The current study examines a practical approach to implement listening-to-retelling (L-Rt) as a task of speaking tests for Japanese EFL learners. L-Rt is rarely adopted as a task for speaking assessment due to its difficulty (Hirai, 2015; Yokouchi, 2014). In this regard, the current study explores whether listening difficulty adjustments reduce the L-Rt difficulty, focusing on the following three adjustments: the use of high-frequency words, syntactic simplification, and the insertion of pauses. To investigate the effects of the three adjustments, a total of 25 participants were divided into three groups: (1) the group performing reading-to-retelling (R-Rt) with original passages; (2) the group performing L-Rt with original passages; (3) the group performing L-Rt with adjusted passages, and performed each type of retelling with three passages. The scores of participants’ comprehension and retelling were compared using the Kruskal–Wallis rank-sum test, and a Spearman’s rank-order correlation test was conducted to examine the relationship between them. The results revealed that, although listening difficulty adjustments did not enhance either comprehension or retelling, a strong relationship between comprehension and retelling was identified, suggesting that listening difficulty adjustments develop the validity to assess learners’ speaking skills that learners who achieve sufficient comprehension retell the story successfully, and learners who retell the story successfully entail adequate comprehension.

With the extension of English education into primary schools worldwide, all concerned parties must be kept aware of trends and developments not only in what is being taught but in who is doing the teaching. This paper covers part of a survey of a growing group of instructors, generally called senka kyouin, i.e., English-specialist Japanese instructors (n=250), who help teach English in various capacities in public primary schools. In a follow-up to a 2020 article on the qualitative data, I discuss quantitative findings and contrast data on issues such as leadership in planning and conducting classes with that of a larger 2013 survey of Japanese homeroom teachers (n=1802) and non-Japanese English-speaking assistant language teachers or ALTs (n=387). The results depict the widening array of team members and team combinations, and suggest that, just before English became an evaluated subject in 2020, English-specialist instructors were planning classes more than homeroom teachers (HRTs) did. However, findings also indicate that HRTs were still leading classes at about the same rate, or slightly less, than they did in 2013.

While the positive aspects of second language (L2) learners’ affective variables have received increasing attention, our understanding of the relationship between these variables and L2 written task performance remains limited. The present study explored the relationship between L2 learners’ positive affect regarding L2 writing tasks and their linguistic performance during task completion. Thirty-six Japanese-speaking university students completed a more cognitively demanding argumentative task and a less cognitively demanding narrative task, followed by a questionnaire assessing the students’ levels of positive affect. The results showed that their positive affect was positively associated with fluency and negatively associated with lexical diversity on the argumentative task. Moreover, their positive affect predicted the measures of fluency and lexical diversity on the argumentative task. These findings will offer pedagogical implications for designing writing tasks that enhance learners’ positive affect and promote linguistic development, as well as for understanding the teacher’s role in L2 writing instruction.

This study examines how different modes of prespeech planning support affect Japanese junior high school students’ ability to produce impromptu speech. Planning is treated not as an instructional goal but as pedagogical scaffolding that supports speech production under time pressure. Two planning modes were compared: interaction-supported planning, in which planning was guided through teacher–student interaction, and list-supported planning, in which learners planned their speech by consulting a worksheet of task-relevant expressions. Fifty junior high school students participated and completed speaking tests at three points in time (pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest). In both conditions, learners prepared brief keyword notes before delivering an oral summary. Speaking performance was evaluated using a rubric-based assessment, and measures of complexity, accuracy, and fluency were analyzed. The relationship between pivot schema use and speaking performance was also examined. The results showed that although both groups improved over time, the interaction-supported planning group consistently outperformed the Comparison Group at the posttest and delayed posttest. In particular, fluency gains were more stable, and pivot schema use was strongly correlated with fluency. These findings suggest that interaction-supported planning effectively facilitates the development of impromptu speaking ability by helping learners connect planned content with schematic language resources.

本研究は、言語テキストと視覚イメージの間に齟齬を埋め込んだ絵本を用いて、それに媒介された大学生たちのL2（英語）会話の詳細を、マルチモーダル会話分析の手法により記述した。トランスクリプトを分析した結果、現実の学習場面と絵本の架空世界が交差する意味空間においてアイディアを生成したり表現したりする諸過程で、学習者たちが絵本の登場人物の身体をなぞる行為や、絵本に描かれた物体と自己の身体を関係付ける振る舞いが確認された。また、アイディア生成場面におけるプライベートな空間から表現場面におけるパブリックな空間へと移行する際に、学習者たち自身で関与配分の再調整を達成する繊細な相互行為の連鎖も詳らかになった。このような結果と考察をもとに、コミュニケーション中心の効果的なL2教育の実現に向けて、学習者たちが言語的・非言語的資源を相互貢献的に活用して会話を達成する過程を具体的に理解することの重要性と、そのために実際の事例を微視的に検討することの必要性について、本研究の結論を述べる。

本研究の目的は、日本の高等学校英語科教員（以下、教員）がライティング指導におけるフィードバック・リテラシー（Writing Teacher Feedback Literacy; WTFL）についてどのように語り、その語りがいかなる構成概念および実践類型として示されるのかを明らかにすることである。4名の教員を対象に、Feedback Literacy Scale（FLS; Lee et al., 2023）に回答してもらい、その結果を踏まえてLee and Mao（2024）のFollowing-up Interview Questionsを使用した半構造化インタビューを実施し、得られた語りを大谷（2008, 2019）のSCATにより質的に分析した。その結果、WTFLは、単なる指導技法や知識の集合としてではなく、指導経験、生徒観、学校文脈、制度的制約、専門性への不安等の要因との相互作用の中で意味づけられる実践知として構成されていることが明らかになった。また、語りから抽出された構成概念は、フィードバック（feedback; FB）の目的理解、学習者への関与の在り方、指導上の判断基準、現実的制約への対処法などに整理され、それらの組み合わせの違いにより、戦略的統合型、プロセス志向型、関係配慮型、実践制約型の4つの実践類型が理論化された。これらの類型は優劣関係にあるものではなく、教員が置かれた教育的文脈の中で形成された合理的実践を反映している。本研究は、WTFLを測定可能な特性として捉えるLee et al.のFLSを補完し、語りを通して現れる関係的・状況的概念として再定位した点に意義がある。得られた知見は、教員研修やFB支援の設計において、画一的モデルではなく文脈に応じた支援の必要性を具体的に示している。

In the final year of a three-year research project aimed at supporting subject teaching by young English teachers working in small rural schools with limited opportunities to learn from experienced teachers of the same subject, this study examines how a Japanese teacher of English developed junior high school students’ thinking skills. An analysis of transcripts from nine English lessons conducted over the three-year period revealed a gradual introduction of activities requiring higher-order thinking skills. The development of these skills had been identified in the first year as an area in need of improvement during post-lesson discussions with external experts. The findings indicate that, compared with the first half of the project, students in the second half engaged in more activities involving expressing their opinions on social topics, which required higher-order thinking skills such as analyzing, evaluating, and creating. However, challenges remain in designing such activities for first-year junior high school students, many of who lack sufficient English proficiency to express their opinions.

This study investigates how sustained English conversation practice influences Japanese university students’ self-efficacy in speaking English. Drawing on Bandura’s social cognitive theory, the research involved 38 second-year students who participated in 15 weeks of intensive conversation-focused classes incorporating structured pair-work and modeled speech patterns. Self-efficacy was measured with a 15-item questionnaire administered before and after the intervention. Statistical analyses showed significant improvements in self-reported speaking ability, enjoyment, motivation, and reduced anxiety, with large effect sizes observed for key items related to speaking confidence. Increases in self-efficacy were positively associated with greater willingness to speak and lower nervousness during oral communication. These findings suggest that authentic classroom conversation practice may contribute to improved perceived competence and psychological comfort among Japanese EFL learners. The study offers preliminary evidence supporting communicative pedagogy in Japanese university contexts. Further controlled research using objective performance measures is needed to clarify causal pathways and enhance the generalizability of the results.

This study investigates the impact of Generative AI (GenAI), such as Gemini and Copilot, on vocabulary acquisition and English writing—two high-load domains in Japanese English Language Teaching. Amid the advancement of ICT, institutional adoption remains cautious due to concerns regarding academic integrity and critical thinking. This research implemented a pedagogical intervention for 30 introductory-level engineering students (CEFR A1–A2), leveraging the affinity between students’ technical expertise and AI technology. The intervention focused on two instructional areas: (1) GenAI-driven automated learning material generation and K-J method-inspired categorization for vocabulary, and (2) a metacognitive writing framework featuring CEFR-calibrated feedback. This recursive process enabled students to revise drafts while reflecting on AI-provided linguistic rationales. Results demonstrated significant vocabulary expansion into the CEFR A2–B2 range, alongside marked improvements in the volume and precision of writing output. Regarding affective factors, AI-assisted scaffolding mitigated “vocabulary anxiety,” reducing the cognitive load of language production. Furthermore, increased self-study time suggests that this AI-integrated pedagogy served as a catalyst for reclaiming dormant linguistic competence. In conclusion, strategic prompt engineering enables GenAI to function as a robust partner for “individually optimized learning.” To meet global standards, Japanese ELT must embrace GenAI as a “modern calculator,” fostering the digital literacy essential for professional communication.