Tablet computers are a growing trend in education that has been gaining momentum since the introduction of the Apple iPad in 2010. This paper presents a case study at a Japanese university that investigated the integration of iPads into an existing English language curriculum. It reports on the experience of teachers and students using this particular tablet for several learning tasks in a Freshman English course. The tablets were used as a presentation tool, digital handout, Internet browser, transcription recorder, and media playback device. Data gathered from the study describe benefits and drawbacks of using tablet computers in the Japanese university EFL context. In addition, teacher and student views on using tablets in-class activities were gauged. The researchers used direct observations, video recordings of student use, and survey data from teachers and students. It also details the mobile applications that were used for the classroom tasks. While the iPads showed promise in collaborative projects involving media, connectivity, unfamiliarity, and incompatibility issues limited their effectiveness. Although only a few iPads were available for the study, the issues and results are considered from the perspective of tablet technology in general. Furthermore, the lessons learned here might provide additional insights into the broader implementation of mobile devices in language learning environments.

This article provides critical student perspectives on a set of instructor‐created materials in which students ultimately delivered a spoken anecdote in a class presentation. The research was conducted qualitatively through the lens of narrative inquiry. Data were gathered from six participants, all undergraduate English majors at a Japanese university. Results found that participants experienced various difficulties related to the materials and task, primarily due to their unfamiliarity with anecdotes and vocal prosody. However, participants reported benefits of these lessons such as perceived second language (L2) development and real‐world relevance. Participants also applied lessons learned from the materials in a variety of contexts including study abroad and job interviews, demonstrating that telling anecdotes about themselves can be a highly authentic task. The findings advise instructors to consider students' backgrounds, introduce anecdote elements, and provide ample feedback and repetition. The article also suggests that material developers should consider student feedback as an essential component when designing classroom materials.

Native-speakerism is an ideology that endows those classified as native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) the owners of the English language, the ideal models of its use, and the pedagogical experts in language teaching. These endowments, in turn, intrinsically devalue those classified as non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) (Holliday, 2006, 2017). In this study, a trioethnographic approach was adopted to investigate native-speakerism as it related to the lived experiences of two NESTs (Matt and Joachim) and one NNEST (Takaaki) in an EFL context of Japan. Counterintuitively, this exploration found that, in our Japanese context, native-speakerism had adverse effects on the academic lives and professional trajectories not for the NNEST, but rather for the two NESTs, linguistically, culturally, and institutionally speaking. Based on the findings, we explain and compare what we term classical, inversed, and nuanced native-speakerism, and introduce a new empowering concept—trans-speakerism—an ideological stance committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion for all language teachers, irrespective of their first languages or cultures. The article ends with a call for research that encompasses a variety of contexts and approaches on trans-speakerism in language education.

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