Abstract
This article has four aims: (1) to follow the history of English language education research and of related academic societies in the field; (2) to present a summary of the areas of research that have been established in Japan; (3) to list existing well-known academic societies related to English language education; and (4) to review articles contributed to The Annual Review of English Language Education in Japan (ARELE). This journal has been published by The Japan Society of English Language Education for the past 19 years and is thus one of the most influential academic journals in the field of English language education. As a conclusion, the authors further discuss and explore some desirable directions of English language education research in the future.
