The introduction or revision of a test may have effects on its stakeholders, such as teachers and students. Such effects are called washback and play an important role in English education in Japan. In 2021, a national standardized test for Japanese university admissions was revised for the first time in three decades. This paper aims to investigate the washback of the revised standardized test, called the Common Test, on teachers’ teaching methods and their assessment. In this study, semi-structured interviews with eight teachers who taught at Japanese senior high schools were conducted and analyzed thematically to investigate whether and how the Common Test influences them. The findings reveal that the Common Test influences the teachers on how to teach and/or assess reading, listening, and pronunciation though the effects seem to be limited. The main possible factors for the impacts would be the increase in the number of words in the reading component and the score allotted to the listening component in the Common Test. On the other hand, the washback on grammar instruction was not observed although the test items that measure the knowledge of grammar were removed from the Common Test. In this paper, I argue that just revising the standardized test is not enough to bring about the intended washback, and professional development and support should be provided for teachers to make educational innovations more successful.

抄録全体を表示

Research has suggested that providing written corrective feedback (WCF) that focuses on specific grammar has a more significant impact on the accuracy of ESL/EFL learners than unfocused or comprehensive WCF. However, previous investigations have only assessed a limited set of grammatical features, such as articles and verb tense, and have employed a methodology that compares accuracy before and after the implementation of a treatment. This, in turn, necessitates a broader range of grammatical features and methodologies to verify the wider effects of focused WCF. This study aimed to investigate the accuracy development of the target grammar (sentence structure and verb form) by exclusively providing WCF focused on the target grammar compared to providing unfocused WCF. The study involved 31 beginner-level students in a 15-week writing instruction. The findings revealed distinct patterns of development of accuracy of target grammar and sentence complexity between the two feedback groups.

抄録全体を表示

The purpose of this research is to examine the importance of self-confidence in teachers’ professional competence to teach English through the data from a questionnaire and interviews. The questionnaire was developed to collect data from 50 teachers in their 20’s concerning levels of confidence in their English language skills, teaching skills and abilities to teach English in classrooms. The questionnaire also included modified items from the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The data was analyzed to identify any correlations between levels of confidence in professional competence and self-esteem. The result showed a significant correlation between the teaching skills and the teachers’ self-esteem. The interviews were also held with two junior high school teachers whose self-confidence levels were extremely high. The data from the interviews suggested that their high levels of self-confidence were maintained because their goals of teaching matched with objectives and contents to develop students’ communication abilities, and they carried out integrated teaching activities in which they were confident. Additionally, the teachers helped students overcome their academic weakness in writing English and understand English grammar with clear and concise explanation in Japanese.

抄録全体を表示

Recent research in second language acquisition has increasingly highlighted the significance of learner engagement. However, the field lacks a consistent definition and an operational framework for this construct. To address this gap, we incorporated the Motivation-Engagement Wheel, a framework from educational psychology, to explore both linear and complex relationships between motivation and engagement in language learning. Data were obtained from 313 Japanese university students through a motivation-engagement scale and were analyzed through structural equation modeling and psychological network analysis. The results showed that motivation, especially self-belief and learning focus, was a significant predictor of engagement. Moreover, persistence, a key component of the engagement construct, played a central role in strengthening the network between the components of motivation and engagement. Finally, the theoretical as well as pedagogical implications from the current study are discussed in terms of the conceptual clarity about motivation and engagement and the key role of persistence in language learning.

抄録全体を表示

This study conducted an analysis of all MEXT-approved English textbooks from six publishers in Japanese junior high schools. The primary objective was to investigate whether grammatical elements classified as “new grammar” were present prior to their official introduction. Previous studies have shown that the expression “want to” emerged in elementary schools before being categorized as a “new grammar item” for to-infinitives in junior high schools. In this study, we focused on four grammar elements: to-infinitive, comparative expressions, passive voice, and the adjectival use of participles. The study investigated the frequencies of these elements and how they appeared in junior high school textbooks. The results showed that some grammar elements appeared numerous times before being formally recognized as “new grammar.” For example, consistent with previous research, the nominative use of to-infinitive tended to appear more frequently. In addition, comparative expressions involving more and best, expressions related to psychological states presented in the form of be verb + past participle, and adjectival uses of the present participle modifying a noun positioned before the noun were frequent occurrences. It is hypothesized that introducing these grammar items using expressions that learners have already been exposed to could facilitate a smoother learning experience.

抄録全体を表示

The present study implemented a teaching model inspired by the European Language Portfolio to investigate how learner reflection is promoted among B1 level learners of English. A cohort of 20 Japanese college students engaged in a series of four-week classes aimed at making a brief speech about the conservation of endangered species. The teaching model encompassed three stages: (a) understanding learning objectives, (b) participating in language activities, and (c) reflecting on both the process and product of these language activities. The study employed both quantitative content analysis, examining participants’ self-assessment and peer assessment narratives, and qualitative analysis. The findings indicate that the teaching model facilitated the participants’ reflection on language activities, which is a crucial element in developing learner autonomy. Furthermore, the study highlighted the gradual evolution of self-reflection abilities and the role of peer assessment in enhancing audience awareness.

抄録全体を表示

Vocabulary tests are widely used at high schools in Japan. This study aims to clarify how differences in test format affect Japanese high-school students’ vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) and depth of vocabulary knowledge. Sixty-nine high school students participated and were divided into two Groups: Group A, which took a test requiring them to guess a word in a sentence, and Group B, which took a test requiring them to translate Japanese into English. The results show Group A changed their VLS, revealing that test format affected VLS. The effects included increased use of seemingly effective VLS and decreased use of others. Group B, which mainly employed the repetition and concentration strategy, scored higher on the immediate retention than Group A, which mainly used the use of context strategy. The repetition and concentration strategy seemed effective for the participants’ vocabulary acquisition, whereas Group A struggled with maintaining the use of context strategy due to its costs. Thus, it can be concluded that vocabulary test format affects VLS use, and the difficulty of the format and learners’ proficiency will affect how much they learn. Therefore, when addressing vocabulary learning, it is necessary to consider both what VLS should be used and how challenging it is to use them.

抄録全体を表示

This paper aims to identify the recent policy process of the university English entrance exam reforms in Japan. Following the implementation of the revised Course of Study for high schools in 2022, the university entrance exams will be renewed in 2025. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) established an advisory committee in 2020-2021 to discuss the direction of university entrance exam reforms. This paper examines the policy deliberation process from the 2020s onwards by analyzing policy documents and meeting minutes. The findings are as follows. First, several committee members expressed skepticism about considering entrance exam reform as a means of education reform, resulting in ‘washback’ discourses receiving less attention in policy documents compared to the 2010s. Second, the fourskills campaign, in which some policymakers in 2010s advocated the introduction of commercial four-skills English tests (e.g. Eiken, GTEC, TOEFL) into the common university entrance exam, faced criticism in the 2020-2021 policy meetings. This criticism partly stemmed from some policymakers emphasizing the assessment of ‘integrated English skills’ over independent four-skills. However, the term ‘integrated English skills’ has been used spuriously by some policymakers in subsequent committees, turning into a political slogan for promoting the use of commercial four-skills English tests.

抄録全体を表示

It is evident that “3rd-person-singular-present -s” in English is difficult to acquire for Japanese-speaking learners of English as a foreign language (Japanese EFL learners). So far, the perspectives of lexical and grammatical information such as person, number, and tense and of syntactic operations such as subject-verb agreement have been discussed to explain the question of why Japanese EFL learners struggle with the acquisition of “3rd-person-singular-present -s.” The present study attempted to find a new factor involved in the phenomenon from the perspective of the so-called grammatical illusions, and conducted an experiment of self-paced reading and acceptability judgment tasks with 53 Japanese EFL learners to compare their comprehension of sentences in the present tense with third-person-singular and first-person subjects in the cases of beand general verbs. The results suggested grammatical illusions in which the participants comprehended ungrammatical sentences erroneously as grammatical only in the case of their online processing of disagreement between third-person-singular subjects and general verbs. A novel factor is proposed to account for the difficulty with acquisition and use of “3rd-person-singularpresent -s” which emerges due to co-occurrence of third-person-singular subjects and general verbs, and its theoretical and educational implications are discussed.

抄録全体を表示

For effective acquisition of a second language, grammar instruction that directs learners’ attention to the language structure is also necessary for the language activity-centered classes promoted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. In order to improve the effectiveness of grammar instruction in junior high school (JHS), this study investigated the acquisition of grammatical knowledge of JHS students. The participants were 350 students across grades 7 through 9. The test covered 21 grammar items and consisted of English composition questions in which students read a Japanese translation and filled in the blanks in an English sentence. There were 80 questions in total. The test was administered using Google Forms. The test results indicated the mastery level of each grammatical item by grade level. The Cronbach’s alpha for this test was α=.98, which is highly reliable. Furthermore, the online nature of the test allowed for automatic scoring and immediate feedback to students, enhancing its practicality. The findings in this paper provide essential data for improving grammar instruction in JHS. We intend to revise this test and make it available to the public in the future.

抄録全体を表示

Previous studies have highlighted a substantial disparity between junior and senior high school English textbooks. However, the details of this gap have not been thoroughly examined to draw educational implications. The current study compares textbooks for 9th and 10th grades with an aim to uncover the factors contributing to this gap, from the perspective of the co-occurrence of grammatical items in sentences. The results reveal a higher percentage of sentences containing more than two grammatical features targeted in the current study in senior high school textbooks than in junior high school textbooks. Additionally, an increase in mean length of sentence is observed, along with a marked rise in the frequency of certain grammatical items such as conjunctions, to-infinitives, and postmodifications by prepositional phrases. These findings suggest that bridging the gap between junior and senior high schools requires a primary emphasis in high school English classes on teaching students to process longer but structurally simple English sentences easily, rather than a specific focus on newly introduced complex grammatical structures.

抄録全体を表示

Since ChatGPT was launched in November 2022, discussion has been taking place over its use in education. It has both positive and negative effects depending on how it is used. This study investigated what score ChatGPT can obtain on the English reading sections of the Common Test for University Admissions in Japan. By examining answers from ChatGPT, it was expected that possible applications of ChatGPT in creating and analyzing English tests could be proposed. As materials, three tests from 2021 and 2022 were used (National Center for University Entrance Examinations, 2021a; 2021b; 2022). Tuned English prompts and GPT-4 were used for better output. ChatGPT scored 91.3 out of 100 points with three errors on average. Error analysis indicated that one question might need to be revised. Other errors suggested that ChatGPT might not be good at comparing numbers and making subjective judgements. This study implies the potential for using ChatGPT in checking and improving reading test questions.

抄録全体を表示

The purpose of this study is to examine the extent of Japanese elementary school students’ knowledge of English letters. Third- to sixth-grade students at a public elementary school were assigned four different tasks to assess their letter knowledge in various aspects. The results revealed that each aspect of letter knowledge had already progressed in acquisition at the onset of English learning, albeit to varying extents. Subsequently, nearly complete acquisition had been achieved in every aspect by the sixth grade. Uppercase letters were generally acquired earlier, followed by lowercase letters, although discrepancies in the acquisition levels between uppercase and lowercase letters persisted in some aspects. Factors potentially influencing acquisition included visual features of letter shapes, phonological features of letter names, alphabetical order, letter frequency, and knowledge of romaji (Romanization of Japanese).

抄録全体を表示

An increasing number of studies have discussed the importance of mediation where language learners’ first or home language (L1) is positively used from the perspective of plurilingualism. In response to this, Masuda and Matsuzawa (2023) investigated public high school English examinations across Japan, focusing on the test items that had examinees answer in Japanese, and found that the prefectures that set the items had been decreasing gradually since 2012. This study focuses on the items where they answer in English, based on Japanese sentences or information, because mediation includes two-way language switches (Council of Europe, 2020). It was revealed that approximately half of the prefectures set the items, but that the number and the kinds of the items varied depending on the prefecture. This study also found that the prefectures that provided the items had been declining year by year. It then suggests that the goal of developing mediation skills be added to the future English Course of Study for junior high schools to align curriculum, teaching, and assessment for better foreign language education that reflects authentic language use.

抄録全体を表示

With the arrival of the era when almost all high school students pursue higher education, the demand for developmental education has been escalating. This study analyzed 155 studies found in CiNii Research, aiming to elucidate the trends of developmental English education in Japan. Findings indicate that the number of research in this field has been declining. The primary focus of the studies were related to teaching methods and materials, especially ICT. However, the focus shifted from teaching materials to teaching methods during the researched period. Although motivation-related concerns are prevalent in the literature, psychological aspects are not investigated as much as the educational aspects. Additionally, most developmental English classes concentrate on fundamental knowledge such as grammar and vocabulary and reading, with limited attention directed towards speaking. Drawing on related previous studies, this study advocates incorporating more collaborative learning, speaking (interaction) activities, and international understanding topics to suggest improvements for developmental English classes.

抄録全体を表示

This study examines whether teachers should use English or Japanese as a medium of instruction when they give instructions in English classes at elementary schools. Two investigations were conducted for this study: Study I with 96 participants and Study II with 104 participants. The researcher visited the 3rd to 5th grade classes at a public elementary school and taught English twice: once using only English instructions and once using only Japanese instructions. During the class, eight to nine participants wore IC recorders and the participants’ one-minute interactions were transcribed. The results revealed that beginning learners benefit more from Japanese instructions than English instructions when they carry out the activities. Now, in Japan, at junior high schools and high schools, English is used as a medium of instruction. However, from the findings of this study, it is inadvisable to apply the same policy at elementary schools. This study indicates that a gradual approach using both English and Japanese is preferable for beginning learners.

抄録全体を表示

Many learners struggle with vocabulary acquisition in English. Previous research has identified various learning strategies and demonstrated their correlation with academic performance and motivation. However, there is little empirical research conducted on the effectiveness of instructing strategies. This study focuses on loanwords derived from English, aiming to explore methods to utilize them in vocabulary learning while being aware of their potential negative effects. Building on prior research, teaching materials were developed and practical sessions targeting first-year high school students were conducted. In addition to instructing on loanword utilization strategies, efforts were made to encourage students to actively use loanwords and experience their effects. As a result, it was evident that incorporating loanwords into English vocabulary learning during classes significantly increased recognition of its effectiveness. Furthermore, engaging in comparative learning between loanwords and English seemed to enhance interest in language itself and fostered positive attitudes towards English vocabulary learning.

抄録全体を表示