Proceedings of the Annual NEAR Conference

From the Editors

 We are pleased to be publishing our inaugural peer-reviewed issue of the Proceedings of the Annual NEAR Conference. While we have made post-conference papers available in the past, we have now received an ISSN number, set up a peer-review process, and are able to provide authors with another more “official” venue for their work.

In this first issue, we are happy to present works on three topics. The first, Deep Discussion Using Flipped Classroom Design, by Cheryl Kirchoff, Trane deVore and Jean-Pierre J. Richard, discusses the benefits of using a flipped classroom approach in university classes in order to help students achieve academic goals.  The second, Self-Efficacy and IELTS: A Case of EAP Learners in Japan, by Nicholas Marx and Marshall Klassen, focuses on links between students’ judgements about their self-efficacy in English and how that relates to their IELTS scores. The third, Closing Gaps in Inclusive Support in Japanese Tertiary Education, by Michael Yap, Clare Butson, and Ayako Ooikawa is an important overview of provisions for special education in Japan, issues students with special needs face, and possible solutions to these problems.

We hope you will enjoy reading and benefit from this research.

Dr. Melodie Cook, University of Niigata Prefecture

Dr. Howard Brown, University of Niigata Prefecture

Contents

1 - 11               Deeper Discussion Using Flipped Classroom Design

                     Cheryl Kirchhoff, Trane DeVore, and Jean-Pierre J. Richard

12 - 25             Self-efficacy and IELTS: A Case of EAP Learners in Japan      

                      Nicholas Marx and Marshall Klassen

26 - 36             Closing Gaps in Inclusive Support in Japanese Tertiary Education

                       Ayako Ooiwa, Michael Y. Yap, and Clare Kaneko 

Proceedings of the Annual NEAR Conference

Published by JALT Niigata (Niigata, Japan)

ISSN: 2434-6160