Coming Soon: Hitting Your Stride

It seems like only yesterday that we were introducing A Running Start, but we are already getting very close to the publication of its partner book, Hitting Your Stride: 大学英語で自信を育てる. And I have to say...

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Who Do We Want to Hear “Good Job!” From? AI, Praise, and Language

This week, I am in Osaka for the 65th JACET International Convention, being held from August 26–28. My presentation, co-authored with Matthew Wilson of Miyagi University, is titled “AI-Mediated Feedba...

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Speaking tests for 200+ students

I have just finished checking speaking tests for around 230 students. As you can probably imagine, after watching that many videos, I have heard quite a wide range of topics! For the test, students we...

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A Preview of What's Coming: Nine New Books from SielpA Books

Last week, I reflected on the first year of SielpA Books as a corporation and the many lessons I learned along the way. I was delighted to share that we successfully published four books in our first ...

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One Year Later: What I've Learned from Starting SielpA Books

Tomorrow, August 1st, marks an important milestone for me. It has been one year since SielpA Books officially became a corporation (株式会社). Looking back, it's hard to believe how much has happened in j...

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Don't Let Summer Steal Your English

Summer vacation is something we all look forward to. After a busy semester of classes, assignments, quizzes, and exams, it's important to relax, spend time with friends and family, and recharge your b...

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It's Okay, Nobody Cares

This week in my reading class, we discussed the phenomenon known as the Spotlight Effect. As we explored the topic, I couldn't help thinking about how relevant it is to language learning and teaching....

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So… How Could We Teach Reading? (Part 2)

Last week, I wrote about the podcast Sold a Story and the idea that reading is not as “natural” as we sometimes assume. If you haven’t read that post yet, this is very much a continuation of those tho...

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Phonics in Teaching Children to Read

Recently, my brother, who is a primary school principal in Australia, recommended a podcast to me called Sold a Story. He simply said, “You should listen to this.” That was enough to get my attention.

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A Look Inside the Latest Volume of JACET Journal

I may have mentioned this before, but in addition to all the other projects I seem to get myself involved in, I am currently the editor-in-chief of JACET Journal and JACET Selected Papers. These are t...

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TPPT in Action (Guest Blog)

Back in December 2024, I was asked to give a workshop for teachers on the JET Program (Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme) in Tokyo. As a former JET, it is always quite surreal for me to give these...

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The Winter Olympics

This week brought the Winter Olympics to a close. Two years ago, I wrote about the Summer Olympics, so it seemed fitting to turn my attention to the winter edition this time.

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Five Oh

Well, this week’s blog post brings together two major milestones for yours truly:

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A Year of DiA

With classes having finished for this academic year, it also means that the books in the Dictogloss in Action series have reached their one-year anniversary. The books were created based on years of c...

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The Power of Predictable Lessons

Earlier this month, I was in Okinawa for a small conference focused on materials design in task-based language teaching. When I first heard about the event, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity...

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Test Week: Paper or Online?

This week, I have my final classes for the academic year with my students. For five of my classes, I have spent around 30 lessons with the same group of learners. As always at this time of year, it fe...

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What’s in my office?

When I visit other professors at their universities, I always enjoy seeing what’s in their offices. Of course, there are books, files, and the usual academic tools, but I’m often more curious about th...

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The Pink Test

When I was younger, I played a lot of cricket. I was very passionate about the sport, probably too passionate, and it took up time that I could have spent doing other things. I played at an okay level...

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Looking Ahead to 2026

First of all, I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year. In particular, I want to extend my thanks and New Year wishes to the teachers and students using the Dictogloss in Action textbooks. ...

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Looking Back on 2025

As the year comes to an end, I’ve been taking some time to reflect on 2025: a year that was busy, sometimes demanding, but ultimately very clarifying.

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What is happening with English Education in Japan?

I recently read an interesting, yet somewhat sobering, article regarding the declining level of English communication proficiency in Japan. According to the EF English Proficiency Index, while Japan’s...

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Super Simple Stats

This week, we moved into Week 10 of my class on motivation research. Last week, the students did poster sessions where they presented their research themes. They covered previous research, gaps they h...

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Keeping Healthy in Winter

As the weather gets colder, I have noticed a sharp rise in sneezing, coughing, and red noses in my classes. Many of my students have caught colds or the flu, and even those who are still healthy look ...

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Teaching Mindsets in Shiojiri

Next Monday, I’ll be heading off to Shiojiri, a small town in Nagano Prefecture, to give a workshop for local high school teachers. This will actually be the fourth year in a row that the Nagano Board...

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Drawing Motivation: Exploring Demotivation Through Color

I’ve mentioned a few times that I’m currently leading a course on motivation. This week, we looked at the final theory of motivation covered in the course: demotivation. I won’t go into the theory its...

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NotebookLM….Wow!

About a year ago, I was chatting with my friend Gary Ross at a conference. Gary’s an expert in AI; he seems to know absolutely everything that’s happening in the field. Honestly, he’s the most talente...

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Mixed Programming

This week, I was honored to host Martha Ramirez from Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia, who came to my university to give two lectures. One, on Wednesday afternoon, was for students and focused on ...

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Publication Day for Screen Media in Language Education

I mentioned this on my private social media channels earlier this week, but today—October 10—is the official publication date for a new book I’ve been involved in: Screen Media in Language Education.

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