2023 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Learning from Great Speakers
| Project/Area Number |
22K13170
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| Research Institution | Nanzan University |
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Principal Investigator |
MILES Richard 南山大学, 国際教養学部, 准教授 (90751602)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2022-04-01 – 2026-03-31
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| Keywords | Rhetoric / Public speaking / Rhetorical techniques / Activists / English education |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
Stage 2 of the research project was conducted this past year. This involved analyzing the prominence of rhetoric in Japanese university English oral communication courses. This qualitative study examined if rhetoric-based instruction is addressed in a sample of English language oral communication textbooks, before documenting the language learning experiences of ten Japanese university students. An amalgamation of the data reveals there is a current dearth of explicit instruction related to rhetoric. Although some micro-rhetorical techniques were featured in many of the textbooks examined in this study, they were rarely taught in an explicit manner and were frequently introduced simply as a means of improving the clarity and structure of the speech or presentation being made. From a macro perspective, the term rhetoric, its history, and its significance were not a core focus of any of the books analyzed. The student participants in Phase 2 were also largely unaware of the concept of rhetoric, although several demonstrated latent knowledge of rhetorical techniques, largely due to previous instruction from the researcher. The findings from this study were published in an international academic journal. The findings and related pedagogical implications were disseminated at four major international conferences and one domestic conference.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
The project is progressing as planned in the initial proposal. The second study was well received (both the published article and the conference presentations).
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
Three further studies have been completed in this project and will be published this coming year. One serves as a follow-up to the original study in this project and analyzes the rhetorical techniques used by Japanese gender activists. The second forthcoming publication depicts possible pedagogical approaches for teachers teaching rhetoric. The third study analyzes the rhetoric used by ChatGPT and discusses the implications.
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| Causes of Carryover |
I plan to disseminate the results of several recently completed studies at international academic conferences. I will also use funding to build an open-access website with pedagogical materials and applications stemming from my research studies.
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