scholarly journals Challenges and experiences to develop a Japanese language course for international medical students in Japan: Maximising acquisition of Japanese language by applying adult learning theories

2022 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-8
Author(s):  
Nagisa Shinagawa ◽  
Tomoaki Inada ◽  
Harumi Gomi ◽  
Haruko Akatsu ◽  
Motofumi Yoshida ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
International Students ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
International Medical ◽  
Japanese Language ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
School Of Medicine

Introduction: The International University of Health and Welfare (IUHW) School of Medicine was founded in 2017 with the intention of providing medical content in English a historical first in Japan. Twenty international medical students have been accepted annually, with the majority possessing less than beginner level Japanese language proficiency at the time of enrolment. However, proficiency in Japanese, especially in the context of medicine is required for academic success and program completion. To address this, the IUHW School of Medicine has developed a course in medical Japanese with the objective of facilitating international students’ acquisition of medical Japanese and reinforcing such acquisition through various listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities. This study aims to describe the Japanese language education program for international students at the IUHW School of Medicine, with particular focus on the development of the curriculum and course content. Methods: The course is designed based on the following educational strategies and their applications: (a) Synchronisation of both medical and Japanese contents; (b) Collaborative learning; (c) Japanese output of medical content learned in English; (d) Practical output through making/giving a presentation and discussion with medical experts; (e) Detailed language feedback from language experts; (f) Reinforcing the vocabulary knowledge by writing; and (g) Building up vocabulary and expressions with relevant contents. Results: Our observations suggest that our international students have been able to continue their medical education in Japanese smoothly. Conclusion: The content-based instructional design that includes second language acquisition strategies may also be applicable to other Asian languages such as Korean and Chinese.

scholarly journals International medical student’s mental health: psychological distress and socio-cultural adaptation

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
H Hachemi ◽  
M Dimitrijević ◽  
J Stojanović ◽  
S Cvjetković
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
International Students ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Cultural Adaptation ◽  
Foreign Students ◽  
Well Being ◽  
International Medical ◽  
Depression Anxiety Stress Scale ◽  
Future Health

Abstract Background The greater academic mobility and globalization have introduced a substantial number of foreign students to more universities. The lack of recent studies about their adaptation and signs of psychological distress arose an interest about this relevant issue. Recognizing the factors involved in the adaptation process are vital for international students, especially medical, as they are considered the future health-care workforce. Ensuring their well-being is essential for consumers safety, satisfaction and raising quality at lower costs. Thus, the aim of this research was to explore the predictors of psychological distress including socio-demographic variables and socio-cultural adaptation Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at the University of Belgrade School of Medicine, where 124 (65 males and 59 females) international students from 32 countries were interviewed using a socio-demographic questionnaire and psychometric tools such as Revised Socio-cultural Adaptation Scale (SCAS-R) and Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS-21). Statistical analysis included prevalence data and multiple linear regression. Results The prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress was found to be 39%, 55% and 41%, respectively. Maladaptation to a new environment by lack of participation in the community and focus on own interests were significant predictors of depression (β = −.39, p< .01) and stress (β = −.36, p< .05), while anxiety was associated with both female gender (β = −.30, p<.05), self-centration and absence of community involvement (β = −.37, p< .01). Conclusions There is a high prevalence of anxiety followed by stress and depression among international medical students. The results highlighted the importance of cultural adaptation for psychological distress. This shows a requirement for developing an adequate, accessible professional counselling and peer support services for foreign students that are necessary to achieve sustainable development goals. Key messages Encouraging researchers to further investigate the needs of international medical students. The development and implementation of health policies addressing student’s mental health.

scholarly journals DEVELOPING METHOD OF TEACHING ‘INFORMATION LITERACY IN TIMES OF DISASTER’ IN JAPANESE LANGUAGE TEACHING

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-21
Author(s):  
Akiko Honda
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Teaching Methods ◽  
Japanese Society ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Literacy Education ◽  
Japanese Language ◽  
Developing Method ◽  
Teaching Information

This paper discusses the need for education in ‘Information Literacy in Times of Disaster’ in Japanese language education for non-native speakers of Japanese who are staying in Japan. ‘Information Literacy in Times of Disaster’ refers to the ability to obtain necessary information and transmit it as appropriate in the circumstances when a major natural disaster occurs, such as an earthquake. After the April 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, the author investigated the behavior of international students when the earthquake occurred, the criteria for their decisions, their means of collecting information and other matters. The results revealed the issue that international students’ behavior frequently relied on others’ words and they could not make decisionsindependently. The factors causing these issues include: (1) lack of knowledge and understanding of Japanese language and Japanese society; (2) psychological distance from information in Japanese; and (3) capacity to analyze information. This report proposes the development of methods of teaching ‘Information Literacy in Times of Disaster’ to resolve these issues and discusses how the development of these teaching methods will contribute to furthering information literacy education in Japanese languageeducation.

scholarly journals Vocabulary Learning Strategies Used by Medical Students: Croatian Perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 44
Author(s):  
Jasmina Rogulj ◽  
Ivana Čizmić
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
School Of Medicine ◽  
Vocabulary Learning Strategies ◽  
Language Knowledge ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The University

<p>In order to be able to fully develop their academic and professional competencies, medical doctors (MDs) need to be highly proficient in English, which, among other things, implies the acquisition of vocabulary as an essential part of language knowledge. The current study aims at exploring vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) employed by freshman and sophomore medical students at the University of Split School of Medicine, Croatia. In particular, it focuses on (a) most and least frequently used VLS; (b) relationship between VLS subscales and different types of vocabulary knowledge; (c) differences in the mean strategy use between male and female students, and among low-, middle- and high-scoring students. The instruments used in the research were adapted version of the VLS Questionnaire (Pavičić Takač, 2008, p.152) and a vocabulary test designed by the author. The results indicate that medical students use a core inventory of VLS, whereby showing preference for the category of self-initiated vocabulary learning (SI-IVL) strategies and some individual formal vocabulary learning (FVL) and spontaneous vocabulary learning (SVL) strategies. Although students were not in favour of FVL at the level of the category as a whole, the results showed that the more frequently they employed FVL strategies, the better they scored on vocabulary tasks measuring controlled-productive type of vocabulary knowledge. Correlations revealed that female students used SI-IVL and FVL strategies significantly more often than their male counterparts. Results also suggest that there are no statistically significant differences in the mean VLS use among low-, middle- and high-scoring students. In conclusion, the results of this study provide a preliminary insight into the VLS used by medical students and their effect on students' vocabulary learning outcomes as well as into differences by gender and vocabulary proficiency. Since findings have proved rather inconclusive, these research questions need to be further investigated.</p>

scholarly journals Nutrition education in medical school: the case of international medical students in China

2020 ◽  
pp. bmjnph-2020-000117
Author(s):  
William Kwame Amakye ◽  
Sladana Bozovic ◽  
Arafat Faraque ◽  
Maojin Yao ◽  
Jiaoyan Ren
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Nutrition Education ◽  
Home Country ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
International Medical ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Nutrition Counselling ◽  
Lactating Mothers ◽  
Country Specific

ObjectiveTo assess the knowledge on country-specific nutrition situation, perceptions of the nutrition curricula and factors influencing capacity to offer nutrition guidance among medical students studying internationally in China compared with their home-country counterparts.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingsChina, Ghana, India and Montenegro.ParticipantsInternational medical students in China and medical students studying in their home countries of Ghana, India and Montenegro.Main measureAn online semistructured questionnaire was administered using WeChat for international students and Microsoft Forms for home-country medical students to assess students’ perceived knowledge and significance of nutrition, knowledge of country-specific nutrition situation, perceptions of the nutrition curricula and perceived capacity to offer nutrition counselling.ResultIn all, 190 medical students responded to the survey: 110 international students studying in China and 80 home-country students from Ghana (40), India (20) and Montenegro (20). Home-country students rated the importance of nutrition in health and disease development higher than international students (p<0.05). International students reported not having any specific nutrition courses while home-country students had nutrition courses as part of their curriculum. Only 8.2% of international students and 13.8% of home-country students were able to correctly mention any specific national nutrition guidelines of their home countries. Home-country students were more likely to provide correct nutrition recommendations for infants (χ²(3)=26.349; p=0.001), pregnancy (χ²(3)=9.793; p=0.007), lactating mothers (χ²(3)=9.112; p=0.011), diabetes (χ²(3)=13.619; p=0.001), hypertension (χ²(3)=12.022; p=0.002), overweight/obesity (χ²(3)=8.896; p=0.012) and undernutrition (χ²(3)=7.670; p=0.022) compared with international students. Practical nutrition courses, hours of nutrition education and how often students were asked nutrition-related questions tended to affect and predict the adequacy of nutrition education received and the perceived confidence for nutrition counselling.ConclusionInternational medical students in China are less familiar with the nutrition context in their respective home countries compared with their home-country counterparts. Medical schools in China that train significant numbers of international students need to support these students to become familiar with their respective countries’ nutrition contexts.

scholarly journals Reducing Stress and Promoting Social Integration of International Medical Students through a Tandem Program: Results of a Prospective-Program Evaluation

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 1959 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Herrmann-Werner ◽  
Florian Junne ◽  
Felicitas Stuber ◽  
Daniel Huhn ◽  
Christoph Nikendei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Social Integration ◽  
International Medical ◽  
Ability To Work ◽  
Curricular Intervention ◽  
National Medical ◽  
Stress Levels ◽  
Medical Faculties ◽  
Reducing Stress

Medical students, and especially international medical students (IMS), have been shown to experience more psychological distress than the general student population in Germany. In order to address these issues, a structured Tandem Program (TP) to reduce stress and foster social integration of IMS has been introduced at the Medical Faculty of Tuebingen. The Tandem Program was evaluated prospectively with perceived stress (PSQ-20) as the main outcome. Secondary outcomes were ‘motives to participate’ in the TP, ‘specific stressors’, and ‘experiences made’ during the program. Stress levels of IMS at the beginning of the program (t0) (M = 48.14, SD = 11.95) were higher than those of German participants (M = 39.33, SD = 8.31) (t (67) = −3.66, p < 0.001). At the end of the TP (t1), stress levels of international students were significantly lower than at t0. “Improved ability to work in a team” was seen as one of the most beneficial factors. The results indicate that tandem programs at medical faculties may be a promising curricular intervention towards reducing stress levels, improving integration of international students, and to enhance intercultural and team-oriented competencies in both international and national medical students.

International Students’ Experience of Medical Training in an English-Speaking European Country

2020 ◽  
pp. 102831532097602
Author(s):  
Alice McGarvey ◽  
Deepak Karivelil ◽  
Elaine Byrne
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Social Adjustment ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Medical Training ◽  
Cultural Practice ◽  
Professional Staff ◽  
International Medical ◽  
Multicultural Environment ◽  
The Impact

European medical schools are recruiting increasing numbers of international students. This study explores the impact of cultural backgrounds and language on the transition of international medical students to the clinical years of their training when they are predominantly based in hospitals and interacting with health professional staff and patients. A mixed-methods study was undertaken, incorporating 31 peer interviews and a focus group discussion and the development and conducting of an online survey ( n = 144; 50% response rate). We compared levels of social adjustment and integration between the students on a regional basis. Overall students adjusted well, but there were statistically significant regional differences in social adjustment and integration. The impact of communication difficulties from a language and cultural practice perspective was a dominant challenge highlighted, as was the differences in hospital culture and interprofessional communication norms. International medical students experience many challenges and benefits from studying in a multicultural environment. More nuanced demographic data need to be collected on admission to assist in potentially identifying those who may experience difficulties with academic and daily life transitions. In addition, all students in a multicultural environment would benefit from a program of acculturation for personal and career development.

scholarly journals Stress Factors and Depression Levels of International Medical Students in Bulgaria and Turkish Medical Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 55-64
Author(s):  
Merve Vatansever ◽  
Elia Georgieva ◽  
Angelika Velkova
Keyword(s):  
Medical Education ◽  
Medical Student ◽  
International Students ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Significant Relationship ◽  
International Medical ◽  
Stress Factors ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Education Medical ◽  
Medical University

Throughout medical education, medical students are reported to experience high levels of stress and depression. The aim of this study was to compare the stress factors and depression levels of medical students in Bulgaria and Turkey. This cross-sectional comparative study included 546 students (276 international students from abroad studying at the Medical University of Sofia in Bulgaria and 270 Turkish medical students). The questionnaire consisted of sociodemographic questions, a Medical Student Stressor Questionnaire (MSSQ-40 items), and a Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The Turkish pre-clinical and clinical students had higher levels of stress and depression than the international pre-clinical medical students in Bulgaria. When the medical students were compared, 51.4% of the international medical students in Bulgaria and 28.5% of the Turkish medical students were found to be without depression. Moreover, 26.7% of the Turkish medical students and 12% of the international medical students in Bulgaria had moderate levels of depression. In addition, each domain of the MSSQ had a relationship with depression in both groups of medical students, with the exception of one domain (intrapersonal and interpersonal related stressors), which had no significant relationship with the depression scores of the Turkish clinical students. The findings of our study imply that medical students may need psychological support throughout their education, and this applies especially to Turkish medical students. Knowing the stress factors and depression levels that medical students experience plays an important role in determining the approaches to adopt to them.

scholarly journals Foreword

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-6
Author(s):  
GOLOB Nina
Keyword(s):  
Language Policy ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Japanese Language ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Actual State ◽  
Approaches To Teaching ◽  
Language Studies ◽  
Basic Approaches ◽  
The Uk

With this volume, Acta linguistica is entering its 5th year. We would like to announce, with our great pleasure, that the journal has undergone some changes  and will from now be published twice a year, with its summer and winter volume. This summer volume includes researches with a common topic of practicing a language, whether in educational, and religious institutions, or in the languages primary surroundings. In this spirit, the volume is divided into two parts, with the first devoted to the methodology of language teaching, focusing mainly on Chinese and Japanese language and presently still under-researched dyslexia role in language studies, and the second focusing on under-documented languages and their gap between language policies and the actual state of language use.The first paper by Katja Simončič, entitled Evaluating Approaches to Teaching and Learning Chinese Vocabulary from the Learning Theories Perspective: An Experimental Case Study, discusses two basic approaches to teaching Chinese vocabulary, and evaluates them based on the results of experimental study on Slovene students of Chinese.The next two papers deal with the different lexica in Japanese language. Nataliia Vitalievna Kutafeva's research, entitled Japanese Onomatopoeic Expressions with Quantitative Meaning analyzes the lexical mode of expression of quantitative meanings and their semantics with the help of onomatopoeic (giongo) and mimetic (gitaigo) words, and based on it proposes the new arrangement of semantic groups.Kiyomi Fujii’s research, entitled Blogging Identity: How L2 Learners Express Themselves, discusses identity expression in blogs by Japanese language learners on the intermediate and advanced level.The paper by Nagisa Moritoki Škof, Japanese Language Education and Dyslexia: On the Necessity of Dyslexia Research, shows an insight to dyslexia and through an outline of the present state of accepting and treating leaning disabilities in the Japanese education system stresses the  importance of incounting dyslexia in language education in general.Manel Herat in his paper Functions of English vs. Other Languages in Sri Lankan Buddhist Rituals in the UK, analyzes the language shifts from the Sinhala and Pali languages to English at Buddhist festivals and sermons in UK. Next paper by Ali Ammar and his colleagues, Language Policy and Medium of Instruction Issue in Pakistan, briefly re-explores the situation of languages in the country and studies the latest language policy of Pakistan and its implications for local languages.The last research paper in this volume Bhadarwahi: A Typological Sketch was written by Amitabh Vikram Dwivedi and is an attempt to describe phonological and morphosyntactic features of the under-documented Bhadarwahi language belonging to Indo-Aryan language family.Finally, in the context of describing under-documented languages, the influence of the existing language policy is also noticed by Erwin Soriano FERNANDEZ and his book review on Pangasinan, entitled Panuntunán na Ortograpiya éd salitan PANGASINAN 2012. Manila: Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino.

Suicidal Ideation Among International Medical Students Studying Medicine in Romania

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S621-S621
Author(s):  
A.D. Buzoianu ◽  
C.A. Popescu
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
General Population ◽  
Suicide Ideation ◽  
International Medical ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Research Subjects ◽  
Symptoms Of Depression ◽  
Competing Interest

BackgroundThe burden of mental health impairment in medical students is an important research subjects. Evidence shows that medical students have a higher prevalence of symptoms of depression and anxiety than the general population. A number of studies regarding suicidal ideation among medical students have been carried out, but this topic has largely been ignored in regard to international medical students coming from Western European countries studying medicine in Eastern European countries. Suicidal ideation is the early symptom of suicidal actions. The students are the most vulnerable and easily influenced by cases of suicide, especially in a closed group with little connections with the general population like the international students.ObjectivesFollowing 2 suicides in our university, we aim to measure the prevalence of suicidal ideations in international students.MethodsOverall, 150 medical students from the French section studying at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu”, Romania, were evaluated for symptoms of depression using BDI and for suicide ideation using Beck HS.ResultsSuicidal ideation was present in 28.57% of the French international medical students. Depression and the lack of social support had a significant relationship with suicidal ideation.ConclusionsSuicide is a serious issue that has to be dealt with immediately. It is important to assist medical students who are considering the possibility of committing suicide, so that they overcome their difficulties. There is a need to identify the prevalence of suicidal ideation among medical students and for student counselling.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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