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Despite the existence of skill-specific anxiety instruments measuring reading anxiety, writing anxiety, and listening anxiety, there is still no single measurement instrument specifically designed to measure levels of speaking anxiety. This research had two purposes. The first was to provide for classroom-based foreign language teachers and researchers an example of the advantages of Rasch model analysis, the use of which is increasing in first-language educational contexts for measurement instrument creation and validation. The second purpose was to create and evaluate an instrument for measuring foreign language speaking anxiety within the classroom in an EFL learning context, in which few native speakers of the language are available for interaction. Using data from a sample of Japanese university students (N = 172), the Rasch model identified misfitting items and examined the construct validity of a 20-item questionnaire to measure levels of Foreign Language Classroom Speaking Anxiety (FLCSA).リーディング、 ライティング、 リスニングといった特定のスキルに関する不安を測定する手段は あるが、 スピーキング不安のレベルを測定する手段は現在のところ存在しない。 本研究の目的 は二つある。 一つ目は、 教室で教える外国語教師や研究者にラッシュモデル分析の利点の例を 示すことである。 ラッシュモデルによる分析は、 第一言語の教育環境において、 測定手段の作成 やその妥当性を高める目的でますます使用されるようになっている。 本研究の二つ目の目的は、

Using PowerPoint for student-created group projects can be motivating and enjoyable for both students and instructors while fostering a sense of student self-reliance and autonomy. After a brief review of the benefits of cooperative group work and scaffolding in second language learning, this paper highlights three different methods for using PowerPoint in a university classroom setting. The first method involves student construction of picture stories, the second describes making travel plans, and the third demonstrates guidelines for outside class group work on simple research projects, such as surveys of fellow students' opinions. Finally, the authors give examples of peer and instructor assessment forms and offer possible future directions for research and implementation of PowerPoint projects in second language classrooms .

As the COVID-19 pandemic hit Japan in early 2020, courses that were already prepared for face-to-face delivery from the start of the spring term in April suddenly needed to be delivered online via emergency remote teaching. In order to understand the challenges that university faculty faced and to find ways to improve upon the situation if this becomes the “new normal,” it is imperative to understand faculty satisfaction with online teaching and how these perceptions affect motivation and lifestyle. University faculty teaching English-language courses were recruited from several universities in Japan and asked to complete an online survey which consisted of demographics, questions related to online teacher satisfaction, teacher motivation, teacher lifestyle, and open-ended questions. Results indicated mixed feelings toward online education, negative evaluations of the lack of Japanese universities' preparedness for online long-distance learning, and concerns about the social and physical health of students and instructors.