The collaborative curriculum development process in a postsecondary language education program in Japan is described, looking specifically at the work of five curriculum development teams, or focus groups: needs assessment; curriculum aims, goals, and objectives; cognitive development and learner strategies; materials development; and learner assessment. The needs assessment team conducted a number of surveys of students and teachers, including two assessments of student objectives and learning style preference and one of faculty perceptions of curriculum needs. The team addressing curriculum aims, goals, and objectives used data from the surveys to establish desired competencies, performance standards, conditions, and assessment tasks. The cognitive development team gathered and collated research and practice in the area of cognitive development and learning strategies. An important contribution of this group was identification of student attitudes and beliefs that might hinder learner independence. Writing teams began to develop the 12 books planned for the course. Activities focusing on learner cognitive development are highlighted here. The learner assessment research team also focused on mechanisms for teaching students self-assessment and individual responsibility for learning. Further research needs are outlined. (MSE)