Leading to learn: motivating student engagement in Japanese composition

This action research explored the most effective teaching method to motivate students learning Japanese composition in INTS 222: Intermediate Japanese II, at the University of Northern British Columbia. The researcher implemented three different teaching approaches: the kata, ikebana, and writing workshop approaches during the winter semester, and invited volunteer students to participate an independent interview session. This qualitative research was carried out using action research, based on the cycle of analyzing, interpreting, and interviewing (Auerbach & Silverstein, 2003) in order to improve the current situation (Berg & Lune, 2012). Findings focused on student responses and teacher learning. The results of this case study will be used to find alternative ways than the traditional teaching method by focusing on pre-writing guidance in order to strengthen students’ motivation rather than post-writing instructional feedback.