International Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education

From Language Teacher to Educational Manager: Professional Identity and Neoliberalism in Japan's English Education Industry

Palmer Attias — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This study examines how a long-term foreign educator in Japan narrates his professional transition from classroom teaching to educational management within the English language education industry. Drawing on a critical narrative case study approach, the study explores how professional legitimacy, educational commodification, and foreignness were experienced and interpreted across a thirty-five-year career. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview and analyzed using thematic analysis within a narrative inquiry framework. Findings revealed a broader professional legitimacy narrative characterized by five interconnected themes: Escaping the ALT Identity, Becoming a Professional, Education as Product, The Foreigner as Commodity, and Belonging Without Membership. Viewed through the lenses of neoliberalism, critical pedagogy, and Bourdieu's theory of capital, the findings suggest that educational work in Japan increasingly intersects with market-oriented priorities while professional legitimacy remains shaped by nationality, institutional recognition, and social belonging. The study contributes to discussions of professional identity, teacher agency, and neoliberalism in English language education.

How to Teach English Grammar Effectively from the Point of View of Students (Case Study in Georgia)

Ana Chankvetadze — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The acquisition of English grammar remains a persistent and multifaceted challenge for both language learners and teachers. Traditional pedagogical approaches have predominantly emphasized the rote memorization of grammatical rules, a practice that often leads to learner disengagement and restricts the effective transfer of grammatical knowledge to authentic communicative contexts. Consequently, educators frequently encounter difficulties in sustaining learner’s motivation and fostering a meaningful interest in grammar instruction, which underscores the need for more innovative and pedagogically sound instructional strategies. This study investigates how students are taught English grammar, how they prefer to be taught, the activities they favor, the classroom environments they consider most conducive to grammar learning. Data was collected through anonymous questionnaires and face-to-face interviews. Analysis of quantitative and qualitative responses indicates that shifting instruction from explicit rule memorization to communicative, learner-centered methods was associated with greater engagement, increased motivation, and improved transfer of grammatical knowledge to authentic contexts.

Beyond Memorisation: An AI-Mediated Course Design for Vocabulary Learning in Higher Education

Angel Yim Hung Fan — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

English language teaching (ELT) in higher education has undergone successive pedagogical transformations, evolving from rote memorisation to task-based and communicative approaches, integrating computer-assisted language learning (CALL), and now entering an era of artificial intelligence (AI)–mediated learning. This paper argues that AI adoption should not be viewed as a pedagogical rupture, but as a continuation of a long-standing shift toward learner-centred, meaning-focused, and interaction-driven language education. Situating AI within this trajectory, the paper contends that successful integration relies not on technological novelty, but on research-informed pedagogy, ethical awareness, and evidence-based practice. Echoing a longstanding caution against allowing education to be driven by the measurement of outcomes at the expense of purpose, it asks not what is technologically possible, but what is pedagogically meaningful. To illustrate this argument, the paper presents an action research project documenting the ongoing construction of a new elective course on vocabulary development at a research-focused liberal arts university in Hong Kong. Moving beyond rote memorisation, the course enhances vocabulary acquisition through active learning, textual analysis, and extensive reading, employing techniques such as morphological analysis and contextual inference. Drawing on literary and non-literary materials, it adopts a scaffolded design transitioning from guided instruction to independent learning, fostering critical thinking alongside lexical growth. Through discussions, presentations, and written analyzes understood as a recursive, problem-solving process, students apply new vocabulary in academic and real-world contexts—offering a practical model for pedagogically grounded, AI-mediated vocabulary learning.