Abstract
In this chapter, detailed information about the study is introduced. First, I will briefly touch on the participants of this study: 72 ELES (English learning in elementary school) Experienced junior high school students in Grades 7 and 8 in School A and 73 Non-experienced students from School B. After removing five participants for missing data, 69 ELES Experienced and 71 Non-experienced participants were retained (see Table 3.1). For School A, basic information on ELES implementation, such as the textbooks, teachers, and the curriculum, so-called International Communication, is elaborated. For School B, the contents of their curriculum, “International Understanding,” in lieu of English activities, are explained. Next, I mention the instrumentation for conducting this study, English proficiency tests, oral interview test, and the motivational-attitudinal questionnaire. Then I explicate the procedures, how I conducted the abovementioned implementation with the help of teachers and students both in School A and B. They are followed by the ways I analyzed the data and the use of statistical analysis software. There is a special focus on Rasch analysis, with an explanation of its basic concepts and benefits of using Rasch analysis for this data.
The original version of this chapter was revised. Table 3.1 was corrected. The erratum to this chapter is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-493-1_8
An erratum to this chapter can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-493-1_8
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Notes
- 1.
ALTs are required to be college graduates, but they are usually not certified teachers like their Japanese colleagues. ALTs entering on the JET program are not required to have any prior teaching experience or EFL training. Many ALTs hired privately have prior experience and/or training. The majority of ALTs were recruited through the JET Program (from 1987, 4,372 participants from 40 countries at present by Council of Local Authorities for International Relations), but now most are hired by private language teaching companies, also known as “dispatch companies”. Once hired ALTs are sent to work in junior and senior high-schools and, increasingly, in elementary schools throughout Japan. ALTs are either assigned to one main school, or can work at a number of different schools in their area. An ALT’s primary duty is to assist Japanese teachers of English to deliver lessons in the classroom, and may be involved in lesson planning and other language teaching tasks. However, the degree to which the Japanese teacher of English actually uses the ALT is usually decided at the discretion of the Japanese teacher.
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Uematsu, S. (2015). Methods. In: Long-term effects of Learning English. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-493-1_3
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