In the Japanese university system students typically receive three semesters of foreign language education and as almost all the participants were from a science and engineering background, it is unlikely they will have had more than this minimum level of English education at the university level. They ranged in age from 24 to 46 with an average age of 29 and had been working in the corporation for an average of six years. English proficiency varied from elementary (TOEIC 255) to advanced (TOEIC 935) with an average score of 559. Although some of the participants would have had prior experience of using English as part of their professional duties, the majority of the employees attending the foreign language training center came with little experience of communicating in English.