The Japanese EFL Learners’ Self-Regulated Language Learning and Proficiency

( Akiko Fukuda ) 범태평양 응용언어학회 2018 범태평양응용언어학회지 Vol.22 No.1

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between learners’ self-regulated language learning and proficiency and to examine the differences in characteristics of self-regulated learning (SRL) between low- and high-proficiency learners. SRL is a learning process throughout setting goals, monitoring tasks, and reflecting on performance, which includes both cognitive and affective aspects. Participants were 97 Japanese university students of English. Based on their proficiency, 67 out of them were assigned to the L group and 30 to the H group in order to compare the difference of their SRL skills. They all took the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) online to measure their SRL skills and reported their latest TOEIC scores to determine their English proficiency. The MSLQ includes 81 items that were administered on the website for ease of access. Exploratory factor analyses determined five motivational and six learning strategy factors. Based on these factors, multiple regressions and t-tests were performed. Multiple regressions examining the influences of SRLs on proficiency subsequently showed that three learning strategy factors in SRL―metacognitive strategies, effort regulation, and coping with problems―significantly predicted the variance in learners’ proficiency; no motivational factors predicted it, even though correlations between three out of five factors and proficiency were found, namely, self-efficacy, intrinsic goal orientation, and test anxiety. Later t-tests, however, showed significant differences in SRL between low- and high-proficiency learners in the following motivational and learning strategy factors: self-efficacy, intrinsic goal orientation, test anxiety, metacognitive strategies, effort regulation, and coping with problems. The findings suggest that although they did not directly account for learner proficiency, yet motivational factors were evidently related to English proficiency level. Based on these results, the characteristics of less proficient learners compared to those of more proficient learners are discussed.

What Less-Proficient EFL Learners Tell Us about Their Language Learning: Qualitative Analysis of Self-Regulated Learning

Akiko Fukuda 범태평양 응용언어학회 2019 범태평양응용언어학회지 Vol.23 No.1

This paper aims to explore the characteristics of self-regulated learning from information gained in post-questionnaire interviews, with special emphasis on the differences between low-proficiency learners and high-proficiency learners. Self-regulated learning is a cyclical process to metacognitively, motivationally, and behaviorally boost learning performance (Zimmerman & Schunk, 2001). Fukuda (2018a) quantitatively revealed the motivational and cognitive differences of self-regulated learning skills between the low- and high-proficiency groups, showing that self-regulated learning significantly influenced language learning achievement, which is consistent with most other studies. However, those have not addressed less-proficient learners enough to understand how they perceive self-regulated learning. Seven low-proficiency learners and ten high-proficiency learners participated and were selected based on a questionnaire regarding self-regulated language learning. The researcher adapted semi-structured interviews based on the factors in the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). The results showed the obvious characteristics that the less-proficient learners possessed. Interviews consistently revealed that the less-proficient learners had a peculiar self-regulated learning attitude that was different from the more-proficient learners. Because the less-proficient learners strongly emphasized the outcome of the exams or performance compared to others, they tended to rarely feel successful in their English education experience, which seemed to cause them to give up learning English and make them reluctant to ask teachers for help. These tendencies demonstrated the importance of teacher encouragement of learner motivational satisfaction and the promotion of the use of various metacognitive strategies.

中上級日本語クラスにおける Problem-based Learningの試み : 学習者の動機づけに着目して

Kobayashi, Akiko,Fukuda, Michiko 한국일어교육학회 2020 일본어교육연구 Vol.0 No.51

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness and issues in the practice of Problem-based Learning (PBL) in Japanese language instruction as regards learner motivation. A questionnaire survey was conducted on 22 international students learning Japanese, and 4 learners who exhibited characteristic changes in motivation were interviewed. No change in motivation was found as a result of PBL in the class taken as a whole, but individual differences were indicated. Learners who fulfilled the three psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness showed improved motivation. In contrast, learners who did not meet the three psychological needs presented no change or decrease in motivation. For example, learners who perceived group activities as meaningful fulfilled the need of relatedness and displayed increased motivation. On the other hand, learners who recognized that they deepened their opinions had lower motivation. This suggests that it was necessary to spend additional time on individual activities before group activities to support more active exchange of opinions. Some issues of PBL were indicated from the viewpoint of motivation, and the overall progress of the class was considered. 本研究の目的は、Problem-based Learning(PBL)を取り入れた日本語授業を実施し、学習者の動機づけ という観点からPBLの有効性と課題を探ることであった。日本国内の大学で中上級日本語クラスを履 修する留学生22名を対象に、PBL実施前後の動機づけの変化と影響要因を探った。質問紙調査を実施 したうえで、特徴的な動機づけの変化を示した学習者4名に対してインタビューを行い、動機づけに影 響を与えた要因を考察した。結果として、クラス全体としてはPBL実施前後に動機づけの変動は見ら れなかったが、学習者による個人差が見られた。PBLを通して自律性、有能性、関係性の3つの心理的欲 求が満たされていた学習者では、内発的動機づけの上昇が見られたが、3つの心理的欲求が満たされな かった学習者では、変化が見られないか、または下降がみられた。例えば、PBLのなかで実施したグ ループ討論や分担読解を有意義だと認識した学習者では、関係性の欲求が満たされ内発的動機づけが 高まっていた。一方、それらの活動において相手の発言がよく理解できない、話し合っても考えが深 まらないと認識した学習者は、内発的動機づけが下降していた。このことから、情報収集や資料の読 解といった個人活動により多くの時間を割き、その後のグループ活動における情報共有や意見交換が 活発になるよう支援することが必要であることが示唆された。その他にも動機づけの観点からPBL実 施上の課題が示され、それらをもとに授業改善案を検討した。

Combined transabdominal and transperineal endoscopic pelvic exenteration for colorectal cancer: feasibility and safety of a two-team approach

Tetsuro Tominaga,Takashi Nonaka,Akiko Fukuda,Toshio Shiraisi,Shintaro Hashimoto,Masato Araki,Yorihisa Sumida,Terumitsu Sawai,Takeshi Nagayasu 대한외과학회 2021 Annals of Surgical Treatment and Research(ASRT) Vol.101 No.2

Purpose: Pelvic exenteration (PE) is a highly invasive procedure with high morbidity and mortality rates. Promising options to reduce this invasiveness have included laparoscopic and transperineal approaches. The aim of this study was to identify the safety of combined transabdominal and transperineal endoscopic PE for colorectal malignancies. Methods: Fourteen patients who underwent combined transabdominal and transperineal PE (T group: 2-team approach, n = 7; O group: 1-team approach, n = 7) for colorectal malignancies between April 2016 and March 2020 in our institutions were included in this study. Clinicopathological features and perioperative outcomes were compared between groups. Results: All patients successfully underwent R0 resection. Operation time tended to be shorter in the T group (463 minutes) than in the O group (636 minutes, P = 0.080). Time to specimen removal was significantly shorter (258 minutes vs. 423 minutes, P = 0.006), blood loss was lower (343 mL vs. 867 mL, P = 0.042), and volume of blood transfusion was less (0 mL vs. 560 mL, P = 0.063) in the T group, respectively. Postoperative complications were similar between groups. Conclusion: Combined transabdominal and transperineal PE under a synchronous 2-team approach was feasible and safe, with the potential to reduce operation time, blood loss, and surgeon stress.