Sessions

Academic dishonesty in Japan: A cautionary tale

The digital age, in particular, ubiquitous access to the Internet has revolutionized every aspect of language education. Often with just an app on their smartphone, students are now able to improve their vocabulary knowledge, reading ability, grammar, and even pronunciation. However, the downside of digital technology is that it also enables unscrupulous students to find novel ways to cheat. Common methods of cheating by students include the use of translation software, Line groups in which students share answers with each other, and even purchasing answers from online marketplaces. In this session, the presenters will discuss a specific incident in which over 1400 students from 90 institutions in Japan were caught cheating on Xreading, a popular online platform for extensive reading. They will explain how the cheating was discovered, and the surprisingly wide range of reactions from academic institutions after they were informed about their students’ misbehavior. Finally, based on their experience, the presenters will provide useful tips to minimize cheating, detect cheaters, and the most effective ways to deal with students who have been caught cheating.

Xreading: What’s New and What’s Next

Xreading, is a digital library that provides students with unlimited access to over thousand graded readers, and allows teachers to track their students' reading progress. The system is constantly evolving and growing in terms of the number of books and features. In this presentation, the founder of Xreading will explain the new functionality that has been added over the past year, and what is planned for the future. Current users of the system are encouraged to provide feedback and suggestions based on their experience.