PURPOSE AND FUNCTION OF DELE

Within the Institute for Liberal Arts and Sciences (ILAS) that plans, implements, and manages general education at Kyoto University (Article 1 of the ILAS Regulation), the International Academic Research and Resource Center for Language Education (i-ARRC) stands as an Organization for research and development of teaching methods for practical language proficiency and their operations (Article 22 of the ILAS Regulation). Of the three divisions that i-ARRC has, the Division of English Education (DELE) implements English language education by collaborating with the English Program, another unit for pedagogical research for the implementation of English education (Article 17 of the ILAS Regulation and Article 3 of the i-ARRC Bylaw.)

Therefore, the i-ARRC English Education Division has dual purposes of implementing English education for the present and improving it for the future. Its activities are supervised by the ILAS Director, the Council for Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the Committee for Planning and Evaluation (Articles 4, 6, and 10 of the ILAS Regulation.) Through the English Program, the i-ARRC English Education Division is also supervised by the English Committee, one of the sections in the Planning and Evaluation Committee (Article 14 of the ILAS Regulation).

The current website informs students and faculty members at Kyoto University and the general public of DELE's activities.

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MISSION STATEMENT

Developing competent users of academic English

through the promotion of autonomous language learning

The Division of English Language Education (DELE) empowers students to take ownership of their language learning and develop their abilities to become independent users of English. DELE focuses on teaching the knowledge and skills necessary for participation in learning communities. This core educational focus facilitates Kyoto University students' academic achievement and lifelong learning goals as they engage with the wider world. 

DELE achieves its mission by offering quality education in English for General Academic Purposes (EGAP). Instruction in EGAP provides the foundation for the English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) discipline-area courses taught in each faculty at the university. A practical merging of EGAP and ESAP skills with advanced academic knowledge prepares graduates of Kyoto University to make significant contributions to Japanese society and the global community.

The new E3 course, Active Listening (September 28, 2022)

Active Listening is a new E3 course for students who find it challenging to listen and comprehend words of spoken English or continue listening for an extended amount of time. If you have difficulty understanding even a short speech excerpt, you may be unaware of some key phonetic features of English. In addition, if you find yourself struggling to understand when interacting with “real” English that has not been modified for learning, you may need to brush up your listening comprehension skills and predictive strategies. If you are one such listener, join Active Listening. This course takes a bottom-up approach to listening, starting from identifying small units of sound, while simultaneously practicing a top-down approach, using prior information to gain understanding of text. The instructors are A. Yoshida in the 2nd semester of AY2022 and Y. Yanase (tentative) in the first semester of AY2023. Active Listening welcomes those who wish to enhance their listening skills to become active English users.

P.S.

We regret that we could not enroll all students who applied for this course in the second semester of 2022. Students who could not register for the course are encouraged to use the sites below to improve their listening skills.

Related posts

The features of English sounds: sound changes in spoken English (in Japanese)

https://www.i-arrc.k.kyoto-u.ac.jp/english/soundfeatures

Improving your English listening skills

https://www.i-arrc.k.kyoto-u.ac.jp/english/tips/contents#frame-324

English learning consultation FAQs: listening (in Japanese)

https://www.i-arrc.k.kyoto-u.ac.jp/english/consultation_jp_FAQ#frame-493

Be the Master of Your Learning (April 7, 2022)

Congratulations to all new students! We, the members of the Division of English Language Education (DELE), are committed to our mission: developing competent users of academic English through the promotion of autonomous language learning. The keywords I would like you to focus on are "users" and "autonomous learning." In other words, you are the master of your learning.

Although you must follow the instructions and receive evaluations from your teachers, you should think about your language classes as stepping stones for your growth. Reflect on how you will benefit from improving your English. Discuss with your teacher how lessons can be made more meaningful for you. More importantly, develop the habit of learning English beyond the classroom, in your own life. That is autonomous learning.

Learning English outside of the classroom leads to becoming an independent English user. You are already capable of using English to some extent with your knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. Learn English more for your life, not just for credits, and your horizons will expand. New perspectives will bring joys and surprises you never knew. Start using English to enhance the quality of your life.

DELE website assists your self-directed learning and transitioning from an English learner to an English user.

If you have trouble with listening assignments, visit "Features of English Sounds (Jp)" and "Improving Your English Listening Skills." When feeling disoriented, read "English Learning Consultation: FAQs (Jp)" and request individual support through "English Learning Consultation (Jp)."

Find out specifically what it is like to utilize English at Kyoto University in "Interview with Autonomous English Users." Enjoy learning and using English more independently by operating the "Web and App Database."And remember that you can always talk with friends at lunchtime in English so you can practice using the language. (Visit the "Extracurricular Education page".)

Contact us with any requests or suggestions you have about this website.

To repeat, be the master of your learning--be proactive, use the language, evaluate your progress, and mostly remember to enjoy the experience. Classes are only one process of your self-education. Acquire the habit of autonomous learning to be an English user. What awaits you is a world outside the Japanese sphere.

Download the leaflet from here.

Welcome to Our Website! (September 1, 2021)

Welcome to the DELE website. As part of DELE's engagement, this website offers relevant information to students at Kyoto University in terms of DELE's mission: developing competent users of academic English through the promotion of autonomous language learning.

Below is my inauguration address on May 27, 2020, when the i-ARRC Director appointed me (Y. Yanase) as the DELE's chief. The speech defines my leadership.

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As an organization of Kyoto University, the English Language Education Division of i-ARRC owes the responsibility to strive for the highest standard of work. We, therefore, respect both realism and idealism. We maintain the reliable sustainability of completing the tasks at hand. At the same time, we improve and develop our functions in line with the changes in society by coordinating with other departments. Just as the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems complement each other, we advance a reasonable work-life balance to face novel challenges. We reject complacency and burnout to achieve "sustainable development." This pragmatic approach may be demanding, but the members of the English Language Education Division are highly qualified. We listen, communicate, and collaborate to fulfill our mission.

Arranged by job titles and the time to join ILAS

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Learner Autonomy has become an important concept in foreign language learning environments around the world. In essence, being an autonomous learner means taking personal responsibility for one's own learning. Under the guidance of a teacher, through peer interaction, or working independently, students are able to develop autonomously by engaging in various self-reflective practices such as:

1. 1. Analyzing learning strengths and areas to improve
   2. Setting a learning path to meet goals
   3. Monitoring and assessing learning progress
   4. Evaluating best learning practices and strategies
   5. Managing time effectively

Students will understand that they are autonomous when they feel less reliant on the teacher for guidance and direction, and more confident in the decisions they make about their own learning.

Click on the icons below to go to sites that support students' autonomous learning.

［Web/App Database］［English Sound Features (Jp)］［Tips & Techniques］

English Consultation services are hosted by ILAS and focus on a range of student-centered tasks and language learning goals. Our services are tailored to the individual learning needs of Kyoto University students, from first-year undergraduates to the graduate level.

 
［Learning Consultation (Jp)］［Learning Consultation FAQ (Jp)］

This project of interviewing autonomous English users at Kyoto University collects the authentic voices of researchers and students who regularly use English in different departments and faculties. The interview project welcomes students who want to raise awareness about learning and using English. It also encourages the instructors and The interviews were conducted in either Japanese or English and translated into the other language. The interview project wishes to promote more international exchanges and diversity of English learning at Kyoto University.


［Interviews］

UNIFIED TEXTBOOKS

It is my great pleasure to introduce the new unified textbooks for first-year English academic writing courses (EWLA and EWLB). These textbooks will be used in all first-year English writing courses from April 2022. I am the project leader and editor, but this project could not have been accomplished without the extensive collaboration of many Kyoto University faculty members. All of the DELE members contributed to the development of the new books. In addition, faculty members from every university department read the manuscripts and made valuable suggestions to improve them. Over the coming years, EWL teachers will continue to work together to refine these materials according to the needs of students at Kyoto University. Click here for more information.

Tim Stewart

Project Leader & Editor

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GORILLA

In the English Writing and Listening courses at Kyoto University, students are introduced to GORILLA, an online extra-curricular learning platform, which aims to develop the skills to comprehend English lectures. A high level of listening comprehension is considered to be essential not only for future university life, but also for becoming a leader in the international community. As listening comprehension is a skill that needs to be developed over time, it is important that students develop a habit of listening to English on a regular basis outside of class, as well as study listening with a view to expressing their own opinions about what they have heard.

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LISTENING MATERIALS FOR FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS

The full-time faculty members of the Division of English Language Education in the i-ARRC have produced a set of materials for academic listening practice. These materials integrate words from the general word list of the Kyodai Database of 1110* academic vocabulary into the listening component for the English Writing-Listening course. These materials incorporate 310 of the 477 academic words required in the course. The new listening units cover the general academic vocabulary in fifty-word sets. Words from the range of 1-250 are covered in Units 1-5 and a number of them are reviewed in Unit 6. Units 7-11 use words from the range of 251-477 and a selection are reviewed in Unit 12. The new integrated listening material is scheduled to launch on the online learning system called GORILLA in April 2022.

Kyoto University Academic Lecture Database Basic English Words 1110, Kyoto University English Academic Lecture Research Group, Kenkyusha [ed.] Https: //books.kenkyusha.co.jp/book/ 978-4-327-45221-6.html

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TEACHERS' FEEDBACK MEETING

Instructors for the EGAP program gather toward the end of each semester to share ideas for better teaching. DELE's members mediate conversations and collect voices to make reports to the English Committee. The reports constitute one of the essential sources for directing the future of English language teaching.

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PUBLICATIONS

DELE members publish practical papers and reports about their teaching and research activities at Kyoto University in the  Institute of Liberal Arts & Sciences Bulletin. You can read the full papers of the articles below by following particular links or this general link to the Bulletin   https://www.z.k.kyoto-u.ac.jp/introduction/pr

• Yanase, Y.  (2023) Factors for Successful English Writing Classes Using Machine Translation in Liberal Arts University Education: Five Perspectives of Curriculum, Language Proficiency, Theoretical Understanding, Teaching Materials, and Feedback. Bulletin of Kyoto Institute for International Higher Education. 6, 34-50. https://doi.org/10.14989/ILAS_6_19
• LeBlanc, C., Stewart, T., Lees, D., McCarthy, T., Schipper, S., Yanase, Y., Izumi, E., Yoshida, A., Dalsky, D., Kanamaru, T., Milne, D., Rylander, J., Sasao, Y., Yokomori, D. (2023). Kyoto University's New Unified Textbooks for Academic Writing.The Institute for Liberal Arts and Sciences Bulletin 6, 119-139.  https://doi.org/10.14989/ILAS_6_119
• Yanase, Y., & Lees, D. (2022). Categorizing errors in machine translated academic essays from Japanese (L1) to English (L2): Some specific findings and general implications from Kyoto University EGAP writing classes. The Institute for Liberal Arts and Sciences Bulletin,  Kyoto University 5, 69-79. https://doi.org/10.14989/ILAS_5_59
  
• LeBlanc, C., & Lees, D. (2020). Blended Listening and Autonomous Learning: Digital Study-Portfolios.  The Institute for Liberal Arts and Sciences Bulletin 3, 1-22.   https://doi.org/10.14989/ILAS_3_1
• Yanase, Y. (2020).Manabiai-style collaborative learning in a compulsory English course in university: Toward "autonomous learning driven by dialogues" [in Japanese]  The Institute for Liberal Arts and Sciences Bulletin,  Kyoto University 3, 23-46.  https://doi.org/10.14989/ILAS_3_23
• Rylander, J., LeBlanc, C., Lees, D., Schipper, S., & Milne, D. (2018). Validating Classroom Assessments Measuring Learner Knowledge.  The Institute for Liberal Arts and Sciences Bulletin,  Kyoto University 1, 83- 110.  https//doi.org/10.14989/ILAS_1_83 
• Katsurayama , K. , Takahashi , S. , Kanamaru , T. , Sasao , Y. , Stewart , T. , Dalsky , D. , & Tajino , A. (2018). English Education Reform at Kyoto University: A Focus on the English Writing-Listening Course]. Bulletin of the Institute for Liberal Arts and Sciences , Kyoto University 1, 111-121. https://doi.org/10.14989/ILAS_1_111

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REINVENTING ELT WITH ICT / AI

Contemporary people are in the Third Wave or the Information Revolution after the Agricultural and Industrial revolution in human history. DELE recognizes the challenge. It hopes to make wise use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to reinvent English Language Teaching (ELT) to promote DELE's mission: developing competent users of academic English through the promotion of autonomous language learning.