Sachiko Nakamura

Tamagawa University · The Center for English as a Lingua Franca

This study investigates the benefits of designing second language (L2) learning tasks to operate on learner-generated content (related to actual content in their lives and experiences) as opposed to teacher-generated content typical of current approaches to L2 task design (fictitious ideas and events created to provide an opportunity for meaningful...

Learners' attributions have received increasing attention in second/foreign language (L2) learning. Studies have shown that how learners attribute their performance influences not only their self-efficacy, motivation, and goal attainment but also their emotions (Hsieh). This exploratory study investigated how Japa-nese adult learners of L2 English...

This study examined the effect of choice on EFL learners' task engagement. Twenty-four Thai university students completed two opinion-gap tasks. In one, they discussed and agreed on three items among given options (+constraint). In the other, they discussed and agreed on three items among the options they generated (-constraint). Spoken interaction...

This classroom-based study investigated the antecedents of boredom among Thai university students enrolled in an English oral communication course. The primary data collection tool was a whole-class survey (n = 25) eliciting the learners’ boredom experiences in a particular class over the course of seven weeks. Concurrently, focus group interviews...

This article recounts my experience in enhancing my students' boredom regulation by designing, implementing, and evaluating a strategy instruction project. The project was undertaken with 25 Thai university students enrolled in my English oral communication course for 15 weeks. The project began with exploring how and why my students experienced bo...

Issue 3 Foreword: The 2022 Academic Year is the ninth year since the beginning of the ELF program at Tamagawa University. Teachers at CELF continue to develop constructive working relationships with educators and researchers in Japan and abroad. In the last year or two I believe there has been a notable progression in the quality and extent of thei...

This classroom-based study investigated the antecedents of epistemic curiosity among 25 Thai university students in an English oral communication course. Using a whole-class survey and focus group interview, we recursively asked the students to describe a time in class when they experienced epistemic curiosity and the reasons behind it. A modified...

In addition to introducing the various contributions to the book, this chapter also discusses some of the core themes informing the book. The chapter provides a platform for the subsequent contributions to the book by establishing what is meant by the term ‘innovation’ and highlighting why innovation is so important for effective educational practi...

This chapter simultaneously functions as a summary of the contents of the book and as a practical guide for educators looking to implement their own future innovations. Drawing on the lessons of the various initiatives described and discussed in the book, both the successful and the not-so-successful, the chapter identifies common concerns informin...

This book examines a wide range of innovations in language learning and teaching in Japan. Each of the chapters describes the impetus for a change or new development in a particular context, from early childhood to adult learning, details its implementation and provides an evaluation of its success. In doing so, they provide a comprehensive overvie...

Digital storytelling (i.e., telling stories through digital media) has been increasingly recognized as an effective medium to develop students’ knowledge and skills to organize and communicate ideas. In this practical article I describe an overview of digital storytelling, its affordances for language learning, and specific examples and online tool...

en This cross‐sectional study compares the discourse of Japanese learners of English at different proficiency levels with their native English‐speaking peers in completing six communication tasks in order to better understand the emergence of syntactic complexity in relationship to developing second language (L2) proficiency. The study investigates...

The test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) is an English-language proficiency test developed by Educational Testing Services (ETS). Since it was first administered in Japan in 1979, an increasing number of schools and companies have been adopting TOEIC scores as a measure of English ability for various purposes such as crediting, g...

Written corrective feedback (WCF) is an instructional strategy used to help second/ foreign language (L2) learners improve their writing effectiveness. Teachers can design and provide WCF across a number of dimensions such as focus (e.g. grammar, organization, content), type (e.g. direct correction, reformulation, comment), and tone (e.g. negative,...