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Perceptions of first-year tertiary students’ English language learning after six years of instruction in Japan: an evaluation study

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Perceptions of first-year tertiary students’ English language learning after six years of instruction in Japan: an evaluation study

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Content Running head: PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 1

Perceptions of First-Year Tertiary Students’ English Language Learning After Six Years
of Instruction in Japan: An Evaluation Study
by

Stacey Vye

______________________________________________________________________________

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

December 2018

Copyright 2018 Stacey Vye
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 2
Dedication
To my husband Soroush, for all your love, kindness, support, and patience. You helped
motivate and keep me going through the entire doctoral program. There were so many hours and
days we could not meet so that I could study and research at USC. I am looking forward to
spending more time with you forever! I love you very much.
To Nanci Graves and Dr. Naoko Aoki who were the mentors that gave me the courage to
research reflection and autonomy in language learning and gave me the confidence to help me
find my own voice. You both passed away much too soon, and I try not to be lost without you.
Nanci, you bring Soroush and I joy everyday with your cat, and now our cat, Nana.
To all of my family, my parents, sister, and brother who gave me love and patience. Now
I cannot wait to spend more time with you after this endeavor!
To Dr. Adriana Edwards Wurzinger for always providing the kindness, leadership,
friendship, and honesty at my current institution. Without your moral support, it would be
difficult for me to succeed.
To all my friends in Japan and all over the world. Now I can meet you more often!
To all my friends and esteemed collogues at the American Center Japan (ACJ), the Japan
Association of Language Teachers (JALT), the Learner Development special interest group of
JALT, and the Teachers College Columbia Alumni Association.
Last but not least, to the eight lovely interviewees who volunteered for this research.
Your honesty and bravery speaking in another language about your English education in Japan
were invaluable. I cannot thank you enough and thanks for understanding this research must use
pseudonyms for your protection even though some of you wanted your real name included.
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 3

Acknowledgements
Thank you, doctoral dissertation committee, Dr. Kimberly Hirabayashi, Dr. Jenifer
Crawford, and Dr. Emmy Min for all of your suggestions and contributions for improving my
work. You pushed me to strive and enhance the rigor of this study. I cannot thank you enough!
Thank you, USC Organizational Change and Leadership (OCL) cohort four classmates!
You all are amazing. I learned so much from you about various occupations, regions of the U.S.
and the world. I miss you so much already and am now focusing on keeping in touch. Fight On!
Thank you, all my wonderful professors, in the USC OCL program. Your wisdom and
dedication helped me be a better scholar and researcher. I am not the same and much better for
the feedback and caring. Also much thanks to the USC OCL academic and student advisors!
Thank you, Dr. Quinn Bobbitt, Dr. Evelyn Felina Castillo, Dr. Michael Deer, Dr. Kristin
Dempsey, Dr. Ilda Jimenéz, Dr. Trevor Lane, Dr. Daniel Ruarte for your written feedback on
earlier sections of this dissertation. The input was an enormous amount of work for you, yet it
was an invaluable contribution. I would also like to thank all my classmates and professors who
worked with any aspect of this project.
Thank you, Kuniko Irinamihira, for all your support and liaising to secure the interview
rooms for the study, which was of great help.
Thank you, Japan Translation Center for your professional translation of the interview
protocol from English to Japanese. The translations improved the quality of the interviews and
this research project.

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 4

Table of Contents
Dedication 2
Acknowledgements 3
Table of Contents 4
List of Tables 9
List of Figure 11
Abstract 12
CHAPTER ONE: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 13
Introduction to Problem of Practice 13
The Background of the Problem 13
Global Goal 16
Related Literature 18
Importance of the Evaluation 20
Description of Stakeholder Groups 22
Stakeholder Groups’ Performance Goals 22
Stakeholder Group for the Study 23
Purpose of the Project and Questions 24
Methodological Framework 26
Definitions 26
Organization of the Project 28
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 29
General Review of the Literature 29
A Historical Overview of the Modern Secondary English Education in Japan 29
The First Era: The Establishment of the Modern Educational System in Japan 30
Two Historical English Teaching Methodologies: The Direct and Indirect Methods 31
Seisoku or the Direct Method Used to Learn the English Language 31
Hensoku or the Indirect Method Becomes the Preferred Way to Teach English 32
The Second Era: Post World War II English Education and Entrance Examinations 33
The Structure of the School System 34
University Entrance Examination Preparation 34
The Washback Effect of High-Stakes Language Proficiency Exams 35
Yakudoku as a Cultural Model in English Education From the Second Era 36
Teacher Training And Material Factors That Contributed to Yakudoku 38
Curriculum Organization Factors That Contribute to Yakudoku 39
The Third Era: Original and Subsequent MEXT Initiatives for Promoting CLT 40
University Graduates as Assistant Teachers From English Speaking Countries 41
MEXT English-Only Policies in Upper-Secondary Schools 41
Communicative Competence and CLT’s Influence on the Third Era 43
Language Acquisition of Second or Other Languages 45
Language Proficiency in Second or Other Languages 47
The Clark and Estes’ (2008) Modified Gap Analytic Conceptual Framework 49
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 5

Knowledge and Skills 50
Knowledge Influences 50
Students’ Declarative Knowledge About Their EFL Learning in Japan 52
Reflecting on English Language Learning Through Metacognition 54
Motivation 57
Self-Efficacy Theory 59
Students’ Confidence in Effectively Learning English 60
Emotions and Affect 61
Control of Emotions and Affect Learning a Language 62
Organization 64
Cultural Model One: Familial Expectations That Influence Proficiency 65
Cultural Model Two: Yakudoku Is Valued for Entrance Exam Success 66
Cultural Model Three: Educators Need Training to Improve Students’ Proficiency 68
Conceptual Framework: The Interactions of the Stakeholders’ KMO Context 71
Knowledge Influences 74
Motivational Influences 74
Organizational Influences 75
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 77
Participating Stakeholders 77
Interview Sampling Criteria and Rationale 78
Criterion 1 78
Criterion 2 78
Criterion 3 78
Criterion 4 79
Interview Sample Recruitment Strategy and Rationale 79
Strategy Rationale 80
Methodological Rationale 81
Qualitative Data Collection and Instrumentation 81
Interviews 83
English Language Proficiency Levels of the Interviewees 83
Recruitment of the Interviewees 85
Interviewee Demographics 86
Informed Consent 87
The Sites of the Interviews 87
The Interview Protocol 88
A Semi-Structured Protocol Approach 88
Interview Question Types and Relation to the Conceptual Framework 89
Member Checks 91
Document Analyses 91
The Interviewees’ Secondary English Textbooks 92
Data Collection of the MEXT-Approved English Textbooks 93
The English Textbooks Selected 93
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 6

Organization of the Textbook Analysis 94
MEXT’s Revised Communicative Course of Study Policy for EFL in Japan 95
Data Analysis 96
Credibility and Trustworthiness 97
The Role of the Researcher 98
Ethics 99
CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS 102
Knowledge and Skills Findings 103
Findings From the Knowledge Section of the Interviews 103
Declarative Procedural Knowledge Findings From the Interviews 104
The Interviewees’ English Proficiency Level Was Lower- to Upper-Intermediate 104
The Interviewees Who Learned English via Yakudoku Met the Minimum Goal 108
The Interviewees Who Learned English in English Exceeded the Global Goal 109
The Interviewees Who Sought Advice Exceeded the Global Goal 109
The Interviewees Who Took Accelerated Courses Exceeded the Global Goal 110
Metacognitive Knowledge Findings from the Interviews 111
Goal-Setting Strategies Through Metacognition 111
Thinking in English by Reducing Translating in Japanese 112
Realizing Communication Improves Speaking Unlike the Yakudoku Classes 114
Reflecting on Ways to Improve English Proficiency 116
Realizing Using English With Others Improves Communication Abilities 118
Interviewees Metacognitive Reflections on Their English Learning in Junior High 120
Received Yakudoku Lessons in Lower-Secondary School 121
Received Lessons Through the Audio-Lingual Approach 123
Learned English With Songs 124
No Permission to Communicate in English 125
Students Were Sleeping in the Lower-Secondary Classroom 125
Interviewees Metacognitive Reflections on Their English Learning in High School 127
Learned English Communication in English 128
Learned All Six Classes in Yakudoku 130
Learned Entrance Exam Preparation 132
Classmates Goofed Around or Studied Other Subjects 133
Synthesis of Findings of the Knowledge Influences 134
Motivation Findings 134
Motivational Findings From the Interviews 135
Self-Efficacy Findings From the Interviews 136
Self-Efficacious Confidence at Communicating Specific to Learning Experiences 137
Self-Efficacy Influenced by Lower-Intermediate Proficiency Levels 138
Low Self-Efficacy Communicating With Advanced Speakers of English 138
Self-Efficacy Was Influenced by Cultural Norms Learning Communication 139
Interviewees With Greater Academic Support Had More Confidence 141
Self-Efficacy Influenced by Appropriate Leveled Courses at University 142
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 7

Self-Efficacy Influenced by an Inappropriately Leveled Course at University 143
Emotion and Affect Findings from the Interviews 144
Emotions Communicating With International Individuals and Classmates 145
Pleased and Proud Using English at Familiar Work Settings 146
Pleased Giving Directions to International Individuals in the Metropolis 148
Positive Epistemic Emotions Using English on Campus 149
Negative Epistemic Emotions Using English off Campus 151
Synthesis of Findings of the Motivational Influences 155
Organizational Influence Findings 155
Organizational Influence One: Familial Expectations 156
Family Expectations Influenced the Interviewees’ EFL Learning 157
The Family Valued the Interviewee’s English Proficiency 158
The Family Lacked English Skills, so the Interviewee is Learning English 159
The Family Believed English Is Essential 160
Cultural Influence Two: English Exam Focus in the Interviews and the Textbooks 160
Cultural Influence Two From EFL Policy: No Mention of Exam Preparation 161
Lack of Experience Learning English Communication in All EFL Courses 162
Experienced University English Entrance Exam Advice 163
Lack of Experiencing MEXT’s EIKEN English Proficiency Goals 164
Cultural Influence Two: University English Exam Importance From the Interviews 165
Entrance Exam Advice From Teachers Outside of Class 166
Useful Feedback for College-Bound Students at Low-Performing Schools 167
Exam Advice From the Teacher in the Classroom 168
Challenging University Admission: A Focus solely on the English Exams 169
Cultural Influence Two: Communication Not the Focus of the Junior High Texts 170
The Junior High Textbooks Provided Few Opportunities to Communicate 171
The Activities Required Excessive English and Japanese Translations 172
The Textbooks Introduced University Entrance Exam Leveled Vocabulary 173
Cultural Influence Two: Communication Not the Focus of the High School Texts 174
The High School Textbooks provided Few Opportunities to Communicate 175
The Textbook Directions Necessitated Translations Encouraging Yakudoku 176
The Textbooks had Reading Essays for Entrance Exam Practice 177
The Textbook Vocabulary was Leveled for University Entrance Exams 178
Cultural Influence Two From the Textbooks: The Authors’ University Prestige 178
Cultural Influence Three: Communicative EFL Support for Teachers 180
Cultural Three Influences From the Policy Documents 180
Learning Actual Grammar Use, Rather Than Explanations 181
Reading Aloud and Reciting Passages to Express the Meaning of the Content 182
Cultural Influence Three: Interviewees’ Satisfaction With Teacher-Instructions 184
Satisfied With an Inspirational Teacher 185
Satisfied or Dissatisfied With the Teaching Methods and Strategies 186
Not Satisfied With the Teachers’ Oral Proficiency to Teach English 188
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 8

Cultural Influence Three: The Junior High Textbook Resources 189
Four Salient Resources Were Not Available for the Lower-Secondary Texts 189
Interactive Digital Textbooks for Visual and Audio Support 190
Downloadable Material Support for Teachers and the Interviewees 191
Can-Do Checklists That Measure Students’ Progress 191
Lexical and Phonetic Resources in the Textbooks 192
Cultural Influence Three: The Senior High Textbook Resources 193
Cultural Influence Three: Interviewees’ Reflections on Their Junior High Texts 193
The Lower-Secondary Textbooks Were Boring 194
The Textbook Level Was Difficult for the Interviewees’ Classmates 195
Cultural Influence Three: Interviewees’ Impressions on Their Senior High Texts 196
The Interviewees Studied With Old Entrance Exams 197
The Upper-Secondary Textbooks Were Boring 198
Discussion and Interpretation of the Significant Influences 199
Discussion and Interpretation of the Significant Knowledge Influences 200
Discussion and Interpretation of the Significant Motivational Influences 202
Discussion and Interpretation of the Significant Organizational Influences 204
Cultural Influence One: The Value of the Interviewees’ English by the Families 205
Cultural Influence Two: Exams Preparation Via Yakudoku Is Not in EFL Policy 205
Cultural Influence Two: All Eight Interviewees Experienced Yakudoku 206
Cultural Influence Two: Public Schools Did Not Inform About the EIKEN Test 207
Cultural Influence Two: Communication Was Not the Focus of the Textbooks 207
Cultural Influence Three: Teacher-Training and Support from MEXT Policy 208
Cultural Influence Three: EFL Communication Supported the Textbooks 209
Cultural Influence Three: EFL Communication Support From the Teachers 210
Cultural Influence Three: The Interviewees’ Reflections on Secondary Texts 211
CHAPTER FIVE: RECOMMENDATIONS 213
Recommendations for Practice and Further Study 213
Review Alignment Between MEXT Guidelines and Secondary EFL Textbooks 214
Incorporate More Communicative Strategies and Content in EFL Classes 217
Provide Ample and Frequent Communicative Language Training for Teachers 219
Limitations and Delimitations 223
Conclusion 226
References 228
APPENDIX 249

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 9

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Global Goal and Performance Goals 23
Table 2. EFL Pedagogy: Yakudoku, Grammar-Translation, And Translation-based Learning 37
Table 3. Knowledge Influences, Types, and Assessments 57
Table 4. Motivational Influences and Assessments 64
Table 5. Organizational Influences and Assessments 71
Table 6. Demographics of The Interviewees and Their English Proficiency Scores 84
Table 7. Demographics of the Interviewees and Four English Proficiency Assessments 105
Table 8. Declarative Influences: Meeting or Exceeding the English Global Goal 108
Table 9. Goal-setting Strategies Through Metacognition 112
Table 10. What the Interviewees Thought They Learned in Lower-Secondary School 121
Table 11. What the Interviewees Thought They Learned in Upper-Secondary School 127
Table 12. Specific Learning Experiences Influenced Self-Efficacy Beliefs 137
Table 13. Confidence Using English for Academic Purposes 142
Table 14. Range of Emotions Communicating in English With International Individuals 146
Table 15. Cultural Influence One: Family Perceptions of the Interviewees’ English 158
Table 16. Cultural Influence Two: MEXT EFL Communication Was Not Experienced 162
Table 17. Cultural Influence Two: The Teachers English Entrance Advice 166
Table 18. Cultural Influence Two: Communication Not Valued in Junior High Textbooks 171
Table 19. Cultural Influence Two: Communication Not Valued in Senior High Textbooks 175
Table 20. Cultural Influence Two: MEXT-Approved Textbook Authors’ Status and Rank 179
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 10

Table 21. Cultural Influence Three: MEXT EFL Communication Policy Implementation 181
Table 22. Cultural Influence Three: Satisfaction with Secondary Teachers’ Instructions 184
Table 23. Cultural Influence Three: Supplementary Resources for the Junior High Texts 190
Table 24. Cultural Influence Three: The Interviewees’ Reflections on the Junior High Texts 194
Table 25. Cultural Influence Three: The Interviewees’ Reflections on the High School Texts 197

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 11

LIST OF FIGURE

Figure 1. Modified Influences in the Literature That Affects the Student Stakeholder Goal 72

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 12

Abstract
This qualitative study addressed student perceptions of English as a foreign language (EFL)
secondary communication in Japan. Eight first-year university students’ satisfaction learning
English in secondary school was analyzed through a modified Clark and Estes’s (2008)
Knowledge Motivation Organization (KMO) framework. After six years of instruction, the
interviewees were proficient at English, yet those who learned communication, or a private
accelerated curriculum had higher proficiency levels than those who learned English in Japanese
at public schools. The interviewees who practiced speaking English reported moderate self-
efficacy levels while those who learned English through lectures in Japanese had low levels
engaging in the same tasks. The field-based organizational influences had a strong impact on the
interviewees as MEXT’s (2011a; 2011b; 2011c) EFL secondary communication reforms were
partially followed or ignored in favor of executing drills for English university entrance exams
except for one interviewee in high school. The study was not generalizable, yet its strength was
the voices of the student stakeholder interviewees that described their secondary EFL educational
experiences compared with their textbooks and MEXT policy. More student interview studies
are needed to highlight the current conditions as recipient participants because their input should
contribute to information useful for the confidence and satisfaction of future students’ English
successes. Such studies could also help improve the problem of practice of the abandonment of
EFL communication in favor of university entrance exam preparation in English classes in Japan.
Keywords: EFL education, yakudoku, self-efficacy, university English exams, MEXT

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 13

CHAPTER ONE: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
Introduction to the Problem of Practice
For nearly thirty years, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and
Technology (MEXT) in Japan has introduced a series of unsuccessful policy reforms to
implement communicative language teaching (CLT) of English as a foreign language (EFL) at
secondary schools (Nishino, 2008; Nishino & Watanabe, 2008; O’Donnell, 2005; Tahira, 2012).
Glasgow and Paller (2016) highlighted a contradiction in MEXT policy by promoting English
proficiency through communication, yet approving textbooks that ironically encourage teachers
to utilize the Japanese language to teach students English. The Ministry’s sponsorship of an
English-only EFL teaching policy that discourages Japanese has created confusion among the
boards of education (BoE) and English teachers who are accustomed to teaching English through
the Japanese language with MEXT-approved textbooks (Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Hashimoto,
2013; Noda, 2014). The problem of practice addressed in this dissertation is most secondary
student graduates in Japan have learned English for six years through Japanese translations of
English texts rather than CLT. The students’ lack of exposure to English during their secondary
education is detrimental for their English proficiency and challenging for English teachers at the
tertiary level to facilitate communication, which is a MEXT requirement (MEXT 2011b; 2011c).
The Background of the Problem
Numerous researchers in Japan have observed there is an acceptance by families,
teachers, boards of education, and society that the translation of texts from English to Japanese
or the yakudoku method coined by Hino (1988), will help secondary students pass English
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 14

entrance examinations at various universities (Aspinall, 2006; Browne & Wada, 1998; Butler &
Iino, 2005; Falout, Elwood, & Hood, 2009; Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Gorsuch, 1998; 2000; 2001;
Hino, 1988; Kavanagh, 2012; Kikuchi, 2009; Kikuchi & Browne, 2009; Kitao & Kitao, 1995;
Kuramoto & Koizumi, 2016; Laurier, Mboutsiadis, Mondejar, Sanchez, & Valdivia, 2011;
Nishino, 2008; Nishimuro & Borg, 2013; O’Donnell, 2005; Reesor, 2002; Sakui, 2004; Tahira,
2012; Underwood, 2012). The yakudoku method is a pedagogical teaching practice that focuses
primarily on translations from English to Japanese that teachers recite to students. In 1989,
MEXT attempted to address the problem of the overusing the Japanese language in secondary
English classes that inhibited students’ English proficiency levels by introducing English
communication classes (Fujimoto-Adamson, 2006; Kikuchi & Browne, 2009; Seargeant, 2008).
Some researchers have claimed translating languages to Japanese or the yakudoku method is
closely aligned, but not entirely equivalent to the grammar-translation approach for teaching
languages (Friedman, 2016; Gorsuch, 1998; 2000; 2001; Hino, 1988; Humphries & Burns, 2015;
Kavanaugh, 2012; Laurier, et al., 2011; Nishino, 2008; Noda, 2014; Shimizu, 2010). For
purpose of clarity, this study refers to translating English texts to Japanese as the yakudoku
method. Further interpretations of this method can be found in the glossary of term section in
Chapter One and the general literature Review section in Chapter Two.
Researchers have documented that yakudoku was the first and primary factor that
inhibited the implementation of MEXT’s CLT policy reforms for students to be more proficient
at English in senior high schools (Browne & Wada 1998; Gorsuch, 1998; 2000; 2001; Nishino,
2008; O’Donnell, 2005; Sakui, 2004; Underwood, 2012). The Ministry annually approves
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 15

English textbooks that have a significant influence on the teachers to use yakudoku because the
materials suggest that students engage in grammar drills with instructions in Japanese (Aspinall,
2006; Browne & Wada, 1998; Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Kikuchi, 2009; Tahira, 2012). There are
two policy contradictions by MEXT that simultaneously attempt to facilitate learning English
communication in English while approving textbooks that focus on teaching English through
yakudoku instruction in Japanese (Hashimoto, 2009; 2013; Noda, 2014). Furthermore, Hato
(2005) demonstrated that there is not significant empirical data that supported standardized
language tests and the level of English proficiency can be achieved in the instructional time
given to students. Aspinall (2006) indicated historically that without sustainable curricular
support since the inception of the MEXT, most English teachers themselves learned through
yakudoku as students, which has limited the teachers’ ability to communicate in English.
Authors of peer-reviewed literature also identified a second factor that secondary high
English teachers utilized yakudoku because of insufficient teacher training (Butler, 2011;
Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Kavanaugh, 2012; Laurier, et al., 2011; Nishino & Watanabe, 2008;
Reesor, 2002; Sakamoto, 2012; Tahira, 2012). Coupled with few training opportunities and
teaching in Japanese for the English entrance exams, O’Donnell (2005) demonstrated that
teachers had little time to study MEXT’s CLT policy on their own because of extracurricular
duties they could not avoid, which ranged from administrative tasks, student guidance, and
supervising student clubs and teams (also see Browne & Wada, 1998). The Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found in a survey of Japanese teachers’ self-
reported hours that Japan has the highest weekly average of 54-hour workweeks of the 34 OECD
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 16

nations around the world (OECD, 2016). Adding extensive CLT training sessions to the
teachers’ long workweeks is challenging without careful planning. Moreover, MEXT’s official
language use for EFL classes is a third factor, which is important to address.
A third factor that impedes the ability to forward communicative English learning for
secondary students is that MEXT does not classify English as the medium of instruction (MOI),
despite its English-only policy directives (Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Hashimoto, 2009; 2013;
Kanno, 2007; Noda, 2014). Hashimoto (2009; 2013) found MEXT language policy has excluded
English as the MOI that is crucially needed for language policy reform. She asserted with the
absence MOI classification, EFL teaching is stigmatized because the practice of yakudoku has
encouraged English teachers to utilize Japanese at secondary schools. Noda (2014) disputed that
MEXT’s simplistic banning of yakudoku, yet concurrently permitting the use of instruction in
Japanese, when necessary, has perpetuated teacher resistance to facilitate communicative English
classes for students. Subsequently, because English is not the official MOI, there is an
institutional loophole that maintains the status quo for teachers to use the yakudoku method in
the Japanese language to prepare students for English university exams. Overall, the use of
yakudoku at secondary schools including familial, societal, and institutional pressures to teach
the method for entrance exams, insufficient teacher training, and the Japanese language being the
MOI for English classes have discouraged teachers from partaking in the MEXT reforms to
facilitate communicative EFL for secondary students in Japan.
Global Goal
According to Fukuda-Parr (2012), global goal setting is a powerful tool because the goals
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 17

not only create a shared vision to solve wicked problems of practice, they also serve as an action
plan that are concrete and measurable with a finite time frame to accomplish the mission. The
global goal of this field-based evaluation study is that 50% of the senior high school students in
Japan will receive a proficiency level of grade pre-2 or higher on the Society for Testing English
Proficiency (STEP)’s Test in Practical English Proficiency (EIKEN, 2017) by graduation in
March of 2020.
The government action plan to improve the English language abilities of secondary
students commenced in 2011 with three specific measures to assess and verify language
proficiency improvement (MEXT, 2011a). According to MEXT (2011a), first, the EIKEN test is
being used by the boards of education and the government to measure all students’ language
proficiency levels at the conclusion the students’ final year of junior and senior high school.
Second, MEXT (2011a, p. 5) recommends using ‘can-do’ lists for students and teachers to
monitor their learning by, “taking into account approaches adopted in foreign countries.” Third,
the organization asserts that teacher-training should be provided to establish English learning
targets. The targets for testing the students’ language proficiency has been established (Aoki,
2017; Katayama, 2016; MEXT, 2017). However, the can-do list system available to the public
in English and Japanese (EIKEN, 2008) has not been enacted on a national level that would be
helpful tracking the progress of each individual child. Keidanren (2017), the Japan Business
Federation analyzed MEXT’s attempts at the English proficiency goal and called on industry
support because the goal is not expected to be reached. Next, related literature about the
hindrance of the global goal and MEXT policy as a field-based organization will be explored.
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 18

Related Literature
The problem of not providing students ample opportunities to speak and write in English
or teach in the English language in secondary classrooms in Japan is important to solve for a
variety of reasons. Firstly, a significant factor that has demotivated university students from
learning English based on their secondary classes focused on the yakudoku method with MEXT-
approved learning materials, preparing for university entrance exams, memorizing English
vocabulary in Japanese, and learning from teacher-centered teachers (Falout, et al., 2009;
Kikuchi, 2009). In addition, Kikuchi and Browne (2009) found the overwhelming use of
teaching through yakudoku and the memorization of text were factors that negatively impacted
incoming first-year university students after six years of EFL instruction. Consequently, the
students’ English proficiency levels when they entered university were much lower than
MEXT’s global goal for secondary students (Katayama, 2016).
Secondly, case studies of secondary English teachers in Japan revealed a complex gap
between MEXT policy goals that encouraged teachers to facilitate communicative English and
the actual practice of teaching in the Japanese language through the yakudoku method to
secondary students (Browne & Wada, 1998; Gorsuch, 1998; O’Donnell, 2005; Nishino, 2008;
Sakui, 2004; Underwood, 2012). However, faulting the secondary teachers for non-compliance
of MEXT’s policy has little meaning with two conflicting MEXT policies of English-only
instruction and Japanese language use as the official MOI (Hashimoto, 2009; 2013; Noda, 2014).
Thirdly, there are few opportunities for secondary teachers to receive frequent and timely
teacher training. Administrative pressures from teachers’ respective institutions, such as
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 19

preparing students for English university entrance exams in the Japanese language makes it
challenging to facilitate EFL pedagogical change in Japan (Kavanagh, 2012; Nishino, 2008).
The consequences are by not solving this larger problem of practice, many secondary students
will continue studying English for six years through Japanese that limits their English
proficiency gains needed for future employment in an increasingly global society (Glasgow &
Paller, 2016; Nishino & Watanabe, 2008).
Referring to MEXT’s context and its field-based mission for secondary school education
is important because it shapes policy decisions about English education in Japan. It is
noteworthy that MEXT is not solely demarked for education, but it also includes a myriad of
bureaus, agencies, institutions, divisions, and subdivisions within the domains of culture, sports,
science, and technology (MEXT, 2015a). In Chapter Two, the history of English language
education as it pertains to the problem of practice will be explored in greater detail. In a brief
review, the Ministry of Education was founded in 1871, the modern ministry was re-established
in 1947, and in 2000 the bureaus of culture, sports, science, and technology were placed in the
Ministry of Education (2015b). In the domain of education, the secondary English education
division lies within the Elementary and Secondary Education Bureau (ESEB) (MEXT, 2015a;
2015b). The policies of MEXT’s English education within the ESEB influence the field-based
context of EFL education, which affects the secondary students’ English proficiency levels in
Japan. Then, the mission of ESEB at MEXT unique to the student body population is:
Education is an endeavor that aims to fully develop the personality of each and every
child, and is essential for children to lead happy lives in the future. In addition, education
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 20

has the mission of cultivating the children who will be the future leaders of Japan and
society, and the importance of such education remains a constant that will remain
unchanged across eras. Further, with factors such as intensifying competition from
overseas, as society continues to change at a rapid pace, the education of children is
becoming increasingly important (MEXT, n.d., para. 1).
The ESEB mission encompasses all subjects taught in the course of study including English
lessons for six years of secondary school. Although English is not specifically addressed, the
mention of increasing overseas competition implies the influence of globalization, and English
certainly is a valuable tool for communication in that arena. In the following section, MEXT’s
global goal and stakeholder goals specifically related to English will be addressed.
Importance of the Evaluation
It is important to evaluate this field-based performance and global goal of the students’
performance since 2011 that 50% of the senior high school graduates should have obtained a
proficiency level of grade pre-2 or higher on the EIKEN (2017) test of practical English
proficiency (see Table 1, p. 23) for a variety of reasons (Aoki, 2017; Katayama, 2016;
Keidanren, 2017; MEXT, 2011a; 2014). First, the global goal of the secondary English
education division of MEXT fell short by 14% of its April 2017 benchmark (Aoki, 2017). To
contextualize, grade pre-2 on the EIKEN (2017) is equivalent to receiving approximately a score
of 32 on the computer-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL iBT) that is in the
lower levels of reading and listening, limited in speaking, and weak in writing (ETS, 2017).
According to EIKEN (2008, p. 13), an individual with grade pre-2, “can handle routine tasks
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 21

from everyday life and express his/her ideas about topics that he/she is interested in” for
speaking, and “can write simple texts about things that he/she is interested in.” for writing.
Unfortunately, after six years of MEXT’s extensive assessments in 2016, Katayama (2016)
asserted that only 34.3% of high school students in Japan had achieved low proficiency scores
despite six years of daily English instruction. The result does not account for the remaining 50%
of the students who have not made significant proficiency gains (Katayama, 2016). Then, in
2017, Aoki (2017) reported that the global goal of English proficiency was slightly higher at
36.2% for high school seniors under the global goal of fifty percent, yet the junior high school
third-year students’ proficiency scores worsened from 2016 by .5%.
The second reason is although nearly 30 years have passed, MEXT’s communicative
English teaching reforms have not positively affected approximately 64% of the high school
graduates who performed poorly in English (Aoki, 2017). It is concerning that most high school
graduates entering universities in Japan have learned English for six years through yakudoku in
Japanese, which has affected the students’ ability to engage in English academic coursework at
university (Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Kikuchi, 2009; Kikuchi & Browne, 2009; Williams &
Andrade, 2008). Evaluating the global goal is important because gathering the appropriate data
and disseminating the findings can inform the greater field of MEXT’s communicative EFL
policy and contribute to the improvement of future students’ English language proficiency. The
consequences of not evaluating the student stakeholders is over two million students in Japan
(MEXT, 2016) may not pass their English proficiency tests (Aoki, 2017; Katayama, 2016;
MEXT, 2011a; 2014; 2017), or be able to communicate in English after six years of study.
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 22

Description of Stakeholder Groups
Describing the stakeholders is imperative for identifying the needs of each group to reach
the global goal. The first is a sizable group are incoming first-year tertiary students in Japan that
have studied English for six years or more, and are primarily Japanese nationals. As previously
stated, the EFL instruction the student stakeholders received was principally taught by yakudodu
that generates challenges for incoming university students to adjust to the EFL courses taught in
English (Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Kikuchi & Browne, 2009; O’Donnell, 2005; Underwood,
2012). The second group is the EFL secondary teachers. They receive directives from MEXT’s
published course of study, create lesson plans, teach students to improve their language
proficiency, assess coursework, and prepare students for entrance exams. Finally, the third
group is the local Boards of Education (BoE) and national MEXT administrators who support the
students and the teachers who run the annual academic calendar events and services related to
the EFL educational programs based on the curriculum guidelines (MEXT, 2008).
Stakeholder Groups’ Performance Goals
In sum, the primary stakeholders are recent high school graduates attending university
during their first year, and the secondary stakeholders are the EFL high school teachers and local
and national MEXT administrators. See Table 1 for MEXT’s global goal and stakeholder
performance goals.

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 23

Table 1.
Global Goal and Performance Goals
Global goal
The global goal for MEXT is that 50% of the senior high school students will obtain a proficiency
level of pre-2 or higher on the Society for Testing English Proficiency (STEP)’s Test in Practical
English Proficiency (EIKEN) by graduation in March 2020.
Stakeholder 1 goal: First-year
university students in Japan

The stakeholder goal for the first-
year university students will be
they are satisfied with their
English language proficiency and
satisfied with the EFL instruction
they received in their secondary
schools based on MEXT
guidelines by March of 2020.
Stakeholder 2 goal: EFL
secondary teachers in Japan

By March of 2020, 50% of all
secondary teachers should have
obtained a TOEFL iBT English
proficiency score of 80 or grade
Pre-1 on the EIKEN Test to
effectively support the student
stakeholder goal.
Stakeholder 3 goal:
MEXT administrators

By March of 2020, MEXT
will have ensured that the
performance goal of 50%
of secondary students and
teachers obtain their norm-
referenced EIKEN and
TOEFL Test English
proficiency scores.

Stakeholder Group for the Study

The inclusion of all three of the stakeholders, which are the students, the secondary
English teachers, and the administrative support staff and MEXT would readily ensure the entire
secondary student body acquire or surpass the norm-referenced English language proficiency
requirements of a grade pre-2 on the EIKEN (2017) test each year. Nevertheless, for the
purposes of this study, high school graduate first-year university students will be the stakeholder
group because it is important to assess how confident they are regarding their language
proficiency and their secondary English courses that are supplied MEXT (n.d.). Students are a
suitable stakeholder group because saturation of literature has been achieved that focused on
secondary teacher stakeholders utilizing yakudoku through observations and interviews
(Gorsuch, 1998; O’Donnell, 2005; Sakui, 2004; Underwood, 2012), surveys (Browne & Wada,
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 24

1998; Gorsuch, 2000; 2001; McMillan & Rivers, 2011; Nishino, 2008; Taguchi, 2005), and
meta-analyses (Aspinall, 2006; Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Reesor, 2002; Sakamoto, 2012;
Seargeant, 2008). However, fewer studies have focused on the secondary student stakeholders
(Sakai & Kikuchi, 2009; Takase, 2007; Tsuda & Nakata, 2013).
Evaluating the secondary students’ confidence about their proficiency levels will also
allow stakeholders to determine how well they are prepared and motivated to use English enough
to thrive in university courses taught in English, and in the professions after graduation.
Research in the English language measuring student confidence of English in Japan through
surveys are available at the tertiary level (Falout, et al., 2009; Kikuchi, 2009; Kikuchi & Browne,
2009; LoCastro, 2001) and at the secondary level (Sakai & Kikuchi, 2009; Takase, 2007; Tsuda
& Nakata, 2013). Nonetheless, secondary student English interviews are rare due to the age of
consent, level of EFL proficiency, time constraints for exam preparation. Additionally,
meaningful implementation of MEXT’s (2011a; 2011b; 2011c) policies to improve English
instruction will ultimately impact the students’ satisfaction with their progress on English
proficiency. Lastly, these students can benefit from a greater sense of global awareness that
MEXT has aspired to achieve as part of their greater mission beyond English education.
Purpose of the Project and Questions
The purpose of this study is the degree to which the field of secondary English education
in Japan is meeting the global goal of 50% of the senior high school students obtaining a
proficiency level of grade pre-2 or greater on the Society for Testing English Proficiency
(STEP)’s Test in Practical English Proficiency (EIKEN) by graduation in March 2020. Although
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 25

a thorough evaluation of the global goal would be an in-depth investigation of all stakeholder
groups, for logistical purposes, the stakeholder group in this exploratory study will be the first-
year university students. Then, the students’ stakeholder goal for the study is the first-year
university students will be satisfied with their English language learning proficiency and satisfied
with the EFL instruction they received in their secondary courses based on MEXT guidelines.
Clark and Estes’s (2008) knowledge, motivation, and organizational (KMO) gap analysis
framework will be useful for the purpose of assessing this field-based problem of practice
regarding EFL language learning in Japan. A modified KMO framework (Clark & Estes, 2008)
is valuable because it focuses on the knowledge, the motivational self-efficacious and emotive
behaviors of the first-year university student stakeholders in Japan, and addresses influences
related to the global organizational goal for greater English language proficiency. The study will
be guided by the following questions:
1. To what extent has EFL secondary education in Japan met the student stakeholder goal of
providing satisfactory English courses that support their English language proficiency?
2. What are the student stakeholders’ knowledge and motivation related to satisfaction with
their English language proficiency and language instruction?
3. What is the interaction between the organizational culture and context and the student
stakeholders’ knowledge and motivation to learn English in Japan?
4. What are the recommended knowledge and skills, motivation, and organizational
solutions related to the student stakeholder goal?

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 26

Methodological Framework
The theoretical framework used in this study is the modified use of Clark and Estes’
(2008) KMO gap analysis is the systematic diagnosis of the human causes behind performance
influences that inhibit the success of the goal in a field of practice. The authors’ framework is
identifiable by the knowledge and skills of the stakeholders, the motivations they have to achieve
the goal, and organizational factors, which in this study influences the student stakeholders’
English proficiency. Moreover, the methodological framework for this evaluation will employ
qualitative protocols to gather adequate data (Creswell, 2014; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The
students’ prior English language learning will be measured by semi-structured interviews, two
document analyses, and a literature review. After careful analyses and review process, research-
based solutions will be assessed and recommended in a comprehensive manner.
Definitions
Provided below is the operational definition of terms useful to the reader specific to
English education and pedagogy in Japan. Some of the Japanese methodological terms are
alphabetized and italicized, which are phonetically parallel to vocabulary in the Japanese
language. However, the terms Bafuku, hensoku, seisoku, and yakudoku are used in scholarly
peer-review journals in the English language. Here is the list of terms:
Bakufu: The feudal government system in Japan of the Tokugawa Shogunate from 1600 to 1868
(Butler & Iino, 2005; Fujimoto-Adamson, 2006; Reesor, 2002).
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT): A teaching approach or pedagogy, which
emphasizes that students learn to interpret and communicate the meaning of messages
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 27

that are conveyed in the language that is being learned (Spada, 2007; Widdowson, 1981).
English as a Foreign Language (EFL): The learning of English as a foreign language (Mason &
Krashen, 1997) in a non-English environment or location that is often conducted in a
country where English is not an official language.
Hensoku: The term the ‘irregular way’ of translating foreign language documents to Japanese
that is utilized in the yakudoku method of teaching English in Japanese (Butler & Iino,
2005; Friedman, 2016; Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Kitao & Kitao, 1995; Shimizu, 2010).
Medium of Instruction (MOI): The language that is used while teaching the subject (see
Hashimoto, 2009; 2013; Noda, 2014 for MOI in Japan).
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT, n.d.): It is the Ministry
of Education in Japan. Its acronym is MEXT rather than MECSST, where ‘X’ represents
culture, sports, and science in place of the phonetic consonant cluster ‘CSS.’ The term
MEXT can be confusing because its acronym does not represent the English translation
of the governmental organization.
Seisoku: The term the ‘regular way’ or learning a language through communication in the target
language (Butler & Iino, 2005; Friedman, 2016; Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Kitao & Kitao,
1995; Shimizu, 2010).
Yakudoku: The literal definition is translating reading (Hino, 1988) and is the traditional teaching
pedagogy of languages in Japan, where texts are translated from originally Asian
languages to Japanese word and phrase level (Friedman, 2016; Gorsuch, 1998; 2000;
2001; Hino, 1988; Shimizu, 2010), or from languages (Friedman, 2016; Humphries &
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 28

Burns, 2015; Kavanaugh, 2012; Laurier, et al., 2011; Nishino, 2008; Noda, 2014;
Shimizu, 2010). Some researchers asserted that yakudoku is equivalent to grammar-
translation or translating text into Japanese without using the terminology of yakudoku or
grammar-translation (See Table 2, p. 37).
Organization of the Project
Five chapters are used to organize this study. This chapter described the key concepts
and terminology commonly found in a discussion about incoming first-year tertiary level
students in Japan. Primarily, these students have had six years of English instruction in the
Japanese language through the yakudoku method, and are for the most part not academically
prepared to study where English is the medium of instruction (MOI). The global goal,
stakeholder goals, as well as the review of the evaluation framework were provided. Chapter
Two will offer a review of the current literature surrounding the scope of the study about how the
historical events of English education in Japan has shaped the limitations of the English language
proficiency of the student stakeholders. Salient themes regarding the students’ conceptual
knowledge of English language proficiency, metacognition about their language learning, self-
efficacy, the students’ affective emotions, cultural models, and a cultural setting related to the
student stakeholders will be addressed. Chapter Three refers to the modified KMO influences
that will be evaluated, including the methodology of participant choice, data collection, and
analysis. In Chapter Four, the data and results will be explained and analyzed. Lastly, Chapter
Five provides recommendations for the global practice based on data and literature, as well as
practical suggestions, and recommendations for further research.
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 29

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
General Review of the Literature
The literature review will first offer a historical background and overview of the
development of English language teaching at secondary schools in Japan that impacts the
students’ proficiency of the language. Second, the review will include the organizational factors
that contribute to the use of the yakudoku method for English entrance exam preparation for
students. Third, the review will then examine the progression through which MEXT launched a
series of English communicative language teaching (CLT) policy reforms for three decades.
Fourth, this review will utilize Clark and Estes’s (2008) knowledge, motivation, and organization
model to contextualize two simultaneous curricular practices of the yakudoku method and CLT
that most likely influence the students’ English proficiency and language education in Japan.
A Historical Overview of the Modern Secondary English Education in Japan
The Ministry of Education established the modern secondary school system in Japan in
1871 with the new Meiji Government after the fall of the Tokugawa Bakufu feudal rule in 1868
(Butler & Iino, 2005; Fujimoto-Adamson, 2006; Reesor, 2002). Previously, the Bakufu authority
was weakened when it renounced its isolationist policies under military influence from the U.S.
invasion in 1853 (Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Ressor, 2002). Butler and Iino (2005) asserted that
the newly formed Meiji Government ended its closed-boarder policies in favor of partaking in
international trade that was essential to modernize the nation. The introduction of learning
foreign languages was largely influenced by the need for modernization and the necessity to
translate foreign language documents (Butler & Iino, 2005; Fujimoto-Adamson, 2006). English
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 30

was the preferred tool used to facilitate communication with western societies both economically
and politically (Fujimoto-Adamson, 2006). Subsequently, the exposure to Western culture and
English had a profound impact on the Japanese society regarding economics, ideology, and
culture (Reesor, 2002). The establishment of foreign language education was closely related to
the development of international trading after its isolationist policies (Fujimoto-Adamson, 2006).
The First Era: The Establishment of the Modern Educational System in Japan
In the following year in 1872, the Japanese Ministry of Education introduced the first era
of English education (Butler & Iino, 2005; Fujimoto-Adamson, 2006; Fujita-Round & Maher,
2008; Koike & Tanaka, 1995). Secondary and tertiary education was reserved for children of the
elite, yet universal education was not achievable for common class students beyond elementary
school (Fujita-Round & Maher, 2008). In 1881, both lower- and upper-secondary students began
learning English six lessons per week (Fujimoto-Adamson, 2006). Then in 1886, the first
general education policy was published for universities, secondary schools, and elementary
schools for children of the common classes (Fujita-Round & Maher, 2008). English became the
medium-of-instruction for all subjects at Tokyo University to keep up with the technologies and
economies of western countries (Fujimoto-Adamson, 2006). Butler and Iino (2005) documented
a shift in English instruction at universities where English was primarily taught by native
speakers of English in English to promote the modernization of Japan’s economy. By the 1890s,
the foreign language policy was formalized at secondary schools and English was the primary
language taught (Butler & Iino, 2005; Fujimoto-Adamson, 2006; Fujita-Round & Maher, 2008).

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 31

Two historical English teaching methodologies: The direct and indirect methods. In
the Meiji era, English teaching methodology was influenced by two distinct approaches: seisoku,
or the direct method and hensoku, or the indirect method (Butler & Iino, 2005; Friedman, 2016;
Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Kitao & Kitao, 1995; Shimizu, 2010). The literal translation of the
term for seisoku is the regular way and conversely hensoku means the irregular way. Japanese
teachers of English primarily focused on teaching through hensoku during the Meiji period that is
equivalent to the term yakudoku (Shimizu, 2010). As mentioned in Chapter One, Hino (1988)
described the tradition of learning languages via the yakudoku method has deep sociolinguistic
roots from translating Chinese into Japanese although yakudoku dates back over a thousand
years, and its origin is unknown. Friedman (2016) and Shimizu asserted that yakudoku was a
Japanese technique for translating Asian languages, yet hensoku was a modified way to translate
Western languages into Japanese (Friedman, 2016; Shimizu, 2010).
Seisoku or the direct method used to learn the English language. The alternative way
of learning English was seisoku or the direct method to learn natural English through
communication (Butler & Iino, 2005; Friedman, 2016; Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Kitao & Kitao,
1995; Shimizu, 2010). Contrary to hensoku that was taught in the Japanese language by
Japanese English teachers, seisoku was taught by native English speakers in the target language
(Butler & Iino, 2005; Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Kitao & Kitao, 1995). Friedman (2016) and
Kitao and Kitao (1995) elucidated that seisoku focused on learning English through
pronunciation and phonics. Educational experts outside of the Ministry of Education advocated
for this communicative approach because it was practical, useful, and motivating for students
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 32

(Friedman, 2016; Kitao & Kitao, 1995). Shimizu (2010) clarified at the beginning of the Meiji
era there was a concerted effort by the Ministry to employ foreign teachers to teach English in
Japan, and to send Japanese students to learn English in other countries. There was also a keen
interest to learn about other cultures and languages, especially English through the regular way.
However, towards the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in Japan, there was a backlash
that Japanese were neglecting their language and culture after studying abroad (Shimizu, 2010).
Hensoku or the indirect method becomes the preferred way to teach English. During
the early part of Meiji Restoration, the irregular way of learning English was necessitated due to
the lack of teaching and foreign language resources due to Japan’s previous Bafuku isolationist
policies (Friedman, 2016; Shimizu, 2010). Learning languages pre-dating the feudal Bafuku
period was yakudoku or reading and translating foreign documents, specifically in the Dutch
language during the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries for limited trading with
Holland (Shimizu, 2010). In a historical text analysis, Friedman (2016) purported that hensoku
limited the frequency of Japanese in contact with foreigners and allowed for learning content
knowledge available in texts without pretenses for intercultural communication.
Despite the popularity of seisoku in the late 1800s in Japan, the indirect method
eventually became the preferred way of teaching English around the turn of the century
(Friedman, 2016; Shimizu, 2010). Gradually, from around 1900 up until the start of World War
II, English was taught for the purposes of memorizing grammar and vocabulary through the
yakudoku or the hensoku method (Butler & Iino, 2005). English entrance exams served as a
screening process that divided students between mainstream and elite schools, which valued
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 33

studying excessively for these exams by the indirect method (Butler & Iino, 2005; Friedman,
2016; Shimizu, 2010). There was also a rise in nationalism and a resentment of English
education, and eventually, according to Fujimoto-Adamson (2006), the military took over the
Japanese government in 1932, resulting in English courses being banned at the secondary level
in 1938. Four years later, all the foreign English lecturers were dismissed in 1942 after the start
of the Pacific War in World War II (Fujimoto-Adamson, 2006; Koike & Tanaka, 1995).
The Second Era: Post World War II English Education and Entrance Examinations
After the disruption of World War II in 1947, the educational system in Japan was
reformed, English courses were reintroduced at the secondary and tertiary levels, and the grade
divisions between primary, lower-secondary, upper-secondary, and tertiary education is still the
same as it was during the foundation of the second era (Butler & Iino, 2005; Fujimoto-Adamson,
2006; Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Kitao & Kitao, 1995; Kuramoto & Koizumi, 2016; Reesor,
2002). Reesor (2002) and Butler and Iino (2005) described the U.S. having a significant
influence on the restructuring of Japan’s governmental economic policies and the educational
system because of the U.S. occupation of Japan. U.S. military officers versed in education
significantly restructured the Japanese educational system at the onset of the occupation (Butler
& Iino, 2005). The occupation had an influence on generating interest in English that created a
second English language appeal not unlike the first English growth in the 1870s (Fujimoto-
Adamson, 2006). English returned as a subject from lower-secondary school to university after
the war (Butler & Iino, 2005; Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Kitao & Kitao, 1995).
The school system reformed into the structures of six years of primary, three years of
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 34

lower-secondary, three years of upper-secondary, and four years of tertiary undergraduate
programs like the educational system in the U.S. in the 1940s (Butler & Iino, 2005; Glasgow &
Paller, 2016; Kitao & Kitao, 1995). Additionally, universal education advanced from primary
school to lower-secondary school where upper-secondary education is still not compulsory in
Japan although most students graduate from high school (Butler & Iino, 2005; Glasgow & Paller,
2016; Kitao & Kitao, 1995). MEXT’s course-of-study is revised each decade by selected expert
policy makers in each subject since its inception in 1948 (Kuramoto & Koizumi, 2016).
The structure of the school system. Although the upper-tier universities have held
individual English entrance exams as a prerequisite for applying to each college, English became
a compulsory subject on the national public university exams (Butler & Iino, 2005; Glasgow &
Paller, 2016; Kuramoto & Koizumi, 2016). In 1956, English entrance exam preparation for
universities was introduced in nearly all the upper-secondary schools in Japan, where English
was re-established as an academic measurement for achievement, yet on a wider scale than
during the Meiji era (Butler & Iino, 2005). Since the mid-fifties, English as a subject is integral
in secondary schools for preparing students for university entrance exams through yakudoku
(Glasgow & Paller, 2016). Kuramoto and Koizumi (2016) detailed that each university creates
and administers its own exam with English as a subject with complex and challenging questions.
University entrance examination preparation. Preparations for university English
exams are conducted by secondary teachers that involve three kinds of tests. They are in-house
reading and writing exams, interviews (Kitao & Kitao, 1995; Kuramoto & Koizumi, 2016), and
public universities also have a standardized aptitude test score that can be used for a maximum of
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 35

two public university applications (Kitao & Kitao, 1995; Kuramoto & Koizumi, 2016) held each
year in January (Timsit, 2018, January). Most universities conduct in-house versions of entrance
exams with an English section (Kuramoto & Koizumi, 2016). Each university publishes their
exams from the previous year for public disclosure that informs secondary boards of education
and teachers how to prepare students for future exams (Kuramoto & Koizumi, 2016).
The washback effect of high-stakes language proficiency exams. Although the intention
for an effective wash-back effect of high-stakes entrance exams to improve language aptitude,
the tests reveal negative aspects in the form of cram courses that teach to norm-referenced tests
(Brown & Abeywickrama, 2010; Cohen, 1994). In Japan, each exam is not standardized for all
universities, thus secondary English teachers face complexities preparing their students for the
exams. Luxia (2005) discovered that the English entrance proficiency requirement test of the
National Matriculation English Test (NMET) in China failed to realize the desired washback
outcome due to the high school teachers’ requirement to teach to the test with time constraints to
provide students with CLT. The second finding of the study is that students’ and teachers’
beliefs of language competency or the lack thereof negatively impacted the intended results
along with misuse of the large-scale test in some instances. Cohen (1994) suggested that it is
more likely to misuse language proficiency tests that stray from the intended use due to the
complexities of measuring socio-linguistic and cultural competence, cognition, test item
construction, and ambiguous testing instructions (Also see Alderson, Clapham, & Wall, 2001;
Brown & Abeywichrama, 2010 for constraints). Although the entrance exam washback effect
emerged in the second era of EFL education in Japan, the effect has extended to the third era
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 36

(Hato, 2005; Kuramoto, & Koizumi, 2016). Iwai (2009) claimed that although MEXT’s
intended to forward English communicative competence particularly from 2003, learning
English in senior high is almost exclusively studying reading and writing for the English
entrance exams. Next, yakudoku as a cultural model in the second era will be explored.
Yakudoku as a Cultural Model in English Education from the Second Era
The yakudoku teaching pedagogy, introduced in Chapter One, focuses primarily on
translations from English to Japanese at the word, phrase, and sentence level that teachers recite
to students (Hino, 1988; Gorsuch, 1998). A first group of researchers suggested that yakudoku is
comparable, but not equivalent to teaching languages through the grammar-translation method
(Friedman, 2016; Gorsuch, 1998; 2000; 2001; Hino, 1988; Humphries & Burns, 2015;
Kavanaugh, 2012; Laurier, et al., 2011; Nishino, 2008; Noda, 2014; Shimizu, 2010). A second
group of researchers asserted that yakudoku is equivalent to the grammar-translation method for
teaching languages (Aspinall, 2006; Iwai, 2009; Kikuchi, 2009; Kikuchi & Browne, 2009;
O’Donnell, 2005; Tahira, 2012). A third group of researchers described the teaching
methodology as grammar-translation (Browne & Wada, 1998; Butler, 2011; Falout, et al., 2009;
Kanno, 2007; Nishino & Watanabe, 2008; McMillan & Rivers, 2011; Reesor, 2002; Sakui, 2004;
Seargeant, 2008; Taguchi, 2005; Underwood, 2012). A fourth group of researchers mentioned
that secondary English pedagogy involves translations of text to Japanese without using the
terms yakudoku or grammar-translation (Butler & Iino, 2005; Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Kitao &
Kitao, 1995; Koike & Tanaka, 1995; Nishimuro & Borg, 2013; Sakamoto, 2012). Despite the
varying definitions, in 1989, MEXT created reforms to address the overuse of Japanese in
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 37

secondary English classes that inhibited English proficiency levels by introducing English
communication classes (Fujimoto-Adamson, 2006; Kikuchi & Browne, 2009; Koike & Tanaka,
1995; Seargeant, 2008). For clarity, this study refers to the translation of English texts to
Japanese as yakudoku to describe the traditional pedagogical method for teaching EFL, which
has achieved extensive saturation in the literature (see Table 2).
Table 2
Traditional EFL Pedagogy: Yakudoku, Grammar-Translation, and Translation-Based Learning
Yakudoku is related to
grammar-translation
Yakudoku is
grammar-
translation
Grammar-translation Translating to
Japanese

Friedman (2016, p. 5)

Aspinall
(2006, p. 259)

Browne and Wada (1998,
p. 98)

Butler and Iino
(2005, p. 28)

Hino (1988, p. 46)

Kikuchi
(2009, p. 445)

Falout, et al. (2009, p. 405)

Kitao and Kitao
(1995, pp. 7-8)

Humphries and Burns
(2015, p. 1)

Kikuchi and
Browne
(2009, p. 174)

Kanno (2007, p. 67)

Koike and Tanaka
(1995, pp. 17-18)
Kavanaugh (2012, p.
67)

O’Donnell
(2005, p. 302)
McMillian and Rivers
(2011, pp. 251-252)

Nishimuro and
Borg (2013, pp.
30-32)
Laurier, et al., (2011,
pp. 20-21)
Tahira (2012,
p. 4)
Nishino and Watanabe
(2008, p. 134)
Sakamoto (2012,
pp. 413-414)
Nishino (2008, pp. 30-
31)
Ressor (2002, p. 45)

Noda (2014, p. 357)
Sakui (2004, p. 157)

Shimizu (2010, p. 9)
Seargeant (2008, p. 128)
Taguchi (2005, p. 3)

Underwood (2012, p. 912)

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 38

Varying definitions of the yakudoku method was introduced. In the following section the
teacher training, learning materials, and organizational factors that contribute to preparing for
entrance exams for universities in Japan (Aspinall, 2006; Browne & Wada, 1998; Glasgow &
Paller, 2016; Kikuchi, 2009; Nishino, 2008; Taguchi, 2005; Tahira, 2012) will be reviewed.
Secondary teachers in Japan have favored the yakudoku method for preparing students for
English university entrance exams that evaluate grammar comprehension (Aspinall, 2006;
Browne & Wada, 1998; Butler, 2011; Butler & Iino, 2005; Falout, et al., 2009; Glasgow &
Paller, 2016; Gorsuch, 1998; 2000; 2001; Kavanagh, 2012; Kikuchi, 2009; Kikuchi & Browne,
2009; Kitao & Kitao, 1995; Kuramoto & Koizumi, 2016; Laurier, et al., 2011; Nishino, 2008;
O’Donnell, 2005; Reesor, 2002; Sakui, 2004; Taguchi, 2005; Tahira, 2012; Underwood, 2012).
Nonetheless, Underwood (2012) questioned in the document analysis portion of his study
whether yakudoku is useful for the English entrance exams because only 20.5% of the public
university test focused on grammar.
Teacher training and material factors that contributed to yakudoku. Due to a lack of
material development, secondary teachers have struggled with the dichotomy of MEXT
directives for CLT and the MEXT’s English textbook exercises that prompt students to engage in
grammar related drills with the instructions in Japanese (Glasgow & Paller, 2016). What
exacerbates the problem is without ample teacher-training, communicative learning materials,
and a vast number of teachers have not learned English communication as students, teachers are
limited at teaching CLT (Aspinall, 2006). The lack of English exposure impacts the students’
confidence to communicate in English. Nishino (2008) asserted that none of the 30 in-service
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 39

secondary teacher respondents from the Tokyo area reported they had CLT training workshops
conducted by their local boards of education. In a quantitative study in the prefecture adjacent to
Tokyo, Browne and Wada (1998) found the training of 228 secondary in-service teachers was
not enough for teachers to cope with substantial curricular demands. The study also suggested
that few of the respondents had undergraduate training in teaching English as a foreign or second
language, which created on the job challenges teaching English without language teacher-
training. In a literature review, Tahira (2012) noticed that CLT is not entirely understood by
teachers in Japan where ambiguity lies in the lack of teacher-training. Kikuchi (2009) found in a
mixed-method case study of first and second-year university students studying in the Tokyo
metropolis that their high school classes significantly focused on teaching materials aligned with
yakudoku in preparation for English entrance exams for university. Looking at curricular
features may shed light on further organizational factors that contribute to the use of yakudoku.
Curriculum organization factors that contribute to yakudoku. Similar to the lack of
teacher training and suitable learning materials, the organization of the curriculum also
contributes to teaching through the yakudoku method (Browne & Wada, 1998; Glasgow &
Paller, 2016; O’Donnell, 2005; Tahira, 2012). Curricula in schools are organized counter to the
reform efforts that are being made at the national level in Japan (Glasgow & Paller, 2016;
Taguchi, 2005). In their study previously mentioned, Browne and Wada (1998) concluded that
the results of the teacher surveys indicated that the MEXT-approved textbooks have a powerful
influence on the teachers’ instructional behavior. Thus, if MEXT can encourage the textbook
authors to follow the communicative reforms more closely, then organizational change might
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 40

occur more readily. Conversely, the choices of the curriculum were influenced by the
restrictions that were placed on the school boards by the MEXT-approved textbooks (O’Donnell,
2005). Finally, it can be useful for MEXT to provide greater organizational structures to support
teachers (Tahira, 2012) such as frequent and routinized teacher-training, English language
courses, greater institutional support for the can-do assessment check lists for students (MEXT,
2011a), and other forms of support so the teachers can effectively implement the change.
The Third Era: Original and Subsequent MEXT Initiatives for Promoting CLT
In 1989, MEXT introduced communication classes to address the need for students to
increase their speaking abilities in English, otherwise known as the third and current era of EFL
education in Japan (Aspinall, 2011; Fujimoto-Adamson, 2006; Kikuchi & Browne, 2009;
Seargeant, 2008). The need for better international relations through English communication and
globalization was the premise for MEXT’s EFL policy (Aspinall, 2011; Hashimoto, 2009;
Kanno, 2007; Seargeant, 2008). The third era of English education also brought the introduction
of university graduates as assistant language teachers from English speaking countries to help
promote English-only policies in secondary classrooms. The oral communication classes
facilitated the current era of MEXT’s introduction of communicative language teaching (CLT) to
improve English instruction (Kikuchi & Browne, 2009). CLT immerged as linguistic
communicative competence (Chomsky 1986; 2006; Stevick, 1982), and later included
sociolinguistic and sociocultural elements (Hymes, 1992) that involved acquiring language in
natural settings and situations. Seargeant’s (2008) policy analysis showed the need for MEXT’s
English CLT reforms that differed from the previous 100 years of teaching English through the
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 41

yakudoku method, yet the concept of what communication entailed was not explicitly defined.
Due to MEXT’s acceptance that second language acquisition (SLA) is the promotion of
communication without considering the time to naturally acquire a language, teachers are
challenged as to how much time to focus on both the knowledge of grammar and English
proficiency used for communication (Hato, 2005).
University graduates as assistant teachers from English speaking countries. The
Japan Exchange Teaching (JET) program sponsored by MEXT in 1987 has invited university
graduates from English-speaking countries with or without teaching qualifications to be assistant
language teachers in secondary schools in Japan (Browne & Wada, 1998; CLAIR, 2015;
Fredrick, 2014; Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Koike & Tanaka, 1995; Reesor, 2002). These
graduates began working at secondary schools, education boards, and local city halls as assistant
teachers, teachers, cultural specialists, and translators that exposed a dichotomy between
teaching grammar for entrance exams and real communicative English (Glasgow & Paller, 2016;
Iwai, 2009). The contrast was a revisit of the dichotomy between the hensoku and seisoku
pedagogical methods over one-hundred years later. Browne and Wada (1998) were instrumental
in designing and developing of the JET program. As of 2017 at JET’s 30
th
anniversary, there
were 4,952 assistant teachers proficient in English from 40 countries (CLAIR, 2015).
MEXT English-only policies in upper-secondary schools. In 2006, MEXT promoted
English-only policies for designated upper-secondary schools, and in 2008, these policies were
intended to target all upper-secondary schools in Japan (Fujimoto-Adamson, 2006; Hashimoto,
2013; Noda, 2014). There were 100 selected schools that implemented content courses taught in
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 42

English and are called Super English Language High (SELHi) schools (Fujimoto-Adamson,
2006; Glasgow & Paller, 2016; also see Yoshida, 2003 prior to SELHi). In 2008, all upper-
secondary EFL teachers were encouraged to teach in English-only per MEXT (2008) policy, yet
the simplistic banning of yakudoku discouraged teachers to teach in English as previously stated
in Chapter One (Hashimoto, 2009; 2013; Noda, 2014). Hashimoto (2013) claimed that English
is stigmatized in EFL secondary courses because the medium of instruction (MOI) is not
English, and instead the Japanese language. There is a conception that MEXT positions English
as a practical economic necessity for students to acquire English abilities used in international
business and globalization (Hashimoto, 2009; 2013; Kanno, 2007; Reesor, 2002). In a critical
discourse analysis of MEXT’s (2008) secondary policy, Hashimoto (2009) found limited
translations of policy text from Japanese into English as a mechanism to lessen the influence of
English. Fujita-Round and Maher (2008) asserted that MEXT has struggled with language
reforms, despite the push for internationalization using the English language. Gottlieb (2011)
documented Japan’s language policy as Japanese being the official monolingual language, which
is useful for promoting cultural solidarity, yet it views the reality of its growing reliance on
English and other languages due to international migration. The complexity of the English
language education policy in the third era is to grapple with the bureaucratic inertia maintaining
the status quo, the rise of globalization with an increased need for English, yet with the risk of
Japanese cultural identity loss (Aspinall, 2011). All in all, there have been challenges and
successes introduced in the third era of English education in Japan at the secondary level. Prior
to reviewing the modified gap analysis for this study, a theoretical review of language
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 43

acquisition and language proficiency in the contexts of English as a second language (ESL) and
EFL will be provided to explain the theories’ distinctions, connections, and relations to CLT that
influences English secondary education in Japan.
Communicative competence and CLT’s influence on the third era. Hymes (1992)
revisited the theory of communicative competence that arose from the convergence of two
different constructs primarily between the 1950s to 1970s. They were learning languages
through transformational generative-grammar (Chomsky, 1986) or universal grammar (UG)
(Chomsky, 2006) and the ethnography of communication (Hymes, 1992), yet both were
concerned with the ability of the language users of their native language. Hymes (1992) and
Nunan (1988) claimed Chomsky advanced the term competence in language education, and
Lightbown & Spada (1999) indicated Chomsky’s UG offered a perspective for second language
acquisition (SLA) theorists and practitioners to forward the field, yet communicative competence
took on more socio-cognitive and sociocultural aspects to language learning. Stevick (1982) also
aggregated that several theorists promoted communication-based EFL teaching without author
specificity. Hymes (1992) added a sociolinguistic perspective to communicative competence
that language learning is functional, regulatory, interactional, personally expressive, heuristic
through discovery, imaginative, and representational to convey meaning (also see Richards &
Rogers, 1998). More recently Chomsky (2006) suggested that communicative competence
shares commonalities with language acquisition and other cognitive frameworks due to the use
of planning, interpreting, and evaluating the meaning of languages to communicate.
Littlewood (1981) and O’Malley and Chamot (1990) asserted that CLT or the
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 44

communicative approach not only involves teaching language forms such as vocabulary and
grammar, but focused on what learners do to use the forms for authentic communication.
Language teachers also need to provide learners time for authentic communication practice to
develop the learners’ language mastery (Littlewood, 1981; Hato, 2005). Teaching
communication involves being able to facilitate learners to acquire communicative competency
with the ability to interpret language holistically, rather than studying languages in isolated forms
(Widdowson, 1981). Spada (2007) reviewed CLT since its inception in the late 1970s including
the method's myths and misconceptions, its different manifestations in the U.K. and North
America, and some confusion amongst linguists and language educators about the theory. The
author concluded that CLT definitions varied, yet sufficient case studies suggest that some form-
focused instruction is needed to teach meaning-based curriculums for higher learning of the
target language. Richards and Rogers (1998) recognized that what is common amongst all the
versions of CLT is using a communicative model to learn languages with a teacher as facilitator,
with materials and classroom activities that support learner communication.
Iwai (2009) asserted that communicative competence and CLT theory was applied to
English secondary education in Japan by MEXT in the third era with increased English
proficiency requirements for teachers. However, the author also suggested that more teacher-
training is needed for grammatical, sociolinguistic, and discourse competence for facilitating
students to improve their English communication. Hato (2005) found that MEXT’s absence of a
context-based instruction and no provisional rationale for administering the already developed
EIKEN Society for Testing English Proficiency (STEP) test to measure language proficiency
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 45

negatively impacted school districts to reach the English language proficiency goal. The author
also asserted that MEXT’s EFL 2003 reform policy appears to equate SLA as promoting
communication without regard for the time it takes to naturally acquire a language. Language
acquisition and proficiency will be addressed as the foci of MEXT policy centered around CLT.
Language acquisition of second or other languages. Historically, SLA theorists have
not been in full agreement or outright disagreement about how languages are acquired and how
they are learned (Ellis, 1997; Krashen, 2004; Lightbown & Spada, 1999; Nunan, 1988; O’Malley
& Chamot, 1990). Krashen (1982) developed five hypotheses theory regarding SLA that is
acquired in sequential order from one to five according to the level of complexity. Krashen’s
(1982) first three levels are aggregated from existing acquisition theory, the fourth hypothesis
was introduced by Krashen and his colleagues, and the fifth hypothesis draws on the relationship
between language acquisition and motivation, confidence, and affect (Krashen, 1982; also see
Stevick, 1982). A short summary of the five hypotheses follow.
According to Krashen (1982), the first hypothesis level is the acquisition-learning
distinction where the acquisition process involves picking up the language subconsciously
similar to children learning their native language. The second level is the natural order
hypothesis that is a person’s acquisition of grammar structures of the language advances in a
somewhat predictable sequence (Krashen, 1982). At this stage, making errors in speech is a sign
of the developmental process of acquiring a language (Richards & Rogers, 1998). The third
level is the monitor hypothesis where improvement can be monitored consciously, but only when
the three conditions of sufficient time to practice the language, focusing on the language forms,
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 46

and being aware of the grammar structures. Therefore, conscious monitoring of language
production is limited and difficult to achieve for language learners simultaneously because of
time constraints, focusing on meaning rather than form, and limitations of internalizing the
grammar of the target language (Krashen, 1982).
The fourth level is the input hypothesis that postulates once an individual demonstrates
mastery of the first three levels in which i represents the acquirer’s current language competency
at the level four. To obtain mastery at the fifth hypothesis level that represents 1, the individual
acquires understanding of the language beyond the current competency level that is “i + 1”
(referred to as i plus one) by focusing on meaning with support of the context, further linguistic
information, and by the aid of a facilitator (Krashen, 1982, pp. 15-20). According to Krashen
(1989), the fourth hypothesis, which focuses on acquiring first and second languages by
interpreting meaning helps individuals achieve vocabulary and spelling gains through reading.
Krashen (2004; 2006) advanced the input hypothesis by suggesting that students who receive
comprehensive input in and outside the classroom and engage in self-selected reading achieve
greater language proficiency than students in the traditional language classroom.
Lastly, the fifth hypothesis, or the aforementioned “1” (or one) is the affective filter that
integrates language acquisition with motivation, self-confidence, and language acquisition
anxiety (Krashen, 1982; 2004). If an individual possesses a high affective filter, then they may
not acquire full proficiency of the language because their anxiety level can inhibit their
confidence and motivation. Thus, a high affective filter blocks language acquisition, yet if the
individual possesses a low affective filter with lower anxiety and more confidence, then mastery
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 47

of the language will be greater. The fifth hypothesis suggests that students can be supported by
teachers to keep a low-stress environment in the language classroom by providing input in a
comprehensible way to lower the students’ anxiety (Krashen, 1982; 2004).
Stevick (1982) acknowledged that SLA involves authentic communication through
context while learning a language entails some deliberate practices of forms, yet both are
separate strands on a continuum that teachers can intertwine to support students’ language
proficiency. Ellis (1997) asserted that SLA is what individuals can do with a language based on
external factors or social conditions and internal factors of cognition that allows learners to
process information from second language input where learning and acquiring are used in
tandem to describe similar concepts. Zuengler and Miller (2006) posited that in addition to
cognition, socio-cultural perspectives related to SLA keep the diversity of the theory growing
with fruitful debates about language acquisition. O’Malley and Chamot (1990) argued that most
theorists asserted that cognition is an essential component of the process of SLA, yet some
theorists focus more on language proficiency (Stevick, 1982), some more on language learning
competencies (Ellis, 1997), and others, including Krashen (1982; 2004) more on SLA as a
process that integrates the motivational theory of affect and language anxiety with cognition.
Since emotion and affect have significant implications on students’ mood to acquire languages,
the influences of affect will be discussed in the motivation section of the literature review.
Language proficiency in second or other languages. In earlier years of language
education, O’Malley and Chamot (1990) theorized that language proficiency or the level that
learners acquire a language can be facilitated by metacognitive strategies such as scaffolding and
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 48

cooperative learning. If the learners are at a beginning level, instructions might be best in their
native language or another language that they have acquired. Nunan (1988) asserted that
language learning curricula programs in principle include claims about language proficiency as a
desired outcome of the program, yet theoretical and applied linguists generally disagree on the
terminology of what proficiency represents. Benson (2003) reviewed sixteen case studies and
two theoretical chapters. He concluded it is difficult to measure language proficiency in learner
autonomy studies due SLA’s focus on results that answer research questions. The reason is
autonomy research aims at describing narrative studies of learning processes that are ambiguous
in the cause and effect nature of SLA research inquiry (Benson, 2003). He concluded that there
is a need for empirical research for the discipline of learner autonomy in language education.
Elder and O’Loughlin (2003) found through semi-structured interviews and pre-and post-
tests that 112 international students’ International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
scores at four tertiary institutions in Australia and New Zealand improved by an average of .5
after 200-240 contact hours of IELTS instruction. The t-test analysis of the IELTS pre- and post-
tests produced an average increase of +.5 in all four sections of the test that indicated that the
duration of study is essential for language proficiency. Finally, several author’s suggested that
higher levels of proficiency are acquired where teachers can facilitate increased proficiency
through meta-cognitive strategy building (LoCastro, 2001; Nunan, 1988; O’Malley & Chamot,
1990; Oxford, 2011). Next, the theoretical framework of Clark and Estes’s (2008) modified gap
analysis is beneficial to use for this field-based evaluation study to analyze how confident the
student stakeholders feel about their English language proficiency.
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 49

The Clark and Estes’ (2008) Modified Gap Analytic Conceptual Framework
Clark and Estes’ (2008) conceptual framework is a gap analysis that systematically
identifies the performance gaps of the stakeholder groups. The framework serves as a diagnostic
tool that analyzes human causes of performance gaps that may prevent the stakeholder groups
from achieving their goals (Clark & Estes, 2008). The authors’ framework is comprised of
knowledge, motivation, and organizational (KMO) factors that influence gaps in achieving
performance goals. For this evaluation study, a modified gap analysis framework will be
utilized, the potential gap(s) will be identified with the first-year university stakeholder group
that have learned English for six years in secondary school, and then solutions will be proposed.
The three components of Clark and Estes’ (2008) KMO conceptual framework will be
modified and applied to this study to identify how satisfied the student stakeholders are with
their English language proficiency and the EFL instruction they received in their secondary
schools based on MEXT guidelines. The first factor that will be examined is two of the four
dimensions of knowledge and skills: factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive (Clark &
Estes, 2008; Krathwohl, 2002; Mayer, 2011; Richlin, 2006; Rueda, 2011). The two dimensions
of knowledge and skills used in this study will be the students’ procedural awareness of their
language proficiency acquisition and socio-cultural influencers, and their metacognition and
socio-cognitive influencers that have contributed to such language learning gains. The second
factor that will be examined is the motivation that influences the extent to which the stakeholders
are efficacious about their language learning and in control of their emotive states (Clark &
Estes, 2008; Mayer, 2011; Rueda, 2011). Lastly, the third component that will be considered is
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 50

three organizational cultural influences (Clark & Estes, 2008; Rueda, 201l; Schneider, Brief, &
Guzzo, 1996), which include student stakeholder familial expectations, entrance exam
preparation, and teacher-training and English language. All three KMO influencers will be
examined in this study and further elucidated upon in the methodology section of Chapter Three.
Knowledge and Skills
As alluded to in the introduction of Clark and Estes’s (2008) KMO gap analysis, the first
dimension is the knowledge and skills of the stakeholders, which is factual, conceptual,
procedural, and metacognitive knowledge (Krathwohl, 2002; Mayer, 2011; Richlin, 2006;
Rueda, 2011). MEXT’s secondary students should have the knowledge and skills to engage in
authentic communication in the EFL classrooms upon graduation (Fredrick, 2014; Glasgow &
Paller, 2016; Noda, 2014). Nevertheless, Kikuchi (2009), Kikuchi and Browne (2009), and
Williams and Andrade (2008) found that when high school graduates entered university in Japan,
they are, for the most part, ill-prepared with the skills needed to engage in EFL communication
after six or more years of instruction. Therefore, it seems beneficial for secondary students to
acquire a greater amount of knowledge and skills regarding language proficiency, in this case,
the English language before entering university or the workforce (Krathwohl, 2002; Mayer,
2011; Richlin, 2006; Rueda, 2011). Consequently, in this section, literature pertaining to
declarative and metacognitive knowledge for this evaluation study will be reviewed.
Knowledge influences. The dimensions of knowledge in the revised Bloom’s
Taxonomy classify the cognitive process to enhance the mastery of learning and instruction
(Krathwohl, 2002). In addition, the dimensional rubrics help educators identify the four gaps in
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 51

knowledge, which are factual, conceptual, declarative procedural, and metacognitive (Clark &
Estes, 2008; Krathwohl, 2002; Mayer, 2011; O’Malley & Chamot, 1990; Richlin, 2006; Rueda,
2011). Each of these four knowledge dimensions includes a cognitive process dimension in
subcategories with key verbs that educators can use to design learning objectives that are
remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create (Krathwohl, 2002; Richlin, 2006).
According to Krathwohl, (2002), the cognitive and knowledge dimensions paired together are
cumulative where learners master simpler categories in sequential order before achieving
mastery of the more complex categories. The first of the knowledge dimension is factual or
knowing the facts about a situation to be informed or to solve problems (Mayer, 2011; Rueda,
2011). The dimension is not a focus of this study because the students have already developed
an elementary base of knowledge of the English language after six years of EFL instruction. The
second knowledge dimension is declarative conceptual that means the degree to which a person
can conceptualize the interrelationships of components within a greater structure that allows for
the varying elements to function as a unit (Richlin, 2006). These elements of knowledge include
classifications, theories, models, and structures (Rueda, 2011). Clark and Estes (2008) stated by
training individuals with knowledge that is relevant, sequenced, and guided with opportunities,
in this context to practice language functions, with feedback for students to master their goals.
Subsequently, Krathwohl, (2002), described the third declarative knowledge dimension,
which is procedural that involves how to learn a skill. For example, the students in this study
may have procedurally learned English through yakudoku by rote memorization of vocabulary
and grammar structures at secondary school. In educational settings, learners should acquire
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 52

“conceptual, theoretical, and strategic” knowledge that provides support to deal with unexpected
challenges that are features of declarative, conceptual, and metacognitive knowledge (Clark &
Estes, 2008, p. 59). It will be beneficial for the student stakeholders to declare their working
knowledge of English to get a better picture of what they believe relative proficiency levels they
have acquired (also see Kikuchi, 2009; Kikuchi & Browne, 2009).
Lastly, the fourth knowledge dimension is metacognition, which is the ability to be aware
of one’s cognitive processes and have some degree of control over it, which requires reflection
(Mayer, 2011; Rueda, 2011). Moreover, to have a greater sense of metacognition and to know
oneself in this instance as an English language learner, are qualities that can be developed
through self-regulation and support through scaffolding (Baker, 2006), which provide
opportunities for increased language proficiency (Dam & Legenhausen, 2010; Lamb, 2010). The
first-year university stakeholders in this study may be able to strengthen their metacognitive
strategy use that lead to greater English language acquisition and proficiency. Planning is a
crucial metacognitive strategy for acquiring a second or other language that supports language
reception and production (O’Malley & Chamot, 1990; Oxford, 2011). In the knowledge portion
of this study, the focus is on the student stakeholders’ procedural knowledge of their acquired
English proficiency level and their metacognitive strategies reflecting on their language learning.
Documenting aspects of the interviewees six-year EFL education is essential to collect data on
what may be impeding their language competency due to the low-performance data.
Students’ declarative knowledge about their EFL learning in Japan. Evaluating the
procedural knowledge of the students by expressing their proficiency (Mayer, 2011) of the
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 53

language (Rueda, 2011) will help assess whether MEXT is reaching their global goal for the
student stakeholders to improve their English ability. Rueda (2011) asserted that learners think
about what they have learned and apply the knowledge to what they are learning in integrative
ways of retaining proficiency for greater student success. The students should be able to
visualize and outwardly express their learning progress (Richlin, 2006). O’Malley and Chamot
(1990) and Nunan (1988) define language proficiency as the goal of the language program where
the learners acquire languages through procedural strategies with scaffolding, assistance of an
instructor, and cooperative learning with peers and the instructor. From a sociocultural
perspective, focusing on how students acquire language through guided learning with scaffolds
measuring the students’ integration of knowledge both individually and collectively is important
(Scott & Palincsar, 2006).
The adjustment from learning English in the Japanese language to learning English in
English can involve students to reflect what they thought they learned during secondary school
(Kikuchi & Browne, 2009). The students should be able to intellectualize and convey what they
learned (Richlin, 2006) for greater EFL proficiency gains. In several cross-sectional case
studies, researchers found t-test correlations between higher levels of autonomous language
learning and EFL proficiency scores when learners used materials and strategies to monitor their
learning at the tertiary level with the support of their instructor (Abadi & Baradaran, 2013; Dafei,
2007; Sakai & Takagi, 2009; Valadi & Rashidi, 2014). Nonetheless, Benson (2010) argued that
assessing the students’ autonomy in EFL is problematic because measuring the authentic
meaning of the learners’ behaviors could be obdurate if not handled carefully. Morrison (2005)
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 54

found through grounded theory that learning gain was the primary reason university students
attended an autonomous self-access center in Hong Kong, yet it is concerning there are not
enough empirical frameworks to assess language proficiency in the field of learner autonomy in
language education (also see Benson, 2003). For example, the students in Morrison’s (2005)
study self-reported that they wanted to be more proficient at English rather than advocating for
their learner autonomy. This declaring one’s own proficiency involves students to reflect on
their prior learning seems to connect with metacognition; the fourth dimension of knowledge.
Reflecting on English language learning through metacognition. Finally, the student
stakeholders need to know how to think about their EFL learning for facilitating greater mastery
that involves metacognition (Oxford, 2011), or the ability to reflect on one’s cognitive processes
(Mayer, 2011; Rueda, 2011). Retrospectively thinking about EFL learning indicates that
metacognition can be developed in learning environments, in this case, greater language
proficiency, where learning transfer occurs through gained knowledge and cognition control that
gradually progresses during childhood (Baker, 2006). Learners of English develop
metacognitive strategies such as planning, utilizing resources, and evaluating one's cognition to
create a stable second language edifice or a complex system of beliefs (Oxford, 2011). The
author also asserted that successful language learners use metacognitive strategies to regulate
their socio-cognitive practices regardless of the level of their language proficiency. Dam and
Legenhausen (2010) have demonstrated in multiple five-year longitudinal studies in Denmark
that primary and secondary students need to know how to reflect on their language learning and
set target goals for increased language proficiency in small and manageable increments.
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 55

Various studies highlighted suggest that utilizing metacognitive strategies can facilitate
English language learners to improve their language proficiency test scores. Liyanage, Bartlett,
Birch, and Tao (2012) found in an ANOVA analysis of 1,440 Chinese public university students
at three different campuses that the use of three metacognitive strategies of selective attention,
organized planning, and self-management were statistically significant to improve their EFL
proficiency scores for exit exams. The authors also suggested that the study provided further
evidence that learners engaged in metacognitive strategies for greater listening and speaking
proficiency gains outside their classrooms provided an environment for self-directed learning
and learner autonomy. Utilizing the metacognitive awareness listening questionnaire (MALQ)
Rahimi and Katal (2013) rigorously demonstrated positive internal reliability coefficient scores
on the Cronbach’s alpha scale of .74 for problem-solving, .75 for planning and assessing, .78 for
mental translation, .74 for personal knowledge, and .68 for directed attention of 50 young adult
students at an EFL language institute in Tehran, Iran. The learners were exposed to
metacognitive listening strategies with a control group of traditionally taught students that both
used the same learning materials and had the same instructor (Rahimi & Katal, 2013). The
researchers did not find significant variations of proficiency with both sets of learners’ pre- and
post-test of the TOEFL listening sections, but the metacognitive strategies seemed to improve the
students proficiency scores on the TOEFL speaking section of the post-test. The findings
suggest that because the learners were relatively proficient at English, the students trained in
metacognition used their awareness to reduce spoken planning intervals to produce more
effective speaking abilities than the control group (Rahimi & Katal, 20013).
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 56

Facilitating the opportunity for the students to reflect on their language learning with
meaningful feedback for increased language proficiency in small and frequent increments helps
support students’ EFL academic pursuits and strengthened their confidence and learner
autonomy (Dam & Legenhausen, 2010). Tsuda and Nakata (2013) discovered that 1, 076
Japanese students from seven prefectural high schools processed complex internal factors that
influenced their cognitive, behavioral, and metacognitive knowledge that affected their learning.
Through an ethnographic case study of inner-city teens in Yorkshire, in the UK, Lamb (2010)
explored the metacognitive knowledge and beliefs about the student participants’ language
learning. The findings suggest that teachers can apply strategies to bring greater awareness to
the students’ metacognitive beliefs, so these language learners can make formative assessments
and enhance their autonomous behaviors for greater learner proficiency long after the course is
over (Lamb, 2010). The dynamic awareness of the learner’ reflection and support include
translaguaging, where the first language supports the second language (García & Kleifgen,
2018). Lastly, Table 3 provides an overview of the knowledge influences, types, and
assessments aligned with the global goal and stakeholder goal for this study.

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 57

Table 3
Knowledge Influences, Types, and Assessments
Global goal
The global goal for MEXT is that 50% of the third-year senior high school students will obtain a
proficiency level of grade pre-2 or higher on the Society for Testing English Proficiency
(STEP)’s Test in Practical English Proficiency (EIKEN) by March 2020.
Stakeholder goal
The stakeholder goal for the first-year university students will be that they are satisfied with their
English language learning proficiency and satisfied with the EFL instruction they received in
their secondary schools based on MEXT guidelines by March 2020.
Knowledge influence Knowledge
type
Knowledge influence interview assessment
Students need to be proficient in
oral and written communicative
English after six years of
learning the language (Kikuchi,
2009; Kikuchi & Browne,
2009).
Declarative
procedural

Interview items: Students will describe what
they thought they learned.

• Now, I would like to ask you about
your English learning experiences.
“When did you start learning English?
Please explain what was happening
during that time.
• What should I have asked you that I
didn’t think to ask? (Patton, 2002, p.
379)
Students need to reflect on their
language learning for greater
metacognition (Baker, 2006;
Clark & Estes, 2008; Krathwohl,
2002; Mayer, 2011; Rueda,
2011), for greater awareness
about their language learning
experiences to increase their
language proficiency (Benson,
2011; Dam & Legenhausen,
2010; Tsuda & Nakata, 2013).
Meta-
cognition
Interview Items: Students will be asked to
reflect on what they learned and their EFL
goal-setting.

• Imagine I was your classmate at your
usual English secondary lesson. What
would be going on? Please take me to
this class (Patton, 2002).
• What are your English learning goals?
• What is your best way to study
English?

Motivation
Knowledge is the first tripartite or one of the “big three” causes of performance
disparities in this gap analysis evaluation study (Clark & Estes, 2008, p. 43). The second cause
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 58

of performance gaps is the motivational factors to achieve goals, especially when there are
additional knowledge influences and lack of organization support (Clark & Estes, 2008; Rueda,
2011). Falout, et al. (2009) found in a study of 900 university students from four prefectures in
Japan that students with lower English proficiency levels were less likely to cope with their
affective states while learning EFL in Japanese through yakudoku at secondary schools, which
caused greater levels of demotivation. Similarly, Kikuchi (2009), Kikuchi and Browne (2009),
and Sakai and Kikuchi (2009) discovered high school graduates and current high school students
in EFL classes in Japan were demotivated by inappropriate learning materials, learning through
yakudoku, inadequate learning facilities, lack of motivation, and feeling experiences of anxiety
because of failure. The research suggests that cultural norms at the societal level of teaching to
English entrance exams through the yakudoku method affect secondary students’ motivation,
which negatively impacts their language proficiency gains. Therefore, it can be useful to
measure the degree to which the students are engaging in choice, persistence, and mental effort
to acquire a stable sense of self-efficacy to evaluate this motivation and field-based influence
(Mayer, 2011; Pajares, 2006; Pintrich, 2003; Rueda, 2011).
The possibility of the evaluation of self-efficacious behaviors can also facilitate the on-
site EFL students’ ability to recognize and reduce the feelings of anxiety related to foreign
language learning (Lord & Kanfer, 2002; Williams & Andrade, 2008). Through this recognition,
the students may obtain a greater sense of learner autonomy, choice, control, and motivation over
their language learning (Benson, 2011; Dörnyei, 2001). Researchers have suggested a multitude
of motivational theories that are beyond the scope of this study (Mayer, 2011; Rueda, 2011).
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 59

Thus, the motivational theories of self-efficacy and the control of positive epistemic emotions
will be the focus of the motivation portion of the study.
Self-Efficacy theory. An early theory that emerged from social cognitive theory is self-
efficacy (Bandura, 2005; Denler, Wolters, & Benzon, 2006; Pajeres, 2006; Pintrich, 2003;
Rueda, 2011). Self-efficacious beliefs are an important aspect of evaluating motivational
performance because they are predictors of all three motivational indicators of choice,
persistence, and mental effort (Clark & Estes, 2008; Rueda, 2011). Bandura (2005) found that
self-efficacy is the reflection of the learners’ beliefs about whether they feel they can achieve a
task. This motivational theory does not involve self-esteem, rather the belief if positive or
negative outcomes occur from their behavior, from external sources, or both (Bandura, 2005;
Denler, et al., 2006). If a student is used to getting As, which is a grade given by an external
source, yet she or he gets a lower score, they may experience having a bruised self-efficacy
(Pajares, 2006). Pajares (2006) also declared that if a student who usually receives a C,
subsequently receives a higher score, they should gain a boosted self-efficacy. Accordingly,
self-efficacy is the students’ beliefs about whether they are capable or not of the achievement of
a certain learning task, which is a complex product of self-persuasion based on diverse sources
such as other people’s opinions, feedback, or past experiences (Dörnyei, 2001; Mayer, 2011).
Self-efficacy is also an important performance factor because this motivational construct
accounts for the learners’ self-perceptions or beliefs about how their actions can play a part in the
outcomes that they desire (Pajares, 2006). If students in Japan studying English are confident in
their capability to learn the language over time, then they will exert more mental effort, be more
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 60

engaged, and more active during the language learning process (Denler, et al., 2006). In other
words, students with high levels of stable self-efficacy “work harder to learn when they believe
their hard work will pay off” (Mayer, 2011, p. 40). Clark and Estes (2008) asserted that belief
accounts for almost everything related to motivational issues, which is the central premise of
self-efficacy and part of the motivational component of this study. Moreover, in the field of
language learning, Dörnyei (2001) asserted that self-efficacy had been highly recognized as a
key factor in determining effort, persistence, and linguistic self-confidence.
Students’ confidence in effectively learning English. There are a statistically significant
numbers of university students in Japan that were unmotivated to learn English based on their
prior six-year EFL classroom experiences of not achieving their desired EFL proficiency level
(Falout, et al., 2009; Kikuchi, 2009; Kikuchi & Browne, 2009; Tsuda & Nakata, 2013). Tsuda
and Nakata (2013), found when early intervention, individualized instruction, and frequent
feedback was given by EFL teachers, the support helped reinforce their high school students’
internal factors that activated metacognition and boosted self-efficacy. In a mix-method three-
year longitudinal study of 219 female high school students, Takase (2007) discovered a
Cronbach’s alpha reliability score of .85 for high levels of self-efficacious EFL reading. The
students were intrinsically motivated to read in English due to self-selected choices that created a
joy for reading, greater autonomy, and higher self-efficacy levels (Takase, 2007).
Moreover, self-efficacious perceptions do not always occur through new and novel
practices. In a small mixed-method one-year longitudinal study of 18 Japanese university
students, Johnson (2013) found a self-perceived lack of EFL ability due to low self-efficacious
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 61

beliefs based on their secondary school language learning experiences. The students’ self-
efficacy was influenced by the English they learned, the amount of feedback they received from
their EFL teachers, and their previous experiences while learning English. For these reasons,
researching recent high school graduates’ self-efficacy beliefs can be an advantageous measure
for this study. There is a caution that Aspinall (2006) and Horibe (2008) have both suggested
that in the educational English language learning context in Japan, humility is a desirable feature
in the classroom and a pragmatic cultural norm in the society where self-proclamations of
confidence is not appealing. Therefore, the researcher checked her biases not to make value
judgments related to measuring self-efficacy, demonstrating confidence, and all issues related to
the findings and reporting of the study. Finally, because beliefs about self-efficacy for learning a
language influences the students’ patterns of thought and emotional reactions, this study will also
evaluate motivational emotions and affect (Pajares, 2006).
Emotions and affect. In their comprehensive handbook Stets and Turner (2007)
demonstrated that research on emotions has infiltrated nearly all subfields of sociology that
includes education. Learners experience a broad range of emotions that influence learning
outcomes, which indicate that emotion and affect are critically significant for understanding
motivation and cognitive learning (Pekrun, 2011). Positive epistemic emotions like joy and
satisfaction can facilitate commitment and a sense of learning, while negative epistemic
emotions such as anxiety, and depressive emotive thoughts can destabilize motivation (Pekrun,
2011; also see Clark & Estes, 2008). Conversely, intense emotional stressors impair cognition
and memory that links motivation and knowledge (Dörnyei, 2001; Lord & Kanfer, 2002). Next,
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 62

the connection between affect and emotions associated with motivation will be explained.
Affect is a general term that refers to moods or emotions (Lord & Kanfer, 2002). The
affective dimension in social settings comprises a range of experiences on a spectrum from
transient flashes of feelings of shame, rage, or joy to enduring attitudes such as admirations or
grudges (Ridgeway, 2007). Pintrich (2003) furthered the argument that affect is a significant
attribute to both cognition and motivation. When students have control over the cognitive
process of their language learning, this indicates they also have some degree of control of their
emotions (Baker, 2006; Lord & Kanfer, 2002). Pekrun (2011) suggested that affective emotions
lie on a range of continuums of various dimensions. The two largest contributors are valence
that is differentiated by positive and negative emotions, and activation, which moves learners to
engage or disengage (Pekrun, 2011). Lastly, teachers can reduce negative impacts of stress-
producing emotions through effective test design, promoting emotions that create joy and the
curiosity for learning, maintaining authentic student/teacher interactions, fostering autonomous
learning, setting goals, and giving meaningful feedback (Pekrun, 2011).
Control of emotions and affect learning a language. Kikuchi (2009) discovered in a
qualitative study of 47 Japanese high school graduates experienced emotive anxiety in
performance-based settings when penalties were given by teachers and when the students’ test
scores were compared with each other. These students reported that the teachers’ instruction in
Japanese through the yakudoku method and the teachers’ drill and kill approach to teaching in
preparation for English university entrance exams contributed to the students’ affective anxiety
and demotivation for learning the language (Kikuchi, 2009). For the facilitation of motivation
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 63

and learner autonomy in the EFL context, comparing test scores in class in front of students to
demonstrate who are more proficient than others is detrimental because the comparison is
demotivating and is likely to perpetuate low emotive self-perceptions (Ushioda, 1996).
Increased anxiety through poorly administered exams is one affective influence in the EFL
classroom, but there are also other emotional factors.
Williams and Andrade (2008) found in a study with 243 Japanese university students at
four institutions that situational variables such as course design, level, and organization created
emotive anxiety while practicing English in communication classes, so educators should
carefully plan their EFL courses to reduce anxiety. In another study, Falout, et al., (2009)
asserted when the university students’ English proficiency was low, they significantly
demonstrated reactive behaviors that debilitated learning. These observed behaviors over time
led to chronic demotivation in the form of a lack of control of their affective states and the
process of their learning (Falout, et al., 2009). Lastly, emotions are caused by a multitude of
variables that teachers in the EFL context cannot always control. Batsell and Grossman (2006)
asserted that classroom phobias and text anxiety can be debilitating to students based on negative
classroom experiences produced from high-stakes activities. Students can be supported through
individual learner goal-setting and appraisals about their motivational outcomes for greater
emotional resilience (Dembo & Eaton, 2000). These practices influence the degrees to which the
students can self-regulate their behavior to increase their motivation for better learning outcomes
(Benson, 2011; Dembo & Eaton, 2000). Table 4 describes the assumed motivational influences
and assessment explained in alignment with the global and stakeholder goals for the study.
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 64

Table 4
Motivational Influences and Assessments
Global goal
The global goal for MEXT is that 50% of the third-year senior high school students will obtain
a proficiency level of grade pre-2 on the EIKEN English Proficiency (EIKEN) by graduation
in March 20120.
Stakeholder goal
The stakeholder goal for the first-year university students will be that they are satisfied with
their English language learning proficiency and satisfied with the EFL instruction they
received in their secondary schools based on MEXT guidelines by March 2020.
Assumed motivation
influences
Motivational influence interview assessment
Self-efficacy:

Students need to feel confident in
their ability to communicate in
English. (Johnson, 2013; Pajares,
2006; Pintrich, 2003; Takase,
2007; Tsuda & Nakata, 2013).
Interview questions:

• How confident about your ability to communicate
in English?
• How confident at you at using English for
academic purposes?

Emotion and affect:

Students need to feel positive
epistemic emotions regarding
their use of the English language
communication (Falout, et al.,
2009; Lord & Kanfer, 2002;
Williams & Andrade, 2008).

Interview questions:

• How do you feel when you speak English?
• Tell me about a recent experience you had
speaking English. How do you feel about your
ability to understand what someone else said to
you in English?

Organization
The third dimension of Clark and Estes’s (2008) KMO gap analysis is an organizational
theoretical framework that is comprised of cultural models and cultural settings that influence the
outcome of the desired organization or global goals (Clark & Estes, 2008; Rueda, 201l;
Schneider, Brief, & Guzzo, 1996). Multiple authors have asserted policymakers need to
establish a culture of trust that supports the stakeholders’ environments at the individual and the
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 65

collective levels to maintain stability and momentum for the proposed change (Clark & Estes,
2008; Kezar, 2001; Moran & Brightman, 2000; Rath & Conchie, 2009; Rueda, 201l). The
process involves understanding existing organizational cultural models and settings in relation to
the change reforms and the climate, knowing how people communicate, and understanding what
is and is not being valued across the organizational levels (Clark & Estes, 2008; Moran &
Brightman, 2000). Rueda (2011) asserted cultural models are not easy to operationalize because
they are not often visible, not accessible, are automatized, and they involve cultural values, yet
are highly influential. Furthermore, cultural models can bring potential change back to the status
quo. Therefore, knowing the structures for interpersonal communication across the levels of the
organization are important (Clark & Estes, 2008; Moran & Brightman, 2000; Rueda, 2011).
Conversely, cultural settings are comprised of social contexts in the form of policy in identifiable
workspaces that are visible to most of the stakeholders in the organization (Rueda, 2011). This
study includes cultural models and settings that are comprised of integral influences as an entire
unit due to the historical and cultural norms in Japan in an extensive field-based study rather than
a single organization. An explanation of organizational influences that affect providing
opportunities for secondary students to use communicative English in Japan will follow.
Cultural influence one: Familial expectations that influence proficiency. Family
expectations can influence the students’ language proficiency. In a longitudinal ethnographic
case study, O’Donnell (2005) discovered that two junior high teachers in central Japan felt
pressures from the students’ families and the administration to prepare their students for high
school English entrance exams through the yakudoku method. Similarly, the researcher found
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 66

that all four of the secondary school teacher participants felt a dilemma of rejecting or accepting
the status quo of teaching for the exams, and the pressure to not accept was overwhelming.
Underwood (2012) conducted an exploratory sequential mixed-method study with a small
sample size of high school EFL teachers that reported that that social pressure from others led
them not adopt the CLT policy reforms and teach grammar for university entrance exams. Sakui
(2004) reported in her two-year longitudinal case study of 30 secondary English teachers that an
extreme emphasis is placed on preparing students for high school and university entrance
examinations where the teachers could not ignore the pressure to teach yakudoku. Gorsuch
(2000) found in a quantitative structural equation model (SEM) survey that 876 secondary EFL
teachers nation-wide felt significant pressures from families to teach utilizing the yakudoku
method for university entrance exams. The familial and societal pressure extends to junior high
teachers in hopes of the students entering prestigious high schools (O’Donnell, 2005; Sakui,
2004; Underwood, 2012). Another pressure involves preparing students for English entrance
exams will be introduced in the following section.
Cultural influence two: Yakudoku is valued for student entrance exam success.
Researchers have suggested that there is a culturally assumed acceptance by many boards of
education (BoE), parents and guardians, and English teachers that the translation of texts from
English to Japanese, or the yakudoku method, will help the student stakeholders be successful at
the university English entrance exams in Japan (Aspinall, 2006; Browne & Wada, 1998; Butler,
2011; Butler & Iino, 2005; Falout, et al., 2009; Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Gorsuch, 1998; 2000;
2001; Hino, 1988; Kavanagh, 2012; Kikuchi, 2009; Kikuchi & Browne, 2009; Kitao & Kitao,
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 67

1995; Kuramoto & Koizumi, 2016; Laurier, et al., 2011; Nishino, 2008; O’Donnell, 2005;
Reesor, 2002; Sakui, 2004; Tahira, 2012; Underwood, 2012). Therefore, students need to study
English efficiently to improve their chances of passing university entrance exams when they are
in secondary students. The assumption of concentrated study to pass English exams is embedded
in a cultural influence has little variation in consensus among the individual social group that
holds certain core elements, beliefs, and values that has created norms at the societal level (Erez
& Gati, 2004; Schein, 2004). Consequently, these authors claimed that when leaders go against
the underlying assumptions of the social culture, policymakers should be hard-pressed to invoke
any change at all. Kezar (2001) suggested that change success relies on the alignment with the
cultural norms, so resource dependent public organizations face difficulties adjusting because
they rely on constant funding and human resource support that is not always available.
MEXT’s (2011b; 2011c) secondary school EFL policy encourages English-only
instruction in secondary classes to promote English communication with the caveat that Japanese
language use is permitted when necessary because Japanese is the official medium of instruction
(MOI) (Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Hashimoto, 2009; 2013; Noda, 2014). However, English
entrance exam preparation in yakudoku is a valued teaching pedagogy in secondary schools.
These suggested discrepancies between behavior and practice are indications that there is a
climate with two disconnected policies where organizational change and improvement will take
time (Morrison & Milliken, 2000). However, nearly 30 years of CLT promotion has resulted in
negligible impact where only 36.4% of the high school graduates in 2016 after six years of
instruction have reached the minimal language proficiency of equivalent to 32 on the TOEFL
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 68

test, and 4.5 on the IELTS (EIKEN, 2017; ETS, 2017) that is much lower than MEXT’s global
goal of 50% (Aoki, 2017; MEXT, 2014). Then, measuring the extent of the cultural influences
that affects students’ language proficiency when they receive two simultaneous EFL secondary
language policies of exam preparation and English communication is critical to measure for the
improvement of the intended educational global goal.
Cultural influence three: Educators need training to improve students’ proficiency.
There is an assumed hierarchical norm in Japan that when MEXT publishes their secondary
curriculum reform each decade, BoEs and teachers should be able to follow the guidance despite
few opportunities for teacher training (Aspinall, 2006; Browne & Wada, 1998; Butler, 2011;
Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Hashimoto, 2009; 2013; Humphries & Burns, 2015; Kavanagh, 2012;
Kikuchi, 2009; Kikuchi & Browne, 2009; Laurier, et al., 2011; Nishino, 2008; O’Donnell, 2005;
Reesor, 2002; Sakui, 2004; Shimizu, 2010; Tahira, 2012; Underwood, 2012). When
organizations nurture a hierarchical culture that assumes silence is appropriate, it is difficult for
organizations to respond or accept diversity with limited opportunity for feedback from the
stakeholders (Morrison & Milliken, 2000).
Moreover, caution should be paid to macro-cultures, subcultures, and micro-cultures
within hierarchical organizations that may have different shared assumptions then the overall
organizational field of practice (Schein, 2004). Each local and prefectural BoE in Japan has a
unique culture based on the demographics of the locale. Leaders, supervisors, and the
organizational culture within every board carry potential foundations for effective
communication (Berger, 2014) to relay useful information for English teacher-training. When
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 69

the quality interactions are ignored, ineffective communications in the workplace can occur
(Berger, 2014). Similarly, Berbarry and Malinchak (2011) have acknowledged that people in
organizations need engagement, recognition, and being understood. Organizational change can
occur when practitioners at various ranks and levels actively collaborate to document student
achievement and equity influencers, which initiate change through data-driven research (Harris
& Bensimon, 2007). Nonetheless, teachers in hierarchical organizations who receive policy
directives with little support to enact change may find difficulty establishing students’ success.
Highlighting this perplexity in Japan, secondary English teachers are inundated with
administrative duties they cannot easily decline, which leaves less time to devise communicative
syllabi stipulated in MEXT’s (2011a) English course-of-study (Nishino & Watanabe, 2008;
O’Donnell, 2005; Tahira, 2012). Previously stated, secondary teachers in Japan average the
highest work hours of the 34 OECD nations at 54 hours per week (OECD, 2013). Teachers need
time, training, and resources to enact change to help improve their workflow and assist their
student stakeholders. Organizational change requires a need for efficient work processes and
resources that are aligned with the mission of the MEXT EFL policy, yet if the enacted systems
need revisions and the faculties have little resources and training, the change will likely fail
(Clark & Estes, 2008). Conversely, organizational change can successfully occur if the efforts to
improve are understood by the stakeholders (Langley, Moen, Nolan, Nolan, Norman & Provost,
2009). Hunt (1998) described that creative problem solving is a process that can facilitate
organizational change such as ensuring there are fewer glitches that impede the workflow
process and confirm that faculty has resources needed to complete their work.
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 70

Since 2011, MEXT has implemented the Commission for the Development of Foreign
Language Proficiency that published five specific measures for developing proficiency in
English for international communication in secondary schools (MEXT, 2011a). The
recommendations were to establish English proficiency assessment measures, promote English
for a global society, provide more opportunities for students to communicate with assistant
foreign English teachers, reinforce the teachers’ knowledge and skills through teacher-training
courses by the U.S. Embassy, Tokyo, and revise the university English exams to be more
internationally focused (MEXT, 2011a). Overall, three cultural influences as defined
organization section of the Clark and Estes’s (2008) KMO theoretical framework appear to
interfere with the success of the student stakeholders to communicate in English upon
graduation. Table 5 illustrates the assumed organizational influences and assessment explained
in the columns aligned with the two goals and primary interview questions for the study.

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 71

Table 5
Organizational Influences and Assessments

Conceptual Framework: The Interactions of the Stakeholders’ KMO Context
A conceptual framework is provided to demonstrate the connectivity between MEXT, the
Boards of Education (BoE), the EFL teachers, and the student stakeholders related to Clark and
Estes’s (2008) modified KMO gap analysis that influences the student stakeholders’ English
Global goal
The global goal for MEXT was that 50% of the third-year senior high school students had
obtained a proficiency level of grade pre-2 or higher on the STEP’s Test in Practical English
Proficiency (EIKEN) by graduation in March 2020.
Stakeholder goal
The stakeholder goal for the first-year university students will be that they are satisfied with
their English language learning proficiency and satisfied with the EFL instruction they
received in their secondary schools based on MEXT guidelines.
Assumed organizational influences Organizational influence interview
assessment

Cultural influence 1:

Family influences
Students are influenced by familial expectations
about their language proficiency.
Students will be asked broader questions
about their families’ expectations about
learning English.
• How does your family feel about
your English studies?
Cultural influence 2:

Students are taught that learning English by the
yakudoku method will help them pass university
entrance examinations.
Students will be asked to identify the
methods of instruction of their English high
school classes through open-ended
interviews.
• How do you get a passing score on
EIKEN pre-2?
• Please tell me what your teachers
explained about university entrance
examinations?
Cultural influence 3:

Students need to learn communicative English
by teachers who receive training, support, and
time to create communicative EFL syllabi.
Students will be asked their awareness if
their teachers received training about
communicative language teaching.
• How satisfied were you with your
teachers’ instructions?
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 72

proficiency at the secondary level (see Figure 1, p. 72).

Figure 1. Modified influences in the literature that affects the student stakeholder goal.
This framework is the orientation and the lens that informs what the key concepts,
models, theories, and case studies are related to the interviewees (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016) that
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 73

are the secondary school stakeholder graduates. The conceptualization was a lengthy process of
fluid reflexively by researching, comparing data, and seeking expert advice. Additionally,
Maxwell (2013) suggested, although conceptual frameworks are re-worked exponentially, Figure
1 is a simplified version of a complex historical problem in Japan viewed through the lens of the
American researcher living in Japan, thus needs continual revising.
The three-asymmetrical circular KMO influencers shown in Figure 1 represent the
knowledge, motivation, and organization of the student stakeholders. Ideally, from the biased
perspective of the researcher, if the student stakeholder goals were in perfect alignment, Figure 1
might look more like a symmetrical three-circle Venn diagram. The legend in the lower left
corner describes the representations of the KMO circles and the directional arrow influencers.
The orange circle depicts the knowledge and skills the stakeholder students possess. The blue
circle represents the students’ motivation to learn English connected with the knowledge circle in
the form of a double Venn diagram that represents the interactional relationship between the two
KM constructs as student stakeholders. These two circular frames in the center are combined in
orange and blue, with the mutual influencer arrow and the image of the people communicating
that represent the students attempting to find their declarative, metacognitive, self-efficacious,
and emotive voices in the learning/motivational experience to improve their English proficiency.
The third circle is red and is comprised of three organizational cultural influences that represent
MEXT, the BoEs, the families that affect the student stakeholders below (see Figure 1). All
three influencers impact the extent the students are satisfied with their English
language proficiency and secondary EFL instruction.
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 74

Knowledge Influences
The orange knowledge circle in Figure 1 represents the student stakeholders’ assumed
knowledge and skills, which are the EFL procedural and metacognitive learning that contributes
to their improved English proficiency goal. The students’ knowledge pursuits are influenced by
the field-based red organization circle with the downward and one-way directional arrow. First,
the students need to be proficient in communicative English after six years of learning the
language in classes that were conducted in English (Aspinall, 2006; Butler & Iino, 2005;
Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Friedman, 2016; Fujimoto-Adamson, 2006; Hashimoto, 2009; 2013;
Kavanagh, 2012; Kikuchi, 2009; Kikuchi & Browne, 2009; Nishino, 2008; O’Donnell, 2005;
Noda, 2014; Sakui, 2004; Seargeant, 2008; Underwood, 2012). Second, students need to reflect
on their language learning for greater metacognition (Baker, 2006; Clark & Estes, 2008;
Krathwohl, 2002; Mayer, 2011; Richlin, 2006; Rueda, 2011) and be more aware of their prior
language learning experiences to set target goals for improved language proficiency (Benson,
2011; Dam & Legenhausen, 2010; Liyanage, et al., 2012; Rahimi & Katal, 2013; Tsuda &
Nakata, 2013). Next, the motivational influences will be addressed.
Motivation Influences
The blue circle representing student stakeholder motivation interacts with the orange
knowledge circle representing the student in the double Venn diagram in Figure 1. First, the
students need to engage in choice, persistence, and mental effort (Mayer, 2011; Rueda, 2011) for
a greater sense of self-efficacy (Bandura, 2005; Dörnyei, 2001; Falout, et al., 2009; Johnson,
2013; Lord & Kanfer, 2002; Takase, 2007; Tsuda & Nakata, 2013). Second, the students need to
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 75

recognize their language learning anxiety and emotive states to feel more confident about
learning English (Falout, et al., 2009; Kikuchi, 2009; Pekrun, 2011; Ridgeway, 2007; Takase,
2007; Tsuda & Nakata, 2013; Williams & Andrade, 2008). The bold directional arrow placed
under the knowledge and motivation double Venn diagram indicates how both constructs affect
the stakeholder goal of the first-year university students’ prospect of being satisfied with their
English language proficiency and the EFL instruction they received in their secondary schools
based on MEXT guidelines. Next, the dichotomous secondary EFL education is described in the
following organizational influences section.
Organizational Influences
At the top red circle in Figure 1 depicts the larger organizational field-based influencers
that affect the student stakeholders’ goal that represent MEXT and the educational boards along
and English teachers. Inside the circle, there are three influential cultural influences that impact
the students’ knowledge and motivational pursuits to learn English. The first cultural influence
is that students are influenced by societal and family expectations to improve their English
proficiency. In three qualitative studies of secondary teachers, O’Donnell (2005), Sakui (2004)
and Underwood (2012) found secondary school teachers felt an ongoing burden of accepting the
status quo to teach yakudoku to prepare students for the university entrance exams. In a
quantitative structural equation model (SEM) survey of N = 876 secondary EFL teachers in
Japan, Gorsuch (2000) found teachers felt significant pressures to teach for university entrance
exams based on family expectations. Although attempts were made to facilitate communication
to improve the students’ English, the pressure to teach to the test for university entrance exams
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 76

from the students’ families and boards of education (BoEs) was overwhelming (O’Donnell,
2005; Sakui, 2004; Underwood, 2012; Keidanren [Japan Business Foundation], 2017).
The second organization cultural influence is not specifically documented in MEXT
(2011b; 2011c) policy. Acknowledged in robust literature reviews (Aspinall, 2006; Bulter, 2011;
Butler & Iino, 2005; Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Kavanagh, 2012; Kitao & Kitao, 1995; Kuramoto
& Koizumi, 2016; Reesor, 2002; Taguchi, 2005), case studies of teachers (Browne & Wada,
1998; Gorsuch, 1998; Nishino, 2008; O’Donnell, 2005; Sakui, 2004; Underwood, 2012), and
case students of students (Falout, et al., 2009; Kikuchi, 2009; Kikuchi & Browne, 2009; Sakai &
Kikuchi, 2009) there is English entrance exam preparation in secondary schools included in
MEXT-approved EFL textbooks. The downward directional arrow originating from the
organization circle in Figure 1 influences the students by the field of practice.
The third influence assumes with policy directives to teachers that students can learn
communicative English. However, teachers need to receive adequate training, support, and time
to create communicative syllabi. The three cultural influences depicted by a downward-
directional arrow affect the students’ knowledge and motivation of being satisfied with their
English proficiency. Lastly, if the three circle-shaped KMO influences were a symmetrical triple
Venn diagram, the students would achieve the stakeholder goal. Unfortunately, the research is
saturated at the organizational level for students to learn English in the target language. This
conceptual framework attempts to depict how the field of practice has a significant hierarchical
directional impact on the student stakeholders’ knowledge, motivation, and their goal of being
satisfied with their English proficiency and learning experiences.
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 77

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Clark and Estes’s (2008) knowledge, motivation, and organizational (KMO) modified
gap analysis framework was useful for assessing the problem of practice regarding EFL language
learning in Japan. The KMO framework was valuable for focusing on the knowledge and
motivational self-efficacious and emotive behaviors of the first-year university students learning
English in Japan, and it also addressed the organizational influences related to achieving the
global goal. The study was designed and guided by the following research questions:
1. To what extent has EFL secondary education in Japan met the student stakeholder goal of
providing satisfactory English courses that support their English language proficiency?
2. What are the student stakeholders’ knowledge and motivation related to satisfaction with
their English language proficiency and language instruction?
3. What is the interaction between the organizational culture and context and the student
stakeholders’ knowledge and motivation to learn English in Japan?
4. What are the recommended knowledge and skills, motivation, and organizational
solutions related to the student stakeholder goal?
Participating Stakeholders
The purposive and convenient sample population (Creswell, 2014; Fink, 2013; Johnson
& Christensen, 2015; Maxwell, 2013; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016) was first-year male and female
tertiary students in Japan who have experienced six years of secondary EFL instruction primarily
in the Japanese language that has created challenges learning English at universities (Falout, et
al., 2009; Johnson, 2013; Williams & Andrade, 2008). The secondary students close to their
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 78

high school degree completion at the age of 18 could have been sampled without the USC
Internal Review Board (IRB) consent for minors. However, recent high school graduates were
selected to reflect on their secondary EFL pedagogy. The first rationale was to refrain from
adding obligations to third-year secondary students’ university entrance exam preparation
(Kikuchi, 2009; Kikuchi & Browne, 2009). Creswell (2014) noted that sampling students with
challenging schedules might also result in low participation rates. Second, by sampling
university students, single organizations were not subjected to a field-based study. Third, it was
convenient because both genders were past the age of parental consent in Japan that is 16 years
of age for women and 18 years for men. Moreover, the purposeful sampling criteria and
recruitment through interviews and document analyses of the students’ learning materials and
MEXT secondary EFL policy documents were used to establish congruency with the KMO
influencers and conceptual framework.
Interview Sampling Criteria and Rationale
Crucial criteria for the sample selection of the qualitative interviews were the
stakeholder’s potential to provide insights related to the conceptual framework and queries
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The criteria, rationale, and recruitment strategies are:
Criterion 1. The first-year stakeholder students graduated from a national, private, or
public high schools in Japan.
Criterion 2. The students studied English in secondary schools in Japan.
Criterion 3. The students received an EIKEN Society for Testing English Proficiency
(STEP) score of pre-two or a comparable norm-referenced English language test.
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 79

Criterion 4. The students received a Test of English for International Communication
(TOEIC) proficiency score of 500, which is a pre-requisite for the sample population.
Interview Sample Recruitment Strategy and Rationale
A sample of eight volunteer first-year university students enrolled in English academic
communication courses at Sakura University was recruited to participate in semi-structured
interviews, which were not students of the researcher. The balance of demographics of student
stakeholders represented both public and private secondary schools from diverse regions across
Japan that attended the researcher’s mid-tier public university for convenience. Potential
candidates received an English and Japanese bilingual information sheet during five-minute
informative recruitment talks with the relevant contact information. The talks were arranged
with three international professors who taught academic communication. The recruitment was
held during classes when it was convenient at the rate of two to three visits a course per term.
Then, a Japanese professor who coordinates a study-abroad program sent the information sheet
attached in an email twice to 15 students who attended the courses as reminders of the voluntary
interview opportunity. Attempts were made to recruit a balance of both genders that represented
the national demographics of secondary students, yet seven males and one female volunteered.
A significant effort was made to conduct more interviews with more female interviewees, yet the
timing of the end of the academic year exams and low enrollment limited participant availability.
The student stakeholders studied English in Japanese schools for six years or longer.
They obtained an EIKEN English proficiency score of at least pre-two or the equivalent of one or
two other English proficiency tests. Moreover, they received a TOEIC score of 500 or more that
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 80

is a pre-requisite for the academic English courses for the sample population. The selection of
secondary school graduates in Japan with a stable proficiency level of English was needed for
the data to be comprehensible as the interviews were primarily conducted in the language. The
interview protocol was professionally translated to Japanese and used as needed (see Appendix).
University students relatively proficient at English were recruited due motivation and anxiety
concerns. Falout, et al. (2009) found when tertiary students’ English proficiency was low, they
observed reactive behaviors that led to chronic demotivation in the form of learning anxiety,
which could make the interviews challenging to conduct. Attempts were made to document what
successful students language learning experiences look like for the recommendations in Chapter
Five. The convenient and purposive sample included upper-secondary graduates that attended
three different accredited institutions either public, national-public, or private, but gender
diversity was a challenge with the sample. Creswell (2014) stated a sample using demographic
stratification helps resemble the percentage of the population. MEXT’s (2016) census of senior
high schools in Japan comprised of 27.7% private schools and 72.3% public schools with
51.16% males and 48.84% female students in their senior year or N = 1,070,030. With eight
students from public, national-public, and private institutions, this study achieved similar
percentages for demographic stratification, but not for gender.
Strategy rationale. Bilingual consent forms were used, and the interviewees’ privacy
was strictly maintained. Reflection, rigor, and bias are important components of a credible and
trustworthy research study (Creswell, 2014). The researcher’s reflexivity and bias were reflected
on, declared, and the emerging findings were discovered by an open-ended semi-structured
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 81

interview guide approach (Creswell, 2014; Johnson & Christensen, 2015; Monzo & Rueda,
2009). The sampling of interviews with volunteer students during the winter of 2017-2018 was
conducted. Using the Clark and Estes (2008) modified gap analysis of students’ perceptions was
important due to research saturation of EFL high school teachers’ observations and beliefs about
the yakudoku method (Glasgow & Paller, 2016). Trust and rapport were of the utmost
importance for the comfort of the interviewees. The quality of the responses throughout the
interview process was established through constant member checks that led to the credibility and
trustworthiness of this study (McEwan & McEwan, 2003; Johnson & Christensen, 2015).
Methodological Rationale
Although surveys and observations could have been useful instruments, first-year
university student interviews and document analyses of the students’ texts and secondary MEXT
policy documents (2011b; 2011c) were more suitable for this study. Secondary students were
not sampled due to the hectic entrance exam preparation that would not allow much access,
single organizations would be subjected, and the consent age is different between genders is 16
years of age for women and 18 for men. Purposive sampling through interviews and two
document analyses with was constructed to establish congruency with the modified KMO and
conceptual framework. Developing the methodological rationale was a significant element of
building credibility and trustworthiness in this study, as well as laying the foundation for
qualitative data collection.
Qualitative Data Collection and Instrumentation
The qualitative data collection were open-ended semi-structured interviews with the
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 82

volunteer student stakeholders and document analyses of the interviewees’ EFL textbooks and
MEXT policy documents. Relating the interviews and research question one, the interviewees
revealed how much EFL secondary education prepared them to communicate in English, as well
as how satisfied they were with their instruction. Regarding research question two, the
interviews facilitated the students’ demonstration of their knowledge (Patton, 2002) about their
English proficiency and motivation to learn the language. This research question also evoked
emotive responses on occasion during the interviews (Krueger & Casey, 2009) about learning
English. In alignment with interviews and embedded in research question three, the interviewees
provided insights about their EFL learning environments related to their organizations with
situational expertise the researcher had not experienced (Weiss, 1994) in Japan.
Then, document analyses of the student stakeholders’ MEXT-approved English textbooks
and English teaching policy documents were analyzed. The analyses were associated with
research question three regarding what kind of instruction the interviewees received, interviewee
reflections about their instruction in alignment with the directives in the textbooks and MEXT
policy. Moreover, attention was placed on how the organizational culture, tools, and resources
influenced the interviewees’ knowledge and motivation to learn English through the document
analyses. For example, did the linguistic features of the content of the texts facilitate
communication and were the language components relevant to the students’ lives? Research
question four was about the knowledge, motivation, and organizational goals for the study. The
query focused on the interviewees recommendations for future stakeholder successes (Patton,
2002), their textbooks, MEXT EFL policy, and other resources the English teachers might use to
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 83

improve future students’ English language learning in Chapter Five. The instruments are
explained in detail as they relate to the research questions for the study.
Interviews
The interviews (see Appendix) were essential for communicating with the student
stakeholders to document information connected with all four research questions about their past
EFL experiences, so this qualitative form of data collection was a crucial instrument for this
research. Merriam and Tisdell (2016) advocated for the usefulness of interviews when
researchers are interested in past events because they are impossible to replicate, yet the effects
on the interviewees could be measured. These qualitative interviews carefully revealed windows
to the past (Weiss, 1994), in this case, the interviewees’ perception of what occurred (Patton,
2002) regarding the student stakeholder EFL experiences in Japan.
English language proficiency levels of the interviewees. The researcher interviewed in
English using vocabulary within the Japan Association of College English Teacher’s (JACET)
level range the participants have been exposed to in junior (Kitao & Tanaka, 2009) and senior
high schools in preparation for English university entrance exams (Kitao & Kitao, 2011; 2014).
It was anticipated that each interviewee should have received an EIKEN English proficiency test
score of grade pre-2. The EIKEN (2008) STEP association utilizes, the EIKEN can-do list:
English translation, a publication that was the result of an extensive three-year self-assessment
survey research project of n = 200,000 EIKEN test takers. Four interviewees took the EIKEN
test in high school and scored at the lower-intermediate grade pre-2 or higher. However,
surprisingly, four interviewees did not take the EIKEN test. However, an equivalent proficiency
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 84

score was achieved as each interviewee took the Test of English for International
Communication (TOEIC) designed by English Testing Service (ETS). Each interviewee had a
TOEIC score of over 500 to 700, which according to MEXT (2015c), an EIKEN grade pre-2
score is between 225 to 550 on the TOEIC test. The TOEIC test was also the pre-requisite for
the academic English course so the interviewees could handle an English-speaking interview.
Table 6 represents the interviewees with pseudonyms, their demographics, institution type,
English proficiency scores, and the regions they lived in and listed in the order they interviewed.
Table 6
Demographics of The Interviewees and Their English Proficiency Scores
Interviewee Age Gender Lower-
secondary
institution
Upper-
secondary
institution
EIKEN
English
score
TOEIC
English
score
Region of
study in
Japan
Ryo 20 M Public Public -- 515 South east

Kakeru 19 M Private Private Pre-1 645 East

Yuto 19 M Public Public -- 700 North west

Naruto 20 M National Private 2 550 West

Takeshi 19 M Public Public -- 580 East

Riku 19 M Public Public -- 550 North east

Tatsu 19 M Public Public 2 680 South

Hana 19 F Public Public Pre-2 630 East
Note: Each interviewee has a self-chosen pseudonym.

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 85

Recruitment of the interviewees. Recruitment for the interviews was carried out at the
beginning or end of the four English academic communication classes previously mentioned.
The period of the interview data collection was carried out at the end of the third quarter in
December 2017 and during the fourth quarter of 2017-2018 from December to February. Those
who agreed to be interviewed were immediately contacted by email and scheduled a 30 to 50-
minute interview at their convenience. After confirmation of the participation format and the
interview location on campus, then the interview time, date, and meeting rooms were scheduled.
The interviews leaned towards the informal side to enhance genuine attempts that the researcher
was an equal conversation partner with the participants (Rubin & Rubin, 2012) despite the
significant 35-year age difference. Patton (2002) cautioned in interviews that cross-cultural and
language differences could be substantial barriers. However, this impediment was neutralized as
much as possible with researcher’s Japanese language abilities, understanding of various cross-
generational cultural models, and has worked with the same age group of first-year university
students for 23 years that is explained further in the credibility and trustworthiness section.
The purposive strategy was that students were recruited from three center courses that
provided English academic communication English classes to all faculties that ran on a quarter
system during the third and fourth quarters. Merely 19 eligible first-year students who attended
these courses were recruited although the enrollment capacity was 90. In some cases, the class
size was so low that potential participant identities would be revealed if their teachers read this
project, so more specific demographic data is not provided. Moreover, the study was delayed, so
the third quarter students received the information during their finals week, that resulted in only
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 86

one interviewee. The low enrollment of the courses is that Sakura University recently runs both
on the traditional semester system and the new quarter system concurrently depending on the
faculty that complicates schedules. Sampling students with challenging schedules resulted in
low participation rates (Creswell, 2014), yet the data was unforeseen due to limited access to the
data. By the fourth quarter in January of 2018, only two students were interviewed amongst the
19 recruits. One interviewee was a former student the researcher taught six-months prior who
earnestly requested inclusion via email. A third interviewee previously enrolled in an academic
communication course during the first and second quarters found the information sheet at the EC
and volunteered for the interview.
For greater recruitment, an additional academic communication class for first-year
students enrolled in the course with an acceptable language proficiency requirement was
identified that ran on the semester calendar. These 38 students were also recruited, and four
interviewees from the class were confirmed. Without the researchers’ knowledge, these 38
students were informed by their teacher that they could drop their lowest exam including their
final if they took the interview and three of the four took part in this incentive.
Interviewee demographics. The participating stakeholders for the interviews were first-
year university students that graduated from a national, private, or public high schools in Japan
in March of 2017. All eight interviewees were Japanese nationals, seven studied English in
secondary schools in Japan for six years, and one studied English in Japan for five years and at a
Japanese school abroad during his first year of junior high school. The interviewees were either
19 or 20 years old. The interviewees were enrolled in seven different locations throughout
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 87

Japan, and only two studied in the same prefecture as Sakura University. The locations were
concealed to protect the interviewees’ identities, schools, and local boards of education where
they attended. Instead, the four cardinal regions of north-south-east-west in Japan where the
interviewees studied were noted in Table 6. A significant limitation of this research study is
there was only one female interviewee and seven males. Therefore, the gender ratio was not
balanced, and the interviews provide information was filtered by male interviewees (Creswell,
2014). Thus, multiple female responses were not represented that resembled a negative response
bias found in quantitative research (Maxwell, 2013).
Informed consent. Before each interview, the participants received a hardcopy of the
University of Southern California (USC) Institutional Review Board (IRB) (USC HSPP, 2016)
approved informed consent to read in English and Japanese that was translated by a professional
company. The purpose of the study, procedures, potential risks, confidentiality was explained so
the interviewees could be fully informed of their rights (Glesne, 2011; Krueger & Casey, 2009;
Rubin & Rubin, 2012; USC HSPP, 2016). An emphasis was placed on the participant’s right to
skip any question, terminate the interview anytime, confidentiality, the use of pseudonyms the
interviewees chose, and the concealment of all possible identifiers for each interviewee (Glesne,
2011; Krueger & Casey, 2009; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016; Rubin & Rubin, 2012). A detailed
description of the informed consent process follows in the ethics section of Chapter Three.
The sites of the interviews. The researcher was not a teacher of the interviewees, yet to
avoid any issues of power, the interviews were conducted in meeting rooms approved by the
English Center (EC) administration at Sakura University, and not at the researcher’s office. The
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 88

first site used in six of the eight interviews was convenient and seemingly comfortable because
the second floor of the building was rarely used, so individuals could not easily see the
researcher and the interviewee together. Likewise, the second site was also private and was
used twice when the first site was not available, which was an office room for the general
administrative affairs bureau. This room was only accessible by appointment and was excellent
for recordings. Both rooms had the same room number in different buildings for convenience,
labeled clearly, and the student stakeholders could enter the rooms with ease.
The interview protocol. The entire interview protocol (see Appendix) was crossed-
checked by the researcher through an offline JACET level marker corpus-based readability tool
and by the official JACET word list and explained further in the trustworthiness and credibility
section of this Chapter (JACET, 2003). The participants’ English proficiency scores on the
EIKEN or TOEIC tests were lower-intermediate, intermediate, and upper-intermediate or from
an equivalent test by April 2017. As a precaution, written copies of the English and Japanese
protocol were available to the participants. When the interviewees felt comfortable responding
in Japanese, forward and backward translations were sparingly used by the researcher, who is
proficient in Japanese. A professional translation company translated the interview protocol to
Japanese, and the documents were used as a reference to when any language point was unclear.
A semi-structured protocol approach. The interviews were conducted by a semi-
structured approach (Patton, 2002; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016) with similar student stakeholder
populations. Creswell (2014) and Patton (2002) noted that having a well-thought-out written
protocol helps interviewers and interviewees stay focused and to confirm meaning as needed,
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 89

which was utilized during the interviews. Additionally, the semi-structured protocol not only
supported the quality of the instruments that got rich, detailed, and descriptive data (Weiss,
1994), but also allowed the researcher to take focused notes for review (Patton, 2002) for the
revised analytic memos. The reinforcement was not only critical for conducting the interviews,
but also provided ample time for reflection that allowed for descriptive open-ended responses.
Overall, the semi-structured approach to interview data collection was a best-match fit. The
flexible structure with specific data referred to the research questions and was essential for the
study (Maxwell, 2013; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016) that included features of combining approaches
for probes that allow for flexibility with some open-ended questions as needed (Patton, 2002).
Interview question types and relation to the conceptual framework. The instruments
are provided in the Appendix, and the research questions are aligned with the conceptual
framework of the study (see Figure 1, p. 72). The opening statements of the protocol included an
attempt to ring the interviewees’ “mental doorbell” (Patton, 2002, p. 370) with significant efforts
to establish rapport to let them know the researcher is interested in what they said. The
conceptual framework features images of stick-figure students who appear to look confident in a
double Venn Diagram that represented their knowledge, skills, and motivation to learn English.
In Japan, it is not uncommon for teachers to lecture students, so the researcher made every
attempt to demonstrate or ring the bell that she authentically respected their voices.
Moreover, “think back” interview questions (Krueger & Casey, 2009, p. 58) were used
that asked interviewees about their previous learning experiences because the queries elicited
responses about the organizational cultural models and setting. These organizational influences
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 90

associated with the student stakeholders are one, learning English through the yakudoku
pedagogy, two, the perceived social and familial pressures, and three, cultural influences that
related to how the stakeholders were taught EFL is depicted in a red circle in Figure 1 (p. 72).
As the students conveyed their experiences, they indicated degrees of their motivational self-
efficacy and emotion represented in Figure 1 in the blue circle and their metacognition in the
orange knowledge circle. In short, the organizational field-based influences of MEXT seemed to
impact the students’ knowledge and motivation to learn English. The think back questions also
aligned with Weiss’s (1994, p. 75) notion of revealing “inner events” that include the students’
perceptions of their experiences about what they thought they heard and saw, their cognitive
awareness about what they felt, and their emotive states while learning and cramming for
English entrance exams.
Another question type used and elucidated by Patton (2002) is rapport and neutrality in
the present tense about the interviewees’ assessment of their language proficiency. When
students conceptualized their language learning ability, it was of utmost importance for the
researcher while asking these questions to be empathic as they conveyed their knowledge, and
not judge them for the content about anything (Patton, 2002) including their language
proficiency. This practice is important throughout the data collection, but particularly important
during the declarative knowledge portion of the interview (Patton, 2002). Their English
proficiency is embedded in the knowledge section of the conceptual framework in Figure 1 and
was linked to the organizational influencers that impact the students’ language learning.

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 91

Member checks. Throughout the interview, the researcher utilized member checks to
confirm the content of the interviewees’ comments to ensure the intended meaning of the
utterances, to increase understanding, and to reduce potential bias (Creswell, 2014, Maxwell,
2013, Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). This strategy was profound because the interviewees were
learners of the language. These probes included, “I want to make sure I understood you. Do you
mean …?” and “Can I confirm...?” that helped verify more vividly the intended responses.
Notably, these queries were invaluable when there were contradictions, or it appeared either
party did not fully understand one another. Translations of the interview protocol were made
available to read that was utilized and referred to as needed. Each interviewee occasionally
confirmed what Japanese vocabulary meant in English. In case a question was skipped or not
answered, closing questions were placed at the end of the interview. They were, “If there are
any other English language experiences you would like to tell me about, please let me know,”
and “I think I have asked all of the questions for this interview, but is there anything else you
want to share with me about how you learned English?” The closing prompts also helped verify
the assumed KMO influences. Delayed checklists were used for follow-up confirmation when
needed (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016) that included the interviewee’s name, the query, comments,
the time-stamp from the audio recording when it occurred, and the action taken.
Document Analyses
The document analyses were comprised of two sources. First are the interviewees’
lower- and upper-secondary EFL textbooks they utilized to reveal more about what they
potentially learned. Then, the second set of documents are the current English versions of
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 92

MEXT’s (2011b; 2011c) secondary policy reforms for communicative English, which served as
additional evidence about how the interviewees’ classes were or were not organized. These
documents are not human subjects, so each analysis focused on the organizational elements of
the study. The textbook documents exposed various influences in organizational support for
interviewees’ knowledge and motivational pursuits described the interviews and in the
conceptual framework (see Figure 1, p. 72). The analysis was paired with other sources of
public information (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016) in the form of previous meta-analysis studies.
These document analysis studies included MEXT’s CLT English reform policy in Japanese and
their English translations first presented in Chapter Two. In the following sections, both the
textbook and policy analysis will be described.
The interviewees’ secondary English textbooks. The interviewees’ MEXT approved
lower- and upper-secondary English textbooks were rich document sources that gave clues about
how the modified KMO gap analysis framework by Clark and Estes (2008) provided
organizational English language proficiency support in the target language. Creswell (2014)
stated the advantage of this form of data collection was the data could be retrieved for
expediency without being obtrusive to others. Another benefit was the Japanese language
instructions were written at a graded-level suitable for teenagers that were familiar to the
researcher. During interviews, the students identified which MEXT approved English textbook
series they used for both lower- and upper-secondary schools. All eight interviewees were
precise at recalling their junior high school textbooks series with ease, but their senior high
school textbooks were not readily recalled by seven of eight interviewees. The following section
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 93

describes the MEXT-approved English textbook collection methods.
Data collection of the MEXT-approved English textbooks. The textbooks were not
obtainable for purchase through a stable delivery system online or at bookstores. In a densely
populated eastern metropolis in Japan, there is only one bookstore for public access to secondary
textbooks of all subjects for view and purchase. The location is oddly juxtaposed between local
restaurants, migrant accommodations, and nightclub entertainment establishments. On the first
of the two visits, near the bookstore, four police officers were questioning two individuals at a
nearby establishment during the afternoon in February 2018. The researcher purchased the
interviewees’ MEXT-approved secondary English textbooks available on a cash-only basis,
signifying the public has limited access to the location and purchasing the textbooks. Used
copies are sparingly sold online, but the materials were primarily out of stock.
To obtain the most information about the secondary textbooks, follow-up emails were
requested for delayed member checks (Creswell, 2014; Maxwell, 2013; Merriam & Tisdell,
2016) to confirm content when needed as interpreting meaning without verification is not
acceptable in research (Patton, 2002). Innovation was used to document when the interviewees
could not recall their high school textbooks including cover design information. An example
was an interviewee mentioned that a character in the textbook was “Ms. Green,” so the series
was identified. Another practice was the researcher took photos of the books at the location, the
pictures were sent by email for delayed member checks.
The English textbooks selected. The second year of the series was analyzed for both
lower- and upper-secondary textbook series to study a cross-section of materials of the same year
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 94

to be uniform in analysis, and one first year high school textbook was out of stock. The lower-
secondary textbooks where easily recalled during the interviews that were the New Crown
English Series 1, 2, and 3 (Negishi, 2015a; 2015b; 2015c), New Horizon English Course 1, 2,
and 3 (Kasajima, 2016a; 2016b; 2016c), and Sunshine English Course 1, 2, and 3 (Matsuhata,
2015a; 2015b; 2015c). Although the interviewees had three English courses in upper-secondary
school where one should have focused on the four-skills for three years, an oral communication
class for two years, and an advanced third-year English conversation class. The textbook series
and the three types of classes were seldom remembered. They recalled one or two textbooks
used, partial elements of the texts, or old public entrance exams were used. Moreover, the upper-
secondary textbook series available including in-house publications or supplementary textbooks
could identify the school district or the interviewee. Delayed member checks were used to recall
three of four commercial textbooks. Therefore, the second years of Element English
Communication II (Ushiro, 2013), Landmark English Communication II (Takeuchi, 2014), New
Favorite English Expressions II (Nakamura, 2017), and Impact Issues 2 (Day, Shaules, &
Yamanaka, 2009) were analyzed. All series except for Impact Issues had more than eight
authors, so only the principle author was listed for six texts.
Organization of the textbook analysis. The instructions in the texts gave clues about the
organizational support the interviewees received. The documents focused on the organizational
components of the study described rather than the interviewees’ knowledge and skills, and
motivational pursuits. Therefore, addressing research question three was the focus of the data
analysis for this section: What is the interaction between the organizational culture and context
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 95

and the student stakeholders’ knowledge and motivation to learn English in Japan?
The textbooks instructions were coded and analyzed by the researchers’ observations.
Averages of the textbook activities provided in English or Japanese was measured as the extent
to which the lessons supported opportunities for the students’ language proficiency, self-
regulation, reflection, and learner goals. The content was coded to what kind of language
structures were taught, whether the activities were communicative, and which activities
supported MEXT’s global goal for English secondary education. Merriam and Tisdell (2016)
described that although coding requires a systematic analysis of documents, significant
information was revealed that was not intended in the onset of the methodology plan. The
expectations of the interviewees most likely adhered to procedurally were documented by
examining the visuals, photos, instructions, and text (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016) and recollections
of the interviewee’s reflections about the trends and themes in their textbooks. The MEXT
policy documents were referred to and corroborated by the findings in the textbook analysis.
Finally, the document analyses provided material for research question number four about the
overall recommendations of the study in Chapters Five.
MEXT’s revised communicative course of study policy for EFL in Japan. The
analysis of the lower- and upper-secondary revised explanation of the foreign language and
English language teaching was challenging to compare. Secondary schools in MEXT documents
are referred to as “lower secondary” and “upper secondary,” so the researcher used the same
terms, yet with hyphens. Despite the title, “Foreign Languages,” the overall objectives, content,
and lesson plan recommendations solely refer to teaching English. If another foreign language is
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 96

offered, one brief statement suggested, “Instruction for foreign languages other than English
should follow the objectives and contents of English instruction (MEXT, 2011b, p. 8).” In the
lesson plan design section for lower-secondary school it is stated, “For foreign language
instruction, English should be selected in principle.” English is noted 25 times in the lower-
secondary document and 59 times in the upper-secondary text. Lastly, it is uncommon for
foreign languages other than English taught at secondary school. The English versions were
mere outlines consisting of seven and eight pages respectively (MEXT, 2011b; 2011c), while the
Japanese language versions were 108 pages for lower-secondary school (MEXT, 2009a) and 80
pages for upper-secondary school (MEXT, 2009b). Moreover, MEXT (2017) has published the
updated English language guidelines for lower-secondary school exclusively, where the English
version or upper-secondary equivalent to date has yet to be released. Then, a brief MEXT policy
document analysis was paired with previous studies (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016) on MEXT
communicative English reform policy documents with the interviewee’s responses regarding the
English textbooks and English language policy documents through the eyes of these student
stakeholders. The interviewees received 2011 policy objectives, and the English versions were
used. The policy documents also provided material for research question number four about the
recommendations of the study in Chapters Five.
Data Analysis
Rigorous analysis is important when validating the findings from the data collection.
During the data analysis phase of this research, respondent validation (Maxwell, 2013) or
member checks (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016) continued from the data collection phase to
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 97

systematically receive feedback from the participants. These actions helped to confirm if the
conclusions were accurate from the participants and confirmed whether their identities were
genuinely concealed in the write-ups that related back to reflexivity, neutrality, and doing no
harm (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007; Glesne, 2011; Rubin & Rubin, 2012). Much time was needed to
analyze variations in the data to consider possible alternative outcomes to make sure the
researcher’s assumptions about the data were not maladjusted towards unrealistic conclusions
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The use of analytic memos and a code book assisted with the
deductions to bring out accurate narrations, the interviewees’ voices, and the analyses of the texts
and policy documents that the stakeholders were exposed to as best the researcher’ capabilities.
Credibility and Trustworthiness
In this section, the researcher will describe how she actively attempted to boost and
maintain the credibility and trustworthiness of the two qualitative components throughout the
study. These attempts were never perfect, but they casted a safety net closer to reality for a
more holistic view of the research (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016), rather than haphazardly
inconveniencing others and allowing the data not to represent the intention of the study.
Embedded in the study design was the use of triangulation by collecting data from multiple data
sources that reduced the higher probability of risk to the study associated with using one data
source (Maxwell, 2013; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). This study did not only employ multiple data
sources (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016) of interviews, the student stakeholders’ MEXT-approved
secondary English textbooks and policy, but drew from numerous theories (Merriam & Tisdell,
2016) in the literature review about the history of language education in Japan, policy
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 98

documents, EFL pedagogy, and the modified KMO analytical framework (Clark & Estes, 2008).
The data sources and theories informed the research questions that guided the study, and it is
important to point out that during the research process, the design was consistently being
reviewed and adjusted. According to Merriam and Tisdell (2016, p. 246), this kind of analysis of
using an “interpretive-constructivist perspective,” triangulation is a significant strategy to boost
credibility and reduce blind spots in the research design and implementation.
Lastly, a decisive action to maintain credibility and trustworthiness was the researcher’s
robust engagement with the peer examination process from the doctoral chair (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2016). Chairs are experts in the field of education, and their constructive feedback on
the entire reporting process improved the quality of this research, so it was essential to
strategically make contact to receive ample feedback without interrupting busy schedules.
The Role of the Researcher
The context of the study took place at a public university in Japan where the researcher
arranged the interviews. The research was a field-based evaluation study of first-year university
students’ perceptions of their secondary English courses before attending the university, which
was the site of the study. Therefore, the researcher’s aim was not to intervene or attempt reforms
within the organization (Glesne, 2011). Additionally, as a member attached at some capacity to
study site, the potential interests the researcher had in the results of the project were not
influential for the organization nor benefited the position of the rank of the investigator. There
did not appear to be potential confusion by the other members of the university about the
researcher’s role, but as Maxwell, (2013) suggested, reflexivity was practiced in case any
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 99

misperceptions arose. The interviewees were subordinates as first-year students, so there may
have been the potential to feel pressured to partake as they may have felt non-participation might
have affected their final grades as a lower power group (Glesne, 2011). Eliciting participants not
enrolled in the researcher’s courses minimized the subordinate discrepancy. The researcher
ensured the students understood the investigator’s role, which felt abrupt for the cultural norms
in Japan, yet like Rubin and Rubin’s (2012) conversational partners through expression and by
example. Further details about the researcher are provided in the following ethics section.
Ethics
The code of ethics at the University of Southern California (USC) is twofold; the
researcher not only adhered to the utmost care for the rights and respect for all people involved
in any study, but also upheld the ethical stature of USC as an institution (USC, 2014). This study
involved the use of human subjects. Therefore, to protect the safety of the potential participants,
the study was submitted to USC’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). The researcher obtained
informed consent by providing all information regarding the nature of the research and
permissions, so the stakeholders were fully informed about their decision to participate or not
(Glesne, 2011; Krueger & Casey, 2009; Rubin & Rubin, 2012; USC HSPP, 2016) in languages
they fully comprehended. The first-year university student stakeholder population of both
genders were of the age of consent at 18 years old in Japan (the age of consent for females is 16,
and males 18), so guardian approval was not required. Each of the interviewees agreed to be
audio recorded for the interview through a comprehensible bilingual English and Japanese
consent forms signed by both the interviewee and researcher in duplicate for full access to the
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 100

information. The interviewees can make queries about the study in the language they prefer at
any time (Glesne, 2011; Krueger & Casey, 2009; Rubin & Rubin, 2012; USC HSPP, 2016).
The researcher honestly and carefully guaranteed anonymity by using pseudonyms, and
altered any markers that might have revealed the participants with constant member checking to
protect privacy (Glesne, 2011; Krueger & Casey, 2009; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016; Rubin &
Rubin, 2012). These precautions were a slight irritation to four of the interviewees who would
have liked to have used their first names. All eight made or agreed on their pseudonyms, which
were, conciliatory, yet unique to the moniker they preferred. The interviewees were aware the
interviews and the transcriptions are stored in a password-protected computer and database, and
any non-digital artifacts are retained in a locked cabinet in a locked room until the data will be
properly cross-shredded in five years. The researcher honors the rights of the voluntary
participants with the highest respect for all persons, with beneficence, and with justice as
stipulated in USC’s IRB based on the Belmont Report Guidelines (USC HSPP, 2016).
The researcher’s subjectivity, assumptions, and biases were addressed in the field while
engaging with the participants. The researcher has lived in Japan for 28 years, is a Caucasian-
American female who is not a fully literate bilingual in Japanese. She was able to conduct
interviews and surveys in English, with Japanese as an option. All eight of the interviews were
transcribed by professionals. The recordings were then re-transcribed by the researcher due to
her familiarity with the Japanese language and Japanese-English pronunciation as the
professionals were not able to comprehend key utterances, despite specific and helpful requests.
In addition, the transcriptions were then edited for accuracy three-fold to ensure the best possible
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 101

conveyance of the interviewees’ intended meaning of their responses (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
The researcher took extensive notes during the interview to capture non-verbal communication
specific to non-native speakers of English, which gave content material to the analytic memos
that supported the analysis to (Miles, Huberman, & Saldaña, 2014) to the best of her capabilities.
The notes also served as a back-up in case the recorded audio was of poor quality or unrecorded,
yet each recording was of good sound quality. Furthermore, in hopes of reducing subjectivity,
the qualitative interview process provided ample opportunities for reciprocity for participants to
be listened to, and to reflect on their learning (Glesne, 2011). A token of gratitude was a
bookstore gift certificate for each participant was given at the end of the study that was about
nine U.S. dollars, which is customary in Japan. On reflection, if the gift certificates were
presented as an incentive before the interviews, the participation rate might have been higher.
However, the researcher aimed for participants who genuinely wanted to be interviewed
regardless of an incentive. The following Chapter Four details the findings of the study.
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 102
CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS
Japan’s Ministry of Education (MEXT) recommended English proficiency goals for
English as a Foreign Language (EFL) secondary students not being met was the impetus for this
field-based evaluation study. The systematic literature review of historical and current English
language learning pedagogy in Japan was conducted. Then, the literature was analyzed with the
theoretical and empirical assumed knowledge and skills, motivation, and organizational (KMO)
influences, which were conceptualized as the three components of this modified gap analysis
study (Clark & Estes, 2008). The KMO framework provided a base for assessment and potential
validation of the influences of this field-based problem of practice regarding EFL language
learning in Japan. The study explicitly addressed what supports or impedes secondary students
from passing their English proficiency exams after six years of daily English instruction based on
the findings of the interviews and document analyses. The significant knowledge, motivation,
and organizational findings are offered and synthesized in this chapter. Finally, reviewing the
research questions reminds how the study was guided and implemented in the finding influences:
1. To what extent has EFL secondary education in Japan met the student stakeholder goal of
providing satisfactory English courses that support their English language proficiency?
2. What are the student stakeholders’ knowledge and motivation related to satisfaction with
their English language proficiency and language instruction?
3. What is the interaction between the organizational culture and context and the student
stakeholders’ knowledge and motivation to learn English in Japan?
4. What are the recommended knowledge and skills, motivation, and organizational
solutions related to the student stakeholder goal?
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 103

Knowledge and Skills Findings
The knowledge findings are based on the semi-structured interviews of the eight
participants’ reflections about their language learning. This study evaluates two dimensions of
knowledge and skills of the interviewees’ declarative procedural knowledge regarding their
English proficiency and metacognitive reflections about English learning. The interviewees’
English proficiency was assessed through observations of their test scores and a communication
assessment during the interview to determine their declarative procedural knowledge of English
after six years of secondary education in Japan. The interviewees also metacognitively reflected
on their learning (Baker, 2006; Krathwohl, 2002; Mayer, 2011; Rueda, 2011) based on their prior
language learning (Dam & Legenhausen, 2010; Tsuda & Nakata, 2013).
Findings from the Knowledge Section of the Interviews
The modified KMO gap analysis framework in this study analyzed the causes of
knowledge influences that may prevent the stakeholder group from achieving their goals (Clark
& Estes, 2008). As previously described, knowledge and skills are factual, conceptual,
procedural, and metacognitive processes that are categorized in increments of complexity at
various stages of the learning process (Krathwohl, 2002; Mayer, 2011). MEXT secondary
graduates need to know the declarative procedural knowledge foundations of the English
language to engage in authentic communication (Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Noda, 2014). The
interviewees’ successful accounts of achieving the global goal provided insights on how future
students might also reach stable English proficiency levels by graduation. All queries and
prompts are included in the Appendix, and the interviews validated the knowledge influences.
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 104

Declarative Procedural Knowledge Findings From the Interviews
The assumed knowledge influences attributed to the low rates of secondary students
passing their recommended English proficiency exit exams is the student stakeholders in Japan
did not have sufficient exposure to English if taught by yakudoku. This influence is based on
interviewees learning through yakudoku by translating text from English to Japanese to prepare
for English entrance exams for university (Gorsuch, 1998; 2000; 2001; Hino, 1988; Nishino,
2008; Noda, 2014). Focusing on the eight interviewees’ declarative procedural knowledge, they
were proficient English communication after six years of learning the language. It was predicted
and then later verified that the interviewees’ responses were revealed in various interview
questions. The following interview findings in this knowledge section supported the assumed
influences.
The interviewees’ English proficiency level was lower- to upper-intermediate. The
interviewees needed to be proficient in communicative English after six years in secondary
school (Kikuchi, 2009; Kikuchi & Browne, 2009). Learning by yakudoku supported the
interviewees’ English proficiency only to EIKEN grade pre-2 or lower-intermediate. The eight
interviewees’ English proficiency varied. EIKEN’s (2008) grade pre-2 can-do bandwidth
descriptors for English proficiency for oral communication can, “handle routine tasks from
everyday life and express his/her ideas about topics that he/she is interested in” (p. 13). Riku,
Ryo, and Takashi did not take the EIKEN, and Yuto, not in high school. The revelation that the
test was not required seemed to make MEXT’s intended target less effective. Fortunately, the
interviewees’ obtained a Test of English for International Communication (TOIEC) score. Table
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 105

7 shows the interviewees’ demographics of the interviewees and a variety of English assessments
they took. Their names are listed in the order of their proficiency scores from the highest to
lowest. The first assessment is the TOIEC scores the interviewees took when they entered
Sakura University in April of 2017. The second is the International English Language Testing
Service (IELTS) scores for three students taken in the fall of 2017. The third is the EIKEN
STEP grade score taken during high school. And the fourth was the researcher’s assessment of
their test scores, and an oral assessment in the interview.
Table 7
Demographics of the Interviewees and Four English Proficiency Assessments
Name Age

Gende
r
Junior
high
Senior
high

TOEIC
score
IELTS
score
EIKEN
score
Researcher’
s assessment

Kakeru 19 M Public Public 645 5.5 Pre-1 Upper-
intermediate

Yuto 19 M Private Private 700

Upper-
intermediate

Tatsu 19 M Public Public 630 5.5

2

Intermediate
Riku 19 M Public Public 550 Intermediate

Naruto 20 M National Private 530 5

2 Intermediate

Takeshi 19

M

Public Public 580

Lower-
intermediate

Hana 19 F Public Public 630 Pre-2 Lower-
intermediate

Ryo 20 M Public Public 515 Lower-
intermediate
Note. Blank spaces indicate the interviewee did not take the English proficiency assessment.
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 106

All eight interviewees’ English proficiency was assessed by the researcher with the
interview questions responses, and their levels ranged from lower-intermediate to upper-
intermediate. The proficiency test scores aided as indicators of what the interviewees have
achieved using English. The researcher rubric for assessment at the lower-intermediate level was
the interviewee could comprehend the questions, and could reply, but the fluency and accuracy
were impacted. An intermediate level indicated the interviewee could speak at length, yet was
not often accurate. Then, an upper-intermediate level signified the interviewee could handle a
lengthy reply with accuracy and fluency. As examples, the four interviewees who did not take
the EIKEN test approximate English proficiency levels will be explained.
Yuto was able to take two of three of his upper-secondary classes in English. He could
comprehend and convey experiences comparable to the upper-secondary level such as, “Just like
writing and listening to English is boring for me. [pause] And it can’t be the key to improve my
English, so I need, and also the other students need to take opportunity [sic] to talk in English.”
Yuto’s TOEIC English proficiency score of 700 was the highest of the interviewees. Also, he
majors in English education, so the researcher felt an upper-secondary user of English was the
best fit at the time of the interview. Next, like Yuto, Riku learned English in English in high
school and seemed to have features of an upper-secondary user of the language. He was able to
express his feelings about the importance of English writing with ease, “Because it is easy to
read just what is written in the textbook or in the book, but uh, writing, it’s like creating
something in English, so I think it is the most difficult ability in learning English.” The concept
of writing as a tool to create seemed like a higher order skill, but Riku’s TOEIC score was lower
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 107

at 550, and he reported he had English reading difficulties. Therefore, his overall proficiency
level was intermediate with exceptional oral communication skills.
Takeshi and Ryo’s English proficiency and TOEIC scores appeared to be lower-
intermediate. Regarding Ryo’s first language learning experience, Ryo reacted humorously at
the shock of learning English “to enter the exam” in high school that:
Okay, so I started to enter the exam for the high school. Yeah, the English to entrance
[sic], it’s a difference, yeah [laughing]. So, it's only to see, for example to the accent like
which is the same accent ah, or eh, yeah. Eh-eh-eh-ah-eh has a something [sic].
It was hard for the researcher to construe what Ryo meant when he mimicked the teacher while
cringing his face at the sounds he produced, yet it was apparent from his parody that he felt the
students observed the teacher making unpleasant utterances, not like English. Ryo could
communicate at length, yet with some challenges to accuracy and fluency.
Likewise, Takeshi mentioned that during his first English language learning experience,
“I felt it was so difficult at first. A-B-C-D-E alphabet, so and [pause] mm-hmm, and learning
English, so I like listening [sic] music, so English music [sic].” His response was
comprehensible, yet the grammatical accuracy was impacted. Both Takeshi, and Ryo were able
to express their ideas and comprehend what was asked, but their replies included the repetition of
utterances with simple grammar structures that were more indicative of a lower-intermediate
proficiency level. Table 8 represents the declarative procedural influences of the interviewees
either meeting or exceeding the global goal after six or more years of English instruction
depending on their language learning experiences.
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 108

Table 8
Declarative Procedural Influences: Meeting or Exceeding the English Global Goal

Interviewee Learned through
yakudoku and met
the global goal
Learned English in
English exceeded
the global goal
Sought advice
and exceeded
the global goal
Took accelerated
courses exceeded
the global goal

Hana Yes

Ryo Yes
Takashi Yes
Yuto Yes
Riku Yes
Naruto Yes Yes Yes
Tastu Yes Yes
Kakeru Yes Yes
Note. Empty cells indicate non-responses, and ‘Yes’ indicates the procedural influences.

The interviewees who learned English via yakudoku met the minimum goal. The
interviewees who did not learn communication as prescribed by MEXT policy (2011b; 2011c)
had a lower-intermediate English proficiency level. Ryo, Takashi, and Hana learned English
through yakudoku, and did not learn communication outside the educational system. They did
not achieve a score above grade pre-2 on the EIKEN Test or an equivalent assessment like their
five interviewee peers. Hana has the official EIKEN Test score of pre-2, yet Takeshi and Ryo
did not. All three were able to express their ideas and comprehend what was asked, but their
replies included the repetition of utterances with simple grammar structures.

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 109

The interviewees who learned English in English exceeded the global goal. For the
study participants who learned some English courses in English at upper-secondary schools had
higher English proficiency levels than the global goal. As shown in Table 8, five interviewees
were able to demonstrate a higher level of proficiency than the lower-intermediate peers. They
came from various urban and rural regions of Japan. Only four students, Yuto, Riku, Naruto,
and Tatsu, experienced learning English communication courses in upper-secondary school at
varying degrees. Their high schools had unique learning environments specific to the schools
and the local boards of education that valued English education and followed MEXT’s
communicative English policies. All locations were distant from Sakura University.
The interviewees who sought advice and exceeded the global goal. The interviewees
who engaged in extensive help-seeking support improved their English proficiency beyond the
global goal. Kakeru earned the EIKEN grade pre-1, and Naruto, and Tatsu received grade 2 on
the official test. They actively engaged in self-regulatory behaviors and help-seeking support
from their teachers to improve their English proficiency. During Kakeru’s third year of high
school, he recommended that he and his peers communicate in English both inside and out-of-
class to enhance their skills in advance of their English entrance examinations. “My friends
always speak in English [pause]. Always in English and then my English skills is reached to the
peak.” With a nostalgic grin, Kakeru mentioned that by initiating his study plan with peer
support and teacher approval to use English in the class was invaluable. Similarly, Tatsu sought
out support from his teacher during office hours to prepare for the EIKEN grade 2 test:
Yes, in my experience I could practice with my teacher, and then I asked her, ‘How do
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 110

you get the score?’ And then she made a print for the test, and then I practiced in the test
[sic] with the paper. And then, like, so, that is why it’s important to pass the exam is to
study with the English teacher individually.
He reiterated confidently about feedback that the teachers were there for him to ask for guidance.
Naruto confessed that he often slept in class due to his morning soccer practice associated
with his private upper-secondary school full scholarship: “Many time I slept on the class [sic]
[both laughing]. Naruto was the only student of the eight interviewees who went to a highly
sought after national lower-secondary school. He reported because of the sleeping, in order not
fall behind in English on his own accord, “I learned the online English class that is like an online
video class.” The course was asynchronous, “So I learned [sic] English online movie.” Naruto
realized he needed to compensate for his self-confessed lack of effort at school and privately
took the course. In brief, the extra-curricular self-regulatory behaviors of Kakeru, Tatsu, and
Naruto provided further exposure to communicative English.
The interviewees who took accelerated courses exceeded the global goal. Interviewees
who experienced an accelerated EFL curriculum had higher English proficiency than the global
goal. Kakeru and Naruto went to private high schools with accelerated curricula and learned
more EFL content than their public school peers. The private schools prepared them with more
content, lexical vocabulary, and grammar support to pass the EIKEN grades pre-1 and 2
respectively. Kakeru also took private communication classes since he was four where he,
“learned how to express what I wanted to say.” His private school has a coordinated curriculum
for the entire six years. In his third year of junior high, the students learned from a high school
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 111

textbook. Thus, an intensive curriculum likely increased the interviewees’ English proficiency.
Metacognitive Knowledge Findings from Interviews
The assumed metacognitive influence was that the interviewees needed to create English
language learning strategies to facilitate mastery and goal setting through metacognition (Oxford,
2011) by reflecting their cognitive processes (Mayer, 2011; Rueda, 2011). Retrospective thought
can foster greater metacognition, which develops learning transfer through gained knowledge
(Baker, 2006). In short, if the interviewees reflected and set goals while they thought about their
learning, they noticed their strengths and weaknesses to improve their language learning
proficiency (Dam & Legenhausen, 2010). The following findings of metacognitive knowledge
supported the assumed influences for goal setting strategies and reflections on the best ways for
the interviewees to learn English.
Goal-setting strategies through metacognition. Setting goals for learning improve
language gains (Oxford, 2011). Each interviewee was asked, “What are your English goals? So,
how do you reach the goal or these goals?” This question focused on the interviewees’
metacognitive strategies for how they might self-regulate their language learning to improve
their language proficiency. Each of the interviewees and the researcher engaged in the dynamic
bilingual process of translanguaging in which the first language supports the second language
and the individual’s linguistic identity (García & Kleifgen, 2018). Three interviewees were able
to identify and describe their use of translanguaging. Their retrospective accounts allowed the
interviewees to give metacognitive goal setting and practices at various stages of the interview
including reports on the best ways for the interviewees to learn English. Table 9 represents the
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 112

interviewees’ metacognitive goal-setting strategies to reach their learning goals in the future.
Table 9
Goal-setting Strategies Through Metacognition

Interviewee Thinking in English
by reducing
translating from
Japanese
Communicating
helps improve
English unlike the
Yakudoku classes
Reflecting on
ways to improve
English
proficiency
Speaking English
with others to
improve
communication
Ryo Yes No
Kakeru Yes Yes Yes
Takashi Yes Yes
Riku
Naruto Yes Yes
Hana
Tatsu
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yuto Yes Yes
Note. Empty cells indicate non-responses, and ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ are metacognitive influences.

Thinking in English by reducing translating in Japanese. Reflecting metacognitively
on learning helps identify new learning goals. Three interviewees realized that being a speaker
of more than one language does not require constant simultaneous translations between the two.
They reported the need to first think about their response in Japanese, translate the utterance in
English and then reply. Some translanguaging first language use was supportive (García &
Kleifgen, 2018), but a constant reliance on the language impacted their English communication.
Ryo and Kakeru were actively setting goals by reflecting on their cognition and strategizing
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 113

ways to think in English reducing Japanese use. Ryo responded, “So my goals, what I want to
be? I don’t want to change in the brain, in my mind to Japanese/English. I don’t! [pause] I want
to use English.” His goal is to trick his brain not to think in Japanese. Ryo is a native speaker of
Japanese and another language, so he is cognizant that it is not necessary for speakers of
languages to translate phrases during mid-conversation, “To study English [pause] I want to
practice to write [sic] English or talking. Not thinking in Japanese [laughs].” He then
demonstrated translating between English and Japanese in real time with animated directional
gestures as he guided the researcher through his thought processes, “Yeah, so sometimes, I look
you [sic], and now I started talking in English.” However, “Now, sometimes I look [up], or I
look away,” where silently he looked up at the ceiling and then away, before he uttered, “I’m
changing now the Japanese to the English [laughs].” Ryo was cognitively aware of back and
forth translations, yet with his linguistic background of two native languages, he knows that the
translation process is not necessary for his goal of thinking in one language. Ryo noted, “But
when I’m talking in ‘language B,’ I don’t have nothing, so only talking in language B, so I don’t
think nothing about Japanese.” Ryo is learning a fourth language and confided, “I don’t know.
What happened in this thing? Because, if I thought if I study a lot of language [sic] I will mix.
But it don’t happen [sic].” Ryo possessed a multi-lingual awareness of the intersectionality
between languages (García & Kleifgen, 2018) without translation interferences and is learning a
fourth language. Only with English, he realizes he translates from Japanese, but not for his other
languages, so he wonders why.
Similarly, like Ryo, Kakeru’s goal is also to speak without first thinking about what he
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 114

wants to express in Japanese, “My English goal is to speak in English, without thinking about the
content in Japanese, before [pause] I mean, I want to speak in English like a native speaker and
express a feeling or a situation.” The researcher then confirmed if Kakeru was simultaneously
translating between both languages because his proficiency scores were higher, so it did not
appear he was translating. His response was, “When you speak to me in English, I translate it in
Japanese, and then translate it in English and express it.” Kakeru’s translation skills were quite
advanced with few pauses or false starts. Both Ryo and Kakeru started learning other languages
much earlier than the other interviewees, so that they may have been more aware of their
metacognition through goal setting in the target language. Takeshi was not able to control the
constant translations between English and Japanese, and felt translating was necessary because
English ability is not enough. He reflected, “I want to respond with them, but I can’t speak
English soon, so I have my thinking, my feelings, I can speak in Japanese, but I can’t speak it in
English, so, I can’t translate to English my opinion.” Also, like Ryo and Kakeru, Takeshi
reported to think about his response in Japanese, and then translate in English. The three
interviewees were aware of their limitations of not communicating in English without translating
that was an initial step towards further metacognition that supported their learning goals.
Realizing communicating improves conversation skills unlike the yakudoku classes.
Reflecting and then realizing what was not learned in secondary English classes was a significant
hindrance towards their speaking goals. Through metacognition, the interviewees gained clarity
that communicating in English was the most significant strategy to make up for the lost time
listening to their English teachers speaking Japanese. Kakeru, Naruto, and Takeshi mentioned
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 115

that English classes would be better focused on improving speaking abilities through oral
communication. Kakeru thought the traditional classroom in Japan helped learn grammar and
vocabulary, “But when you improve your communication skills, I think the conversation class is
better. Maybe because in English class in high school, there are fewer, there is little
communication in English.” The imbalance of learning one method of teaching helped him
realize he learned more English through his extracurricular conversation classes, “Maybe I think
our conversational school is better, best.” Then, Naruto pointed out with certainty, “I think
Japanese in studying English style is only grammar or to write, but I think the best way is
speaking and communicate to use English.” He also mentioned, “Speaking ability is the most
important thing.” Takeshi echoed Naruto by also stating, “I think speaking is the most important
thing.” Both interviewees reflected on improving communication by learning English. Takeshi
also lamented about the traditional teaching of grammar in Japan, “In school, teachers often
taught us grammar, but more speaking skills, are more important for me.” All three students
suggested they did not learn English effectively in secondary schools.
Conversely, Ryo felt studying complex grammar and vocabulary would help him because
he noticed when he communicated, he used simple grammar structures and repetitive vocabulary.
Ryo mentioned, “Because when talking [sic], I think always, hmm [questioning], use the same
words, same grammar.” Ryo learned this technique after high school graduation during his time
being a “Ronin.” The researcher confirmed the term, which became humorous:
Researcher: Not the samurai, “Ronin?”
Ryo: No-no-no-no-no-no-no.
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 116

Researcher: Noooo [cross laughing and epic fail by the researcher]!
Ryo: I took one year [cross laughing]. I couldn’t, so I was.
Ryo burst out with gut laugher at the prospect of the researcher thought he might be a “Ronin,”
or a lone Samurai with two tempered steel swords. For a moment she could not recall the term,
but when Ryo prompted that “I couldn’t, so I was,” then she fully understood. “Ronin” meant
that he was a student who failed the entrance exams of his target universities, and studied for an
extra year to enter the university of choice, which usually occurs at the age of 19 in Japan. This
studying accuracy was the best metacognitive strategy for Ryo to improve his English skills.
Reflecting on ways to improve English proficiency. The interviewees reflected on the
language challenges they faced, and what metacognitive language learning strategies (Oxford,
2011) they wanted to utilize to compensate for their language proficiency shortcomings. Naruto
was struggling to improve his IELTS English proficiency score, “This year, this year [laughing].
I want to go, but I don’t have to reach the goal score, so I don’t select universities, but I want to
go study abroad.” He found listening fluency strategies helped him improve his IELTS listening
practice test scores. First, Naruto listened to recordings by using a delayed shadowing technique
where he repeated what he heard and repeated the phrases or sentences. He said, “Shadowing is
suitable for me. Teacher read a passage and [sic] shadowing by delay.” To make sure the
researcher understood the process, Naruto used a listening practice recording on his cell phone
and mimicked like a professional:
Naruto: So, like this!
Recorded Voice: Study for the English exams.
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 117

Naruto: Study for the English exams.
Recorded Voice: Listening for IELTS.
Naruto: Listening for IELTS. Like this.
Researcher: Okay!
Naruto: Like this! Like this! This is like listening practice, like a shadow; following.
When he said, “like a shadow” he waved his arm until he made the shadow of his arm on the
floor that covered the sunlight to indicate the duality of the term. During Naruto’s performance,
his English pronunciation momentarily improved.
Hana also wants to improve her English proficiency score, “And the big goal is to get the
TOEIC full score.” To achieve this goal, she noticed her proficiency improved by routinizing
four daily self-study strategies to obtain higher test scores and improve her English for traveling
abroad. First, she writes in an English diary, “So, I restarted now, and I wanted to restart now,
and I wrote in English every day.” Second, Hana conveyed, “I read the English newspaper every
day.” Third, “Before I sleep, I also study the grammar [sic], five minutes. Fourth, in the
morning she listens to the radio for “fifteen-minutes.” Hana’s effective best-practice is studying
for successive and manageable increments with confidence to reach her English proficiency goal.
Tatsu was developing his English proficiency to communicate with others socially and to
work in the aviation industry. He acknowledged, “My goal is to communicate with people who
can speak English more deeply, more easily, like [pause] I want to work in the plane company,
[pause] in the plane company, it needs more, like, how to say?” The researcher did a member
check and with Tatsu to confirm that he meant, “Not only daily communication,” but technical
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 118

terms that are related to the airline industry. To achieve his goal, he tries to engage in his
English coursework, and meets with international friends to speak English.
Yuto wants to speak English fluently by expressing his thoughts on many subjects.
However, he has not set clear goals, “I think I don’t have any goals about English, because I
want to talk English like an American, but if I set the goal to that, my English skills can’t be
improved more, so, I need to keep studying, not setting goals.” Unlike the other interviewees,
Yuto argued that he does not want to set unrealistic goals that seems unobtainable, which would
put undue pressure on himself, so he just keeps on studying English, breaking down his goals
into the practice of studying English. Four interviewees worked on metacognitive strategy use to
improve their language proficiency.
Realizing that speaking English with others improves communication abilities. On
reflection, communicating with near peer-role models and international individuals helped
improve English proficiency. Hana, Kakeru, and Yuto also reflected that the best way to study
English was to communicate with friends to improve their speaking abilities. Hana asserted, “I
can’t talk, I couldn’t talk well, so speaking ability is [sic] most important.” She believed
speaking was the best way for her to study with practice to improve her proficiency is with her
friends; “We talk with my friends in English.” For Kakeru, he believes that he should, “Keep
speaking English every day,” through “practice, practice, practice” of the language. Kakeru
lamented, “I had many friends who can study English with,” at secondary school and although he
communicates with his English friends, yet they work in the afternoons, and cannot
communicate as much as they want. He continued, “I don’t have friends who can really want to
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 119

improve their English skills and who can accompany with me always.” Therefore, not having
close friends who speak in English frequently is an issue for Kakeru and Yuto as well. The best
way for Yuto to study:
“It’s to communicate in with people in English. For example, talking. [pause] But all of
my, many of my friends hate speaking English [laughs]. I’m very sad, so I always say
[sic] Japanese student always say "ohayou" [good morning] to them in the morning, so I
sometimes say “good morning” [in English] to my friends. But my, well many of my
friends have [sic] “What are you saying?” They say, “Doshita no?” [What’s wrong (with
you)]?
He appeared dismayed that his friends shunned communicating English despite repeated
attempts to speak the language. Put mildly, both Kakeru and Yuto are disappointed that their
close friends are not willing to speak in English, yet Hana has friends that she can converse with
regularly.
Hana and Yuto believed the best way to improve their English proficiency was speaking to
international individuals either in Japan or abroad. Hana reflected, “When I was a, [sic] when I
went to England, I thought speaking with other country's people is a good.” This trip experience
motivated her to want to travel to more countries to use English, so the learning experience
became motivational. She was looking forward to travels, “Next spring vacation, I went [sic] to
Singapore and Taiwan.” After confirming if these were future trips or had already occurred, with
a big smile Hana noted that she is excited about her next vacations, “So I want to use English,
and I want to [sic] Singapore.” Yuto’s best way for him to study English by
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 120

speaking with international individuals came from his perceived gap in his English education,
and not being able to communicate in English with his Japanese peers as previously reported.
He pondered about the question for a moment, and that expressed, “I think talking English with
foreigners is good way [sic] to know English [pause]. In Japan, there are so many academic
classes, English classes, but we need to have more.” Yuto reflected that lack of access to English
communication courses at current institution led him to seek out opportunities speaking with the
international students on campus as a best practice.
Interviewees metacognitive reflections on their English learning in junior high. The
interviewees were asked about their lower-and upper-secondary English classes to get a better
glimpse of retrospective learning experiences towards mastery and reflection on ones’ cognitive
processes (Mayer, 2011; Rueda, 2011). Successful language learners, such as the interviewees,
utilize metacognitive strategies to regulate their socio-cognitive learning (Oxford, 2011). The
interviewees bring the reader to the classrooms with the were prompts, “What were the activities
in your junior/senior high school English classes that you did most often? Imagine I was your
classmate at your usual English junior high school lesson. What would I see (Patton, 2002)?
What would be happening there? Please take me to this class.” The query was designed to
capture moments in time like a virtual a hidden video. The aim was to learn about the
interviewees’ metacognition, yet organizational influences suggested some interferences
occurred regarding the interviewees’ English language learning. The retrospective query and
prompts mentioned above were asked for both the interviewees lower- and upper-secondary
schools and will be reported in two separate sections. Table 10 represents what the interviewees
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 121

thought they learned or did not learn in their junior high classrooms.
Table 10
What the Interviewees Thought They Learned in Lower-Secondary School

Interviewee Received
yakukodu
lessons
Learned with the
audio-lingual
approach
Permission to
communicate in
English
Learned
English
with songs
Students
slept in class
Ryo Yes Yes Yes
Kakeru Yes Yes
Yuto Yes Yes (2 years) Yes
Naruto Yes Yes Yes Yes
Riku Yes Yes
Takeshi Yes Yes (1 year) Yes
Tatsu Yes No
Hana

Yes

No
Note. Empty cells indicate non-responses, ‘Yes’ indicates the activity that occurred, and ‘No’
indicates the activity did not occur in the English lower-secondary classroom.

Received yakudoku lessons in lower-secondary school. All interviewees reflected on
their English class learning that focused teaching grammar in Japanese through yakudoku, which
also permeated the organizational influences. Kakeru exclaimed the researcher might be alarmed
if she viewed his classes, “Yeah, maybe you are shocked and surprised, be surprised with no one
raises their hands and ask questions, [sic] or [pause] it’s disgusting!” Kakeru lamented about the
passive nature of the students’ behavior. Yuto declared, “[laughing] So, all over students are
sitting. And only just our teacher is saying something or teaching.” Yuto reported an extended
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 122

amount of time sitting passively and listening to the teacher his third year to prepare for English
entrance exams, “Because in the third grade, we have to take the examination for entering high
school, so, the English class became so very-very academic the third grade of [sic] junior high
school student.” Naruto also confessed extended sitting and listening, “Many times, sometimes
speak English, [sic] but almost all the time is sitting and listening to teachers talking and copy
[sic] the blackboard.” Naruto heard English infrequently, and the classes were in Japanese.
Riku vividly described the transactional nature his learning experience through
retrospection, “Yes, I started studying, learning English when I enter [sic] junior high school, and
the teacher asked us just taking the notes [sic], and read a textbook so many times and just write,
write, write, just repeat, [sic] repeat.” Riku hand gestured writing and repeated the words
“write” and “repeat” that illustrated the repetitive nature of the tasks. He also described what
yakudoku classroom felt like, “In Japan, the typical class, English class is just like I told you, just
like teacher [sic] in front of the classroom, that there is one teacher, and everyone sits down like
a robot.” Riku threw his hands in the air half-mast more like a zombie. Then, he mimicked the
teacher pointing to the “robot” students in the virtual classroom, then said, “And just writing,”
which meant the students wrote and followed the teacher’s instructions devoid of emotion.
Takeshi, Tastu, and Hana revealed their classes were taught via yakudoku as well. Tatsu
explained, “Mmm, in junior high, yeah, the teacher coming in the class [sic], so and he said,
‘yeah, uh, today we [sic] gonna do the test English test, the words test, so you have to prepare for
the test.” Tatsu’s classes prepared him for exams, and the tests were vocabulary quizzes from
the official word lists that are recommended for high school entrance exams. Lastly, Hana
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 123

reported, “Teacher write the white, the blackboard, [sic] and students read the textbooks. And,
mmm, teacher tells? Teaches by Japanese. Uh, not use [sic] English.” While Hana spoke
parodied the teacher and then mentioned, “And the teacher didn’t see the students, um almost
[laugh] [sic] blackboard.” Hana impersonated the teacher fixated on a virtual blackboard while
writing that indicated her teacher was engaged with the blackboard more than the students. A
salient finding was all eight interviewees expressed passivity in their junior high school where
they followed the teacher’s directions with little evidence of communicative language learning.
Received lessons through the audio-lingual approach. Naruto, Riku, and Ryo learned
by the audio-lingual approach recommended as an activity in MEXT (2011b) EFL policy that is
reading texts and listening to the accompanying audio, and then repeat what was heard out loud
(also see Richards & Rogers, 1998). Naruto reported before the main yakudoku lesson; the
teacher asked students to: “Sing a song or read an English passage that is Obama’s speech and
mimic our English speaking. [pause] After that, we, they enter, [sic] begin the class.” The
teacher used President Obama’s speech recording that students listened to and repeated. Riku
explained a typical lesson that included elements of the yakudoku and audio-lingual approach:
If you come to our English class in the junior high school, at first, you sit down in this
seat and just take out notes and textbook. And the teacher told [sic] open for example,
page 55, yes, and the teacher told us first day [sic] read the textbook. At first, the teacher
told us, speak, a [sic] ‘read the textbook,’ they told us, I read. And there is a content of
the new words. Like the new words, maybe that we don’t know, like some difficult
words that the teacher told us the new words meaning in Japanese they wrote in [sic]
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 124

blackboard.
Riku mimicked the directives of a teacher through gestures and pointed his finger at the virtual
page 55, and then drew a vocabulary box with his fingers located at the bottom of the page in this
‘textbook.’ The phrase, “speak, a [sic] ‘read the textbook,’ they told us, I read,” meant the
students did an audio-lingual choral reading with the teacher. He also mentioned the blackboard
work and the translation of vocabulary that occurred. Finally, Ryo claimed a teacher relied on
the audio-lingual approach frequently, “So he says only to reading, [sic] ondoku is a very
important [sic], but I don’t think that only ondoku can do, can, no, will be more good.” Ryo felt
that this method was not the best way to learn English because the audio-lingual approach “is
only reading.” In the case of this reading activity, the teachers followed MEXT English policy
guidelines, unlike yakudoku.
Learned English with songs. Learning English through pop music, studying the lyrics,
and then singing or reading along with audio is an activity featured in all the interviewees’
lower-secondary MEXT-approved textbooks. Naruto, Takeshi, and Yuto seemed to have
pleasant learning experiences by listening through reading and singing popular English songs.
Their English textbook series, Sunshine English Course, 1, 2, 3 (Matsuhata, 2015a; 2015b;
2015c) has three English songs per year with Japanese translations. The artists’ songs Takeshi
and Yuto listened to were not included in their textbooks. In sum, Naruto, Takeshi, and Yuto
enjoyed the English songs that was a component of their MEXT-approved textbooks as a break
from the yakudoku lesson, and sang while reading the English songs, not unlike Karaoke.

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 125

No permission to communicate in English. In the traditional yakudoku English
classrooms in Japan, the teacher has tight control over the class, and the students listen to the
teacher lecture (Gorsuch, 1998). Takeshi, Tastu, and Hana felt they were not allowed to
communicate in English in their junior high classrooms. Takeshi thought the purpose of the
course, “Uh, it was for tests, for test class [sic]. Not to, it would not let me speak [sic], or can’t
speak English for others. [pause] It was for test class and for grammar.” In other words, the
teacher would not permit him to speak or communicate with other students. Tastu reported a
similar scenario perhaps with more teacher control expressing displeasure at students’ utterances:
And the teacher just speaking and speaking and saying something about the class, and the
student [sic] will be quiet and then, yes, and I think, and then if we speak, if we talk to
each other loudly, the teacher will be angry and then, so it was difficult to communicate.
It appeared clear that Tatsu needed to follow the teacher’s directives silently or there would be
consequences. Hana also reported, “In junior high school, we didn’t speak English at all.” For
Hana, communication was merely not practiced. Not allowing the students to communicate is
precisely opposes MEXT’s CLT reforms for secondary schools that have attempted to address
the problem of the overuse of yakukoku that has been inhibiting students’ English proficiency for
the past 30 years (Fujimoto-Adamson, 2006; Kikuchi & Browne, 2009; Seargeant, 2008).
Students were sleeping in the lower-secondary classroom. The passivity of the learning
experience also influenced the interviewees’ classmates and Naruto to sleep in class that was not
in the case studies reviewed. Ryo, Kakeru, and Naruto reported that some classmates slept in
English classes. Ryo described, “Yeah, so, you stay in our class? Okay, so yeah, that teacher is
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 126

in the front. And, some people is [sic] sleeping [emphasis], yeah? [laughs]” Ryo then explained:
In the desk, because that’s junior high school. So, I think my junior high school in the
Japan, was public, so every [sic] people come, so the ability is very, very different. So,
some people can understand very well English, but some people can’t understand nothing
[emphasis]! So, alphabet [sic] cannot understand, so, ‘Why’s it a B? What is P?’
Ryo asserted that sleeping was a part junior high because any student can attend public schools,
so the English proficiency levels varied significantly. Some students were learning English for
the first time, yet others were bilingual. This situation meant students of varied English
proficiencies were in the same class by grade level. Ryo re-emphasized, “I was top of the class,
so I understand the class is English, but some people couldn’t understand nothing [sic] and some
people is study, but can’t understand, so it’s a big problem, because, the ability is very different.”
Ryo concluded that having mixed-ability classes is a problem because the students of lower
English proficiency did not understand the lessons and tuned-out by sleeping. Kakeru replied
about narcoleptic tendencies for different reasons, “Yeah, and most uh, students sleep [emphasis]
because their class is boring.” Kakeru did not mention language proficiency and sleeping, but
the students felt the lessons were boring, “So they always say the way of teaching English is not
good.” Kakeru believed the students did not have quality English lessons.
Naruto, a self-professed sleeper-in-chief revealed that he slept in his classes in junior and
senior high, “Not only the English teachers, [laughing], many teachers English, mathematics,
[Japanese] grammar, or many times I slept.” His teacher called him out for sleeping in English,
“My teacher called me, ‘You are an asleep person who is a student.’” Naruto believed his
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 127

sleeping was due to his sports schedule, “I learned, um, many times I sleep on the class [laugh]
because I had morning practice of soccer, so many times I slept, so I don’t do.” Sleeping was an
unexpected influence that is most likely a byproduct of yakudoku and not conducive to learning.
Interviewees metacognitive reflections on their English learning in high school. For
this metacognitive influence in the interviewees’ upper-secondary school reflected on the same
prompt about taking the researcher to the classroom. In high school, the English courses
increase from one to two English classes that should be taught in English in principle (MEXT,
2011c). The English classes in high school were either used for English communication or other
purposes. Table 11 depicts what the interviewees thought they learned in high school.
Table 11
What the Interviewees Thought They Learned in Upper-Secondary School

Name Learned English
communication
Learned
via yakudoku
Learned exam
preparation
Disengaged in
class
Yuto Yes Yes
Riku Yes
Naruto Yes
Tatsu Yes and no Yes
Ryo Yes Yes
Kakeru Yes Yes Yes
Takeshi Yes Yes
Hana Yes
Note. Empty cells indicate non-responses, and ‘Yes’ indicates the activity that occurred in the
English upper-secondary classroom while ‘No’ indicates issues that impacted the learning.

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 128

Learned English communication in English. The interviewees needed to develop their
communication skills in English to improve their language proficiency. Only Yuto, Naruto, and
Tatsu learned one of their two English courses in English because their high schools and boards
of education followed some of MEXT’s secondary policy. Only Riku’s school was in full
compliance of upper-secondary MEXT (2011c) recommended curriculum. These four
interviewees’ schools were in remote locations with unique local contexts that placed importance
on communicative English in the community. Yuto explained, “In high school, we have three
English classes, communication, and grammar, and advanced English. And grammar classes,
just sitting, look to [sic] blackboard, studying, and writing something on the paper or doing
tests.” Although Yuto’s English Communication I, II, III classes were yakudoku classes, Yuto
added, “But in the communication class [English Expression I II, and Advanced English], we
have time to talk around to the topic teacher [sic] selected in five minutes or ten minutes.” In the
latter two courses, the students discussed topics the teacher selected with their peers. Yuto noted
in his advanced English class, “Is to make a speech, on about five or six hundred words. And
then they use them to [sic] partners. And some students are picked up by teachers and make a
speech in front of all of the students.” He described the structure of the courses, yet stated, “I
think this type of studying English, can be seen in just only my high school.” Yuto recognized
that learning English communication is rare in high schools in Japan.
Riku’s communication classes were exclusively in English, so only he experienced
MEXT’s upper-secondary English curriculum. Riku gestured humorously with air quotes that
unlike his university peers, he learned English communication, “But, in senior high school, I was
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 129

in [sic] “English Course” [gestured with air quotes].” The use of air quotes with his hands was a
witty acknowledgment that learning English in English was unusual and his Communication I,
II, III classes were not secret grammar classes like most students in Japan experience. Riku’s
teachers wanted the students to advance their English communication skills through team-
teaching, “The teachers wanted us to improve our speaking and communication ability, they
have [sic] special class like everyone stands up and walking in the classroom, and just
communicate in English with the students.” Riku’s teachers at his school made a coordinated
effort not to allow the Japanese language in the English classes, “So, there is no Japanese in the
class.” His teachers posed as soccer referees and handed out red cards for speaking Japanese:
There is a punish [sic] when we used Japanese. Yes, punishment. We have it. The
teachers listened [sic] the Japanese, they, how can I say? They pass out, they passed me
the red card. This is a punishment and the students who have two red cards, there is a
punishment in front of the class. Like [laugh] singing a song. [laugh] Just saying a joke.
When Riku was asked how he felt about the arrangement, he replied, “Oh, I had fun [pause].
Because of course, everyone think [sic] just like, I don’t want to do the punishment [pause]. So
yes, I have to speak in English, so everyone thinks so.” Riku seemed comfortable with his
classmates, and the atmosphere appeared to be jovial that the teachers created.
Naruto’s context was at an urban and private school, unlike Yuto and Riku’s that were
rural and public. He explained two different English classes. “One is normally studying English,
and other is expression of English. [pause] That is normal English class, the teacher is Japanese,
but the expression English class, the teacher is a foreign people [sic].” He disclosed the
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 130

international teacher taught the English Expressions I, II, and Advanced English classes, while
English Communication I, II, and III classes were really yakudoku courses that taught “complex
grammar or something else.” Naruto also noted, “Expression of English class is like a learning
English communication to use in the daily life, for example. To use at daily life communication
skill [sic].” Naruto’s reflections on learning three courses in English gave more exposure to use
the language.
Tatsu attended public school in an urban setting, and reflected, “I had a communication
class, but so few, so rather than the communication class, I had more, just, like, reading and
writing class [sic] and then, yes, and just for a test, just for passing the exam, the university
exam.” He recollected the courses for a moment and said, “Yes, and we did the game and then,
like, in the Halloween party and Christmas party, [sic] we had the party in the class.” His
English Expressions I, II, and Advanced English lessons were used sparingly as cultural non-
secular events rather than a daily routinized practice. Overall, MEXT’s (2011c) communication
objective in EFL courses in high school was partially achieved for three interviewees and fully
realized for Riku. Their learning reflections suggested a preference for English communication.
Learned all six English classes in yakukodu. MEXT’s (2011c) objective for lowest
level fundamental first-year Communication I class taught is to comprehend and convey ideas
accurately in English, but the minimum standards were ignored. Ryo, Kakeru, Takeshi, and
Hana received yakudoku lessons in both English sections designated for English communication.
Ryo’s overall impression of his teacher was not understanding what she was trying to teach:
I don’t know, the teacher, so I couldn’t understand what she [sic] talking. And, she teach
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 131

[sic] us the old, old English. I don’t know how to say that, ‘old Grammarly.’ And, the,
now, [sic] we don’t use, but, for example, ‘who,’ we now use, for example, ‘whom.’
Ryo conveyed the teacher’s use of archaic grammar not currently used in conversations that she
translated into Japanese. He is an avid user of the application, Grammarly, so he may have
confused the word for grammar as “Grammarly.” When prompted about what the teacher might
be conveying, Ryo replied, “Whom-whom! Or, so yeah [both laughing], when we changed that,
or who, or what, whom, she talking [sic] about a lot of things, but I think, now, recently don’t
use a “whom” anymore.” Ryo jovially indicated the teacher utilized substitution drills, in this
case, wh-questions. Ryo navigated through the activity between two languages that impacted his
cognition, yet it was crystal clear to him that “whom” is not used in spoken English.
In Kakeru’s case, “So, the school I went to is, our junior high school and senior high
school is in the same building, so also teacher is [sic] the same, so the way of teaching, English
in the class is not changed. He had hoped to learn English communication in high school, but
soon realized yakudoku prevailed, “But [laugh] um, gradually, I don’t think this class is enough.
So, there I wanted to speak a lot because although the class name is English communication
class, there was [laugh] little communication.” Kakeru emphasized the irony of the situation,
and threw his hands up indicating defeat while laughing. He said, “So the students say, the
students always say, ‘Study alone, is the best way,’ so no teacher.” Thus, if the students wanted
to improve in English, they need to study outside the school system.
Takeshi and Hana, both learned through yakudoku method. Hana lamented, “In high
school, was not, didn’t have English conversation class [laugh]. [pause] It’s almost grammar.”
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 132

Hana eagerly mentioned, “Yeah. And my friends, now at a private university, she said, ‘We
don’t have English conversation class.’” Hana confirmed that “ten or more” friends continue to
be taught through the yakudoku method at the tertiary level. She complained, “And they DON’T
[emphasis] have English communication classes.” There are shortcomings of MEXT’s 30-year
communicative EFL language policy to cultivate students with English-speaking capabilities
(Aspinall, 2011; Noda, 2014). Thus, interviewees’ reflections provide data that could lead to
practical implications for communicative curriculum implementation.
Learned entrance exam preparation. MEXT (2011b; 2011c) policy documents for
secondary education make no mention of using old entrance exams as study materials.
Nonetheless, Takeshi, Tatsu, Yuto and Kakeru learned vocabulary and grammar from published
versions of such exams to study during the English communication lessons. Takeshi revealed in
both of his English classes, “When I was third grade [sic] in high school, we often solved
universities’ problem; old, old tests.” He did not mean the student’s solved the wicked problems
of the Japanese tertiary organizations; rather the student’s solved old multiple-choice questions
from published essays that are lifted and altered as English entrance exams. Tatsu noted, “I had
more, just, like, reading and writing class [sic] and then, yes. And, just for a test, just for passing
the exam, the university exam.” Finally, two of Kakeru’s teachers provided old exams for the
class to practice. Half of the interviewees’ English education strayed from MEXT policy to cram
for entrance exams in EFL classes. All four interviewees conceptually realized that the focus
EFL secondary education for them was not English communication.

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Classmates goofed around or studied other subjects. Ryo and Kakeru depicted the
disengagement from class activities by classmates so well, the researcher felt she was in their
classrooms. Ryo suggested, “My high school was very very free, so yeah, and many high school
boy [sic] is very ‘yanchan’ [bad or mischievous young individuals] [both laughing].” The
researcher was surprised by Ryo’s response, and a member check both the researcher and Ryo
both uttered, “Yanchan! No good boy!” simultaneously. Further member checks ensued:
Ryo: Yeah. So, some people do, to do the game or the-
Researcher: Game? Oh, game in the English classroom?
Ryo: Yeah, well, every-every-every-
Researcher: Every classroom?
Ryo: Yeah. Game or sleeping or yeah, not only English, in every [class] or, I don’t know
to say, um, see the clouds.
Researcher: Nice Expression. Oh, so, looking at out the window at the clouds. Oh,
daydreaming. Thinking of something else? Did I get that right?
Ryo: Yeah, yeah, yeah, daydreaming.
As Ryo spoke, he parodied a “yanchan” classmate looking at the clouds outside the window as if
he were daydreaming. Sleeping in the classroom was only salient in Ryo’s case in high school.
Kakeru also compared the differences in the ways his classmates tuned out of class from lower-
to upper-secondary school, “Well, [laughs] um, they don’t they sleep any longer, anymore, but
they studied other subjects. [laughs] They may study others like mathematics; other subjects
maybe. [laughs] Yeah.” Kakeru’s laughter seemed to indicate he was embarrassed about
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 134

revealing the other classmate’s behavior, yet carefully described what he viewed. When students
attend classes in a dysfunctional setting, their learning and motivation skills are impacted and
can lead to low achievement (also see Miles, et al., 2014).
Synthesis of Findings of the Knowledge Influences
The interviewees who learned English for six years through yakudoku met merely
MEXT’s minimum goal of a lower-intermediate English proficiency score of EIKEN grade pre-2
or an equivalent assessment after six years of daily instruction. The global goal was negatively
impacted because MEXT has not required students to take the EIKEN test by high school
graduation. However, if the interviewees learned some English in English for three years of high
school, engaged in extracurricular help-seeking study activities, or had an accelerated
curriculum, their English proficiency levels were significantly higher than the global goal. All
eight interviewees participated in goal-setting and best-practice strategies through metacognition
that were attempts not to translate from Japanese while conversing in English, English
proficiency strategies, which overwhelmingly involved communicating with others, and not
making unrealistic goals to improve English proficiency. The interviewees also reflected on
what they thought they learned or hinderances to learning by taking the researcher figuratively to
their classrooms. The findings from the interviews validated the declarative procedural and
metacognitive knowledge influences, yet it was surprising the EIKEN test was voluntary.
Motivation Findings
The second group of influences that impacts performance is the motivation to achieve
goals, which is complex when there are disparities of knowledge or deficiencies in organizational
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 135

support (Clark & Estes, 2008; Rueda, 2011). Studies have shown that upper-secondary students
and graduates who studied in EFL classes in Japan were demotivated by the learning materials,
learned English through the yakudoku method, and experienced language learning anxiety from
perceived failure (Falout, et al., 2009; Kikuchi, 2009; Kikuchi & Browne, 2009; Sakai &
Kikuchi, 2009). Therefore, finding the degree to which the interviewees were engaged in
motivational choice, persistence, and mental effort to establish a stable sense of self was essential
(Mayer, 2011; Pajares, 2006; Pintrich, 2003; Rueda, 2011). Aggregate researchers have re-
defined numerous motivational theories that are beyond the scope of this study (Mayer, 2011;
Rueda, 2011). Nevertheless, self-efficacy and language learning anxiety related to the control of
emotions were the best match fit for the motivation portion of the study because evaluating their
language proficiency successes can lead to useful recommendations in the field of practice.
Motivation Findings from the Interviews
The motivation questions for the interview were designed to measure firstly, the
interviewees’ self-efficacious beliefs about how confident (Pajares, 2006; Pintrich, 2003) they
felt they could communicate in English (Johnson, 2013; Takase, 2007; Tsuda & Nakata, 2013).
In Japan, there is a cultural norm or model not to report one’s confidence, even if the individuals
are experts on the subject. As mentioned in Chapter Two, Horibe (2008) cautioned about
disseminating misunderstood cultural values in the context of English language learning in
Japan. The author also suggested that in Asia and Japan in general, expressing humility
pragmatically such as not declaring ones’ confidence through polite refusals is a feature of
cultural norms. Aspinall (2006) found that learners who have acquired more English proficiency
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 136

concealed their abilities in front of their peers and teachers. Thus, measuring self-efficacy
focuses is on what actions were taken if any to obtain the desired results (Pajeras, 2006).
Secondly, the motivational influences of emotion and affect were the interviewees needed
to feel positive epistemic emotions about their English proficiency and reduced foreign language
learning anxiety through strategy use and goal setting (Falout, et al., 2009; Lord & Kanfer, 2002;
Williams & Andrade, 2008). The interviewees reported specific feelings that motivated or
demotivated learning. Both motivational influences primarily addressed research question two:
What are the student stakeholders’ knowledge and motivation related to satisfaction with their
English language proficiency and language instruction?
Self-Efficacy Findings From the Interviews
Interviewees who learned strategies to improve their communication skills through
frequent practice can maintain healthy self-efficacy levels towards the outcomes they hope to
achieve (Pajares, 2006). The primary interview questions that addressed self-efficacy were
related to general and academic communication of English. The queries were, “How confident
are you about your ability to communicate in English? and “How confident at you at using
English for academic purposes.” The following motivational self-efficacy of the interviewees
supported the assumed influences for confidence in general communication. However, the four
interviewees who did not learn EFL communication in high school reported low-confidence. For
academic English, the intermediate and upper-intermediate interviewees were in advance courses
that impacted their self-efficacious beliefs about their language learning.

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 137

Self-Efficacious confidence at communicating specific to learning experiences.
Although the interviewees demonstrated they could communicate about a range of topics at
length during the interview. When asked how confident they were at communicating in English,
four of the eight interviewees reported to have low levels of confidence in three distinct themes.
Moreover, all interviewees believed they knew what actions they might to take to be a more
proficient speaker of English specific to their context and their approximate language level.
Table 12 displays the specific learning experiences were influenced by self-efficacy beliefs
specific the interviewees’ English proficiency levels.
Table 12
Specific Learning Experiences Influenced Self-Efficacy Beliefs

Interviewee Self-efficacy
influenced by lower-
intermediate
proficiency levels
Self-efficacy
communicating in
English with advanced
speakers of English
Self-efficacy was influenced
by cultural norms for
interviewees who learned
communication
Hana Low
Takeshi Low
Ryo Moderate
Kakeru Low
Tatsu Low
Riku Moderate
Naruto Moderate
Yuto Moderate
Note. Empty cells indicate non-responses, ‘Low’ indicates low confidence, and ‘Moderate’
indicates moderate confidence.
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 138

Self-Efficacy influenced by lower-intermediate proficiency levels. Learners with lower
proficiency levels have difficulties communicating because of limited vocabulary in the target
language. Hana and Takeshi indicated low self-efficacy while speaking English was explicitly
related to insufficient vocabulary while listening, and not having the lexical resources while
speaking about complex issues and tasks to reply. Hana reported, “I don’t have confident [sic]
about my English ability.” She spoke with hesitation looking down, and then she made eye
contact with the researcher and explained, “I can say, hello, good morning, thank you, sorry. I
can’t [sic] all sentence.” She indicated that she could communicate through simple exchanges
such as greetings, but had more difficulties in comprehending, using complex vocabulary, or
completing a full sentence, which was indicative during the interview. Takashi chuckled with
slight self-deprecation, “I don’t have confidence of my English. I have a little vocabulary.”
They were both self-aware they need to improve their English vocabulary, had difficulties in
communicating at length, and their level of proficiency was lower-intermediate.
Ryo, the only other interviewee with a lower-intermediate English proficiency level,
noticed he lacked English vocabulary, yet declared moderate confidence because he believed
proficiency knowledge can be learned. His multi-lingual experiences seemed to have boosted his
linguistic confidence. Ryo’s moderate level of confidence communicating in English and multi-
languages diverges from Hana and Takeshi’s lower confidence levels in English communication.
Low self-efficacy communicating with advanced speakers of English. Tatsu and
Kakeru both had higher proficiency levels of intermediate and upper-intermediate both revealed
Low self-efficacy speaking with advanced or native speakers of English. Kakeru, said, “Well,
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 139

uh, [laughs] I have NO [emphasis] confidence. Yeah, because now like my friends, so Maria and
Tina.” He continued that, “Uh, [laughs] I can’t speak faster, frequent [pause] fluently like them.”
Kakeru also mentioned, “And also, I had to take an IELTS test. And in the interview test, I
couldn't get uh, a good score.” Kakeru indicated that due to these two recent experiences of not
being able to communicate well, his current English confidence level is low, but knows he can
improve English through practice. Likewise, Tatsu had difficulties in communicating with his
relatives who are native speakers of English, and this surprised him, “Confident? Uh, I think I’m
not good at in English because [laughs] I’m not confident with English because of my recent
experience. Although Tatsu has low confidence he exclaimed, “But, even though I cannot speak
in English well, but I can try, I can try to communicate more, like, communicate in English, so I
want to study in English.” With more practice and training, Tatsu will increase his confidence.
Self-Efficacy was influenced by cultural norms learning communication. Speaking in
the target-language helps boost linguistic confidence (Erhman, 1996). However, Aspinall (2006)
and Horibe (2008) found humility is valued cultural norm to elders in Japan. Thus, it is not
likely the interviewees would indicate they are confident out of respect. Riku, Naruto, and Yuto
conveyed they have moderate levels of self-efficacy communicating in English because they
learned communication in high school. They also had ample practice speaking with many
different classmates and teachers. Tatsu also took limited English communication classes and
was experiencing low levels of confidence from not being able to communicate with his U.S.
relatives. Riku, Naruto, and Yuto’s confidence levels seemed higher than perhaps due to the
greater exposure to communicative English and proficiency. Riku exuded some levels of
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 140

confidence during the interview with a cheerful-booming voice and humor. However, cultural
norms suggest that it would be odd or precocious to admit full confidence out of respect for the
older interviewer. He replied to the question by conveying, “Yeah, my English ability. So I am,
I think I have, I can communicate English a little bit naturally, so I am so-so confident in
English.” He really seemed to want to convey that he is confident using English by starting off
the conversation with, “So I am [fill in the blank], I think I have [confidence],” with slight pauses
as if he wanted to say that he was confident, or has confidence, yet declared that he was “so-so”
confident. Riku admitted later, “Yes, I think I can speak English a little bit more, so I can
communicate in English in the slow English, so I can say I’m confident in daily
communication.” Yuto also performed cultural norm dodging the question, and suggested that
he knows that he needs exposure and is trying to create more spaces for English communication.
When asked about confidence in academic English, Yuto also avoided the question and said, “I
hope that academic English classes can be a good way to improve my English skills,” the
researcher wondered if the second hedge was related to humility, so she asked, “And you are
confident? Oh, are you confident?” Yuto replied with assurance, “Yes.” The researcher also
asked, “How confident?” And Yuto stated with a big smile, “Yeah, yeah!” There was evidence
he was self-efficacious and influenced by cultural norms.
Naruto addressed the confidence with the disclaimer to soften the language when he first
mentioned, “I don’t have,” before he revealed twice he has some communicative confidence:
I don’t have, I have a little confidence to use English because I do a part-time job in an
‘Izakaya’ [a Japanese pub]. One of my customers, she is Spanish, come from the Spain
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 141

[sic]. And can use English, Spanish, and Japanese. She can use many languages.
Sometimes if I have a free time, I talk with her.”
He recognized that speaking with an international individual who knows multiple languages
during breaks at work boosted his self-efficacy where he converses with the Spanish customer.
And he also confirmed when he replied how confident he was at using academic English, that
“Daily life’s communication skills is [sic] have a little confidence.” With opportunities to use
the language in daily conversations, Naruto’s expressed self-efficacy levels were like Riku and
Yuto. It appears that if the interviewees received MEXT’s (2011b; 2011c) communicative
English education, then the assumed self-efficacy influences were supported.
Interviewees with greater academic support had more confidence. Students need
encouragement to believe they can succeed at tasks through communication strategies and
feedback (Bandura, 2005). Seven interviewees responded to the query about how confident they
are at academic English. The interviewees with lower English proficiency in leveled English
classes expressed higher levels of self-efficacy because they received more language task
support, and believed they were successful, while the intermediate students were expected to
perform with less support in an advanced course. Table 13 shows self-efficacy levels influenced
by their proficiency levels and appropriate or inappropriate placement in their English courses.

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 142

Table 13
Confidence Using English for Academic Purposes
Interviewee Self-efficacy influenced by appropriate
courses at university
Self-efficacy influenced by inappropriate
courses at university
Hana High
Takeshi High
Ryo
Naruto
Low
Low
Riku Low
Kakeru Low
Tatsu
Yuto
Low
Moderate
Note. Empty cells indicate non-responses, ‘High’ indicates confidence, ‘Moderate’ is somewhat
confident, and ‘Low’ indicates low confidence.

Self-Efficacy influenced by appropriate leveled courses at university. Hana and Takashi
lacked confidence about English vocabulary, yet had stable self-efficacious beliefs about their
current academic English courses. Takeshi said, “In Sakura Teacher A’s class I can understand
his talk or teaching. We often do an activity with my classmates. It is so fun; we can do
ourselves [sic] that activity, so, no, I think it’s not a problem.” Takashi’s class is leveled by
TOEIC language proficiency scores, and he felt empowered to partake in activities with
classmates with the support of the teacher. Hana spoke with an enthusiastic tone in her voice
about a different course that is also leveled by TOIEC, “In Sakura Teacher B’s class, I talk with
my friends, so we have the same ability to speak English, so I have a [sic] confidence to speak
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 143

English with my friends.” Hana and Takeshi both stressed they were pleased with their classes
because they could communicate effectively with their classmates of similar English proficiency,
which was different from their secondary school experiences. This was the first year Hana and
Takeshi took English classes in English, yet their seventh year of studying the subject. Having a
leveled curriculum by the learners’ proficiency level is essential for confidence.
Self-Efficacy influenced by an inappropriately leveled course at university. Providing a
curriculum at that learners’ language proficiency level helps boost self-efficacy (Ehrman, 1996).
Naruto, Riku, and Ryo believed their advanced courses were too difficult, which lowered their
self-efficacy. Naruto and Riku both believed the listening activities in their academic course
were too challenging to comprehend. Naruto stated, “I don’t have confidence to use academic
purposes. Daily life’s communication skills is [sic] have a little confidence, but I cannot use
under academic or something like a class.” Riku also demonstrated that listening in class was
challenging that impacts his confidence. He also struggles with reading comprehension, “I’m
not good at academic skills in English because, just I don’t like reading English in the long time
[sic], and I’m not good at listening tests, so, the score was test [sic] was not good.” Ryo’s
confidence was low in the four skills, which make sense being a lower-intermediate level of
English in an advanced course. He declared, “When I have to use academic English, also I make
a mistake of grammar and incorrect word [sic]. For example, my speaking score of IELTS was
the lowest of four technics, and I think I don’t have enough academically [sic] word.” Learning
in a challenging course coupled with lower scores impacted his self-efficacy.
Kakeru and Tatsu both professed that they had unstable levels of self-efficacy because
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 144

they believed their classmates were better at English. The courses were advanced with three to
six near-native English-speaking students in the same class due to low enrollment. Kakeru
referred to a recent experience speaking English, “There, we always talk about what I studied.
And other people ask me about the study, but, [laughs] I couldn’t answer well because there
because I can’t hear and understand what they say. They speak so fast.” The course was a new
challenge for him despite his sixteen years of learning English communication. When asked
how confident he was at using English for academic purposes, he uttered, “Not at all. Uh!” with
a sense of frustration in his voice, bemoaning when he said, “Uh!” Tatsu similarly confessed
with a slightly pained facial expression, “How confident? Uh, sorry, I haven’t confidence
[laughs]! The laughter had a tone of lament, yet with self-deprecation. When the researcher
asked him to elaborate, Tatsu said, “I had something like the writing class now, but [laughs] I
cannot write an essay more easily comparing [sic] to other students, so, yeah, I’m not confident.”
He felt like his English writing skills were weaker than his classmates, which impacted his
academic writing confidence. Lastly, it seems essential for the interviewees to receive clear and
frequent feedback from teachers at their level with language tasks they can engaging in to
influence their linguistic confidence of English and maintain higher levels of self-efficacy.
Emotion and Affect Findings from the Interviews
Open-ended questions were designed to elicit responses about learner emotions, affect,
and foreign language learning anxiety that might impact motivation. The interview questions
designed to answer research question two about the interviewees’ knowledge and motivation
related to emotion and interviewees English language proficiency. The responses were emotive
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 145

declarations that impact their motivation to learn English. Thus, the interviewees’ beliefs related
to emotion about their English proficiency will also be declared. The intended queries and
probes for the influence were about their feelings related to communicating in English rather
than in Japanese, which primarily included university classmates and international individuals.
The following interview responses in this emotion section supported the assumed influences.
Emotions communicating with international individuals and classmates. Language
learners feeling healthy emotions using English can control foreign language learning anxiety
(Dörnyei, 2001; Falout, et al., 2009). Seven interviewees reported having a range of positive
epistemic emotions when they conveyed they communicated with international individuals about
familiar situations in Japan. However, four interviewees expressed being ashamed, nervous, or
embarrassed regarding their language proficiency during complex conversations in the
interviews that impacted the quality of their communication exchanges. The queries about
feelings of the interviewees while communicating with others in English made no reference to
nationality. However, all eight interviewees described their feelings about speaking English with
international individuals and classmates. Table 14 represents a range of emotions
communicating with individuals in English in various settings. The assumption was the
interviewees were not English language beginners, so positive achievement emotions (Pekrun,
2011) influenced the interviewees’ beliefs about the exchanges.

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 146

Table 14
Range of Emotions Communicating in English with International Individuals
Interviewee Pleased using
English at work in
familiar settings
Pleased
giving
directions
Positive epistemic
emotions using
English on campus
Negative epistemic
emotions using
English
Riku Yes Yes Yes
Naruto Yes
Hana Yes Yes
Yuto Yes
Takeshi Yes
Ryo Yes and no
Kakeru No
Tatsu Yes Yes
Note. Empty cells indicate non-responses, ‘Yes’ indicates satisfaction, ‘No’ indicates
dissatisfaction, and ‘Yes and No’ indicates constructs based on the context.

Pleased and proud using English at familiar work settings. Pintrich (2003), Baker
(2006), and Lord and Kanfer (2002) asserted that affect is a significant attribute to both cognition
and motivation because if learners—the interviewees—had control over their cognition, then this
indicates they have a degree of control regarding their emotions. Riku, Naruto, and Hana
recognized cognitively what they needed to communicate in controlled environments using their
expertise at their part-time job workplaces. Riku stated, “I work at Coffee World in a train
station, and there is a sports stadium, so sometimes the foreign customers come there who can
only [sic] in English. And at that time, I communicated in English with them.” When the
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 147

environment has a level of predictability with situational vocabulary including orders of coffee
or food, he was pleased that he could communicate in English and mentioned that he enjoyed
this work, “Yes, I can, I have fun because most of my partners at the shop was cannot [sic] speak
English (laughs).” Riku smiled and appeared to be proud that he knows more English than his
co-workers and then laughed about the situation.
Naruto was pleased he could speak with his Spanish customer, “If and when I talk to her,
it is for the first time to use in my daily life, to use English communication.” Naruto was pleased
he conceptually understands that his English cognition is positively impacting his motivation as
he asserted, “So use the communication in my daily life [sic], so that experience, gave me a [sic]
confidence to use my English skills. Many people have rarely that experience, so I am a lucky
person.” He appeared to be self-efficacious, but also was emotionally pleased and proud that he
could make an international friend through his experience and English skills.
Hana works part-time at the Popular Design Store A. She reflected on the growth of her
communication abilities that she was pleased with her progress. At Design Store A, Hana
expressed, “I was working. Coming [sic] the foreign country customers.” Hana focused on
speaking about one customer she interacted with, “And she talked to me, so I use [sic] English.”
She was pleased and proud that she felt approachable at the store as someone who appears
knowledgeable about her English and her work similar to Riku’s response. Hana said, “there
was many staff, but she talked to me, so I was delighted!” According to Hana, the customer
inquired in English, ‘Do you have I have an alphabet A mug-cup?’ [pause] ‘And is this mug 20%
off?’” When probed, Hana let the customer know that the 20% off mug-cup was not available
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 148

with the letter ‘A’ as requested, as the mugs did not serve the purpose of representing initials of
people’s names. The two lettered-mugs is stock were ‘T’ for tea and ‘C’ for coffee. Through
Hana’s gestures and apparent glee at the situation, she seemed pleased communicating in English
in a familiar environment. All three interviewees seemed to have control of their cognition and
emotions (Lord & Kanfer, 2002) at their workplaces with a sense of pleasure.
Pleased giving directions to international individuals in the metropolis. Positive
achievement emotions including the pleasure of helping someone can foster learning (Perkum,
2011). Takeshi and Riku replied to using English recently, and both assisted international
individuals to navigate their way while transferring trains in the vast metropolis of an eastern city
in Japan. Takeshi seemed pleased, “Sometimes in the city, foreign people ask me train [sic], the
changing train. [pause] So sometimes I respond to them in easy words.” The train system there
is perhaps the most complex in the world, and according to Takeshi, “So complicated the train
lines.” Being able to assist others through a vast system seemed to be empowering to Takeshi.
Furthermore, Riku was pleased he successfully helps international tourists find their way to one
of the largest train stations in the world. He stated, “Sometimes foreign travelers speak to me,
just, ‘Where is the Big City Station? Blah, blah, blah.’ And they help, ask me the help [sic]
because they are not good at the construction of the Japanese stations, so just like that.” As Riku
was speaking, he used gestures and mimicked a tourist holding a map, while humorously
uttering, “Blah, blah, blah.” In this vignette, he also impersonated himself pointing to the station
when he spoke about helping others with a sense of pride. The successful communicative
interactions promoted positive epistemic emotions.
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 149

Positive epistemic emotions using English on campus. Positive epistemic emotions
contribute to greater learning and motivation (Rueda, 2011). In a non-leveled and context-rich
environment, communicating in English on campus outside class can be emotionally
challenging. Ryo and Tatsu reported being pleased with their abilities to communicate with
international students on campus. Tatsu responded to the query about what opportunities he has
used English outside the classroom:
Yes, I helped a friend who is from South East Asia. She can speak English. And yes, I
can communicate with her and then we when to a party, which was held, oh I don’t
remember, which was held by exchange students, so I could communicate with them in
English. Yes!”
He was quite pleased to help a fellow classmate in another language, and it was interesting to
note that each time he uttered, “yes,” with a sound of pride and with a smile.
Ryo was pleased with speaking with his close international friends because he can
communicate his thoughts and understand about 80% by using gestures, expressions, and the
context. Ryo mentioned, “And I use every time same words [sic], phrases what I can use
easily. However, sometimes, the broken English help to make a friend closely.” Regardless of
the vocabulary, he is fine having broken English because of the benefits of making good friends.
Ryo and Kakeru recognized they were not always able to comprehend their international
classmates in English and began to account for this knowledge influence, which brought about
feelings of disappointment. Ryo recognized that while conversing with his international friends
he is not as close to on campus, “I was talking with exchange people. I couldn’t understand
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 150

everything. Yeah, something, [sic] for example, 60% I understand.” He showed some sadness
and looked downward for a moment. It appeared he missed not fully participating in the
conversations. Although Ryo studied grammar for seven years, he is not sure why he cannot
fully comprehend the conversations, yet recognizes that language is a reason for the limitation.
Later in the interview, re-explained about conversing with international students he conceptually
differentiated in what instances he feels disappointed during conversations:
Okay. So, I have a lot of people, they're exchange people. I talking [sic] with them
because I think to talking [sic] with my friends, or, it’s very important [laughs]. Yeah,
and I discovered that character of the United States people. They don’t want to change
their English, I think. [laughs]. They use “their” English [laughs].
Ryo expressed he has many exchange students on campus that he can communicate with in
English. This opportunity was valuable for him, and he mentioned he was surprised and irritated
with the American exchange students he met because they could not or do not want to level their
utterances for clarity like the U.S. English teachers on campus. Ryo elucidated, “But, you [the
American interviewer], you talking [sic] very slowly, and clearly.” Then, he clarified, “Because
another country, European countries, they talking [sic] with me the more low speed[s]. More
clearly. Yeah, the European or Asian. Because [sic] can’t understand if we use more fast [sic]
English.” Ryo recognized the importance of conveying and receiving communication at a pace
where the interlocutors comprehend the meaning and articulate what they want to express.
comparably, Kakeru is in a unique situation in one of several academic communication classes
where he was the only Japanese national:
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 151

You know I take an academic English class, and everybody speaks in English. [pause]
So, there I should, I also should speak in English [laughs]. There, we always talk about
what I studied. And other people ask me about the study, but, [laughs] I couldn’t answer
well because there because I can’t hear and understand what they say. They speak so fast.
Even though Kakeru has had much more experience communicating in English since
kindergarten, he was disappointed not being able to listen to what the students were saying in an
advanced learning environment. Perhaps conversing with international students in English is
influenced by social identity and investment that supports the learners’ self-concept and language
desire (Igoudin, 2013; Norton Pierce, 1996; Toohey & Norton, 2003) that is related to emotion.
Negative epistemic emotions using English off campus. Foreign language learning can
bring about anxiety (Lord & Kanfer, 2002; Williams & Andrade, 2008). Hana and Tatsu
experienced miscommunication using English while traveling in English speaking countries.
Riku had apprehension about his English before traveling, yet was determined to keep an
“opened-mind” by communicating exclusively in English, which seemed to support positive
epistemic emotions. All three interviewees reported miscommunication that brought up feeling
ashamed, nervous, and stressed with their ability to communicate in English.
Hana visited her high school classmate who moved to U.K. with her family. She said,
“In Japan, we learn American English, so, I can, I couldn’t understand well.” She reported that
she could not comprehend what the locals said because the language sounded different from the
American English listening activities she was used to in secondary school. Hana reflected, “I
[sic] surprised, and we learn in Japan, ‘to-mey-do’ is tomato. But in England, tomato is [sic]
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 152

‘to-mah-to.’” While shopping in a village, she expressed, [laughing] “When went to a bakery
shop, [sic], I wanted a croissant.” In the interview, Hana had some challenges speaking at length
without prompts, so the dialogue about the croissant incident follows:
Hana: Can you [I] have one croissant [‘cro- wah- san,’] please?
Researcher: The shopkeeper, or the baker? The baker or the staff at the bakery?
Hana: Ah, yeah! The staff is like, “What?’
Researcher: And they said, "What?"
Hana: [laughing] Yeah, "What?" And my friend helped me, [and said] “It’s ‘craw-sant!’”
Hana gestured being multiple individuals that threw both arms in the air while saying “What?”
with the confusion of what she was attempting to order, and that her friend intervened by
ordering for her. Although Hana felt ashamed of not even able to order a croissant after six years
of daily English studies, she did not appear to have been anxious with the support of the friend.
Tatsu also mentioned he had difficulties comprehending regional English pronunciation when he
went to Singapore for his international field trip with his classmates, “And the Singapore [sic],
the people there, yeah, of course can speak the English, but the intonation was so different from
the American and England [sic], so it was difficult to listen to their; to communicate with them.”
Tatsu enjoyed visiting a Singaporean family for dinner and mentioned, “So yeah, that was fun,”
despite the difficulties communicating in English.
Nearly two years after Tatsu’s Singapore excursion based on his intense English studies,
he initially expected that his conversations with his American cousin in the U.S. to flow much
smoother. Tatsu reported, “And I have a cousin there, so, BUT [emphasis], in Japan before I
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 153

went there I think [sic] I can speak, I can communicate in English, but actually, it’s more
difficult than I expected.” He was ashamed with his English during his recent U.S. trip because
of miscommunication, even with simple activities. Tatsu displayed a sense of disappointment
about not being able to understand his cousin, looked down at the desk, and said, “For example,
like I felt when I was there we played the game.” He also confessed, “So, I didn’t [pause] know
that slang, and then so that I cannot, I couldn’t play well.” Through his experience with
relatives, Tatsu believed that he needed to spend more time studying English.
Before Riku’s venture abroad to Australia because he was nervous wondering if he could
communicate with his host family for one month in association with his upper-secondary school.
However, he was determined to communicate exclusively in English. Riku said:
Yes, that reason was because it was so [sic] precious time for me because I have open-
minded, an open-mind by the experience, so that is the most [pause] precious time for
me, and now I am, I think I’m good at speaking a little bit because I learned like uh,
pronunciation and the speed and the rhythm of English a little bit.
When prompted having an open-mind and the connection with his English speaking experiences
Riku replied, “Connection? Yes before trip [sic] to Australia, I am, I feel like ashamed to speak
in English, but in the Australia, I stayed [sic] Australian family’s home for about three weeks,
and I had to speak only English.” He knew he needed to communicate in English, so he realized
being ashamed would not get him anywhere. Riku, reflected in this situation, “There’s no
Japanese, so I decided to oh, ‘I have to communicate in just English.’ There is no Japanese, so
that is the connection, I think.” Although Riku felt ashamed about his proficiency, he was
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 154

determined to communicate solely in English, which promoted positive epistemic emotions. His
opened-minded communication and motivation to learn English through his “precious”
experience at the Australian homestay. Despite having changeling experiences abroad that
brought upon deactivating negative emotions (see Pekrun, 2011) such as being ashamed,
nervous, and stressed the three interviewees maintained some emotional resiliency.
Although Yuto’s English was proficient, he indicated on-the-job stress speaking with
international customers in English. He works at a major retailer in a fast pace environment, and
his clients had more complex English queries related to size, stock, and sales. Yuto’s response
indicated his nervousness and stress levels despite his upper-intermediate English proficiency:
I think I have to improve my English skills more because I’m working for a National
Chain Fashion Store A and many foreigners come to my store [pause] and talk to me in
English, but sometimes I’m busy and I’m also nervous, so I can’t talk with them,
correctly. [pause] So, that time, [sic] I really feel, to improve, I really feel I need to
improve my English.
Yuto mentioned he was busy. And when he gets nervous, he reported not being able to
communicate well, so he hopes to improve his English communications skills. This influence
was surprising because Yuto won an English speech contest, yet seemed to genuinely reveal, “I
can be nervous that if I get nervous, I suddenly forget what I want to say.” Yuto’s workplace
experience was different from the other interviewees mentioned previously because the company
is infamous for long working hours. His overwork seemed to contribute to his stress.

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 155

Synthesis of Findings of the Motivational Influences
The interviewees who had English proficiency limitations, that had less confidence,
except for Ryo who is multi-lingual. Interviewees with higher English proficiency had low self-
efficacy while communicating with native or advanced speakers of English if they did not learn
English communication in school. Nonetheless, interviewees with an English communication
education in high school reported having higher self-efficacious levels communicating in
English. For self-efficacy concerning their academic English courses, the two students with
lower proficiency said to have high confidence in speaking English with classmates in a leveled
classroom with greater language support. However, the six interviewees who took challenging
advanced level courses reported low self-efficacy due to the level of difficulty as intermediate
learners of the language. Concerning the emotion and affect findings, five interviewees
conveyed that they were pleased communicating with international individuals in English at
work or giving directions. On campus, two of the interviewees were pleased with their English
proficiency, and two were disappointed, and four individuals were ashamed, nervous, and
stressed with their international English communication. A significant and surprising influence
was the interviewees emotions and affect responses were largely related to communication with
international individuals. Finally, the interviewees beliefs about their emotions, capabilities, and
causes of errors, have a substantial impact in complex learning environments (Clark, Howard, &
Early, 2006), such as EFL secondary education in Japan.
Organizational Influence Findings
Organizations and fields of practice contain cultural models and settings that influence
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 156

the desired outcomes of targeted global goals (Clark & Estes, 2008; Schneider, Brief, & Guzzo,
1996). Considering how the organizational levels work including communication, the climate,
the change reform, and understanding what is valued is critical before change can be made
(Clark & Estes, 2008; Moran & Brightman, 2000). Cultural models are not easily recognizable,
accessible, nor realized because the cultural values influence outcomes, yet cultural settings are
comprised of identifiable policy, resources, and workspaces that can be observed (Rueda, 2011).
This evaluation study has three cultural influences. The first is the cultural influence of
the interviewees’ family expectations about their language learning through the interviews. The
second and third organizational influences of the study are comprised of integral cultural models
and setting influences because of the historical and cultural complexities in an extensive field-
based study rather than utilizing one organization. The data from the latter two influences draw
from the interviewees, their textbooks, and MEXT EFL policy documents (2011b; 2011c). The
second cultural influence is preparing interviewees for English entrance exams through the
yakudoku method. The third influence is the organizational training and resources for EFL
teachers to support their students’ English proficiency. The analysis of the three influences are
focused on research question three: What is the interaction between the organizational culture
and context and the student stakeholders’ knowledge and motivation to learn English in Japan?
Organizational Influence One: Familial Expectations
Familial and social influences impact the interviewees’ academic environment that was
drawn from the interviews. The first cultural model is the family has expectations for their
children’s success that influenced the interviewees to study English. Gorsuch (2000), O’Donnell
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 157

(2005), Underwood (2012), and Sakui (2004) found that high school English teachers revealed
the social pressure from students’ families and their administrations placed an extreme emphasis
on preparing students for university entrance exams, which lead to abandoning teaching English
communication. The familial and societal pressure also involved lower-secondary teachers
teaching yakudoku so that students might enter prestigious upper-secondary schools (O’Donnell,
2005; Sakui, 2004; Underwood, 2012). The findings revealed the interviewees’ families hoped
for the success of their children’s futures. The academic impact on the interviewees’ learning
paths was a result of social influences, but the family expectations influenced English learning.
Family expectations influenced the interviewees’ EFL learning. Family expectations
and perceptions impacted the importance of English language learning of the interviewees. They
were asked, “How does your family feel about your English language learning?” The first
cultural influence was the interviewees’ families appeared genuinely pleased with their English
proficiency, and the interviewees showed affection for their families. First, five interviewees
lived away from their family homes and expressed a longing for their family visit after the term.
Second, the family expected five interviewees to communicate in English because the families
do not know the language well. Third, the interviewees’ families placed importance on knowing
the language due to the increasing presence of globalization in Japan. Table 15 represents the
families’ perceptions of the interviewees’ English. Each interviewee spoke intently about their
family that seemed to reduce the perception of formality of the semi-structured interview.

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 158

Table 15
Cultural Influence One: Family Perceptions of the Interviewees’ English
Interviewee The family valued
the interviewee’s
English proficiency
The family lacked English
skills, so the interviewee is
learning the language
The family
believed English
is essential
Ryo Yes Yes
Kakeru Yes Yes
Yuto Yes Yes Yes
Naruto Yes
Takeshi Yes
Riku Yes Yes
Tatsu Yes
Hana Yes
Note. Empty cells indicate non-responses, and ‘Yes’ indicates the family’s influence and the
connection to the theme with the interviewee.

The family valued the interviewee’s English proficiency. The families placed a value on
their children’s English education. Four of the interviewees expressed their family is pleased
with their English capabilities. When asked, Kakeru gave a great big smile and said, “My family
is proud of my English learning. [laughs] And I have a sister and my sister now go [sic] to the
same English conversation’s class. And she always said to me, “Your English skills very well
[laughs].” Kakeru appeared to accept the praise, yet expressed humility by toning down his
response and said, “But I don’t think so. I can’t speak well.” Yuto also produced a grin and
responded, “my family is happy to me [sic] for speaking English.” Like Kakeru and Yuto, Tatsu
smiled fondly and laughed before his reply, “I studied English to enter, to pass the exam of this
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 159

university. [pause] And this university has the English test, so and, I got the high score, so, ‘Oh,
you gotta nice deal!’” When Tatsu mimicked his family members voices saying, “Oh, you gotta
nice deal!” the tone of the ‘family’ sounded supportive and pleased about his school acceptance.
Tatsu also asserted, “And they said, so they don’t worry, they didn’t I think, they don’t worry
about my English learning.” Not being worried indicated the family approves of Tatsu progress
with his language proficiency. Finally, Hana was eager to report about her mother with all
smiles for this query, “Oh, my mother delighted [sic] me delighted. Um, my mother recommend
me to listen [sic] the radio, so she is delighted I listen [sic] the radio every day.” Hana meant her
mother is pleased with her English and that she listened to her mother’s recommendation. In
short, the family was satisfied with the interviewee’s English pursuits.
The family lacked English skills, so the interviewee is learning English. In several
instances, familial influences demonstrated the importance of English proficiency because
English benefits the family. Five interviewees confessed their family is counting on them to
learn English on their behalf because of a lack of understanding the language. In Ryo’s case,
“My parents can’t speak in English, so they say, ‘You have to study more English.’ Yeah and
study another language, because the world is not only English.” [Uttered in the pronunciation of
his mother’s native language for emphasis.] His response was unique in that his family hopes
he’ll learn multiple languages. Kakeru’s family are impressed with his English abilities,
“because they can’t speak in English at all.” Similarly, Riku reported, “They are not good at
English because they don’t know the words meaning, and the speaking and listening.” His
family is impressed with his progress and supports him in hopes that he will be a secondary
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 160

English teacher. Yuto claims his family “is not good at studying, and also English,” so they are
supporting him study abroad as an exchange student, “My family is willing to make me go to
America.” Yuto will study abroad in the States, and his family wanted to support him, but he
feels that using their funds would be a burden on the family budget, so he is working for his own
tuition and fees. Naruto’s family is surprised he communicates in English, because they cannot,
“So my father don’t [sic] understand English, and my mother is not good at English skills, so
they say surprise, and they say, ‘Why can you do English?’” Naruto impersonated his parents as
if he is not their offspring because their child can speak English, but they cannot. Thus, the
family as a unit influenced the interviewees’ English learning as an essential language to know.
The family believed English is essential. Riku smiled brightly while thinking about his
family, “Maybe they feel it is good thing [pause] to use English.” Takeshi did not discuss his
English proficiency with this family, yet said, “But my family can speak English a little, so my
family thinks learning English is important.” Like Takeshi, Ryo indicated that his family
believes English is essential. Specifically, according to Ryo, his parents said, “You have the
ability to speak romance language A, so you can study more languages.” They have encouraged
him to learn a fourth language, and he is studying aboard in the country that uses the language.
Yuto’s family gave him support to study abroad in English that indicates the family thinks
English is vital for his future. Familial influences on the interviewees’ English proficiency is
paramount to their education, which impacts their future employment prospects.
Cultural Influence Two: English Exam Focus in the Interviews and the Textbooks
The second cultural influence is the interviewees need to learn grammar in Japanese to
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 161

pass English entrance exams at secondary school that is evident in the MEXT-approved EFL
textbook materials (Gorsuch, 1998; Nishino, 2008; Sakui, 2004; Underwood, 2012). However, a
second influence is the interviewees need to learn MEXT-approved English communication
(2011b; 2011c) to achieve the EIKEN proficiency level pre-two before high school graduation
(Keidanren, 2017; MEXT, 2011a; 2014). Both practices suggest there are two coexisting EFL
MEXT influences on EFL secondary education. A divergence between practice and behavior is
a sign the cultural climate has two or more inconsistent policies (Morrison & Milliken, 2000).
The authors suggested the inconsistent policies mean improved organizational change takes time.
The cultural influences two attempted to reveal MEXT EFL communication policy, the
predominant teaching method the interviewees reported, and their secondary textbook content.
Cultural influence two from EFL policy: No mention of exam preparation. The
MEXT policy document analysis was paired with the interviewees’ reflections and textbook
materials. Although their teachers’ MEXT deliverables might not have been understood, yet
attempts were made to provide credible data for the study. The query regarding MEXT policy is
to what extent were the teachers requested to teach by translating English to Japanese utilizing
the yakudoku method to facilitate support for passing English entrance exams. In both of
MEXT’s (2011b; 2011c) foreign language policy documents for secondary schools,
communication is the central objective, yet there is no mention of language assessments, quizzes,
entrance exam preparation, teaching through the yakudoku method. The global goal for students
to receive pre-2 on the EIKEN English proficiency test is mentioned in separate policy (MEXT,
2011a; 2015c). Table 16 describes MEXT EFL communication policy was not experienced.
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 162

Table 16

Cultural Influences Two: MEXT EFL Communication Was Not Experienced

Junior high
MEXT EFL
policy
Interviewees
recalled the theme
in junior high
Senior high
EFL MEXT
policy
Interviewees
recalled the theme
in senior high
Experienced
English
communication in
all EFL courses
Yes No (8) Yes Yes (1) / no (7)

Experienced
university English
entrance exam
advice
No Yes (7) / no (1)

Experienced
MEXT’s EIKEN
proficiency goals

No

Yes (1) / no (7)

No

Yes (2) / no (6)
Note: Blanks indicate not applicable, ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ indicates the activity was experienced or
not experienced as a MEXT policy deliverable as best as the interviewees could recall.

Lack of experience learning English communication in all EFL courses. In lower-
secondary school, MEXT (2011b, p. 1) states that the English objectives are:
1. To enable students to understand the speaker’s intentions when listening to English;
2. To enable students to talk about their own thoughts using English;
3. To accustom and familiarize students with reading English and to enable them to
understand the writer’s intentions when reading English; and
4. To accustom and familiarize students with writing in English and to enable them to write
about their own thoughts using English.
None of the interviewees reported experiencing English communication in junior high school,
which was included in the metacognitive knowledge influences.
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 163

In high schools, there are several English courses including Basic English
Communication, English Communication I, II, and III, English Expressions I, II, and an
Advanced English Conversation class in the third year. MEXT (2011c, p. 7) states:
When taking into consideration the characteristics of each English subject, classes, in
principle, should be conducted in English in order to enhance the opportunities for
students to be exposed to English, transforming classes into real communication scenes.
Consideration should be given to use English in accordance with the students’ level of
comprehension.
The leveled-courses should be conducted in English, so students are exposed to the language
using authentic conversations relevant to the students’ lives. All the interviewees were in mixed
proficiency level classes, so their levels were not considered. In the case of the interview
influences from the knowledge section, only Riku fully experienced MEXT’s learning English in
English in his high school courses. Yuto and Naruto learned English communication in one of
their two courses, and Tatsu occasionally learned English communication. Ryo, Kakeru,
Takeshi, and Hana did not experience EFL communication based on MEXT’s objectives. As a
result, their English proficiency was lower-intermediate except for Kakeru, who studied an
accelerated English program and private English communication lessons.
Experienced university English entrance exam advice. In review, there are no
suggestions for teachers to prepare the interviewees to study for entrance exams in the MEXT
(2011b; 2011c) policy documents. The focus of this influence concerns high school, since these
institutions directly precede the tertiary level, and the traditional textbooks look like the exams
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 164

published by university professor authors. In high school, Kakeru, Yuto, Takeshi, and Tatsu
studied old English university entrance exams with explanations delivered in Japanese. Seven of
the interviewees also received university entrance exam advice from their teachers outside of
class except for Riku. It was likely that the teachers are expected to deliver English entrance
exam advice to students. There seems to be an incongruency between textbook policy,
communicative language policy, and actual teaching practice that affected the interviewees.
Lack of experiencing MEXT’s EIKEN English proficiency goals. The six public high
school interviewees did not learn about MEXT’s global target of 50% of high school seniors
obtaining a pre-2 grade on the EIKEN test from their institutions. These interviewees, Hana,
Riku, Ryo, Takeshi, Tatsu, and Yuto, learned about the proficiency test outside of school. Riku,
mentioned, “I think the teachers don’t told us [sic] anything,” yet, some of his classmates studied
EIKEN materials, and then took the test for the brag factor: “They think maybe when they go to
university, it is an advantage of entering the university, so maybe they just want to say, [pause]
‘Yes. I have, I have EIKEN.’” [laughing] Riku then hilariously gestured flexing his arm muscles
to indicate that students were proud or boasting about their test scores. Hana mentioned, “My
teacher didn’t say to get the grade pre-2.” When asked why she thought the EIKEN goal was not
explained she stated, “It is voluntary.” The public school interviewees believed the EIKEN test
was not connected with MEXT’s educational system.
Conversely, Kakeru and Naruto hailed from private high schools and learned more
information about the EIKEN English proficiency test from their institutions. Kakeru’s private
school sponsored the EIKEN Test annually. He mentioned the English curriculum in secondary
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 165

school naturally prepared the students to pass the EIKEN grade pre-2 by graduation from high
school, “Yeah, so I mean, mmm, if you continue, if you take an English class, [laughs] you can
get it easily.” In junior high, Naruto conveyed that he wanted to communicate in English much
more than he had, “other people don’t speak and not communicate with English, so I don’t really
get support in English. Only to use in the examination of EIKEN.” Naruto also thought the
norm-referenced test was not connected to real communication, and said, “It is not difficult” to
get his EIKEN 2 score. In sum, the two private school interviewees received information about
the EIKEN test, but public school interviewees did not.
Cultural influence two: University English exam importance from the interviewees.
Despite MEXT (2011b; 2011c) advocating for EFL communication and no mention of entrance
exam preparation, the interviewees were instructed by their teachers how to take university
entrance exams in high school except for Riku. They responded to two interview queries about
the feedback they got from their English teacher(s), and also, what they what their teachers
explained about the English university entrance exams. The first question was not intended to
gather feedback in exam preparation and instead on beliefs about how teachers might support the
interviewees’ metacognition and motivation to learn communicative English. However, instead,
seven of eight interviewees reported to get feedback to improve their chances of passing their
university English entrance exams. Table 17 indicates the teachers’ entrance exam advice in and
outside of class for college-bound interviewees, and challenging exam information that
discouraged interviewees from reaching their desired university goal.

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 166

Table 17
Cultural Influence Two: The Teachers English Entrance Advice
Interviewee Exam essay advice
outside class
Exam advice for
the college-bound
Exam advice in
the classroom
Exam advice was
too challenging
Kakeru Yes Yes
Ryo Yes
Yuto Yes Yes Yes
Naruto Yes Yes Yes
Hana Yes Yes
Riku
Takeshi Yes Yes Yes
Tatsu Yes Yes
Note. Empty cells indicate non-responses, and ‘Yes’ indicates exam feedback from teachers.
Entrance exam advice from teachers outside of class. Feedback from teachers during
office hours are noteworthy indicators that teachers are obliged to prepare students for English
university entrance exams (O’Donnell, 2005). All interviewees except Riku received university
English essay exam feedback from their high school teachers during office hours by responding
to old essay exam questions. Naruto reported, “My teacher says I should have a template,”
meaning he needed to design an outline of an essay before he wrote at length. Kakeru brought
mock English essay exams he wrote and got feedback, “Structure of a paragraph is very well
[sic], but they don’t do just compliment, they also criticize my bad points, and tell me what I
should do next time.” Moreover, Kakeru’s teachers gave suggestions for essay writing
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 167

improvement. Takeshi declared, “I wrote English essays and submitted for my teacher. And he
checked missed points [sic], mistakes, and used more easy words [sic] or not, don’t have to use
difficult words.” Takeshi’s teacher provided error correction and feedback on his writing and
suggested using simple vocabulary to describe what he wants to convey. In Ryo’s case, he said,
“So I can go to the teacher room [sic] and to say, ‘Please, please teach me.’ or yeah. The writing
to do an exam, the entrance exam, the university [sic].” Tatsu approached his teacher like
Takeshi and Ryo did, after school. Tatsu’s teacher provided handouts for him, so he realized the
significance of the feedback, “And then, like, so, that is why it’s important to pass the exam is to
study with the English teacher individually.” He also noticed the value of meeting the teacher
privately for support. In sum, the interviewees felt their teachers were available to coach them
outside of class on English entrance exams that is not stipulated in MEXT’s (2011c) EFL policy.
Useful feedback for college-bound students at low-performing schools. Two
interviewees were coached privately about entrance exam advice during office hours who were
enrolled in schools of lesser prestige. Naruto and Hana went to high schools that did not send
many students to prestigious universities, or some students worked after graduation instead.
Naruto noted, “But my school is called like a “baka [stupid].” The literal translation is the school
is stupid or in a more academic tone, a low-performing school. Naruto explained, “So other
students my high school [sic] is not intelligent. Only 30 people take an entrance exam. The
other people automatically entered a university, so my teacher is only to teach me, so long time
he teach [sic] me writing tests.” After school, he practiced exam preparation with his teacher.
Naruto found the frequent feedback helped him study and feel confident for the exams:
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 168

My teacher is, when I entrance exam I study very very very very [emphasis] hard. So, if,
when I take an entrance exam, that day, they emailed to me, ‘You studied English very
hard, so if you cannot that question [sic], other people cannot understand that question.’
[pause] That phrase is, that phrase makes me stable.
Naruto’s teacher emailed an encouraging post on the exam weekend acknowledging his effort
and level of difficulty would be challenging for exam candidates, which was reassuring.
Like Naruto, Hana also got individualized support from her teacher to prepare for English
entrance exams at a non-competitive school. Hana’s reported, “In my high school, students who
go university [sic] is tsukunai [not many].” A significant number of students were not college
bound, “So, in my high school, we didn’t study everyone [sic] to want to enter the university.”
Hana’s teachers did not provide English entrance exam preparation lessons in her classes. Hana
mentioned, “But I went to school, and I see my teacher and submit.” She appreciated the
individualized consultations during, “not school, [winter] vacation.” This teacher also worked
with Hana on holiday to give feedback to her. The concept of intelligent schools and non-
intelligent schools was salient as Ryo mentioned he went to a “wise school.” Two teachers at
low-performing high schools appeared to look after college-bound interviewees during the
weekends and holidays to help Naruto and Hana prepare for their English entrance exams.
Exam advice from the teacher in the classroom. Teachers taught English by the
yakudoku method to prepare students for university entrance exams at competitive schools.
Kakeru, Yuto, Takeshi, and Tatsu studied old entrance exams in class. Takeshi and Ryo
explained how their teachers provided advice in their English classrooms. Takeshi valued his
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 169

secondary teacher’s advice in class about English vocabulary for the entrance exams. He
realized this feedback of the importance of learning vocabulary influenced him to study English
words while taking the train, “So, I studied English words in junior high school and high school
when I was going to high school on the train. [pause] I often study the English word list.” He
learned from numerous teachers, “That vocabulary will be important for future, so, it will be a
benefit for us.” The feedback seemed to influence the way he studied English. Then, Ryo also
mentioned, “My teacher say [sic] the entrance English is not English. It’s an entrance English,
you know? [laughing] Yeah, so it’s not a normal English and American English or not Japanese
English. [pause] It can only be used in entrance [sic].” Then Ryo and his classmates protested,
“We asked him, "Why? Why? Because it’s really so bad!” [both laughing]. And the teacher
replied, “So you just have to do it!” Ryo meant although the teacher realized that exam
preparation was not authentic English, if Ryo wanted to pass, he was told he had to uphold the
status quo and just “do it!” University entrance exam preparation is not part of the secondary
educational policy, yet the divergence between occupational duty and practice is an indication
the cultural environment has two inconsistent policies (Morrison & Milliken, 2000).
Challenging university admission: A focus solely on the English exams. Complicated
exam advice for prestigious universities led some interviewees to explore loopholes in the exam
system where they took two English exams to enter university to avoid studying other subjects.
Yuto, Naruto, and Takeshi took old entrance exams of prestigious public and private universities,
but found the exams to be quite challenging. Yuto reported, “I was very good at English, so my
teacher said that you can go to high-ranking Universities A, B, and C. I took the questions of
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 170

University C, but couldn’t answer all of them, so I lost my confidence.” The exam was quite
challenging for Yuto in all subjects:
So, I decided to take the examination just only by English, so, I researched where I can
take the university entrance exam by only English, so there was on the list, there was
Sakura University. And my teacher said, Sakura’s [exam] questions were not so difficult.
Based on Yuto’s teacher’s recommendation, he chose to take Sakura University’s English
entrance exam. Naruto also, “Many, only practice for entrance exam [sic], but also study the
Sakura University entrance exam, but also study other examination like Prestigious Private
University D. It is like Sakura University’s questions.” Naruto seemed to think that taking
easier exams in English that were similar helped prepare him for the exams suggested by his
teacher. Takeshi echoed Yuto and Naruto, “In my university's examination was I tested only
English. I accept only English, so long, I read long sentences, long, long, long sentences, and I
wrote “eisakubun” [English essays]. Takeshi stressed the length of the writing. Choosing
English exam preparation to avoid studying other subjects in the humanities was not an expected
finding. The secondary MEXT-approved textbooks also influenced exam preparation with
limited opportunities to experience communicative English in junior and senior high school.
Cultural influence two: Communication not the focus of the junior high texts.
Communication with the use of the spoken and written output helps to improve proficiency in
the target language. The interviewees’ textbooks, which were the MEXT-approved New Crown
English Series 2 (Negishi, 2015b), New Horizon English Course 2 (Kasajima, 2016b),
and Sunshine English Course 2 (Matsuhata, 2015b) offered some English communication tasks,
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 171

but not for each lesson. In addition, the interviewees were asked to translate from Japanese to
English that is not included in MEXT’s (2011b; 2011c) foreign language policy in which English
should be used for communication in principle. It is apparent the three MEXT- approved junior
high textbooks were not in alignment with MEXT EFL communication policies. Table 18
details that second-year junior high textbooks did not provide adequate communicative activities
tasks that required frequent English and Japanese translations and leveled vocabulary for
university entrance exam use (JACET, 2003).
Table 18
Cultural Two Influences: Communication Not Valued in Junior High Textbooks

New Crown English
Series 2
New Horizon
English Course 2
Sunshine English
Course 2
The interviewees’ textbook
had daily opportunities to
communicate in English as
the MEXT objective.
No (32 times
per year out of 200+
lessons)
No (28 times
per year out of
200+ lessons)
No (26 times
per year out of
200+ lessons)

The interviewees’ textbook
directions were written in
Japanese that necessitated
translations between two
languages.

Yes

Yes

Yes

The interviewees’ textbook
introduced leveled
vocabulary included in the
university entrance exams.

Yes (JACET, 2003)

Yes (JACET,
2003)

Yes (JACET,
2003)
Note: Blanks indicate non-responses, ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ indicates the activity was provided or not
provided as a MEXT policy deliverable as best the Interviewees could recall.

The junior high textbooks provided few opportunities to communicate. Although
English communication is the objective of lower-secondary EFL courses to improve the
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 172

interviewees’ language gains, the textbooks did not provide daily communicative activities.
Seven exercises involving communication appeared in the texts for the entire school year, and
there were additional brief substitution drills that consisted of short dialogues. Since the
interviewees had over 200 one-hour English lessons per year, they would not have been able to
communicate during each class. New Crown provided 32 opportunities to converse, the New
Horizon featured 26, and Sunshine 28 times respectively. All eight interviewees reported there
were no opportunities to communicate in English that was the objective of MEXT’s policy for all
three years of junior high school (2011b). Yuto had occasional activities to speak for two years
and Takeshi for one year. It should be noted that the researcher is familiar with the junior high
textbook series and more communication activities are included than previous editions.
The activities required excessive English and Japanese translations. The use of the
target language helps learners to conceptualize and reflect on learning goals to improve language
proficiency (MEXT, 2011b). While translanguaging is a dynamic pedagogy that supports
multilingual identity (García & Kleifgen, 2018), constant translations seemed to interfere with
meaning-making. The interviewees’ textbook directions for the communication exercises were
in Japanese where they would need to translate frequently between languages that encourage
yakudoku. All written instructions except for the English titles were in the Japanese language.
The Japanese language guidelines most likely set the tone that encourages the English teachers to
give directions in Japanese. As an example, Sunshine 2 (Matsuhata, 2015b, p. 109) features a
written and oral presentation entitled, “ コマーシャルの台本を作リましょう [Let’s make a
commercial script],” where no English was featured on the entire activity except for “My
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 173

Project” and “one hundred nine.” A yakudoku approach to learning English through Japanese
conflicts with MEXT’s own communicative objectives. The international assistant English
language teachers would need to know how to read Japanese to teach the lesson. The constant
translations would reduce opportunities to conceptualize English without extraneous cognitive
load (also see Kirschner, Kirschner, & Paas, 2006).
The textbooks introduced university entrance exam leveled vocabulary. The
interviewees needed scaffolded support from the teachers and learning materials to progress their
learning gains. The vocabulary in each unit was gradually introduced within the Japan
Association of College English Teacher’s (JACET, 2003) level range. This corpus publication is
used for making university entrance exams in compliance with MEXT’s exam policies. A
progressive trend for EFL MEXT (2011b; 2011c) policy is consulting dictionaries and learning
phonemes. The new editions of the New Horizon and Sunshine no longer translate the
vocabulary to Japanese. Therefore, the interviewees would have needed to consult a dictionary,
and the phonemes are provided for pronunciation comprehension. The New Crown also provides
phonetic pronunciation, but also translates the vocabulary in Japanese, so an illustrative example
would be that Ryo most likely learned that Mr. McGregor in the Peter Rabbit lesson is also “ マ
グレガーさん [Magurega-san],” then Flopsy is “ フロプシー [Furopushi],” Mopsy is “ モプ
シー [Mopushi],” and Cottontail is “ コトンテール [Kotonteru]” (Negishi, 2015b, p.16).
Although, the proper nouns of Peter Rabbit vocabulary would not likely appear on an English
university entrance exam. Nevertheless, the leveled vocabulary supports the interviewees’
learning, and the textbooks prepared them for the vocabulary on such exams.
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 174

Cultural influence two: Communication not the focus of the high school texts.
Communicative language materials can foster greater English proficiency through active use of
the language (Nation & Newton, 2009). Three of the interviewee textbooks, Element English
Communication II (Ushiro, 2012), Landmark English Communication II (Takeuchi, 2014), and
New Favorite English Expression II (Nakamura, 2017) offered far fewer opportunities to
communicate than the junior high school texts. These textbooks featured essays with reading
comprehension questions that resembled university entrance exams in Japan. Conversely, one of
Riku’s texts, Impact Issues 2 (Day, Shaules, & Yamanaka, 2009), is authentic and leveled
material entirely in English, and the series’ learning philosophy focuses on comprehension,
critical thinking, self-expression, and motivation. Of the three traditional textbooks, translating
from Japanese to English was not as prevalent as the junior high texts, yet the interviewees were
asked to translate English to Japanese to facilitate support for entrance exams. New Favorite
English Expression II instructions were in Japanese, Landmark English Communication II
featured instructions in English and Japanese, while Element English Communication II had the
least amount of Japanese instructions of the three. As mentioned previously, MEXT’s (2011c, p.
1) English policy document asserted that teaching communication is the central objective where
the lessons “should be conducted in English.” It is evident that three of the four MEXT-
approved texts are not congruent with MEXT’s policy documents. Table 19 details the lack of
value on communicative activities, instructions that required translating in both languages, and
vocabulary leveled for EFL exams (JACET, 2003).

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 175

Table 19
Cultural Influences Two: Communication Not Valued in Senior High Textbooks

New Favorite
English
Expressions II
Landmark
English
Communication II
Element English
Communication
II
Impact
Issues 2
Daily opportunities
to communicate in
English
Sometimes No (3 short
exercises)
No (1 speech &
2 debates)
Yes

Japanese
language directions
necessitating
yakudoku style
translations

Yes (20 yakudoku
exercises)

Sometimes

Yes

No

Reading
comprehension
preparation for
entrance exams

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Vocabulary leveled
and included in the
university entrance
exams

Yes (JACET,
2013)

Yes (JACET,
2003)

Yes (JACET,
2003)

Sometimes
(Longman,
2017)
Note: Blanks indicate non-responses, ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ indicate the activity was provided or not
provided as a MEXT policy deliverable. ‘Sometimes’ indicates some evidence of the assertion.

The high school textbooks provided few opportunities to communicate. Ample chances
to converse in English strengthened language proficiency. The New Favorite English
Expressions II (Nakamura, 2017) featured listening and reading for the first part of the year
followed by some communication activities for the second half with lengthy Japanese language
instructions. Riku’s innovative teacher taught in English, but he reported the content was boring.
Element English Communication II (Ushiro, 2012) provided one communication project per
trimester primarily in English that could occur over the course of a month depending on how
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 176

much expansion activities the teachers provided, which Kakeru’s teacher seemed to have
skipped. Landmark English Communication II (Takeuchi, 2014), was a reading and listening
comprehension textbook that Naruto studied that provided only three brief speaking
opportunities in the odd numbered units one, three, and five for the first half of the year and no
speaking lessons during the latter half. Lastly, Impact Issues 2 (Day, Shaules, & Yamanaka,
2009) that Riku studied had 20 substantial issues for discussions in English the entire course and
in keeping with MEXT’s English teaching policies. Riku acknowledged that his high school
English courses were rare compared with his other university classmates’ experiences.
The textbook directions necessitated translations that encouraged yakudoku. Teaching
in the target language encourages students to conceptualize and reflect on improving their
language proficiency. Impact Issues 2 (Day, Shaules, & Yamanaka, 2009) guides students by
imagining themselves in a situation, expressing what they think, extends the topic through
communication, and shares ideas entirely in English. In contrast, the directions in Element
English Communication II (Ushiro, 2012) were Japanese for the first part of the textbook, then
included exclusively English instructions for the second half. One wonders how the teachers
might shift abruptly halfway into the school year from Japanese to English if they read the
directions out loud. Landmark English Communication II (Takeuchi, 2014) provided English
instructions for essay reading at the beginning of each unit, but the follow-up sections of reading
comprehension, vocabulary, and grammar exercises were written in Japanese. New Favorite
English Expression II (Nakamura, 2017) had Japanese language instructions throughout the text,
which would encourage translations. In fact, the researcher found 20 such yakudoku grammar-
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 177

translation exercises buried in the appendix that were all entitled, “Self-dictation.” (Nakamura,
2017, pp. 144-163). The students were provided a full-page single-spaced Japanese language
essay that necessitated translations of the entire text into English. Riku asserted that his teacher
did not require the students to use Japanese, so it is assumed the yakudoku exercises were
skipped. Kakeru, Naruto, and Riku were unnecessarily exposed to reading Japanese language
instructions, despite having over 800 hours of English learning in secondary school.
Textbooks had reading comprehension essays for entrance exam practice. The cultural
influence assumes studying for university entrance exams in high school helps students prepare
for the exams (Gorsuch, 1998). MEXT (2011b; 2011c) English teaching policy documents do
not mention this influence, but many of the MEXT-approved textbooks outside the study also
prepare for English entrance exams. The three traditional high school textbooks included the
reading of essays with comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary questions that mirrored past
exams. Attempts to relate the essays to the students’ lives or contemporary issues related to local
and international society. There were instances where the compositions seemed irrelevant to the
students. An example in the New Favorite English Expressions II (Nakamura, 2017), the
researcher suddenly viewed a very small-sized black and white shocking photograph that
appeared to be Adolf Hitler. The unit was entitled, The Great Dictator (Chaplin, 1940; 2016,
Mar 10) with a picture of Charlie Chaplin actor/director/producer posing as a fictitious dictator
that appeared to look like Hitler and was featured as a great speech archive. While the message
to students was about holding down tyranny, the rapid cadence of the speech on video file
seemed to be inappropriate content for a 16-year-old student in 2015 in Japan. Three of the four
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 178

textbooks appeared to serve as a mechanism to prepare students for entrance exams.
The textbook vocabulary was leveled for university entrance exams. Students need
leveled vocabulary provided by the teachers and the support materials for their knowledge and
motivation to improve their English proficiency. The vocabulary in all four textbooks like the
three junior high texts was gradually introduced to the interviewees. The three traditional
textbooks were leveled within the Japan Association of College English Teachers (JACET,
2003) in compliance with MEXT’s entrance exam policies. Impact Issues 2 (Day, Shaules, &
Yamanaka, 2009) was leveled appropriately by the Longman (2017) dictionary for English
communication, and the vocabulary in the textbook was not strictly academic, so most words
were within the JACET (2003) academic list for junior high school students. Therefore, Riku
was not exposed to vocabulary for entrance exam preparation in this course, yet he learned exam
vocabulary in his course that used New Favorite English Expressions II (Nakamura, 2017).
Lastly, it was confirmed the interviewees were exposed to English entrance exam vocabulary.
Cultural influence two from the textbooks: The authors’ university prestige. An
essential influence was six of the seven multiple-authored MEXT-approved textbooks included
their professional position and institution. Five of the textbooks also noted the status of the
authors. In Japan, the institutional ranking is of utmost importance. The prestigious name
recognition could influence educators to choose specific textbooks in hopes their students can
enter high ranking universities. Table 20 describes the number of authors, their professorial and
intuitional level.

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 179

Table 20
Cultural Influence Two: MEXT-Approved Textbook Authors’ Status and Rank
Junior high teachers High school teachers University
Textbook A 8 2 28 (titles not declared)

Textbook B

5

0

4 Professor emeriti
22 Professors
4 Associate professors
3 Assistant professors

Textbook C

4

0

1 President
2 Professor emeriti
19 Professors
8 Associate professors

Textbook D

0

1

2 Professors
4 Associate professors
1 Assistant professors

Textbook E

0

2

5 Professors
3 Associate professors

Textbook F

0

5

3 Authors (titles not declared)
Note. Each number represents the number of authors in all the columned categories.

Six textbooks included authors associated with well-known private and public
institutions. The names of the textbooks are A, B, C, D, E, and F concealed for the privacy of
the authors. Textbooks B, C, D, and E included the ranks of the tertiary authors and Textbook A
and F did not. The interviewees did not mention the textbook authors’ titles or prestigious
affiliations, yet their status may have influenced boards of education to choose the textbooks
series based on university name recognition. The final cultural influence three regarding support
and training for EFL teachers in Japan will be introduced.

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 180

Cultural Influence Three: Communicative EFL Support for Teachers
The third cultural influence is the interviewees needed to learn from teachers trained at
English communication with the support of MEXT’s (2011b; 2011c) communicative language
teaching (CLT) policies to narrow the English proficiency gap. MEXT secondary English
policies should encourage educational boards and the teachers to comprehend and comply with
the guidelines (Aspinall, 2006; Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Hashimoto, 2009; 2013; Kavanagh,
2012; Tahira, 2012). Morrison and Milliken (2000) suggested that hierarchal organizations that
favor minimal discussion find change reform challenging due to limited opportunities for
stakeholders to give feedback for improvement. Individuals in organizations need to be engaged,
recognized, and understood (Berbarry & Malinchak, 2011). Initiating educational reform change
can occur when individuals throughout the organization engage in data-driven research (Harris &
Bensimon, 2007). However, if teachers are handed policy and textbooks with little support and
collaboration, it is challenging to help students improve their language proficiency. The
interviewees were not teachers cognizant of English teacher-training, yet they could describe
what they felt they learned and how satisfied they were with their teachers. The cultural
influences three first attempts to reveal MEXT EFL communication policy. Second, describes
the predominant teaching method the interviewees reported. Third, details the contents of the
secondary textbooks and the interviewees’ reflections on these learning materials.
Cultural three influences from the policy documents. The query for cultural influence
three was the extent to which there is support for teachers to provide effective lessons to the
interviewees, and what self-regulatory practices are included in the policy guidelines. MEXT’s
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 181

(2011b; 2011c) policy instructions offered directives to teachers on giving guidance and
assessments for students to improve their communication skills. Only two of the guidelines were
reported by the interviewees that were corroborated by policy and the textbooks. Table 21
displays the implementations, which focused on grammar usage and reading aloud. Learning
EFL communication through the four-skills in high school as the curriculum objective was not
reported by the interviewees except for Riku. If the interviewees knew their learning objectives,
they might have had greater self-regulative support while learning English (Dembo & Eaton,
2000). There are can-do checklists in the junior high textbooks that are useful for this aim, yet
only Tatsu reported his teacher provided self-regulatory support at his request.
Table 21
Cultural Influence Three: MEXT English Communication Policy Implementation

Junior high
MEXT
EFL policy
Interviewees
recalled the practice
in junior high
Senior high
EFL MEXT
policy
Interviewees
recalled the practice
in senior high
Learning actual
grammar use, rather
than grammar
explanations
Yes No (8) Yes Yes (1) / no (7)

Reading aloud and
reciting passages to
express the meaning
of the content
Yes Yes (3) / no (5) Yes Yes (2) / no (6)
Note: ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ indicates the activity was experienced or not experienced as a MEXT
policy deliverable as best the interviewees could recall for columns three and five.

Learning actual grammar use, rather than explanations. The language elements of the
policy documents were speech sounds, letters and symbols, words, collocations, and common
expressions, and grammatical items to provide language support for junior high students (MEXT,
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 182

2011b). The grammar item section was lengthy at 278 words, whereas the other five language
elements described was at 104 words, so the focus of teaching grammar has significance. While
teaching grammar, “Consideration should be given so that instruction does not center on issues
like explaining grammatical terms or differentiating between usage, but on actual use of
grammatical items” (MEXT, 2011b, pp. 6-7). Teaching grammar should focus on grammar
usage and the conceptual awareness of the differences between the English and the Japanese
language, rather than teaching at students by explaining grammatical terms. In junior high
school, all interviewees reported lengthy grammar explanations in Japanese while sitting
passively and viewing the blackboard. The interviewees did not seem to experience self-
regulatory support for their pursuit of English communication through functional grammar use.
Regarding high school policy, MEXT (2011c), explains the common core features of
teaching English as a subject that advocates for functional English communication while
teaching grammar. In high school, “Grammar instruction should be given as a means to support
communication through effective linkage with language activities” (MEXT, 2011c, p. 7). The
statement indicates an adequate base of grammar should facilitate communication by engaging in
activities in all six English courses required for three years. As frequently mentioned, only Riku
was able to actively use functional grammar through communicative language activities in all six
of his high school classes. In sum, seven interviewees did not report learning grammar through
active communication in high school, which indicated the deliverables did not occur.
Reading aloud and reciting passages to express the meaning of the content. The
reading recommendations for junior high suggested the interviewees should have been able to
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 183

read the English alphabet, read silently, and read aloud using the audio-lingual approach,
understand the gist of the text and the writer’s intention, and then discuss their impressions of the
essay or prose. By their third year, all eight interviewees declared they were able to read silently
and understand the meaning. Only three claimed they engaged in choral reading aloud using a
method close to the audio-lingual approach stated in MEXT (2011b) EFL policy. All eight
interviewees conveyed they did not express opinions and viewpoints about the essays although
reading comprises the bulk of most of the textbooks.
The reading objectives for high school students were described in the English
Communication I, II, and III courses. In Communication I, reading includes, “Understanding
information, ideas, etc., and grasping the outline and the main points by reading explanations,
stories, etc. Reading passages aloud so that the meaning of the content is expressed” (MEXT,
2011c, p. 1). The readings skills entail understanding the content of the texts, while also
engaging in reading aloud protocols to further comprehend what is being conveyed. Then, for
English Communication II, the reading objectives expressed are, “Reading explanations,
commentaries, stories, essays, etc. in accordance with the purpose such as rapid reading,
intensive reading, etc. Reading aloud and reciting passages so that the meaning of the content is
expressed” (MEXT, 2011c, p. 2). The reading activities advance with more emphasis placed on
extensive and intensive reading that includes reading aloud. English Communication III merely
emphasized the language learning activities should be further developed than English
Communication II (MEXT, 2011c), so there is an advanced progression of reading from English
Communication II. All eight interviewees expressed they read the essays provided in the units
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 184

and four interviewees also read old English entrance exam essays. The interviewees did not
convey that readings were used for communication, so the policy objectives were not followed.
Cultural influence three: Interviewees’ satisfaction with teacher-instructions. The
interviewees needed to feel satisfied with teachers’ guidance about their English language
abilities. They responded to how satisfied they were with their teachers’ instructions. Hana,
Naruto, Ryo, and Tatsu also responded to their overall thoughts about their secondary school
experiences. Yuto, Naruto, and Takeshi were inspired by their teachers whereas five
interviewees were either satisfied or dissatisfied with their teachers’ instructions. Table 22
details the interviewees’ level satisfaction with the teachers’ instructions.
Table 22

Cultural Model Three: Satisfaction With Secondary Teachers’ Instructions
Interviewee Satisfied with an
inspirational teacher
Satisfied with the teaching
methods and strategies
Dissatisfied with the
teachers’ English
Yuto Yes Yes
Naruto Yes Yes
Riku Yes
Ryo Yes Yes
Takeshi Yes No
Hana No
Kakeru No Yes
Tatsu Yes and no
Note. Empty cells indicate non-responses, ‘Yes’ indicates satisfaction, ‘Yes and no’ indicate
both satisfaction and dissatisfaction, and ‘No’ indicates dissatisfaction.

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 185

Satisfied with an inspirational teacher. The interviewees need to learn from inspiring
teachers who have training, support, and time to create communicative EFL lessons (Nishino,
2008; Tahira, 2012). Yuto, Naruto, and Takeshi each had an inspirational teacher that motivated
them to learn English. Yuto revealed, “One teacher is, I strongly remember that in my high
school there [sic] a very funny English teacher and I loved him very much. He’s very good at
talking English, communicating in English, and also interesting.” When prompted what made
the teacher good at teaching English communication, Yuto explained the teacher’s use of English
“gags” and humor kept the atmosphere of the class jovial for the students: “Yeah, he used gags.
Mm, to make me laugh, to make us laugh, so I wanted to be a teacher like him.” The teacher
inspired Yuto to become a humorous English communication teacher in the future.
Naruto was also inspired by his foreign language teacher in primary school who
incorporated an internationally minded curriculum. The experience motivated Naruto to pursue
an international development program at Sakura University. He noted the language course,
“That is not English, that is a touched other culture [sic] and “gaikokugo” [foreign languages].”
He could, “touch” culture, meant his initial exposure to other cultures. Naruto was satisfied
learning about development from his teacher in collaboration with The Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA), a governmental agency that grants development assistance to
countries in need. The course content was engaging for Naruto, and he realized that English is
essential for his major. Like Riku, Naruto’s goal is to become a teacher like his teacher.
Takeshi was satisfied with an inspirational English communication teacher during his
second year of junior high. He mentioned, “When I was junior high school student, one English
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 186

teacher was so powerful and a very cheerful person, so everyone was positive and speak [sic]
English aggressively, so he was so good person [sic], not only grammar, but speaking.” Rather
than seemingly trying to get through the interview, Takeshi evoked a sense of nostalgia for the
teacher and the course. When prompted about what made the class unique, Takeshi replied, “We
made dramas [pause] by ourselves, story, [sic] and roles. It was difficult, but it was fun.”
Although his class was challenging, the students actively spoke English. The common theme the
interviewees reported their teachers actively engaged the interviewees in the learning process.
Satisfied or dissatisfied with the teaching methods and strategies. Receiving feedback
and measuring levels of satisfaction of the interviewee stakeholders can improve organizational
practice (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Riku and Yuto were satisfied with their teachers’
focus on communication, while Ryo liked the grammar teaching methods. Riku mentioned his
high school English teachers took care of the students for three years, “The teacher told us just
speaking is the most important in the class, so there is a lot of speaking activity that is the most, I
feel it is most, I am satisfied.” Yuto also expressed gratitude for all of his teachers, “Yeah,
another teachers [sic] around me were so kind to me. For example, checking my speech after
school [pause] or answering questions about small things in about English,” where he could
consult at the teachers’ offices. Yuto also thought his “learning experience was a little bit
special,” and the students were, “interested in English and everyone had opened minds, so, and
we had a lot discussion [sic] activity in the high school, the discussion activity was not usual in
most high schools I think.” Riku and Yuto’s high school was unique and followed MEXT EFL
policy the most. Ryo was also satisfied with his older high school teachers because they were
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 187

endearing and, “I like them because they is [sic] very funny.” Although Ryo found it difficult to
explain about his teachers, their teaching methods matched how he liked to study.
Discrepancies in educational policies can lead to gaps in quality that affected the
interviewees’ knowledge and motivation to learn (Rueda, 2011). Takeshi, Kakeru, Tatsu, and
Hana were not pleased being taught through yakudoku, and dissatisfied with the teaching
methods and strategies. Kakeru appreciated the teachers’ willingness to consult in English after
class, “So, the teachers also complain about the guidelines, English guideline. Teaching
guidelines. [pause] So uh, in the office they teach me in the way the teacher want [sic] to do.”
He noticed the teachers complained about the teaching guidelines, but in the office, the teachers
could teach as they like, which was English communication. Therefore, the teachers appeared
not to realize MEXT’s EFL communicative syllabus, or Kakeru’s private school policy for
English classes may have stipulated the students should prepare for English entrance exams.
Tatsu bemoaned he had few communication classes that instead were, “Japanese style, uh
we did the class to pass the exam, just like writing and then reading and listening and no
communication.” Tatsu made hand-puppets to parody a teacher dictating information by
opening and closing his right hand. Tatsu said, “Because they just, the teachers in the class,
teachers say only [sic] and then we just, uh, listen, and so that's, and then the students will be
passive, so I think we have to change this style I think.” With his left fisted hand babbling up
and down, he parodied a passive student nodding and listening to the dictating hand-puppet
teacher. Like Kakeru, Tatsu said, “I was satisfied with the class for the passing the exam, but I
want the teacher to have to provide us [sic] more communication classes, yes, I think I want to
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 188

communicate. I want to speak in English more.” Tatsu though the students would study more
positively if they were provided topics such as globalization, “And then we talk to each other
about the topics and then give our opinions.” Finally, Hana was not satisfied with secondary
teaching methods because, “Junior high school and high school is [sic] didn’t have English
conversation class [sic]. It all, all grammar. [sic] So I can’t speak English now. So, I need study,
learning-speaking English more.” She emphasized she wanted to have opportunities to converse.
Thus, considering the interviewees’ voices by providing relevant content material related to the
students’ lives will help facilitate English communication.
Not satisfied with the teachers’ oral proficiency to teach English. Teacher training is of
utmost importance to carry out reform deliverables. Kareru and Ryo questioned whether their
high school teacher was sufficiently trained at English communication. Kakeru thought “And
my teacher’s pronunciation is worse maybe than I [laugh], I think.” For example, Kakeru
responded to a prompt, “Um, it’s a ‘Dis izu a penu [This is a pen.],’ like that.” He noticed the
teacher could not pronounce the ‘th’ digraph that sounded like a snake hissing, ‘ssss.’ Kakeru
was not mocking the teacher, but questioned if the teacher could teach communication. Ryo,
explained while impersonating his teacher, “My teacher, the pronunciation was a very bad thing
[laughs]. For example, so ‘people’ say [sic] ‘pee-po-loo,’ [laughs] or ‘why’ say, ‘ho-wa-ee’ or
‘what’ say [sic] ‘ho-wa-to.’ Yeah, it was very crazy [both laughing].” The teacher’s proficiency
seemed to be impacted. Both Kakeru and Ryo wondered if their teachers needed more English
proficiency and teacher training (also noted in Brown & Wada, 1998).

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 189

Cultural influence three: The junior high textbook resources. The interviewees did
not report the use of the resources that were available in lower-secondary school. The resources
include self-regulatory and reflective activities available in the textbooks and online (Kairyudo,
2016; Sanseido, 2017; Tokyo Shoseki, 2016). The support materials varied slightly from
previous editions of the texts. This study is not generalizable, yet it was striking the useful
communicative resources were not mentioned that indicate teachers did not have access or
refused to use the support material for the interviewees’ English proficiency development.
Four salient resources were not available for the lower-secondary texts. Support
materials, if readily available can improve learning gains (Clark & Estes, 2008). In junior high,
four essential resources supported the learning experience that the interviewees did not seem to
have access. The materials that accompany the textbooks are featured on the publishers’
websites New Crown 2 (Sanseido, 2017), New Horizon 2 (Tokyo Shoseki, 2016) and Sunshine 2
(Kairyudo, 2016). The first is the interactive-digital textbooks for audio and visual support,
displayed on tablets or large screens like big books. The second is downloadable English video
files, teaching manuals, and other materials that support the units in the textbook. The third is
can-do checklists that measure students’ progress, and the fourth is the resources that are directly
available in the students’ textbooks. Table 23 displays the four resources available in the
interviewees’ lower-secondary textbooks that they were not able to experience.

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 190

Table 23
Cultural Influence Three: Supplementary Resources for The Junior High Textbooks
New Crown English
Series 2
New Horizon
English Course 2
Sunshine English
Course 2
Interactive digital textbooks
for visual and audio support
Yes Yes Yes

Downloadable English
videos, teaching manuals,
and materials
Yes Yes Yes

Can-do checklists that
measure students’ progress

Yes

Yes

Yes
Lexical and phonetic
resources in the textbooks

Yes

Yes

Yes

Note: ‘Yes’ indicates these resources are available to teachers and students, yet varied in content.

Interactive digital textbooks for visual and audio support. Support material could
encourage the interviewees and their teachers to interact through communication. The New
Crown 2 (Sanseido, 2017), New Horizon 2 (Tokyo Shoseki, 2016), and Sunshine 2 (Kairyudo,
2016) provide digital textbooks that have embedded media, abundant illustrations, and audio
files. These sound files contained a variety of English pronunciations, translations functions
between English and Japanese, and flashcards with sound data that can be used on Apple or
Window devices. With New Crown 2, the students can practice writing with a digital pen and an
interactive touchscreen on a tablet, and there are flashcards with audio files and abundant
illustrations. Then, New Horizon 2 and Sunshine 2 do not feature touch pens, but both series
allows students to record their voices, and the programs analyze pronunciation with infographics.
There are pop-up windows with audio that can explain grammar in English or Japanese, so
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 191

yakudoku is now digitized. None of the interviewees reported electronic material use. They
studied the textbooks five years before when the digital books were not as advanced. Making the
technologies available to the classroom could enhance the learning experiences.
Downloadable material support for teachers and the interviewees. Teachers need
support materials and training (Rueda, 2011) that are essential for the interviewees’ successful
learning experiences. All three textbooks featured DVDs that complimented the units using
authentic videos at international locations and places in Japan, famous English speeches, and
dramatized skits. The teacher’s manuals, flashcards, audio CD, and the DVDs are available for
purchase, and there are free instructional videos, downloadable worksheets, and progress charts
located on the publishers’ websites. It was not clear how much if at all the interviewees’
teachers used these resources in junior high. It is apparent that organizations need to provide the
time and training for the stakeholders to use the materials.
Can-do checklists that measure students’ progress. Checklists that help the
interviewees’ progress in incremental steps to foster metacognition and goal-setting through self-
regulation that are readily available for use. All three junior high textbooks series featured
checklists. Sunshine English Course 2 (Matsuhata, 2015b, p. 1 of the pullout page) features an
extensive guide of “ 英語で「できるよなったこと」リスト” [Can-do list in English]. The list
covers the four-skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing for all three years of junior
school with five targets per skill per year. The six interviewees and teachers did not have the
opportunity to complete the communicative progress checks included in the MEXT (2011b)
policy guidelines. The reason was due to studying from the previous edition that did not include
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 192

the pullout checklist. There are also four target months to set learning goals in April, September,
December, and March. A limitation is the checklist is in Japanese, yet the pullout page was the
most comprehensive and useful for students’ knowledge and motivation to learn English.
The two remaining textbook can-do checklists are not as extensive. New Crown English
Series 2 (Negishi, 2015b, 161) features a simple one-page self-assessment entitled, “What can I
do? Can-do リスト [list].” The list is linked to the functional four-skills culminating projects in
the textbook in the Japanese language with only two activities on the checklists per skill.
Finally, the New Horizon English Course 2 (Kasajima, 2016b, p, 132) has a simple checklist for
all the phrases in the “Let’s talk talking points,” speaking sections that are congruent with
MEXT’s (2011b) communication goals. The left column features the English phrases to tick a
box once the sentences were learned, and on the right column the phrases and translated
into Japanese also with a box to check. These lists are useful for learners to chart their progress
that foster metacognition and goal-setting that need to be detailed and readily available.
Lexical and phonetic resources in the textbooks. Providing resources in the textbook for
interviewees to read new vocabulary and the phonetic pronunciation of words would have helped
improve their communication skills. MEXT (2011b) EFL policy document recommends
instructing students how to use phonetic charts and dictionaries. All three textbooks had a
variety of picture dictionaries and bilingual dictionaries of all textbook vocabulary. New Crown
2 (Negishi, 2015b), provided two pages of detailed phonics charts and figures of how the mouth
pronounces consonants in English. New Crown 2 and New Horizon English 2 (Kasajima, 2016b)
both included the phonemes in their dictionaries, so students might grasp the pronunciation of
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 193

words, but Sunshine 2 (Matsuhata, 2015b) did not include phonemes. If the lexical and phonetic
glossaries were used, the interviewees should have gained language support from the textbooks.
Cultural influence three: The senior high textbook resources. Support materials and
training are essential for teachers to be able to teach students effectively (Clark & Estes, 2008).
The three traditional textbooks reviewed offered a teacher’s manual and listening CD. There
were no digital resources other than Japanese language outlines of the teacher’s manuals.
Element II (Ushiro, 2012) and Landmark II (Takeuchi, 2014) included an English index of the
vocabulary without translations that supported MEXT’s (2011c) EFL high school policy of
encouraging dictionary use, yet without phonemes. Lastly, the New Favorite English
Expressions II (Nakamura, 2017) series did not have a comprehensive word list.
Riku experienced a rare communication class that used English Expressions 2 (Day,
Shaules, & Yamanaka, 2009). This textbook series provides a student self-study CD, an
appendix with individual opinions with the corresponding exercises, and an English only
glossary of terms without phonemes. There are online resources for students, a teacher’s manual
in English, and password-protected assessment checks for teachers. Riku expressed fond
memories of his communication class. In short, the traditional textbooks seemed challenging for
teachers to use without the resource support for the interviewees and teachers.
Cultural influence three: Interviewees’ reflections about their junior high texts.
Teachers in this field-based context need the equipment, resources, and time (Clark & Estes,
2008) to provide effective EFL communication lessons. The interviewees described what they
thought about their lower-secondary school textbooks that was either New Crown English 2, New
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 194

Horizon 2, or Sunshine 2. Table 24 details the interviewees’ reflections about their junior high
textbooks that were either boring or difficult for their classmates.
Table 24
Cultural Influence Three: The Interviewees Reflections on the Junior High Texts

Note. Empty cells indicate non-responses, ‘Yes’ indicates the interviewees’ impressions about
their textbooks, and ‘No’ indicates an impression opposite to other interviewees responses.

The lower-secondary textbooks were boring. The interviewees needed to experience
meaningful content and activities to create interest to learn and be motivated (Rueda, 2011).
Ryo, Kakeru, Naruto, Tatsu, and Riku, indicated their junior high textbooks were boring, while
Hana thought hers was interesting. Ryo’s classmates complained about the New Crown English
Series (Negishi, 2016a; 2016b; 2016c), but “the school said, “This is, we will use this!” Ryo
used an authoritative voice that dictated the teachers and students had no choice in the matter.
Kakeru and Naruto studied from the Sunshine English Course 2, 3 (Matsuhata, 2015b;
2015c), in their second and third year. They indicated the content of the class was boring where
Interviewee Textbook series The textbooks were boring Difficult level for others
Kakeru Sunshine 1, 2, 3

Yes
Yuto Sunshine 1, 2, 3 Yes Yes

Tatsu

Sunshine 1, 2, 3

Yes

Hana Sunshine 1, 2, 3 No

Naruto New Horizon 1,
Sunshine 2, 3

Yes
Riku New Horizon 1,
2, 3

Yes
Ryo

New Crown
1, 2, 3
Yes Yes
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 195

students slept at their desks over the textbooks. Naruto added, “But almost all the time is sitting
and listening to teachers talking and copy the blackboard.” Like Ryo, Kakeru, and Naruto, Yuto
specifically mentioned that his junior high and one of his senior high classes was boring, “So
boring us, because there is just like, formal write [sic] the same as in the junior high school, just
read and write it.” Thus, the boredom.
Riku studied from New Horizon English Course 1, 2, and 3 (Kasajima, 2016a; 2016b;
2016c) and the previous edition in his first year and felt forced to sit at the desk at length and
transcribe the sentences from the textbook, which was boring. Tatsu used the Sunshine series,
and mentioned monotonous dictation exercises, “We, in the book there was phrases and words
we had to remember. And then there is a blank, and we can write our words to practice.” He did
not use the word boring, but it was clear the repetitive use of transcribing was laborious, “We
could use the book and then we just listen [sic] to CD and then just writing, what she, what it
said.” “She” meant the teacher and “it” meant the recording. Conversely, Hana thought the
Sunshine series, “Ah, the content is interesting,” due to the colorful pictures and activities that
allowed her to be engaged in her learning. It is not clear how much training of the MEXT-
approved materials were provided as the interviewees did not mention the interactive resources
that accompany the textbook series.
The textbook was difficult for the interviewees’ classmates. Knowledge checks
(Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016) or formative assessments could have placed the interviewees
in suitable language classes with textbooks at their level supports learning. Both Yuto and Ryo
believed that their lower-secondary textbooks were too difficult for their classmates. Yuto
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 196

learned from the Sunshine series, while Ryo learned from New Crown. Ryo explained the
challenges, “So the ability is very, very different. So, some people can understand very well
English, but some people can’t understand nothing! [sic] And some people is study [sic], but
cannot understand.” His classmates struggled, and some gave up and slept, which are extreme
cases of extraneous cognitive load due to learning complexity (Mayer, 2011).
Cultural influence three: Interviewees’ impressions about their senior high texts.
The interviewees reflected on their textbooks in their high school. What was striking was the
interviewees recalled their junior high textbook series as previously mentioned. However, they
could not readily remember what text they used in high school, even though the courses were
taken more recently, and they had two English classes instead of one. Kakeru recalled he studied
from the Element English Communication I and II (Ushiro, 2013; 2012). Naruto confirmed by
an email he used Landmark English Communication I and II (Takeuchi, 2013; 2014). Ryo
studied from the previous version of Dualscope [sic] English Expression 1 (Kotera, 2016), that
he retrieved from his cell phone in the interview. Yuto and Hana recalled they studied English
Expressions I & II, but there are over ten series with that title by different publishers and
impossible to locate as described in Chapter Three. Riku studied from earlier and current
editions obtained of New Favorite English Expressions I & II (Nakamura, 2017; 2013) and
Impact Issues 1, 2, 3 (Day, Shaules, & Yamanaka, 2009a; 2009b; 2009c). Tatsu and Yuto’s
materials were in-house and not purchasable, and Takeshi textbook was not recalled. Table 25
details the interviewees’ reflections about their high school texts. Two themes from the finding
revealed the study of old English entrance exams and the textbooks were boring.
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 197

Table 25
Cultural Influence Three: The Interviewees’ Reflections on their High School Texts

Note. Empty cells indicate non-responses, ‘Yes’ indicates the interviewees’ impressions about
their textbooks, and ‘No’ indicates an impression opposite to other interviewees responses.

The interviewees studied with old entrance exams. Using materials unrelated to the
change initiative indicates maligned initiatives that can hinder the intended outcomes (Clark &
Estes, 2008). Kakeru, Tatsu, Yuto, and Takeshi studied photo copies of old university English
entrance exams. Kakeru felt the old entrance exam essays that were lifted and altered from
journal articles had a lot of vocabulary beyond the upper-intermediate level of English
proficiency. He mentioned, “So, university examination questions are also from [pause] is from
Interviewee Textbook series Studied with old exams Boring textbooks
Kakeru Element English
Communication
I, II

Yes
Naruto Landmark English
Communication
I, II, III
No

Ryo

Dualscope English Expressions
I, II

No

Riku New Favorite English
Expressions
I, II; Impact Issues 1, 2, 3

No Yes and no
Hana English Expressions
I, II

No Yes
Tatsu In-house entrance exam
textbook

Yes Yes
Yuto In-house materials

Yes
Takeshi Did not remember Yes
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 198

the real articles like this, so there were many words I didn’t know, [pause] so it was very
difficult.” Kakeru pointed to the journal article he had in his clear-file that was part of his
university homework. The abrupt level of difficulty made his English classes challenging.
Tatsu was satisfied that his in-house textbooks were designed to pass exams, “So, we can learn
the grammar and then we can write the grammar then from what we learned from this text and
then we can write in English.” However, he wished he had more opportunities to learn
communication from the materials. One of Yuto’s high school classes also focused on English
entrance exams, “And grammar classes, just sitting, look to [sic] blackboard, studying, and
writing something on the paper or doing tests.” Lastly, both of Takeshi’s third-year high school
courses may not have utilized the textbooks and instead, “When I was third grade [sic] in high
school, we often solved universities’ problem[s]. Old, old tests.” When the materials are
unrelated to the intended use, unintended outcomes occur (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
The upper-secondary textbooks were boring. The interviewees could have been engaged
in learning if the materials had activities that motivate and were related to their lives. Riku,
Tatsu, and Hana revealed that their high school texts were boring. Riku noted although the series
New Favorite English Expressions (Nakamura, 2013; 2017) itself was boring, and his teachers
made the class exciting by created student-centered activities in English. In Riku’s English
Expressions and Advance English courses as previously mentioned, the class uniquely used a
commercial textbook series solely in English that was Impact Issues 1, 2, 3 (Day, Shaules, &
Yamanaka, 2009a; 2009b; 2009c). Riku noted, “But the class use Impact Issue [sic] was a little
bit interesting for us because we can speak in the class in English, and there is more
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 199

communication activity, and we did discussion [sic] of the topic of the textbook.” Riku learned
communication with the support from his classmates and teachers.
Tatsu and Hana confirmed the English textbooks they used in high school seemed boring.
Although they had two English courses, they reported using only one textbook series. Tatsu
studied ‘in-house textbook series’ approved by MEXT. Tatsu remarked:
The book has the grammar of English learned how the grammar and then some books for
the practicing connected to the ‘in-house textbook series’ theme and then we can learn
the grammar and then we can write the grammar then from what we learned from this
‘theme’ and then we can write in English.
The series was not available where the researcher had access to the textbooks. The in-house
textbook series helps students write essays for English entrance exams through grammar drills,
which Tatsu acknowledged, “It was good for just passing the exam.” The consideration of the
textbooks should include the stakeholders who use the materials, yet in Japan, the materials are
decided by the local boards of education from MEXT-approved lists.
Discussion and Interpretation of the Significant Influences
The discussion and interpretation of the significant influences for the study will be
described. First, the declarative and metacognitive knowledge sections from the interviews will
be discussed. Second, the motivational self-efficacy, emotion and affect influences will be
addressed. Third, the interpretations regarding the three cultural influences including the
interviewees’ reflections on their family’s value of English. Then, the MEXT (2011b; 2011c)
policy documents, the interviewees’ English MEXT-approved textbooks, and interviewees’
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 200

reflections on preparing for entrances examinations, teacher training, their secondary classroom
atmosphere, and the textbooks will be reviewed.
Discussion and Interpretation of the Significant Knowledge Influences
The assumed declarative procedural knowledge influence was that the interviewees
needed to be proficient in communicative English after six years of instruction, and they were.
The interviewees who learned English through the yakudoku method in secondary school for six
years met MEXT’s minimum global goal of achieving a lower-intermediate English proficiency
score of EIKEN grade pre-2 or equivalent assessments. A surprising finding was the EIKEN test
by high school graduation is not mandatory, which impacts the global goal. Moreover, six public
school interviewees were not provided information about the goal from their institutions. If the
interviewees partially or fully learned English communication in English in high school,
practiced help-seeking study activities, or had an accelerated curriculum at a private school, then
their English proficiency levels were higher than the global goal. An interpretation of this
influence is if MEXT’s (2011b; 2011c) English language policy is followed by teachers and local
boards of education, and true communicative textbooks and support materials are selected, then
MEXT’s English proficiency benchmark or global goal for high school graduates can be higher.
Specifically, if MEXT’s (2011b; 2011c) English communication policy is in alignment with the
learning materials, then the goal should be EIKEN grade 2 rather than pre-2 or another
equivalent proficiency score from another professional test vendor.
If students are not given the intended secondary English education, then the children need
to take private English conversation lessons to compensate for yakudoku at a financial cost to the
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 201

families. In a document analysis of MEXT’s communicative English language reform, Hato
(2005) found that the global goal for this study of 50% passing English proficiency scores of
student stakeholders has not been verified whether the students’ contact hours of learning
English is sufficient or not. Inadequate length of time learning the second language impacts the
learners L2 development (García & Kleifgen, 2018). The researcher claimed there is an absence
of regard for the students’ learning conditions of preparation for university entrance exams
because the tests do not reflect English communication. The interpretation to assemble teams of
experts that understand language acquisition for greater English proficiency during the next
round of MEXT policy reforms that will roll out for implementation in 2020. The policy should
provide a communicative English program for students at their level of English proficiency.
The assumed metacognitive influence was when students reflect on their learning
metacognitively, the practice helped them improve their language proficiency (Dam &
Legenhausen, 2010; Rahimi & Katal, 2013; Tsuda & Nakata, 2013), which was confirmed. The
metacognitive knowledge findings focused on the interviewees who were more proficient in
English than the general secondary school graduate population. Therefore, reflections about how
the interviewees practiced metacognition provided practical implications for a functional
communicative curriculum. The eight interviewees were actively engaged in metacognitive
goal-setting such as attempts to reduce translating from Japanese while communicating in
English. They used English learning strategies they felt needed attention to further develop their
English proficiency, which included communicating with international speakers of English.
The interviewees also reflected on what they thought they learned or hinderances to
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 202

learning by taking the researcher figuratively to their classrooms. The retrospective query
allowed for indications about learning experiences through reflection on ones’ cognitive
processes (Mayer, 2011; Rueda, 2011). The first influence was in junior high school, all eight
interviewees learned English in Japanese, which seemed to lead to apathy, and three interviewees
reported that students slept in English classes. Then in high school, only three interviewees
experienced one of two English communication classes used for the intended purpose, and one
interviewee learned communicative English in both classrooms, but the remaining four
interviewees’ classes were converted into yakudoku lessons for university English entrance exam
preparation. Seven of the eight students prepped for English exams in one or both of their
communication classes. From the interviewees’ reflections, it seems crucial to review EFL
policies collaboratively with the English faculty at the school and district level, and field-based
EFL policy to strengthen student learning outcomes and support the teachers.
Organizational issues such as studying via the yakudoku method for lengthy periods of
time seemed to permeate the interviewees’ recollections, yet their detailed information gave
insights for suggestions for effective English education. Providing more opportunities for
students to reflect on their language learning and goal setting that is routinized with feedback
from teachers for increased language proficiency. Lastly, the declarative and metacognitive
knowledge influences were validated, yet it was surprising that the EIKEN English proficiency
score was a voluntary global goal.
Discussion and Interpretation of the Significant Motivational Influences
The motivational self-efficacy influencer was that the interviewees need to feel confident
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 203

in their ability to communicate in English (Johnson, 2013; Pajares, 2006; Pintrich, 2003; Takase,
2007), which they were to some degree based on the organizational environment. The three
interviewees who had the lowest English proficiency, reported less self-efficacy for general
English communication, except for Ryo who is multi-lingual who understands he will improve at
English eventually. Then, Kakeru and Tatsu with higher English proficiency had low self-
efficacy communicating with native or advanced speakers of English. Their schools did not
provide many communicative opportunities recommended by MEXT (2011b; 2011c).
Nevertheless, the interviewees with a partial or a full English education as deemed by
MEXT in high school reported having moderate self-efficacious levels speaking English. In the
interviewees’ academic English courses, the two students with lower proficiency said to have
stable self-efficacy speaking English in a leveled classroom with more language support from
their teachers. However, the six interviewees who had an intermediate level of English
proficiency were thrust into advanced level courses and reported low self-efficacy due to the
level of difficulty, which was an organizational leveling problem of their current organization.
The interpretation is that organizational discrepancies can impact the students’ learning and
motivational self-efficacy levels. Because self-efficacious beliefs are performance predictors of
all three motivational indicators of choice, persistence, and mental effort (Clark & Estes, 2008;
Rueda, 2011), it seems MEXT would do well to account for students’ English proficiency at
each grade level. This process involves placing students in appropriate English classes at their
level rather than their ages for firm self-efficacious beliefs that foster such motivation.
Emotion and affect influences were that the interviewees need possess positive epistemic
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 204

emotions while using the English and reduce foreign language learning anxiety (Dörnyei, 2001;
Falout, et al., 2009; Lord & Kanfer, 2002; Williams & Andrade, 2008). Five interviewees
expressed they were pleased with communicating in English with international individuals at
work or giving directions. Two of the interviewees were glad to communicate with international
students, and two were disappointed with their English. Finally, four interviewees felt ashamed,
nervous, or stressed using English in international settings. The interviewees did not report
significant levels of foreign language learning anxiety, which was expected due to their
familiarity with English. Clark, Howard, and Early (2006) revealed beliefs emotions,
capabilities, errors, and failures have a marked impact on individuals in complex learning
environments. Therefore, the interpretation is that secondary students may obtain greater
emotional resiliency to self-regulate their behavior with appraisals of their learning in the form of
can-do assessment job aids, which are available in textbooks, but was not mentioned in the
interviews. Lastly, the self-efficacy and emotion and affect finding influences were validated,
despite organizational influences that impacted their learning and follows below.
Discussion and Interpretation of the Significant Organizational Influences
The findings of the organizational influences include the interviews, English textbook,
and MEXT EFL policy documents (2011b; 2011c), so the synthesis of the three organizational
influences will be in be divided into subheadings for clarity. First, the cultural influence one
summarizes the value the interviewees’ families placed on their children’s English studies from
the interviews. Cultural influence two details that English entrance exam preparation through the
yakudoku method is not part of MEXT’s communication reforms, yet all eight interviewees
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 205

experienced passive instruction, and the public school students were not informed of the EIKEN
test to reach the global language proficiency goal. Additionally, the focus of the six traditional
secondary English textbooks provided few opportunities for communication. Then, the cultural
influence three is synthesized in four parts. First, are teacher-training and EFL support for
teachers in MEXT’s (2011b; 2011c) secondary EFL communication policy. Second, are the
support materials available from the textbooks the interviewees did not seem to use. Third,
yakudoku was the dominant teaching method based on interviewee reporting. And fourth, the
interviewees’ reflections on their EFL learning materials.
Cultural influence one: The value on the interviewees’ English by the families. The
first cultural finding was about the familial expectations, and all eight interviewees were
influenced by their family about their English learning in three strategic ways. The families were
satisfied with the interviewees’ English proficiency and thought English was essential for their
futures. The families seemed authentically pleased by their English learning progress. Five
interviewees were expected to become fluent in English because their families reported they
could not speak English. The interviewees’ families felt that knowing the English language was
important. Finally, the interviewees were highly compliant with their families’ expectations to
improve their English proficiency as a family unit in an increasingly globalized society.
Cultural influence two: Exams preparation through yakudoku is not in EFL policy.
The shortcomings of communicative language policy in Japan for the past 30 years lies in
MEXT’s plan to cultivate students with communicative English-speaking capabilities and
prepare for entrance exams in the Japanese language (Aspinall, 2011; Kanno, 2007, Noda, 2014).
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 206

However, the second cultural influence from MEXT policy documents did not state the teachers
should teach the yakudoku method to help students prepare for university exams or prepare for
the EIKEN text to reach the global goal. Communication is the core objective of MEXT’s
(2011b; 2011c) English versions of EFL secondary policy. There is no mention of language
assessments, quizzes, entrance exam preparation, teaching through yakudoku, or obtaining a pre-
2 grade on the EIKEN English proficiency test. No interviewees were taught in English for three
years in lower-secondary school, only one interviewee Riku received an English communication
curriculum in all six classes in upper-secondary school. Two interviewees, Kakeru and Naruto
learned about the English language EIKEN proficiency goal from their private school teachers,
yet the public school interviewees were not aware. It was clear in the interviews and in the
textbook material that the interviewees did not receive the EFL communicative curriculum that
MEXT policy states.
Cultural influence two: All eight interviewees experienced yakudoku. The second
cultural influence from the interviews was that all eight interviewees were taught yakudoku
instruction in lower-secondary school. They reported learning little or no English
communication, that is a salient feature of MEXT (2011b) policy as mentioned. In upper-
secondary school, only one interviewee’s institution completely followed MEXT’s English
communication policy guidelines; three interviewees received MEXT’s (2011c) one of the two
required communication courses, and four interviewees learning English in Japanese through the
yakudoku method in both of their English communication courses.

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Cultural influence two: Public schools did not inform about the EIKEN test. As for
the awareness of MEXT’s English proficiency of scoring pre-2 on the EIKEN test by high school
graduation (MEXT, 2011a, 2015c), only the two interviewees who attended private high school
were aware of the policy as taking the test is not mandatory. The six public school students were
not aware of the MEXT’s global goal for English proficiency. Another finding for the cultural
influence two was that the interviewees’ teachers placed importance on preparing students for
the university English entrance exams in high school as seven of the eight interviewees received
exam advice from their teachers. When school reform efforts are applied unevenly or partially,
the change efforts can turn into “lethal mutations,” that do not resemble the original agenda
(Rueda, 2011, p. 56). Although, MEXT (2011b; 2011c) policy documents advocate for a full
communicative English curriculum, the interviewees’ experienced yakudoku classes that
prepared them for university entrance exams.
Cultural influence two: Communication was not the focus of the textbooks. The
junior high texts loosely followed MEXT (2011b) policy for communicative English, yet with
heavy Japanese language translations. All eight interviewees used one of three textbooks New
Crown English Series 2 (Negishi, 2015b), New Horizon English Course 2 (Kasajima, 2016b),
and Sunshine English Course 2 (Matsuhata, 2015b) that adhered to some of the MEXT (2011b)
policy guidelines to facilitate English communication. However, the instructions for students
were in Japanese that would encourage translations from Japanese to English.
Regarding the four high school textbooks that were analyzed, only Impact Issues 2 (Day,
Shaules, & Yamanaka, 2009) matched MEXT’s (2011c) communicative policy reforms that
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fostered communicative English. The three traditional texts, Element English Communication
II (Ushiro, 2012), Landmark English Communication II (Takeuchi, 2014), and New Favorite
English Expression II (Nakamura, 2017) provided few opportunities to communicate with few
supplementary support materials. Seven of eight secondary textbooks the authors’ institutional
ranking. The prestigious name recognition could influence the choice of textbooks the educators
believe their students might be able to enter certain universities, which limits English
communication activities. A salient finding was the textbooks often mirrored essays to read with
comprehension questions that look like some university entrance exams in Japan. Furthermore,
the interviewees had trouble remembering their high school textbooks series titles except for
Kakeru, perhaps because the teachers supplemented the class with handouts and old university
English exams to practice. The three traditional MEXT-approved textbooks did not follow
MEXT English policy (MEXT, 2011c), and mirrored English entrance exam essays, so the
policy is out of alignment with the curriculum.
Cultural influence three: Teacher-training and support from MEXT policy.
Teaching communication through the four-skills of English listening, reading, speaking and
writing was not reported as the curriculum objective by the interviewees except for Riku in high
school. The seven interviewees claimed that reading comprehension were conducted, but not
used for communication, so the reading policy objectives were not followed. The cultural three
influences from the policy documents was expected to include directives on giving feedback,
guidance, and assessments to students on improving their communication skills. However,
teacher feedback was not incorporated in both the lower- and upper-secondary MEXT (2011b;
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2011c) policy documents. The focused was on in what areas the interviewees were or were not
supported in alignment with some of MEXT’s (2011b; 2011c) objectives of grammar usage and
reading aloud. Three interviewees did experience “reading aloud and recited passages to express
the meaning of the content” (MEXT, 2011b p. 2) in junior high, and two reported their teachers
relied heavily on the audio-lingual method. Overall, MEXT’s (2011b; 2011c) EFL policy
recommendations were not delivered to the eight interviewees through the duration of their six
years at secondary school. The interpretation is the yakudoku method of learning English was
influenced by the MEXT-approved textbook materials, and cultural influence two of preparing
students for entrance exams in Japanese (Aspinall, 2011; Kanno, 2007, Noda, 2014).
Cultural influence three: EFL communication support from MEXT-approved texts.
The lower-secondary textbooks gave more support for teachers and students with visual and
audio aids, enhanced digital materials, self-regulatory can-do lists that support learning and
motivation, and glossaries with bilingual dictionaries. All three textbooks were closer at
adhering to the MEXT (2011b) policy guidelines for promoting communication except for the
instruction translations. There was also a balance of teaching the four skills more than in the
three traditional high school textbooks. Nevertheless, all interviewees did not experience the use
of technology in the classroom for the entire three years. Six interviewees said there was no
communication in English class in junior high whatsoever, and the materials were not used to
enhance the interviewees English learning. All indications were that the teachers were not
trained, allowed, or able to use the digital support materials, and the interviewees did not
experience speaking activities for all three years.
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In the case of the traditional high school texts the students used would have been
challenging for teachers without ample support resources. The interviewees could not
immediately recall the titles of their high school textbooks used except for Kakeru. Their
teachers supplemented the class with prints either for communication or for practicing old
English university entrance exams. All in all, the junior high texts were more in alignment with
MEXT (2011b) policy for communicative English than high school (MEXT, 2011c), as English
is only compulsory until the third grade of junior high school.
Cultural influence three: EFL communication support from the teachers. A third
cultural influence from the interviews was the interviewees’ perceptions of their teachers’
feedback and level of satisfaction towards learning English. Three interviewees’ teachers
facilitated useful English communication and provided helpful feedback about a class diary, a
speech contest, and a progress chart. The researcher expected to receive more responses about
communication feedback. Nonetheless, the English entrance exam advice was a strong
influencer that permeated more questions and themes than predicted. There was some teacher
satisfaction where three interviewees were satisfied with one of their English inspirational
teachers, three were satisfied with the instruction of their teachers, while one was satisfied with
some teachers. However, four interviewees were dissatisfied with their teachers’ transactional
teaching style through the yakudoku method and reported extensive amounts of time sitting and
listening to their teachers in their communication classes. The interviewees did not describe
teacher coordination except for Riku who experienced MEXT secondary English policy in high
school.
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Cultural influence three: The interviewees’ reflections on their secondary texts. The
interviewees did not describe the support materials of their junior high textbooks, which
indicated the teachers did not have enough material-use training. Five interviewees studied from
the Sunshine series, two from the New Horizon series, and one from the New Crown series.
First, four interviewees reported the textbooks were boring that spanned all three series, although
one interviewee thought the Sunshine series was interesting because of the visuals and topics.
Second, two interviewees noticed the textbooks were too difficult for their classmates, and one
thought the series was just right. Third, two interviewees thought the textbook level was too
easy. The scenario strongly appeared the interviewees needed to learn communicative English
by teachers in who received training, support, and time to create communicative EFL syllabi that
follows MEXT’s (2011b) English secondary policy for more communication opportunities.
The interviewees could not readily remember what text they used in high school although
their high school courses were taken more recently than in junior high. The first trend was that
four interviewees studied old university English entrance exams in class. The second trend was
that three interviewees thought the textbooks were boring. In short, the significant influence was
that all eight interviewees did not fully experience an EFL communicative curriculum in their
MEXT-approved secondary school textbooks. To effectively facilitate change efforts, the
organization needs to ensure that everyone has the equipment, personnel, resources, time, and
training they need to do their work, and if there are shortages, then these resources should be in
alignment with the organizational priorities (Clark & Estes, 2008). The approval system for the
textbooks should be reviewed for communicative value and aligned with MEXT’s global goal
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for promoting students who are proficient at English communication by high school graduation.
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CHAPTER FIVE: RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendations for Practice and Further Study

Due to the nature of this small-scale exploratory qualitative study, this section combines
the recommendations for practice with the call for further research studies. The influences were
not generalizable findings because there were merely eight interviewees who were
predominately male participants. The female student representation was negligible with only
one female interviewee that volunteered for the study. Nevertheless, through the exploratory
inquiry, specific recommendations from the influences could be evaluated for potential future
research that may facilitate the improvement of EFL pedagogy in Japan. The influences
indicated three practical ways teachers can increase opportunities for daily English
communication in their classrooms. The eight interviewees experienced learning English from
diverse locations nationwide that might be interesting to teachers from various regions in Japan.
The recommendations could also be useful for further evaluations of MEXT’s EFL education
reforms for 2020 that support students’ self-efficacious beliefs towards their English learning,
improved communications skills, and the resiliency to learn using 21st-century technology.
The interviewees seemed to need more significant support from their teachers, teaching
materials, and boards of education and wanted more opportunities to communicate in English.
Further inquiry with teachers at EFL programs of promising practice and with various EFL
teachers in Japan could be useful to identify the support needed for teaching communicative
English. Three possible recommendations for practice and further research are first, how much
the textbooks are aligned with MEXT’s current and proposed secondary communication reform
to reduce the approval of texts that mirror non-communicative English exam preparation. The
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second recommendation is to provide practical frequent and hands-on activities for teachers to
incorporate communication lessons embedded in the curriculum that are related to their students’
experiences. The third recommendation is offering ample opportunities for communicative
language training for teachers with practical professional development and workshops from
peers and experts in the EFL field of education that leverage the use of digital platforms.
Review Alignment between MEXT Guidelines and Secondary EFL Textbooks
Although this evaluation study is not generalizable, eight interviewees from diverse
locations nationwide seemed to need greater support from their teachers and learning materials
and indicated they wanted for more opportunities to practice communicating in English. Then,
six of the seven textbooks reviewed required extended periods of time reading the Japanese
language that the interviewees confirmed. The interviewees’ lessons were teacher-centered,
which required sitting for extended periods of time and were lectured at in yakudoku for
university English exam preparation. Some use of the first language supports the second
language (García & Kleifgen, 2018), but not teaching communicative English at all is
problematic, which interferes with the students’ learning and meaning-making of language
construction. The traditional textbooks were not aligned with MEXT’s (2011b; 2011c)
communicative policy guidelines except for the previous edition series of Impact Issues (Day,
Shaules, & Yamanaka, 2009a; 2009b; 2009c) that Riku learned from in high school. Although
there were no suggestions for entrance exams studies in the MEXT (2011b; 2011c) EFL policy
documents, the traditional MEXT-approved textbook exercises published by secondary teachers
and university professor authors resembled entrance exam drills.
A recommendation for study would be further document analyses of elementary and
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secondary MEXT-approved EFL textbooks be conducted that measure the quality and quantity
of the communication activities available in each lesson. The EFL teachers most likely are
challenged about how much effort and time should be allotted for functional grammar and
English communication while using MEXT-approved secondary textbooks (Hato, 2005).
Communicative textbooks could help the teachers manage their time to provide frequent and
meaningful opportunities for students to speak English. In 2011, MEXT created the Commission
for the Development of Foreign Language Proficiency that published five specific measures for
developing English proficiency in secondary schools (MEXT, 2011a). The commission or
another professional body may examine possibilities for increased alignment with MEXT EFL
policy (2011b; 2011c) and MEXT-approved textbooks by practically measuring the content for
communicative value. Then, the organizers could promote text series that utilizes 21st-century
technology that uphold the current and future 2020 MEXT policy for greater English proficiency.
The authors of textbooks with few communication activities should be given the opportunity
with guidance to revise the content of their EFL textbooks and online support before new
editions are approved. Moreover, the authors’ ranks and titles should not be reported, so the
textbook selection would be based quality deliverables rather than name recognition since
educators may be influenced by the status of the authors.
A suggestion that supports the first recommendation would be to decrease the test
washback effect of teaching through yakudoku in Japanese, to prepare students for passing
MEXT-approved English entrance exams (Hato, 2005; Iwai, 2009; Kuramoto, & Koizumi,
2016). If the in-house and the national English entrance exams are eliminated or reduced, then
teachers may not feel as much pressure to teach in Japanese for such tests (O’Donnell, 2005;
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Sakui, 2004; Underwood, 2012). All of the interviewees reported their families thought English
was necessary for their future. From a theoretical perspective, English entrance exams became
compulsory since 1956, so society in Japan expects and plans for entrance exam preparation in
secondary schools (Butler & Iino, 2005; Glasgow & Paller, 2016; Kuramoto & Koizumi, 2016),
and families need to help facilitate this preparation with their children. Thus, reviewing the
climate of the various levels and channels of communication across the EFL field of practice in
secondary education with data-driven research is essential. Families are keenly aware of the
financial and societal pressures to enroll their children in private entrance exam cram schools to
facilitate university entrance success (Dawson, 2010). There are high-stake familial pressures on
students to enter prestigious universities to help secure the students’ employment prospects.
The reduction of English in-house entrance exams for universities could be encouraged
and monitored to reduce the emphasis on preparing students in secondary schools. The freeing
up of time could be used to teach English communication that MEXT (2011a; 2011b)
recommends. Seven of the eight interviewees received intense preparation for such exams in
their upper-secondary English classes. Providing in-house English exams for public universities
is redundant because the National Center for University Entrance Examinations (2017) already
requires an English test for enrolment purposes, so prospective students should not need to take
two exams. They are expensive, redundant, and stressful for students to take. Moreover, the
norm-referenced English proficiency tests such as EIKEN, IELTS, and TOEFL could be used in
place of English exams. If considered, these English proficiency assessments should be
affordable and provided in various locations, so that students in rural areas have access. Several
proficiency tests could be offered with the recommended minimum entrance requirement scores
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that are easily understood by the families for their children’s university pursuits.
Incorporate More Communicative Strategies and Content in EFL Classes
Case studies have shown that students needed to be proficient in English communication
after six years of learning the language at secondary schools in Japan (Kikuchi & Browne, 2009;
Williams & Andrade, 2008). Rueda (2011) asserted that information processing of cognitive
events, such as storing and recalling, helps the learners’ retention of the meaning and
pronunciation of foreign language vocabulary. Numerous cross-sectional studies at the tertiary
level suggested T-test correlations between higher English proficiency scores when learners used
leveled materials and metacognitive strategies with support from trained teachers (Dafei, 2007;
Sakai & Takagi, 2009; Valadi & Rashidi, 2014). The second practical recommended influence
is to incorporate more communication content and strategies in the English classrooms each
lesson. The reason is the five interviewees who had more communication practice had higher
English proficiency and moderate levels of self-efficacy in daily conversation. Communicative
engagement in English could be beneficial for secondary students to use English by applying
what they learned through metacognitive strategy use (Fewell, 2010; Oxford, 2011).
Language learning content that is relevant and meaningful to students could help them
believe their learning is worthwhile (Nation & Newton, 2009), and they could possess greater
confidence about their English capabilities while being committed and awake to communicate.
For practical purposes, teachers could dedicate a certain amount of time each lesson on English
communication, even if it is only fifteen minutes. The students could communicate in groups
and pairs through effective classroom organization that would encourage a natural
communication environment rather than students sitting in rows facing the front of the classroom
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(Nation & Newton, 2009). Each interviewee mentioned there were times they listened to the
teachers’ lectures in Japanese complained of sitting in desks for long periods of time listening to
the teacher at the blackboard, which is contrary to MEXT’s EFL policy (2011b; 2011c).
Williams and Andrade (2008) asserted 81% of the 243 Japanese university students
surveyed that they perceived external factors attributed to their anxiety, and over half of the cases
were related to their teachers’ public queries where the students could not effectively self-
regulate their behavior (Williams & Andrade, 2008). From an empirical perspective, it appears
that learners obtain greater emotional resiliency through self-regulation strategies with teacher
guidance for individual learner goal-setting, and learning appraisals with can-do assessment
checklists (Little, 2006; MEXT, 2011a). Additionally, increased engagement in the lessons with
an online presence could improve the students’ self-regulation and stave off the boredom that the
interviewees reported in both lower- and upper-secondary school.
Students need to feel invested and in control of their English language learning with a
stable sense of self-concept and engage in social interactions in the target language (Norton,
2010; Norton Peirce, 1996). The author also asserted that investment, which is grounded in
sociocultural theory, is comprised of the aspects of the language learners’ social identities
including the complex relationship between ambivalence to communicate, yet the aspiration to
learn a language. Scott and Palinscar (2006) argued that from a sociocultural perspective in
education, learning occurs through student collaboration, interaction, and the negotiation of
meaning. Translanguaging supports the students’ first and second languages as their unitary
identity as promising bilinguals and multi-linguals (García & Kleifgen, 2018). Therefore, a
suggestion is for MEXT, the local boards of education, English teachers, and the secondary
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students’ families to provide opportunities to interact with peers and collaborate with others in
English because the collaboration could increase investment in the target language.
Toohey and Norton (2003) maintained that learning languages involve a higher degree of
participation in communities that practice the target language that requires a sociocultural
oriented agency with an investment that can constrain or afford the language learners’ identity.
Some identity positions help support greater opportunities for social interaction and agency
(Norton, 2010), so providing meaningful socially-situated language exchanges will help improve
EFL communication. Igoudin (2013) in a mixed method study, observed, interviewed, and
conducted an attitude and motivation test battery (AMTB) with ten English language learners
from one advanced reading course at a community college in Southern California. The
researcher explored what motivated the adult participants to improve their English proficiency
despite their work and family commitments. Igoudin (2013) found that stable sociocultural
identities of learners in the language classroom can be strengthened by the curriculum that
supports the learners’ self-concept and the desire to learn the language. The investment would
also facilitate the learners to envision and identify with their possible ideal selves (Dörnyei,
2005; 2009a; 2009b). A further recommendation is to provide students with motivational
opportunities to communicate more readily in English with their peers, Japanese teachers,
international assistant teachers, English-speaking communities in Japan, and overseas student
exchanges. The emphasis in engagement would encourage mastery of the language and
deemphasize perfection.
Provide Ample and Frequent Communicative Language Training for Teachers
Recommendations from policy reports have suggested that secondary students in Japan
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need to learn EFL communication by teachers who are trained, supported, and have the time to
narrow the language proficiency gap for over four million students that fail or do not take the
EIKEN English proficiency test (Aoki, 2017; MEXT, 2011a; 2014). In the case of four
interviewees, they did not fail their EIKEN test, but were not made aware of its importance, and
did not take the test in high school. Organizations need to make sure employees have the
equipment, personnel, resources, time, and training they need to do their work (Clark & Estes,
2008). The field-based organization of MEXT’s EFL secondary education programs and the
new English elementary classes need such resources and support for the students and teachers.
More efforts to foster coalitions of teachers with the expertise and urgency that document
teamwork will support the organizational goals (Harris & Bensimon, 2007; Kotter, 2007). Also,
reviewing leadership responsibilities with the English faculty at the school and district level
allowing for ample time, training, and resources needed. The process could involve peer teacher
observations that measure the extent of communicative language teaching, and how much
support materials are available to students. The teacher coalitions could explore promising
practices that afford leveraging authentic EFL technology to improve learning (ISTE, 2018).
Practical suggestions could be shared at post-observation meetings to encourage innovative ways
of teaching communicative language learning. A natural place for teachers to routinely observe
would be the promising practice of the 100 Super English Language High (SELHi) schools
(Fujimoto-Adamson, 2006; Glasgow & Paller, 2016; also see Yoshida, 2003 prior to SELHi) in
Japan. The planning and implementation of the training must be aligned with the field-based
mission of MEXT EFL policy to strengthen the students’ language learning proficiency and
support the teachers.
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This third recommendation assumes students will also receive relevant communicative
language instruction from teachers trained to teach EFL communication through ongoing
teacher-training workshops. The larger workshops could be held after the end of each trimester
when classes are not in session. Workshops could promote the facilitation of communication
through meaning-focused input, meaning-focused output, fluency development, and language-
focused learning (vocabulary and grammar development) through the four-skills of learning
English (Nation, 2009; Nation & Newton, 2009). Such ongoing quality programs in Japan exist
that are conducted by English language specialists sponsored by the U.S. Embassy, Tokyo. The
sponsorships deploy local experts who are university communication professors that provide
shovel-ready daily communication activities for EFL classes. One of the five specific measures
for developing English proficiency in secondary schools (MEXT, 2011a) is this language
specialist program. The largest three-day professional development workshop series in the
program provides support for 40 to 60 English teachers quarterly that encourages leveraging
technology to enhance language learning and teaching. The development courses include micro-
teaching and observations to increase communicative activities in the English classroom using
21st-century technology. However, the scale and scope of the sponsored programs and programs
from other associations are currently not enough. More teachers could value experiencing the
planning of communicative syllabi that utilize cooperative learning and provide learner feedback
and goal setting through micro-teaching demonstrations. The training could be beneficial for
their students’ confidence and commitment to EFL learning.
In turn, the ongoing feedback and setting of learning goals with the aid of teachers will
also support the students’ motivational language learning effort, belief, and persistence about
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their learning and boost confidence (Rueda, 2011). MEXT’s (2011a) recommendation for
students to reflect on their language learning at the end of each lesson through can-do self-
assessment language checklists and the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) goal setting cycle (Keidanren
[Japan Business Federation], 2017) to self-regulate their stable self-efficacious beliefs. The can-
do lists are motivational, but they also serve as procedural knowledge declarations where the
students’ self-access the extent to which they can perform a communicative language task at any
moment in time. The interviewees did not report diagnostic support except for Tatsu’s teacher’s
in-house progress chart in high school. The recommendation is students may regulate their
language learning through authentic communication, attainable goal-setting training, and receive
meaningful and frequent feedback from the teachers to maintain their confidence.
The English versions of MEXT’s (2011b; 2011c) secondary English teaching policy
documents and the interviewees did not mention the use of technology in the classrooms.
Involvement in language communities include the use of 21st-century technology, so leveraging
digital platforms in teacher training development is essential (García & Kleifgen, 2018; ISTE,
2018). The junior high school textbooks included digital support that did not seem to be utilized.
The upcoming MEXT 2020 English pedagogy reforms should consist of digitized instructional
delivery embedded in the MEXT-approved English language learning materials as the current
generation have been exposed to technology use for the duration of their lives. García and
Kleifgen (2018) demonstrated that available digital technologies can enhance language learning
if the tools are used effectively. Furthermore, teachers who receive the support and technical
training can encourage the students’ use on digital multi-modal platforms and their emerging

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bilingual or multi-lingual pursuits (García & Kleifgen, 2018). Then, in the following section,
the limitations and delimitations of this study will be declared.
Limitations and Delimitations
There were several limitations of this qualitative study that could not be controlled, which
affected the results. Chiefly, the influences could not be considered generalizable findings with
the small sample population of eight interviewees. Therefore, the findings should be viewed as
indicative influences that might pinpoint where future research is needed to improve English
pedagogy in Japan. The limitations included language challenges of the interviewees, a sample
bias of male interviewees, a subordinate sample population, and the researcher’s lack of full
comprehension of written Japanese in the document analysis phase of the study. Every attempt
to delimit the constraints was explored an enacted throughout the research design, data
collection, analysis, and reporting to the best of the researcher’s ability.
The interviewees were not native speakers of English, and the researcher is not 100%
bilingual in English and Japanese. Nevertheless, her working level of Japanese was higher than
six of the eight interviewees’ English proficiency. A further delimitation strategy was the
interviewees were in courses with a pre-requisite of a minimal English proficiency requirement
greater than the equivalent of the EIKEN (2017) grade pre-two score, so the participants were
proficient at completing the interview successfully in English. Paradoxically, the intended
delimitation of selecting volunteer student stakeholders that are proficient in English then
became a further limitation as over 64% of the student population who did not reach the
language proficiency global goal was not recognized in this study. These ignored student
stakeholders’ voices could have contributed to improving the field-based global goal. To remedy
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 224

the limitation, the inclusion of the student stakeholders who have successfully achieved the
MEXT (2011a) global goal of an acceptable language proficiency score was poignantly
necessary. These interviewees revealed useful information for practice and further research for
educators and MEXT that may contribute to improve the satisfaction of EFL secondary students’
English educational experiences and language proficiency in Japan. These aims were reflected
in the conceptual framework towards the students’ and MEXT’s global goal.
A further communication delimitation was that the interview protocol language (see
Appendix) was leveled to the students’ appropriate English JACET level corpus-based
readability word list they were familiar with in secondary school (JACET, 2003). The English
version of the protocol was useful for the interviewees to frame their responses with the
vocabulary provided, while the translations in Japanese helped the interviewees confirm the
meaning of the researcher’s queries. These actions supported the interviewees used of Japanese
and English through translanguaging, and the researcher was able to comprehend the language,
take contemporaneous memos, and then confirmed the meanings with the interviewees.
There were attempts to recruit both genders that represented roughly the national
demographics of the upper-secondary student population of 51.16% males and 48.84% female
students or N = 1,070,030 (MEXT, 2016). However, seven males and only one female
volunteered. As the first seven interviewees were male, an intensive effort was made to recruit
and conduct more interviews with female interviewees. Regrettably, the short recruitment period
clashed with the academic year-end exams and low course enrollment, which profoundly
impacted potential interviewee participation. The demographic stratification resembling the
percentage of the population for public and private schools was loosely achieved, but gender
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 225

stratification was not balanced. Thus, the interviews revealed data that was filtered through the
male interviewee voices (Creswell, 2014). Multiple female responses could not be achieved, so
the lack of representation provided a negative response bias (Maxwell, 2013). For future studies,
a balanced gender sample would be beneficial for meaningful stratification of the data responses.
Successful attempts were made to delimit the potential of adversity by conducting the
interviewee recruitment from first-year university English communication courses the researcher
did not teach reduced power issues. The researcher could not sufficiently delimit her influence
on the interviewees, but adverse responses were minimized (Maxwell, 2013), as she was not
their course instructor. Furthermore, although the interviewees potentially could have given
detailed information about what their family thought about the university entrance exam process
and the impact the exams have on the interviewee through the lens of the family, the queries
were not asked. The limitation was there could have been a perceived conflict of interest due to
the researcher’s position at the institution. The strategy for a delimitation was to ask generally
what the family thought of the interviewees’ English language learning to get more opened-
ended responses about the families’ impact on the interviewees’ English pursuits.
Lastly, a further limitation was that the remaining stakeholders could not be included in
the study due to time constraints. Specifically, the omission of the stakeholder teachers who
could have provided insights into the function and purpose of their EFL classes regarding the
student stakeholders achieving satisfaction with their language proficiency goals was a concern.
One attempt to delimit this shortcoming was numerous observations of teachers and policy
document analyses studies were reviewed that neared saturation levels because the problem of
practice of utilizing the yakudoku has been documented for over 30 years. A second attempt to
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 226

delimit the focus on one stakeholder group was through the document analyses. Important clues
about instructional pedagogy as directed by the EFL MEXT-approved textbooks set the tone for
the teachers’ use of communicative English classroom activities or the lack thereof. Although
limitations affected this research, ongoing attempts to delimit any limitations were addressed
throughout the duration of the study.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this study addressed the challenges of implementing EFL communication
at secondary schools in Japan. The Clark and Estes’s (2008) modified KMO framework was
used to analyze the perceptions of eight first-year university students’ levels of satisfaction with
their EFL learning. The interviewees were proficient at English after six years of instruction. If
they learned communication in high school or had a private accelerated curriculum, their
proficiency levels were higher than those who learned English in Japanese. The interviewees
who learned communication reported moderate self-efficacy levels speaking English while those
lectured to in Japanese had low self-efficacy doing the same tasks. The organizational influences
were significant as MEXT’s (2011a; 2011b; 2011c) EFL secondary communication policy was
loosely practiced or not followed in favor of drilling the interviewees for English university
entrance exams. All indications were their teachers seemed to need more support teaching EFL
communication.
The study’s strength was the student interviewees’ voices who described their secondary
English education experiences. More student interview studies are needed to illustrate the
current EFL classroom conditions as recipient participants because their input can contribute to
the success of future students’ English confidence and satisfaction. Secondary students in Japan
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 227

deserve English courses that help improve their proficiency and keep them motivated with rigor.
To deny the students of meaningful lessons that improve their EFL proficiency is regrettable.
Unfortunately, the interviewees noted they often listened to their teachers’ lectures in Japanese
through yakudoku with long periods of passivity. The student stakeholders’ voices need to be
documented and heard to improve the problem of practice of abandoning teaching English
communication in favor of entrance exam preparation in English classrooms in Japan.

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 228

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PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 249

APPENDIX
Interview Protocol for Japanese EFL First-Year University Student Participants
Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today. I really appreciate it. I am
interested in your English language learning experiences as a student in Japan. This research is
not related to this university, but for my dissertation at the University of Southern California in
America. I want to reconfirm that anything you say will be confidential. That means I do not
share your personal information with anyone. Therefore, your grades are safe. Also, this
recording will be stored on a password-protected device and computer, and your consent form
(that signed paper) is already stored in a locked cabinet. I also want you to know that in my
dissertation report, the readers will not be able to understand who you are because any personal
information will be coded (changed) to protect you. We will use your pseudonym (not your
name) that we agreed upon for this interview. Then, we have one more meeting where you can
see what I wrote, and we can check to make sure I have your information correct, and that I have
protected your identity. Lastly, at any time we can stop this interview for any reason. Now, I am
just reconfirming if you would still like to be interviewed? Is this interview all right?
Sample Probes for Clarity as Needed
• “I want to make sure I understood you. Do you mean …?”
• “Oh, I didn’t hear everything that you just said. Could you please say that again?”
Sample Probes for Elaboration as Needed
• “That is interesting about … Please tell me more.”
• “And then, what happened after that?”
Sample Probes for Support as Needed
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 250

• “That must have been a challenge.”
• “Oh, that’s an accomplishment.”
Sample Transitional Language as Needed
• “Okay, please tell me about …”
• “That’s really interesting. Is there anything else you would like to add before the next
question?”
The Protocol Questions
1. “Now, I would like to ask you about your English learning experiences. “When did you
start learning English? Please explain what was happening during that time.
2. “What do you believe is the best way for you to study English?”
3. “Tell me about a recent experience you had speaking English. How do you feel about
your ability to understand what someone else said to you in English?”
4. “How do your family feel about your English language learning?”
5. “How confident are you about your ability to communicate in English? Please explain in
detail as best you can (or another specific probe).”
6. “I know you had many different English teachers, but “what are your overall thoughts
about how you were taught English in secondary school?”
7. “What were the activities in your junior high school English classes that you did most
often?” Possible probe: “Imagine I was your classmate at your usual English junior high
school lesson. What would I see (Patton, 2002)? What would be happening there? Please
take me to this class.”
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 251

8. “What were the activities in your high school English classes that you did most often?”
Possible probe: “Imagine I was your classmate at your usual English high school lesson.
What would I see (Patton, 2002)? What would be happening there? Please take me to this
class.”
9. “How satisfied were you with your teachers’ instructions?” “Please provide some
examples of one or more of your teachers that you remember.
10. “Please tell me about the feedback you got from one or more of your English teachers
(Lord & Kanfer, 2002; Kikuchi, 2009)?” Note: Probe as needed
11. “What textbook series did you use in junior high school?”
12. “What textbook series did you use in high school?”
13. “What do you think about the textbooks?” “Please talk about them as you like.”
14. “Please tell me what your teachers explained to you about university entrance
examinations that you can remember.”
15. “How do you get a passing English score of pre-two on the EIKEN test before high
school graduation?”
16. “How confident at you at using English for academic purposes?”
17. “What opportunities have you had to use English outside the classroom?” “Please
explain.”
18. “What are the best ways for you to study English?”
19. “How satisfied are you using English for daily communication?”
20. “Please explain a time when you used English to communicate?” “How did that go?”
21. “What are your English learning goals?” “How can you reach this goal / these goals?”
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 252

22. “If there are any other English language experiences you would like to tell me about,
please let me know.”
Closing the Protocol Interview
23. I think I have asked all of the questions for this interview, but is there anything else you
want to share with me about how you learned English? Please explain, as you like.
添付A [Japanese Translation of Appendix A]
研究に参加する日本人EFL 大学1 年生へのインタビュー・プロトコル
今日はこのインタビュー調査のためにお時間を作っていただいてありがとうござ
います。本当に感謝しています。私は日本の学生の英語学習経験に関心を持っています
。この研究は本大学とは関係なく、私が米国の南カリフォルニア大学で博士論文を書く
ために行っているものです。改めて確認しておきますが、あなたがここで話すことは秘
密情報として保護されます。つまり、私はあなたの個人情報を誰とも共有しないという
ことです。したがって、あなたの成績が明かされることはありません。また、この記録
はパスワードで保護されたデバイスとコンピュータに保存されます。あなたの同意書（
署名していただいた書類）はすでに鍵のかかったキャビネットに保管されています。加
えて、研究参加者を保護するために個人情報はコード化（変更）されますから、私の博
士論文を読んでも参加者個人が特定されることはないということもお伝えしておきたい
と思います。このインタビュー調査では（本名ではなく）あなたにご同意いただいた仮
名を使います。この研究に参加していただいた方には後にもう一度お会いし、そこで私
の書いたものをお読みいただきます。その際、ご自分の情報に間違いがないこと、及び
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 253

私があなたの個人情報を保護していることを確認してください。最後に、このインタビ
ュー調査は理由を問わずいつでも中止できるということをお伝えしておきます。ここで
、このインタビューを受けてもよいというお気持ちを確認させていただきたいと思いま
す。このインタビューを進めてもよろしいでしょうか。
必要に応じて明確化を行うためのプローブ（より詳細な情報を引き出すための質問）
の例
• 「あなたがおっしゃったことを私が正しく理解しているかどうか確認したいと思
います。～という意味ですね。」
• 「今あなたがおっしゃったことが聞き取れませんでした。もう一度言っていただ
けますか。」
必要に応じて詳細を聞き出すためのプローブの例
• 「～は興味深いですね。もっと詳しく話してください。」
• 「その後どうなったのですか。」
必要に応じてサポートするためのプローブの例
• 「それは困難だったでしょうね。」
• 「それはすばらしい成果でしたね。」
必要に応じて話題を移す表現の例
• 「さて、それでは～について話してください。」

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 254

• 「それはとても興味深いですね。次の質問に移る前に何か付け加えたいことはあ
りませんか。」
プロトコル質問
1. 「では、あなたの英語学習の経験についてお聞きしたいと思います。あなたはい
つ英語の勉強を始めましたか。そのときどのようなことがあったか説明してくださ
い。」
2. 「あなたはどのような英語の勉強方法が自分に一番合っていると思いますか。」
3. 「最近英語を話した経験について教えてください。誰かに英語で話しかけられた
ことを理解する自分の能力についてどう思いますか。」
4.「あなたの家族はあなたの英語学習についてどう感じていますか。」
5.「あなたは英語のコミュニケーション能力にどのくらい自信がありますか。でき
るだけ詳しく説明してください（または別の具体的なプローブ）。」
6. 「これまでに何人もの英語の先生に出会ってきたと思いますが、全体的に言っ
て、あなたが中学・高校で受けた英語の授業をどう思いますか。」
7. 「中学の英語の授業で最も多く行ったのはどんな活動でしたか。」考えられるプ
ローブ：「私があなたの中学校のクラスメートとして一緒に普通の英語の授業を受
けていたと想像してください。私はどんなことを目にしたでしょうか（Patton,
2002 ）。そこではどんなことが起こっていたでしょうか。私をその授業に連れて行
ってください。」
PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 255

8.「高校の英語の授業で最も多く行ったのはどんな活動でしたか。」考えられるプ
ローブ：「私があなたの高校のクラスメートとして一緒に普通の英語の授業を受け
ていたと想像してください。私はどんなことを目にしたでしょうか（Patton,
2002 ）。そこではどんなことが起こっていたでしょうか。私をその授業に連れて行
ってください。」
9. 「あなたは先生の指導にどのくらい満足しましたか。」「覚えている 1 人または
複数の先生の例を挙げてください。」
10. 「英語の先生 1 人または複数からどんなフィードバックが得られたか教えてくだ
さい（Lord & Kanfer, 2002; Kikuchi, 2009 ）。」注：必要に応じてプローブを用い
る。
11.「中学ではどの教科書シリーズを使いましたか。」
12.「高校ではどの教科書シリーズを使いましたか。」
13.「その教科書についてどう思いますか。」「自由に意見を聞かせてください
14. 「先生は大学入試についてどのように説明しましたか。覚えている範囲で教えて
ください。」
15.「どのようにして高校卒業前に英検準２級の合格点を取るのですか。」
16.「あなたはアカデミックな目的で英語を使用することにどの程度自信があります
か。」

PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY ENGLISH EDUCATION 256

17.「これまでに教室の外で英語を使わなければならない状況を経験したことがあり
ますか。それはどのような状況でしたか。」「説明してください。」
18.「あなたにとってどのような英語学習方法が最良だと思いますか。」
19.「日常のコミュニケーションにおける英語の使用についてあなたはどの程度満足
していますか。」
20. 「あなたがコミュニケーションのために英語を使用したときについて説明してく
ださい。」「それはうまくいきましたか。」
21.「あなたの英語学習の目標は何でしょうか。」「どうしたらこの目標（1 つまた
は複数）に到達できると思いますか。」
22.「英語に関してその他に話したい経験がありましたら、教えてください。」
プロトコル・インタビューの締めくくり
23. 「このインタビューの質問はこれで終わりですが、あなたが英語をどのように学
んできたかについて、ほかに何か話したいことはありませんか。ご自由に説明し
てください。」

Abstract (if available)

Abstract This qualitative study addressed student perceptions of English as a foreign language (EFL) secondary communication in Japan. Eight first-year university students’ satisfaction learning English in secondary school was analyzed through a modified Clark and Estes’s (2008) Knowledge Motivation Organization (KMO) framework. After six years of instruction, the interviewees were proficient at English, yet those who learned communication, or a private accelerated curriculum had higher proficiency levels than those who learned English in Japanese at public schools. The interviewees who practiced speaking English reported moderate self-efficacy levels while those who learned English through lectures in Japanese had low levels engaging in the same tasks. The field-based organizational influences had a strong impact on the interviewees as MEXT’s (2011a

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Creator Vye, Stacey Louise (author)

Core Title Perceptions of first-year tertiary students’ English language learning after six years of instruction in Japan: an evaluation study

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Publication Date 11/30/2018

Defense Date 10/15/2018

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag English as a foreign language (EFL) education,Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT),OAI-PMH Harvest,self-efficacy,university English exams,yakudoku

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Hirabayashi, Kimberly (committee chair), Crawford, Jenifer (committee member), Min, Emmy Jungwon (committee member)

Creator Email stacey.vye@gmail.com,svye@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-109017

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Legacy Identifier etd-VyeStaceyL-6990.pdf

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