Abstract
This paper reports on the practice of teaching oral and auditory skills and the progress made by students over the course of one year. The classes were aimed at developing academic listening and speaking proficiency required by university students. The present paper focuses on activities for oral skill development: a 1-, 3-, and 5-minute prepared speech and discussion in the first term, followed by self-debate, debate and Bibliobattle in the second term. An analysis of audio and video recordings made in class, participants' reflections, questionnaires and interviews with selected participants revealed a conclusive improvement in students' listening and speaking skills, as well as their overall Japanese proficiency.
