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The fluctuation hypothesis (Ionin et al., 2004) holds that learners of English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL) will continue to make errors in their use of English articles until they switch their criteria for English article selection from specificity to definiteness. However, L1 language acquisition research indicates that young children who are L1 speakers use English articles accurately on the basis of whether the referent is specific or nonspecific before they acquire the definite–indefinite distinction. It is possible that Japanese EFL learners, like young L1 learners, can accurately use English articles employing the specific–non-specific distinction even before they master the definite–indefinite distinction. This study examined this hypothesis using Bickerton’s (1981) semantic wheel-based taxonomy and Díez- Bedmar and Papp’s (2008) tag-coding system. An analysis of 38 essays from the Nagoya Interlanguage Corpus of English Reborn showed that the specific– non-specific distinction can contribute to a highly accurate use of English articles for non-specific referents and relatively accurate article use for specific referents by Japanese EFL learners who have difficulty applying the definite– indefinite distinction. The pedagogical implications of the results were discussed.

As universities take actions to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Yamaguchi University has focused in part on visibility, making information about which SDGs are taught in each class easily accessible on the online syllabi. This can be valuable data to students, but it is also important for the university to have a better understanding of how well these SDGs are integrated into classes and where there is room for improvement. This study investigated the extent that SDGs have been implemented into course syllabi in general education classes. SDG frequencies were investigated for both faculty and class type, and were found to be more frequent in English language courses, and of similar overall frequencies but varying compositions between faculties.