A recurrent theme in education, including English language education, is the extent to which teachers draw on the findings of academic research, despite the fact that ‘evidence-based’ practice is usually promoted as the gold standard. Research on teachers as consumers and users of research (Noonoo, 2019) suggests that although teachers may access research in various ways, such as in teacher training programs, workshops, or conference presentations, in their actual daily classroom practices very little attention may be paid to research. There are various reasons for this situation, including inaccessibility of academic research concepts and methods, the perceived lack of relevance to teachers’ contexts, or the gap between the worlds of researchers and teachers. In this paper, based on a JACET 2023 plenary presentation, I argue for a rethinking of the types of collaboration that could work to overcome these disparities. I use the notion of the need for ‘transcultural’ work where researchers and teachers could cross the divides that separate them. I discuss why, given the growing complexity and challenges in education, it is important that we do not overlook or fail to deploy the range of empirical and pedagogical resources available to us as educators. I will outline why collaboration is central to the building of stronger transcultures of research that can aim to have an impact on practice. I will go on to suggest what kinds of initiatives and strategies could be harnessed to strengthen research collaborations and how these could be implemented. To illustrate my arguments, I will draw on my own experiences of research collaboration with teachers as well as other examples from international contexts. In so doing I will attempt to draw out what kinds of roles, knowledge, relationships, and procedures might work towards effective collaboration.

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Collaboration in English language education has been a crucial mechanism for improvement in language pedagogy across disciplines, research, and testing. Collaborative efforts in language education are undertaken to meet the needs of various stakeholders in this dynamic world, where technology plays an important and transformative role in multiple dimensions of language instruction (Ngoc & Barrot, 2022). It is established that English language education in the 21st century has constantly faced disruptions, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI), and more importantly, the emergence of large language models (e.g., ChatGPT by Open AI, Amazon Titan, and Microsoft 365 Copilot) that have an inevitable impact on all involved parties in the language education system. In this paper, I reflect on collaborative work in the Thai English-as-aforeign- language (EFL) context, with a focus on collaboration in teaching across disciplinary studies, research, testing, and assessment. Empirical studies have also been cited to contextualize and illustrate each type of collaboration, highlighting their perceived significance, challenges, and possible future directions in similar contexts. The analyses have been drawn from the authors’ experiences as practitioners, course designers, material developers, assessors, educators, and administrators. Evidence-based suggestions will also be made based on the empirical study examples.

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Over the past few years, JACET has been reflecting on its roles in society. One of the major issues, which was raised at its 2019 international convention––the last face-to-face convention before the pandemic––was to redefine its role as an affiliate of AILA (International Association of Applied Linguistics) as a representative of Japan, following the recent developments of applied linguistics. In this paper, I will reflect on the changing position of ELT in applied linguistics in Japan and its impact on ELT professionals and discuss how professional organizations like JACET can make a more active contribution to the society.

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This study explores the process of identity construction among Japanese students who engage in studying abroad, with a particular focus on the potential influence of their individual agency in shaping this process within intercultural interactions. The study used qualitative research methodologies to examine the processes of identity construction and negotiation among Japanese university students studying abroad. Specifically, the research focused on exploring the students' agencies, investment, and the ways in which they developed and negotiated their identities. Data for this study were obtained via semi-structured interviews and narrative journals from a sample of 11 students who had participated in study abroad programmes in English-speaking countries. Data analysis was conducted using the analytical lenses of learner agency, attitude and identity construction, and identity negotiation through intercultural conflicts. The findings indicated that the participants underwent identity reconstruction by actively engaging with their linguistic resources and practises, and by exercising their agency. The study abroad experiences of the participants provided them with novel opportunities to develop their approaches to language acquisition and utilisation, and their attitudes towards accents, and navigate their identities through intercultural conflicts. These experiences collectively influenced their reconstruction of their preconceived notions of native English speakers.

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There is a substantial body of work focused on the effect of affective factors on L2 learning. Most of these studies, however, are based on questionnaires and self-reports. This study aims to objectively explore the effects of trait-anxiety on state-anxiety by measuring heart rate and pitch changes during L2 oral reading tasks. Fifty-four university students read a passage in the following sequence: first in English, then in Japanese, and in English again. The heart rate and pitch changes at the sentence level were compared between the first and second English readings. Results showed that participants with higher affective factors did not exhibit significant difference in heart rate, whereas those with lower affective factors indicated a significantly higher heart rate during the first reading compared to the second. Similarly, participants with higher affective factors did not show a significant difference in maximum fo between the first and second readings while those with lower affective factors demonstrated a significantly higher maximum fo during the first reading than the second. Furthermore, fo range was narrower for the high affective group than the low affective group. These findings highlight the impact of both trait-anxiety and state-anxiety on L2 speaking.

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This study investigates the communication needs of Japanese university students participating in the Hiroshima-Hawaii Cultural Exchange Project. The students spend several months studying Hawaiian culture and history before traveling to Hawaii; however, no English language training has been provided to participants since the project’s inception in 2013. To address this gap, a needs analysis (NA) was conducted to inform the development of a taskbased English curriculum tailored to the participants’ language requirements. Data were collected from various stakeholders, including students, coordinators, administrators, and domain experts, through semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. A thematic analysis of 22 interviews identified 10 target tasks relevant to students’ communicative goals, focusing on Hawaiian culture, history, and practical skills. A subsequent questionnaire assessed task difficulty and priority. The results revealed that students sought increased interaction and listening practice, prioritizing practical tasks such as using public transportation and making okonomiyaki. In contrast, faculty members emphasized fundamental aspects, such as selfintroductions and small talk. Notably, students who had visited Hawaii emphasized different tasks than those who had not. This study recommends specific target tasks for exchange programs within a task-based language teaching syllabus and underscores the significance of NA in syllabus design, advocating its systematic implementation.

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The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, in its current Curriculum Standards for high school English, emphasizes the development of Japanese EFL learners’ attitudes towards cross-cultural understanding. The present research aims to provide insights to enhance learners’ interaction skills in fostering cross-cultural understanding. Drawing on prior findings on government-approved textbooks and learner-native speaker interaction, two studies were conducted: one on written dialogue models in textbooks and another on authentic spoken interactions where topics related to the interlocutors’ cultural backgrounds were discussed. Study One investigates the design of dialogues in textbooks. The results indicate that these dialogues often rely excessively on a question-answer pair format, causing them to appear as contrived, formal interviews based on simplified categories of nationalities. Study Two examines face-to-face, spontaneous conversations between Japanese EFL learners and native English speakers from the United Kingdom. The results reveal that while question-answer pairs are also prevalent in these naturally-occurring exchanges, learners tend to be less reactive when listening and less coherent or collaborative in topic management. These findings offer implications for the future development of teaching materials.

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In response to the global pandemic, the adoption of online communication systems for distance learning has become increasingly prevalent. This paper explores the implementation of the Student Meet Internationally through Language Education (SMILE) project, which harnessed the capabilities of Zoom, an online communication platform, to facilitate collaborative online learning between two high schools in Tokyo, Japan, and Bangkok, Thailand. Over the course of four meetings held between November 2022 and February 2023, 20 Japanese students and 16 Thai students engaged in the project. The lessons were tailored to match students’ proficiency levels and familiarity with the subject matter, focusing on selfintroductions, discussions about their respective cultures, and challenging the Japanese students with slideshow presentations detailing their school science projects. Despite encountering challenges such as unreliable internet connections and occasional student absences, participants actively overcame these hurdles, deriving a sense of accomplishment from their online interactions. This paper provides insights into the preparations, methods of implementation, and students’ feedback and practices during the collaborative online lessons.

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