Abstract
The main purpose of this study is to investigate abilities that are necessary for Japanese EFL learners to become fluent speakers of English, and to suggest strategies for better speaking instruction. First, the study presents the models of speech production by native speakers, non-native speakers, and Japanese EFL learners, and identifies what is needed for Japanese EFL learners to speak fluent English, taking into account characteristics of the Japanese language. Among the important abilities needed for speaking, the focus is placed on lexical and grammatical competence. Second, the study describes a research conducted to examine how lexical and grammatical competence might contribute to speaking proficiency. The study has revealed that the receptive competence, lexical or grammatical, did not contribute very much to the participants' speaking proficiency, while the productive grammatical competence made a large contribution. Finally, by way of conclusion, two suggestions are presented for teaching Japanese EFL learners how to speak in English; implementing Japanese-English translation drills focusing on inter-Japanese which can easily be translated into English, and fostering among learners flexibility in English sentence construction.
