Noriko Nagai, a Professor at Ibaraki University, received her Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Michigan. Her research interests include cross-linguistic influence, explicit instruction of English grammar based on comparative analyses of English and Japanese, criterial lexical and grammatical features, and the implementation of the Common European Framework of Reference to English education in the Japanese higher education context. Gregory Birch, a Professor at Seisen Jogakuin College in Nagano, Japan, holds an MSc Degree in TESOL from Aston University and an MA in Japanese Language and Society from Sheffield University. His current research concerns the implementation of the European Language Portfolio in Japan. He has also presented and written articles on task-based learning, in-service teacher training for Japanese teachers of English, and the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme.Jack Bower is an Associate Professor at Tezukayama University in Nara, Japan. He holds a Ph. D. in linguistics from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. Jack’s research interests include foreign language assessment and utilising the Common European Framework of Reference for curriculum development and renewal.Maria Gabriela Schmidt is a Professor at Nihon University, College of Humanities and Sciences in Tokyo, Japan. She received her PhD in Comparative Linguistics from the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany. Her research interests include applied linguistics, phonetics and phonology, history of language, intercultural communication and the Common European Framework of Reference.
