grammatical knowledge and intensive reading skills are crucial for Japanese secondary school learn- ers. Consequently, they may adhere to the traditional grammar- translation method(Nishino and Watanabe, 2008) Contextual factors also impede the use of CLT; few opportunities to engage in face- to-face communication in English outside the classroom-feel little real need for communicative English skills; accustomed to teacher-centered instruction; entrance exams are likely to focus on reading comprehension; large class size; insufficient number of ELT(Nishino and Watanabe, 2008) Although a substantial gap exists between MEXT's vision and class- room realities in Japan, new movements are afoot that could narrow it. (Nishino and Watanabe, 2008) Acceptable scores on such tests put candidates in an advan- tageous position when applying to high school and university or when seeking employment(Nishino and Watanabe, 2008) Japan's current foreign language education policy envisions the development of the nation's practical English communication abilities⇔many secondary school English teachers seem to be adhering to the traditional grammar-translation method-lack training in communicative approaches;poor English proficiency; beliefs about themselves and teaching that undermine their confidence; contextual factors such as entrance exams(Nishino and Watanabe, 2008) demotivating factors: (1) individual teacher behavior in classroom; (2) the grammar–translation method used in instruction; (3) tests and university entrance examinations; (4) the memorization nature of vocabulary learning; and (5) textbook/reference book-related issues (Kikuchi, 2009) major reforms at the high school level to encourage the use of communicative language teaching in place of the widely dominant grammar–translation approach; goal" to develop students' practical communication abilities such as understanding information and the speaker's or writer's intention, and expressing their own ideas, deepening the understanding of language and culture, and fostering a positive attitude toward communication through foreign languages" (Kikuchi, 2009) In such a hectic and pressure-filled environment, teachers may unknowingly act in ways that demotivate students(Kikuchi, 2009) approximately two-thirds of the demotivating factors reported in these studies were teacher oriented(Kikuchi, 2009) Student-Related Communicative Conditions directly impacted Classroom Practices, Positive CLT Beliefs indirectly influencedClassroom Practices via CLT Self-Efficacy, and Exam-Related Expectations both directly and indirectly affected Classroom Practice (Nishino, 2012) Barcelos (2003) define beliefs about second language (SL) or foreign language (FL) learning as "opinions and ideas that learners have about the task of learning a second/foreign language"/ also points out that beliefs are shaped and reshaped as they are influenced by social factors ; therefore define teacher beliefs about language learning and teaching as teachers' opinions and ideas about learning and teaching an SL or FL, constructed by teachers themselves as they respond to their teaching contexts (Nishino, 2012) Mismatches between teachers' beliefs and practices may also be due to contextual factors hindering language teachers' ability to adopt practices that reflect their beliefs (Nishino, 2012) socioeducational contexts—for example, class size or class composition(e.g., Schulz, 2001), school conditions such as syllabus and workload (e.g., Crookes, 1997), and broader educational conditions such as examination pressure and educational policy (e.g.,Gorsuch, 2000)—impact teachers' beliefs and practices (Nishino, 2012) Another influential factor, namely, teachers' learning and teaching experiences, likely influences their beliefs and practices (Nishino, 2012) n addition to these factors, teacher efficacy is seen as exerting a strong influence on language teachers' practices, especially those of FL teachers whose mother tongue is not the target language(Chac´on, 2005). Teacher efficacy can be defined as a "teacher's beliefs in his or her capability to organize and execute courses of action required to successfully accomplish a specific teaching task in a particular context" (Nishino, 2012) The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) has been implementing efforts to reform university entrance examinations and to promote the use of CLT. (Nishino, 2012) 1987: Japan Exchange Teaching Program, which invites about 6,000 foreign college graduates to Japan every year to work as assistant language teachers (ALTs); 1989/99: revised the Course of Study (national curriculum guidelines) to promote the use of CLT by high school teachers; 2003: unveiled a 5-yearAction Plan (MEXT, 2003), which enabled local boards of education to fund compulsory English teacher training programs; 2006: the Action Plan introduced a listening comprehension section in the Center Test ⇔CLT is not widely used by Japanese secondary school teachers (Sakui, 2004; Sato & Kleinsasser, 2004)- a gap between MEXT policy and classroom reality (Nishino, 2012) Teacher Beliefs about CLT appears to minimally influence classroom practices regarding CLT and that Contextual Factors (stu-dents' conditions and entrance examinations) (Nishino, 2012) how working with students of different proficiency led to a change in his teaching (Nishino, 2012) four participants believed that one of the goals of English education is to develop students' communicative competence, which MEXT advocated in the 1999 Course of Study; It should be noted, however, that the participants believed that developing communicative competence was not the only educational goal worth pursuing. They all advocated their own individual goals in the classroom- mentioned that preparing students for university entrance examinations was another important goal → the participants held various educational goals, some of which (e.g., to develop the students, ability to think or to help them become independent) overlapped with those of school education (Nishino, 2012) four participants all said that most English classes they had attended had been taught through yakudoku and that no communicative activities were provided in secondary schools. They took English teaching methodology courses in university but said that they had mainly learned theory. (Nishino, 2012) Although the Center Test has been changed to be more communicative, the two general high schoolteachers still focused on grammar and reading when they tried to prepare students for upcoming entrance examinations. (Nishino, 2012) thus, their classroom practices are affected by their students' English proficiency, motivation,and expectations and even by their personal problems. Koji reported that his teaching had changed depending on his students' English proficiency and preference for communication (Nishino, 2012) influence of students' personal problems or motivation on their use of pair work. In addition, Koji and Gen reported that although they had provided certain communicative activities, they quit using them when they thought that the activities did not fit their students' conditions or that they themselves felt incapable of conducting these activities in the desired manner (Nishino, 2012) Regarding beliefs about teaching, all four teachers set their own educational goals within the school context (Nishino, 2012) goals they had set did not just concern their students' English proficiency but also their self-development as whole persons, including success in entrance examinations, which is consistent with the findings of other studies of secondary school FL teachers (Nishino, 2012) both types of beliefs, and they occasion-ally provided communicative activities in lessons where basic procedures were similar to the traditional grammar–translation method. Thus, various types of beliefs interplayed in the teachers' belief systems, supporting current literature (e.g.,Phipps & Borg, 2009), and this may be another reason why beliefs about CLT alone did not directly influence classroom practices in the Final Path Model of Teacher Beliefs and Practices (Nishino, 2012) The change in the Center Test alone might not have easily allowed the teachers to abandon grammar-focused instruction if the aim remained passing entrance examinations. (Nishino, 2012) In contrast, the qualitative data indicate that the participants had learned teaching techniques from colleagues and in informal workshops, where secondary school teachers introduced their classroom practices. This finding is congruent with Crookes and Arakaki's (1999) findings that teachers learn from their colleagues and find ways to improve their own teaching practice (Nishino, 2012) only 10%of the survey respondents belonged to teachers' associations, so they may have had few chances to experience such model lessons (Nishino, 2012) In addition, Learning Experiences was not as statistically significant predictor ⇔ qualitative data show that the four participants' FL learning experiences seemed to exert both positive and negative influences on their CLT practices (Nishino, 2012) the long-standing influence which juken (O'Donnell, 2005) Equally critical to any examination of the state of English education has been an exploration into the power which yakudoku (a widely-used grammar-translation teaching method) wields over classroom practice and student learning (O'Donnell, 2005) Although each system developed independently of the other, these powerful forces have come to reinforce each other's legitimacy. Their focus on the development of translation skills does little to promote general oral communicative competence or the development of reading and writing in English (O'Donnell, 2005) While reform has been mandated at the very top levels, the classroom has been slow to follow. Bureaucrats may give orders, but it is up to individual teachers to implement those changes at the classroom level (O'Donnell, 2005) The intrusion of non-teaching duties into teachers' curricular roles as well as a number of institutional restrictions and contradictions within MEXT-led educational reforms play a role in informing teachers' pedagogical choices and offer an indication of the limitations of current reform in English language education. (O'Donnell, 2005) 'English became a means of sorting students rather than a path to communication' (juken) (O'Donnell, 2005) yakudoku problem in language education is 'sociological' rather than 'pedagogical'. Once a pedagogical practice is accepted as a societal tradition, it becomes the educational norm. A teacher's methods will not be questioned as long as they follow this norm (O'Donnell, 2005) officially supporting the Communicative Language orientation with its emphasis on developing communicative competence in the four basic skill areas (O'Donnell, 2005) 'students' practical communication abilities . . . and expressing their own ideas, deepening the understanding of language and culture and fostering a positive attitude toward communication through foreign languages' (p. 5). Teachers are exhorted to 'focus on language for use in authentic situations' (p. 4), using teaching strategies like role-plays, speeches and discussion to practice everyday conversation (Monbusho, 1999) (O'Donnell, 2005) to varying degrees and for a wide range of reasons, teacher-participants believe that they are unable to carry out their roles as English teachers in the way they would like (O'Donnell, 2005) All teacher-participants defined themselves as English teachers who had many other responsibilities (O'Donnell, 2005) Teacher-participants felt overwhelmed by the many responsibilities they had in addition to teaching English (O'Donnell, 2005) he must compromise his values as an English teacher in order to keep parents and students happy and satisfy his role as a homeroom teacher (O'Donnell, 2005) Both teachers believe that when senior secondary entrance examinations become more communicative, English teachers at the junior secondary level will be freer to teach in a more communicative manner (O'Donnell, 2005) Mr Yamamoto, in his academically lower-level school, has more success at implementing new teaching methods than Ms Sakai in her academically high-level school (O'Donnell, 2005) He recognises and is confused by the contradiction between his ideals and educational practice. He leaves it to younger teachers to bridge this pedagogical gap (O'Donnell, 2005) he has the freedom to incorporate communicative teaching materials and strategies in his teaching. He attributes his freedom to the small size of his school, increased confidence in his abilities as a teacher, and in his ability to negotiate with his colleagues (O'Donnell, 2005) All participants spoke positively about current Ministry reform initiatives that are presently underway: in particular, the growing flexibility of the new course of study and its communicative language goals (O'Donnell, 2005) They must negotiate between MEXT reforms, their own educational ideals and the institutional restrictions that make up their working realities. (O'Donnell, 2005) he does not teach what he believes is right – he teaches what he believes is necessary (O'Donnell, 2005) Mr Nakanishi, Ms Sakai, Mr Yamamoto, Mr Fujii and Ms Suzuki indicate that teachers at all levels must be supported in two areas: freedom from institutional restriction to implement curricular changes, and time to focus on the primary responsibility of teaching (O'Donnell, 2005) reform cannot be dictated in this manner; it will only occur when a majority of teachers believe that change in the classroom is truly beneficial to their students (O'Donnell, 2005) L1 use can serve important cognitive, communicative, and social functions in communicative foreign and second language (L2) classrooms (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) Results indicated that, contrary to the official policy, many teachers believed that selective use of the students' L1, by the teacher or by students, could enhance L2 learning in various ways within a communicative framework (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) despite the preponderance of evidence clearly favoring judicious L1 use, "English only" continues to enjoy hegemonic status in some teaching contexts, with students and teachers being prevented or dissuaded from using the students' L1 in ways that are, in fact, pedagogically principled (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) In Japan, overuse of the L1 is viewed as a barrier to effective instruction in many secondary level classrooms, and efforts to encourage teachers to move beyond traditional grammar-translation methods and adopt a more communicative approach have met with limited success to date (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) L1 avoidance is often considered to be a key feature of CLT, in keeping with the tradition of "direct" or "natural" teaching methods (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) Contrary to the L1 = L2 hypothesis, the learner's L1 has in fact been shown to play important cognitive, communicative, and social functions in L2 learning (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) "the language of thought for all but the most advanced L2 learners is inevitably his/her L1." (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) no significant increase in student TL use when the teacher used the TL exclusively or almost exclusively (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) numerous other studies have demonstrated that student comprehension and production of the TL can be enhanced through judicious L1 use (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) Moreover, studies using sociocultural theory have shown that L1 use during learnerelearner interaction is often "on-task" and can be highly beneficial, especially for intermediate and lowerproficiency learners dealing with cognitively challenging tasks and content (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) Teachers' beliefs can be shaped by many factors, including their own experiences as L2 learners, teacher training, teaching experiences, official policies, and through exposure to the perspectives of colleagues and superiors (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) Interestingly, teachers who held a positive view of student L1 use had a distinctly lower level of Japanese ability (mean = 2.45) than those who held negative views of student L1 use (mean rating = 3.09) (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) Two teachers believed that students would prefer that their teacher use English only / Two other teachers believed teacher L1 use to be inappropriate given the supposed high level of TL proficiency possessed by students (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) Eleven teachers stressed that student L1 use could facilitate or ensure successful communication with the teacher or with the rest of the class in general / seven teachers referred to student proficiency levels (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) Five teachers attributed use of the L1 by students to laziness or off-task behaviour / Five other teachers felt that students should use their L1 only in emergency situations (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) "I get the feeling that we are supposed to use English only as we are selling a product which the university has promoted and essentially sold to students- that being native-speaker English interaction." (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) As hypothesized, a significant number of teacher-participants believed that L1 use could play a positive role in L2 teaching and learning, in keeping with a communicative approach (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) On the other hand, many of the arguments expressed against L1 use are not substantiated in the literature. For example, when working collaboratively, learners may not negotiate meaning in the TL as often or as wholeheartedly as the teacher may assume (Eckerth, 2009; Storch, 2007). While a teacher's own learning experiences can be important in shaping beliefs and practice (Lortie, 1975), different students have different preferences regarding TL and L1 use (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) an English-only policy may serve as a recruitment tool, designed to attract moredor more highly-motivated or highly-proficient- students (White, 2001). However, program policy should also aim to provide the best possible educational experience for all students actually enrolled (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) Under a one-size-fits-all English-only policy, any amount of L1 use is viewed as bad practice on the part of the teacher, or laziness or defiant behavior on the part of students (Rivers, 2011a). Teacher beliefs and intended pedagogical practice may be strengthened or weakened by the expected reactions of important others, such as students, colleagues, and administrators (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) As was suggested by T17, language choice is best viewed as a continuum (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) Teachers could allow students to use the L1 selectively in some stages of the lesson, following an "English-mainly" rule (McMillan and Rivers, 2009; Rivers, 2011a, 2011b), while other lessons, or parts thereof, could be conducted entirely in the TL. Learners can be guided toward making effective language choices which benefit learning (Levine, 2009), even if teachers are unable or prefer not to use the students' L1 themselves (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) the particularity of the socio-cultural and educational context may ultimately influence how EFL teachers and their work are conceptualized by learners in crucial ways (Lee, 2010) the construct of a language teacher is not a one-size-fits-all phenomenon, and contextual factors may (Lee, 2010) ultimately determine how this construct is conceptualized. For that reason, understanding what it means to be a language teacher in particular teaching and learning contexts is of central concern for language teacher education (Lee, 2010) focused traditionally on developing students' grammar, reading, and writing skills while oral communication skills were given little or no attention; changes in its efforts to reform English education at all levels in Japan; MEXT has urged Japanese college EFL teachers to use English more frequently as the medium of instruction (Honna & Takeshita, 2005). (Lee, 2010) In spite of MEXT's efforts, numerous factors (e.g., incongruent goals between tertiary institutions and MEXT, realities of current educational institutions) have impeded significant educational reformation (Lee, 2010) US: strong consensus on the types of knowledge and behaviors that language teachers need to possess and display. Among these were enthusiasm for the target language and culture, competence in the target language, extensive knowledge about language, and use of group work to encourage a greater degree of learner involvement; South Korea: teachers and students held knowledge and command of the target language, clarity of instruction, building students' motivation, and treating students fairly as some of the most important characteristics that EFL teachers need to possess; various EU countries: in language teaching, the teacher–student relationship is closer and more relaxed because, according to Borg, there is more interaction between teachers and students and the topics and tasks are often personally relevant to the lives of students; --In sum, studies in this line of inquiry indicate that there are indeed characteristics that are distinctive to FL teachers, and these particularities make them different from teachers of other subjects. Additionally, the studies demonstrate that there are differences in how FL teachers are characterized that are dependent on the setting in which teaching and learning occur (Brosh, 1996; Mullock, 2003; Park & Lee, 2006). In their call for a reconceptualization of the knowledge base of language teacher education, Freeman and Johnson (1998) argue that this knowledge base needs to address the diverse social, cultural, and political contexts of teaching and learning (Lee, 2010) Accordingly, the differences found among the various studies indicate how the ways that FL teachers are characterized are context specific (Lee, 2010) specific characteristics of EFL teachers that distinguish them and their work from their counterparts in other teaching domains (Lee, 2010) the nature of the subject matter, the content of teaching, teaching approach, and teacher personality (Lee, 2010) Japan's new policy on English education emphasizes developing learners' practical communication abilities and cultural awareness (Lee, 2010) Japanese EFL teachers' conceptualization of the nature of language teaching may be shifting toward a more genuinely communicative orientation (Lee, 2010) Another characteristic that the participants seemed to perceive as being specific to EFL teachers is teachers' maximizing student involvement by encouraging more speaking in class and through judicious correction of students' linguistic errors. The high value participants placed on this characteristic might be another indication that Japanese EFL teachers are implementing a more communicative approach in the teaching of English. A communicative approach to language teaching involves encouraging learners to interact and communicate in the target language. From this perspective, encouraging student speaking and maximizing student involvement in the classroom are paramount. (Lee, 2010) humanities instructors value rapport with students more than their counterparts in the social sciences or natural sciences (Lee, 2010) 'cultures with a long tradition of unconditional obedience to authority', in which the teacher is seen not as a facilitator but as a 'fount of knowledge [to be] delivered' (Liu 1998: 5) (Littlewood, 2000) often revealed their initial difficulties in adapting to the class discussion style in their programmes (Littlewood, 2000) The students' responses to the three questions indicate clearly that the stereotype of Asian students as 'obedient listeners'—whether or not it is a reflection of their actual behaviour in class—does not reflect the roles they would like to adopt in class (Littlewood, 2000) they do not want to sit in class passively receiving knowledge (Littlewood, 2000) The students' responses to other items in the questionnaire give clues to the ways in which they would like to be active and independent (Littlewood, 2000) The overall message that emerges is that Asian students do not, in fact, wish to be spoonfed with facts from an all-knowing 'fount of knowledge' (Littlewood, 2000) Implicit in the NCER's vision is the notion that Japanese should be able to communicate in "one or more foreign languages" (Lincicome, 1993) (Gorsuch, 2000) This contrast implies a conflict between the plan of Japanese educational authorities and the realities of high school EFL education in Japan (Gorsuch, 2000) curriculum policy makers are essentially political, dealing at state and national levels with educational issues of concern to sometimes conflicting political interests (Gorsuch, 2000) What often results is a policy statement that addresses content but not instruction (Elmore & Sykes, 1992; Montero-Sieburth, 1992). Such statements are adopted for the sake of political expediency, as actual instruction changes very slowly and at a high cost (Gorsuch, 2000) In Japan, the dispersion of external efforts to bring about changes that may radically alter teachers' instruction is perhaps intentional (Gorsuch, 2000) Other researchers have attributed this stability of instruction to teachers' own conscious and unconscious theories, attitudes, beliefs, assumptions, and intuitions about the nature of learning, about their subject area, about curriculum, about proper sequencing and presentation, and about the circumstances in which they teach (Gorsuch, 2000) educational policy makers must understand that for teachers' instruction to change, teachers' beliefs must be transform (Gorsuch, 2000) In the literature, influences on teachers' instruction are classified into what Cohen and Spillane (1992) termed formal and informal instructional guidance. Formal instructional guidance is defined as influences acting on teachers that are initiated or regulated by government regulatory bodies at a prefectural or national level. Informal instructional is defined as influences on teachers' instruction that are not deliberately initiated, or regulated, by governmental institutions at a level higher than the local school (Gorsuch, 2000) "To develop students' basic ability to comprehend a speaker's or writer's intentions to express their thoughts, and to foster a positive attitude towards communicating in English" (Gorsuch, 2000) The descriptions of English I and II are practically identical. They are depicted as balanced courses in the four skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing (Gorsuch, 2000) Such exams are also considered to be a form of formal instructional guidance. In the Japanese context, these would be university entrance examinations. Individual university entrance exams are not under the purview of the Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture (except for the Center Exam, a preliminary screening exam taken by applicants aspiring to public universities and high-ranked private universities) (Gorsuch, 2000) Although the exams are a nationwide phenomenon, they may still act on teachers locally (Gorsuch, 2000) Thus, teachers at particular high schools may feel they need to prepare students for exams only at particular universities (Gorsuch, 2000) In an analysis of two public university and two private university entrance exams (Gorsuch, 1999), I found that they emphasized knowledge of grammar points, vocabulary, and English usage. None emphasized speaking or listening skills, with the exception of one listening section in one public university's test (Gorsuch, 2000) Given this, and previous research on the lack of influence on instruction afforded by educational policy statements, it seems likely that teachers simply adapt the guidelines in The Course of Study to existing university preparation (Gorsuch, 2000) Teachers likely see the influences of their teacher preservice license programs, colleagues, principals, and locally written English I and II syllabi as related concepts. These four aspects of formal and informal instructional guidance may tap into a formal local culture at the institutional level. Formal here means the official, tacit, agreed-upon identity the school presents to society (Gorsuch, 2000) Teachers likely see class size, students' expectations about how to learn English, students' English abilities, and teachers' English-speaking abilities, all aspects of informal instructional guidance, as similar concepts. These influences seem to tap into control issues in the classroom that are of concern to teachers (Gorsuch, 2000) he had to keep pace with the other classes (Gorsuch, 2000) The influence of students' expectations on teachers' instruction is potentially powerful. Teachers who conduct classroom activities that run counter to students' expectations risk noncooperation from the student (Gorsuch, 2000) Teachers may feel tension between their ability to maintain control over their classroom and students' English abilities. If teachers select activities that students regard as too hard, students may resist doing these activities (Gorsuch, 2000) Finally, teachers likely link their own English-speaking abilities to issues of classroom control (Gorsuch, 2000) Teachers likely see The Course of Study, university entrance exams, and students' parents' expectations as related concepts (Gorsuch, 2000) Students pressure their teachers to help them pass the exams, based on the belief that the purpose of high school EFL education is exam preparation (Gorsuch, 2000) The second hypothesis is that teachers may believe control issues in the classroom affect their perceptions of the entrance (Gorsuch, 2000) the exams seemed strongly intertwined with teachers' perceptions of their local school cultures and their classroom teaching experiences (note the moderate to strong paths between the formal/local school, informal/classroom, and exams latent variables). The effects of university entrance examinations on high schools and high school EFL instruction in Japan have long been observed, although not empirically documented (Gorsuch, 2000) a negative relationship between the exams latent variable and the CLT dependent variable cannot be claimed from an empirical (Gorsuch, 2000) When asked why they used passive-skill, form-focused, translation-based, sentence-memorizing activities, two academic high school teachers frequently answered based on their belief that these activities were the most efficient in preparing students for the exams (Gorsuch, 1998) (Gorsuch, 2000) it would be tempting to extrapolate that these variables have a positive effect on teachers' approval of CLT. In certain conditions, this may be true. Based on this model, if individual high schools saw their mission as developing students' communicative abilities, and the faculty and administration rewrote their local syllabi accordingly, the institution would be predicted to have moderate effects on teachers' approval of CLT activities (Gorsuch, 2000) Institutions might then influence the approval of CLT among teachers at those institutions, although to a weaker degree (Gorsuch, 2000) teachers might be more resistant to CLT activities at the classroom level than at the institutional level. This resistance to change at the classroom level is predicted by observers in many countries who have attempted to "thaw out routine teaching practices" (Gorsuch, 2000) The model suggests that university entrance exam preparation has an influence on Japanese high school EFL education and that teachers feel this influence at both the institutional and the classroom levels. Finally, the model suggests that although teachers are somewhat sensitive to potential shifts in attitude toward the exams at the institutional level, they may be less so when it comes to those shifts as expressed in the classroom (Gorsuch, 2000) Changes in university entrance exams are in the wind. Some observers feel that universities are under pressure to change their exams as the number of college-age students declines (Gorsuch, 2000) the effect of The Course of Study as a form of formal instructional guidance. Despite its focus on communication, teachers subsumed the document into the prevailing culture of university entrance exam preparation (Gorsuch, 2000) NESTs as models of pronunciation and correct language use, as well as being repositories of cultural knowledge, but they also found NESTs poor at explaining grammar, and their different cultures created tension. Non-NESTs were perceived as good teachers of grammar, and had the ability to resort to the students' first language when necessary. Students found classroom interaction with non-NESTs easier because of their shared culture (Walkinshaw and Oanh, 2014) The issue is particularly salient in Asia, where native speakers are often the industry's ideal model and American English the preferred variety (Walkinshaw and Oanh, 2014) Specifically, the data show that NESTs were valued as models for authentic, natural pronunciation, despite comprehensibility issues. Grammatical explanations were not viewed as a NEST forte (cf. Benke & Medgyes, 2005). Respondents appreciated learning about NESTs' cultures, but also experienced a cultural and communicative gap in NEST-fronted classrooms. (Walkinshaw and Oanh, 2014) NESTs' ability to explain complex grammar was valued (Walkinshaw and Oanh, 2014) Our data indicate that non-NESTs' multilingual competence was a boon for the English learners in the two participant groups because it underpinned three primary perceived advantages of non-NESTs: Their ability to code-switch when teaching complex items, their understanding of the complex nature of second language learning, and their pedagogical competence, borne of their own experience as second language learners (Ellis, 2002). (Walkinshaw and Oanh, 2014) a key factor is the extent to which these strategies are compatible with learners' own expectations and preferences (Littlewood, 2010) Students expressed preference for communication-oriented lessons in all countries except Japan (Littlewood, 2010) learner's perspective is now firmly established as a key factor to be considered in reflective teaching(Littlewood, 2010) However, it serves to highlight one noticeable feature: the ESL students in this survey held generally more positive perceptions of the more form-oriented activities. (In a follow-up study reported by Nunan [1995], it was found that this contrasted with the perceptions of a group of 60 ESL teachers in Australia, who favoured communication-oriented activities more.) (Littlewood, 2010) the students generally perceive the more non-communicative activity-types as more useful for their learning than the communicative activity-types which (in Peacock's study, too) were more highly valued by the teachers. (Littlewood, 2010) the students generally perceive the more non-communicative activity-types as more useful for their learning than the communicative activity-types which (in Peacock's study, too) were more highly valued by the teachers. (Littlewood, 2010) There is clearly a difference between 'liking' an activity and considering it 'useful'. (Littlewood, 2010) The factor analysis confirms that the general distinction between 'communicative' and 'non-communicative' characteristics is reflected in students' perceptions and preferences. (Littlewood, 2010) The communication-oriented English lesson is likely to appeal especially to Willing's category of 'communicative learners', who like talking to friends, listening to native speakers, etc., and to his category of 'concrete learners', who like playing games, watching video, talking in pair-work, etc. (Littlewood, 2010) The form-oriented English lesson is likely to appeal especially to Willing's 'analytical learners', who like studying grammar, reading, finding their own mistakes, etc. (Littlewood, 2010) Except in Japan, the students' preferences were more inclined towards communication-oriented teaching than towards the other two types. (Littlewood, 2010) The data give no information about the students' previous learning experiences, which are likely, as mentioned earlier, to be an important influence on their current preferences. However, this does not alter the general implication that, whatever the reasons, students are ready to respond favorably to a range of teaching and learning approaches. (Littlewood, 2010) Successful implementation would appear to depend less on policy directives and more on the re-culturing of teachers and schools and establishing the necessary workplace conditions to support reform even when they find communication-oriented teaching more enjoyable, they may still perceive the more traditional types of teaching as more useful.(Underwood, 2010) tension between policy rhetoric and the "subjective reality" teachers face in their day-to-day work, as they deal with numerous factors which can impede their implementation of national curriculum mandates (Underwood, 2010) a major barrier to applying reform-oriented training in Japanese EFL classes was the pressure to conform to "standard" teaching practices, namely, grammar-translation methodology. (Underwood, 2010) An important aspect of this area of research is the psychological processes that are seen to influence a teacher's behaviour (Underwood, 2010) importantly in the Japanese context, enhanced their perceptions of me as a trusted insider, both of which, I felt, increased the validity of the data (Underwood, 2010) teachers generally regard the approach(the new COS 2009 approach to grammar instruction) favourably (Underwood, 2010) teachers' positive evaluation of integrating grammar teaching with communication (Underwood, 2010) In the senior teachers' focus group, Senior 1 recognised the potential to increase student motivation through this approach ("more fun" "t if I say, we're going to have fun today and then we teach the grammar, you know implicitly, they may not notice that we are actually teaching grammar, but they acquire the grammar") (Underwood, 2010) several teachers believe student motivation could increase through the integration of grammar instruction with communication-oriented activities. (Underwood, 2010) most teachers recognise not only specific benefits to intrinsic motivation but also instrumental advantages associated with integrating grammar instruction with meaning oriented skills-work (Underwood, 2010) surveys also highlight a possible tension between teachers' beliefs about the advantages of a reform-oriented approach and the disadvantages they associate with it; teachers place a noteworthy amount of importance on attending to grammatical accuracy and evaluation. As C1 commented: it is doubtful that with this teaching method one could prove such accuracy and establish student understanding in such a short time period (Underwood, 2010) "the university entrance exam requires students to write or read accurate English, and accurate English means no grammatical errors" (lines 22e24). He contrasted this with the focus of communication that "allows people to make small errors because it doesn't lose the meaning. because English is a part, a very big part [emphasis] of university entrance exams, that's kind of a conflict" (lines 24e27). Senior 3 supported this view by stating that while MEXT does not mention UEEs in the COS 2009, "in reality it is a goal for the students" (Underwood, 2010) for the students who have a low logical thinking skill it just is painful for them. It might just be easier to memorize it (Underwood, 2010) teachers in schools attached to a university are as much concerned with maintaining grammatical accuracy in preparation for UEEs as those teachers in unattached schools (Underwood, 2010) teachers from all types of school spend a comparable amount of time on this kind of instruction, ranging from 10 to 25 min, with the average time being 15 min (Underwood, 2010) In summary then, the tensions described here seem to suggest that teachers are finding difficulty in conceiving how the integration of grammar with communication-oriented activities could be realized in their classes. (Underwood, 2010) a large number of teachers (n ¼ 5) believed that students who favour UEEs would not supportive (Survey Item 4, Unsupportive Referents, Category 1). This suggests that for many students a policy approach to grammar instruction might be perceived as ineffective in preparing for UEEs. In contrast, the specific comments of C2, a senior teacher working in an unattached public school, present an alternative perspective (Underwood, 2010) conflicts can arise when students experience teaching styles that differ from the traditional grammartranslation approach they encountered in previous years. On the other hand, Novice 2 suggested that if students "can get a good score from teaching in that style then they will think, ah this is good teaching and the teachers are good" (Underwood, 2010) These teachers are also concerned about the opinions of senior colleagues (Underwood, 2010) the influence senior teachers are having on her teaching decisions, "A lot of teachers think communication, I mean speaking, and grammar teaching is different (Underwood, 2010) influential role of social factors (Underwood, 2010) classroom practices were less likely to be aligned with MEXT policy in schools where the social context was unsupportive (Underwood, 2010) senior teachers over 45 years of age would be more resistant, "From my experience, some of them- not all of them- have a very strong belief in the way that they have been taught and they don't want to change" (Underwood, 2010) In the senior teachers' focus group, however, all participants agreed that student and parent expectations regarding preparation for UEEs are the strongest influences working against a reform-oriented approach. (Underwood, 2010) Lack of time (Underwood, 2010) "I have no idea how to teach grammar in Communication English 1" (Underwood, 2010) "Sometimes it's difficult to speak [about] grammar in English. And if we use Japanese we have to have the switch of [sic] English and Japanese, and that's also confusing and difficult" (Underwood, 2010) due to role expectations; "many courses the teachers are Japanese for oral communication. Students.think that they can speak Japanese if they can't speak English to us. Being a Japanese teacher can be a handicap" (Underwood, 2010) insufficient understanding of the COS would hinder their adoption of the reform (Underwood, 2010) for these teachers, the intention to adopt a reform-oriented approach to the teaching of grammar is determined by the interaction of all three TPB belief areas. However, for the most part, teachers' attitudes towards the COS 2009 and the social pressure they experience from unsupportive referents are mediated largely by control beliefs; firstly, those related to time, training, materials, and knowledge of the reform; and secondly, misperceptions of the content and relevancy of UEEs. (Underwood, 2010) most teachers believe the new COS 2009 approach to integrating grammar with communication would have both instrumental advantages (e.g., students could use grammar for practical communication) and experiential advantages (e.g., students' enjoyment of the class might increase), and their evaluation of these advantages was favourable. However, teachers' intentions to adopt a reform-oriented approach appear inhibited by control factors, such as lack of time, training, appropriate materials, and knowledge of the reform (Underwood, 2010) at a loss as to how they could go about implementation of the policy in spite of the training they had received For the majority of teachers a reform-oriented approach is also seen to be at the expense of grammatical accuracy and knowledge of grammar, which was frequently reported as important in preparing for UEEs. This behavioural belief does not seem to vary according to whether the school was attached or unattached to a university, public or private. However, perhaps, one of the most interesting insights to emerge from this qualitative study is related to the focus group and interview participants' misperceptions regarding the content and relevancy of specific UEEs. (Underwood, 2010) - Firstly, the department head stated that in spite of COS 2009 recommendations, grammar-translation methodology would likely persist due to the misalignment of MEXT policy with the content of the National Center Test for University Admission (NCTUA). However, an analysis of this examination shows that only Part 2 of the NCTUA focuses on grammar (Underwood, 2010) - it is clear that a grammar-translation approach to instruction alone would be wholly inadequate in preparing students for this section of the test or, indeed, the rest of it. (Underwood, 2010) - grammar-translation methodology would likely persist because of washback from prestigious second-stage UEEs, referring to the content of an examination (Underwood, 2010) - teaching towards one prestigious examination might even be regarded as improving "everyone's chances of getting into a good university" (A. Waters, personal communication, March 10, 2011) (Underwood, 2010) - Kikuchi's (2006) analysis of the English Department's 2004 UEE indicated that there were no translation items on the examination (Underwood, 2010) While the findings discussed here are contextualised in Japan, as countries in other parts of the world increasingly move towards more student-centred, communication-oriented English language curriculums (Underwood, 2010) Negative attitudes towards reform-oriented teaching appeared to derive not from their views on the nature of language or language learning- they also reported positive evaluations of the reform - rather their misguided beliefs about the content of UEEs, a control factor (Underwood, 2010) another control factor, and perceptions regarding the disapproval of a reform-oriented approach by other people, a social factor, could also be traced to these misconceptions. One theoretical implication, therefore, relates to the importance of investigating the cognitive foundations of attitudes by considering them in relation to other social and control beliefs (Underwood, 2010) one practical recommendation is that in contexts where teachers report high-stakes examinations as central to their practice, they need to have access to up-to-date information on not only the content but also the constructs that are tested in those examinations (Underwood, 2010) In turn, accurate information also has the potential to moderate the social pressure to conform to standard teaching practices (e.g., those emphasising grammar and translation) (Underwood, 2010) it might be argued that effective strategies should aim to provide teachers with more time for appropriate professional development. Recalling the caveat that Sato and Kleinsasser (2004) raise regarding peer planning and observation merely serving to reinforce standard practices, such training should be, as Carless (1999) advises, "ongoing and developmental rather than of an isolated one-off nature" (Underwood, 2010) those students who had achieved higher levels of English proficiency on the STEP Test tended to be more positive towards English speaking people and Europeans in general, and to a little extent more critical of their own culture, Asian people in general and themselves but in some respects more positive towards the Ainu people. There was also evidence of students who had higher proficiency levels recognising the need to engage more frequently in learning experiences that involved the English language and culture, and meaningful communication. (O'Neill, 2008) When one examines languages education policy documents (ACTET, 2002; DECS, 2005; EULF, 2007; MCEETYA, 2005; UNESCO, 2003) they tend to work on the premise that through the process of learning a new language learners will automatically develop positive attitudes towards the language and the culture. But as shown by Ingram and O'Neill (2000) and Ingram, Kono, O'Neill and Sasaki (2008) this may not be the case(O'Neill, 2008) "ESL learners continue to develop their language and literacy skills when mainstream teachers use language focused teaching strategies. This is further enhanced when teachers display an awareness and appreciation of cultural and linguistic pluralism which is incorporated into all school practices." (O'Neill, 2008) Overall, the results provided evidence in both cases to suggest that the language learning experiences of students (independently of the number of years spent learning in secondary school) did not necessarily promote positive attitudes towards the culture of the target language. In addition, a similar survey questionnaire was administered to these students' teachers. It showed similarities between the Australian languages teachers' and Japanese EFL teachers' backgrounds in identifying their lack of experience in the country of the target language and the need to build in more authentic communicative learning tasks for students to use the target language in a meaningful way. (O'Neill, 2008) However, consideration of descriptive statistics shows the Higher Level STEP Test group to be eight percent more positive on the features of English speaking people being interesting, handsome, colourful, friendly, honest, kind, sophisticated, successful, reliable and open (O'Neill, 2008) the Lower Level group tended to view English speaking people as more permissive or easy going than did the Higher Level group (O'Neill, 2008) both of these features the Lower Level STEP Test group rated Asian people more positively (by ten percent) seeing them as being cleaner and more civilised than did the Higher Level STEP Test group (O'Neill, 2008) the students with higher levels of proficiency in English tended to be more open to Western cultures and Western people and more critical of their own culture, the culture of Asian people and themselves by comparison. (O'Neill, 2008) Similarly, the Higher Level STEP Test group were eight percent more positive in their views of English speaking people with respect to the majority of the same features: interesting, handsome, colourful, friendly, honest, kind, sophisticated, successful, reliable and open (O'Neill, 2008) the majority of students appreciated the usefulness of learning another language and 92% of the high proficiency group believed that it would help them better understand the culture. (O'Neill, 2008) Interestingly, the lower proficiency group was not as sure that knowing another language would assist with acquiring a job and in contrast to the higher proficiency group they were not so keen about speaking another language. In addition, while 92% felt sorry for people who only knew one language 85% agreed that people need to know only one language. These responses may reflect this groups lower level English proficiency causing one to question whether their responses reflect some feeling of failure mixed with hope for future success. (O'Neill, 2008) those students who had achieved higher levels of English proficiency on the STEP Test were more positive towards English speaking people and Europeans in general, and to a little extent more critical of their own culture, Asian people in general and themselves. There was also evidence of students who had higher proficiency levels recognising the need to engage more frequently in learning experiences that involved the English language and culture The findings also raise the issue of teacher professional learning in terms of ensuring teachers of EFL have regular experience in English speaking countries. (O'Neill, 2008) teacher collaboration only reinforced existing practices, eroding teachers' motivation to learn to teach in this specific context. The study provides evidence to teacher educators about inservice teachers and their learning environment and the significance of the relationships between the two entities. (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) teacher collaboration only reinforced existing practices, eroding teachers' motivation to learn to teach in this specific context. The study provides evidence to teacher educators about inservice teachers and their learning environment and the significance of the relationships between the two entities. (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) at least two types of school cultures; learning-enriched, where teachers consistently collaborated with each other, set goals with principals, and ''tended to hold a sustained view of their learning so as to better meet the challenge of students' diverse learning needs''; in learning-impoverished schools, teachers were uncertain about their instruction, were isolated from colleagues, and ''tended to hold a terminal view of their learning, entailing mastery of routine practices and procedures (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) two distinctive technical cultures (applying a term Lortie used in 1975). One was a routine/uncertain technical culture (i.e., learning-impoverished) where teachers were uncertain about their teaching and whether or not some of their students could learn, but were engaged in day-to-day routine instructional activities. These teachers further reported a lack of communication about teaching issues among their colleagues. The other was a nonroutine/certain technical culture (i.e., learningenriched), where teachers were confident about their teaching, and their daily instructional practices were less predictable. In addition, these teachers incorporated more communicative activities in addition to traditional grammar focused exercises, whereas those in routine/uncertain technical cultures relied relatively exclusively on established traditional approaches (i.e., grammarfocused and skills based [speaking, reading, writing, and listening]). (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) strong relationship between school context and teacher performance at the department and high school level (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) , the technical culture of education ''rests on abstract systems of belief about relationships among teachers, teaching materials, and pupils (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) ''teachers' beliefs can and should become an important focus of educational inquiry' (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) ''beliefs are far more influential than knowledge in determining how individuals organize and define tasks and problems and are stronger predictors of behavior'' (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) (a) beliefs are formed early and tend to selfperpetuate, persevering even against contradictions caused by reason, time, schooling, or experience; (b) individuals develop a belief system that houses all the beliefs acquired through the process of cultural transmission; (c) beliefs are instrumental in defining tasks and selecting the cognitive tools with which to interpret, plan, and make decisions regarding such tasks; (d) individuals' beliefs strongly affect their behavior; and (e) knowledge and beliefs are inextricably interwined relationships between beliefs and practices are interactive and ongoing (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) influential area of research that offers insight into school (technical) cultures is not only interactions between beliefs and practice but also the interactions of the people within the learning community (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) not all teacher collaborations lead to what Hargreaves (1992, 1994) labeled a collaborative culture, where teachers have on-going learning opportunities (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) the type of interactions teachers participate in and how teachers' interactions with their colleagues in their school (technical) cultures influence their beliefs and practices need to be more closely scrutinized. It cannot necessarily be assumed or assured that ''collaborations'' lead to improved (or positive) teacher development (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) Moreover, interactions with other teachers may not be limited to just the workplace. External interactions such as networking also may offer teachers opportunities for professional development (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) In general, teachers seemed to rely on their own L2 (second language) learning and teaching experiences. The interview data revealed that their L2 learning and initial teaching experiences along with their socialization in their current school remained influential in their approaches to English language teaching (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) Most teachers stated that they actually learned from watching other teachers (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) Furthermore, many of the teachers with five or fewer years experience became aware teachers within this workplace were reluctant to critique other (especially experienced) teachers' practices and teaching behaviors. (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) In fact, most could not delineate or further explain their views, and related that they were unsure and confused about how to teach English (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) Many of the English teachers in this school were unsure of teaching their chosen discipline. Yet they also reported that they could not ignore the influence of examination-oriented English which was heavily centered on grammar (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) If entrance exams were removed, it would be time that we started to think about alternatives'' (1). There was a persistent dissonance throughout the interviews where these EFL teachers, on the one hand, expressed individual wishes toward teaching English as a means of communication, yet on the other hand, they acknowledged that they could not ignore examination-oriented English (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) It is interesting to note that even when teachers tried to complete activities different than grammar-translation ones, there was still reliance on such traditional aspects of language teaching. (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) Departmental goals were also possibly hidden, or at least unavailable. Such goals were neither present in many of the school's documents nor was there a need to discuss them even though Mombusho [Japan's Ministry of Education] introduced new guidelines for communication-oriented English in 1994 and required a mandatory new subject (oral communication). (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) There was confusion concerning the goals or objectives themselves, not to mention how to teach for them (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) There were no clear goals nor had they seemingly ever been discussion about them. Instead, these teachers took it for granted that they should follow examination-oriented English (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) There was agreement among the busy EFL teachers in this school to keep pace with others and get things done. Toda thought balancing the four skills was important but reported he could not afford to incorporate interactive activities (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) EFL teachers discussed the progression of teaching according to the textbook with each other and shared handouts; however, they did not seem to have enough time to talk about instructional issues, per se. (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) these EFL teachers did not collaborate in solving instructional challenges/problems or developing the curriculum. Keeping pace with others as a group seemed to be a priority in this workplace (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) one can see the interplay between beliefs, practices, and interactions from the data sources of interviews and observations (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) the school had an atmosphere where good teachers emphasized homeroom management (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) ''It is true that teaching is important but there are other tasks that teachers have to do. Well, after all, managing students is important, even though a teacher is good at teaching English'' (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) Toda found motivating students very difficult. Although many teachers reiterated lack of students' motivation as one of the sources that might influence the way they taught, they avoided challenging such conflict and relied on familiar practices. (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) The ESL teachers' data revealed three influential (hidden) teacher/department/institutional goals that included examination-oriented English, keeping pace with each other, and managing various school tasks and students (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) Managing students and having students participate in routine activities were the staple means of what teaching meant in this school (technical) culture. There was a lack of communication regarding instructional issues, per se that kept teachers from discussing in depth any substantive teaching issues or collaborating with each other on various curriculum issues. As a result, these teachers did not provide evidence that they created or involved either themselves or their students in innovative instructional activities (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) their few innovative teaching experiences were little shared with other teachers (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) Consequently, English teacher beliefs, practices, and actions interacted with each other within this English language teaching community and helped to uncover the school's (technical) culture (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) too busy to go or were not offered enough informal workshop opportunities. (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) many interesting ideas at workshops but found most of them not helpful to his classroom teaching. . ''If I could change the class pattern of my own will, I could try out many things. However, I have to follow the textbook as other teachers do. After all, I have a limited choicey This may be the reason I am getting away from workshops, because I wonder if the ideas presented there are actually useful'' (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) The analysis and presentation of data revealed a school's (technical) culture—its norms and values—that included, but were not limited to, managing students and various task assignments took precedence over teaching, and communication and collaboration consisted of keeping pace with other teachers and getting through the day (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) Thus, these teachers developed and shared the beliefs that it was particularly important to teach the same way for the common test and to maintain classroom management (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) the teachers in this workplace, regardless of age or teaching experience, conformed to a particular pattern of teaching, with heavy emphasis on grammar explanation and translation. (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) In oral communication classes, too, it was found that a main concern was keeping order and keeping pace with other teachers. (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) Many regarded teaching as a private undertaking. Pajares (1992) maintained that ''All teachers hold beliefs, however defined and labeled, about their work, their students, their subject matter, and their roles and responsibilities' (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) these teachers shared beliefs, practices, and interactions in this workplace. (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) beliefs, practices, and interactions create a web of relationships within this school's workplace. In the main, this web creates the (technical) culture that provides for the types of interactions that occur, the manner in which most of the teachers practice, and the beliefs that are held by the teachers both collectively and individually (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) These teachers did collaborate to maintain classroom management, to find out where their colleagues were in using textbooks and various other materials, and to help students prepare for university examinations. (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) they did not feel any practical need or advantage to attend workshops because such ideas gained from attending them were not useful in their classrooms; new or innovative ideas seemed not to be a necessity. Such beliefs, practices, and interactions developed a (technical) culture that not only defined beliefs practices, and interaction but influenced them as well. (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) Both ''normal'' English and the ''new'' communication classes were surprisingly very similar in how teachers practiced English language teaching and learning (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) but collaboration here meant keeping things moving according to the existing norms and values of the workplace. In using Hargreaves' (1992, 1994) types of collaboration, it would appear that his ideas of individualism and balkanization are prevalent within this school's (technical) culture (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) We see how teachers relied on their early language learning experiences and their initial language teaching experiences as they began teaching in general and, at times, in this particular school. From their interview and observation data, we also began to see how their previous experiences either engendered agreement or disagreement within the school (technical) culture many found themselves. If previous experiences coincided with the school's norms and values, the teachers were content; (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) We can see how the individual teacher beliefs, practices, and interactions not only helped develop the school (technical) culture, but can also see that some teachers may hold personal beliefs, practices, and interactions, while they developed the school community's beliefs, practices, and interactions. Yet, these personal beliefs, practices, and interactions are rarely part of daily interactions within the teachers' workplace and with teachers (and students, for that matter), in general. Individual (personal) beliefs, practices, and interactions take a backseat to the community's (technical) culture (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) This context-specific nature of beliefs could also explain the shifting conceptions of teachers as they socialized themselves to the school's (technical) culture (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) the school's (technical) culture influences to a greater extent an individual's beliefs, practices, and interactions than an individual's beliefs, practices, and interactions influence a school's (technical) culture (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) these teachers in this real school did reflect, interpret, and socially construct English language teaching, just not in the way some scholars want them to do or think they should. (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) how they practice English language teaching, how they interact with English language teachers and students in the school, and how they rarely interact with the English language teaching profession outside the school, if at all. (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) In other words, teacher development entails both classroom and school improvement (Sato and Kleinsasser, 2004) successfully implementing CLT and TBLT in Asia requires adaptation to local environments, such that CLT and TBLT become embedded in local practices (Bulter, 2011) (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) societalinstitutional level constraints (e.g., curricula and examination systems) (Bulter, 2011) a common critique of such approaches is that they fail to help students develop a high level of communicative (Bulter, 2011) ability. In the synthetic approach, the target language is broken down into constituent parts in various ways, and such parts are then presented to learners in a linear fashion (e.g., grammar rules, words, phonemes, structures, functions; see Wilkins, 1976). Long and Robinson (1998) argued that such approaches, labeled focus on forms, lead to instruction that isolates linguistic forms from their meaning. (Bulter, 2011) The premise of CLT is to develop learners' communicative competence in social interactions, as opposed to focusing primarily on linguistic forms (e.g., Richards & Rodgers, 2001; Savignon, 2005). (Bulter, 2011) With the rapid expansion of international exchanges via business, technology, and communication, the governments of various Asian countries became increasingly concerned about insufficient communication skills in English among their population. CLT quickly gained further recognition and became a central component of their national curricula and syllabi. (Bulter, 2011) Prabhu (1990) stated more than 20 years ago that there seems to be no single golden method that works well for everybody regardless of context. Similarly, for a specific context, there is no single method that works best all the time (Bulter, 2011) In Japan, overuse of the L1 is viewed as a barrier to effective instruction in many secondary level classrooms, and efforts to encourage teachers to move beyond traditional grammar-translation methods and adopt a more communicative approach have met with limited success to date. This has been attributed to a number of factors, including Japanese English teachers' own lack of communicative ability, lack of teacher training, and the emphasis placed on university entrance examinations (see Clark, 2009, Reesor, 2002, Sato, 2002 and Stewart, 2009). (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) Japanese learners of English tend to suffer from a "national inferiority complex" (Efron, 2000, p. 1; see also Reesor, 2002 and McVeigh, 2004), which is often reinforced by reports of Japanese TOEIC and TOEFL scores being at or near the bottom of international rankings (Despite these rankings not necessarily being based on a fair interpretation of the test data) (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) L1 avoidance is often considered to be a key feature of CLT, in keeping with the tradition of "direct" or "natural" teaching methods (Butzkamm, 2003, Cummins, 1998, Pennycook, 1994 and Phillipson, 1992). (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) In fact, the best natural model for L2 learning is the young developing bilingual, who uses her skills in one language to help her progress in the other (Butzkamm and Caldwell, 2009 and Cook, 2005). (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) teaching should take advantage of the many L1-L2 connections that learners naturally make in their minds, by highlighting the similarities and differences between the two languages (see also Butzkamm and Caldwell, 2009 and Harbord, 1992). Moreover, as Macaro (2005, p. 68) asserts, "the language of thought for all but the most advanced L2 learners is inevitably his/her L1." (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) codeswitching by the teacher has no negative impact on the quantity of students' L2 production and that 'expert codeswitching' may actually increase and improve it." Indeed, numerous other studies have demonstrated that student comprehension and production of the TL can be enhanced through judicious L1 use (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) studies using sociocultural theory have shown that L1 use during learner–learner interaction is often "on-task" and can be highly beneficial, especially for intermediate and lower-proficiency learners dealing with cognitively challenging tasks and content (Antòn and DiCamilla, 1998, Behan et al., 1997, Brooks and Donato, 1994, McMillan and Rivers, 2009 and Swain and Lapkin, 2000). A strict English-only policy acts to silence this positive L1 use. (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) particular relevance in contexts such as Japan, Fuller (2009) argues that codeswitching allows learners to associate themselves with their L1-based identity and peer group while at the same time developing a new social identity in the TL. (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) Nunan (1991) proposes five features of CLT, the first of which is "an emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language" (p.279); however, "emphasis" does not equate to exclusivity, and indeed, principled L1 use should improve the quality and quantity of communication in the TL (Macaro, 2005). Thus pedagogically-principled L1 use should, insofar as it assists learners in developing their communicative competence, be deemed an acceptable form of instruction in courses and programs based on a communicative approach (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) Teachers' beliefs can be shaped by many factors, including their own experiences as L2 learners, teacher training, teaching experiences, official policies, and through exposure to the perspectives of colleagues and superiors. Demonstrating how teachers' beliefs can change over time, a number of language educators who practiced and advocated a TL-only approach earlier in their careers have documented how they later came to view the L1 as a valuable tool for L2 learning (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) While a teacher's own learning experiences can be important in shaping beliefs and practice (Lortie, 1975), different students have different preferences regarding TL and L1 use (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) The finding that teachers who viewed student L1 use more positively tended to be less proficient speakers of Japanese was somewhat surprising. (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) an English-only policy may serve as a recruitment tool, designed to attract more—or more highly-motivated or highly-proficient—students (White, 2001). However, program policy should also aim to provide the best possible educational experience for all students actually enrolled (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) Teachers who believed that all students would learn most effectively in an English-only classroom may not have fully appreciated the wide range in ability that exists in other classes or departments. Moreover, promotion of the policy may be creating a gap between student and teacher expectations, with some students being "sold" on the idea that lessons should be English-only, while many teachers believe that their students can benefit from judicious L1 use. (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) Under a one-size-fits-all English-only policy, any amount of L1 use is viewed as bad practice on the part of the teacher, or laziness or defiant behavior on the part of students (Rivers, 2011a). Teacher beliefs and intended pedagogical practice may be strengthened or weakened by the expected reactions of important others, such as students, colleagues, and administrators ( Kennedy and Kennedy, 1996), and thus teachers at the university in question who believe that the L1 can play a positive role in L2 learning may feel pressured to exclude the L1 from the classroom. Teachers have little say in management decisions, and those who speak out against the policy risk being regarded as deviants ( O'Donnell, 2005 and Rivers, 2011b). (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) Policy should continue to evolve based on the best available research evidence, and as Tomlinson argues, "flexible weak versions of pedagogic approaches, which encourage teacher variation within a recommended framework, have a much better chance of helping teachers to help their learners to learn" (2005, p. 143). Teachers, as reflective practitioners and professional decision-makers (Borg, 2008), should be encouraged by program managers (see Dunne et al., 2000) to develop localized strategies for maximizing TL comprehension and production—strategies which are supported by research and in keeping with teachers' personal beliefs. (McMillan and Rivers, 2011) ng (CLT).1 Kalaja and Barcelos (2003) define beliefs about second language (SL) or foreign language (FL) learning as "opinions and ideas that learners have about the task of learning a second/foreign language" (p. 1). Barcelos (2003) also points out that beliefs are shaped and reshaped as they are influenced by social factors. I therefore define teacher beliefs about language learning and teaching as teachers' opinions and ideas about learning and teaching an SL or FL, constructed by teachers themselves as they respond to their teaching contexts. (Noshino, 2012) view that teacher beliefs have a powerful influence on classroom practice/however, these studies also highlight the complex structure of teachers' belief systems, involving factors such as their networks of beliefs about programs, language, learners, and materials (Burns, 1996), as well as their coherent beliefs, assumptions, and knowledge about teaching and learning (Noshino, 2012) at socioeducational contexts for example, class size or class composition (e.g., Schulz, 2001), school conditions such as syllabus and workload (e.g., Crookes, 1997), and broader educational conditions such as exam ination pressure and educational policy (e.g., Gorsuch, 2000) - impact teachers' beliefs and practices. Among contextual factors, student conditions such as their expectations for the course, FL proficiency, and preferred learning styles tend to have a profound influence on teachers' decisions (Noshino, 2012) teachers, including those who have teaching experience, also tend to limit what they can learn from teacher education courses (e.g., Almarza, 1996; Peacock, 2001). As Pajares (1992) notes, "beliefs are formed early and tend to self-perpetuate" (Noshino, 2012) Investigating the cognition of Japanese teachers of English regarding CLT is particularly important at this point in history because of the changes that have been occurring in English education in Japan / Yakudoku has been a favored teaching method used to help students pass competitive university entrance examinations, which require high school students to acquire verbatim translation skills and grammatical knowledge (Noshino, 2012) some weeks later (Guest, 2006). 2 The Center Test has been revised and only a few reading questions test discrete grammatical knowledge or mere translation, whereas Niji examinations have not changed and continue to focus on receptive translation (Noshino, 2012) The four participants believed that one of the goals of English education is to develop students' communicative competence, which MEXT advo cated in the 1999 Course of Study. Rie said, smil ing, "It doesn't matter whether MEXT uses the term 'communication' or not. I was aiming at this [developing communicative competence] before 1999 (Noshino, 2012) how working with students of different proficiency led to a change in his teaching (Noshino, 2012) It should be noted, however, that the participants believed that developing communicative competence was not the only educational goal worth pursuing. They all advocated their own individual goals (Noshino, 2012)