Many studies evidence the flexibility of speech perception in the first language (L1), which allows rapid adaptation to unfamiliar foreign accents. Two influential studies by Bradlow and Bent (2008) and a follow-up study by Baese-Berk et al. (2013) found that increased variability as a function of the number of talkers and accents facilitated the…

This quasi-experimental study reports on the outcomes of a video-synchronous learning program in which an element of project-based foreign language learning was integrated. The project chosen was to cooperatively create a homepage. American students learning Japanese in the United States and Japanese students learning English in Japan made pairs…

Internationalization in higher education in Japan is progressing, and it is desirable for international students to have a high degree of satisfaction with their experience in Japanese universities. With that in mind, this research focuses on the study of Japanese language and experiences of taking Japanese language classes before and during study…

The present study attempts to identify difficulties that Japanese students encounter with metadiscursive nouns in writing second language (L2) argumentation essays. Metadiscursive nouns are abstract and unspecific nouns which can serve as cohesive markers by retrieving their meanings in the text where they occur. Using a selected number of nouns…

Student views of force and motion reflect the personal experiences and physics education of the student. With a different language, culture, and educational system, we expect that Japanese students' views on force and motion might be different from those of American students. The Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE) is an instrument used…

This paper reports on the perception of Korean EFL learners toward feedback types on their written errors. The survey was administered using an adopted questionnaire from previous studies (Ishii 2011; Leki, 1991). This further allows a comparison of Korean EFL learners' attitudes with the responses to an identical questionnaire by Japanese EFL…

This study investigated contemporary Japanese college students' attitudes towards Japan English (JE) and American English (AE) through a verbal guise test (VGT) as well as a questionnaire. Forty-four Japanese college students listened to four Japanese and four North Americans reading a text in English, rated them in terms of solidarity-related…

Although intergenerational transmission processes have been studied on various aspects of family life, cross-cultural comparisons have rarely been made. In the present study, the authors examine how intergenerational transmission processes on relationship satisfaction differ between individuals with different gender and cultural identities. A…

This study focuses on perfectionism in Japanese and North American academically gifted children as it pertains to their potential contribution in the countries seeking progress and global leadership. Perfectionist' tendencies and the characteristics that typically reveal such tendencies are examined in academically gifted Japanese juku-school…

In order to communicate well with English-speaking people, the Japanese need to have some understanding of the cultures of English-speaking countries. Since what is taught in secondary schools in Japan depends heavily on the textbook used, it is useful to find out what and how much about American culture is being included in the textbook used. A…

Comparison of maternal speech to three-month-olds between American (N=20) and Japanese (N=20) mother-infant dyads revealed that infant gaze affected the intended functions of maternal speech differently for the two groups. Cultural differences were also seen in the nature of function-form and function-referent relationships. (Author/CB)

This paper examines art, a discipline that bears striking parallels, and differences, in the way it is practiced and valued in the United States and Japan. In Japan, art is a valued part of the elementary curriculum warranting as much time as science and social studies. In the United States, art is generally thought of as something extra to do if…

The study describes ten discussion activities designed to improve the communicative abilities of Japanese learners of English based on cultural instruction goals. The activities target intermediate and advanced students, but teachers can modify the lessons for false beginners. All exercises stress speaking and listening. They focus on topics…

This paper analyzes a study by Fukushima (1990) of the English offers and responses of Japanese English as a foreign language (EFL) college students and reports on an experiment designed to address the perceived weaknesses of Fukushima's work. Fukushima's study found that many Japanese EFL learners could not use appropriate levels of politeness in…