Showa Women's University Repository / 昭和女子大学学術機関リポジトリ
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〔研究ノート〕IELTS and the Australian Context: Globally Mobile International Students
Get PDFThis research note preliminarily investigates the Australian higher education sector as it pertains to its international student cohort. Australia is one of the major higher education study destinations in the world. The sector is a vital component of its service-orientated economic model which aims to progress a knowledge economy. Therefore, it must compete with other attractive study destinations of the United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK) for the globally mobile student cohort and who predominantly come from China and India. In recent decades, Australia has committed to a skilled migration policy to which the higher education sector is inextricably tied. It is not an uncommon pathway for international students who have enrolled in and graduated with an Australian degree to then seek employment and permanent residency. Thus, they will likely face the challenge of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test more than once. The IELTS test and its gatekeeping function for non-Australians has a two-fold purpose. Its score assesses both the English language proficiency of international students’ enrolment into Australian universities and plays a role for their entry into the Australian workforce. In this research note, analysis of secondary data included in relevant reports has mainly been reviewed. This initial exploration has enabled for closer examination of the IELTS test’s ubiquity in Australia for the aforesaid dual purposes. It also aims to determine the awareness of the IELTS test in Japan among associated stakeholders. The conclusions of the reports referred to do not reveal the predictive validity of IELTS as an English language proficiency for the Australian workplace. Yet, the reports are more positive in terms of the potential washback of the IELTS test on educational institutions in Japan (China is also mentioned). By gaining more insight into these bifurcate domains, this research note attempts to provide impetus for heightened examination by English Foreign or Second Language (EFL and ESL) educators of the merits and demerits of the IELTS test as an instrument of students’ possible tertiary and career ambitions. Additionally, it highlights the inopportune decoupling of the IELTS test from non-Australians’ study, employment, and/or migrant pathways. For those Japanese students who may desire global mobility or who are transnationally inclined, this research note states that IELTS is an important foundation.departmental bulletin pape
THINGS TRANSPARENT“The City and its Uncertain Walls” by Haruki Murakami
Get PDFHaruki Murakami’s fourth work was the short story “Machi to Sono Futashikana Kabe” （The City and its Uncertain Walls）, published in the September, 1980, issue of the literary magazine Bungakukai. In the story, the male protagonist falls in love with a woman who dies and creates her own imaginary city where the protagonist goes to join her. The city is a closed and timeless place, surrounded by walls that guard and watch over them. But eventually the protagonist yearns to live outside the walls and finally escapes.
Although the story inspired Murakami’s subsequent works, such as “Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World”, it is not included in his short story collection or full portfolio. According to Murakami, the story was a failure. While not intended to be realistic, he felt the underlying allegorical themes were too transparent.
In this report I will discuss what Murakami tried to hide, and the elements that developed into his later works.departmental bulletin pape
Children's Health in "Forest Kindergartens" in Germany TAJIMA Koichi
Get PDFThis paper offers a review of the literature regarding the various initiatives related to Germany's "Forest Kindergartens", and examines the impact that forest activities have on both the physical and intellectual development of children. This research has found that children who spend time in "Forest Kindergartens" learn to cooperate with others in the process of learning new things in nature, deepen their understanding of nature and others, and learn to coexist with nature. At the same time, the findings also revealed issues such as differences in social and cultural contexts and spatial constraints that would be make it challenging to offer similar kindergartens in Japan.departmental bulletin pape
Showa Women’s University Prizes for Studies of Women’s Culture (Bando Fund) : 2022 Report
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