中部大学教育研究2022

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PASEOcourseshavebeenincludedinChubuUniversity'saccreditationstatusandcounttowardsstudents'GPA.Studentswishingtoearncreditmustregisterofficiallythroughtheuniversitywebsite,Tora-Net.PASEOofferstwomaintypesofcoursesateachofthelevels:onefocusingonacademicskillsandtheotheroncontent-basedlearning.Theskillscourses,（ListeningandSpeakingandReadingandWriting）are90minutes,twiceaweek.Theytargetonelevelonly.Thecontentcoursesare90minutes,onceaweek,andtargetatwo-levelrange.Classsizesarecappedat25students,butin2021theaverageclasssizewasninestudents.Thissmallerclasssize,comparedtootherclassesattheuniversity,createsamoreideallearningenvironmentastheinstructorhasmoretimetodedicatetoeachindividualstudent.StudentsareprovidedampleopportunitiestouseEnglishinclasstocommunicatewithclassmatesandtheinstructor.Althoughtheprogramisdividedintofivelevelsandoffers25differentclasses,asfarastheuniversityregistrationsystemisconcerned,thereareonlythreePASEOclasseseachsemester:AcademicListeningandSpeaking,AcademicReadingandWriting,andContent.ThismeansthatastudentcanonlyearncreditforaPASEOcourseonceforeachthespringandfallsemesters.E.g.,AstudenttakesLS1（A）inspringandLS1（B）infallandsubsequentlymovesuptoLevel2.IfthestudentoptstotakeLS2（A）inthefollowingyeartocontinuetheirEnglishstudies,he/shecannottaketheclassforcredit.Followingacompletelyonlineyearin2020,PASEOclasseswentbacktotheclassroomforthemajorityof2021.ChubuUniversityadoptedahybridpolicythroughouttheyearwithsomeclasseskeepingtheirdistance-learningformatandothersbeingheldin-person,specificallylabs,experiments,seminars,andlanguageclasses.Theuniversityadvisedallinstructorstopreparetheirclassestobeofferedinbothformatsinordertoenableflexibilityinthecaseofanotherstateofemergencyandtoaccommodatestudentswhocouldnotordidnotwishtoattendin-personclasses.Inaccordancewiththeuniversity'sCOVIDmeasures,PASEOclassformatsfortheyearwereasfollows:・Spring2021Weeks1-5－In-personWeeks6-10－OnlineWeeks11-15－In-person・Fall2021Weeks1-2－OnlineWeeks3-15－In-personAlthoughPASEOusedtheLMS（LearningManagementSystem）Schoologyin2020,beinglargelybackintheclassroomin2021,therewasnoprogram-widemandateaboutwhichLMStousein2021anditwaslefttoeachinstructor'sdiscretion.Furthermore,SchoologychangeditspolicyinAugust,2020tonolongerallowanynewfreeteacheraccounts,whichmeantthesystemwasfinanciallyandpracticallynolongerviablefortheprogram.Theuniversitycontinuedtoofferuseofbothitsin-houseLMS,CoursePowerandGoogleClassroom.PASEOteachersmainlyusedGoogleClassroomandSchoologyastheirLMSsduringtheyear.Thefall2021semestersawunfortunatelylowerenrollmentinthehigherlevelsthanusual,whichledtothedecisiontoclosethreehigher-levelContentcoursesections（StoryWriting,CulturalIdentity,andGrammarforWriting）andtocombineLevels4and5ofReadingandWriting.Thefollowingfactorsareassumedtohavehadaneffectonenrollment:・Reducedinstitutionalknowledgeamongthestudentbodyinregardstotheprogram'sexistenceanditscomplicatedseparateregistrationproceduresduetofalloutfromtheclosureoftheLanguageCenter（LC）catchingup,i.e.mostupperclassmenwhohadtakenPASEOhousedundertheLChadgraduated.afullyearofonlineclassesin2020withnoin-personregistrationandnoword-of-mouthassistancebetweenstudents.・LoweredinterestinEnglishlanguageandcultureduetocancellationofmostorallstudy-abroadopportunitiesin2020-2021.lowerenrollmentintheEnglishLanguageandCultureandInternationalStudiesdepartmentsbecauseofthepandemic'spressureonairline,travel,andhospitalityindustries.JournalofChubuUniversityEducationNo.22（2022）―34―