This paper examined whether a younger starting age of formal instruction on a foreign language is beneficial in expanding circle countries. An experimental study was designed to examine to what extent the five varieties of English language teachers are intelligible to Japanese- (JSLs) and Korean-speaking language learners (KSLs), who have…

This study explored how the first language (L1) influences discourse marker use in second language (L2) speech. Some studies (e.g., Liu, 2013; Sankoff et al., 1997) have addressed the issue of L1 transfer of discourse markers in L2 speech, suggesting that non-native speakers' L1 use may influence the frequency and usage of English discourse…

This study aims to analyse how Japanese first-year university students' writing anxiety in academic writing classes changed over nine months. A total of 102 Japanese first-year university students participated in an academic writing class. Two assessors evaluated the students' compositions, using the same writing assessment rubric. The students…

Research on communication strategies (CSs) has been drawing much attention in the area of psycholinguistics and applied linguistics. This study examined if triggering instruction can accelerate the cognitive aspects of CSs transference from L1 to L2. In the first part of the experiment, all participants, twenty-one Japanese university students,…

This study investigated the effects of explicit and implicit discourse marker (DM) instruction on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' speech. Two different teaching methods were used over seven weeks of online English classes at a university in Japan. Participants were split into two groups, and in the first week, a pre-test comprising…

This article reports on a mixed method study that investigated the differences in Japanese EFL (English as a foreign language) learners' satisfaction toward two different online teaching formats incorporated in universities during the COVID-19 situation: synchronous online courses (n = 324) and asynchronous on-demand courses (n = 323). Applying…

The entrance exams to Japanese universities have long been criticised for creating negative "washback" on English education in high schools in Japan, as teachers have often focused their teaching efforts on teaching grammar to prepare students for these exams rather than helping students to develop competency in spoken English. Many…

Amid the increasing popularity of task-based language teaching, task motivation is considered one of the keys to success, but motivational influence among learners has not been sufficiently addressed in the literature. The purpose of this study is to investigate the process of motivation contagion in language learning pair work. Specifically, it…

The purpose of this study is to determine whether a vocabulary size test is a valid and reliable measure of longitudinal growth in vocabulary size (VS), and to investigate the relationship between growth in VS and use of vocabulary learning strategies (VLS). Kasahara's (2006) revised version of Mochizuki's (1998) Vocabulary Size Test (VST) was…

This study reviews the current body of research into reasons for Japanese university students' reluctance toward spoken class participation in English, along with a critical review of general teaching suggestions for encouraging participation. It then identifies the limitations of teaching strategies that may not take into account certain reasons…

Asian countries have discussed for decades the necessity of implementing multicultural education as their societies are becoming more global. With the dramatically increasing number of foreign and multiracial/biracial populations in South Korea, public education has a great need for multicultural education and Korean language teaching. However,…

This study examined the effects of an approach that promotes EFL learners' critical thinking in an online EFL setting. Although recent studies have examined approaches to foster EFL learners' critical thinking, studies conducted in online settings are under-development. The participants were 31 Japanese undergraduate students enrolled in an online…

This article critically examines the current state of a cross-cultural distance learning program (CCDLP) for English learning in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context, which has been running since 1998 among four universities in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. The initial purpose of the program was to provide a networked English language…

The purpose of this study is to explore how students' anxiety about learning English and their perception of their English communicative competence change through participating in a five-day English camp. Eighteen first-year university students majoring in English language and cultures participated in the camp. The participants were randomly…

The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether Japanese university EFL students produce summaries of a narrative story differently under two different conditions: When they refer to the original text and when they do not do so. Specifically, the study examined the students' use of selection and deletion rules as well as paraphrasing…