English Language Education for Engineering Majors at a University in Japan : Predictive Factors and Reflections on Screening for Effective and Riveting In-Class Activities

The objective of this study is to illuminate key predictive variables as well as preferences and wishes of Japanese undergraduate students majoring in engineering, in terms of English language education. By means of a questionnaire, relevant data were collected from 120 students at the University of Hyogo in January 2016. To reckon statistical predictors, lambda for nominal variables and gamma for ranked variables were calculated. The results elucidated the following: (1) the degrees of liking English in junior and senior high school days are each predictive of how much the respondent likes English today; (2) the numbers of weekly hours spent studying English at home in junior and senior high school days are predictive of the weekly hours spent studying English at home today; and (3) the degree of how much the respondent likes English today is predictive of his/her score on the proficiency quiz. The survey also highlighted that speaking was the most liked in-class activity among the students, while studying grammar rules was the least favored. With regard to selecting in-class activities, a number of factors such as the students’ age, gender, knowledge level, proficiency (both in native and English languages), interest, personality, in-class “chemistry,” social capital, motivation level, and the field of study should be taken into consideration, in addition to statistical as well as intuitive factors.

本論文の著作権は日本国際教養学会（JAILA）に属する