The use and abuse of Japanese in the university English class

For many years the English-only approach has been popular, but recently this has been challenged. Many scholars suggest that judicious use of the students’ L1 is indeed beneficial to many learners. The current study is a survey of the attitudes of 167 university students regarding their preferences for the amount of Japanese to be used in English classes taught by both Japanese teachers of English and native English speaking teachers. Furthermore, students highlighted the advantages and disadvantages of the use of English by teachers. Students indicated a wide range of preferences, but it is suggested that minimal use of Japanese by teachers is in the students’ best interests. Students should exploit their knowledge of their L1 in the pursuit of English acquisition, but teachers should restrict themselves to providing both quantity and quality of English input.