such learning. An acceptability judgment task assessed the knowledge of three different types of collocations: English-only collocations that cannot be directly translated into Japanese (e.g., flat rate); congruent collocations that can be translated into Japanese without changing their meaning (e.g., cold tea); and Japanized collocations that are infelicitous in English, but felicitous in Japanese (e.g., yellow voice). After the task, participants translated the collocations and rated the difficulty on a four-point Likert scale. The relationship between the accuracy of these collocations and the translation difficulty rating scores was analyzed using mixed-effects logistic regression modeling to assess L1 influence. The results showed that with increasing L2 proficiency, learners tend to regard congruent and English-only collocations as acceptable, but even highly proficient learners did not fully reject the Japanized collocations. This suggests that as L2 proficiency increased, participants learned to accept felicitous collocations but did not learn to reject Japanized infelicitous ones. In addition, the influence of L1 was evident in English-only and Japanized collocations and could not be avoided by those with increasing proficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding a single English accent is becoming insufficient for English language learners because they are likely to encounter both first (L1) and second‐language (L2) speakers of English in various contexts. Hence, different English accents have been incorporated into the recordings used for L2 language assessments, specifically listening comprehension (LC) tests. However, the efficacy of tests using various English accents is not definitively established in the English as a foreign language (EFL) literature. Furthermore, there has been limited investigation specifically into how learners perceive the level of difficulty in comprehending various accents during listening assessments. Therefore, this study examined how the LC scores and comprehensibility ratings (ease of understanding) differed depending on accents. Seventy‐nine Japanese adult EFL learners took a multiple‐choice question‐type LC test featuring three different English accents (i.e., American, British, and Japanese) and then rated how difficult it was to understand each accent. The findings showed that, although the LC test scores did not differ significantly by accent, the participants perceived the British and Japanese accents as more difficult to understand than the American accent. The results imply that while sharing L1 with the speakers and familiarity with a certain accent may not affect speech comprehension, greater familiarity with a given accent can ease comprehension. The findings thus can shed light on the inclusion of a variety of accented speech in language tests and pedagogical instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Literature on expressed gratitude and apologies has predominantly focused on their effects within the realm of interpersonal relationships. However, it is crucial to extend the examination of these communication styles to work settings, where interpersonal dynamics significantly impact productivity. To address this, two experiments were conducted to compare the impacts of expressed gratitude and apologies among Japanese university students and company employees. The initial experiment, involving university students (n = 139), revealed that expressed gratitude heightened responsiveness and predicted outcome values in comparison to messages lacking either gratitude or apologies. The subsequent experiment, encompassing company employees (n = 499), unveiled that the effects of messages varied based on the relative statuses of the message sender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Studies examining the relationships among suicidal ideation, emotional vulnerability, and depressive symptoms are scarce. This study examined the effects of emotional vulnerability and depressive symptoms on suicidal ideation among Japanese university students Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted with 370 Japanese university students. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis Results: In the multiple regression analysis, depressive symptoms were significant (β = .46, p <.001) but emotional vulnerability was not (β = .05, p = .318). A significant interaction emerged between emotional vulnerability and depressive symptoms (β = .22, p <.001). The model's R² value was.31 (p <.001). Simple slopes tests revealed the impact of depressive symptoms on suicidal ideation, even with low emotional vulnerability (β = .06, β = .27, p <.001), and a higher impact with high emotional vulnerability (β = .15, β = .65, p <.001) Discussion: The negative interaction between emotional vulnerability and depressive symptoms may heighten suicidal ideation among Japanese university students. Interventions targeting emotional vulnerability may help reduce suicidal ideation and achieve lower suicide rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the intricate interplay of educational enthusiasm, conformity, and resistance amongst Korean students during the Japanese colonial period (1920–1945). It explores how Japan’s governance shift in the 1920s, which extended schooling years and introduced co-education, elicited mixed responses from Korean students, ranging from compliance to various forms of resistance. By examining student diaries, this study unravels the complexities of educational aspirations and resistance and challenges traditional binary views of colonial educational history. The research highlights the heightened educational zeal in the 1920s and 1930s, characterised by increased school enrolment and fierce competition for admissions. The diaries provide insight into students’ reactions to colonial policies, blending aspirations for advancement with subtle forms of resistance. In analysing diary entries, this paper uncovers how increases in student enrolment and rising educational aspirations reflect both conformity with and resistance to colonial policies. Explicit resistance, more prominent in the 1920s, was replaced by implicit forms as militarism intensified in the 1930s. This study categorises resistance into organised (overt) and disorganised (covert) forms, with the latter including subtler forms of opposition, such as disquieting, indirect, and silent resistances. The diaries examined in this study reflect the dual life experiences of students, who adhered to public norms while nurturing private dissent. Manifestations of resistance ranged from disquieting actions to metaphorical defiance and strategic silence, which illustrates students’ complex navigation between external conformity and internal rebellion. This understanding of compliance and resistance, encompassing overt acts and subtle unspoken forms, underscores the need for a comprehensive view of educational aspirations during this historical period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition from high school to university is characterized by changes in students' social and learning environments, potentially impacting sleep and learning behaviors. To examine the sleep characteristics of university students, this study aimed to (a) measure sleep in a living environment using a wearable tracker; (b) use a self‐administered questionnaire to examine the relationship between objective and subjective sleep; and (c) examine how psychological aspects are related to objective and subjective sleep. Fifty undergraduate and graduate students participated, with 310 sleep records obtained. The objective means total sleep time showed a moderately positive correlation with sleep quantity in the 3‐Dimensional Sleep Scale. Furthermore, we found that mental health, trait anxiety, and quality of life do not correlate with objective total sleep time but are significantly moderately correlated with subjective sleep quantity. The combination of wearable trackers and subjective reports may provide a more precise understanding of university students' actual sleep patterns and how different aspects of sleep behavior are associated with health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the needs for the facilitation for multicultural group work (MCGW) in classrooms in internationalized higher education, research on teaching assistants' (TAs) potential to facilitate MCGW has been lacked. This mixed-method study examined how a course design for activating MCGW, which strategically engaged TAs, influenced the social dynamics of MCGW and students' learning outcomes in an English-taught undergraduate course at a standalone international university in Japan. The results revealed that both Japanese and international students made group work inclusive and international students demonstrated altruistic attitudes for Japanese students with foundational English skills. Students expressed their views in their groups and increasingly bore responsibility for group tasks, but not to the extent that everyone in the group equally expressed their views and bore an equal share of the responsibility. Meanwhile, the percentage of students receiving lower grades decreased. Therefore, the course design positively affected the group dynamics and students' learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The validity of the standard ideal L2 self scale has increasingly been called into question. This paper reports both quantitative and qualitative investigations into whether the ideal L2 self items tap into the intended construct of an actual–ideal discrepancy. Study 1 involved an experimental approach manipulating the items to explicitly refer to ability beliefs. Data from 1,362 participants across three countries (Austria, China, and Saudi Arabia) showed a lack of discriminant validity between original and manipulated items. Study 2 used cognitive interviewing to examine the thought processes of 24 Japanese university students as they responded to ideal L2 self items. Thematic analysis revealed that responses were dominated by reflections on current ability and expectations about using the language in specific situations, rather than envisioning an idealised future self. The findings of Studies 1 and 2 converge to indicate that the standard ideal L2 self scale does not successfully operationalise the intended theoretical construct of actual–ideal self discrepancies. Instead, responses are mostly driven by beliefs about ability to achieve the states described in each item. The results therefore challenge the validity of this widely-used scale, calling for a reinterpretation of its findings in the L2 Motivational Self System literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One notable characteristic of the Iwakura Mission was, in Tanaka Akira's words, its historical and cultural "continuity in discontinuity." While its leaders were mostly from the aristocracy and the powerful Satsuma and Chōshū domains with little experience in the West, the secretaries who assisted them were former Tokugawa retainers that were experts in foreign affairs. The ryūgakusei , or overseas students, who were in the United States or Europe prior to the mission's arrival and joined them on site, were another group that exemplified the "continuity." Reform-minded daimyo and the progressive members of the Tokugawa regime had dispatched many to the West during the Tokugawa period with the very purpose to become useful servants to assist Japan's quick and successful modernization. Once recruited to the mission, these ryūgakusei served as guides, interpreters, and investigators, collecting and compiling information on various institutions and policies in the respective countries. The knowledge, experience, and linguistic skills they had acquired and the network they created while abroad were vital in facilitating the Iwakura Mission and the new Meiji government's subsequent effort of modernization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Readers should construct a coherent discourse during reading comprehension. The ability to build coherence has been examined using coherence and cohesion judgment tasks. Although eye-tracking studies have been conducted on building coherence or processing cohesion among native language users, few such studies have been conducted with second language learners. This study investigated the process of conducting a task using eye-tracking with 30 Japanese university students who were asked to judge the coherence between two sentences on a screen. The 24 stimulus items consisted of four conditions (with or without coherence and cohesion), and six items were assigned to each condition. The fixation duration in some areas and frequencies of the regressions were measured. The results showed that the difference in fixation duration between conditions was not statistically significant, but the frequencies of regressions were significantly different, with incoherent-cohesive pairs having more regressions than incoherent-incohesive pairs. Thus, the study revealed that readers might make more inferences because of the contradictory information of the condition, which partly supports previous research on native participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of prenatal testing in Japan is expected to increase. However, there are ethical concerns regarding pregnancy termination upon the detection of fetal chromosomal abnormalities, such as Down syndrome. Furthermore, factors associated with decision-making following a positive result of Down syndrome after prenatal screening remain unclear. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the association between decision-making among university students following a hypothetical positive result of Down syndrome in prenatal screening and their perception of their future career development defined as vocational identity. This cross-sectional study included 256 individuals (109 men, 143 women, and four who preferred not to answer). Self-anonymous semi-structured questionnaires were distributed to collect information regarding socio-demographic characteristics, vocational identity, and decision-making following a positive prenatal screening result of Down syndrome. Vocational identity was assessed using the Vocational Identity Measure. Women students were more likely to intend to continue the pregnancy (76.9%, p < 0.05); however, students without siblings (68.2%, p < 0.01) and men and women students with higher scores for vocational identities who were raised in an academically oriented family were more likely to intend to terminate the pregnancy (p < 0.05). Therefore, gender and vocational identity were associated with decision-making following a positive result of Down syndrome. Further qualitative and quantitative studies on factors associated with decision-making following a positive result of Down syndrome are necessary to eliminate the burden and social barrier, including gender division of labor and the effect of vocational career for people wishing to parent a child with Down syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Response styles to depressive mood, which are ruminative or distractive responses, have both adaptive and maladaptive forms. The adaptiveness of ruminative/distractive responses is associated with decentering. However, whether decentering increases using adaptive response styles or adaptive (maladaptive) response styles heighten (lower) decentering levels remains unclear. This short-term longitudinal survey examined the sequential influence of decentering on response styles and the indirect effect of decentering on depression through response styles. One hundred twenty-six Japanese undergraduates completed questionnaires on response styles, decentering, and depressive symptoms at two points in time, four weeks apart. Cross-lagged panel analyses indicated that decentering predicted lower maladaptive ruminative and distractive responses and a higher adaptive ruminative response. Adaptive ruminative response predicted higher decentering. Furthermore, mediation analyses showed that decentering influenced depression through adaptive/maladaptive ruminative responses. Results suggest that an individual's decentering level partly determines which response style is likely to be used when an initial depressive mood is experienced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to understand the dynamics and impact of emotional presence in a collaborative learning environment and its effects on the learning process and outcomes. Emotional presence, defined as the experience of emotion arising from cognitive appraisals in learner-environment interactions, encompasses four dimensions: interest-curiosity, emotional regulation, expression management, and emotional awareness. Using a mixed-methods approach, we surveyed 33 Japanese college students engaged in collaborative learning activities and conducted in-depth interviews with 10 participants to gather qualitative insights. The study revealed that emotional presence evolves throughout the collaborative process, with increased emotional regulation in response to complex tasks, reflecting learners' adaptations to varying task demands. It highlighted the importance of emotional regulation in shaping the learning process and improving outcomes in collaborative learning. Our findings suggest that heightened emotional presence, with increased emotional awareness and regulation, fosters cognitive development and learner well-being, supporting more effective and fulfilling collaborative learning experiences. The study also emphasizes the crucial role of cognitive appraisal in shaping emotional experiences, significantly influencing outcomes in technology-enhanced environments. The study concludes by proposing future research directions, such as examining the longitudinal impacts of emotional presence and exploring interventions to enhance emotional regulation skills in diverse learning contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Competency in the use of information science and technology (IST) is essential for medical students. This study identified learning objectives and competencies that correspond with low self-assessment related to use of IST and factors that improve such self-assessment among medical students. Methods: A questionnaire was administered to sixth-year medical students across 82 medical schools in Japan between November 2022 and February 2023. Results: Three learning objectives were identified as difficult for the students to achieve: (1) provide an overview of the regulations, laws, and guidelines related to IST in medicine; (2) discuss ethical issues, such as social disparities caused by the digital divide that may arise in the use of IST in medicine; and (3) understand IST related to medical care. Further, problem-based learning, engaging with IST beyond class, and learning approach impacted the students' acquisition of competencies related to IST. Furthermore, it was recognized that the competencies required by medical students may change over the course of an updated medical school curriculum. Conclusions: It is important for medical students to recognize the significance of learning, establishing active learning methods, and gaining experience in practically applying these competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Studies have presented evidence for mental number representation in Western cultures, where smaller numbers are assumed on the left and larger numbers on the right. Writing systems to represent numbers vary according to culture. Although, in Japan, Arabic numerals are primarily used, traditio - nal Kanji and Kana characters are also employed. However, studies investigating mental number line representation involving Kanji and Kana characters are lacking. This study exami - ned the characteristics of the mental number line in Ja pa nese culture using a numerical bisection task. Material/Methods: A total of 36 right-handed Japanese university students participated in this study. Each participant was asked to judge which flanker number in a triplet was farther from the middle number (e.g., 19-42-55). Similar trials were conducted for each digit triplet of Arabic, Kanji, and Kana numerals. Results: Despite changing the spatial configuration of the stimuli, the participants consistently overestimated the numerical length to the left for each digit triplet of Arabic numerals. Although the sequence effect was a leftward bias for descending sequences than for ascending sequences, no numerical distance effect was observed, in which the leftward bias would be stronger for a higher numerical distance between the stimuli. Although a similar leftward bias was observed for Kanji numerals, no unidirectional bias was found for Kana numerals. Conclusions: The reason a leftward bias was not observed for Kana numerals is that, unlike Arabic and Kanji numerals, they were considered in relation to the nature of number notation in Japanese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasing number of studies have shown that several factors other than food and drink itself, such as design of packaging, cutlery and plateware, slightly but significantly affect taste/flavor perception of food and drink. This study aimed to broaden the knowledge by investigating the influence of the color of the plateware both on expectation and perception of chocolate taste/flavor by applying a between-participants design. Participants (48 Japanese university students) were presented with four different chocolates, and rated their expected (pre-tasting) and perceived (post-tasting) taste/flavor of the chocolates. While half of the participants were presented with the chocolates on red platewares, the other half on black platewares. The results showed that, whereas the chocolates were expected as more bitter when presented on the red plateware than the black plateware, they were perceived as sweeter when tasted from the red plateware than the black plateware. The observed discrepancy between pre-tasting expectation and post-tasting perception cannot be simply explained by sensation transference (i.e., expectation assimiliation), which would have predict that both expected and percieved sweetness would be enhanced in the red plateware condition. Possible explanations and practical implications are also discussed. Plain language summary: This study aimed to investigate the effect of the color of plateware on taste perception of chocolates. Participants were asked to taste and evaluate chocolates either from a red or black plateware. Even though the chocolates were expected as more bitter when presented on the red plateware, they were perceived as sweeter when tasted from the red plateware than the black plateware. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GIScience is essential to geography education. Different curriculums and textbooks have been developed to teach GIScience in classrooms through lectures and exercises corresponding to the educational situation of each country. We developed e-learning materials based on existing research outcomes for GIScience education in Japan, such as the Japanese GIS core curriculum for university education. Using the materials, we held a three-day intensive GIScience class at the University of Tokyo from 2018 to 2022 with questionnaire surveys to investigate the educational effects of the materials and factors influencing GIScience learning. The attending students browsed the materials and studied GIScience by themselves but asked questions of teachers if necessary. The questionnaire survey results indicate that most students felt geospatial data processing is somewhat complex, but they were satisfied with the opportunity of GIScience learning. Whether the students thought the exercise was simple and easy depended on their confidence in computer knowledge and operation and their preferred learning style at their own pace. The students' satisfaction level and ease in using the material correlate with their motivation level, the number of questions they asked the others, and their preferred style for learning at their own pace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The Test of Self-Conscious Affect-3 (TOSCA-3) is a scenario-based measure of self-conscious emotions. We aimed to create an abridged version of the TOSCA-3 that is appropriate for Japanese populations and has a good fit with the data, as well as validate its subscales. Methods: The TOSCA-3 was distributed to (a) a university student population (n = 512: Study 1) and (b) a parent population (n = 260: Study 2). In both studies, items with factor loading < 0.33 were deleted one by one to select culturally appropriate scenarios for each of the six domains of self-conscious emotions. In Study 1, self-conscious emotions were correlated with the other correlates. Results: Most of the final models showed a good fit with the data. In Study 1, the six domains of self-conscious emotions showed correlations with depression and related items, dispositional coping styles, experiences in childhood, ego function, borderline and narcissistic personality traits, and adult attachment styles, almost in the expected fashions. Conclusions: The TOSCA-3 is a useful tool to measure self-conscious emotions among Japanese student and parent populations if a few culturally inappropriate scenarios are deleted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examined cross‐cultural differences in perceptions of certain externalizing symptoms, such as those of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder – hyperactivity impulsivity (ADHD‐HI) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM‐5). For this study, 39 American and 34 Japanese college students rated the acceptability of externalizing symptoms. The results showed cross‐cultural patterns of perceptions for externalizing symptoms. In terms of ADHD‐HI symptoms, Americans were less accepting of "often interrupts or intrudes on others" and "often has difficulty awaiting his or her turn" while Japanese individuals were less accepting of "often fidgets with or taps hands or feet or squirms in seat" and "often on the go, acting as if driven by motor." For ODD symptoms, Americans were less accepting of "often blames others," "often actively defies or refuses to comply with request," "is often angry and resentful," "often loses temper," and "often deliberately annoys others." This study showed the possible perceptual differences of symptoms between Japanese and American populations, which may be the first step in testing the nonequivalence of DSM‐5 constructs of externalizing disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secure attachment relationships with important others (one type of emotional bond) can lead to more adaptive identity formation. We studied the relation of attachment representations with meaning-making and in-depth exploration, two factors contributing to identity formation. Meaning-making is a process of understanding identity from past events, while in-depth exploration is a process of deeply considering identity issues. Our participants were Japanese university students (N = 100; male = 50%; Mage = 20.91; SD = 1.35). We measured attachment representations, positive and negative meaning-making, and in-depth exploration using interviews and questionnaires. The results revealed that secure attachment representations related to positive meaning-making but did not relate to negative meaning-making or in-depth exploration. Overall, this study highlights that individuals with secure representations found a positive meaning in their identity when narrating their past events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-assessment in dental education is considered a fundamental skill for proficient oral healthcare providers. While previous studies looked at self-assessment in education, few have done so at Japanese institutions. This study aimed to assess potential associations between gender and self-assessment skills in Japanese dental students. Dental students from Niigata University (n = 301) completed preclinical prosthodontic exercises and self-assessed their practical exam performance. Three calibrated faculty evaluated students' work using the same rubric. The difference between student self-assessment score and mean faculty grade was defined as the student-faculty (S-F) gap, indicating how accurately students evaluated their work. The gap scores were stratified by quartiles by faculty grade and by gender. Regression analysis was used to investigate potential associations. Students mean S-F gap was 2.9 ± 10.5 % with a significant negative association to faculty grades (coefficient, −0.32; P < 0.001). There was no significant difference between male and female students for faculty grades, self-assessment scores, and S-F gaps. When stratified by quartile, mean S-F gaps of bottom quartile students (5.7 ± 11.9 %) were significantly higher than the rest of the class (1.9 ± 9.8 %; P = 0.01), while the mean S-F gaps of students in the top quartile (−0.8 ± 10.2 %) were significantly lower than the rest of the class (4.2 ± 10.3 %; P < 0.001). Niigata University students generally overestimated their performance. Students with higher faculty grades self-assessed themselves more accurately than students with lower faculty grades. Gender did not influence S-F gaps, despite dentistry in Japan shifting toward a female-dominated field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Magazine of Historical Studies & Archaeology is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Acta Linguistica Asiatica is the property of Acta Linguistica Asiatica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Acta Linguistica Asiatica is the property of Acta Linguistica Asiatica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This mixed-methods study explored the development of morphological awareness in learning Chinese as a third language, focusing on how the activation of a learner's multilingual repertoire can influence morphological awareness. The study was conducted for a period of eight weeks with 62 Japanese students in a Chinese learning program at a university in China. The students are native Japanese speakers with English and Chinese as their second and third languages. The students were allocated into an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group received translanguaging instruction, while the control group completed learning through the monolingual approach for which the language of instruction was Chinese. The main aim of the translanguaging intervention was to help students utilize their multilinguistic repertoire across languages for their morphology learning. The results revealed that morphology learning scores were higher for the participants in the experimental group than the control group. The focus group interviews revealed that the students in the experimental group favorably perceived the use of translanguaging strategies for morphology learning. Moreover, the students in the experimental group reported cognitive, interactive, and affective benefits from translanguaging pedagogy. Finally, this paper presents relevant implications for the use of translanguaging pedagogy for teaching morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the relationship between foreign language (FL) oral proficiency development and teachers' pedagogical practices in content and language integrated learning (CLIL). A one-group pretest-posttest design was employed to analyze changes in Japanese university students' FL proficiency over time, alongside classroom observations and interviews that captured their teachers' classroom pedagogies in CLIL courses. The results generally indicated that students improved their capacity to achieve communicative goals but failed to exhibit progress in oral linguistic competence. The former outcome was attributed to predominantly meaning-focused instruction, the use of dialogic pedagogy, and ample opportunities to practice FL speaking. In contrast, the absence of explicit language instruction and limited practice of fluency development tasks was perceived to lead to the latter outcome. These findings not only contribute to understanding the effects of CLIL on FL learning, but also shed light on the specific pedagogy-related factors that contribute to FL proficiency development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ChatGPT, a natural language-processing tool that is trained with a vast number of human languages, allows users to engage in human-to-human-like conversations. To date, the motivational effects of sophisticated AI-powered and multifunctional chatbots on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners have not been fully explored. This study included 10 EFL students at a Japanese university who enrolled in massive open online courses (MOOCs) and used ChatGPT. The students’ comments on ChatGPT regarding its use and effects on their motivational aspects were qualitatively examined through open coding procedures, and the findings suggested that students were motivated and experienced decreased anxiety. Furthermore, the students showed that although ChatGPT could motivate them through private learning assistance, it could also reduce students’ confidence if not used appropriately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the increasing global demand, few medical students aspire to become generalists. To address this shortage, we investigated medical students' impressions of generalists in Japan. Methods: This cross‐sectional study used a web‐based questionnaire from a previous study. The participants chose the impression of a generalist from four categories based on the previous report: family physician, hospital family physician, hospitalist, and general internal medicine. Results: Medical students' impressions were as follows: family physicians (32%), hospitalists (28%), general internal medicine staff (20%), and hospital family physicians (18%). Students considered reasonable working hours, research opportunities, a clinical clerkship in generalist medicine, and information from university faculty as essential for making career choices. Conclusions: The study demonstrated that the number of Japanese medical students who considered generalists to be family physicians/hospital family physicians and the number of those who considered generalists to be hospitalists/general internal medicine were almost equal. To increase the number of medical students who consider and choose to become generalists, understanding their impressions of generalist practice and their needs regarding work settings in that role is crucial. Understanding how medical students think of Generalists helps to address the global demands. Medical students' impressions of generalists were family physicians, hospitalists, general internal medicine, and hospital‐based family physicians. Medical students have varying impressions of generalists, and the individual factors affecting their career choices differ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the importance of motivation in language learning, specifically in school-aged learners. It discusses the challenges faced by educators in motivating language learners and the theoretical developments in the field. The article emphasizes the need for more research on school-aged learners' motivation and the role of teachers in fostering motivation. It also introduces a special issue that includes studies on gamification, task engagement, and instructional settings in relation to motivation. The text further discusses various studies on motivation and engagement in language learning, including the importance of considering students' full linguistic repertoires, the use of non-digital gamification techniques, and the characteristics of tasks that maximize engagement. It also explores the concept of Directed Motivational Currents (DMCs) and how they can lead to profound change in language learning. Finally, a study examines the creation of a group DMC through project work in a university language classroom. These studies contribute to our understanding of motivation and engagement in language learning and highlight the need for further research in this area. [Extracted from the article]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led to significant lifestyle changes and uncertainties, triggering a secondary wave of mental health issues in society. University students are especially susceptible to mental disorders. International students are considered more vulnerable due to limited emotional and financial support from their families and difficulties accessing community support. Hence, we conducted a longitudinal analysis to compare depressive symptoms among international students before and during the pandemic. Methods: Data from depression screenings conducted at the University of Tsukuba in 2019 and 2020 were utilized. We included all students enrolled in 2019 who underwent health check-ups in both 2019 and 2020. Participants completed the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), enabling a comparison of item scores between domestic and international students. Psychopathological network analysis was employed to examine relationships among the items. Results: Prior to the pandemic, international students generally exhibited relatively good mental health compared with domestic students. During the 2020 pandemic, no significant difference was observed, but international students tended to demonstrate better mental health. However, network analysis revealed intergroup variations in the relationships among PHQ-9 items, with concentration problems and suicidal thoughts being more prominent among international students. Conclusion: This study's findings suggest that young people studying abroad experience mental health crises similar to their domestic counterparts. Nevertheless, the patterns of these crises may differ between the two groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although several researchers have demonstrated that foreign language (FL) learning experience has a limited effect on the short-term development of second language (L2) fluency, recent studies have suggested that learners can gain long-term (over one year) benefits from FL learning experiences. As a part of the present study, 50 Japanese university students were exposed to L2 learning experience over the course of one academic year to monitor its impact on L2 fluency measures (i.e. speed, breakdown, and repair fluency) in FL context. The relationship between the development of L2 fluency measures and learners' learning experiences inside and outside the classroom was also investigated. The results showed a significant decrease in the length of between-clause and within-clause pauses that learners made. Furthermore, the correlational analysis showed that their L2 learning experience was uniquely associated with the development of between-clause pause frequency and repair frequency. These findings suggest that, while relatively long-term FL learning impacts the development of L2 fluency, it produces a unique pattern, whereby the effectiveness of FL learning is influenced by how students make the best use of their learning experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the knowledge of English phrasal verbs (PVs) among Japanese university students. PVs have been described by learners as ambiguous and difficult, often resulting in their avoidance, and much of the literature has focused on how they can be taught effectively. However, it is relatively unknown as to what knowledge learners typically develop on their own without undergoing classroom interventions that focus specifically on PVs. To investigate this issue, a survey on PVs was distributed to eight different departments at universities across Japan resulting in 221 participants, with six students participating in follow‐up interviews. The data from the PV survey provided qualitative data for analysis, the interviews were transcribed, and axial coding was utilized to formulate a holistic examination of the participants' knowledge of PVs. The results revealed that the participants had an awareness of PVs but had acquired most of them as chunks of language without much knowledge of their individual parts, which was found to lower their confidence and increase their perceived difficulty. Additionally, directional PVs, particularly with go and come, were the easiest for the participants due to L1–L2 similarities. However, their understanding of idiomatic and aspectual PVs appeared to be superficial and lacking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intentional Teaching Gestures are gestures that have been created as a pedagogical tool for second language teaching and learning and are used in many Japanese programs. Despite their widespread use, little is known about their impact on students' oral language production. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the effect of Intentional Teaching Gestures on students' Japanese production. This paper reports on the quality of students' oral language production from two Story Re-tell tasks, one with and one without viewing Intentional Teaching Gestures (ITG), after learning Japanese as a second language with ITG. Thematic analysis was undertaken of the Story Re-tell transcription data from 170 primary school participants. Findings identify that viewing ITG whilst doing Story Re-tell positively impacted learners' oral production. The breadth of benefits included increases in the quantity of output that students produced, the expanded informational content included in their stories, and students' increased use of a range of verbs and particles in their utterances. Viewing ITG also provided support for students' structuring of utterances, supported self correction, and led to an improvement in their overall oral performance. These benefits have wide ranging pedagogical implications for Japanese teachers and learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many Japanese secondary students struggle to write in English despite goals to raise their abilities. The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) has set a target of 50% of students achieving at level A2 or above. However, reports show that approximately 80% are only performing at level A1. There is also evidence that writing instruction is deprioritized in favor of reading instruction. In such a context, it is critical to examine approaches to writing instruction which might lead to better outcomes. One potential approach is Reading to Learn (R2L). This paper reports on an exploratory study investigating six Japanese EFL teachers' perceptions of the suitability of R2L for the Japanese EFL context. R2L was introduced to the teachers first, and then they were asked to workshop a potential lesson plan using R2L in their own contexts. Teachers were interviewed before and after the workshop and their discussions during the lesson planning session were also recorded. Results show that teachers felt R2L would be both feasible and beneficial, suggesting further investigation into how it might be made more widespread in Japan is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored how student assessments, that is, self-assessment and peer assessment, were related to learning-oriented assessment (LOA) by exploring the reliability and the effects of each assessment type on students' writing performance and learner affect. A total of 293 students aged 15 to 18 years participated in the survey. They were divided into 2 groups, self-assessment group (147 students) and peer assessment group (146 students). Each group had a rater training and then had 5 consecutive writing sessions for ten days. Just after writing English compositions, each assessment group evaluated their own writing or a peer's writing. After the sessions, 12 students and 2 teachers were interviewed. It was found that each as- sessment type had similar but different effects on writing performance and learner affect. It was also found that teachers were expected to intervene in self- and peer assessment to make learning-oriented assessment more successful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vocabulary learning is a process requiring the connection of mental concepts to new word-labels. The Revised Hierarchical Model claims that beginning learners recognize the meaning of L2 words via a process of translation, needing considerable time and effort to forge direct connections between L2 words and mental concepts. However, might young children, as they are still rapidly acquiring L1 vocabulary, be able to bypass the L2-to-L1 translation required by adult L2 learners, and instead link new L2 words directly to pre-existing mental concepts? This study tested over 1,000 4th-6th graders in Japanese elementary schools on their ability to match newly learned L2 words with corresponding pictures or L1 translations. The results demonstrate that students connect L2 vocabulary to pictures more quickly, and this effect becomes more robust when students are taught via pictures, which suggests that young learners are indeed capable of accessing concepts without translating from their L1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent shift to online instruction, many universities have been exploring hybrid approaches that leverage the benefits of both face-to-face and online learning. In this study, we examined the relationship of personality traits with degree of subjective learning and satisfaction in different class formats among Japanese university students. The results revealed that loneliness and extraversion were associated with evaluations of face-to-face classes, while self-control, anxiety about conversations with classmates, and anxiety about speaking and giving presentations were associated with evaluations of real-time interactive classes. Computer anxiety and anxiety about speaking and giving presentations were related to evaluations of on-demand classes. These findings suggest that the different personality traits of university students may influence their degree of subjective learning and satisfaction depending on the class format. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between self-esteem and emotional reactions to receiving comfort has been extensively studied in social and personality psychology, but the results have been inconsistent. Therefore, this study investigated the association between emotional reactions to receiving comfort from friends and self-esteem by examining whether an instability in self-esteem mediates the association between self-esteem levels and comfort effectiveness. Japanese university students (N = 115) read a vignette involving comfort and completed a questionnaire evaluating the emotions they felt when a friend offered comfort. They also completed a daily measure of state self-esteem for 7 days, the perceived self-Esteem instability measure (P-SEI), and the Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSES). Results were derived using multiple regression analysis. The interaction between P-SEI and RSES predicted gratitude when gender, friendship intimacy, seriousness, and controllability of the scenario were controlled for. The interaction between state self-esteem and instability was not significant. People with stable low self-esteem felt less grateful when comforted than those with unstable self-esteem, but they showed high gratitude and low hostility when comforted by a close friend. Although participants with stable low self-esteem were less impacted by comforted, the comfort provided by close friends induced positive emotions. This study offers a more comprehensive understanding of the correlations between self-esteem and the effectiveness of comfort by concurrently employing different self-esteem measurement tools and revealing the importance of the level and stability of self-esteem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In recent years, new forms of media-social networking services (SNS)-such as Facebook and Sina Weibo have spread rapidly. Greater SNS use has been associated with greater body dissatisfaction, which in turn, is related to greater eating disorder (ED) symptom severity. In this study, we (1) investigated the relationships between ED tendencies, SNS use intensity, and body esteem and (2) examined the mediating role of body esteem in the relationship between SNS use intensity and ED tendencies among Japanese and Chinese students. Methods: A total of 564 Japanese and Chinese college students aged 18–22 years were surveyed on their age and BMI, including self-filling questions from the Japanese and Chinese versions of the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), SNS Intensity Scale, Body Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults (BESAA), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale. Results: The proportion of students with a score of ≥ 20 on the EAT-26 was 15.8% (Japanese, 14.7%; Chinese, 17.0%). The number of participants with scores ≥ 20 on the EAT-26 was significantly higher than ever before, both in Japan and China. Chinese students reported greater body esteem than Japanese students, as well as a stronger association of SNS use intensity with body esteem. Among Japanese students, EAT-26 scores were unrelated to SNS Intensity Scale scores but had a weak negative correlation with BESAA scores; therefore, body esteem did not mediate the relationship between SNS use intensity and ED tendencies. Among Chinese students, scores on the SNS Intensity Scale and BESAA had a weak correlation with EAT-26 scores, and SNS use intensity reduced ED tendencies through greater body esteem. Conclusions: It is important to consider the way users engage with SNS, in addition to the SNS use intensity. Improving body esteem may reduce the risk of ED. Furthermore, it is necessary to include men in the discussion on ED in the future. Plain English summary: We investigated the relationships between eating disorder (ED) tendencies, social networking service (SNS) use intensity, and body esteem among Japanese and Chinese students, and compared the findings. We surveyed 564 Japanese and Chinese students regarding basic demographic information, ED tendencies, SNS use, body esteem, depression, and anxiety. The results showed that the number of participants with scores ≥ 20 on the Eating Attitudes Test was significantly higher than ever before, both in Japan and China. In Japanese students, body esteem affected ED tendencies, while SNS use intensity did not. In Chinese students, SNS use intensity reduced ED tendencies through greater body esteem. There were no gender differences in Eating Attitudes Test scores among Japanese students. This study provides evidence for the relationship between ED tendencies, SNS use, and body esteem in Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, depression and suicide rates increased worldwide, and in Japan. Presumably, an increase of neuroticism-related personality traits mediates the relation linking the COVID-19 pandemic with depression and suicide. This study examined COVID-19 pandemic effects on dysfunctional attitudes, cognitive vulnerability to depression, in healthy participants. Methods: The study used Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS) -24 data of three subscales (i.e., achievement, dependency, and self-control) obtained from 270 Japanese medical students during October 2017 – June 2022. Participants were divided into two groups: those for whom DAS-24 was assessed before the pandemic (phase 1 group, October 2017 – March 2020, n = 178) and those for whom DAS-24 was assessed during the pandemic (phase 2 group, April 2020 – June 2022, n = 92). Results: Total DAS-24 scores of the phase 2 group were significantly (p = 0.047) lower than those of the phase 1 group. Scores of the dependency subscale for the phase 2 group were significantly (p = 0.002) lower than those for the phase 1 group, but no significant difference was found in the scores of the achievement and self-control subscales. Conclusions: These findings suggest that a decrease in DAS-24 scores, particularly of the dependency subscale, occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Possible mechanisms underlying these results are 1) individuals became less preoccupied with receiving evaluation, 2) individuals realized that self-cognition depending on the approval of others is unimportant, and 3) high levels of dysfunctional attitude were maladaptive for obtaining affective benefits via social interactions during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper illustrates my (Yamashita's) critical self-reflection as a female social work student from Japan living in Australia while conducting my first placement in an organisation that provides refugees and asylum seekers with holistic mental health support. The selfreflective process on a small miscommunication enabled me to learn lessons and identify strengths as a future social worker by unpacking the influence of my own cultural background. The main implication of this paper is that, particularly in the multicultural setting, applying selfreflection and self-critique even to small encounters enables social workers to grow as professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]