The Language Teacher
September 2001
EFL Press: Learner- and Teacher-Friendly Materials for Japan
David Martin
EFL PRESS
I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce EFL Press to the readers of the TLT. EFL Press is a Japanese corporation which publishes English textbooks for the Japanese market. The majority of texts claiming to be designed for the Japanese market are, in fact, aimed at a larger Asian/world market. Our books meet the needs of Japanese students better because we focus on the needs of a specific population.
Our company is called EFL Press because our textbooks are designed for the EFL market, rather than the ESL market. Teachers sometimes (incorrectly) refer to themselves as ESL teachers while teaching in Japan when they are really teaching EFL. Technically, in the professional literature, ESL refers to English as it is used outside the classroom in an English speaking country. In this case, English is used as the students' second language. On the other hand, EFL refers to English as a foreign language, where English is learned in the classroom and is not used outside the classroom for everyday purposes.
On the surface this distinction may seem trivial. However, most textbooks do not work well with EFL students because these students have different needs. Likewise, Japanese students have different needs (and interests) than students from other Asian cultures. Thus, to make the best possible materials for the Japanese market, EFL Press focuses exclusively on the Japanese student. One glance through any of our texts will show you what we mean.
I'm often asked about how our company got its start. We published our first textbook, Talk a Lot: Communicating in English, back in 1995. Since then we have grown and now offer nine courses, covering all the skills. I think our company is unique in that we did not start out as a commercial enterprise, but rather out of a desire to provide books that would truly work well with Japanese students. EFL Press was started by myself while I was still teaching full-time. Over the years teaching here in Japan, I was constantly frustrated with textbooks that failed to live up to their promises. I felt compelled to write materials that would work, out of a responsibility to my students. So even before EFL Press was formed, I had written and self-published several courses which had proven to be very successful, both for my own classes and for colleagues' classes as well. I couldn't understand why there was such a lack of quality textbooks for Japanese students on the market, and so I became frustrated to the point of making a decision to do something about it. I would write a conversation course designed exclusively for Japanese students, one that really worked, and one that would really motivate students. I was determined that a large publisher would publish the course, and that it would become a bestseller.
After a year of writing, piloting, and rewriting the course, I knew I had something special, something both teachers and students would really get excited about. Upon completion, Talk a Lot: Communicating in English was submitted to several major publishers. Most publishers were very interested, but all eventually rejected publication for either vague or silly reasons. The most interested publisher had sent the course to five anonymous reviewers (teachers) to get their feedback. Below are excerpts from the actual conclusions made by the reviewers. Reviewer A: "Talk a Lot is an interesting and unique text with a broad range of activities and varied syllabus. The variety of activities, which are task based and encourage active student interaction, is perhaps the most impressive aspect of the text, and sets it apart from any other texts currently on the market. The market for this textbook in Japan could be considerable in that there seems to be a dearth of high-quality textbooks. Overall, with some changes, it could capture a sizable share of the market. I would, therefore, not hesitate to recommend the publication." Reviewer B: "If I were recommending a textbook for my school, I would probably suggest this one." Reviewer C: "I recommend publication. I would definitely use this text in my junior college conversation classes." Reviewer D: "The textbook fills a need that my colleagues and I have felt for a long time. The fact that the course is designed for Japanese students and contains Japanese language and references to Japanese culture is another plus. I recommend publication." Reviewer E: "The text has many positive qualities. It is short and to the point and provides a full array of clever activities. I would recommend the publication of this text with an eye for the EFL market."
Naturally, I was thrilled to read such positive reviews and became even more confident the course would be published. However, months later I became very disheartened (and downright angry) upon receiving the publishers' reasons for not wanting to go ahead with publication: "It will overlap too much with our basic course materials;" "There is no room for this mateiral [sic] in our range at this time;" "It doesn't fit with our needs for the next few years;" "It unfortunately doesn't fit into our current publication priorities;" and the most ludicrous excuse of all: "It's too FUN."
Still convinced that the book had huge potential, I took the plunge and established my own publishing company to market and sell the book in Japan. And thus EFL Press was born. Talk a Lot quickly became a huge success, and we have received a never-ending stream of praise for the series: "These books are the best for Japanese students!" "I don't know what I'd do without it!" "I love the activities in Talk a Lot!" "Talk a Lot is a fantastic, fantastic book!" "Talk a Lot is fabulous! Brilliant!" "The lessons really work!" "The Talk a Lot texts are the most enjoyable I've ever used. I've recommended them to a number of teachers and their response has been the same," ad infinitum.
You can find out more about EFL Press by visiting our website at <www.EFLPress.com>. There you will find an online catalog, online ordering, forms for requesting free samples, articles on how to teach English effectively in Japan, and a very useful links page to other EFL resources. If you should have any questions or comments about our materials, please feel free to call, fax, or email us.
David Martin, EFL PRESS
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