Abstract
In this article, I present a critical overview of the current situation in English-Teaching in public elementary schools in Japan whilst making some productive suggestions based upon contemporary research and social trends. I review briefly the history of English language education in Japan – previous and current methods of teaching and approaches, and I point out the challenges that the most recent English Language programs face in current school curricula. The conclusions I give are based on the results seen in the ‘Period of Integrated Studies’ classes as well as responses to questions in a substantial nationwide questionnaire conducted by theMinistry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. This survey was in Japanese public elementary schools; with responses from students, homeroom teachers and parents. I also discuss possible solutions to the problems that current English Activities programs in elementary schools encounter and make suggestions for radical changes in the English curriculum.
Key words:- English-Teaching in public elementary schools in Japan, Japanese public elementary schools
Introduction: The Tragic Sense
Japan has a relatively long history of English language education. Its level of linguistic comprehension, however, cannot compare to other Asian countries where English has been introduced into the Elementary School Curriculum like Singapore, the Philippines or South Korea.
The English language has become a very important part of every 21st century person’s life. English speaking skills have become a common requirement for jobs, and are considered to be a ‘ladder’ to a successful career. Meanwhile, Japanese words are coined every day from English and in some cases, mostly in specialized areas people need to know English to understand some of the newly-emergent terms. A great part of the research in this field has been conducted by Japanese native scholars. Thus, studies, theory and criticism may have lacked a multi-perspective dimension. There is the ritual connotation that English is a ‘difficult language’ and no matter what solutions to the learning problems have been suggested, tragic feelings are continually expressed how Japanese cannot cross the psychological barrier of learning a foreign language.
Recently (2002), theMinistry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in Japan decided to introduce English language education in elementary schools. However, the curriculum does not recommend a compulsory number of lessons per school year/school age, etc. There is insufficient research on the current system and there are no criteria for evaluation of the on-going program.
MEXT conducts annual surveys in all public elementary schools in Japan to gather information to fully comprehend and stay updated on the problems which schools, teachers and parents are facing; however, it seems that no one uses the data to try to improve the situation. Ironically, MEXT also lacks sufficient specialists in English studies who can use English fluently. The Ministry seeks help from foreigners but this is limited to translation or other linguistic problems, not related to curriculum development and planning, or goal-setting for criteria of the English language programs like in other Asian countries’ (Singapore, the Philippines, South Korea, Hong Kong) education systems.
This paper consists of three main sections: A brief history of English education in Japan, analysis of the English activities at public elementary schools and conclusions which address future tasks and possible approaches. The first section outlines the history of English education in Japan. The second section reviews a government survey from 2004 about English activities at elementary schools and presents an adaptation of the data. The third section is an attempt to point out some ways to improve the existing English education programs at elementary schools as well as give suggestions to the curricula developers.
A brief history of English language education in Japan
This section consists of 3 subsections. In the first subsection I give the background of the English language education in Japan; in the second subsection I present a brief history and in the third subsection I focus on the public elementary schools in Japan and the existing English language programs.
Background
English language education in Japan is a major topic of discussion since many Japanese people consider it their weak point and they try to improve their skills through every possible means. There are numerous textbooks, CDs, DVDs, books on how to more effectively teach and (self-) study English. A great part of the research done on foreign language learning and curricula development discusses why Japanese cannot learn English with the ease that other nations do. Seminars and congresses are organized to clarify how different English is to Japanese and what the biggest challenges to a Japanese native learner are. Articles criticizing the language education programs used in the past are giving directions, or outlining policies for improving and establishing a more effective curriculum.
In Japan, there are more people who have six years of English at school than those who have not. However, the learning outcome has been markedly inadequate. People have not developed proficiency in English as a language of international communication. After many years of English language education they are not able to converse on simple/everyday topics. However, even though some of them have no speaking nor listening skills, some learners can, to some extent, write adequate texts as well as read; yet, in terms of speaking, sometimes a single greeting can be too hard to achieve.
A Brief history of English language education in Japan
English was first taught in Japan following the brief stop in Nagasaki of a British ship in 1808. In order to be able to communicate with the sailors from the ship, the Tokugawa government ordered the interpreters to add the study of English to their study of Dutch, French, and Russian languages (Buruma, 2003; Omura, 1978).
In 1853, Japan was forced to open its frontiers by the Americans, and the study of English began in earnest. Two major methods emerged early in the history of English teaching in Japan. One emphasized correct pronunciation as well as meaning, and the other emphasized meaning, not pronunciation or syntax. It was observed that students who learned by the second method seemed to have better comprehension, while students who learned by the first method were compared to “reading machines” with correct pronunciation but with little understanding of what they were reading (Omura, 1978).
In 1871, the Ministry of Education was established and 19 years later a system of language teaching was introduced in the country. The study of English became compulsory in the middle and higher secondary schools. Foreign language study was closely associated with Westernization. Native English speakers, mostly Christian missionaries, taught English. English-medium classes were held at the institutions of higher learning, and most textbooks came from the U.S.A.
In the early 1900’s, Japanese textbooks and teachers replaced the American textbooks and teachers. Many of the students sent previously to western countries returned to Japan and many academic books were translated into Japanese. English was no longer the means of access to knowledge of the western world (Imura, 2003). It became primarily a subject of study, mainly learned in order to be able to read written texts, instead of a means of communication (Kitao & Kitao, 1982).
In 1921, Harold E. Palmer, an English linguist and specialist in TEFL, was invited to Japan as an advisor to the Ministry of Education. He advocated the Oral and Direct methods, which were applied in various parts of Japan, and although good results were obtained those methods never came into general use since they required a command of English far beyond that of most Japanese teachers of English (Kitao & Kitao, 1982).
Before and during World War II, English was proclaimed the “enemy language”, and the study of English was discouraged.
However, this policy was quickly reversed after the war. The school system was reorganized to create six years of elementary school, three years of junior high school, three years of high school, and four years of college. Therefore, the time spent learning English was extended from three to six years as more and more students chose to go to senior high after junior high. In 1991, over 94% of the nation’s 15-year-olds went to senior high (Japan Education Yearbook Publication Committee, 1985).
Back in 1970s, a Congressional representative named Wataru Hiraizumi, questioned the validity of the English language education in Japan at that time, and pressed the need for a more practical approach. It was immediately rebuffed by Shoichi Watanabe from Sophia University in Tokyo who advocated the need to teach a foreign language as an intellectual endeavor, and the famous debate continued on for several years, with neither side giving in.
However, the situation started to change with the advent of the Communicative Approach or Communicative Language Teaching, which in many ways answered the needs of contemporary globalization. In the early 1990s, MEXT announced the beginning of communicative course of study for foreign languages introduced in the high school curriculum.
Nowadays, foreign languages are offered as electives in the reorganized junior high and high schools, and the most common foreign language chosen is English. Since April 2002, English Conversation classes, aiming for ‘International Understanding’ are introduced at all public elementary schools in Japan (MEXT Guidelines, 1998).
Public elementary schools and English language education
In response to a heightened sense of crisis over Japan’s lack of facilities with English in the internet age, Prime Minister Kenzo Obuchi released a report in January 2000 on “Japan’s Goals for the 21st Century” that proposed making English the nation’s official second language. “In order to achieve a world class excellence, all Japanese should acquire a working knowledge of English”, the report said. It called for reorganizing the English classes according to level of achievement, not grade, improving teacher training, and contracting language schools to teach English (The Guardian, Feb. 23, 2000). To address these issues, a special committee was set up by the Minister of Education in January, 2000.
The increased internationalization of the global society as well as the constantly amplifying capacities of the Internet Network and the Multimedia led to the spread of English as a lingua franca in the world. It is no wonder that debates rage around the intensive study of English from an early age or its acceptance as a second officially used language.
In the meantime, the Japan Association for the Promotion of Foreign Language Association (zenkoku gaikokugo kyoiku shinko kyokai) was established and among its goals stated in the project plan for year 2004-2005 were the following:
- To promote understanding of the importance of foreign language education and to increase foreign language learners’ motivation
- To take part in the campaign started by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology ’The Promotion of Committee Activities for Children’s Education’
- To conduct surveys on the actual conditions of language teaching institutions
- To conduct surveys on the needs of learners at the language teaching institutions
Four years passed since English was introduced as a foreign language taught in the Period of Integrated Studies classes at elementary schools. The current situation, reflected in the results from a survey obtained by Mainichi Shinbun (Mainichi Shinbunsha, 2005), is that the older the age of children, the fewer books they read. ‘Entertaining’ materials were not included in the category of ‘books’. However, it is a fact that the older the children, the higher the number of comic books they read.
According to a survey from the National Language Institute (Shimamura, 1999), Japanese children hate writing composition. This might be interpreted as an expression of less creativity and imagination that can be observed in children nowadays. Currently, there is no reading and writing included in the English language teaching curriculum. A reason for this might be the fact that Japanese people try to overcome previous tendencies when the main focus of teaching English was on reading and writing, and even after long years of study few people could actually speak English. Thus, MEXT tries to abolish and avoid everything that recalls the unsuccessful methods of foreign language education in the past, instead of reevaluating the ratio of different skills which should be taught at schools.
Analysis of the English activities at public elementary schools
This section is a review of the current situation as presented in a nationwide public elementary schools survey of MEXT, 2004. It is a practice for every local Board of Education to assign a certain number of English lessons per school year to the public schools in their ward or village. However, that number is not uniform throughout the country. According to the questionnaire from June, 2004 conducted by MEXT in 230 elementary schools, 31.6% of the home room teachers questioned answered that English is not taught in their class, let alone their school. (See graph 1)
Adapted from: An Attitude Survey on English Language Education in Elementary Schools, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, (June, 2004)
Graph 1 - Is English Taught in Your Class? (Teachers)
There is a discrepancy in the number of classes taught in different schools. The highest number (37.7%) is for ‘once a year/ every two months’, followed by 34.1% ‘once a month’ and 15.4% ‘once every 2-3weeks’. (see graph 2)
The number of classes typically depends on the budget, which the Board of Education can work out for each school year. Each year, an English Study Research school is designated in each ward or area, where English is taught more frequently than the other schools. At the end of the school year, or throughout the year, the designated school gives a presentation on how to teach English to elementary school students or shows what students have learned throughout the year.
In general, children (here only results from 6th graders are considered, since their intellectual level is higher than the rest of the students questioned) are satisfied with the English language classes they take and their homeroom teachers confirm the statement with their assessment that the interest from students is quite high. (Children: 71.5% satisfied versus 14.3% who say they hate English) (Homeroom teachers: 90.3% see positive attitude, while only 5.9% see a negative attitude towards English) (see graph 3.1 and graph 3.2)
6th graders enjoy English because: they can sing songs and play games in English (74%), they can speak to foreigners or a foreign teacher (40.6%), they can read in English (44.6%). (see graph 4)
Graph 4 - Why do you Like English? (6th graders)
However, if we carefully read some of MEXT Guidelines (2005), we notice that the “Aims of Elementary School “English Activities” are:
to foster interest and desire - not to teach a language.
It further says:
Communication takes place primarily through verbal and written means. Nevertheless, it is too much to ask elementary school students to communicate using both means, and doing so may cause them to develop a dislike for English.
On the other hand, 6th graders ‘hate English’ because: they cannot read properly (46.8%), in the time allotted for the Period for Integrated Studies they would like to study other subjects (43.3%), and they cannot communicate properly with friends (37.1%) and with foreigners (37.1%) (see graph 5)
Graph 5 - Why do you Dislike English? (6th graders)
Building reading and even writing skills is considered inappropriate, just ‘too much’ for that age group (MEXT Guidelines, 2005) and MEXT aims to eradicate these skills from the curriculum. However, as we notice in the above graphs, the students actually have no resistance to the reading itself. Rather, they want to learn English because they will learn how to read English texts (reason mentioned in the top #3). Those who dislike English are, to some extent, related to the reading issue: they cannot read well, or they simply have no confidence in their reading skills. Note that it is not because reading is too high an aim for their intellectual level. This can be explained with bad teachings how to read English texts and inefficient approaches towards this matter.
Fortunately, there is a palpable future in the English teaching in elementary schools in Japan: the majority of 6th graders have answered that they would like to study English in the future (64.7%), versus less than one–third of the respondents who would not like to study English (22.5%). (see graph 6)
Graph 6 - Would you Like to Study English in the Future? (6th graders)
The top three reasons why the majority of children “want to study English in the future” are as follows: (see graph 7)
1. I can learn to read English (62.7%),
2. I can communicate with foreigners in English (51.2%),
3. I can communicate with friends in English (49%)
It seems that MEXT need not worry about implementing reading in the English-teaching curriculum or cultivating “a proper attitude towards using the language for communication” – children wish to read in English and communicate with foreigners (in English), these are the top 2 reasons why they want to study the language.
Graph 7 - Why do you Want to Study English? (6th graders)
The following is a question only for parents and homeroom teachers, concerning the children’s resistance to English. (see graph 8.1 and 8.2) When parents and teachers have such attitude towards a scholastic matter, they subconsciously ‘implant’ the idea of difficulty in the children themselves, thus they form an invisible language barrier in their minds. This is one of the most difficult factors that educators in Japan need to overcome or work on ways to diminish its effect on the overall foreign language education in Japan. However, this cannot be achieved through abolishing reading (and writing) in the classroom.
Graph 8.1 - Aims of English Activities at Elementary Schools: to help children overcome their resistance to English (parents of 6th graders)
Graph 8.2 - Aims of English Activities at Elementary Schools: to help children overcome their resistance to English (teachers)
Another kind of answer (see graph 9.1 and 9.2) may lead us think that there is also a cultural problem in addition to the curriculum or educational problems. The fact is that parents and teachers claim that the aim for the future English education at elementary schools is to set such an attitude, and also that children will be willing to communicate with foreigners, and not stray from foreigners. Again if we refer to graph 7, we can notice that children have already showed willingness to communicate with foreigners – that is why they want to study English. Parents and teachers are afraid for their children even though they don’t need to; teachers of English these days should not let the cultural walls enclosing the parents, or their fear or lack of confidence to speak English, interfere with the education of the elementary schoolchildren. In other words, raising such issues seems unsustainable and groundless.
Graph 9.1 - Aims of English Activities at Elementary Schools: to cultivate a proper attitude and willingness in children to communicate with foreigners (parents of 6th graders)
Graph 9.2 - Aims of English Activities at Elementary Schools: to cultivate a proper attitude and willingness in children to communicate with foreigners (teachers of 6th graders)
Nowadays, popular culture affects children’s life and language more than their parents or teachers (Nikolova, 2005). Partial representations of popular culture can be seen in the elementary school curriculum. TV (visual teaching) and comic books become part of the teaching materials for elementary school children. Not only in the English language classes, but also Period of Integrated Studies and Social Studies do teachers resort to using visual materials. Such kind of materials, even not considered educational, might help children accept language as a means of communication or a tool with which they can learn many new things, a truth their parents could not understand when they were little.
Conclusions: Future tasks and possible approaches
In conclusion, I suggest here that, in reflection of emerging social trends and published research, MEXT should reconsider its approach towards foreign (sic. English) language teaching in Japan. The Ministry has started it attempts for collaboration between native and non-native teachers in the EFL teaching in elementary schools, as seen in Hong Kong and other Asian countries (Carless, 2006). What is more important is that MEXT should wholeheartedly incorporate the cultural specificities of the contemporary lifestyle and tradition in Japanese society into its pedagogical policy. These trends are quickly absorbed by elementary school children, and especially 6th graders, a transitional age group which is the most susceptible to absorbing linguistic features of a foreign language and forming a proper cultural attitude towards that language. This same cultural attitude, teachers try to create and cultivate desperately in all schools in Japan (MEXT, 2005). We may enumerate our recommendations.
Firstly,MEXT should consider a uniform number of English Activities lessons throughout the country. This is one of the factors for achieving some of the results set in the English Activities guidelines.
Secondly, MEXT should consider approving a certain number of English textbooks for all elementary schools in Japan (especially 6th grade) written either in English or Japanese. There is a need for more elaborate research on the positive effects of the printed forms of popular culture on children’s education, especially the reading aspect of language acquisition, as well as conducting experimental studies on those formsas a means of teaching difficult topics through ‘entertaining and non-serious’ methods. Reading gives a choice to 6th graders to decide what they need to learn. This provides them with a sense of autonomy and a chance to reflect upon their progress, two very important factors to children’s learning process (Scott et al, 2004). The need to create curricula including reading and writing arises naturally; implementing comics’ linguistic features and their role as a language facilitator might help; however further analyses are needed.
Thirdly, MEXT should consider assigning English Activities classes to younger age homeroom teachers, who do not ‘fear’ English and who do not need any special attitude training and have no resistance to English or communicating with foreigners.
Lastly, if the introduction of reading and writing skills in the current curricula cannot be made immediate, MEXT should consider such at first for the English studies Research schools only, thus providing a ground for further analyses of the specifics of reading and writing in English, the cultural ambience at elementary schools and the feelings of teachers, parents and students.
It is very important that theMinistry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan focuses on addressing the needs of students (especially 6th graders) not only to learn a new language, but also a new culture and ways of socializing into that culture. If the new culture is too ‘foreign’ to children, and if socializing in that culture seems unnatural to children, it may be a good idea to use some intrinsic methods of teaching it that could help build reading skills in 6th graders, as well as nurture confidence in using any foreign language as a means to acquire universal knowledge about the world. The bona fide language classroom is, in fact, located both within and beyond the classroom walls: a geography lesson that is frequently overlooked.
English Activities programs are now being introduced by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in the school curricula of public elementary schools. This remains controversial in various aspects: the wider social consensus, implementation, teacher support, curriculum and syllabus. It has been argued in this paper that MEXT – which assumes responsibility for educational steerage and policy - should pay close attention to the cultural ambience of children. This includes reading habits, tendencies and natural likings for symbols or codes (i.e. the English alphabet). It is argued also that pupils and their teachers adopt a more rigorously ‘international’ stance in order to develop a constructive and forward-looking attitude to the matter of foreign language learning and teaching.
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