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According to Smith and Nelson [Smith, L.E., Nelson, C.E., 1985. "International intelligibility of English: directions and resources." "World Englishes" 3, 333-342.], "intelligibility" refers to word/utterance recognition, whereas "comprehensibility" is the understanding of word/utterance meaning. This study examines the intelligibility of American English (US English) and Hong Kong-accented English (HK English) to Japanese EFL students, specifically focusing on the relationships between intelligibility and such individual learner differences as perceived comprehensibility of these two English varieties, familiarity with different English varieties, language anxiety, and perceived competence. In terms of both varieties, there was a significant negative correlation between intelligibility and language anxiety, and perceived competence was found as a best predictor of intelligibility. Perceived comprehensibility, on the other hand, significantly correlated with intelligibility of US English only. The extent of familiarity with different English varieties indicated a significant correlation with the intelligibility of HK English but not with the US English intelligibility. Allowing students to be exposed to a wide variety of English appears to be important in an era of teaching EIL (English as an international language). (Contains 4 tables.)

This study reports on Japanese university-level EFL teacher N50 and student N660 reactions to the notion of making English an official language, as proposed by an advisory board to Prime Minister Obuchi in 2000. The study also reports on beliefs about English language learning and teaching in general in terms of goals, proficiencies of Japanese people, and appropriate instructional styles for Japanese. Students appeared to believe that it would be beneficial to be proficient in English, although a number of them did not welcome English-only EFL classes. Students tended to link beliefs about English proficiency to legislating English as an official language, while their reactions to the officialization of the language varied widely. Teachers beliefs, on the other hand, appeared to be drawn from their own experiences in current English-using contexts in Japan. The majority of teachers indicated that English should not be given official language status, and that people would not use English in their daily life even if it were to become official.

Examined the effect of familiarity with different English accents, investigating Japanese college students' intelligibility and comprehensibility judgements of familiar and unfamiliar English (American and Irish English). Results indicated that familiarity and exposure contributed to higher perceived comprehensibility, but not necessarily to better understanding of the message. Extent of comprehensibility of different accents differed from speaker to speaker. (SMN)