Japanese version of this article
The course “Academic Paper-Writing Workshop for Cultural and Social Psychological Journals 2018” was held as one class for Hokkaido Summer Institute 2018. The course lasted for 3 days, and was held from July 8th to July 10th.
Both Professor Takahiko Masuda of the University of Alberta and Professor Masaki Yuki Faculty of Letter’s Behavioral Studies Department reprised their roles from last year as the course’s lead instructors. Additionally, Professor Sawa Senzaki of the University of Wisconsin Green Bay and 2 students working under Professor Masuda’s in Alberta worked as Teaching Assistants for this course.
In class, Professor Masuda, Professor Senzaki and students from the University of Alberta would correct and comment on English papers concerning cultural psychology or social psychology that the students had already turned in before class had started. By using the correction process as class material, the lecturers were able to conduct a workshop to teach students what kinds of mistakes Japanese speakers often make when writing in English, as well as how they can form arguments that can be easily understood by someone living in North America.
The Teaching Assistants: Professor Sawa Senzaki (far left),
Zachary Muncaster (to her right), Bryce Hoy (to his right)
The corrected work was displayed on a large monitor so that all students could check.
Students actively discussed the contents of the corrections.
Through class-discussions, students were able to learn a great deal about writing articles and expressing themselves in English. Additionally, students were also able to improve other skills related to their research, including how to establish a research plan and how to interpret the results of their studies. Through these efforts, students were able to realize just how important it is to have a well thought-out plan when conducting research.
The following student opinions were found on the student survey: “It was a valuable experience,” “I was completely satisfied with the passionate teaching style,” “Explaining my research in English was very difficult, but the lecturers and TA’s were there to help me, so I was able to be more confident.”