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Background: Recent years have witnessed wide applications of exergames to balance training among the older adults. However, research concerning balance training with the use of Kinect for Xbox has remained scarce. While previous studies have shown the positive effects of exergames on improving balance and preventing falling among the older adults, there has been a paucity of empirical evidence supporting the superiority of Kinect exercise to conventional exercise over balance training among the older adults. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the feasibility, safety, and effectiveness of Kinect exercise against conventional exercise over balance training among the community older adults. Method: A total of 20 participants were randomly assigned to the Kinect Exercise Group ( N = 10) or the Conventional Exercise Group ( N = 10) for a 5-week balance training (45 minutes a time, 2 times a week). Assessor blinding was employed to assess the participants’ performance before and after the treatment, including 30-Second Chair Stand Test (30-sec CST), Timed Up and Go (TUG), Functional Reach Test (FRT), and One-Leg Stance Test (OLST) respectively with eyes open and closed. Subjective feeling of the intensity of pain and side effects were recorded throughout the investigation period. Nonparametric statistics was used for data analysis. Results: Within-group comparison between the pre-test and post-test indicated that significant differences existed in all of the 5 tests (30-sec CST, TUG, FRT, OLST with eyes open, and OLST with eyes closed) in the Kinect exercise group. To the Conventional exercise group, however, significant differences were only observed in 30-sec CST, FRT and OLST with eyes open. With regard to between-group comparison, significant differences were only found in FRT. Conclusion: Such results indicated that both treatments were helpful in improving the participants’ balance performance, that Kinect exercise was more effective in terms of overall balance ability, and that Kinect exercise was particularly beneficial to functional reach enhancement in comparison with traditional exercise. Kinect exercise could be a feasible, safe, and effective alternative for dynamic balance training among older adults.

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This study examined Korean ( n = 143) and Taiwanese ( n = 261) EFL students’ willingness to communicate in a second language (L2 WTC) in in-class, out-of-class, and digital settings. Follow-up interviews ( n = 20) were also conducted to identify factors that might have influenced their L2 WTC. Results showed that Korean and Taiwanese participants scored lowest on L2 WTC inside the classroom. The qualitative data suggest that L2 speaking anxiety might have equally influenced both groups’ L2 WTC. Additionally, while Korean students scored higher on L2 WTC outside the classroom than Taiwanese students, the Taiwanese scored higher on L2 WTC in digital settings than did the Koreans. The qualitative data revealed that these discrepancies might have been influenced by English environment and teaching practice. These findings suggest that East Asian learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) can become more willing to communicate when sufficient opportunities for English use are provided through instructional and institutional support.