earticle

영어

This study, based on Ishizuka’s survey (2018), seeks to understand the present situation and causes concerning benefits and issues that exist in a one-semester peer learning class which aims to be a joint study between Japanese and exchange students. The research strategy involved questionnaires and individual surveys. Further, the attitudes of students of 3 countries (Japan, China and Korea) have also been considered. This study has analysed the students’ attitudes and the present situation of peer learning not only through the data of questionnaires, but also through personal surveys by means such as interviews and e-mails, in-class observation and guidance, and comment sheets. The results of the questionnaires essentially confirmed the results of prior research, rather than revealing new facts or point of views. Students who participated in this study displayed relatively high motivation and abilities, and as the lessons were elective, problems regarding the peer learning activities did not occur to a relevant degree. Suggestive comments, such as the conditions of the group activities are “set”, “difficult to alter” and “group activities have a great impact on evaluation”, were obtained from the individual survey. Through this study, it has been confirmed that the factor “members low on motivation to study” is the main cause that leads to negative feelings, and that in addition to motivation to study and evaluation methods, the existence of room for improvement also has great influence. It has been proven that the reason why peer learning collaborative activities fail is that in addition to the same group members’ “motivation” and “non-cooperation”, the effects of “fixedness”, “degree of difficulty of change”, and “influence on evaluation” are significant. As a result, it seems that future challenges will focus on the attitudes of learners in a ‘forced’ situation, and deeper analysis could offer the possibility of exploring issues surrounding peer learning as well as their improvement.