The purpose of this study is to theoretically clarify the essence of improvisation, which has been identified as a problem related to speaking by novice L2 learners. First, we defined improvisation as a process of speaking in which all of the four major processing components in Levelt’s (1989) model activate incrementally and parallelly. It was then discussed that L2 improvisation involves two main problems: one is the allocation of attentional resources between conceptualizing and formulating, and the other is the intervention of L1. In addition, we showed that the paraphrasing strategy can be considered as a specific strategy to support the improvisation of novice L2 learners, including Japanese EFL learners. Finally, based on the above discussions, we proposed the essence of improvisation for novice L2 learners.

　　 In the Japanese version of the Guidelines on Study for Junior High Schools (announced in 2017), the Japanese language section of the commentary states that “the way of seeing and thinking with words” are important in “increasing students’ awareness of words by having them grasp and question the relationship between objects and words and between words, focusing on the meaning, function, and usage of words in their studies.” In this study, I performed a qualitative analysis of the linguistic activities of students using haiku written by haiku poets and creative haiku written by students as teaching materials to clarify specific learning activities in which “the way of seeing and thinking with words” plays a part. The analysis also revealed that language activities that transform learners’ own appreciation of haiku works by broadening and deepening their reading are an important element for developing “the way of seeing and thinking with words,” and that collaborative haiku appreciation is effective in eliciting this element. These results suggest that the type of haiku used as teaching materials and the form of classes are also important factors in realizing haiku classes in which “the way of seeing and thinking with words” plays a part.

　　 This paper examines the trends in the number of occurrences of certain phrases in the arts and crafts subject in Japan by focusing on the phrases “one’s senses and actions” and “one’s perspectives and feelings” that constitute the goals of the arts and crafts subject in the 2017 edition of the Course of Study for elementary schools. We conducted year-on-year comparisons and inter-subject comparisons of the Course of Study from the 1958 edition to the 2017 edition, studying the similarities and differences thus identified. The results show similar trends for the arts and crafts subject with respect to the transition from the 1958 to 1971 edition and from the 2008 to 2017 edition. In the arts and crafts subject, there was a slight uptrend in phrases related to the “senses” and its synonyms. Discussions on the occurrence of phrases were conducted from the perspectives of systematism and empiricism, and in connection with folk art education movements. It was concluded that even after the 2017 edition, when the framework of the Course of Study changed, “senses” will be emphasized.

　　 This study is intended to elucidate the causes of adjustments to ways of playing by children in lower school grades through a topic-based teaching class on the theme of how children can play atop mats. It employs the methodology of recording the process of adjusting ways of playing through episodic description and analyzing and considering it based on the theory of games. It finds that ways of playing were adjusted through incitement by the placement of the mats; children trying to change the placement of the mats, either by themselves or with others; getting involved in the play of others; following along with others; incitement by challenging questions; and incorporating the movements of others-each of which had been anticipated by the teacher at the planning stage. It also shows that ways of playing were adjusted in response to the incidental causes of impediment of children’s movements, encountering impossible tasks, becoming able to play in other ways, and getting bored with the play-none of which had been anticipated by the teacher in advance. It also showed that by reconsidering classes based on the theory of games, factors that traditionally had been considered to impede learning could be seen not as deviations but as causes of adjustments to ways of playing.

　　 This paper presents curriculum guidance-related research on reading within Japanese language courses. The background is that from the 1980s on, Japan has been impacted by reader theories from English-speaking countries. This paper especially considers issues related to reader-response theory, which is still the mainstream literature education theory in Japan today. To go beyond said theory in reconsidering the roles, etc., of students (i.e., readers) within literature education, the author employs the concept of “Edge awareness” and uses it to analyze the text, “Onita no Boshi” Specifically, this paper presents an investigation of, and considerations regarding, the practice of a reader (student learner) interiorization approach, which attempts to make connections with “passageways” into the “interior” of the student learner, as described in reader response theory. Results demonstrated the need to confirm and clarify the “interior of the student learner,” something that has not been sufficiently discussed and debated in conventional curriculum guidance research and practices related to reading within Japanese language courses, which are (as noted) based on reader response theory. Study results indicated that said “interior” is indeed the site where students are “moved” and where “displacement” occurs, which can be linked with the reformulation of an approach that enables retellings in the self-narrations of readers.