This paper proposes an aural/oral communicative English textbook analysis system that reveals the language learning theories behind the textbook and identifies the classroom procedures required to use it effectively. To promote systematic analysis I have created a set of scales that measures five major variables determining the characteristics of each text: (a) topic consistency; (b) type of syllabus; (c) frequency of drill use; (d) presence or absence of activities allowing the expression of the students' own ideas; and (e) types of language activities. These variables were generated by analysis of sixteen government-authorized textbooks published in 1995 for Oral Communication A, a new course aimed at developing Japanese senior high school students' ability to converse in English.

Teachers of English in Japan: Professional Development and Training at a Crossroads
Judith M. Lamie

Aimed at assessing teacher response to the Monbusho's English curriculum document, the New Revised Course of Study: Emphasis on Oral Communication, this paper reports the findings of an exploratory questionnaire administered to 60 junior and senior high school English teachers around Japan for the purposes of assessing the amount of university-level teacher training given the teachers, their current teaching aims and resources, and their participation in inservice education. The results suggest that if English teaching is to fulfil its aims in Japan, the restructuring of teacher education and training must become a priority.

An Investigation of Five Japanese English Teachers' Reflections on Their U.S. MA TESOL Practicum Experience
Sandra McKay

This study examines the practicum experience of five Japanese English teachers pursuing a master's degree in TESOL at a U.S. university. Drawing on data gathered from individual and group interviews, mentor teacher and author field notes, student teaching logs and final reports, the author examines five Japanese graduate students' reflections on their practicum experience. The data suggests that whereas the students clearly faced some common challenges, their personalities and English learning and teaching backgrounds as well as their specific teaching context influenced their particular teaching concerns. Although much of the data highlights the special problems that nonnative English speakers face in teaching in an ESL context, the paper notes the benefits such an experience can afford and suggests ways of modifying the TESOL practicum experience so that it is more beneficial to teacher trainees.

Teacher Codeswitching in the EFL Classroom
Yuri Hosoda

Language teachers' use of their students' native language during second/foreign instruction is often viewed negatively, even by the teachers themselves. However, teachers' occasional codeswitching between the target language and their students' L1 may have some positive effects. The present study analyzes the codeswitching of a Japanese teacher in one EFL classroom. The data shows that the teacher's codeswitching into the students' L1 not only performed a number of social functions, but also played an important interactional role.

Effects of Teaching Metaknowledge and Journal Writing on Japanese University Students' EFL Writing
Keiko Hirose & Miyuki Sasaki

Our previous research has identified five variables which influence L2 writing ability (Sasaki & Hirose, 1996) in Japanese university English students. This study investigates the teachability of two of these variables, L2 metaknowledge and L2 writing experience, for English writing classes. Metaknowledge of English expository writing was taught to one group of students (n = 43), whereas a journal writing assignment was added to the metaknowledge instruction for the other group of students (n = 40). The effects of these two types of instruction on the students' subsequent writing were examined. Both groups significantly improved their metaknowledge, but the metaknowledge-instruction-only group did not improve their L2 writing significantly. In contrast, the group that received both metaknowledge instruction and the journal writing assignment significantly improved the mechanics of their L2 writing.

Establishing a Valid, Reliable Measure of Writing Apprehension
Steve Cornwell & Tonia McKay

A large body of research deals with anxiety in foreign or second language learning. However, little research has been conducted on anxiety as it pertains to foreign or second language writing. The limited amount of research that does exist utilizes Daly and Miller's Writing Apprehension Test (DM-WAT), a questionnaire designed for first language (L1) writing students. Until recently, no attempts have been made to validate the questionnaire for a second language (L2) population. This paper reports on our attempts to validate a translated DM-WAT for Japanese students of English. A valid measure of L2 writing apprehension could identify at-risk writers, predict academic success in writing, and present benchmarks against which to measure the success of treatments designed to lower writing apprehension. Initial results seem to indicate that a translated, modified version of the DM-WAT is a valid measure of writing apprehension for Japanese junior college students of English.

Awareness and Real Use of Reading Strategies
Ryusuke Yamato

This study uses a newly developed questionnaire to investigate the following three research questions dealing with Japanese learner awareness and use of strategies for reading English as a foreign language (EFL) texts: (1) What factors are extracted through factor analysis indicating the degree of EFL learners' awareness of reading strategies; (2) How do two types of strategy awareness, use-awareness and effect-awareness, interact with each other for better comprehension; and (3) What is the relationship between the learners' level of strategy awareness and their English proficiency level? Analysis of questionnaire data collected from 242 Japanese university EFL students suggests that three of the five extracted factors fit an interactive reading model. Although clear relationships were not observed between either type of strategy awareness and proficiency level, learners reported more frequent use of strategies they perceived to be less effective than strategies they perceived as effective. Based on these findings, classroom implications for strategy instruction are discussed.

Research Forum

Which Words? A Comparison of Learner and Teacher Choices for Lexical Study
Michael Guest

Lexical study often sits at the periphery of English lessons and textbooks in Japan, meaning that learners and teachers alike fail to give lexis the attention that it deserves. What this suggests is that learners fail to utilize these fundamental building blocks of the language which could offer widespread benefits to their holistic English development. This limited exploratory study looks at the choices and selection criteria that various groups of learners used to select lexical items from a set text. These are compared with choices and criteria used by teachers, as well as the recommendations of scholars in the field. The author found that not only did choices vary considerably between learners and teachers, but also that these choices often did not correspond to an informed understanding of the nature of lexis.

Perspectives

"The Eyes of Hito" A Japanese Cultural Monitor of Behavior in the Communicative Language Classroom
David L. Greer

This paper suggests that Japanese students' sensitivity to hito (person, people, group), or the third-person "other," can result in a disengaged student in the EFL classroom, one who resists communicative language approaches. It explains how hito is enculturated in the Japanese self and monitors the self's behavior and suggests ways that the foreign EFL teacher, aware of hito's influence on the student, can conduct classes with sensitivity to the cultural issues described in this paper.

Helping Novice EFL/ESL Academic Writers Appreciate English Textual Patterns through Summary Writing
Kyoko Yamada

When learning how to write academic English essays, EFL/ESL learners often find it difficult to appreciate the value of textual patterns. They tend to perceive the patterns as rules controlling them rather than as tools facilitating their growth as writers. In helping EFL/ESL writers dispel such a negative notion of textual patterns, this study suggests that teaching summarization is effective. In this paper, I will discuss how summary writing activities using satellite English TV news items can be exploited in teaching textual patterns. I will also report on the results of a series of summary writing lessons conducted in a class of ESL writers at the upper-intermediate level.