The use of interactive whiteboards (IWBs) is widespread in the United Kingdom, Australia, and to some extent in the United States and Canada. However, this potentially learning enhancing technology has been adopted very little in Japan at any level of education, apart from some international schools. Furthermore, one of the world's two leading IWB…

Generally, in Japanese as a Second Language (JSL) teacher education, various teaching approaches are introduced to trainee teachers by highly experienced teachers or specialists. This training helps trainees acquire a particular body of knowledge about JSL, and hopefully through this approach, teaching methods that are commonly perceived to be…

This paper uses the case study method to describe the characteristics of Japanese school-based inservice teacher training programs, which are designed to help teachers improve their competence and the quality of their teaching activities. Data come from observations of and interviews with teachers in classrooms within 10 public elementary schools.…

Two teachers' experience with using reflective journals to help both teachers and students reflect on the teaching and learning processes is described. The technique was implemented in English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) classes in a Japanese university. Specific guidelines were established for students, and the journal format was a worksheet…