This study investigates the use that second language learners make of stress features in English, and tests which features affect overall comprehensibility as evaluated by native speakers of the language (English). A preliminary study set out to specify the suprasegmental feature (or features) of L2 speech that affect(s) the ratings awarded by native speakers. Four native English-speaking instructors rated the pronunciation of sixteen L2 English speakers of Japanese with respect to segmentals, intonation, and rhythm, after which the best and the poorest pronunciation were selected and analyzed with a speech analyzer. The results revealed that although the Japanese speakers attempted to use speech accents, these were produced in a way that native speakers of English were not always able to distinguish. The audio sample of the poorest pronunciation was then adjudicated in terms of the pitch, vowel duration, and intensity of the stressed syllables. One hundred native English speakers (NES) and 20 L2-fluent, non-native English teachers of Japanese speakers (ETJ) rated the comprehensibility of both the original L2 speech samples and their manipulated versions. The results of the Wilcoxon signed−rank tests showed that, for both groups, the L2 samples with both enhanced pitch and duration were significantly less comprehensible than the unenhanced originals (pitch: NES: z = −3.93, p<.01; ETJ: z=−3.56, p<.01; duration: NES: z=−1.96, p=.05; ETJ: z=−2.08, p<.05) ETJ also rated the enhanced-intensity files as less comprehensible than the originals, although the difference was not significant (p=0.56). In contrast, NES rated the enhanced-intensity files higher in comprehensibility, although the difference was again not significant (p=0.39). This study confirms (what ordinary experience suggests) that the means by which Japanese English learners express stress can affect native English speakers find that the comprehensibility of L2 pronunciation is likely to improve when stresses syllables are made louder

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This study is to investigate how likely communication tasks in English textbooks are to be based on the theoretical framework of task-based language teaching (TBLT). Following Usuda, Shimura, Tanaka and Shiratori (2008), this study investigated nine volumes of junior high school textbooks published by three different Japanese publishers. In order to investigate what extent the communication tasks meet the standards of TBLT, this study used the criteria of task-likeliness: interactional requirement of pair or group work, focus on message, requirement of outcome, explicitness of task goal, and authenticity (Willis & Willis, 2007). The results reveal that task-likeliness varies with the publishers, and sections of the textbooks, i.e., whether the tasks are in the lesson or review sections. Another result shows that in the communication tasks of a publisher which meet the standards of TBLT, task-likeliness improves with grade level; however, this does not hold true for the communication tasks of the other two publishers which received poor scores in terms of task-likeliness. This suggests that task-likeness scores be a good indicator of to what extent publishers concern about the standards of TBLT.

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As developments in transportation and internet technologies continue, the world has become much smaller, offering us increasing opportunities for communication with people from different cultures. Today, more than 17 million Japanese people leave Japan for other countries every year, in addition to communication with increasing numbers of people from other countries, such as Korea, China, and South American countries, coming to Japan. It is clear that we should have knowledge of foreign countries and the social contexts of their citizens. This paper will consider the concept of intercultural education of secondary schools in Japan. The course of study now in use, on which recent textbooks are based, was revised in 1999. The overall objectives of the latest syllabus are to develop students' practical communicative competence. MEXT, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, also emphasizes that international understanding is of the essence for students. However, MEXT has not defined clear goals and the specific contents of intercultural education. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the countries and the type of cultural topics that appear in current textbooks. In addition, some statistical analyses and the results of questionnaires will be investigated. These results will suggest that while both the English-speaking and non-English speaking worlds have appeared as the topics in current textbooks, they do not satisfy the demands of rapid globalization. This paper will also show that, when compared the previous textbooks, current textbooks contain more tasks, but insufficient time has been allocated for students to perform them.

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Given ongoing interest in strategy instruction, teachers and researchers in second language (L2) education need to understand personality and cognitive style when diagnosing their students' learning progresses and difficulties. By understanding differences in personalities and cognitive styles, the teacher can prevent mismatches between students' styles and any of the dimensions that we will look at in this article with implications on teaching style and curriculum. Among the constructs of personality, that of thinness and thickness of the boundaries developed by Hartmann (1991) has been focused on in this study because it describes a broad dimension of personality trait with cognitive effects which has been considered to greatly influence the L2 learning process. In a review of Ehrman's previous studies, it can be inferred that the cognitive styles which relate to these psychological boundaries are field sensitivity and tolerance of ambiguity, both of which are essential for acquiring L2 for real communicative purposes. In addition, I also paid attention to EFL students who have differences in the thinness of their boundaries and examined their cognitive styles from classroom observation and talks collected through language learning counseling. Their reflections on EFL learning have supported the claims of Ehrman's studies that describe thinness of the outer boundaries as a signpost for the cognitive style differences. Further research is needed to test hypotheses emerging from the above case studies, to examine the relationship between other dimensions of the boundaries and those of cognitive styles and to analyze learner language produced by learners with those different characteristics, which may lead us to understand how learner differences influence the way they process L2. As a pedagogical implication, this type of study may lead us to develop a guide to diagnosing language learning difficulties and to inject appropriate strategies in terms of individual learner differences.

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The aim of this study is to propose methods of encouraging student teachers to use more English in their demonstration classes during their teaching practicum. In order to reveal the amount and context in which they use Japanese and English during the classes, data was initially taken from eight demonstration classes taught by eight different student teachers who were all in the teacher training course at the university where this study was conducted. To analyze these classes, we adopted a FIFU-R (Functions of Instructor First Language Use for researchers) research approach (Shimura, 2008), which is a reformed version of FIFU (Functions of Instructor First Language Use) originally developed by Yonesaka (2005). The results of this analysis were numerically evaluated and revealed some remarkable points. In terms of the extent student teachers used their L2 (English) during the classes, it became clear that the ratio varied between 32.0% and 82.7% depending on the individuals, and the average ratio was found to be 57.9%. Second of all, in order to reveal the contexts where the student teachers were most likely to use their Ll (Japanese) and L2 in the classes, we conducted the residual analysis. Although there is a range of difference depending on the individuals, the result of the analysis showed the features of each teacher regarding the contexts of Ll and L2 use. Based on the implications of our results, we will propose effective ways in which we can encourage individual student teachers to use more English in their classes.

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