Abstract
This study examines the effectiveness of intensive Japanese conversation training sessions for the students who have just finished elementary level. The sessions consist of three parts: 1) pre-lesson/discussions, 2) visitor sessions and 3) reflection. First, in the pre-lesson/discussions, the teacher explicitly gives instructions of how to use linguistic devices (e.g., request for clarification, aizuchi and assessments), and the techniques to open, develop and close conversations and topics. Then, in the visitor sessions, the students try to use and observe those techniques while talking with initial encounter Japanese native speakers. Finally, both students and visitors reflect their conversations. I will demonstrate that spiral repetition of these three parts of the sessions promote learner motivation to study as well as conversation skills.
