The Center for English as a Lingua Franca (CELF), an initiative of a private university in Tokyo, was founded with serious consideration given to the pedagogical implications of the widespread use of English as a lingua franca (ELF). Such deliberation is not yet prevalent among academics and practitioners who should be most affected by ELF (Seidlhofer, 2011). The transformation occurring in English as it is being used as a lingua franca need not be viewed as unusual but can be seen as part of the process of language evolution (Seidlhofer,2011). In this paper we consider the implications of this process for teaching and learning in Japan,report on research in progress, and discuss how an ELF perspective may influence current pedagogical practices.