ABSTRACT
In second and foreign language education, motivating and engaging learners to learn the target language are crucial for successful classroom operation. This chapter describes how the Integrated Communication (IC) skills approach was implemented (see Koda, this volume) in two college-level EFL classes in Japan. The instruction was designed to promote transcultural competence (Koda, this volume) through IC skills training. In this approach, assessments play a vital role in monitoring student learning and the effect of instruction. This study was also motivated by Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985), which proposes that social contextual conditions that support feelings of competence, autonomy, and relatedness are the basis for maintaining intrinsic motivation. The results of curriculum independent summative assessments (Test 1 and Test 2) demonstrated that both transcultural competence and IC skills improved significantly during the course. A comparison of questionnaires administered at the end of the course to those taken in the previous year revealed that participants’ motivation, engagement, and interest in learning the target language exceeded those of the previous course. It is notable that, although students’ English proficiency ranged from low to lower-intermediate, they were able to compare and analyze contemporary social issues in Japan and the US, utilizing their cognitive maturity and the conceptual knowledge they had acquired in their first language.
