Self-assessment (SA), as an activity for reflecting on one's own performance and abilities (Black & Wiliam, 1998), has been a topic of interest to educators over the years. Among second language (L2) educators, SA began growing in popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, when L2 educators’ focus shifted from analyzing linguistic systems to examining how learners learn a language. Many can-do statements and SA descriptors have been developed for L2 language learning, including SA grids aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR, Council of Europe, 2022) and can-do statements prepared by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language (ACTFL) in collaboration with the National Council of State Supervisors for Languages (NCSSFL) (ACTFL, n.d.). Textbooks and other L2 learning materials, including online apps, often contain SA items. SA can be used in conjunction with other assessments, such as traditional objective assessments, peer assessments, and portfolios. Teachers are often encouraged to incorporate SA into their curricula as part of the promotion of constructivist approaches to education, which have been particularly popular since the late 1980s (e.g., Nunan, 1988; Tarone & Yule, 1989); SA resonates well with modern learning theories such as learner-centered education, self-regulated learning, and autonomous learning (Butler, in press).

English as a foreign language education in East Asia has received repeated criticism for its lack of success in developing sufficient English oral proficiency among its students (Muller at al., 2014). In response to the criticism, the governments of China, Japan and South Korea attempted to include assessment of students’ speaking abilities as part of their high-stakes college entrance exams, hoping for positive washback effects in both primary- and secondary-school English education as well as on shadow education (i.e., non-formal private-sector education). These attempts often failed. In South Korea, a new test called the National English Ability Test (NEAT), which included direct assessment of students’ speaking skill among other skills, was developed in 2012. However, the government's plan to use NEAT to replace the current exam – the Korean College Scholastic Aptitude Test (KCSAT) – was quickly dropped before its implementation. In China, the government has tried to promote more communicative methods of English education through incorporating English speaking test in high-stakes tests such as the Gaokao – college admission tests – in addition to reducing the weight of English in the traditional paper-based exams. However, the policies have received heavy resistance at the regional level and have not been implemented at the national level. In Japan, the government asked universities to accept designated external proficiency tests as part of the Common Test, the existing college entrance exam, in order to make up for the exam's missing speaking component. After a mountain of criticism from test users, implementation of the plan is still pending. In this light, the aim of this paper is to discuss why these policy attempts failed. While these policy attempts occurred in three different contexts, we could see striking underlying commonalities. We argue that these policy attempts were made based on a set of beliefs separate from the reality of the stakeholders (e.g., students, parents and teachers). More specifically, the failures can be largely attributed to the governments’ monolithic view of the English language and their insufficient consideration for equity rather than equality.

Studies on the intake of different types of carbohydrates and long-term mortality are sparse. We examined the association of starch, total and each type of sugar and free sugars with the risk of total and cause-specific mortality in a cohort of the general population in Japan. Study subjects were 29 079 residents from the Takayama Study, Japan, who responded to a self-administered questionnaire in 1992. Diet was assessed by a validated FFQ at the baseline. Mortality was ascertained during 16 years of follow-up. We noted 2901 deaths (974 cancer related and 775 cardiovascular related) in men and 2438 death (646 cancer related and 903 cardiovascular related) in women. In men, intake of starch was inversely associated with total mortality after controlling for covariates (hazard ratio (HR) for the highest quartile v. lowest quartile: 0·71; 95 % CI 0·60, 0·84; Ptrend < 0·001). Intakes of total sugars, glucose, fructose, sucrose, maltose and free and naturally occurring sugars were significantly positively associated with total mortality in men (HR for the highest v. lowest quartile of total sugar: 1·27; 95 % CI 1·12, 1·45; Ptrend < 0·0001). Similar relations were observed for cardiovascular mortality and non-cancer, non-cardiovascular mortality in men. In women, there was no significant association between any type of carbohydrates and mortality except that intake of free sugars was significantly positively associated with total and non-cancer, non-cardiovascular mortality. Data suggest that the high intake of starch reduces mortality, whereas the high intake of sugars, including glucose, fructose and sucrose, increases mortality in Japanese men.

In order to better understand the densification of polar firn, firn cores from the three sites within ~10 km of Dome Fuji, Antarctica, were investigated using surrogates of density: dielectric permittivities εv and εh at microwave frequencies with electrical fields in the vertical and horizontal planes respectively. Dielectric anisotropy Δε (=εv − εh) was then examined as a surrogate of the anisotropic geometry of firn. We find that layered densification is explained as a result of complex effects of two phenomena that commonly occur at the three sites. Basically, layers with initially smaller density and smaller geometrical anisotropy deform preferentially throughout the densification process due to textural effects. Second, layers having a higher concentration of Cl− ions deform preferentially during a limited period from the near surface depths until smoothing out of layered Cl− ions by diffusion. We hypothesize that Cl− ions dissociated from sea salts soften firn due to modulation of dislocation movement. Moreover, firn differs markedly across the three sites in terms of strength of geometrical anisotropy, mean rate of densification and density fluctuation. We hypothesize that these differences are caused by textural effects resulting from differences in depositional conditions within various spatial scales.

The teaching of foreign languages to young learners is growing in popularity around the world. Research in this field, particularly of English as a second/foreign language education in East Asia, is a relatively new area of empirical inquiry, and it has the potential to make significant contributions to child second-language acquisition (Child-SLA) theory building, research methodologies, and policies in East Asia and beyond. This article reviews relevant peer-reviewed literature on English education among young learners in East Asia (China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan). I begin by reviewing policy literature to illustrate the social and policy contexts of early English education, identifying major policy-related concerns. Next, I review empirical studies of English learning and teaching, organizing them by their relevance to the previously identified policy concerns. The article concludes with suggestions for future research.

Communicative language teaching (CLT) and task-based language teaching (TBLT) have been widely adopted in the Asia-Pacific region, with a number of Asian countries strongly promoting CLT and TBLT in their curricula and English language education policies. Despite their popularity, a number of challenges have arisen in connection with implementing CLT and TBLT in Asian classrooms. The challenges that have emerged include (a) conceptual constraints (e.g., conflicts with local values and misconceptions regarding CLT/TBLT); (b) classroom-level constraints (e.g., various student and teacher-related factors, classroom management practices, and resource availability); and (c) societal-institutional level constraints (e.g., curricula and examination systems). These constraints have led some to argue that successfully implementing CLT and TBLT in Asia requires adaptation to local environments, such that CLT and TBLT become embedded in local practices. Although there have been a growing number of reports of various CLT/TBLT implementation efforts in different Asia-Pacific regions, we still have only a limited understanding of how best to achieve contextually embedded adaptations and how they affect students’ English learning. After reviewing relevant studies, this article suggests potential options for moving forward, including (a) employing more contextually feasible and flexible interpretations of CLT and TBLT, (b) implementing decentralized or innovative language-in-education policies, and (c) creating communities of learning outside of the classroom as well as in the classroom.

Although it is well known that many second language (L2) learners have trouble using articles “properly,” the primary causes of their difficulties remain unclear. This study addresses this problem by examining the metalinguistic knowledge of the English article system that learners employ when selecting articles in a given situation. By doing this, the present study attempts to better understand the process of “making sense” of the English article system by learners who are at different stages in their interlanguage development. Eighty Japanese college students with varying levels of English proficiency participated in this study. Immediately after completing a fill-in-the-article test, a structured interview was conducted to investigate the reasons for their article choices. The quantitative and qualitative analyses reveal a number of conceptual differences with regard to their considerations of the hearer's knowledge, specific reference, and countability, which may account for learners' errors in article use across different proficiency groups.