Abstract
This review explores changing trends in the field of English education in the Kantokoshinetsu Association of Teachers of English (KATE). The method was informed by a systematic review and Mizumoto, Urano, and Maeda’s (2014) study. A sample of 272 articles published between 1985 and 2017 in KATE Journal was collected and coded for research types, target sample levels, research purposes, data types, and the statistical analyses conducted. It also assesses the words characteristically appearing in KATE Journal articles to investigate the trends in research themes over time. The results point to both similar trends and trends that differ from those reported in previous reviews (e.g., Hirano, 2011; Mizumoto et al., 2014; Stapleton & Collett, 2011; Terasawa, 2010). This review seeks to generate an understanding of the impact of changing trends in English education by collecting representative aspects that have been reported in the literature of KATE Journal. Based on the findings, we make several suggestions for producing high-quality studies as a basis for future papers published by that journal.
