JALT Journal - Issue 35.1; May 2013


Volume: 35
Issue No. 1
Date of publication: May 2013
https://doi.org/10.37546/JALTJJ35.1
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In this Issue

Articles

We are pleased to publish four feature articles in this issue of JALT Journal. Our first contribution comes from Matthew T. Apple, who introduces Rasch analysis to applied linguistics literature in an original way. Our second article, written by Masateru Nishimuro and Simon Borg, offers an illuminating look at high school English teaching practices and will be very helpful for those teaching at the university level (particularly expatriates) to more fully understand their students’ English educational backgrounds. Yuka Kurihara, who is known for her work on outsourced teacher education for Japanese teachers of English, introduces further work in our third article, this time using Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory as a conceptual framework. In the fourth article, Takaaki Kumazawa reports on an attempt to validate the use of an in-house test for placement purposes employing an argument-based validity framework. As the author points out, validation is important even for low-stakes tests like those used as placement tests for university general education.

Research Forum

In this section, Megumi Hamada and Chaehee Park examine the role of think-aloud as it pertains to lexical inferencing. While their research focuses on Korean learners of English, their findings are applicable to the Japanese context.

Reviews

This issue features six book reviews. In the first one, John Bankier highlights a book of activities with universal appeal for teachers exploring professional development. In our second review, Carol Begg covers an edited collection of papers on can do statements and the application of the CEFR in Japanese contexts. The third review, by Theodore Bonnah, examines an edited title addressing how globalization impacts on how English is taught and used in Japan. Next, Robert James Lowe reviews a select collection of Michael Swan’s papers on language teaching methodology that have been published over the past 30 years. In the fifth review, James Rock reports on a longitudinal case study into foreign language learner self-concept. Colin Skeates closes out this section with another edited title, this one looking at diversity in teaching in Asian EFL contexts.

From the Editor

Publication of this May issue marks my first as Editor of JALT Journal. While Darren Lingley’s shoes have been a challenge to fill, I hope and believe he has prepared me well for the privilege of undertaking this task. I am happy to say that Darren is not leaving JJ entirely; he joins us as a Consulting Editor, taking over from Ian Isemonger, who has shown great devotion to JALT Journal as editor, reviewer, and author, and who has also given me help and advice. Ian will be staying in the JJ family as a member of the EAB. I am pleased to have the assistance of Anne McLellan Howard as Associate Editor; she brings a wealth of experience and, more importantly, a sense of humour, to the post.  Words can’t express how grateful I am to the members of the Editorial Advisory Board and additional readers who referee submissions with, in Darren’s words, “just the right blend of scholarly expertise, sensitive criticism, and peer encouragement.” I am especially indebted to those EAB members (you know who you are) who are willing to accept a steady stream of review requests and process them in a timely and good-humoured manner. I also offer my thanks to all the authors who have chosen JALT Journal as the home for their work; without them, we are nothing. Last, but not least, I must also thank Aleda Krause and her Journal production team who have been ever-so-gently breaking me in.  I am enjoying my tenure as Editor of JALT Journal and promise to do my utmost to keep up the high standards set by my predecessors.

Melodie Cook

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JALT Journal