Freshman English (FE) is a key course in the English Language Institute (ELI) program at Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS). However, due to important
changes in the global view of English and understanding of the nature of communication itself, faculty and staff in the ELI worked in collaboration to thoroughly reimagine and redesign the FE syllabus as part of wider program reform. In this paper, we describe the
rationale for changing the program at KUIS and shifting our thinking away from the dominant communicative language teaching approach. The evolving, decidedly hybrid framework that we have used to redesign the FE course, is founded on philosophical principles derived from sociocultural theory, social semiotics, and multiliteracies. The process-based approach that promotes learner awareness and an individualized, retrospective syllabus, is also explained.