Abstract
In an increasingly globalized society, communicative competence in English is becoming more important for university graduates. Nevertheless, it has been argued that Japanese engineering students' inward attitudes toward English studies persist. This paper documents the challenges and strategies employed in an effort to cultivate engineering students' learner autonomy in English studies and their positive outcomes under the five-year national project Go Global Japan. First, a series of implemented measures such as certification of selected first year engineering students who hold TOEIC450 or more will be explored. We will then move on to discuss a practical English curriculum entitled Technical Communication (TC): courses specifically designed for elite engineering student. These courses are aimed at producing students who hold TOEIC650 or more by their graduation from undergraduate courses. It should be noted that TC courses are entirely elective. Therefore, it was vitally important to encourage students to enroll in the courses on continuous basis. Finally, positive outcomes of the project will be demonstrated and analyzed. The three-and-a-half-year endeavor of the project generated a steady increase of certified selected engineering students, accredited students in TC courses, and fourth year students who accomplished TOEIC650 year on year. It can be concluded that engineering students' learner autonomy in English studies was enhanced as a result of the project.
