Paper short abstract:

The study examines group testing for a U.S. university’s Japanese course. Students completed two exploratory unit tests and three questionnaires. Findings suggest positive effects on learning and group testing attitudes, which may aid post pandemic students and promote classroom inclusivity.

Paper long abstract:

This research is an investigation on exploratory group testing based on observation in a beginning level Japanese course at a university in the U.S.. Group testing is a method to evaluate students’ learning in which students work collaboratively on the same set of test questions (Chen, 2018). Across disciplines, testing can be an effective learning process (Efu, 2019). Group testing can progress students’ learning regardless academic strength (Chen, 2018). Some students in a beginning Japanese course find Japanese is much more difficult than they expected. Post-pandemic students need even more academic and emotional support in establishing their study methods and habits. In this exploratory group testing, students are given tasks appropriate for group work in a beginning level, such as filling blanks and making short sentences using grammar items. The students work in group for the entire unit one test and for half of the unit two test. The students are given three questionnaires: Two pre-test questionnaires and one post-test questionnaire.

The findings from this investigation suggest that group testing has positive effects on the students’ learning and achievement, attitude toward tests, and classroom environments. Moreover, group testing encourages active interaction among the students, building learners’ community at the initial phase of the semester.

The instructor/investigator observed the students actively discussing on the test questions in group and investigated how the group testing affected the students’ performance. All students obtained higher test scores compared to previous years, and in the questionnaires, students mentioned reduced test anxiety and increased enjoyment of taking the tests in group.

The difficulties in learning Japanese may vary between individuals, but instructors can help post-pandemic beginning level students by incorporating group testing in the course. The group testing can be a more accommodating evaluation method for post-pandemic students due to its ability to facilitate peer learning during tests and to promote classroom inclusivity.