The paper explores the nature of learning, focusing particularly on the theories of Biggs and Teffler (1989) and their research finding that the quality of learning is the result of the motivation for learning, and that this affects the learners' performance. An alternative theory of learning is offered and ideas for improving the teachers' role…

From the results of questionnaires, it was found that students in a Japanese English-as-a-Second-Language course tended to be highly motivated to learn. At the same time, however, they did not seem ready for autonomous learning. It is speculated that because of their past learning experiences, where the students were excessively…

This paper discusses how a native English-speaking scientist should write and how they actually write scientific articles. This is complemented by considering the aspects of English that journal editors reported as influencing their assessment of manuscripts submitted by second language authors. Some of the ways in which native language and…

This book aims to advance the understanding of multilingualism in society. Challenges to the myths of monolingualism in the English-speaking countries (the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and United Kingdom) are commonplace. It is less well-known that the same assumptions and behaviors associated with monolingualism in the…

In Japan, objectives and content of high school language courses are stipulated in the National Curriculum of Japan or The Course of Study. The last major overhaul of this curriculum in language learning occurred in 1989, and it aimed at the enhancement of communicative competence and understanding of international relations. Accordingly, now…

This paper describes a learner centered, cooperative learning group project in a post-secondary English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) classroom in Japan. The objectives of the cooperative learning project were fivefold: students would learn to work enthusiastically toward activating target language learning acquired in the past; do research on a…

In this paper, the history and current state of Japanese cooperative learning techniques in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) education for Japanese junior high school students is surveyed, and an empirically-based argument is made in favor of using BAZU (BUZZ) techniques. The past and current methods of teaching English in Japan have left…

This book is one of four intermediate-level readers in a series intended for second- or native language learners of Ukrainian. It includes a selection of short texts in modern Ukrainian, including poems, sayings (aphorisms), short stories, and dialogs. Other topics in this series include (in translation): Human nature, relationships, courage, and…

This book is one of four intermediate-level readers in a series intended for second- or native language learners of Ukrainian. It includes a selection of short texts in modern Ukrainian, including poems, sayings (aphorisms), short stories, and dialogs. Other topics in this series include (in translation): Human nature, relationships, courage, and…

This book is one of four intermediate-level readers in a series intended for second- or native language learners of Ukrainian. It includes a selection of short texts in modern Ukrainian, including poems, sayings (aphorisms), short stories, and dialogs. Other topics in this series include (in translation): Human nature, relationships, courage, and…

This book is one of four intermediate-level readers in a series intended for second- or native language learners of Ukrainian. It includes a selection of short texts in modern Ukrainian, including poems, sayings (aphorisms), short stories, and dialogs. Other topics in this series include (in translation): Human nature, relationships, courage, and…

This book describes a new approach to teaching and learning cultural studies. Borrowing the idea of ethnography from anthropologists, it argues that language students can be taught methods for investigating the cultural and social patterns of interaction and the values and beliefs that account for them. Doing an ethnographic study while living…

Language educators find two kinds of errors in the interlanguages of language learners: developmental and interference. While developmental errors reflect a normal pattern of development common among all language learners, interference errors are caused by the learners' native languages. This paper deals with a number of die-hard types of…

Articles in this special issue include the following: "ICT and Modern Foreign Languages: Learning Opportunities and Training Needs" (Graham Davies); "Authoring, Pedagogy and the Web: Expectations Versus Reality" (Paul Bangs); "Web-based Instructional Environments: Tools and Techniques for Effective Second Language…

This paper examines both overseas and domestic tests of English speaking ability from the viewpoint of the crucial testing elements such as definition of speaking ability, validity, reliability, and practicality. The paper points out problems to be solved and proposes suggestions for constructing an oral proficiency test in order to determine the…