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This paper discusses the frequency of use and the reasons for non-use of the online component of a course developed in Blackboard 9, one popular learning management system (LMS) in tertiary education. The study particularly focuses on the three tools in the LMS: Groupwork tool, Downloadable quiz and Discussion forum. These tools were used in a Japanese upper beginners-level course in 2009. At the end of the semester, a student survey was conducted. The survey result indicates that although use of the online component of the course and of the individual tools differed, the frequency of the student use of online supplementary course materials and tools has an effect on their positive perception of the educational value, the development of scholarly skills, that this type of teaching strategy makes. The frequency of student use is determined by their attitude towards online learning, their ability to use the different functions, their peer's use of the same tools, and their access to computers.

This article discusses a history of Japanese popular culture (JPC) located in the broader field of Japanese language education, particularly focusing on 'manga'. JPC has drawn the public attention of Japanese language educators following an international boom in the consumption of anime and 'manga' in the early 2000s. However, looking into JPC and its location in the context of Japanese language education, its history goes further back to the late 1980s and the early 1990s, when 'manga' and anime began to be used in classrooms. Despite active attempts using JPC in Japanese language education, research into this field was still inactive until the end of the twentieth century. This article is therefore aimed at connecting classroom practices and research into JPC over time since the late 1980s to look into how JPC in Japanese language education has been viewed and used differently in its trajectory and implies its future direction. The article first critically discusses the early days of JPC, namely 'manga' in Japanese language education by reviewing three periodicals of the early to the mid-1990s -Mangajin, Gekkan Nihongo and Nihongo Kyōiku Tsūshin. Second, the article overviews research into 'manga'/anime and Japanese language education from the late 1980s to early 2010. The results of the analyses imply that the early days of JPC in Japanese language education were triggered by the struggle of the instructors finding teaching resources rather than the motivation of the learners. In contrast, a number of more recent studies of JPC in Japanese language education align with both the learners' and the teachers' demands and motivations of daily classroom practice.

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