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The authors address the debate on pancultural self-enhancement by suggesting that some Japanese enhance their self-worth by praising and receiving praise from others included in the self. The authors call this process “mutual self-enhancement” and validated a scale for its measurement in Japan and the United States. Mutual self-enhancement was positively correlated with including others in the self, relational self-construal, family support, and sympathy. Mutual self-enhancement was not related to the interdependent self, collectivism, and approval from others, confirming that the process involves including others in the self via self-expansion rather than fitting into an interdependent relationship network. Future studies based on the self-expansion model will consider the inclusion of in-group members in the self as an important part of mutual self-enhancement that predicts well-being in East Asian countries such as Japan.

Differences between North American and East Asian cultures were examined in terms of the valence of psychological constructs. Americans were more likely than Japanese to focus on positive things. In contrast, Japanese (vs Americans) were more likely to attend to negative information of the self, but not more or less likely to focus on negative things about others. Based on within-culture analyses, the Americans' data were better described by their tendency to focus on positive things over negative things than by their tendency for selfenhancement. In contrast, the Japanese data were better described by their self-critical tendency. This result was replicated in a second study. In addition, correlations between constructs with opposite valences were negative in the USA, but positive or absent in Japan.

This book reignites discussion on the importance of collaboration and innovation in language education. The pivotal difference highlighted in this volume is the concept of team learning through collaborative relationships such as team teaching. It explores ways in which team learning happens in ELT environments and what emerges from these explorations is a more robust concept of team learning in language education. Coupled with this deeper understanding, the value of participant research is emphasised by defining the notion of 'team' to include all participants in the educational experience. Authors in this volume position practice ahead of theory as they struggle to make sense of the complex phenomena of language teaching and learning. The focus of this book is on the nexus between ELT theory and practice as viewed through the lens of collaboration. The volume aims to add to the current knowledge base in order to bridge the theory-practice gap regarding collaboration for innovation in language classrooms.