Research papers (publications of university or research institution)
In 2013, the Tamagawa University English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) program was expanded to accommodate over a thousand first-year and second-year students. This report first provides a brief overview of the ELF program and then focuses on how students in the College of Humanities (COH) and the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) progressed through the program. We analyze data gathered from an online ELF student questionnaire administered in July 2013, a log of student access to ELF learning support services and the students’ scores on the TOEIC IP test. Results indicate that while feedback on the program from the students was very positive, gains in English language proficiency, as measured by the TOEIC IP, were quite limited. In addition, the students’ relatively low utilization of the ELF tutor service suggests that COH and CAS students may need to become more proactive in their English language learning.
