The aim of this study is to analyze the emerging trends in related research in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) from 2020 to 2024 using a systematic literature review (SLR). In higher education, the concept of EAP has expanded due to globalization and internationalization, providing essential language skills to enhance students' learning…

The concept of Willingness to Communicate (WTC) is essential for understanding Japanese learners' engagement in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. WTC, a complex construct that varies throughout interactions, is influenced by several factors, including corrective feedback. This study examines the situational WTC of four Japanese EFL…

The study looks at the case of a university language center in Japan that administers a compulsory English language course. To provide some level of standardization for the course, and to better meet the educational aims of the center, a content and language integrated learning (CLIL) teaching approach has been set as center policy. The research…

Second language (L2) listening skills play an important role in both content- and language-focused academic success; however, provision of L2 listening-related pedagogy may be lacking or unsuitable in many contexts. Difficulties transposing research derived knowledge about listening processes to appropriate pedagogy arise because it can be…

At the turn of the century, bell hooks described the overarching lay view of feminism as a negative, man-hating ideology. Despite the enormous societal overhauls that have occurred in the decades since, it appears that in Japan little has changed. The marginalized position that women occupy in Japanese society is starkly illustrated by Japan's…

Several studies have examined the content of Japanese junior high school textbooks in relation to various frequency-based word lists such as the New General Service List (NGSL) (Browne et al., 2013) (e.g, Nakayama, 2022a,b) and the British National Corpus (BNC) (e.g, Wongsarnpigoon, 2018), and have identified potential issues in terms of lexical…

The English language can be compared to the hydra from ancient mythology as it is an unstoppable force throughout the world. Using this comparison, this study examines the history of English in Japan, English linguistic imperialism, and its impact on contemporary Japan. Five myths of English language teaching are used as a framework, referred to…

Measurement of language learners' development in speaking proficiency is important for practicing language teachers, not only for assessment purposes, but also for evaluating the effectiveness of materials and approaches used. However, doing so effectively and efficiently presents challenges. Commercial speaking tests are often costly, and beyond…

Morphological knowledge is a complex construct integral to vocabulary breadth and reading comprehension. To understand its complexity, researchers examine its dimensionality. First, this study contributes to this broad topic by investigating whether morphological awareness and affix knowledge, related concepts with a long history of investigation…

Background: Japanese EFL learners often fail to identify and categorise the different degrees of certainty associated with CERTAIN, PROBABLE, and POSSIBLE items. This computer-mediated study evaluated the relative effects of animated versus static illustrations on stimulating the spatial concept of distance for the acquisition of this knowledge.…

This paper presents an investigation into the integration of virtual reality (VR) tours in online English lessons tailored for adult learners. The study utilised a design-based research approach to evaluate the effectiveness of VR tours in this context. It specifically examined the responses of adult learners to this instructional strategy by…

The rapidly growing number of Nepali students in Japan represents a significant yet under-researched student population in international education research. This paper investigates Nepali students' motivations for educational mobility and experiences in Japanese language schools (nihongo gakko), key institutions for hosting international students.…

The current study proposes a new approach to weakness identification in diagnostic language assessment (DLA) for speaking skills. We also propose to design actionable and contextualised diagnostic feedback through the systematic integration of feedback and remedial learning activities. Focusing on lexical use in second language speaking, the…

This study investigates whether Japanese university students' motivation to communicate in English was enhanced through the application of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) practices. Fifty-three non-English majors took a CLIL English class that utilized massive open online course (MOOC) content for a semester. They gave…

Language learning activities involving time-pressured repetition of similar content have been shown to facilitate improvements in fluency. However, concerns have been voiced about whether these gains might be offset by reduced levels of grammatical accuracy. This descriptive study tracked the oral proficiency of 32 Japanese university students…