Abstract
Drawing upon insights from Instructed Second Language Acquisition (ISLA) research, this paper examines the principles of effective English language class design for diverse learners and contexts. I argue that ISLA provides a theoretical foundation for developing suitable communicative approaches in English classrooms. Specifically, I put forward three proposals for English language teaching in the context of Japanese universities: (1) prioritizing the maximization of learners’ active English use, guided by frameworks such as the balanced integration of the four strands of language learning; (2) highlighting the teacher's role as a facilitator of a positive classroom environment that fosters learners’ psychological well-being, informed by positive psychology and complexity theory; and (3) adopting a stance of Principled Eclecticism in teaching methodology, which involves a critical appraisal of approaches such as Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) and Presentation-Practice-Production (PPP) approaches.
