This chapter investigates the potential usefulness of original teaching materials in order to enhance Japanese university students’ awareness, especially intrinsic motivation when learning English, including cross-cultural understanding, usefulness, and pleasure. Specifically, the extent to which the teaching materials are favored by students and the difference of learner awareness among the four texts are explored. In reading classes non-English-major students were taught English for one semester using the author’s textbook, based on his own experiences overseas including ‘misadventures’. At the end of each unit, a questionnaire was administered. The collected data were analyzed using two-way ANOVAs and Pearson product-moment. Data analysis suggests that almost all students in the two classes examined enjoyed learning from the teaching materials, had a strong feeling of the importance of English learning, and had a strong awareness of developing English ability after studying each unit.
Part of the book: The Role of Technology in Education