A bibliography on politeness as it relates to second language learning and intercultural relationships contains 188 citations of books, papers, articles, and monographs. Several aspects of politeness are covered, including acquisition by children, gender and power differences in polite behavior, and its relationship to communicative functions such…

This study was conducted to investigate what and how much is presented about American culture in English courses in Japan. A review of previous studies on the same subject indicates that only textbooks for conversation courses are likely to contain substantial cultural information. For the present study, ten series of senior high school English…

In order to communicate well with English-speaking people, the Japanese need to have some understanding of the cultures of English-speaking countries. Since what is taught in secondary schools in Japan depends heavily on the textbook used, it is useful to find out what and how much about American culture is being included in the textbook used. A…

A bibliography on aspects of culture and education contains several hundred citations of books, papers, articles, and monographs. The list was compiled primarily for second language teachers, but may be of interest to others interested in the relationship between culture and education, including teaching culture in the classroom, problems of…

Culture was not considered significant in foreign language instruction until the direct method was introduced at the end of the nineteenth century. By the 1970s, language teachers came to realize that language was deeply rooted in culture and could not be separated from it. International understanding has been emphasized in foreign language…

A questionnaire was completed by Japanese students at the University of Kansas, to determine their perception of cross-cultural understanding between Japanese and Americans at the University. The students judged American knowledge of Japanese culture to be meager, but were in general confident in their own grasp of American culture. This knowledge…

Differences between American and Japanese society and culture that contribute to differences in the use of body language are examined. These include historical and social factors. Examples of the differences and of the misunderstandings that can result are analyzed and illustrated, using a system of classifying kinesic codes into categories…

It is sometimes difficult to motivate Japanese students to learn English because it is not connected with their everyday life or interests. One method found to be effective at the college level in Japan is to teach students about other cultures in English by preparing slide programs with narration, vocabulary lists, and exercises, supported by…

A project to develop English reading texts for Japanese college students is described. Goals were to develop materials that will: (1) give students information about the United States, (2) interest students in reading English, (3) help students improve their reading skills, and (4) expose students to a variety of literary forms. Fifty important…

A bibliography of books, articles, texts, teaching guides, research reports, and other materials on intercultural communication contains mostly primary source materials of interest to Japanese teachers of English, and is in two parts. The items in the first part are divided into fourteen categories: general, theory, nonverbal communication, area…

The collection of papers on the teaching of English as a second language includes: "Teaching English in Japan"; "Reading and Evaluating Quantitative Research"; "Transformational Generative Grammar and Language Teaching"; "Process and Social Aspects of Writing: Theory and Classroom Application";…