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A Multi-perspective Approach to a Short-term English Training Program in the U.S.

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A Multi-perspective Approach to a Short-term English Training Program in the U.S.

Yuko Tomoto1*, Yoko Shirasu1

1 English Education Centre, Yokohama College of Commerce, Kanagawa, Japan

*Corresponding Author: justcallmeyuko@gmail.com

Accepted: 1 June 2020 | Published: 15 June 2020

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Abstract: The purpose of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of a two-week- intensive English learning program of Yokohama College of Commerce at its affiliated school in the US, at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. In 2019, one of the authors of this research led the group of students and observed the transition of the students not only in the aspect of language ability but also the motivational aspect during and after the program.

All the students took All-in-English classes delivered by an American professor and participated in other activities both on-and-off campus. Students were satisfied with their L2 self-esteem and became more self-content while their motivation to study English considerably strengthened throughout the program. However, some students demonstrated little improvement in their test scores. The central research question is ‘what are the influential factors that improved their English’? There are students who improved their post- program English test scores and those who did not improve. To find out what hindered their English acquisition and what helped them, both quantitative and qualitative research was conducted. The authors conducted individual in-depth interviews as well as questionnaires after returning to Japan. Students also wrote feedback reports in the form of a post-program assignment, and they were analyzed using the text-mining method. Students also took English proficiency tests before and after the program, and their scores were compared and analyzed. The research results of this study will be used to improve the program next year.

Keywords: L2 self, motivation, language learning, intensive study abroad program

_________________________________________________________________________

1. Introduction

In recent years, various overseas language training programs are offered at a range of universities. Yokohama College of Commerce has formed academic alliances with overseas schools and conducted English language training during summer and spring vacation, but no research has been conducted to verify the learning effects. It is very important to analyze the learning effect in the sense that credits will be granted by taking pre-program classes, on-site training, and post-program report submission. In addition, this study is significant in the sense that it is essential to continuously review and improve the selection method of the participating students and the content of their training due to the needs of the school as a college of commerce and the characteristics of having students of various English levels.

In 2018 and 2019, one of the authors, Tomoto, was in charge of SIEP, Summer Intensive English Program. She taught once-a-week pre-program classes for fifteen weeks, and she accompanied by the SIEP participants for two weeks as a lead teacher. By observing, in detail, each student's motivation, scholastic ability, and series of emotional changes, we were

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able to analyze the learning effects of short-term training by individual participants.

Additionally, we used text mining tools on the written reports from participating students to extract keywords for program improvement.

2. Previous Studies and Research

Ono (1997) stated that the students who join the study abroad program showed a stronger desire to speak English “like a native speaker” and to speak “in various situations”. After experiencing real English-speaking environment with host families or friends in welcoming atmosphere, the students seemed to be highly motivated to learn and use English actively, and they felt the study abroad program helped improve their listening comprehension and speaking skills. Ono also pointed out that the students’ attitudes toward host country and people became more positive after the program (p.189).

Nishina, Omotedani & Morishita (2017) claimed that study abroad program has effectiveness on improvement of not only students’ language ability but also communication skills, international awareness and understanding of host country and culture as well as their own country and culture (p.11). They mentioned that some typically introversive students have changed to social and out-spoken personalities and they have come to enjoy interacting with people during and after the program.

Yashima (2004) indicated that favorable contact and interaction experiences presumably reduce anxiety and enhance interest in the world, which, in turn, influence attitudes and motivation. Yashima (2002) employed the concept of “international posture” to describe learners’ interests in foreign or international affairs, willingness to go overseas to stay or work, readiness to interact with intercultural partners, and, one’s hopes, openness or a non- ethnocentric attitude toward different cultures among others (p.57). Yashima developed the schematic model (Figure 1) and explained that international posture (including engagement in international issues), willingness to communicate resulting in frequency of communication, and English proficiency interact with each other and develop together in EFL context (2009, p.154).

Figure 1: A schematic representation of the interaction between L2 WTC, international posture and English proficiency

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Kobayashi (2017) also stated that friendly atmosphere of All-in-English classes of the study abroad program and reassuring conversation and interaction with host families triggered positive changes to the students. Their willingness to communicate and motivation to study English further were remarkably boosted by visualizing themselves as real English users all through the program and they tend to be kept positively at high level even after returning to Japan. The good images the students had toward English, the host country and its culture were further improved after participating in the study abroad program (p.12).

Tomoto & Shirasu (2019) mentioned that the short-term study abroad program had a positive impact on their students’ learning motivation and on their future dreams regardless of the students’ English proficiency. They reported the case that the student with the second lowest score among all participants showed remarkably positive changes, the largest score improvement on English proficiency test and greater self- confidence after the program. Also, some students strongly desired to apply for the long-term exchange student program after participating in the short program. Although their experiences at their affiliate school in US were only for two weeks, they greatly affect the students’ self-esteem and international posture along with their language capability (p.99).

The same idea was elaborated by Kimura (2006). She led the group of students to New Zealand for the three-week intensive study abroad program for two years in a row. The students were warmly welcomed by their host families and encouraged to use English in friendly atmosphere both inside and outside of the classes. The exposure to all-in-English environment in homely tone helped boost the students’ willingness to communicate with their New Zealander’s teachers and classmates and consequently improved their English proficiency. Kimura carried out the post-program English level test three weeks after returning to Japan and confirmed the students’ English levels were kept high. She concluded that the study abroad program has a significant role to motivate students even when it is short (p.13).

3. What is SIEP?

Yokohama College of Commerce forms an academic alliance with the University of Pittsburgh Bradford in the United States and conducts English language training and Summer Intensive English Programs (SIEP) during the summer holidays. In the spring semester, SIEP is highly important to analyze the learning effect in the sense that it takes 15 weeks of advanced classes at the University and gives 4 credits for approximately 2 weeks of on-site training and post-report submission.

The author (Tomoto) accompanied them as an instructor in 2019 and was in charge of the SIEP preparatory class “Intercultural and International Understanding” (異文化と国際理解 B). Although SIEP was a short period of two weeks, it was confirmed that as a phenomenon common to all the students who participated, participation in the program increased not only English skills but also self-affirmation and motivation for the future.

In 2019, six students participated in SIEP including one female student. They took 14 lessons from English native teachers on UPB campus. They also enjoyed socializing with the locals including teachers, staff, drivers, and students of UPB. They resided in the on-campus dormitory and stayed for 13 days, including excursions and short trips to the museums and scenic and historic spots.

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DAY ITINERARY

1 Flight from Haneda to Chicago, and New York. Arrive at UPB campus.

2 Campus Tour. English classes 1, 2, 3.

3 English classes 4, 5, 6, 7

4 Breakfast with local host. Lunch at local instructor’s house.

5 English classes 8, 9, 10, 11 6 Excursion for Niagara Falls.

7 English classes 12, 13. English class 14 in museums.

8 Excursion at park and downtown.

9 Kinzua Bridge and sightseeing. Walmart.

10 Heading to Pittsburgh. City tour.

11 The Andy Warhol Museum. City tour.

12 Flight from Pittsburgh to Chicago and Haneda.

13 Haneda Airport

Table 1: Itinerary

4. Before and After SIEP Questionnaire

We conducted questionnaires before and after the whole program to see how the students’

views on English altered in 4 months (15 weeks of once-a-week preparation English classes by Japanese teacher in Japan and 2 weeks of SIEP intensive English classes by American teacher at UPB. The items asked in the questionnaires are as follows and they are designed to be answered on a 1-4 scale. (1: Not so at all, 2: Not quite so, 3: Relatively so, 4: Definitely so)

Q.1 I like English.

Q.2 I am good at English.

Q.3 I feel no hesitation in speaking English.

Q.4 I feel no hesitation in watching movies or TV programs only in English Q.5 I feel no hesitation in listening to news or announcement only in English.

Q.6 I feel no hesitation in reading books or articles only in English.

Q.7 I think I can manage to survive in English.

Q.8 To improve English ability, taking All-in-English classes by native English teachers abroad is the best.

Q.9 To improve English ability, taking All-in English classes by native English teachers in Japan is good enough.

Q.10 To improve English ability, taking All-in-English classes by Japanese teachers in Japan is good enough.

Q.11 To improve English ability, taking classes using both Japanese and English by Japanese teachers in Japan is good enough.

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Q items Before After

1 2 3 4 Average

Q.1 Before

After

0 0

1 1

4 3

1 2

3.0 3.2

Q.2 Before

After

2 0

3 6

1 0

0 0

1.8 2.0

Q.3 Before

After

1 0

1 3

4 2

0 1

2.5 2.7

Q.4 Before

After

1 2

3 1

2 2

0 1

2.2 2.3

Q.5 Before

After

1 2

4 1

1 3

0 0

2.0 2.2

Q.6 Before

After

3 3

2 1

1 2

0 0

1.7 1.8

Q.7 Before

After

2 1

2 3

2 1

0 1

2.0 2.3

Q.8 Before

After

0 0

1 2

4 1

1 3

3.0 3.2

Q.9 Before

After

0 0

0 2

4 4

2 0

3.3 2.7

Q10 Before

After

0 0

0 2

5 3

1 1

3.2 2.8

Q11 Before

After

0 0

0 3

5 1

1 2

3.2 2.8

Table 2: Before and After SIEP Questionnaire

Table 2 shows how the students’ mpressions on English changed in four months. If the average points of the pre and post questionnaires of each question are compared, the post scores have increased on all of Q1 to Q8. It clearly shows participating SIEP program helped the students gain their self-confidence and hold positive images on English. Q7 especially indicates that the experience of being in all-in-English environment for two weeks gave them the confidence to believe they could survive in English-speaking situations from now on.

It has been said that when learners feel less hesitation and anxiety about using English, their willingness to communicate in English rises while an ideal learning circle will motivate learners to study more (Tanabe, 2012).

Q8 to Q11 are questions about class styles to improve English proficiency effectively. Only Q8 showed an increase while the points for Q9 to Q11 decreased. This indicates the participating students’ satisfaction with the SIEP’s All-in English classes by native teachers.

5. Analysis of the Participants’ English Proficiency

Participating students took the TOEIC mini test before and after SIEP and measured their English proficiency. The TOEIC mini test was carried out with a test time of roughly 60 minutes, which was extracted from TOEIC®. The test before and after SIEP was the same test.

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Table 3 shows the transition of each score and the result of t-test.

Table 3: TOEIC Mini Test Score

According to this, although the overall average score is rising from 17.5 to 21, t shows 0.380448823 (p<0.05) which does not mean the results approached the borderline of significance.

Table 4: TOEIC Mini Test Total Score

This is a graph that shows the transition of the total score according to individual students.

Table 5: TOEIC Mini Reading Score

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Student A's score increased significantly. Though he received the lowest total score, he had had a nice performance in his usual English class and he had had grade A of A-plus for his grade. His high potential possibly explains how he attained such a high score after SIEP. It appears that his talent blossomed by participating actively in the class. Student C's score, by contrast, fell while others only increased slightly.

Table 6: TOEIC Mini Listening Score

Table 5 and Table 6 are the graphs for each student’s listening and reading scores.

Student D experienced significant increase in his listening score after SIEP. The student D is a very open-minded, frank and nice person. He was thought to be friendly enough to talk with local people and teachers there. His listening ability is worth to keep eyes on continuously.

6. After SIEP Interview and Written Reports 6.1 Interview

As a credited course, SIEP assigned the participating students written reports about their experiences on the program. Open style in-depth interviews of all students were also conducted after returning to Japan. Among 6 participating students, 4 students (1 female and 3 male students) were originally close friends and applied for the program together. Two other (male) students did not know other 4 students and were not willing to talk to them at the beginning of the program. However, after taking once-a-week preparatory classes for the whole semester in Japan and living together at the college dormitory on UPB campus for two weeks, all the students became very close and the authors chose an open style interview rather than closed, individual interviews so that the relationship among the students and each student’s personality changes before and after the program could also be observed.

Questions and the students’ answers are listed below.

Q.1 Do you think it was worthwhile to attend SIEP?

All 6 students said “Definitely Yes”.

Q.2 Would you recommend SIEP to your friends?

5 students said “Definitely Yes” and 1 student said “Yes”.

Q.3 What did you like about the classes at UPB?

All 6 students liked that they could learn practical daily conversation.

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All 6 students liked that they could communicate in English with native teachers.

5 students liked that the classes were conducted only in English

5 students liked that they could learn not only American-style English but also American culture.

3 students liked that they were asked to speak every time in all classes.

3 students liked that textbooks were not used in classes.

1 student liked that they were given daily assignments so that he could review what he had learned.

Q.4 What did you not like about the classes at UPB?

All students answered there they did not dislike anything.

Q.5 What was good and bad about the activities (excursion, sports) besides classes at UPB?

2 students said they enjoyed the visit to Kinzua Bridge. The tour guides there were so professional and well-prepared, and they were so impressed.

2 students disliked that they were not allowed to go downtown freely without teachers.

They wanted to walk around town with friends, just like local students.

1 student said he enjoyed sports or exercise time with local students. He hoped he could have more free time.

1 student said that she was too tired because of the busy schedule and wanted to have more free time.

1 student said he enjoyed shopping at an American-sized outlet mall and also cycling at the National Park.

1 student said that they were happy enough even though they did not go to NY as previous year’s SIEP group did, but they were hoping to have more free time after school or weekends.

Q.6 What was beneficial about the preparation classes in Japan?

4 students said they appreciated conversational practice for immigration procedures at the airport in advance so that they didn’t feel too nervous.

1 student said he felt well-prepared by the class content including practical things such as, how to attend classes, how to use dormitory common spaces, how to pay for shopping and navigating other general cultural differences.

1 student said learning history and background about the places they were going to visit in advance in the preparation classes was very meaningful and that way they fully enjoyed the places.

Q.7 What should be changed in the preparation classes in Japan next year?

2 students said conversational practice for airport immigration procedures should be increased.

1 student said practice for daily conversation was necessary for outside of the classroom should be increased.

2 students said that items to bring should be more clearly indicated. They missed Japanese food

during their stay and recommended bringing some instant miso soup and rice as well as medicine to future students.

Q.8 Did participating in the SIEP program produce any differences in you?

6 students said their listening skills were highly improved.

4 students said their speaking skills were highly improved.

5 students said their motivation for learning English was remarkably strengthened.

5 students said their self-confidence and esteem were greatly improved. They also became active and positive and were willing to appeal to the people around them with confidence.

2 students said their future dreams became clearer or had hanged.

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2 students said their views on other YCC students changed and they were willing to share their experiences and tell other students about the positive aspects of cultural interaction.

1 student said being in all-in-English environment made him realize he could understand English much better than he had initially feared, and his self-esteem increased through the program.

1 student said that she felt that the experience of not learning English itself but learning something else while using English helped her English listening skills improve greatly.

6.2 Written Reports

These are the analysis results of text mining and positive-negative transition of written reports by participating students.

Table 7: Text Mining

Table 8: Text Mining (Nouns, Verbs)

Table 7 and 8 show the text-mining results of all students’ written reports. Bigger words mean more frequently used words. Positive words and phrases such as “understand”,

“experience”, “possible”, “wonderful”, “meaningful”, “thankful”, “intriguing”, and

“communication” are often used. The excursion activities outside of classroom such as Niagara Falls picnic or Kinzua Bridge visit are often referred to with words such as

“stunning”, “scale”, and “wide”.

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At the same time, some negative words are visible. “difficult”, “hard”, “miss” were used to describe their own English abilities and the Japanese food they missed. All students enjoyed their English classes and enjoyed talking to their American teachers, but some had difficulties communicating with local people outside of classroom and initially lost their confidence.

They gradually regained their confidence, however, through the program, and the tough experiences led them to have a stronger commitment towards their studies.

All students enjoyed American food immensely for the first few days but gradually started missing Japanese food and often talked about it. It took them a while to adjust to the food culture and it influenced their motivation to study.

Table 9: Negative Positive Analysis

Table 9 shows the transition of the students’ emotions. The section in upper green indicatespositive feelings and the lower red part indicates negative feelings. The left side shows the starting point and the right side shows the ending point of the 2-week UPB program.

As can be clearly observed, the positive section takes up the majority of the graph and both the beginning and the finishing points of the program mark high positive values. There is one red peak a short while after the program began and it was when the students missed Japanese food very much and their motivation and emotions lowered accordingly.

7. Conclusion

This research has only six subjects and the result cannot be generalized. However, for future study abroad programs and ordinary English courses at Yokohama College of Commerce, the below summaries are expected to be used effectively.

Short-term study abroad programs not only improve students’ English proficiency but also

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their cultural competency, willingness to communicate and motivation for further study.

Intercultural experiences give students many opportunities to challenge new things, sometimes through hardship, and it seems to lead students a sense of achievement and higher self-esteem. Though there are times that students struggle and lose their confidence in the early stages of the program, they gradually regain self-confidence by accumulating successful experiences as the program proceeds.

At the same time, there seems to be a cultural psychological influence on students and it can be considered as a great advantage of the study abroad program. Being in American culture seemed to set the students free from Japanese sociological expectations and behavioral norms. Though there are inconveniences when communicating in English, students appeared to feel freer and more open to express their feelings and thoughts in English than in Japanese.

Students seemed to be affected by both English and Japanese cultures both consciously and unconsciously.

All-in-English style classes were new and difficult for the students, but they appreciated them and gave high evaluations for the content of the classes. The classroom-style was new to them insofar as the American teacher did not directly teach English but instead taught them the history of the places they were going to visit on the following day or explained the activities they were going to engage in using only English. Realizing English is not only a subject but a real tool for communication seemed to motivate the students to study harder, and the joy of understanding English in a practical environment situated students in a positive cycle where they were willing to communicate and learn.

Yokohama College of Commerce is launching new experimental English courses. Some have all-in-English styles and others have short-period abroad programs. The authors hope to keep improving the course curricula and the class content to provide students with better learning environment,

8. Future research

In this study, the authors have concentrated on the academic and cultural effects of the on- site course contents of the two-week-study program. It was anticipated that All-in-English classes by American teachers and various intercultural experiments with American students on and off campus had developed international awareness of the participating Japanese students along with their English abilities. Future research should attempt to examine the effects of the pre-program classes. They are held once a week for fifteen weeks by Japanese teacher who would take a group to US and spend the full two weeks with the students there.

The pre-program classes have been designed to focus on practical conversational lessons and cultural understanding. Nishina, Omotedani & Morishita (2017) stated that the factors for a successful study abroad program lie not only in a program itself but also in a preparation stage before the program. To maximize the educational effects and boost students’

motivation, the pre-program class materials and teaching styles should be carefully examined.

Also, in order to confirm the improvement of English competency, the authors are considering recording the participants' English speech and verbalizing it. Furthermore, the research on this paper are done before COVID-19 pandemic. After COVID-19, the environments around study abroad programs and students are supposed to be changed. So, the authors should keep on surveying the tendency and mentality of the students who want to study abroad.

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References

Kimura, K. (2006). The Influence of Studying Abroad on Language Proficiency: Do Short- Stay Programs in English Speaking Countries Affect Students’ English Proficiency?

Shobi Gakuen University Journal, 12, 1-20

Kobayashi, C. (2017). Effects of Short-term Study Abroad on L2 Motivation. Tenri University Journal, 68 (2), 1-19

Nishina, Y., Omotedani, J. & Morishita, M. (2017). A Case Study of Effects of a Short-term Study Abroad Program on Japanese University Students. Kobe Gakuin University Journal, 3, 1-15

Ono, Y. (1997). Perception and Attitude Change during Summer Study Abroad. Bulletin of Gifu College of Education, 1997, 179-190

Tanabe, N. (2012). How Classes Conducted All in English on a Study Abroad Program Affect Students’ Impressions. Yasuda Joshi University Journal, 40, 19-26

Tomoto, Y. & Shirasu, Y. (2019). Japanese College Students’ Changes through a Study Abroad Program. Proceedings of 14th International Conference on Language, Innovation, Culture and Education, 2019, 92-101

Yashima, Y. (2002). Willingness to Communicate in a Second Language: The Japanese EFL Context, Modern Language Journal, 86(1), 54-66

Yashima, T. (2004). Motivation and Affect in Foreign Language Communication, Kansai University Press

Yashima, T. (2009). International Posture and the Ideal L2 Self in the Japanese EFL Context, In Zoldan Dornyei and Ema Ushioda (Eds), Motivation, Language Identity and the L2 Self, pp.144-163, Bristol: Multilingual Matters

Acknowledgement

This research is supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP18K00757.

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