Recently, in the area of second language acquisition (SLA), research from the social perspective has begun to attract interest. This research incorporates various frameworks, including conversation analysis, socio-cultural theory, ethnography, and language socialization, and makes certain assumptions including the assumptions that language-mediated activities and interactions are achieved in cooperation, human knowledge is socially distributed, and the formation and development of knowledge require participation in goal-oriented activities within a community. This article first compares the social view of SLA with the cognitive view, which has been regarded as the mainstream view of the SLA research tradition. The issues of communication, L2 acquisition, identities, L2 users, and research methodology are discussed to show the basic standpoint of the social view. The article also reviews recently published studies that examine interactions and second language competencies through detailed analysis of the progress of example interactions, including their organization and repair, identity construction within them, and changes in the way of participation in them over time. Finally, it links the social view with language pedagogy; applications for L2 teaching materials, the establishment of classroom activities, and the assessment of L2 language competencies are introduced as future research directions.

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Focusing on the topic of what "dynamic language education practice based on mutual construction" means, this paper describes a personal opinion of the purpose and content of such practice and an evaluation of educational practice itself. It discusses the possibility of revising linguistic theory from the perspective of language education, and looks at the socio-cultural meaning of language learning and teaching. Reviewing my research in Japanese language education over the years, I suggest a general framework for language education practice. In particular, I emphasize that it is important not to set one ideal form as a model, but to discover teaching's actual meaning through discussion of the value of a variety of teaching activities, and I express my hope for a new type of language education in the future.

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This study employs conversation analysis to examine experimental conversational settings between Japanese native speakers (NSs) and non-native speakers (NNSs). The general goal is a respecification of what has been called "recasting" in SLA studies. The analysis focuses on how NSs replace words produced by their NNS co-participants. In particular, I discuss the way an NS demonstrates an orientation to her own linguistic norms through replacing a lexical item used by her NNS co-participant to refer to a certain object when making a similar reference becomes relevant in her own subsequent turn-at-talk. I show that the NS makes the replacement recognizable as such to the NNS while simultaneously not designing it as an assessment of the NNS's use of the word. Through observing how the NNS responds to the NS's replacement, I show that the NNS orients to identities, such as "expert" and "novice" in relation to linguistic knowledge concerning the replaced word. Finally, I conclude that SLA studies should more delicately analyze the design of participants' utterances when investigating second language learning in interactions between NSs and NNSs.

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This paper, based on Nishizaka's (2003, 2006, 2008) work on learning as an interactional achievement and Kushida's (2005, 2006) work on the function of language as media with which people coordinate their participation in interaction, examines how two speakers of Japanese as a second language working in a restaurant coordinate their participation in conversation and organize their interaction, and make their learning in the workplace observable to each other. This paper also offers discussion and suggestions on the redesign of second-language teaching.

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This paper shows that Japanese language education for non-native speakers so far has been "language education", and claims that in order to make the transition to "communication education" the following five changes are necessary: a. Neutral grammar-based education without goals should be converted into grammar-based education which strives for communication, namely "listening", "speaking", "reading", and "writing". b. Education based on language activities such as writing essays and journals, and giving speeches should be changed into education which actively utilizes language activities which emphasize communication with an addressee, such as email requests and spoken refusals. c. Contexts which use certain linguistic expressions such as -te kudasai must be reconsidered and realistic contexts, in which the addressee and the communicative function are clear, should be used. d. Exercises that emphasize accuracy aiming for perfect comprehension of certain sentences and discourse should be reconsidered and tasks that pursue goals such as obtaining necessary information should be used. e. Standard curricula which teach basic language structure in the beginning to all learners should be reconsidered; curricula that are adapted to individual learners with different mother tongues and learning goals should be adopted.

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This paper discusses the need for Japanese language education for international students in graduate schools who conduct research in English, by analyzing code-switching (CS) from English to elementary-level Japanese in group discussions between Japanese and international students. The results showed that CS to Japanese in English-based group discussions changes the relationship between Japanese and international students from that between non-native speakers of English to that between native and non-native speakers of Japanese. This flexibility gave the Japanese students with English problems, the advantage of also being able to communicate in discussions as native speakers of Japanese, and helped them to participate in communication. These results indicate that Japanese language education should be provided for international students using English as the medium of their graduate study to promote communication, and that this will help international students integrate with Japanese students in the university environment. Improved relationships between Japanese students and international students also provide international students with support in conducting experiments, discussing major issues with other students smoothly, and accomplishing their research. This paper suggests that Japanese language education, which has the above effects, should be introduced as part of graduate school curriculums for the international students.

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Reactive tokens (RTs, often called "back-channeling" or aizuchi) are universal features of interaction, but their forms and use differ greatly across language and culture. Thus, mastering culture-specific forms of RTs and their usage is a challenge for JSL/JFL learners. However, to date, empirical research evaluating how RT instructions benefit JSL/JFL learners is very limited. This study examined how Japanese RT instructions benefit JSL/JFL learners. The participants were 22 intermediate/advanced JSL learners. They were categorized into the RT group, where learners received a 70-minute conversation class focusing on Japanese RTs; and the NRT group, where learners received a 70-minute conversation class focusing on vocabulary and grammatical structures. The participants were given tests before the class (pre), immediately after the class (pos1), and one week after the class (pos2). The results showed significant differences between the pre and pos1 tests, and between the pre and pos2 tests for the RT group, suggesting that RT instructions statistically improve learners' RT production ability. Moreover, the qualitative analysis of the interview data suggests that pragmatic awareness rose in the RT group, and was accompanied by behavioral changes such as deliberately observing native speakers' conversations in face-to-face interactions. Based on these results, we proposed a cognitive alteration model of L2 learners in listener behavior.

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The aim of this paper is to investigate why it is difficult to agree on writing assessment. Writing performance tests may be authentic; however rater variation can be seen as a potential weakness. For reliable assessments, sharing the rubric and rater training are essential. Tanaka et al. (2009) developed a multiple-trait scoring rubric for academic writing in Japanese as a second language, and held a workshop for experienced teachers. Eight teachers who participated in this workshop were later asked to evaluate two types of essays; evaluating 26 essays of each type. The results showed a high coefficient of reliability in the assessment, while discrepancies among ratings were observed in a few essays. In order to investigate the discrepancies, questionnaires were administered and a moderation meeting was held. By examining the results of the assessments, the questionnaires and the moderation meeting, some elements which might have caused difficulties in agreement on writing assessment were found: traits, prompts, level, writing capability, and individual raters' differences. This study confirmed the authenticity of writing performance tests and the difficulties in obtaining consistency among raters on writing assessment. The difficulties, however, may be solved by improving the rubric, analyzing assessment processes, and utilizing moderation meetings.

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When Japanese people evaluate the linguistic performance of foreigners, there are likely to be individual differences in their evaluation processes and their evaluations. Qualitative research is required not only to elucidate differences in evaluation, but also to investigate the evaluation process. Accordingly, the authors conducted a study in which three Japanese native speakers (evaluator A, B, and C) read and ranked 10 Japanese letters written by nonnative speakers. A PAC analysis of the reports provided by the evaluators during the ranking process revealed that; Evaluator A analytically and systematically employed the two criteria of "writer attitude" and "linguistic form"; Evaluator B made judgments about "attitude" based on "linguistic form"; and Evaluator C sought to judge each writer's "personality" underlying the observable "attitude", and rarely used the criterion of "linguistic form". This study suggests that further research into clarifying individualistic perspectives towards evaluation is needed in order to revise evaluators' evaluative outlooks.

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This paper analyzes teachers' attitudes toward correcting compositions via the Internet. Using Personal Attitude Construct (PAC) Analysis, three experienced instructors of Sakubun.org were surveyed in order to determine whether a relationship exists between instructors' mind-set regarding the correction of compositions via the Internet and their level of communication with students. The results of this study indicate that the instructors had attitudes aspiring to horizontal interaction, which was demonstrated by building relationships with the students, having a desire to see the students progress, and encouraging students to interact with other students. Furthermore, any uncertainty on the part of the teacher concerning a student's comprehension of the corrected material may be seen as a motivator for further communication between the teacher and student. The results of horizontal-interaction-oriented correction indicate that not only students but also instructors change their attitudes through this type of communication.

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In survey interviews, the question-answer exchange between the interviewer and respondent are considered to be the basic form of interaction. This paper analyzes a three-party survey interview in which one of the two respondents gave her "answer" most frequently in the form of an utterance addressed not to the interviewer but to the other respondent. However, in spite of the "anomalous" responding actions, the interview appeared to proceed smoothly. Our analysis shows that this was made possible by: 1) the interactions and sequential negotiations of the three participants and 2) the management of "proper behaviors" by the respondent in question through utilization of the participatory framework of interview.

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There are two types of propositional honorifics in Japanese, sonkeigo and kenjogo. Sonkeigo indicates deference from the speaker to the person who is the subject of the sentence, while kenjogo indicates deference in the form of "humbleness" by the speaker to the person to whom or for whom an action is being done. At Japanese wedding receptions, masters of ceremonies (MC) use these two different types of honorifics when talking about the bride and groom. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how and for what purpose sonkeigo and kenjogo are used in reference to the bride and groom by MCs at wedding receptions and describes how an MC may use sonkeigo or kenjogo depending the footing-or standpoint-he/she is taking. MCs use sonkeigo when they want to express deference to the bride and groom, while they use kenjogo when they want to show deference to the guests from standpoint of the bride and groom.

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