Purpose: As UN's sustainable development goals (SDGs) are integrated across Asia-Pacific Higher Education Institutes (HEIs), the purpose of this descriptive and exploratory study is to investigate undergraduates' own self-stated commitment to the SDGs and their perceived feasibility by the 2030 target. Design/methodology/approach: A…

Given the criticism of the institutional practices of Japan's higher education institutions on international students' learning experiences, the study attempts to investigate why international students still chose to study at Japanese universities and whether they benefited from this experience. It also explores whether they benefit from this…

This study explores speaking self-efficacy for university EFL students in Japan. The primary objectives of the study were to analyse the growth of self-efficacy over time, potential differences between male and female students, and the relationship between self-efficacy, casual attribution, and outcome satisfaction. While several studies have…

Intercultural competence (IC) development has been highlighted in academia as an essential educational outcome for all constituents. Over the last few decades, extensive research has been conducted regarding both the components of IC and how it is developed. Yet research is scant on the experiences of international graduate students regarding…

English education in Japan has traditionally focused on grammar over communication, and the country has struggled to compete internationally in terms of English proficiency scores. As the country works toward the internationalization of higher education, improving English education is an important issue. One potential solution is the use of topics…

This paper presents a midterm review of a 4-year factor analysis project aimed at validating an outcome-based assessment of study-abroad programs attended by Japanese students. This paper outlines how the results from the initial two years captured changes in perceptions and reasons for studying abroad. It found that students have become…

Researchers and intercultural educators have put forward various theoretical principles and pedagogical ideas related to the design and implementation of intercultural communication (IC) courses. Recently, researchers have called for curriculum development to include students' voices about their intercultural communication education (ICE). This…

Virtual environments have the potential to be an important teaching tool for emotionally sensitive issues capable of producing a sense of presence, perspective-taking and introspection in users in a risk-free, rapid feedback experience. In designing such experiences, it is essential that users are regularly engaged in a collaborative design…

A growing body of vocabulary learning strategies (VLSs) studies focuses on accumulating empirical evidence on the relationship between frequency of VLS use and vocabulary acquisition by using the frequency-based measures of VLSs. Our study by contrast, examined which VLSs are perceived as important and useful, and how they are employed by Japanese…

Frequently, global disasters occur due to human-induced activities, involving international society's role in attempting disaster risk reduction. This study aimed to examine the current state of Thai disaster education at the school level, which Japan supports, and analyze higher education's role in enhancing school-level disaster education…

Study abroad programs offer students an exciting and effective way to experience language and culture. It also helps students grow individually. However, administrators need to confirm the program's goals and objectives. This study examined the construct validity and reliability of a survey, which is the basis of development, conducted in a…

In 2014, 24 Type B universities were selected as part of the Top Global University Project to act as institutional role models of internationalization in Japan and as gateways for the development of global human resources, that is, globally competent human resources. The increasing pressure to internationalize, perceived as a major solution to…

Gamification in second language acquisition research is a popular topic, but there are few empirical comparative studies in the literature. This quasi-experimental mixed-approach study enrolled 77 Japanese university EFL learners to enable a comparison between two digital vocabulary flashcard learning software conditions carefully designed by the…

Lesson study is a Japanese concept to improve teaching and learning mathematics through a particular form of activity in which a group of teachers works collaboratively to plan, implement, observe, and reflect on the proposed research lessons. Although lesson study is internationally acknowledged as providing key learning opportunities for…

In this paper the results of an online survey (n=210) regarding the usefulness of Facebook for informal L2 learning will be presented. Participants were individual Facebook users who study either German (n=118) or Japanese (n=92). By using a combination of open and closed questions, the mostly quantitative findings of the survey indicate that for…