The United States and Japan have maintained a close and mutually advantageous economic and trade relationship since the end of WWII. This large amount of trade unfortunately has not always been balanced in the eyes of one nation or the other. The U.S. in particular, has been vocal about any disparities, with the threat and action of tariffs on Japanese goods. This submission will center on the...
Rizal Technological University
arianenicoledacula@gmail.com
This study explores how discourse markers and hand gestures enhance coherence in academic oral presentations among L2 learners. Using a qualitative design, video presentations of ten second-year English majors were analyzed through Creswell’s (2012) six-step framework and multimodal discourse analysis. Results show that markers...
Researchers had surveyed 571 students regarding their attitudes and perceptions of using AI, especially in the context of English listening practice. Results showed that students are mostly comfortable with using AI to practice English listening, which can allow for greater customization of English listening practice. This can help foster learner autonomy and help teachers create appropriate...
This presentation explores gender disparity in Japanese university EFL teaching, a field where women dominate the contingent workforce yet face systemic inequities. Despite broader attention to gender inequality in Japanese workplaces and unions, little research has examined its impact in this context. Drawing on two studies, I analyze interviews with female EFL professionals and their...
U.S. studies on the use of name tents to encourage students to learn each other’s names have suggested that one of the related benefits is that students knowing individual class members’ names can lead to enhanced opportunities for meaningful interaction outside of the classroom. These opportunities can be advantageous for positive social and educational development. This study explores...
Tyson Rode and Patrizia M.J. Hayashi
Meikai University
This study reports students’ perceptions of using AI to assist with the preparation of a Model United Nations activity in a university-level EFL discussion and debate focused class. The research herein describes an approach taken by an EFL instructor to develop learners' content knowledge quickly through the use of traditional...
Research on metacognitive awareness among Arabic learners in Islamic universities is limited. This study provides the first validation of the Junior Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (Jr. MAI) in the Indonesian Arabic language learning context. A total of 216 students from seven Islamic universities participated. The translated Jr. MAI achieved a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.840, with 16 of 18 items...
Commerce and its language can support—or block—prospects for peace and equal human rights. One critical current example is commerce (and associated language) that supports Israel’s chronic and systematic rejection of: equal rights for Palestinians, international rule-of-law, and international peace through dialogue. This presentation will examine efforts, specifically the global popular...
The evaluation of English speaking proficiency remains a challenge for learners and teachers in Japan. This study examines learner evaluation of EFL communicative adequacy. Communicative adequacy has been conceptualized as the extent to which speakers successfully achieve the communicative goals of a given task (Pallotti, 2009). Fifty Japanese university students evaluated a video of two...
This plenary presents findings from a large-scale corpus analysis of over one million words from the public speeches of 100 globally recognized leaders, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Larry Page. The results reveal a clear pattern: these leaders consistently use specific communication strategies designed to move their audience from passive listeners to active participants. In...
This presentation examines the use of English in Japanese business contexts through the lens of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF). Based on interviews with Japanese bilingual professionals, the study finds that English is mainly used to communicate with non-Japanese-speaking counterparts, while Japanese remains preferred among Japanese colleagues. Mandating English in such interactions is seen...
This presentation will introduce findings from a qualitative study of the language practices of plurilingual undergraduate students of business at a Canadian university. It will explore themes including how the participants report drawing on their respective L1s, other languages in their linguistic repertoires, and cultural knowledge – while navigating learning in an English-dominant context....
Amid rising polarization, instruction that fosters the holding of multiple truths is critical. Drawing on classroom-tested activities from university courses, this practical session introduces a repeatable protocol for teaching multiperspectivity, using Ainu representation in Japanese textbooks as an illustrative case. Activities were developed and used in second- through fourth-year Japanese...
Women, Peace and Security（WPS）は、2000年の国連安保理決議1325に端を発し、女性の平和構築・安全保障分野への参画を促す国際的枠組みです。欧米では制度化が進む一方、アジア地域は多様な安全保障環境・政治文化を背景に、一律の導入が難しい側面があります。日本においても自衛隊が非伝統的分野においてWPSに関連した取り組みを進めていますが、その意義や方向性は明確ではありません。本発表は、アジアにおけるWPS履行の実情と課題を整理し、地域的なWPSモデルを提案することを目的とします。特に、自衛隊が担いうる役割と今後の展望に焦点を当てます。
Asian countries have historically followed, rather than led, in international trade law. While India and China were early GATT members, China withdrew early and rejoined the WTO only in 2001. India has consistently participated but often with skepticism, opposing initiatives like Joint Statement Initiatives (JSIs). Today, China is assuming a leadership role, especially in investment...
Hakusan Geo, a student club at a private university, uses English to promote the Hakusan Tedorigawa UNESCO Global Geopark to attract international tourists. In 2024, the project received a grant from the University Consortium Ishikawa for regional issue research support. Among many initiatives, the students created an English-Japanese picture book on the 400-year history of local craft,...
Japanese universities promote global issues, yet many students remain disengaged. I was one of them until an educational program in my fourth year took me to a slum school in Kenya, where I witnessed students’ fierce commitment to learning despite severe deprivation. This visceral experience led me to politics: I want Japanese people to feel the urgency of social problems near and far. This...
Colleagues separated by 6400 miles, Gordon Clark of the University of North Texas and Ian Randall of UNT at Kansai Gaidai University, present findings of a transpacific poll on the expectations and experiences of US Intensive English Programs and Japanese universities that sponsor and send study abroad students to them. What are the expectations of each? What happens if the IEP closes? With US...
This presentation examines the disparity between the Maldives' national workforce priorities and aspirations of its youth. By analyzing the data from government-funded education programs and labor market outcomes, it demonstrates how the present investments are misaligned with the country's economic needs and student career choices. The session provides insight into developing policies that...
Toastmasters International (TM), a nonprofit organization founded in 1924, uses a global network of clubs to educate leadership, public speaking, and presentation techniques. TM's primary objective is to assist individuals from a variety of backgrounds in developing their leadership, speaking, and communication skills. This presentation's goals are to investigate how this NGO/NPO has been...
Study tours are associated with gains in intercultural competence, civic attitudes, and academic outcomes (e.g., Anderson, et al., 2006; Chieffo & Griffiths, 2004). One program began in 2016, to take Japanese educators to Kenya, and has evolved to include students and reciprocal visits from Kenya to Japan. These have resulted in mutual learning, research collaboration, and development...
This presentation explores how neuroscience-informed TESOL can optimize materials to improve linguistic retention, learner engagement, and intercultural empathy in Japanese university Business English classes. Drawing on my ongoing doctoral research, it demonstrates how principles such as spaced repetition, deliberate practice, multi-sensory input, and emotionally resonant learning can shape...
This session explores how intensive English programs (IEPs) are evolving to meet 21st-century student needs, especially among Japanese university learners to build transferable communication skills for academic and professional settings. After a brief review of relevant SLA theories, we demonstrate two classroom activities that include task-based approaches and teacher-guided AI tools to...
A pilgrimage of American Catholic faith leaders, academics, and students arrived in Hiroshima on August 5th this summer. Their goal was not only to address issues of peacekeeping and nuclear disarmament through a Catholic lens, but also, to specifically discover what university students, as future peacebuilders, could do by working together. As a program coordinator, dialogue facilitator, and...
This presentation introduces a proposed research study examining how outdoor education, when culturally adapted to the Japanese context, can develop soft skills for global communication. By reducing learner anxiety and promoting embodied, task-based language use in nature-rich environments, this model enhances both linguistic competence and emotional resilience. It aligns with peace-oriented...
In addition to vocabulary and grammar, Business English students need pragmatic competence to navigate everyday professional situations. This workshop introduces adaptable strategies and role play activities designed to help learners recognize levels or appropriateness and understand key stages of negotiations.
After a brief overview of relevant pragmatic frameworks, participants will...
In my science article reading class at the University of Tokyo, I noticed that many first-year students didn’t read newspapers. I found this a bit worrying, since many of them will probably work or do research in global fields in the future. So I brought in science news articles, mostly from the New York Times, and had students read, discuss, and present in groups. In this talk, I’ll introduce...
Students today are in critical need of finance education. Many educators today feel unprepared to teach and talk about finance. This presentation discusses the importance of finance education and financial literacy and how both students and educators can become prepared to learn and discuss about finance through the use of everyday consumer products. This presentation will discuss how familiar...
CUE in Motion: Staying relevant in changing times
Abstract:
This session presents the results from three surveys of mostly CUE members conducted between 2022 and 2024. The surveys include information such as how they interact with CUE, what they appreciate in CUE, and what they want more from CUE.
Part of the session is spent on eliciting comments from the attendees and discussing how...
The pilot class detailed in this paper was designed to match the contextual needs of advanced (CEFR B2-C1) EFL students in a grade 12 literature class in a Japanese international school context. The course was developed to match the language proficiency of the students to reduce their cognitive load in all but the targeted areas of critical thinking and collaborative skills, analytical,...
This research investigates whether English as a lingua franca democratizes ideas or if it reinforces internal hierarchies in global business. Through the analysis of multinational corporations and linguistic policies, the presentation seeks to expose how English proficiency tends to entrench power asymmetries, and marginalizes non-native speakers. The finding reveal that democratization really...
This presentation examines a university-level course designed to prepare Japanese and international students for global business communication. Conducted in English with a small, interactive group, the course emphasizes skill-based learning through presentations, negotiations, and intercultural interaction. Students with limited work experience acquire business-relevant expressions, phrases,...
This qualitative case study compares the effects of deductive and inductive grammar instruction on metalinguistic awareness and noticing in third language (L3) acquisition. The participant, a Korean L1 speaker with advanced Japanese (L2) proficiency, received beginner-level English lessons ins Japanese on two grammar forms: comparatives and superlatives adjectives (deductive) and passive voice...
The purpose of this study is to examine effective teaching methods for facilitating the transition from Japanese rhetorical conventions to English ones. In the 1960s, Kaplan first identified that rhetorical conventions vary across cultures. This raises the question of how teachers should effectively teach English rhetoric to L2 writers. In this study, participants received explicit instruction...
