Browsing by Author "Rapley, Douglas James"

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    Blurring the boundaries : Japanese students negotiating their experiences in a New Zealand tertiary institution with international characteristics : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Second Language Teaching at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2017) Rapley, Douglas James
    This research uses a sociocultural perspective to explore the experiences of a group of Japanese study abroad students living and studying in a private, Japanese-owned tertiary institution in New Zealand. The data collection included a questionnaire investigating pre-arrival expectations and a longitudinal phase of semi-structured interviews. The Japanese characteristics of the college, in spite of its location in New Zealand, constructed the students’ experience in a way that blurred the boundaries between study in Japan and study abroad. For example, the number of Japanese students present and numerous physical aspects reminiscent of Japan combined with factors, such as the college’s Japanese focused support and continued support from home via the internet, limited the students’ ability to have a truly international experience. In examining this, the thesis draws an analogy with the Dejima situation, referring to a famous artificial island in Nagasaki, which accommodated Dutch merchants during Japan’s isolationist period and was linked to the mainland by a narrow bridge. In this environment, the Dutch were not permitted entry into Japan proper, thus never gained a real sense of Japanese life nor membership to its society. While the students often resented elements of college policy, which kept them embedded in Japanese ways of doing things and seeing the world, they also often came to value some of these for the affordances they gave for personal growth and unique experiences while remaining in a ‘safe’ environment. The experience also allowed the students to form close relationships with co-national peers, which became highly valued. Ultimately, the experience seemed to lead them to an appreciative re-examination of their own identities, as Japanese young people, and forge new identities to fit their situation in New Zealand. The other major affordance provided by the college was access to a tertiary qualification, something that appeared beyond their reach in Japan. Although the participants’ study abroad experience could generally be considered an affordance overall, it is suggested that the restricted opportunities for access to the community beyond the campus reduced some of the possibilities for the development of an international identity.
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    Policy and reality : the teaching of oral communication by Japanese teachers of English in public junior high schools in Kurashiki City, Japan : a thesis presented in the fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Second Language Teaching at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2008) Rapley, Douglas James
    In 2003 the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) unveiled their new junior high school (JHS) English as a Foreign Language (EFL) policy, which focused strongly on oral communication. Although there is evidence of policy noncompliance in schools until now there has been no English language research on the attitudes or practices of Japanese teachers of English (JTEs), or the views of the students, and their parents in regards to teaching/learning English speaking skills. The research, based on JHSs in a mid-sized Japanese city (pop. 475,000 approx.), focused predominantly on JTEs, but also included students, and their parents. Focus group sessions, questionnaires, and one-on-one interviews were used to collect data. The study reveals that learning English speaking skills is considered important, but passing the senior high school (SHS) entrance examination is the main concern and so, test impact from the SHS entrance examination exerts the greatest pressure on JHS JTEs. The JTEs also perceive themselves as facing other issues such as student motivation, JTE speaking proficiency, and large class sizes. Another finding is that JTEs appear to receive inadequate training– pre- and inservice– resulting in issues, such as a reliance on traditional methods (yakudoku), which are not in accordance with MEXT’s intentions, and JTE proficiency test achievement levels lower than those desired by MEXT. As a result of these issues gaps exist between MEXT JHS EFL policies and actual teaching practices, and have unfortunately led to a situation where JTEs believe that MEXT does not care about or understand the teaching environment. The study concludes that implementation of MEXT’s policy require a better match between the SHS entrance examination and JHS EFL policy, a decrease in class sizes, and JTEs receiving more adequate training. A more positive relationship between MEXT and JTEs would result from these two groups working collaboratively when designing JHS EFL policies and could better achieve a match between the SHS entrance examination and JHS EFL policy.