Why do Japanese students study in English medium programs in a non-English speaking country?:A large scale project on study abroad motivation and outcomes

2021 Fiscal Year Research-status Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K13071
• Research Institution: Hiroshima University
• Principal Investigator: TANABE JULIA 広島大学, 外国語教育研究センター, 助教 (90868233)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: study abroad / motivation / lingua franca / ICC

Outline of Annual Research Achievements

The first year was spent with various preparations:
To create the data collection instrument, the literature was carefully reviewed and I attended the JALT national conference (2021/11) and gathered data from the presentations in the Study Abroad Forum. The first pilot questionnaire was compiled, based on Japanese students' written accounts on their intercultural encounters abroad. The questionnaire items were carefully selected from both previous research and data collected from students. The findings were accepted for publication in the UPRT journal. The expected date of publication is 2022 July. The findings will be also presented at the JALT PanSIG conference in Nagano in 2022 July.

Current Status of Research Progress

3: Progress in research has been slightly delayed.

Reason

Due to travel restrictions because of the pandemic, data collection in Hungary was slightly delayed for next year. Online data collection was attempted; however, it was difficult to collect sufficient responses online. Therefore, at this point data was collected from Japanese students in Japan, with study abroad experiences in non-English speaking countries. Further data collection in person will take place in Hungary, next year, in order to progress further.

Strategy for Future Research Activity

Next year, the questionnaire items will be refined further, based on the preliminary results, to ensure reliability. The revised questionnaire will be administered with a large number of Japanese participants in Hungary, in person.
The researcher will analyse the findings using SPSS for descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. In addition, in Hungary, the researcher will conduct follow-up interviews with students about the questionnaire results to be able to gain an explanation of the questionnaire outcomes. Further, mentors and teachers will be asked to give interviews about students’ study abroad motivation as well. The interviews will be transcribed by students and they will be hired for that.

Causes of Carryover

Because of corona virus, data collection in Hungary was not possible but from now travel restrictions are lifted and data collection will be possible and I would like to use the roll over budget for buying air ticket and other travel expenses.