How can Japanese teachers of English go about introducing more communicative activities suitable for their contexts? This article discusses an attempt by a high school teacher to implement communicative language teaching (CLT) in her classes while responding to institutional pressure to use "yakudoku" (a traditional grammar translation…

Nobuko Sakurai (2015) presents insightful research results that help educators better understand the impact of translation as it limits reading quantity, reading comprehension, and reading rate in an extensive reading (ER) program. Overall, the results of the study encourage educators to restrict translation as a means of obtaining better results…

This study attempted to examine the influence of a decrease in translation on the number of words read, reading comprehension, and reading rate in an extensive reading (ER) program. The participants were 70 first-year university students who experienced ER both in and outside the classroom for 15 weeks. The results of regression analyses confirmed…

This study is a quasi-experimental, longitudinal investigation into the role that extensive reading and reading strategies play in the cultivation of reading self-efficacy. Conducted over the course of one academic year, how changes in reading self-efficacy translate into changes in reading comprehension was examined. In addition, the…

The population of English as a Second Language (ESL) learners has increased significantly in higher education settings in the United States today. It has been reported that Japanese ESL students are generally unsuccessful when studying in English speaking countries. The typical way of reading in English for Japanese students is the…

Interview guides and a questionnaire were developed in order to find what factors demotivated students in Japanese high school English classrooms. Five college students who were attending two private universities and one public university shared their views about demotivation in the interviews. Forty-two students at a public university responded…

"Yakudoku," the traditional, non-oral method of teaching language in Japan, is described and compared with the grammar translation method of language instruction. The methods differ in that "yakudoku" focuses mainly on translation of the foreign language text into Japanese, with grammar instruction a secondary concern, and that…

The literature surrounding the process of curriculum innovation and change abounds with the assumption that change is a difficult, often painful and hugely complex process. It involves educational, political, national, institutional and personal issues. It challenges the very fabric of our society, and our roles not only as professionals, but as…

Presents a case study investigating whether there is any connection between university entrance examinations in English as a Second Language in Japan and the prevalence of grammar-translation teaching there. Findings reveal that teacher factors, such as educational background, personal beliefs, and teaching experience may outweigh the possible…