Volume 3, Issue 2 October 2009
Student Use of Japanese in the EFL Classroom
Jennifer Yphantides, Kanda University of International Studies
Abstract:
This paper attempts to address the issue of first language (L1) use in the English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom in the Japanese context. Although many may assume that Japan is rather homogeneous, the face of this country is gradually changing and the ramifications of this shift can be felt in the classroom. As a result, the author chose to carry out this action research project at a major high school in the center of Tokyo where not all students shared the same L1. The paper examines patterns of L1 use and the reasons for which students were reverting to their mother tongue.
Possible Strategies for Listening Comprehension: Applying the Concepts of Conversational Implicature and Adjacency Pairs to Understand Speaker Intention in the TOEFL Listening Section
Yaoko Matsuoka
Abstract:
This study explores the feasibility and effectiveness of applying the concepts of conversational implicature and adjacency pairs to the teaching of listening. The intention was to help students understand short conversations in the Listening Section Part A of TOEFL ITP in the test preparatory class in a Japanese high school. Three lessons applying conversation analysis were designed and implemented to introduce the particular features of a basic unit of conversation and ways to find a speaker’s primary intention concealed under the literal or surface meaning. The results indicate that the strategy instruction served to give students basic insights into structure and meaning of English conversation and enhanced interests in studying listening comprehension.
Book Reviews: Reason to Write: Strategies for Success in Academic Writing (Intermediate); NorthStar 1: Reading and Writing; Language and Politics
Jennie Roloff, Kanda University of International Studies
Book Reviews: NorthStar 1: Reading and Writing. John Beaumont (2009) White Plains, NY: Longman
Robert Moreau, Teachers College Columbia University, Tokyo
Book Reviews: Language and Politics. John E. Joseph (2006) Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press
Gregory P. Glasgow, University of Queensland, Australia