Abstract
This paper represents the third part of an attempt to review the history of teaching English through films in Japan. The main objective of this historical study is to reveal how commercial films have been utilized in the teaching of English in Japan. It also aims to reveal the present state and possible challenges faced by teachers using films in the classroom. This paper focuses on the first half of the 1990s, when the use of films began to be examined from various standpoints, including motivation, listening and syllabus design. The motivational effect of films was reported in a number of studies while the results on learners' listening comprehension were still varied. Also, the establishment of the Association of Teaching English through Movies (ATEM) in 1995 helped lead researchers to further examine the use of films in the classroom. This paper concludes that following the 1980s, in which the focus of studies was on classroom use, the early 1990s marked the start of actual research on teaching through films in Japan.
