著者

Kevin Crowley Sam Haugh Ryan Spring

出版者

Ritsumeikan Center for Asia Pacific Studies

雑誌

APU言語研究論叢 (ISSN:24321370)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.8, no.1, pp.47-61, 2023 (Released:2023-03-28)

参考文献数

43

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In EFL teaching and research, multiword vocabulary (i.e., phrasal verbs and idiomatic expressions) is often given little attention. In Japan, emphasis is placed on learning single-word units in EFL education in order to pass entrance examinations (Yoshitomi et al., 2006). However, the lack of focus on multiword units may have consequences on learnersʼ ability to comprehend or produce natural English (e.g., Liao & Fukuya, 2004; Yasuda, 2010). Given the potential value of multiword vocabulary learning, the purpose of this study is to determine if there is such a general correlation between general English proficiency, as measured by standardized tests, and the ability to interpret phrasal verbs and idiomatic expressions. We conducted a meta-analysis of scores from multiword vocabulary tests taken by students at three different universities that include five different groups (N = 366, 688, 33, 40, and 30) and their scores on three different standardized English tests (i.e., TOEFL ITP®, TOEIC®, and Pearsonʼs Benchmark). Using a random effects meta-analysis, we found a mean effect of 0.488, indicating that there is a medium-sized general trend for students who achieved higher scores on a multiword test to also score higher on standardized tests.

著者

Atsushi Asai Taketoshi Okita Aya Enzo Yasuhiro Kadooka

出版者

Ritsumeikan Center for Asia Pacific Studies

雑誌

Ritsumeikan Journal of Asia Pacific Studies (ISSN:13444204)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.36, no.1, pp.1-8, 2018 (Released:2022-06-15)

参考文献数

25

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The 1945 Kyushu Imperial University human vivisections are among the most infamous of medical atrocities involving Japanese doctors. The Japanese novelist, Shusaku Endo published The Sea and Poison, a fiction novel based on the incident in 1958. His story features young doctors, Suguro and Toda, and depicts their motivations to join the killing, as well as their regrets or the lack thereof. Endo forces us to ponder why they involved themselves in the human vivisections and what might have dissuaded them from doing so. Even today we lack clear answers to these questions. This paper will present our deliberations on the contemporary implications of Endo’s questions and positions set forth in The Sea and Poison. We suggest that Suguro failed to refuse participation in the vivisection because of his emotional exhaustion and emptiness, which could have been caused by war, the doctors’ true colors, or the dark side of medicine. It is argued that Suguro is no different from many of us, and that Toda’s claim that we are, deep down, unmoved by the suffering and death of others describes part of our minds. The meaning of strong conscience and compassion is also discussed.

著者

Gilder Davila

出版者

Ritsumeikan Center for Asia Pacific Studies

雑誌

APU言語研究論叢 (ISSN:24321370)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.3, pp.40, 2018 (Released:2022-03-23)

参考文献数

11

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For tertiary level students, organising and writing texts requires a considerable amount of time. To minimize this issue, they need to be taught how to organise a text as a whole. In Systemic Functional Linguistics, the notion of periodicity can help teachers explain to students how to organise their texts successfully. As Martin and Rose (2007) state, “periodicity is concerned with information flow: the way in which meanings are packaged to make it easier for us to take them in” (p. 188). The pedagogical purpose of this study is to propose the integration of the notion of periodicity when teaching writing to EFL learners at the tertiary level to improve the coherence and cohesion of their academic essays. Using central ideas from systemic functional linguistics, this study shows how coherence and cohesion were developed in two academic essays by analysing their hierarchical structures. Essay A followed a traditional composition style method and Essay B followed a suggested method using ideas from the notion of periodicity. The results showed that the hierarchical structure of Essay B was more consistent and organised than Essay A. The paper concludes with the introduction of an outline that aims to improve the quality of EFL learners’ essays in terms of their coherence and cohesion.