Arthur Meerman, Hiroshima University 

The present study aimed to identify and establish causal relationships among selected practical and attitudinal elements of team-teaching environments in Japanese junior and senior high schools. Participants consisted of 208 Assistant Language Teachers (ALT) and 96 Japanese Language Teachers (JLT) working together through the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program. Path models constructed to illustrate causal relationships among six variables revealed three findings. First, data for both ALTs and JLTs suggest a close interdependency between enthusiastic teaching partnerships and the perceived meaningfulness of the ALT's assigned duties, while each group formed different relationships between these two variables and improvement in team teaching. Second, both groups indicated little or no benefit of the ALT taking a lead role during actual lesson delivery. Third, ALTs and JLTs were opposed in their views about the causal relationship between enthusiastic team teaching and ALT initiative in lesson planning. 

Creating a CD-ROM-based English Conversation Textbook 

Stuart Walker, Norihito Kawana
Sapporo International University

This paper describes the process of publishing a manuscript from conception to receipt of the finished product. Prior to writing this bilingual English conversation textbook with an original CD-ROM, the authors assembled 20 eye-catching newspaper photos. After writing original stories based on the photos, they created reading, listening, grammar and vocabulary exercises suitable for the classroom, and as self-study materials. Then they created original supplementary materials to place in a PowerPoint slide show on a CD-ROM. After submitting a sample chapter to a publisher, they negotiated a royalty agreement and signed a contract to produce the entire 20 chapters. After much editing, discussion about cover design, title and pricing, the textbook was printed a full 18 months after the process had begun.

Designing a Short ESP Course for Undergraduate Pharmaceutical Science Students

Ian Munby, British Club

At present, most tertiary level English courses taught by NES (Native English Speaker) teachers in Japan are EGP (English for General Purposes) usually focusing on the development of oral fluency, using elementary level textbooks. However, with the introduction of English programs in elementary schools, and the growing demand for English skills in careers in scientific research, for example, it is likely that there will be more EAP (English for Academic Purposes) courses at university level in the future. This will create new, interesting, but difficult challenges for teachers, particularly in their role as course designers. This paper describes the design process of a short science English course for third year undergraduate students at the Department of Pharmaceutical Science, Hokkaido University, using a set of procedures which can be applied to the development of similar subject-specific courses quite literally from Archeology to Zoology.

Improving Oral Communication Pedagogy Through the Use of Tape Recorders

Eric Hagley, Otaru Junior College

"Oral Communication", "English Conversation", and "Speaking", are subject titles taught in schools, colleges and institutions around the world. In order for any subject to be examined and analyzed in detail, concrete examples of students’ work and excerpts of material from the class are required. Students of any subject would rightly expect to have something tangible to show for their efforts. An example may be an essay that a student has produced, math problems showing the work that has been carried out, or an actual painting. However, in the case of language courses involving oral production, the ability to do this is greatly limited, without a recording device. This paper offers a number of ways of ensuring that students and instructors in oral production courses have access to tangible results, which can be examined, analyzed, and used to assist students in developing their confidence in the course. It does so by exploring the ways a small portable tape recorder can be used by students in and outside the classroom to promote the use of spoken English.

Encouraging Learner Autonomy in the Japanese University Classroom: A Survey Plus Pedagogical Suggestions

Keiko Okada , Hokkaido Tokai University
Shoji Shimabayashi, Ryukoku University

This is the final segment of our three-year joint project that we have reported in past JALT Proceedings. The goal of this project is to foster learner autonomy in a Japanese university setting. In Okada & Shimabayashi (2000a, 2000b), we found that the students in our university tended to 1) drop out of the English program at an early stage, 2) be unaware of how to study English, and 3) be fond of entertainment-type language learning materials. We felt it necessary to change the situation and made suggestions based on Brown (1994) about how to motivate students to study outside the classroom. In Okada and Shimabayashi (2001), we discussed what language teachers could do before, during, and after class to augment learner autonomy. This year, we will summarize and examine what we have done so far, and suggest future improvements.

Nonverbal Behavior in Cross-cultural Perspective: A Study with Japanese College Students

Enid Mok, Hokkaido University of Education at Hakodate

In order to understand learners' knowledge of L2 nonverbal communication, this study investigates the results of a recognition task administered to 154 Japanese college students. The results suggest that Japanese EFL learners have little knowledge of the body language of native speakers. Significant differences appeared according to gender, proficiency level and overseas experience. The findings provide valuable insights into L2 teaching.

Harry E. Creagen, Takushoku University Hokkaido Junior College

This study identified English learning activities experienced by students prior to their tertiary level education. A convenience sample of 159 students at three different institutions responded to a 50-item questionnaire, primarily to determine the English activities experienced, and secondarily, to indicate preferences for those activities. The questionnaire also attempted to determine the level of interest towards experiencing untried activities. The results indicated that, while some students have been exposed to a wide range of activities, the majority had experiences limited to traditional, as opposed to communicative approaches. The preference for activities varied, but interest in experiencing the untried was limited. These results have implications for reforms at all levels of education in Japan.