Curriculum innovation is challenging and, as several commentators have reported, moves to introduce communicative language teaching in many contexts internationally have resulted in mixed outcomes, or even failure. In an effort to shed some light on this complex problem, this article focuses on curriculum change through the introduction of new…

Examines some of the new and innovative English-as-a-Second-Language curricula that have surfaced in Japanese colleges and universities since the Ministry of Education did away with tertiary-level general-education requirements. Considers various issues that may need to be addressed if this educational trend is to thrive into the next century.…

Describes the postcourse evaluation of an INSET program for Japanese secondary teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL), which found that the course's communicative approach was not implemented universally. The article suggests that differences between British and Japanese traditions may cause a reluctance to innovate and that INSET courses…