International students in a Japanese university struggled with issues of loneliness, lack of belonging, and feelings of not mattering. These issues inhibited their ability to form friendships with domestic students. This study sought to investigate causes and find actionable solutions to international student social networking issues. Participants…

This paper considers the issues facing expatriate instructors teaching English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) graduation seminars (commonly known as the "zemi" in Japan) in Japanese universities and aims to establish better conditions to build Communities of Practice. Since the term "graduation seminar" is widely used…

In this study, a massive open online course (MOOC) titled "Studying at Japanese Universities" was designed. The purpose of the course was to encourage international students to study in Japan. Accordingly, it is intended to build an online community to afford international students to encourage and support each other and realise their…

The concept of Communities of Practice (CoPs) has attracted interest for over two decades and has been actively re-examined from a variety of perspectives, especially in the field of education. However, limited research has been conducted into the concept of one EFL classroom-based teaching and learning community constituting one CoP. This paper…

In Japan, like most English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts, students have few opportunities to use English in daily life, and this limits their ability to develop their language skills. To address this, many teachers provide homework tasks and guide students towards autonomous learning. In an effort to do the latter, a private Facebook group…

Education is considered a driving force for urban sustainable development and there is an urgent need to use different approaches to increase the awareness level in younger generations. Teaching about sustainability requires an integrated approach due to its complex concept, and in this study to show the interconnection of the social,…

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology has implemented reforms in Japan to promote language education through technology. Blended language learning is a way to fulfill the mandate set in these reforms. Combining the benefits of online and face-to-face learning leads to increased engagement in the target language.…

This article reports on a study investigating ways students from Japan studying English as a second language at an American community college encounter cultural dissonance in their classroom interactions. I take a sociocognitive view rooted in the work of Bakhtin and Vygostky to explore the ways language, culture, and cognitive processes interplay…

The 23rd EUROCALL conference was held in Cyprus from the 24th to the 27th of August 2016. The theme of the conference this year was "CALL Communities and Culture." It offered a unique opportunity to hear from real-world CALL practitioners on how they practice CALL in their communities, and how the CALL culture has developed in local and…

Purpose: Aims to offer some ways of improving and developing the residents in the dormitory of Tsuyama National College of Technology, Tsuyama, Japan. Design/methodology/approach: Describes how in order to calm the dormitory atmosphere, strict regulations had been adopted since the foundation times for the college, which sometimes led to…

We are delighted to welcome you to the International Psychological Applications Conference and Trends (InPACT) 2016, taking place in Lisbon, Portugal, from 30 of April to 2 of May, 2016. Psychology, nowadays, offers a large range of scientific fields where it can be applied. The goal of understanding individuals and groups (mental functions and…

During April 2006, educators, students, service providers and professionals from across the nation and the world gathered together at the fifth biennial PEPNet Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, to share concepts, ideas, research, technologies and successful practices that have helped individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing establish strong…

The IADIS CELDA 2012 Conference intention was to address the main issues concerned with evolving learning processes and supporting pedagogies and applications in the digital age. There had been advances in both cognitive psychology and computing that have affected the educational arena. The convergence of these two disciplines is increasing at a…