This study analyzes 24 series of MEXT-approved high school English textbooks (70 books) under the latest Course of Study (2021). Vocabulary coverage was examined using NGSL, NAWL, UWL, TSL, and JACET 8000, Word List. Results show that while NGSL is largely covered, academic and technical lists are less represented. Considerable variation exists among textbook series, suggesting that the choice...
This study aimed to explore the use of MS Sway as an educational technology for asynchronous learning in Intercultural Communication and English language classes. It also sought to examine the relationship between the use of collaborative digital storytelling on MS Sway and the enhancement of IC competence among EFL students in an Intercultural Communication course.
This study examines how embodied actions function as interactional resources for negotiating meaning in multiparty L2 discussions. Video recordings of first-year undergraduates discussing summer vacation plans in an EFL classroom are analyzed to show how learners employ gestures, spatial movements, and partial speech to resolve interactional difficulties. The findings demonstrate how embodied...
This presentation explores how translanguaging is used in Vietnamese CLIL classrooms, highlighting the factors that shape its implementation. While teachers recognize its benefits for student comprehension, engagement, and inclusivity, its use remains inconsistent due to institutional constraints and pedagogical beliefs. The findings reveal tensions between monolingual policies and...
This study explores the practices of integrating Social Emotional Learning (SEL) components, as outlined by the CASEL framework, in the "English for Tourism" course at a university in Vietnam. Through triangulating data collected from classroom observations, and student feedback in the course, the research examines how SEL competencies, namely self-awareness, self-management, relationship...
This study examines SA adoption in nursing journals (1950โ2024) compared to medical research trends. A bibliometric analysis of 6,604 articles from nine journals showed a gradual increase from 1990 to 2009 before stabilizing. Nursing journals adopted SA more slowly than medical journals, with notable disciplinary variations. The findings underscore the role of editorial policies and the need...
Words can mean many different things depending on the sentence that they appear in, and this can be a problem for Japanese learners of English who often have trouble telling the different meanings apart, especially when the words are intensifiers. This study examines the use and variety of intensifiers that have been acquired by Japanese English language learners and finds out what...
This poster presents an ongoing government-funded research project adapting Auto-Peer, an automated writing evaluation tool, for Japanese EFL classrooms. It highlights current progress, showing how student writing data is guiding Auto-Peerโs development as a pedagogical tool for building feedback and AI literacy. Attendees will explore how Auto-Peer can enhance writing instruction,...
This poster presentation explores the development of a Teacher Wellbeing Committee at a Japanese university, highlighting its role in fostering a supportive work environment. The committee offers stress-relief and reflection-based activities, such as yoga, mindfulness, kickboxing, workshops, and a reading club. Presenters will share insights from the committeeโs first year, discussing...
This study illustrates the characteristics of travel comments including the use of two metadiscourse markers, hedges and boosters, in English and Japanese. 180 comments on two top Japanese sightseeing places were taken from the TripAdvisor website and analysed among three groups of tourists from the U.S., the U.K., and Japan. The results showed particular characteristics, which can help...
As vocabulary acquisition is essential for all language learners, incorporating activities that assist studentsโ development in this area is a priority for all teachers. Thus, this poster presentation will discuss how the New Academic Word List (NAWL) was used to assist students in a first year, academic reading class at a Japanese University. Use of the GoldList Notebook, featuring spaced...
This research examines how integrating ChatGPT affects ESL studentsโ writing quality, self efficacy, and academic integrity awareness over two semesters. Significant improvements were found in content development and writing mechanics among ChatGPT users, along with increased ethical awareness. This presentation provides practical suggestions and insights on integrating AI tools and ethically...
This study explores how visual storytelling materials used in Japanese high school help contextualize language use. The findings highlight their potential values for teaching appropriate language use in context, particularly politeness, formality, and indirectness. By creating visual stories, students can engage with pragmatic aspects of language use more effectively. The study concludes by...
Exit ticket surveys can be an effective tool for teachers to assess what students have learned in a lesson, collect feedback on their own methods and materials, and to give students a chance to reflect on their experience in the classroom. This poster will present the benefits of exit ticket surveys used in a 1st year university medical English course, with examples of survey questions,...
This study investigated the impact of an interdisciplinary research project that integrated English lessons and infant massage for children and parents hosted by a university. Using a positivist case study approach, data from reflectionย notes and questionnaires revealed that university students gained deeper insights into English and early childhood education, while parents responded...
Do you want to diversify your professional contributions through the volunteer opportunities that JALT Publications offer? Join our team! Editors from The Language Teacher and the JALT Postconference Publication will discuss the valuable professional development opportunities we provide our diverse volunteers, where they gain insights into the publication process, broaden their skill...
This poster presentation collates practical guidance for language teachers seeking to boost their productivity. Drawing from the deep well of productivity literature combined with the presenter's own struggles with productivity, this presentation introduces seven simple but powerful productivity tools. Come and explore these freely-available, low-tech solutions to help you mitigate...
English proficiency and study abroad are promoted as drivers of "global jinzai" development in Japan. This study examines whether English proficiency predicts intercultural effectiveness gains during study abroad. Japanese university students who studied in Australia and Vietnam were compared to a control group. Results from correlations and regression analyses were mixed, showing that...
This study set out to investigate TBLT influences the motivation of non-English major Japanese university students within the framework of SDT. RQ1 showed results that TBLT lessons satisfied autonomy, competence, and relatedness, resulting in higher participation. RQ2 showed decreased amotivation but limited intrinsic/identified motivation. RQ3 highlighted importance of learner-centered...
This poster presentation will report on a multi-site experiment that tested the effect of WMC on foreign language vocabulary learning. The target items were embedded within a highly supportive learning context which included input and output activities. Immediate and delayed post-test showed that even under such conditions, WMC was positively associated with vocabulary learning outcomes.
This poster describes issues related to building a culture of self-evaluation (Shephard, 2019) in a speaking class for pre-service trainee teachers at a university in Japan. Students' reflective writing revealed their negative experiences of testing and lack of awareness of assessment for learning (William, 2011). Student-led discussions and portfolio assessment were implemented in an attempt...
This study explores how a short-term internship in the Philippines (N=11) supports Japanese studentsโ cultural intelligence (CQ). Using surveys, observations, and written reflections, we explore how guided reflection and intentional host engagement, scaffolded through the LENSยณ framework, might foster deeper intercultural competence.
This poster presentation focuses on the development of a free, digital ESL textbook in which the primary considerations are accessibility, flexibility, and interactivity. Aligned with CEFR and integrating SDG topics, it aims to enhance language skills while promoting global awareness. We will guide attendees step-by-step from origin to implementation. Key challenges to be discussed include the...
This poster presents a DIY toolchain that integrates local AI for automating feedback on the 4/3/2 spoken fluency exercise. The system rapidly transcribes student speeches, providing metrics such as word count, speech rate, and improvement tips. Results indicate an increase in speech rate after using the improvement tips and a positive reception to frequent AI use, suggesting these tools can...
In response to the growing use of SDG-related materials in EFL and CLIL classrooms, this poster presentation introduces open-access lesson materials for Japanese university students. Unlike existing resources that typically focus on countries in the Global South, these materials present the SDGs as both global and local issues, incorporating human rights concerns. Drawing on research that...
This poster presentation describes an exploratory study in which the presenters guided EFL students in a Japanese university to use ChatGPT-5 (free tier). The presenters developed classroom interventions in which students used ChatGPT-5 to enhance their study skills when writing and researching in English. Attention was also paid to studentsโ development of time management skills. The...
Discover a 5-step process to make junior and senior high school EFL classrooms more inclusive and accessible. Through the inclusive classroom approach, teachers learn to reframe mindsets in viewing different barriers to learning and use this to inform lesson design with the studentsโ perspective in mind. Attendees to this poster presentation will gain adaptable approaches that support...
This poster presentation showcases the results of a study in which Japanese university students utilized Microsoftโs Copilot AI image generator to assist them in creating an original picture book story. It examines the task guidelines, scaffolding strategies, and student training for navigating AI limitations. Additionally, it analyzes student feedback, exploring their perceptions of AI as a...
This presentation explores the development of different assessment tools for project-based learning (PBL) into global-local issues. What do students include in their assessments? What do they miss? Why? As the teacher, what do I focus on, miss, or downplay in my assessments? Why? By highlighting overlaps, gaps, and disjunctures in our mutual positions, this session aims to foster discussion of...
This poster explores self-publishing as a practical alternative to commercial textbooks in the Japanese EFL context. It highlights the benefits of flexibility, cost control, and teacher autonomy, while also addressing common challenges such as design, time investment, and publishing logistics. Drawing on my experience creating a project-based textbook for freshman English Communication...
Students need guidance towards utilizing translation software in effective, ethical, and educational ways. A task was designed which would require students to critically evaluate the product of translation software. They were to have three different translation tools produce an English version of a short Japanese passage, and then to indicate which of the three translations of each sentence...
This study explores how student feedback influences an EFL lecturerโs emotions and self-efficacy in an ESP context. Using analytic autoethnography, the researcher-teacher, with limited subject knowledge of the ESP course reflects on self-narratives, student feedback and key classroom experiences. Findings reveal positive responses to student feedback and improved self-efficacy. The study also...
This study examines American gun culture's linguistic and pragmatic dimensions through a corpus-based analysis of the Run, Hide, Fight protocol. (FBI, 2025). By identifying key vocabulary and expressions commonly associated with firearms, this research highlights the language used to navigate and discuss gun-related issues in the United States. Applying pragmatic approaches, the analysis...
This study examines how first-year Japanese university students write the Methods section of IMRaD-style research papers in an EAP course. Using a Swalesian genre-based approach, we analyzed a sample of student papers to identify rhetorical moves and steps. Findings highlight challenges in structuring procedural descriptions and integrating visual elements, which existing genre models do not...
This study examines English learning motivation among 366 Japanese elementary students (grades 3โ6). Exploratory factor analysis identified four dimensions: confidence, school-specific motivation, intrinsic motivation, and future-use motivation. ANOVA revealed significant declines in confidence, school-specific, and future-use motivation after grade 3, while intrinsic motivation remained...
This poster presentation will examine the methodology behind selecting and assessing vocabulary for an IELTS reading and writing preparation course, integrating frequency-based word lists with AI-generated assessments. Our research explores how vocabulary profiling tools, such as LEXTUTORโs vocabprofiler, can effectively filter words from IELTS reading passages to optimize learning outcomes.
Academic speaking requires structured strategies that help students make deeper connections and articulate ideas more effectively. This poster introduces hexagonal thinking as an interactive scaffolding strategy that fosters concept synthesis, vocabulary retention, and metacognitive awareness. Findings from a study at a Japanese university (n=20) show that this student-led approach promotes...
With the continuing challenges that Japan faces concerning its decreasing population, many universities have been searching for new, innovative programs to attract students. This poster presentation will introduce a collaboration between a Japanese and an American university by explaining the motivations for creating the program, describing the structure and implementation of the curriculum,...
From 2022 to 2024, two high school classes part of a partial-English immersion course in Kyoto participated in a world-wide project supported through UNESCO and the Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) called โThe Litter Less Campaignโ. During this 3-year initiative, the two classes of the same cohort starting in year 1 participated in a number of scaffolded tasks to raise awareness to...
This study examines how classroom design affects active and inclusive language learning in a Japanese university. Observations of Australian classrooms identified four key factors required for active and inclusive lessons: dead space, cross-monitoring, comfort, and connection. A Japanese university study compared a flexible language lab and a traditional classroom, implementing strategies like...
Choose-your-own-adventure stories (CYOAS) or branching narrative stories (BN) have been shown to increase motivation for both reading and writing. However, some online interactive stories and software can be too complicated for EFL students, especially for creating them. This presentation will show a simple method to teach students how to create these stories themselves using Google Slides....
This study explores first-year university students' concerns about using machine translation (MT) in English learning. It investigates how students perceive MTโs advantages and disadvantages, its impact on language acquisition and proficiency, and its role in autonomous learning. The study also examines differences in MT usage based on learning goals and addresses issues such as plagiarism.
