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In classrooms that use small‐group tasks, some groups may finish earlier than others and there may be concern that early finishers will become disengaged. However, early finishing remains relatively under‐examined. This paper uses conversation analysis to investigate how EFL students in a Japanese university finish tasks early. It describes a set of practices students use to finish tasks and reveals how students orient to the achievement of task outcomes. The study finds that students may have more to say on task topics than a task allows, and early finishers may develop these topics in post‐task talk in the target language. The paper argues that early finishing may lead to useful language practice and teachers should therefore be cautious when assigning extra work to early finishers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much has been discussed regarding the influence of the spread of English on second/foreign language learning, but no scale has been developed to gauge the learners' attitudes toward the global phenomenon. In this study, 829 Japanese university students were given a questionnaire that examined their attitudes toward the phenomenon. The graded response model (GRM) analysis and analysis of the answers to an open‐ended question verified the psychometric soundness of the scale and indicated that most participants perceived the spread of English positively and put effort into studying the language for pragmatic reasons. The paper discusses the possibility of utilizing the GRM for developing similar scales and promoting a view of language learning that emphasizes not only its pragmatic aspects but its humanistic and cultural value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on research focusing on a group of adjunct teachers of English employed in Japanese universities. Grounded in interpretive epistemology foregrounding constructionist traditions, this research employed bricolage as way of inquiring into, then representing, these teacher’s experiences utilising multi-perspectival, multi-theoretical and multi-methodological approaches. Employing elements of Turnerian liminality and blending these with Japanese cultural mythology, this paper explores participants’ experience, knowledge and identity. Through interviews and focus groups, participants (n = 43) gave voice to their lived world in Japanese universities locating their ‘place’ as simultaneously inside and outside the boundaries of mainstream Japanese society and universities. As ‘liminal personas’, participants likened themselves to a ‘necessary evil’ in the context of internationalising the curriculum. Thus, their condition is understood to be both ambiguous and paradoxical. The Japanese university is likened togenkan(a common architectural feature in Japanese houses resembling an entrance hall or transitional space between inside and outside worlds) space and employing Japanese mythology, it is argued these teachers share features attributed toTengu(Tenguare goblin-like monsters in Japanese mythology with long noses and bright red faces who traditionally act in mischievous, disruptive ways). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study examines the relationship between one type of data-driven learning (DDL) and inductive–deductive learning styles. Participants were 145 Japanese university learners of English as a foreign language, all of whom showed significant improvements in a grammar test after teacher-led guided DDL induction. Data were collected using a questionnaire on inductive–deductive learning styles and DDL task values. Weak correlations were found between the inductive–deductive continuum of learning styles and the DDL task value, but no differences in magnitude were found from an examination of the confidence interval for the two correlations. These findings indicate that depending on the type, guided DDL-type induction may be beneficial for both deductive and inductive learners irrespective of their learning styles. The paper concludes with suggestions that future DDL studies should carefully define the construct of DDL and explore its relationship with learner characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]