When teachers see how students from other schools can speak English so fluently and confidently in front of a large audience, some may think it would be difficult for them to help their own students reach a similar level. That appeared to be the situation at a recent English-language education forum when about 1,000 teachers, education officials and others watched an impressive demonstration class from Osaka Prefectural Nagano High School.
Nonetheless, the 40 third-year students were "intimidated and unable to speak English well" when they enrolled at the high school, according to their teacher, Yasuhiro Higashitani.
The 50-minute demonstration at the "English Forum 2006," which took place on March 17 at the Pacifico Yokohama convention center, was conducted entirely in English, with "family and peace" as the main theme. The forum was organized by the Education, Science and Technology Ministry.
Higashitani began the class by having students read out a passage from their textbook about the life of Beatles member John Lennon, followed by a discussion activity in which pairs of students played the roles of husband and wife. The students then reported on research they had done about war, before making speeches on what they would do to bring about a peaceful world.
Most of the students spoke with confidence, making presentations in front of their classmates, and inviting comments. Some of them were even able to make their classmates and audience laugh with their humorous presentations.
Nagano High School in Kawachi Nagano, Osaka Prefecture, was chosen to give the demonstration because it is one of the nation's Super English Language High Schools (SELHis).
The Osaka school was designated as one of the pilot institutions by the ministry two years ago.
The 40 students on stage--who graduated from high school last month--had taken one of the school's two courses that focus on foreign-language education.
Following the demonstration, some members of the audience asked how it was possible to help the students speak grammatically correct English with such excellent pronunciation.
Higashitani said he and other teachers often imposed quite a "burden" on students in the form of research projects, skits, discussions and debates so that eventually they would feel less reluctant about speaking in public.
"Of course, this was a really big burden on my students," he said. "But they were able to improve their skills through hard work, eventually managing to follow the tasks we set without giving up."
The students' answers indicated that another key was the fact the classes were held almost entirely in English.
"Since we were in the second year, our teachers have spoken almost always in English in class," one girl said. "They created an environment that forced us to speak in English. In the beginning, I was only able to make one-word responses."
Another student, who said she used to be shy, also appreciated such an environment.
"I realized that if I remained shy while my classmates spoke out, there was nothing left for me to talk about in the end," the student said. "I thought it'd be easier for me to get a head start by saying something, and eventually I found that I wasn't shy anymore."
An audience member said children often feel reluctant to speak out if another student has already shown he or she has a better pronunciation.
A male student recalled that when he was at middle school, those who spoke English with good pronunciation would often be laughed at.
"But in this class, we felt instead ashamed about having poor pronunciation," the boy said. "I believe we could enjoy an atmosphere of working hard by competing against each other."
The ministry has been organizing this kind of annual forum since it compiled the action plan to cultivate "Japanese citizens with a good command of English" in March 2003, which outlines measures the central government should implement for five years until fiscal 2008 to bring about "fundamental reforms" in the nation's English-language education.
The action plan urges teachers to offer English classes mostly in that language. A survey the ministry conducted in February this year, however, showed that the reality was still far from the target, according to Yoshimasa Tezuka, head of the ministry's International Education Division, who spoke prior to the demonstration class.
About 65 percent of surveyed middle schools said the ratio of English was "half or less than half" of the content of each class during the 2005 school year, which ended last month. Fewer than 4 percent of the schools said they offered classes "mostly in English."
At the high school level, on the other hand, survey results tended to depend on whether classes were conducted for English-oriented courses or regular ones.
Tezuka said 46.9 percent of schools with specialized English-oriented courses said they conducted Oral Communication I classes "mostly in English." However, a majority of those schools, 60.5 percent, gave a response of "half or less than half" for English I, a more general course in English.
As for regular courses, the majority of schools used English for just a "half or less than half" ratio in both subjects. The percentages were 42.2 percent for Oral Communication I and 76.7 percent for English I.
"High schools that focus on listening comprehension, as SELHis do, have proved that their students can achieve good results on university entrance exams," Tezuka said. "Therefore, we'd like teachers to work harder on this matter."
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Support for teachers
When it comes to English education at the primary school level, about 94 percent of public primary schools had introduced some form of such lessons as of the last school year.
Last week, a panel under the Central Council on Education--an advisory council to the education minister--compiled an interim report recommending that English be made compulsory for fifth- and sixth-year primary school students, with classes held about once a week.
Regarding who would teach those primary school students, the report says "for the time being," it is appropriate to take a team-teaching approach between regular classroom teachers and assistant language teachers, or experts in local communities.
Regarding this point, Omuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, may be a good example on how a local government can support inexperienced primary school teachers in offering English lessons. The city was featured in one of the special-interest meetings at English Forum 2006.
All the city's 24 primary schools offer English lessons as part of their general studies classes. Although native speakers sometimes join in those lessons, the city urges regular teachers to play a central role.
"We think children can learn best under the instruction of regular teachers, who know best their students' interests and how they understand things," said Kazuo Nishikawa, a teacher at the city's Hirabaru Primary School.
For primary school teachers who are usually worried about their English skills and teaching techniques, the city organizes occasional meetings to learn about lesson plans, as well as offer them lessons to improve their speaking skills. Some of the teachers have formed clubs on their own to practice speaking and share information.
"Through these activities, the teachers came up with many practical ideas, so we have compiled a book for schools to refer to for their lessons," Nishikawa said. "As we've received many inquiries about this book, we've sent copies to primary schools, universities and local boards of education nationwide."
Because all the city's public schools are connected by a local area network, the city has also created online materials for primary school teachers and their students, through which they can learn lesson plans and practice useful phrases and words. These materials can be used for classes using computers installed in classrooms.
(Apr. 4, 2006)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/language/20060404TDY16001.htm
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