English Language Teaching: Current Issues and Future Prospects I: Voices of Practitioner Researchers in Japan

This twin-volume collection showcases unique explorations into the future development potential of English Language Teaching (ELT) research, encompassing traditional boundaries of the field and pushing beyond them. This first volume offers an in-depth examination of current issues and future prospects from diverse perspectives within the ELT landscape. Authors address key research topics, including English for Specific Purposes (ESP); English for Academic Purposes (EAP); vocabulary, grammar, and skills instruction; teaching young learners; the utilization of information and communication technology (ICT) and generative artificial intelligence (AI), as well as classroom research and teacher education.

The first volume provides a comprehensive view of ELT research by exploring the symbiotic relationship between theory-informed practice and practice-informed theory. Traditionally, these various areas of ELT have been discussed independently. However, this volume organizes these research issues based on the five W’s and one H (i.e., who, what, where, when, why, and how), showcasing how research outcomes can be seamlessly integrated into ELT practices. With this approach, readers will not only gain insights into the latest research findings in ELT, but also learn how to practically apply them in teaching and learning contexts.

Akira Tajino, Ph.D. (Lancaster University), Professor Emeritus at Kyoto University, is currently Professor of Educational Linguistics at Nagoya University of Foreign Studies, Japan. His research interests include classroom research, EAP (English for Academic Purposes), and pedagogical grammar. He is a recipient of the JACET (Japan Association of College English Teachers) Award for excellence in teaching (2011) and the JACET Award for excellence in academic publication (2014, 2020). He is the author/editor of over 30 books and has published more than 80 articles in academic and professional journals. His major publications include Team Teaching and Team Learning in the Language Classroom: Collaboration for Innovation in ELT (Routledge, 2016), A New Approach to English Pedagogical Grammar: The Order of Meanings (Routledge, 2018), and A Systems Approach to Language Pedagogy (Springer Nature, 2019). He has served on the editorial panels of several journals including ELT Journal (Oxford University Press).