A Causal Model for Differential Success in an English Medium Content Course at a Japanese University :

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Efforts at curriculum reform in Japanese universities increasingly involve experimenting with content courses taught through the medium of English. Such 'sheltered immersion' courses are well Known in North America, but have gone unevaluated in Japan. The present research investigates the relative success of first year undergraduates (N=322) who have undergone an English for academic purposes curriculum for one term prior to instruction in a core course in their major field taught in English by a foreign faculty member. The research examines factors influencing eventual success in the content course with the use of a recursive causal model, which measures baseline, moderating, attitudinal and outcome variables in a temporal order so as to make putative causal pathways empirically testable. Factors modelled are baseline proficiency (TOEFL), age, distance from campus, self-assessment of homework effort, hours at part-time jobs, club activities, extracurricular English study, attendance in English classes, attitudes about four EAP courses offered in the first semester, and the composite English course grade in the first semester. The criterion variable in the model was the composite grade in the English-medium core course taught in the second semester. The model indicates that prior proficiency eventually gives way to attendance, motivation and success in the EAP curriculum, Which directly influence students' relative performances in the core course. The model suggests that although there are complex causal relations affecting differential student performance in content-based instruction, given adequate EAP preparation prior to sheltered content instruction, 'typical' Japanese undergraduates can benefit from such curricular reforms to acquire advanced English training as well as content knowledge.

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