Comparative study on thermal comfort responses and sleep quality between Indonesian and Japanese students during summer in Japan

The comfort temperature and sleep quality of Indonesian residing in Japan during summer might be different from Japanese. As an extended previous research, this study aimed to compare the thermal comfort and sleep quality between Japanese and Indonesian students. Male Indonesian and Japanese students aged 20-35 years participated in this study. The participants completed a survey regarding thermal sensation before sleep. During sleep, actigraphy was used to monitor sleep. Additionally, the temperature and relative humidity of the participants’ bedrooms were recorded. The findings of this study indicated that Indonesian students’ bedroom temperature and relative humidity were not significantly different from those of Japanese students during the summer. Most of Indonesian students preferred neutral, like the Japanese students. According to a thermal comfort survey, Indonesians had the same sensation as Japanese (slightly comfortable). However, the Griffiths method revealed that the mean comfort temperature of Indonesian was higher than those of Japanese students. We also discovered that Indonesian students had shorter duration on bed and sleep minute than Japanese students. Furthermore, the sleep rate of Indonesian students was comparable to that of Japanese students. In conclusion, Indonesian students as tropical native became capable of adjusting to the hot and humid conditions in temperate climate, Japan.

Awareness Before and During Pandemic toward Food Waste: “Comparison between Indonesia and Japanese Students”

In recent years, food waste has become a global issue that often becomes the subject of public debate and has already been put into the SDGs programs which are targeted to be realized in 2030. A large amount of food waste is produced in the food service and infrastructure sectors, especially during this pandemic, which makes the foodservice sector difficult. However, this study compares and identifies students’ awareness of food waste in Indonesia and Japan. The data were primarily gathered through a questionnaire with 100 students in each country. This study uses the comparative concept to compare the results of research before and during the pandemic on students. Based on the results, this study discusses the extent to which students are aware of the behavior of leaving food, checking the expiration date, knowledge about food waste. Both Indonesian and Japanese students become more aware of the food waste that occurred.

The Usage of 'Otsukare' among Japanese Students

Greetings are one of the keys to strike a conversation. The relationship between the speakers could be measured through the greetings used. Therefore understanding greeting usage is necessary for maintaining an interpersonal relationship. Nevertheless, there seems to be a difference between greetings thought within Japanese textbooks and greetings in daily usage. Thus, this study will discuss the usage of ‘otsukare’ in Japan, especially amongst Japanese university students. The textbook "Minna no Nihongo" will be used to comprehend how aisatsu is taught to Japanese language learners. In this research, Japanese university students will answer a questioner regarding the usage of ‘otsukare’. A questionnaire was designed based on sociolinguistics concepts to discover how Japanese university students use ‘otsukare’, such as when to whom, and in what manner. 40 university students of native Japanese participated and as the result, four points were discovered regarding the usage of ‘otsukare’ First, ‘otsukare’ is used to greet seniors, juniors, and friends. Second, native Japanese speakers prefer to use ‘otsukare’ on departing. Third, nevertheless, some people also use ‘otsukare’ to greet people as an opening greeting. Native Japanese speakers consider the usage of ‘otsukare’ in the morning as opening greetings is not against the rule of greetings. Finally, the gap between Japanese teaching abroad is that ‘otsukare’ is not proper to be used as an opening greeting.

An Errors Analysis in Using Diathesis (態) in Written Text of Japanese Language Department Senior Students at Universities in Medan

The grammatical category that shows the relationship between the subject is diathesis. From the researcher’s observations, it was found that Japanese students used diathesis errors in the city of Medan. Therefore, this study discusses what forms of errors are and how Japanese universities students in Medan make the error in using diathesis forms. The specific purpose of this study is to analyze and determine the forms and patterns of errors in using the diathesis (態/tai) that it becomes a consideration for Japanese language lecturers to provide more effective teaching for Japanese learners, especially universities students in Medan. The types of diathesis sentences analyzed are judoutai (passive diathesis), Shieki (causative), kiboubun (wish form), and jujubun (expression of give-take). This research is descriptive qualitative research with error analysis. The data were sentences using diathesis (tai), sourced from written text made by 30 senior students of the Japanese department at the Universitas Sumatera Utara and the Universitas Harapan Medan. In conclusion, the form of error has been found in passive (受 身), a causative (使役), and the expression of the give-take action (授受表現) diathesis, which is realized grammatically and lexically. Errors include changing verbs, using particles (joshi), and assigning word unit functions to sentences. This study concludes that understanding and practice on the ukemi, shieki, and jujubun diathesis is needed in Japanese language learning among university students in Medan to improve student skills

Japanese Language Students' Perceptions on Online Nihongo Partner Program

The pandemic that hit in early 2020 has caused face-to-face Nihongo Partner Program to be postponed. As a result, Japanese language lecturers in a public university have come out with an online program to be utilized by students who are learning Japanese and also Japanese students who will be participating in the practical training in teaching Japanese. A study using a quantitative approach was conducted once the program ended. 465 students who participated in the program responded to the survey. The survey questions which consisted of two parts were answered by the respondents. Part A questions related to the background of the respondents while part B has five components which includes (i) respondent reaction during the program, (ii) respondent reaction before the program,(iii) respondent reaction during the program, (iv) respondent reaction after the program, (v) comments and suggestions for improvement. In components i-iv, respondents have to choose five likert scales, while component (v) requires respondents to provide comments and suggestions in written form. The questions of the survey are to answer (1) respondents’ perceptions of this program, (2) strengths and weaknesses of this program, (3) improvements that can be made for the future program. The results of the study found that most of the students agreed that the online NP Program (1) is positive and can be utilized for learning Japanese, (2) improves speaking skills with the correct pronunciation and intonation, increases confidence to speak in Japanese either with Japanese people or classmates, providing an opportunity for respondents to use Japanese language. However, (3) some respondents expressed a fear of making mistakes with the presence of native speakers. From the survey a total of 19 suggestions and improvements were given by the respondents.

Investigating the roles of first language (L1) speakers in lingua franca communication in multicultural classrooms: a case study of Japanese as a Lingua Franca (JLF)

In the Expanding Circle (i.e. countries where English is traditionally learned as a “foreign language”), the concept lingua franca cannot be limited to English. Conducted in a Japanese university, this study reports on the perceptions of verbal behaviours by students in multicultural courses where international and Japanese students studied together. These behaviours were analysed and the findings from English medium instruction courses and those of Japanese-medium instruction (JMI) courses were compared. Then, further analysis centred on JMI courses to explore the roles of Japanese L1 speakers in the co-construction of Japanese as a lingua franca with a focus on cognitive and psychological, rather than linguistic, perspectives. Rapport building, accommodation strategies, often initiated by L1 Japanese speakers, and the spontaneous interactions of second language (L2) speakers in discussions, are assumed to have been the keys to more inclusive interactions in JMI courses. The findings emphasize the importance of students’ attitudes and imply that intercultural education in the context, including both L1 speakers and L2 speakers, will have potential to foster effective lingua franca users.

How do textbooks from Brazil, the United States, and Japan deal with fractions?

Background: Researchers recognise the importance of textbooks for teachers’ lesson planning and the importance of fraction knowledge for shaping students’ future mathematics performance. Objectives: The finding of discrepant achievement by Brazilian, American, and Japanese students in the last three editions of PISA led us to investigate how textbook authors from these countries approach fraction content in elementary education relating to magnitude, flexibility, reasonableness, as well as conceptual and procedural knowledge from both symbolic and nonsymbolic perspectives. Design: The quantitative performances in mathematics of Brazilian, American, and Japanese students in the last three PISA editions lack qualitative and exploratory research to understand some reasons presented by the numerical results. Data collection and analysis: To achieve the objectives, we selected three textbook series, one each from Brazil, the United States of America, and Japan, that schools in those countries widely use. Results: The main results revealed that all textbook series practised flexibility and reasonableness with different emphases, but not the sense of magnitude. Brazilian and U.S. textbooks were based primarily on part-whole interpretation and on a procedural approach. In contrast, Japanese textbooks emphasised the understanding of measurement as the iteration of unit fractions and more conceptual development. Conclusions: The fraction knowledge approach in the Japanese textbook series seems to be close to what the mathematics education researchers recommend, which can be an essential differential to explain the Japanese results in PISA.