2021 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
An investigation into the impact of English appropriateness and the nurturing of autonomous learning attitudes on learner developmental processes
| Project/Area Number |
18K00885
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| Research Institution | Tokai University |
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Principal Investigator |
コリンズ ピーター 東海大学, 語学教育センター, 教授 (10307241)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
藤枝 美穂 大阪医科薬科大学, 医学部, 教授 (20328173)
鈴木 広子 東海大学, 付置研究所, 教授 (50191789) [Withdrawn]
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| Project Period (FY) |
2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
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| Keywords | Reading processes / Taxonomy / Scaffolding activities / Protocol analysis / EAP course design / Tertiary education |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
The PI and CIs continued adapting the educational framework they have developed over the course of the research project. The main goal for 2021 was to draw final conclusions about how L2 learners are able to deepen their reading comprehension when given opportunities, through discussion and writing activities, to situate the language they encounter in academic reading passages. The target participants this year were first-year students enrolled in required English reading and writing classes at four different universities; their majors included global policy studies as well as a range of sciences. Student writing protocols were analyzed using CasualConc and TagAnt software according to text length, sentence length, and vocabulary length and variety. The investigators determined that, over the course of yearlong EAP classes, students advanced their ability to understand and draw on the content and language of readings and in-class activities as well as on their own insights and opinions. In addition, they were gradually able to recognize an audience for their writing on academic topics, clarifying their own writer roles in the process. The investigators have concluded that tailoring course designs to students’ EAP levels and fields of study and introducing in-class activities assignments that enable students to contextualize language and meaning advances their linguistic comprehension, critical reading skills, and their ability to interact with meaning.
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