scholarly journals Finding Ways to Attract Clients: A Content Analysis of Japanese Language Tutors’ Ads in an Online Tutor Marketplace

KIRYOKU ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-151
Author(s):  
Aditya Nur Patria

The growing number of freelance marketplaces allows students to earn extra money as tutors. The hyper-competitive nature in the marketplaces forces students to compete with non-student tutors in order to get clients (Popiel, 2017). Non-student tutors may be better equipped with a lot of experiences. However, all freelance tutors need to post impressive ads to get their clients, particularly in a niche subject such as Japanese language. The present study explores the differences of information put in ads between student tutors and non-student tutors on a tutor marketplace, Superprof. Content analysis (Cohen et al, 2011) was used to identify categories of information in the ads. The results show that there were 11 categories of information including tutors’ name, origin, current employment status, education background, language proficiency certificate, course level, course type, rhetoric, experience in Japan, coverage area, and availability. The data were then analyzed statistically to find the categories of information with a significant difference. It shows that both groups have difference in putting information related to their current employment status (t = 3.88, p < 0.001, d = 1.05) and their education background (t = 2.78, p < 0.005, d = 0.75). The implication of the study is that student tutors tend to value their relationship with academic institutions and make it as a bargaining power to market their skills in the marketplace.

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 581-596

Technology plays a crucial role in the self-guided learning of a second language in general and English in particular. Nevertheless, many students in different contexts still ignore the application of technology-enhanced language learning (TELL) tools in enhancing their foreign language proficiency. Therefore, this study is conducted to investigate the attitudes towards the use of TELL tools in English-language learning (ELL) among English majors at one university in Vietnam. To collect data, 197 English majors participated in finishing the questionnaire, and 20 students were invited to join the interviews. The findings are that the majority of students have positive attitudes towards the use of TELL tools and the frequency of using these tools is very high. In addition, the results also reveal that there is no significant difference in attitudes towards and frequency of using TELL tools in learning English in terms of the year of study. However, students of different levels of academic achievements have different attitudes towards using TELL tools and use TELL tools to learn English differently. Received 2nd May 2019; Revised 16th July 2019, Accepted 20th October 2019


Author(s):  
Choong Pow Yean ◽  
Sarinah Bt Sharif ◽  
Normah Bt Ahmad

The Nihongo Partner Program or “Japanese Language Partner” is a program that sends native speakers to support the teaching and learning of Japanese overseas. The program is fully sponsored by The Japan Foundation. The aim of this program is to create an environment that motivates the students to learn Japanese. This study is based on a survey of the Nihongo Partner Program conducted on students and language lecturers at UiTM, Shah Alam. This study aims to investigate if there is a necessity for native speakers to be involved in the teaching and learning of Japanese among foreign language learners. Analysis of the results showed that both students and lecturers are in dire need of the Nihongo Partner Program to navigate the learning of the Japanese language through a variety of language learning activities. The involvement of native speaker increases students’ confidence and motivation to converse in Japanese. The program also provides opportunities for students to increase their Japanese language proficiency and lexical density. In addition, with the opportunity to interact with the native speakers, students and lecturers will have a better understanding of Japanese culture as they are able to observe and ask the native speakers. Involvement of native speakers is essential in teaching and learning of Japanese in UiTM.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 226-226
Author(s):  
Si Young Song ◽  
Hey Jung Jun ◽  
Susanna Joo ◽  
Sun Ah Lee

Abstract Previous studies show that working people are less likely to experience unmet health care needs than non-workers. Also, employment and health are located in gendered social contexts. The present study aims to examine the moderating effect of gender on the association between employment status and unmet health care needs among middle-aged Koreans. We conducted logistic regression using the Korean Health Panel data (in 2016 and 2017; N=2,573, age range=45-64). Having experiences unmet health care needs in 2017 was the binary dependent variable. Employment status in 2016 was the binary independent variable and gender was the moderating variable. Age, education level, marital status, annual income, household type, type of medical security, disability, self-rated health, the number of chronic diseases, and stress level in 2016 were also in the analytic model based on the Andersen’s health behavioral model. The percentages of middle-aged people experiencing unmet health care needs were 18% for working men, 11% for non-working men, 13% for working women, and 16% for non-working women. The result showed there was significant moderating effect of gender (B= .72, p&lt; .05). Specifically, working men were less likely to experience unmet health care needs than non-working men. On the contrary, there was not the significant difference in experiencing unmet health care needs between working and non-working women. It indicates that it is necessary to supplement medical services for especially for middle-aged men who are not employed because they might experience considerable amounts of unmet health care needs.


Author(s):  
Yong Wang

The purpose of this study is to explore the stability and interaction between parental pressure and social research report, as well as the role of employment status and family income levels in this process. This study used a special study on Korean children (PSKC) 2–4 waves. Use t-test, correlation and autoregressive cross-delay modeling to analyze the data. The main findings of this study are: First, over time, parental pressure and mother’s social research report are consistent. Secondly, the pressure of motherhood and childcare has an obvious lagging effect on upbringing, and vice versa. Third, there is no significant difference between working mothers and non-working mothers in terms of the stability of working parents' pressure, social research report and social research report for children's pressure channels. However, parental pressure can only predict the social research report of working mothers. Fourth, there is no significant difference between the stability and interaction of these two structures in household income levels. In short, the results show that, over time, parental pressure is consistent with mother’s social research report. The results also show that there is a significant cross-lag effect between the mothers’ perceptions of mutual pressure analysis. In the process from parental pressure to social research report, I found the difference between working and non-working mothers. The advantage of this study is that the expected longitudinal design was adopted during infancy and the priority between the two structures can be considered. The results of this study can be used as a source of intervention plans to help parents withstand severe parenting pressure and lack of social research report.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amr A. Faddan ◽  
Mahmoud M. Shalaby ◽  
Mohamed Gadelmoula ◽  
Younis Alshamsi ◽  
Daniar K. Osmonov ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The standard surgical treatment of localized prostate cancer (PCa) has been rapidly changed along the last two decades from open to laparoscopic and finally robot-assisted techniques. Herein, we compare the three procedures for radical prostatectomy (RP), namely radical retropubic (RRP), laparoscopic (LRP), and robot-assisted laparoscopic (RALRP) regarding the perioperative clinical outcome and complication rate in four academic institutions. Methods A total of 394 patients underwent RP between January 2016 and December 2018 in four academic institutions; their records were reviewed. We recorded the patient age, BMI, PSA level, Gleason score and TNM stage, type of surgery, the pathological data from the surgical specimen, the perioperative complications, unplanned reoperating, and readmission rates within 3 months postoperatively. Statistical significance was set at (P < 0.05). All reported P values are two-sided. Results A total of 123 patients underwent RALRP, 220 patients underwent RRP, and 51 underwent LRP. There was no statistically significant difference between the three groups regarding age, BMI, prostatic volume, and preoperative PSA. However, there were statistically significant differences between them regarding the operating time (P < .0001), catheterization period (P < .001), hospital stay (P < .0001), and overall complications rate (P = .023). Conclusions The minimally invasive procedures (RALRP and LRP) are followed by a significantly lower complication rate. However, the patients’ factors and surgical experience likely impact perioperative outcomes and complications.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar Hussein Al Noursi

The blended learning approach utilizes modern technologies and electronic media in teaching to create a technology-based environment. However, it is not an exclusive online environment because the teacher and the students have to be present in a traditional face-to-face classroom. It is widely believed that adopting a blended learning approach will enable learners to have quality educational opportunities and improve their performance. The incentive for conducting the research is to evaluate the effect of the blended learning approach on high school students’ English proficiency. Specifically, the study aimed at answering the question: is there a significant difference in the Twelfth-Grade students’ English language proficiency as measured by IELTS due to the model of delivery (Blended learning model and the traditional delivery model)? To achieve the study’s goal, the researcher applied the experimental method and used IELTS to measure language proficiency. The study sample selected purposively consisted of 63 male twelfth-grade students in one of the private schools in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study sample was assigned to two groups: the experimental group taught using blended learning consisted of 31 students, and the control group led by the traditional method consisted of 32 students. The results showed statistically significant differences at the level of (a&lt;0.01) between the means of the results of the two groups on the post achievement test in favor of the experimental group. These results illustrated the impact of adopting the blended learning approach in an English Foreign Language (EFL) setting on students’ achievement in standardized tests. However, the successful implementation of blended learning largely depends on how responsible and committed students are towards active learning.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Layla Hajiesmaeli ◽  
Laya Heidari Darani

<p>This article was intended to explore the frequency and order of communication strategies used by Iranian male and female EFL earners as well as English native speakers while facing communication breakdowns. Furthermore, it was aimed to investigate the difference between native speakers and non-native speakers of English in their use of communication strategies. In addition, it was probed whether gender had any effects on the use of these strategies among native and non-native speakers. To this end, the data were collected through the communication strategy questionnaire distributed among 30 male and female Iranian intermediate EFL learners and 15 English native speakers. The design of this study was a quantitative one in which the questionnaire and thus numerical data were applied. To analyze the data, Cronbach alpha and independent-samples t-tests were used. The results indicated that non-verbal and social affective strategies were the most frequent strategies used by non-native speakers and native speakers of English, respectively. Furthermore, there was no significant difference between male and female Iranian EFL learners, but a significant difference between male and female English native speakers were seen. It can be concluded that language proficiency can contribute to the type and frequency of communications strategies which are used non-native speakers; likewise, it can play a significant role in gender differences in language use.<em></em></p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 199-221
Author(s):  
Shin Yi Chew ◽  
Lee Luan Ng

Background and Purpose: Recent technological advancements and Covid-19 pandemic have prompted more opportunities for online learning. However, there is a dearth of empirical research that is focused on high school students. Therefore, this study aims to obtain a more comprehensive view of ESL learners’ involvement or word contributions in a ‘normal’ face-to-face situation and in a synchronous online text-based environment by relating it to their personality and language proficiency.   Methodology: In this study, a quasi-experiment was carried out over four weeks. It involved eight sessions of face-to-face and online discussions with 48 Malaysian high school students who were divided into two matched-sample groups. The participants' feedback was used to support and provide insights on the findings. The quantitative data were analysed using using IBM SPSS statistics 26 software while the participants’ responses to the online feedback session were analysed using open coding and axial coding strategies.   Findings: Statistically significant difference was found in learners’ word contributions during face-to-face and online discussions. Apart from the extroverts with high-intermediate language proficiency, the other groups of learners who are either introverts or having lower level language proficiency were found to produce significantly more words in synchronous online text-based discussions. The non-face-to-face context of online forums might have lowered the learners’ level of anxiety and increased their confidence to interact with their peers. Contributions: Learners’ personalities and language proficiency levels should be considered when choosing a discussion setting and when facilitating discussion activities. More support should be provided for the less proficient or introverted learners to express themselves in a face-to-face discussion.     Keywords: Personality, Language proficiency, Computer-mediated communication, Synchronous text-based online discussions, Word contributions   Cite as: Chew, S. Y., & Ng, L. L. (2021). The influence of personality and language proficiency on ESL learners' word contributions in face-to-face and synchronous online forums. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 6(1), 199-221. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol6iss1pp199-221


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document