The Ninth Annual Conference on Global Higher Education at Lakeland University Japan
Presentation Summary
China’s Internationalization of Higher Education and Inbound International Student Mobility from the Belt and Road
4C • 4:15-5:40 • Internationalization and International Students
The geography of international student mobility (ISM) is transforming, with a rapid increase of students and multipolarity-shifting destinations. The U.S. and the U.K. maintain the top two destinations, while China has moved up to third place, hosting 492,185 international students. This is facilitated by government policy, such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The students from BRI countries comprise 53% (260,600), maintaining a high growth rate (12.8%) which surpassed the average increase rate of students from other regions (6.7%). This presentation investigates China’s inbound international students from the BRI countries. Through policy document analysis and semi-structured qualitative interviews with 50 students from BRI, this paper explores the student decision-making in choosing to study in China and their post-graduation trajectories. Findings suggest that the migration infrastructure contributes to the increase of China’s inbound ISM, including regulatory (government scholarships and institutional cooperation), commercial (study abroad agencies), technological (word of mouth on social media), and social (networks of students) dimensions. It also finds that China’s internationalization of higher education is mainly driven by top-down initiatives, fulfilling the purpose of introducing foreign talents in an aging and birthrate-declining society. However, the post-graduation trajectories of students show that they have become transient migrants — neither wanting to go back nor being able to move forward to a better country. Therefore, China's internationalization of higher education is in a semi-periphery position, which means that China has made progress in attracting international students but China remains as a stepping-stone for them.
Yingjing DU
Waseda University
Yingjing DU is a Ph.D. student at Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan. Her supervisor is Gracia LIU-FARRER and her deputy supervisor is Kazuo KURODA. She graduated with the Dean’s List Award in MA in International Relations from Waseda University. She graduated with BA in Management from Fudan University, Shanghai, China. Her research concerns the inbound international student mobility to China under the Belt and Road Initiative and is granted the MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology) Scholarship. She has worked as a research assistant and teaching assistant at Waseda University on international migration and mobility research.
Clean Energy: Fostering Research, Creativity, and Innovation in Education - An Exploration of STEM Project English Lesson Students' Poster Presentations
3A • 2:40-4:05 • Teaching and the Environment
This presentation explores the integration of clean energy concepts into STEM education, focusing on a case study where students create poster presentations on clean energy topics. It explores project outcomes, engagement strategies, and pedagogical techniques.
Mariana Oana Senda
Mariana Oana Senda,Tokyo University of Science
Mariana Oana Senda, with a Master's degree in Education from the University of Exeter, UK, and a foundation in medical science and biology, has over 20 years of teaching experience. She teaches at the Tokyo University of Science, Meiji University, and Aoyama Gakuin University. Her expertise spans biology and medicine, putting them in the TESOL educational environment that inspires and teaches future physicians, scientists, engineers and educators. She is also interested in neuroscience and education, improving empathy in teaching English to global citizens, and developing CLIL materials.
Comparative Forensic Analysis for Confirming Authorship in EFL Writing Tasks
3B • 2:40-4:05 • Student Writing
In this talk I discuss some of the issues facing educators in the era of Large Language Models such as ChatGPT and present a method for checking authorship in EFL Writing Tasks/Projects, etc.
Amanda Melbourne
Amanda Melbourne, Meiji Gakuin
Lecturer, International Studies
Contesting the traditional Japanese path to happiness? International student mobility and its gendered impact on labor market returns and life satisfaction. Findings from the SSJDA Panel Survey 2021-23
1A • 9:50-11:15 • After Our Students Graduate
Until the early 1990s, Japan was praised and emulated internationally as a role model for economic development and social justice. The country’s enormous economic success and the associated high level of prosperity was attributed in particular to the highly efficient model of labor division, the so-called male breadwinner-professional housewife model. Accepting one’s social role as either sararīman (men) or wife/mother (women) was deemed the ultimate path towards happiness in the Japanese society. However, with the burst of the bubble economy in the early 1990s, the Japanese economic miracle came to an abrupt end also calling into question the traditional path towards happiness: No longer did the arduous path to one of the high ranked universities guarantee men well-paid, secure jobs in major companies, thus questioning their ability to become the sole breadwinner of a family. Instead, policy measures were initiated to encourage more women to join the workforce while at the same time significant labor market barriers and family responsibilities remain restricting their opportunities to pursue men-equivalent careers. Whether and under which conditions men and women achieve a similar level of happiness when not following traditional career paths is not clear.
Focusing on young adults with study abroad experience, we examine the role of international mobility for labor market success and life satisfaction in contemporary Japan paying special emphasis to gender. Using data from the SSJDA Panel (2021-23) for 1,500 young adults (aged 21 to 42), results show that men are more likely to be satisfied with their life when they follow the traditional Japanese life course (high education level→major company/high income→high life satisfaction). Women on the same track may achieve high income and status, but are less likely to report being satisfied. Men which studied abroad during university are more likely to report higher income and life satisfaction. Women may increase their likelihood to enter big corporations, but do not become more likely to earn higher income or become more satisfied with their life. With higher age, women become even less satisfied with their lives.
Dr. Steve R. Entrich
Dr. Steve R. Entrich, University of Duisburg Essen
Dr. Steve R. Entrich is lecturer and researcher in comparative sociology & Japanese society at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. His research focuses social inequalities in educational attainment over the life course and implications of transnational, supplementary, and inclusive education in Germany, Japan, the USA, and in cross-country comparison. His works were published in outlets such as Higher Education, Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, International Journal of Comparative Sociology, and Social Science Japan Journal.
Continuity and Change in English Language Ideology: The Case of Natsume Soseki
4E • 4:15-5:40 • Behind the Pedagogy
Using a case study perspective based on writings by and about Natsume Sōseki, this paper seeks to examine elements of continuity and change in English language ideology from the Meiji period – Japan’s first era of globalization – to the current third era of globalization. Sōseki is best known as a Japanese novelist, but he was also a student, teacher, and critic of English language and literature. As a boy he preferred the Chinese classics, but switched to English because it was a required subject at university. He was later selected to study abroad at government expense, and then given a prestigous position at Tokyo Imperial University. Sōseki was undoubtedly one of the most gifted scholars of English for his generation. Yet he gave up his academic career after just a few years based largely on feelings of ambivalence and inadequacy regarding Western studies in general, and the English language in particular. To what extent was Sōseki’s attitude toward English a product of the times? To what extent has it persisted into contemporary Japanese society? Drawing on Sōseki’s journals and essays, recollections of colleagues and students, and archival teaching material, I will examine links between language ideology of Sōseki’s time and that of today in three main areas: the emphasis on English in the education system, government policies to increase the number of Japanese studying abroad, and the hiring of foreigners to teach, particularly at the university level.
Kelly Hansen
Kelly Hansen, Kumamoto University
Kelly Hansen received her PhD in Japanese from the University of Hawai’i in 2009. She has worked and taught at universities in the United States, Canada, and Japan. She is currently Professor in the Department of Literature at Kumamoto University. Her research focuses on modern Japanese literature of the Meiji period, as well as cultural narratives reflected through film and other cultural products.
Critical Thinking through Artful Deception
4A • 4:15-5:40 • Different Ideas for Our Students
The presenter will discuss his past use of magic performance activities in the classroom and his development of online materials which engage students in a series of small-group student-centered tasks which lead students to self-empowerment and skills development in several areas. Performing a card trick incorporates many of the same critical thinking skills giving a presentation. Magic also can be used to teach critical thinking at the basic level of argument. A card trick is, in fact, an artfully fractured argument. Different arguments have different structures. By learning these argumentative structures through magic and by studying how these structures are fractured in order to produce an irrational effect, students learn argument from the inside and also learn basic principles of critical thinking.
David Gann
David Gann, Tokyo University of Science
David Gann has been teaching in Japan since 1996, after graduating with an M.A. in English Literature. He later earned a second M.A. in Educational Technology and TESOL from the University of Manchester (U.K.). and an Ed.D at Open University. He currently teaches at Tokyo University of Science. He has served as Coordinator of the Critical Thinking SIG (JALT) and is co-producer of Critically Minded Podcast. His interests include critical thinking instruction and learner autonomy.
Designing a Lexical Framework for an EAP Program
1C • 9:50-11:15 • Perspectives on Pedagogy (DAVE)
A description and explanation of the reasons, methods, and implementation of selecting vocabulary to be studied and subsequently tested in an EAP course.
Dave Learoyd
Lakeland University Japan
Dialogic Learning: The Human Experience Examined
4A • 4:15-5:40 • Different Ideas for Our Students
With the growing wave and infusion of AI in higher education, the impact on the human experience merits examination. Specifically, how can the relational aspects of learning contribute to student learning and engagement? Dialogue is a transformational process for becoming one’s best self and bringing out the best in others. This session invites you to explore dialogic learning through the lens of process, purpose, and practice. Dialogic learning is a pathway for educators to step into the human experience. Implications are shared for how dialogic learning becomes transformational as one’s critical consciousness seeks a systematic understanding of one’s experiences.
Dr. Maria Guajardo
Dr. Maria Guajardo, Soka University
Dr. Maria Guajardo is Professor of Leadership Studies at Soka University, Japan, where she previously served as Dean and Vice-President. Her life’s work is at the intersection of leadership, global learning, and critical pedagogy. An author, international trainer, and motivational speaker, she recently published Value-Creating Education: Teachers’ Perceptions and Practices (2024) and Global Wisdom: The Antidote to Magical Thinking (2023).
Diversification of doctoral students and internationalization of doctoral education in Japan: Implications for policymakers
3D • 2:40-4:05 • Questions of Globalization
This presentation firstly tracks the policy changes of doctoral education in Japan. Secondly, it analyzes the diversification of doctoral students and the international dimensions of doctoral education. Finally, it concludes with the implications of the diversification and the internationalization to doctoral education policy.
Takao Kamibeppu
Fukuyama City University
ENROLLMENT’S IMPACT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHER PREPARATION IN MONGOLIA
4D • 4:15-5:40 • Our Changing World
It is required to shed light on implementing management policy concentrated on
continuing the sustainability of teacher education to retain teachers in isolated areas. Finally, high school students are less likely to choose teaching as their career choice because of low estimation of teaching, insufficient salary, lack of incentive, less prospective in promotion, and over workload.
Bayartsogt Myadagmaa, Ariunaa Lkhagvajav, Enkhzul Buyandalai
National University of Mongolia, Dornod Schoo; University of Finance and Economy, Mandakh University
Myadagmaa Ph.D Candidate in Principles of Education; Ariunaa Ph.D in Curriculum and Teaching Methodology; Enkhzul Ph.D in Principles of Education,
Exploring Diversity and Building Community Connections Through Fieldwork Experiences
1D • 9:50-11:15 • Inside and Outside the Classroom
This presentation examines student-led fieldwork's effectiveness in promoting experiential learning, focusing on a third-year university seminar. Due to students' limited exposure to cultural and linguistic minorities, the seminar includes a student-led event promoting local diversity. Through collaboration with a local community centre, students organize free bilingual picture book events for families with non-Japanese roots.
Elisabeth Ann Williams (PhD)
Kobe Women's University, Department of Global Local Studies
Elisabeth is a tenured lecturer with Kobe Women's University's Department of Global Local Studies. She teachers classes on gender, language, and diversity in Japan, in addition to North American Studies. Her current research project examines the narratives of women with non-Japanese roots who have accessed maternity care in Japan.
Exploring University Students’ Post-Study Abroad Experiences in Japanese Society
1A • 9:50-11:15 • After Our Students Graduate
This presentation will look at initial data from focus group interviews with Japanese students from universities across Japan regarding their experiences after returning from study abroad. We will explore the personal, social, and organisational factors that have affected students’ re-entry experiences in order to answer the question: How can global attitudes, knowledge, and skills developed through study abroad programs and associated with GHR continue to be successfully fostered and utilised in a domestic setting post-study abroad?
Dr. Ana Sofia Hofmeyr
Dr. Fern Sakamoto
Dr. Ana Sofia Hofmeyr, Kansai University; Dr. Fern Sakamoto, Nanzan University
Ana Sofia Hofmeyr, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Foreign Language Studies at Kansai University. Her work focuses on internationalization-at-home policies, particularly in Japan, and on the development of intercultural competence in domestic campuses. She is also interested in how intercultural competence is conceptualized in different cultures and translated into practical pedagogical practices.
Fern Sakamoto is an Associate Professor at Nanzan University in the Faculty of Foreign Studies. She holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics from Macquarie University, Australia, and is currently undertaking research investigating global competence education in Japan. She is especially interested in the post-study abroad experiences of students in Japan and in classroom pedagogy to support the development of global competence.
Five-minute Reflection Cards and Their Outcome
1C • 9:50-11:15 • Perspectives on Pedagogy (DAVE)
This presentation discusses how end-of-class reflection cards can help students to experiment with and improve their language skills. The preliminary analysis of the writing on the cards indicates students 1) became able to pinpoint elements they needed or wanted to focus on, and 2) started using the class target language more in their writing. Suggested corrections were not necessarily actively implemented. Altogether, the cards created a stress-free real-life target language output opportunity.
Dr. Ruth Vanbaelen
University of Tsukuba
Ruth Vanbaelen is an Associate Professor at the University of Tsukuba. After teaching English at university level for a decade, she currently specializes in Japanese language education for international students, Japanese language pedagogy and sociolinguistics. She tries to scaffold learning, so her students become able to study and work autonomously.
From Metropolitans to Cosmopolitans: Embedding Global Competency in Higher Education
3D • 2:40-4:05 • Questions of Globalization
This paper presents a case study of the Three-I Initiative implemented by the Hong Kong Metropolitan University Li Ka Shing School of Professional and Continuing Education. The Three-I Initiative, representing Inclusiveness, Intercultural awareness, and Internationalisation-in-place, aims to develop students’ global competence through an array of co-curricular learning activities.
Ms. Joanna LAI Yin Shan
Li Ka Shing School of Professional and Continuing Education, Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU LiPACE)
Joanna has a keen interest in the intersection of literature, culture, and digital media. Beyond her research, Joanna is passionate about providing students with international experiences and exposure to different cultures.
Global Competency in the Post-Covid Era: Promises and Challenges of COIL Pedagogy
3A • 2:40-4:05 • Teaching and the Environment
This presentation contributes to global education perspectives by discussing Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) practices within and beyond the Covid pandemic.
Dr. Incoronata (Nadia) Inserra, Audrey Emiko Short
Dr. Incoronata (Nadia) Inserra, Univ. of Tokyo; Audrey Emiko Short, Virginia Commonwealth University
Instructors, Teaching, and the Japanese Higher Education
4B • 4:15-5:40 • Faculty and Professional Development
While most instructors may have chosen to be at Japanese higher education institutions (HEIs), there are some that have somehow ended up in their positions or teaching courses for which they have no specific training or experience. This study seeks to explore their professional journeys looking into the stories shared by two individuals in the situations above; one engaged in teaching English skills courses in an English language programme (ELP) without a “relevant” academic background, and the other delivering content courses in an English-taught programme (ETP) at their respective universities based in Japan.
Mizuka Tsukamoto
Ryukoku University
Mizuka Tsukamoto has a master’s degree in social science and a doctorate in higher education. Her research interests include learner/teacher autonomy, teacher education and development, and teachers’ professional lives.
International Perspectives on Academic Staff Professional Development
2B • 11:25-1:10 • International Perspectives on Academic Staff Professional Development
This presentation will highlight how the changing nature of academic responsibilities will require a broader preparation for current and future academics, and an overview of comprehensive academic development that prepares teachers for learning for a world-wide perspective by supporting high impact teaching practices.
Dr. Andrew Gillespie, Ms. Jennifer Mason
James Groccia, Auburn University; Andrew Gillespie, Auburn University; Jennifer Mason, Auburn University
International Students in English Taught Programs at Japanese Universities
4C • 4:15-5:40 • Internationalization and International Students
The number of international students studying at Japanese universities in English taught programs (ETP) has increased dramatically over the last decade, despite most of these programs being relatively new. This research will discuss the current situation of ETP primarily from the perspective of international students, how they view their education in Japan, acculturation to Japanese society, and their future plans after graduating from a Japanese university.
James Lassegard
Hosei University
James P. Lassegard, PhD. is Professor at Hosei University in Tokyo. He completed a Master’s degree in Educational Administration at the University of Minnesota and holds a Doctorate in Educational Sociology from Nagoya University. His main research interests are the internationalization of higher education, which includes student and faculty overseas mobility, intercultural education, and the internationalization of the curriculum.
Lessons from an Extreme High-Density Area: A Stratified Multi-Cultural Neighborhood in the Outskirt of Beirut
1D • 9:50-11:15 • Inside and Outside the Classroom
The presentation will describe the journey in conducting a Design Studio in a site characterized by one of the highest density living conditions in the whole Middle-East region. In this compact and historical stratified urban fabric, the most diverse human groups, including refugees from the recent conflicts, coexist in an astounding but precarious balance. The students were asked to challenge the situation and find new public space or commons despite the scarcity of resources available.
Prof. Cristiano Lippa, Prof. Federico Scaroni
Cristiano Lippa, Lebanese American University; Federico Scaroni, University of New York Tirana
Cristiano Lippa is an architect researching on issues that concern the urban perception of public spaces in European and East Asian contexts. He graduated PhD at La Sapienza and at University of Tokyo where he completed his postdoc. He has worked in architectural competitions and projects, earning recognitions and prices. He is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at Lebanese American University in Beirut.
Prof. and PhD Federico Scaroni is an architect working on the relationship between the historical heritage and its contextualization with both society and environment evolution and specific expertise on the comparison between East Asian/Japanese and European/Italian contexts. He is the founder of FSADesign&Research, a firm with specific focus on renovation. He has participated and organized several competitions, conferences and workshops with Japanese, Italian and American institutions. His present research focuses on Japanese modern ruins preservation.
Measuring Academic Performance through Active Learning in Japanese Universities
4E • 4:15-5:40 • Behind the Pedagogy
The presentation is organised with reference to economic globalisation, English Language Teaching policy reforms, and how these reforms affect the way in which academic performance in Japan is measured. Reforms in the national curriculum in secondary education, national university entrance exams, and institutional policies have brought about the need for teachers at secondary- and tertiary-level to broker a new approach to teaching and learning. Specific reference is made to lessons involving an Active Learning approach at Tokyo University of Science, Japan.
Stephen Jennings
Tokyo University of Science
Stephen Jennings (EdD) is has lived and worked in Japan for more than 25 years. His recent academic interests are connected to how viewing tertiary English education in Japan through a Complex Systems lens.
Near-term Post-graduation Student Outcomes in English-medium Education Programs in Japan
1A • 9:50-11:15 • After Our Students Graduate
Findings from survey and interview data from English-medium instruction (EMI) programs in Japan show international and domestic students following diverging near-term career paths. International students’ lack of Japanese proficiency creates a barrier to entry for both employment opportunities and on-campus career-planning services. Many forge their own path, creating or seeking out opportunities at home or in a third country. For domestic students, many follow the mainstream job-hunting route while benefiting slightly from their EMI experiences.
Howard Brown
University of Niigata Prefecture
Howard Brown is chair of the Department of International Studies and Regional Development at the University of Niigata Prefecture. He has been studying EMI implementation for more than a decade. His current research interests focus on student outcomes in EMI, especially student's post-graduation career paths.
Panel: Disruption and Dissent in our Education Institutions
2A • 11:25-1:10 • Disruption and Dissent in our Educational Institutions
In an era of political alienation and social fragmentation when new technologies hold an unprecedented capacity to interface with human subjectivities, these four talks may be seen as efforts to transform education through disruption, inviting contemplation of memory, identity, power dynamics, and pedagogic paradigms.
1. "The Aesthetics of Memory" - Kennedy scrutinizes the existential crisis stemming from our relationship with digital technologies. Focusing on the loss of curation and the diminishing connection between past, present, and future, Kennedy advocates for a revival of mnemoaesthetics. He proposes an educational reinstitution that prioritizes journaling, surveying, and collecting to restore the aesthetics of memory in lived experiences.
2. "From the sky or from the rubble? - Cabell challenges the constructed Japanese identity shaped by compliance with US hegemony. Addressing ethical concerns regarding geopolitical subservience and indifference to global suffering, Cabell recovers an alternate Japanese identity grounded in empathy and global solidarity. He calls for an education that reexamines power dynamics, fostering critical engagement with societal narratives and histories.
3. "The real of education" - Bradley explores the potential of videolanguaging as a disruptive force in education. Embracing Guattari's schizoanalysis and institutional analysis, Bradley critiques the impact of commercialized video narratives in educational institutions. He advocates for a pedagogy that elicits affective responses, challenging traditional feedback mechanisms and emphasizing the transformative power of video narratives in reshaping educational structures.
4. “Teaching Tension” - Myles Chilton explores the tension in education between the demand for predictable outcomes and Gert Biesta's call for a reorientation towards 'subjectification.' Embracing the conflicts between conservative and progressive values, critiquing complicity in sustaining systems like neoliberalism, and navigating the struggle between institutional power and student emancipation, Chilton argues that living with tension is essential for a genuinely enriched higher education experience, emphasizing its potential for renewal and intellectual engagement.
These talks provoke a reconsideration of educational approaches, urging a shift from passive conformity with disciplinary norms to challenges that push against institutional inertia, from technological alienation to mnemonic rejuvenation and reorientation towards 'subjectification', and from conventional pedagogy to inclusive, diverse, emancipatory and disruptive methodologies.
David Kennedy, Nihon University
Charles Cabell, PhD, Toyo University
Myles Chilton, Professor, Department of English Language and Literature, Nihon University
Joff P. N. Bradley, Professor, Teikyo University
David Kennedy, Nihon University; Charles Cabell, PhD, Toyo University; Myles Chilton, Professor, Department of English Language and Literature, Nihon University; Joff P. N. Bradley, Professor, Teikyo University
Joff P. N. Bradley (joff@main.teikyo-u.ac.jp) teaches English at Teikyo University. Joff serves as a visiting professor at Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi and a visiting researcher at Kyung Hee University, Seoul. Joff has been a visiting professor at Université de Nanterre, Durham University, and Universidad Nacional de San Martín, Argentina. He is the vice president of the International Association of Japan Studies and a member of the advisory board of International Deleuze and Guattari Studies in Asia, as well as sitting on the advisory board for the Deleuze and Guattari Collective in India. Joff has co-written books on cinema, Deleuze and Buddhism, utopia, educational philosophy and French thought, transversality, Japanese education, and two books on Bernard Stiegler. He published Thinking with Animation in 2021, Schizoanalysis and Asia in 2022, and two books, Deleuze, Guattari and the Schizoanalysis of Postmedia and Deleuze, Guattari and Global Ecologies of Language Learning, in 2023. His latest book On the Détournement of the Smart City: A Critical Post-Media Study of the Smart City in Korea, Japan, and India was published in Korean and English in 2024. His next two books are entitled Critical Essays on Bernard Stiegler: Philosophy, Technology, Education and On Critical Post-Media and Korea: Philosophy, Technology, and Literature will be published in 2024.
. More details can be found here: https://researchmap.jp/g0000211122?lang=ja
Charles Cabell (chacab@gmail.com) is professor in the Department of Global Innovation at Toyo University. His research and teaching focus on comparative literary readings of Japanese and American literature, and on how education can respond to climate change. His publications include articles on Japanese writer Ueda Akinari, Japanese translations of D. H. Lawrence, and on the Kokinshu poetry of Ono no Komachi. He has also published a consideration of the place of the thinking of bell hooks in the context of Japanese higher education. He has a PhD from Harvard University in East Asian languages and literatures, and was president of the International Association for Japanese Studies (IAJS).
Myles Chilton (myles@mbe.nifty.com) is professor in the Department of English Language and Literature, Nihon University. He is also the author of English Studies Beyond the ‘Center’: Teaching Literature and the Future of Global English (Routledge 2016); co-editor and co-author of Asian English: Histories, Texts, Institutions (Palgrave Macmillan 2021); co-author of The Affects of Pedagogy in Literary Studies (Routledge 2023); World Englishes, Global Classrooms: The Future of English Literary and Linguistic Studies (Springer 2022); The Future of English in Asia: Perspectives on Language and Literature (Routledge 2015), Literary Cartographies: Spatiality, Representation, and Narrative (Palgrave Macmillan 2014), Deterritorializing Practices in Literary Studies (Contornos 2014), and World Literature and the Politics of the Minority (Rawat 2013). He has also published articles in such journals as Humanities, Comparative Critical Studies, The Journal of Narrative Theory, and Studies in the Literary Imagination. More details can be found here: https://researchmap.jp/7000001172, or here: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9339-7163.
David Kennedy (kennedy1966@tokyo.email.ne.jp) is associate professor at the College of Commerce, Nihon University. His research focuses on the effects of digital technologies on education, becoming, and cross-generational memory. He is particularly interested in the work of the late philosopher Bernard Stiegler. He is the co-editor of Bringing Forth a World: Engaged Pedagogy in the Japanese University (Brill/Sense, 2020) and Bernard Stiegler and the Philosophy of Education (Routledge, 2021). Kennedy has also contributed articles to Educational Philosophy and Theory, STEM Journal, Journal of Engaged Pedagogy, and others.
Practical Ideas for Teaching SDGs in English
2C • 11:25-1:10 • Practical Ideas for Teaching SDGs in English
10 educators from different institutions around Japan will display, by way of workshop or presentation, how each SDG can be engaged appropriately at their students’ level. It is also our wish that participants will share their own activities with us, so that we can create a bank of activities to make available to English teachers, not only in Japan, but around the world.
Dr. Melodie Cook,
Dr. Eucharia Donnery,
Chiyuki Yanase,
Dr. Frederick Bacala,
Parvathy Ramachandran,
Mariana Oana Senda
Leveth Jackson,
Susan Laura Sullivan,
Judith Kambara
Dr. Melodie Cook, University of Niigata Prefecture; Dr. Eucharia Donnery, Soka University; Chiyuki Yanase, Keio University; Dr. Frederick Bacala, Yokohama City University; Parvathy Ramachandran, Kanazawa Institute of Technology; Mariana Oana Senda, Meiji University; Leveth Jackson, Chiba University; Susan Laura Sullivan, Tokai University; Judith Kambara, Nagoya City University
Preventing “Déjà Vu All Over Again”: Reinvigorating Study Abroad in a Social media-saturated World
4C • 4:15-5:40 • Internationalization and International Students
Study abroad students today increasingly embark on their experience with already fully-formed expectations mediated through “study-abroad influencers” who offer students social and cultural capital to navigate their sojourn abroad, along with curated “must-do” lists of places to visit, foods to eat, and things to do. This presentation will explore the challenges of teaching exchange students in a social media saturated-world, and offer strategies for guiding students beyond the pre-travel roadmap often provided by influencers so that they can achieve a deeper, more personally meaningful study abroad experience.
Dawn Grimes-MacLellan
Meiji Gakuin University, Center for Liberal Arts
Dawn Grimes-MacLellan is an Associate Professor in the Center for Liberal Arts at Meiji Gakuin University. She received her Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on pedagogy and socio-cultural aspects of learning in a variety of schooling contexts in Japan. She has also investigated student volunteerism and community partnership in post 3.11 Japan. Most recently, she’s researching the continuing impact of Covid-19 on study abroad in Japan.
Rhetoric vs. Reality: Deconstructing ‘Internationalization’ PR in Japanese Higher Education
1B • 9:50-11:15 • The Japanese University
Through a discourse analysis of official messages from chairs of either ‘international’ or ‘global’ studies related departments at universities across Japan, this study explores the discrepancy between the reality and the current rhetoric surrounding internationalization in higher education in Japan.
Dr. Antonija Cavcic
Toyo University
Antonija Cavcic is currently a senior lecturer at Toyo University, Japan. Her current research interests include student mobility in a post-pandemic context and gender representation in digital media. Generally, though, she researches in the field of cultural studies and foreign language education.
Sample Pedagogy from an Economics-based CLIL Course: Teaching How to Find, Analyze, Compare, and Present Data
4E • 4:15-5:40 • Behind the Pedagogy
Today's presentation will focus on two main aspects. Firstly, I'll discuss engaging class activities used in my academic English course within a Japanese tertiary environment, emphasizing CLIL pedagogy. Secondly, I'll share the rationale behind adopting these CLIL teaching practices, considering factors such as motivation, the importance of English within the context, and the utility of translanguaging for scaffolding and collaborative learning. The aim is to inspire reflection among fellow practitioners in similar Japanese tertiary settings by presenting both the activities themselves and the underlying philosophical principles guiding their selection.
Julia Christmas
University of Niigata Prefecture
Julia Christmas has been teaching in Japan for over 30 years. She holds a Master’s degree from Temple University and has worked for many years in both public and private (primary and secondary) school systems in Japan. Her main research interests are: Pedagogy for CLIL environments, active learning and engagement, team teaching, pronunciation, and communicative-based professional development for in-service teachers.
Self-Discovery for Global Peace: Enhancing Learner Autonomy Through Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Practices
4A • 4:15-5:40 • Different Ideas for Our Students
This presentation aims to explore the use of reflection in classroom for students’ social and emotional development. With enhanced self-awareness and self-management, it allows students to take better actions and interact with other people. Learning experiences can only be fulfilling when students engage with positive social emotional health. Hence, educators’ role is not merely teaching but trying to understand their social emotional health and provide support that allows them learn better. Through self-reflection, one has more clarity with their life goals which helps them in contributing to a larger society.
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Soka University of Japan
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The Impacts, Possibilities and Challenges of “Global University Campuses Under-one-roof” in Japan and Other Parts of Asia
1B • 9:50-11:15 • The Japanese University
This work-in-progress paper, based on ongoing collaborative fieldwork and interviews conducted since 2022, examines the impacts, challenges, and opportunities of international branch campuses under a single roof (“global university campuses under-one-roof”) in contemporary Japan and other parts of Asia. We focus on three patterns of “global university campuses under-one-roof" in Asia: (1) local university + foreign university with local government engagement/investment (2) local university + foreign university without local government engagement/investment and (3) foreign university + foreign university/universities with local government engagement/investment. Through this examination, this paper will unpack the varying meanings, agendas, and possibilities behind “globalization” and will illustrate how they are negotiated at the local level.
Sachiko Horiguchi
Temple University, Japan Campus
Training International Teaching Assistants (TAs)
4B • 4:15-5:40 • Faculty and Professional Development
In the wake of COVID-19, as EFL classrooms transitioned back to in-person learning, the role and training of Teaching Assistants (TAs) have gained renewed significance. This presentation will detail the training program of TAs at a medium sized international university EFL program in Japan, and report on the results of a survey of 74 TAs regarding their training experience. The results indicate TAs found the training workshops effective, particularly valuing group reflection activities, but they desired more training in discussion facilitation, managing difficult students, relationship building, and group dynamics. Practical advice for effective training techniques will be discussed with an emphasis on maximizing TAs' potential in contemporary EFL classrooms.
Malcolm Larking
Malcolm Larking, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University
Malcolm Larking is a Senior English Lecturer at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Oita Prefecture, Japan. He is currently coordinating the Elementary English level and the English Teaching Assistant Program there. His research interests include Teaching Assistant training, assurance of learning and intercultural competence.
Turkey, or Türkiye? Peking or Beijing?
4D • 4:15-5:40 • Our Changing World
We shall look at the background to the names of selected nations and cities, and analyze what motivates a change in name from phonetic, orthological, national, and political points of view. We may discuss the extent to which such changes should be accepted or opposed.
Paul Snowden
Lakeland University Japan
Born in England, living and working in Japan for half a century, Prof. Emeritus, Waseda University; Hon. Doc., Lakeland University.
Using Internet Memes to Examine and Dispel Misconceptions about Japan
3C • 2:40-4:05 • Using Technology Creatively
The presenter will summarize a class project aimed at analyzing and researching misconceptions about Japan through the use of internet memes. The steps of the project, the materials (memes) used, and sample student work will be shared.
John Rucynski
Okayama University
John Rucynski is associate professor in the Language Education Center at Okayama University. His main research interest is the role of humor in foreign language acquisition and intercultural communicative competence. He has published widely about this topic, including two edited volumes.
Value Creating Education’s Role in Fostering Authentic and Social Justice Leaders
4D • 4:15-5:40 • Our Changing World
It is a research based on the study of how Value Creating Education, a pedagogical approach, can impact social justice and authentic leadership frameworks. The case study has been performed at Soka University Japan and the results will be shared in the presentation.
Sudhanshita Arora
Soka University
Women’s Universities: A Bleak Future?
3A • 2:40-4:05 • The Japanese University
This presentation examines the past, the present, and the potential futures for women’s universities. First, the long and rather distinguished history of women’s universities in Japan will be traced to provide background and context to the situation. Next, the present state will be evaluated, utilizing both data and anecdotal evidence in analyzing what might be labeled a dire situation for these women’s universities. Finally, potential outcomes for the universities will be suggested, with the goal of answering the question as to whether women’s universities do indeed have a bleak future in Japan.
John Nevara
Atomi University
John Nevara arrived in Japan in 1990, and shortly after started working at Japanese universities. Presently, he is a Professor at Atomi University in Tokyo, and has an interest in the functioning of higher education in Japan.
"Don’t write with ChatGPT - write about it”: student essay prompts on chat bots
3B • 2:40-4:05 • Student Writing
Presentation of three topics related to how the software program ChatGPT functions, and suggestions on how to adapt these for student writing assignments.
Kevin Garvey
Rikkyo University
Kevin Garvey is an assistant professor in the College of Intercultural Communication at Rikkyo University. He researched attention economics, cultures of the Internet, and Intercultural communication.
A Comparison of Environmental Accountability in Japanese Higher Education: Moving Beyond the Recycle Bin
1D • 9:50-11:15 • Inside and Outside the Classroom
The global push for sustainability has had a large impact on how Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) focus on education and research in the area of sustainable development. In order to promote these efforts, the government of Japan has been working to boost Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) by encouraging collaboration across various ministries, institutions, universities, and other stakeholders. In addition to direct government funding, support involves helping with the development of learning materials, providing information on best practices, and engaging in policy discussions. As a result, a number of Japanese universities have launched sustainability initiatives and dedicated offices. Questions remain about how well these policies are implemented and to what extent staff and faculty are incentivized to be better stewards of funds and other resources.
The presenters will offer a review of current literature around HEIs and their environmental accountability, with a focus on the Japan context. This review will focus on the areas of research, outreach, and campus operations. This presentation is the initial stage of a larger research agenda to further investigate the environmental accountability at Japanese universities through surveys, interviews, and campus visits. This presentation will be of interest to educators working in Japanese HEIs and want to better understand the impact of environmental policies and accountability.
Dr. Joshua Jodoin; Stewart Markel
Dr. Joshua Jodoin, Konan University; Stewart Markel, Konan University
Dr. Joshua John Jodoin is a graduate of the doctoral program at Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies (GSGES) and an Associate Professor at Konan University. He has previously worked at Kwansei Gakuin University, the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC), and Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey. Joshua’s research interests are in the areas of Language Education for Sustainable Development (LESD) and Environmental Policy in Higher Education.
Stew Markel is an instructor at the Center for Education in General Studies (CEGS) at Konan University. He has previously worked at Cornell University, the University of Notre Dame, and Kwansei Gakuin University. Stew’s research interests are in the areas of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), Language Proficiency Assessment, and Sustainability in Higher Education.
Activating Students’ Passive Knowledge-Making Connections through Contemporary Issues
1C • 9:50-11:15 • Perspectives on Pedagogy (DAVE)
How do we engage a diverse classroom of university students with content that easily connects to their past knowledge and experiences? Further, what instructional techniques can the teacher employ to ensure that students not only feel motivated to share their information with their classmates but also discover interesting similarities and differences between them? This presentation focuses on activating students’ passive knowledge within a content-based university course, Contemporary Issues in Japanese Society.
Keith Charles Hoy
Keith C. Hoy is a Professor in the Faculty of Global and Community Studies and serves on the International Affairs Center at Hiroshima Shudo University.
Addressing the ABCs of Teacher Well-Being as the Building Blocks to a Healthy Teaching Environment
4B • 4:15-5:40 • Faculty and Professional Development
Inspired by the insightful and timely work of Eyre (2017) and Mercer & Gregersen (2020), this presentation will invite participants to consider a “back to basics” approach to personal health, balance, and harmony by exploring the vital connection that exists between teacher well-being and effective classroom dynamics.
Sylvain Bergeron
Gunma University
Sylvain Bergeron has been living and teaching in Japan since 1993. He holds and MEd TESOL from the University of Wollongong (Australia) and he is currently a member of Gunma University’s Global Initiative Center. His research interests include Student-Centered Learning, Project-Based Learning, and Well-being in Education.
Analyzing Japanese Student Perceptions of Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) : Implications for Intercultural Communication Education in Japan
3D • 2:40-4:05 • Questions of Globalization
This presentation will aim to better understand what students at Japanese higher education institutions identify as Intercultural Communication Competencies (ICC) .
Japanese students today are often seen to be of a generation that affirms diverse values as “knowledge,” since they learn about intercultural communication in schools, but are often seen as lacking ICC having little real experience practicing it. In this context, it is important to investigate what exactly “ICC” means for a regular Japanese student. Now, much of the Japanese research to date on student's ICC has focused on the impact of ICC classes; changes in students' understanding, attitudes, and behavior through classes. Research on students' perceptions of what they think is ICC before learning about it has been lacking.
This study addresses this gap, and focuses on Japanese students who have not yet taken an ICC related class.
By comparing Japanese students' perceptions with the concept as being discussed academically, this study attempts to contribute in improving educational methods in this field, such as improving the efficiency of teaching that are necessary for increasing students' motivation to learn ICC.
An open-ended survey was administered to 70 students in the first ICC class at a university, and a college of hospitality. The data were coded, using the theoretical framework of Byram (1997) and others. The results showed that though Japanese students had “knowledge” of terms such as “diversity” and “intercultural communication,” they lacked the perception that acceptance and respect for others, and student self-awareness were crucial components of intercultural communication competencies.
Takako Tomite
Bunkyo Gakuin University
Artificial Intelligence in The Classroom: Indonesian Graduate Business Students’ Readiness and Perspective
3C • 2:40-4:05 • Using Technology Creatively
The goal of this proposed program is to present the findings of the study that seeks to find Indonesian graduate business students’ readiness to use generative AI and the different ways AI can be used to enhance the learning process.
Jonathan Nahum Marpaung, PhD
Jonathan Marpaung, University of Indonesia
Jonathan Nahum Marpaung is a faculty member at the University of Indonesia Faculty of Economics and Business. He received his Doctorate from Oklahoma State University in Leadership and Policy Studies – Higher Education. He has more than 12 years of experience as an application developer, IT project manager, and data security/assurance specialist. His research interests are the usage and implementation of technology in higher education and the utilization of digital technology by small and medium enterprises.
Assessing Critical Thought Expression Skills of Freshman Students Using Opinion Paragraph Writing Tasks
3B • 2:40-4:05 • Student Writing
The presentation aims to investigate the critical thought expression skills of Japanese freshman students utilizing opinion paragraph writing tasks in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. A pilot study conducted in two freshman oral communication classes, comprising 45 intermediate-level Japanese EFL undergraduates, will be outlined. The analysis reveals that many students' paragraphs lack clear topic sentences and concluding statements that effectively summarize their main arguments. This deficiency, coupled with challenges in linguistic and academic writing proficiency, underscores the prevalent high-context, sociocultural awareness among Japanese students. They tend to rely on shared contextual understanding rather than explicit presentation of ideas for persuasive communication. The presentation concludes by exploring the pedagogical implications and offering insights for further research on evaluating and fostering critical thinking skills in Japanese students through opinion paragraph writing tasks in EFL university classrooms.
Megumi Uemi
Megumi Uemi, Toyo University
Megumi Uemi has spent much of her life outside Japan, residing in cities like Bangkok, California, and Shanghai. She earned an MA in Second and Foreign Language Education, specializing in TESOL, in the U.S. Her teaching experience includes English instruction at a public high school in Thailand and at a leading language school for professionals in Tokyo. Previously, she taught English and Cross-Cultural Communication at Kokusai Junior College and currently serves as a full-time lecturer in the Department of International Culture and Communication Studies at Toyo University.
Her research focuses on the integration of critical thinking in TESOL, with her recent endeavors centered around developing interactive methods for teaching critical thinking to Japanese EFL students through a learning log approach.
Authentic teaching materials from academic podcast interviews
3C • 2:40-4:05 • Using Technology Creatively
We are currently developing “Authentic Academics,” a website providing the necessary material support to make long-form academic podcasts that include many fields accessible to students, fellow academics, or anyone interested in the topics. This presentation will outline our process and how the materials can be used by academics and their students interested in the academic process.
Christopher G. Haswell
Christopher G. Haswell, Kyushu University
Christopher G. Haswell is an associate professor at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan. His current research interests are the reporting of Asian sociolinguistics in academic journals and a project to produce online materials for the teaching of Global Englishes.