USING A LANGUAGE LOUNGE TO IMPROVE MOTIVATION IN UNIVERSITY ENGLISH CLASSES (IN JAPAN)

In its foreign language education, Japan faces many challenges, and while compulsory English language acquisition is identified as a national priority by the Japanese Ministry of Education countless cultural, geographical, and logistical hurdles exist. Thus, by the time Japanese students reach higher education, many display passivity and low motivation for studying the language, nor do they have confidence in their communication skills. Despite communicative ability in English being described as a high priority within the Ministry’s policy, the traditional chalk and talk lecture style of education remains prevalent in the Japanese university lecture room, particularly in regional Universities such as ours.

In this paper, we describe the establishment of a foreign language lounge, a learning space designed with the aim of bringing about attitudinal change in students towards language learning. We discuss the student’s feedback regarding the lounge, attendance patterns student motivation, and future improvements in management.