More foreign students graduating from Japanese universities and graduate schools are sticking around to work in Japan, immigration statistics show.
A record number of 8,272 foreign students obtained work permits in 2006 for jobs in Japan, a rise of about 40 percent from the previous year.
Of those, 96 percent were from Asian nations.
Immigration officials said the trend likely reflects the fact that Japanese businesses are expanding operations in China and aim to take advantage of their language skills and specialized training.
The foreign-student-to-worker trend is likely to continue, they said.
Work permits are granted only after foreign students are hired by companies.
The number of foreign students changing to work visas had stayed at between 2,000 and 4,000 annually since 1994, when the Justice Ministry started tracking the data.
But in 2004, that figure surged to more than 5,000, jumping to 5,878 in 2005 and reaching 8,272 in 2006.
By nationality last year, the largest group was Chinese at 6,000, up 43 percent from the previous year.
This was followed by 944 South Koreans and 200 Taiwanese.
By industry, 21 percent were employed in business and trade, while 13 percent worked in the computer industry.
Thirty-two percent said their jobs involved translation and interpretation, followed by information processing and sales.(IHT/Asahi: August 24,2007)
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200708230319.html
Monday, August 27, 2007
Friday, August 24, 2007
4 Kansai schools turning easy profit / Entrance examination system using 'center test' lines universities' pockets
Four prestigious private universities in the Kansai region earned a total of 1.28 billion yen from entrance examination fees from applicants who only submitted their results of the national unified entrance examination for the 2007 academic year.
Although the universities each have independent entrance examinations, they have adapted their systems to judge applicants solely by results achieved in the National Center Test for University Admissions. Students can choose to sit exams under either system.
The four are Kwansei Gakuin University based in Hyogo Prefecture, Kansai University in Osaka Prefecture, and Doshisha University and Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto Prefecture. The quartet is known as "Kan-kan-do-ritsu," based on the first Chinese character of the institutions' names.
This entrance examination system has encouraged many high schools to exaggerate the number of their students who achieve success in the exams.
The figure shows that the system is of huge financial benefit to the universities.
However, less then 10 percent of successful applicants who used the system have entered the four universities, indicating that the high schools might have urged many--possibly reluctant--students to sit the exams in a bid to pad the schools' purported success rate.
If an applicant has a high score in the national center test, he or she will likely be accepted by multiple universities. However, several high schools across the nation were found to have abused this system, including Osaka Gakugei High School in Osaka, which urged one student to apply to 73 of the universities' departments and faculties in 2006. The student received 50,000 yen and an expensive wristwatch from the school after passing all the exams.
For the 2007 exams, the four universities received 74,845 applications for 2,572 places. Although the universities approved 22,827 applications, only 2,082 students actually entered the universities--an entry rate of 9.1 percent.
Ritsumeikan University received the most applications, with 33,742 applications for 1,565 places. The university approved 12,286 students, but only 1,250 entered the educational establishment.
Kansai University received 19,653 applications, Kwansei Gakuin University, 16,766, and Doshisha University, 4,684. Entry rates were 5.7 percent, 10.6 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively.
Students who take exams at the four universities likely also sit examinations for national and public universities, and other famous private universities. Judging from independent examination figures, many students decline acceptance offers, but the entry rate is steady at more than 20 percent.
Under the national test system, students benefit from being able to apply to multiple universities by sitting only one test. Universities also benefit by securing students without incurring costs associated with organizing tests and marking scores.
Moreover, large profits are derived from the examination fees: The four universities collected between 15,000 yen to 18,000 yen from each student, totaling a hefty 1.28 billion yen.
However, the universities are obliged to pay commission to the National Center for University Entrance Examinations, which conducts the national test, of just 570 yen per student--totaling 42.6 million yen. The universities thus pocket a profit of more than 1.2 billion yen.
(Aug. 24, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070824TDY02011.htm
Although the universities each have independent entrance examinations, they have adapted their systems to judge applicants solely by results achieved in the National Center Test for University Admissions. Students can choose to sit exams under either system.
The four are Kwansei Gakuin University based in Hyogo Prefecture, Kansai University in Osaka Prefecture, and Doshisha University and Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto Prefecture. The quartet is known as "Kan-kan-do-ritsu," based on the first Chinese character of the institutions' names.
This entrance examination system has encouraged many high schools to exaggerate the number of their students who achieve success in the exams.
The figure shows that the system is of huge financial benefit to the universities.
However, less then 10 percent of successful applicants who used the system have entered the four universities, indicating that the high schools might have urged many--possibly reluctant--students to sit the exams in a bid to pad the schools' purported success rate.
If an applicant has a high score in the national center test, he or she will likely be accepted by multiple universities. However, several high schools across the nation were found to have abused this system, including Osaka Gakugei High School in Osaka, which urged one student to apply to 73 of the universities' departments and faculties in 2006. The student received 50,000 yen and an expensive wristwatch from the school after passing all the exams.
For the 2007 exams, the four universities received 74,845 applications for 2,572 places. Although the universities approved 22,827 applications, only 2,082 students actually entered the universities--an entry rate of 9.1 percent.
Ritsumeikan University received the most applications, with 33,742 applications for 1,565 places. The university approved 12,286 students, but only 1,250 entered the educational establishment.
Kansai University received 19,653 applications, Kwansei Gakuin University, 16,766, and Doshisha University, 4,684. Entry rates were 5.7 percent, 10.6 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively.
Students who take exams at the four universities likely also sit examinations for national and public universities, and other famous private universities. Judging from independent examination figures, many students decline acceptance offers, but the entry rate is steady at more than 20 percent.
Under the national test system, students benefit from being able to apply to multiple universities by sitting only one test. Universities also benefit by securing students without incurring costs associated with organizing tests and marking scores.
Moreover, large profits are derived from the examination fees: The four universities collected between 15,000 yen to 18,000 yen from each student, totaling a hefty 1.28 billion yen.
However, the universities are obliged to pay commission to the National Center for University Entrance Examinations, which conducts the national test, of just 570 yen per student--totaling 42.6 million yen. The universities thus pocket a profit of more than 1.2 billion yen.
(Aug. 24, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070824TDY02011.htm
Thursday, August 23, 2007
India, Japan push ties among academia
Twelve major universities of Japan had a dialogue with the top brass of Indian universities, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) here Tuesday to strengthen educational linkages between the two countries.
The meeting, coinciding with the high-profile visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe here, was called to identify common research interests and to work towards increasing the volume of faculty and student exchanges by the two sides.Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh, who attended the event along with Abe, sought Tokyo's assistance towards setting up a new IIT in India. He also called for regular interactions among the academia of the two countries.
Abe, who arrived on a three-day visit to India with a 200-plus business team of top corporate leaders and a delegation of senior representatives of Japanese universities, emphasised on greater people-to-people contact.
The relations and contacts between the institutions of higher learning in the two countries must be stepped up, the Japanese prime minister said.
Minister of State for Commerce Ashwani Kumar received Abe, who arrived here from Indonesia with his wife Akie. He will be given a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan Wednesday after which he is scheduled to address a joint session of parliament, hold bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh and interact with business leaders of the two sides.He is scheduled to visit Kolkata Thursday.
http://www.calcuttanews.net/story/275503
The meeting, coinciding with the high-profile visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe here, was called to identify common research interests and to work towards increasing the volume of faculty and student exchanges by the two sides.Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh, who attended the event along with Abe, sought Tokyo's assistance towards setting up a new IIT in India. He also called for regular interactions among the academia of the two countries.
Abe, who arrived on a three-day visit to India with a 200-plus business team of top corporate leaders and a delegation of senior representatives of Japanese universities, emphasised on greater people-to-people contact.
The relations and contacts between the institutions of higher learning in the two countries must be stepped up, the Japanese prime minister said.
Minister of State for Commerce Ashwani Kumar received Abe, who arrived here from Indonesia with his wife Akie. He will be given a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan Wednesday after which he is scheduled to address a joint session of parliament, hold bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh and interact with business leaders of the two sides.He is scheduled to visit Kolkata Thursday.
http://www.calcuttanews.net/story/275503
Monday, August 20, 2007
China-Japan Student Conference opens in Beijing
BEIJING -- Fifty-five college students from China and Japan gathered here on Friday to discuss China-Japan relations, protection of intellectual property rights and catering culture through the weekend.
The 30 Chinese and 25 Japanese students from 24 universities, including the Peking University, Tsinghua University, the University of Tokyo and Waseda University, were attending the annual China-Japan Student Conference.
They were grouped into five teams to study bilateral relations, enterprises, international issues, education and culture of the two countries, and were required to submit research papers.
"Similarities connect the friendship of Chinese and Japanese students," said Michigami Hisashi, cultural attache of the Japanese Embassy in China, adding a badminton match between students of the two countries would be held on the sidelines as part of the 2007 Japan-China Cultural and Sports Exchange Year.
"The conference has proved to be an effective platform for students to conduct face-to-face communication, understand traditions and culture of the two countries, and promote an active China-Japan non-governmental exchange," Yang Xiaofang, head of the Chinese student delegation, told Xinhua.
Yang Xiao, one of the chief organizers of the conference, said participants, who were also opinion leaders of the future, expressed hope that the final report of their research during the conference could be a real advisor of the development of the two societies.
Initiated in 1987 by Japanese student volunteers and jointly sponsored by Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its diplomatic association, the China-Japan Student Conference has been held 25 times both in China and Japan over the past two decades.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-08/18/content_6032614.htm
The 30 Chinese and 25 Japanese students from 24 universities, including the Peking University, Tsinghua University, the University of Tokyo and Waseda University, were attending the annual China-Japan Student Conference.
They were grouped into five teams to study bilateral relations, enterprises, international issues, education and culture of the two countries, and were required to submit research papers.
"Similarities connect the friendship of Chinese and Japanese students," said Michigami Hisashi, cultural attache of the Japanese Embassy in China, adding a badminton match between students of the two countries would be held on the sidelines as part of the 2007 Japan-China Cultural and Sports Exchange Year.
"The conference has proved to be an effective platform for students to conduct face-to-face communication, understand traditions and culture of the two countries, and promote an active China-Japan non-governmental exchange," Yang Xiaofang, head of the Chinese student delegation, told Xinhua.
Yang Xiao, one of the chief organizers of the conference, said participants, who were also opinion leaders of the future, expressed hope that the final report of their research during the conference could be a real advisor of the development of the two societies.
Initiated in 1987 by Japanese student volunteers and jointly sponsored by Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its diplomatic association, the China-Japan Student Conference has been held 25 times both in China and Japan over the past two decades.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-08/18/content_6032614.htm
Friday, August 17, 2007
Rural universities feel pinch of lower enrollments
Hagi International University in Yamaguchi Prefecture filed for court protection from creditors in June 2005, owing ¥3.7 billion after the number of freshmen enrollments and students declined sharply.
"There was no other choice" than to initiate bankruptcy procedures, said Masanori Hatachi, 69, president of the institution now renamed Yamaguchi University of Human Welfare and Culture.
Hagi International, formerly a two-year college, had difficulty attracting enough students after it changed to a four-year university in 1999.
In its first year as a four-year school, only around 200 freshmen enrolled — far short of its annual quota of 300. After freshmen enrollment dropped to some 100 the following year, the school started to recruit students from China, only to learn, to its discredit, that many of those who came on student visas jumped ship to go after illegal jobs.
The enrollment number continued to decrease, and in April 2006 only three new students joined the university.
Hagi International's case is part of a situation that few developed countries have so far experienced. Japanese universities, especially in rural areas, are making desperate efforts to attract students amid the decline in the youth population brought on by the falling birthrate.
Some are going bust, while others are restructuring, or seeking mergers to survive.
Japan's 18-year-old population, which peaked at 2.05 million in fiscal 1992, dropped to only 1.37 million in fiscal 2005, and is projected to fall to 1.24 million in fiscal 2008. Meanwhile, a policy of deregulation since the 1990s has allowed more colleges and departments to start up, with the number of private universities rising from 379 in fiscal 1992 to 559 this year, a 147 percent increase.
Such a loss of students has resulted in serious cash flow woes for private universities, 70 percent of whose total revenues come from tuition fees.
Observers said Hagi International lacked attractive programs. Its remote location was also a major disadvantage as many local high school graduates leave the region for urban institutions.
Universities in Tokyo enjoy relatively high enrollment-to-quota ratios, at 117.65 percent, as do those in Osaka-Kyoto, at 112.03 percent. In other words, they enroll more students than the original places allocated.
But the ratio in the Chugoku region, which includes Yamaguchi Prefecture, is only 88.71 percent, according to a survey by the Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan, an organization that monitors the management of private colleges and related issues.
In April, Hagi International made a fresh start under its new name and with financial support from Hiroshima Prefecture-based construction firm Shiomi Holdings Corp.
"In the aging Japanese society, demand for care for the elderly is growing," Hatachi, its president, said of the prospects for the school's welfare-focused programs. All the same, only 24 new students enrolled this year — far below the quota of 140.
Hagi International is one of three universities in Japan that went bust in recent years due to falls in the number of students enrolled.
In January 2003, Risshikan University in Hiroshima Prefecture became the first to fail since World War II. Tohwa University, a private engineering college in Fukuoka Prefecture, is scheduled to shut down at the end of fiscal 2009.
In response to these developments, the central government and university groups are mapping out guidelines under which they will regularly check the financial health of academic institutions and advise them or encourage mergers if necessary.
"It is a sick industry, because the youth population in Japan is declining," said Susumu Hiruma, a spokesman for the Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan.
According to the organization, 221 of the 559 operators of private four-year universities in Japan saw their freshmen enrollment fall below their quotas for fiscal 2007, a situation roughly unchanged from the previous year. It also said 138 of the operators were in the red in 2005.
Hiruma pointed out that universities, if they want to keep up enrollment, need to offer programs that students want. "Their success depends on customer satisfaction," he said.
But Hiruma, who compiles data on college finances, also noted that "cost-cutting is everything," because Japan's declining population will inevitably erode the revenues of the nation's universities. An obvious "polarization of universities" between winners and losers has emerged, he added.
Makiko Yoshimura, a credit analyst at Standard & Poor's in Tokyo who covers college finance, said the "shakeout of four-year universities and colleges is unavoidable and more schools, especially in rural areas, may go under."
"Universities rich in cash can invest in teaching staff and facilities, while cash-strapped ones are forced to cut expenses, which erodes their academic research programs," she said.
Yoshimura pointed out that some universities are making efforts to diversify their income sources and raise funds, for example by renting part of their property in Tokyo and its neighborhoods where land prices have been picking up in recent years.
She also suggested that some universities may be able to hike tuition fees, while offering financial help for excellent students.
Other universities are merging to remain competitive.
Keio University, one of Japan's top institutions, and Kyoritsu University of Pharmacy have agreed to merge in 2008, which will result in Keio adding a new pharmacy department.
"Their marriage is a success," Standard & Poor's Yoshimura said. "Keio has had medical and nursing programs except for pharmacy — one of the areas with growing demand amid the graying of Japan's population. Now Keio has a rich portfolio in the health-care field."
However, Yoshimura warned that not all university mergers will be ideal ones like Keio and Kyoritsu's, as the number of such tieups increase.
"The key is brand values the universities have nurtured for a long time," she said, noting that talks for a merger that might end up in ruining the brand image of the institutions are doomed to end in failure.
Japanese universities also have to compete with overseas institutions as more Japanese look for academic opportunities outside the country.
Yuichiro Anzai, president of Keio University, expressed concern that Japanese universities may not be able to remain Asia's top institutions for much longer because of insufficient funding from corporations and the government.
"Japanese universities still stand at the top level in Asia in terms of academic research, educational quality and their cutting edge in medical fields. However, China and South Korea are catching up with help from the government and companies," he said.
In 2003, the most recent data available for an international comparison, Japan's public expenditures on education stood at a mere 0.5 percent of gross domestic product.
The figure is less than a half the average of 1.1 percent among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The ratio stands at 1.2 percent in the U.S., 1.1 percent in France and 0.6 percent in South Korea.
Last year, Keio set up an international public relations section to promote the research programs of the university in its bid to attract students and scholars from overseas.
Some say that universities should look at potential new demand at home.
"The Japanese educational market is very large and attractive," said Kirk R. Patterson, dean of the Japan campus of Temple University, adding that there are huge untapped educational needs among people like the so-called freeters and others hoping to upgrade their skills and move into new careers, as well as women who want to re-enter the labor market after raising children.
While Japanese universities have traditionally defined their markets as people in the 18-22 age bracket, they can start to consider corporations as new customers, because the companies need customized training programs to help their employees upgrade skills, Patterson said.
"Each university needs to have a clear sense of its mission and to clearly identify its comparative advantage and its market niche. Universities can no longer try to meet the needs of all students," he said.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20070817a2.html
"There was no other choice" than to initiate bankruptcy procedures, said Masanori Hatachi, 69, president of the institution now renamed Yamaguchi University of Human Welfare and Culture.
Hagi International, formerly a two-year college, had difficulty attracting enough students after it changed to a four-year university in 1999.
In its first year as a four-year school, only around 200 freshmen enrolled — far short of its annual quota of 300. After freshmen enrollment dropped to some 100 the following year, the school started to recruit students from China, only to learn, to its discredit, that many of those who came on student visas jumped ship to go after illegal jobs.
The enrollment number continued to decrease, and in April 2006 only three new students joined the university.
Hagi International's case is part of a situation that few developed countries have so far experienced. Japanese universities, especially in rural areas, are making desperate efforts to attract students amid the decline in the youth population brought on by the falling birthrate.
Some are going bust, while others are restructuring, or seeking mergers to survive.
Japan's 18-year-old population, which peaked at 2.05 million in fiscal 1992, dropped to only 1.37 million in fiscal 2005, and is projected to fall to 1.24 million in fiscal 2008. Meanwhile, a policy of deregulation since the 1990s has allowed more colleges and departments to start up, with the number of private universities rising from 379 in fiscal 1992 to 559 this year, a 147 percent increase.
Such a loss of students has resulted in serious cash flow woes for private universities, 70 percent of whose total revenues come from tuition fees.
Observers said Hagi International lacked attractive programs. Its remote location was also a major disadvantage as many local high school graduates leave the region for urban institutions.
Universities in Tokyo enjoy relatively high enrollment-to-quota ratios, at 117.65 percent, as do those in Osaka-Kyoto, at 112.03 percent. In other words, they enroll more students than the original places allocated.
But the ratio in the Chugoku region, which includes Yamaguchi Prefecture, is only 88.71 percent, according to a survey by the Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan, an organization that monitors the management of private colleges and related issues.
In April, Hagi International made a fresh start under its new name and with financial support from Hiroshima Prefecture-based construction firm Shiomi Holdings Corp.
"In the aging Japanese society, demand for care for the elderly is growing," Hatachi, its president, said of the prospects for the school's welfare-focused programs. All the same, only 24 new students enrolled this year — far below the quota of 140.
Hagi International is one of three universities in Japan that went bust in recent years due to falls in the number of students enrolled.
In January 2003, Risshikan University in Hiroshima Prefecture became the first to fail since World War II. Tohwa University, a private engineering college in Fukuoka Prefecture, is scheduled to shut down at the end of fiscal 2009.
In response to these developments, the central government and university groups are mapping out guidelines under which they will regularly check the financial health of academic institutions and advise them or encourage mergers if necessary.
"It is a sick industry, because the youth population in Japan is declining," said Susumu Hiruma, a spokesman for the Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan.
According to the organization, 221 of the 559 operators of private four-year universities in Japan saw their freshmen enrollment fall below their quotas for fiscal 2007, a situation roughly unchanged from the previous year. It also said 138 of the operators were in the red in 2005.
Hiruma pointed out that universities, if they want to keep up enrollment, need to offer programs that students want. "Their success depends on customer satisfaction," he said.
But Hiruma, who compiles data on college finances, also noted that "cost-cutting is everything," because Japan's declining population will inevitably erode the revenues of the nation's universities. An obvious "polarization of universities" between winners and losers has emerged, he added.
Makiko Yoshimura, a credit analyst at Standard & Poor's in Tokyo who covers college finance, said the "shakeout of four-year universities and colleges is unavoidable and more schools, especially in rural areas, may go under."
"Universities rich in cash can invest in teaching staff and facilities, while cash-strapped ones are forced to cut expenses, which erodes their academic research programs," she said.
Yoshimura pointed out that some universities are making efforts to diversify their income sources and raise funds, for example by renting part of their property in Tokyo and its neighborhoods where land prices have been picking up in recent years.
She also suggested that some universities may be able to hike tuition fees, while offering financial help for excellent students.
Other universities are merging to remain competitive.
Keio University, one of Japan's top institutions, and Kyoritsu University of Pharmacy have agreed to merge in 2008, which will result in Keio adding a new pharmacy department.
"Their marriage is a success," Standard & Poor's Yoshimura said. "Keio has had medical and nursing programs except for pharmacy — one of the areas with growing demand amid the graying of Japan's population. Now Keio has a rich portfolio in the health-care field."
However, Yoshimura warned that not all university mergers will be ideal ones like Keio and Kyoritsu's, as the number of such tieups increase.
"The key is brand values the universities have nurtured for a long time," she said, noting that talks for a merger that might end up in ruining the brand image of the institutions are doomed to end in failure.
Japanese universities also have to compete with overseas institutions as more Japanese look for academic opportunities outside the country.
Yuichiro Anzai, president of Keio University, expressed concern that Japanese universities may not be able to remain Asia's top institutions for much longer because of insufficient funding from corporations and the government.
"Japanese universities still stand at the top level in Asia in terms of academic research, educational quality and their cutting edge in medical fields. However, China and South Korea are catching up with help from the government and companies," he said.
In 2003, the most recent data available for an international comparison, Japan's public expenditures on education stood at a mere 0.5 percent of gross domestic product.
The figure is less than a half the average of 1.1 percent among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The ratio stands at 1.2 percent in the U.S., 1.1 percent in France and 0.6 percent in South Korea.
Last year, Keio set up an international public relations section to promote the research programs of the university in its bid to attract students and scholars from overseas.
Some say that universities should look at potential new demand at home.
"The Japanese educational market is very large and attractive," said Kirk R. Patterson, dean of the Japan campus of Temple University, adding that there are huge untapped educational needs among people like the so-called freeters and others hoping to upgrade their skills and move into new careers, as well as women who want to re-enter the labor market after raising children.
While Japanese universities have traditionally defined their markets as people in the 18-22 age bracket, they can start to consider corporations as new customers, because the companies need customized training programs to help their employees upgrade skills, Patterson said.
"Each university needs to have a clear sense of its mission and to clearly identify its comparative advantage and its market niche. Universities can no longer try to meet the needs of all students," he said.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20070817a2.html
Japan to enhance language education for non-Japanese
Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs has decided to strengthen measures to help foreign residents learn Japanese, and plans to boost the number of language coordinators in local communities, agency officials said Wednesday.
The agency has begun studying concrete measures at the Japanese language education subcommittee set up within its Council for Cultural Affairs, eyeing to implement them in fiscal 2009, starting in April 2009.
An increase in foreign residents in Japan has heightened conflicts between some foreigners and local Japanese people, primarily due to the lack of language skills among foreign residents, according to the officials.
Foreign residents tend to become isolated or fail to follow the rules set out by local municipalities such as rules on garbage disposal, they said.
Against this backdrop, a group consisting of 22 municipalities, such as Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, where foreign residents account for a considerable portion of the local population, has called on the government to strengthen language education for foreigners.
The language coordinators are likely to engage in activities such as providing teaching skills to language instructors, encouraging companies where foreign residents work to provide opportunities to learn Japanese, as well as offering consultation about daily life.
An agency official said, "It is desirable that the coordinators be able to have a certain level of language skills, and commit to the work as full-time professionals on a long-term basis."
The agency is thus planning to recruit the coordinators from those who have passed the Japanese language teaching competency test.
Currently, language teaching is mainly organized by citizens' organizations, which largely depend on volunteer instructors and do not have a systematic teaching curriculum, and most of the coordinators are part-timers and volunteers, according to the officials.
After the immigration law was revised in 1990, foreigners of Japanese descent have been allowed to immigrate to Japan for the purpose of settlement or work, and the number of immigrants from such areas as South America has been increasing.
In 2006, a record high of 2.08 million people registered as foreign residents in Japan.
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070815/kyodo/d8r1f1k80.html
The agency has begun studying concrete measures at the Japanese language education subcommittee set up within its Council for Cultural Affairs, eyeing to implement them in fiscal 2009, starting in April 2009.
An increase in foreign residents in Japan has heightened conflicts between some foreigners and local Japanese people, primarily due to the lack of language skills among foreign residents, according to the officials.
Foreign residents tend to become isolated or fail to follow the rules set out by local municipalities such as rules on garbage disposal, they said.
Against this backdrop, a group consisting of 22 municipalities, such as Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, where foreign residents account for a considerable portion of the local population, has called on the government to strengthen language education for foreigners.
The language coordinators are likely to engage in activities such as providing teaching skills to language instructors, encouraging companies where foreign residents work to provide opportunities to learn Japanese, as well as offering consultation about daily life.
An agency official said, "It is desirable that the coordinators be able to have a certain level of language skills, and commit to the work as full-time professionals on a long-term basis."
The agency is thus planning to recruit the coordinators from those who have passed the Japanese language teaching competency test.
Currently, language teaching is mainly organized by citizens' organizations, which largely depend on volunteer instructors and do not have a systematic teaching curriculum, and most of the coordinators are part-timers and volunteers, according to the officials.
After the immigration law was revised in 1990, foreigners of Japanese descent have been allowed to immigrate to Japan for the purpose of settlement or work, and the number of immigrants from such areas as South America has been increasing.
In 2006, a record high of 2.08 million people registered as foreign residents in Japan.
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070815/kyodo/d8r1f1k80.html
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
(Korea) National English Proficiency Tests to Debut in 2009
A new government-administered test of English proficiency for students will be introduced during the second half of 2009, and for adults in 2011, according to an announcement by the Ministry of Education & Human Resources Development on July 31.
The move comes as an effort to meet growing demands for qualified English proficiency tests, as scores on such tests are widely reflected in school admission, university graduation, civil servant appointment, certificate acquirement, employment and promotion.
Some 2.69 million Koreans took various kinds of English proficiency tests in 2006, 76 percent of them taking foreign-developed exams such as the TOEFL and TOEIC. In comparison, domestic tests including PELT, TESL, TEPS, ESPT and MATE have been unsuccessful in attracting as much applicants.
Against this background, the government plans to spend about 21.5 billion won ($23.32 million) in the next four years to develop the first government-administered English tests in Korea. The aim is to create a comprehensive and qualified exam which would be internationally recognized, and to enhance domestic capacity for English education and assessment.
The new tests involve speaking, listening, reading and writing exams, which will be conducted through the internet. The ministry is considering classifying the tests into 10 levels according to the test takers' proficiency, from Level 1 for primary first to third graders to levels 8 to 10 for adults.
The ministry will establish a tentatively named ‘Korea English Proficiency Evaluation Foundation’ this year to develop and oversee the tests. The foundation will be jointly run by interested universities, the Korea Institute of Curriculum & Evaluation(KICE) and the public Educational Broadcasting System(EBS), under the finance of the government.
A preparation committee for the foundation will also be set up this year under KICE. The committee will conduct researches on English proficiency tests of other countries, develop an assessment framework, create evaluation and management methodologies, and secure budgets and legal grounds.
With the new development, the ministry seeks to reduce dependency on foreign English proficiency tests and prompt schools to improve their English education. Government endeavors are expected to see further facilitation once the bill on the Special Law on English Education Promotion, submitted earlier by the ministry, passes the National Assembly.
http://english.moe.go.kr/main.jsp?idx=070101&brd_no=30&cp=1&pageSize=10&srchSel=&srchVal=&brd_mainno=542&mode=v
The move comes as an effort to meet growing demands for qualified English proficiency tests, as scores on such tests are widely reflected in school admission, university graduation, civil servant appointment, certificate acquirement, employment and promotion.
Some 2.69 million Koreans took various kinds of English proficiency tests in 2006, 76 percent of them taking foreign-developed exams such as the TOEFL and TOEIC. In comparison, domestic tests including PELT, TESL, TEPS, ESPT and MATE have been unsuccessful in attracting as much applicants.
Against this background, the government plans to spend about 21.5 billion won ($23.32 million) in the next four years to develop the first government-administered English tests in Korea. The aim is to create a comprehensive and qualified exam which would be internationally recognized, and to enhance domestic capacity for English education and assessment.
The new tests involve speaking, listening, reading and writing exams, which will be conducted through the internet. The ministry is considering classifying the tests into 10 levels according to the test takers' proficiency, from Level 1 for primary first to third graders to levels 8 to 10 for adults.
The ministry will establish a tentatively named ‘Korea English Proficiency Evaluation Foundation’ this year to develop and oversee the tests. The foundation will be jointly run by interested universities, the Korea Institute of Curriculum & Evaluation(KICE) and the public Educational Broadcasting System(EBS), under the finance of the government.
A preparation committee for the foundation will also be set up this year under KICE. The committee will conduct researches on English proficiency tests of other countries, develop an assessment framework, create evaluation and management methodologies, and secure budgets and legal grounds.
With the new development, the ministry seeks to reduce dependency on foreign English proficiency tests and prompt schools to improve their English education. Government endeavors are expected to see further facilitation once the bill on the Special Law on English Education Promotion, submitted earlier by the ministry, passes the National Assembly.
http://english.moe.go.kr/main.jsp?idx=070101&brd_no=30&cp=1&pageSize=10&srchSel=&srchVal=&brd_mainno=542&mode=v
Number of foreign students staying on to work in Japan hits record high
The number of foreign students who found jobs in the country surged to a record 8,272 last year, up 40 percent from the previous year, according to the Justice Ministry's Immigration Bureau.
The surge is attributable to an improving job market and growing demand for translators and interpreters jobs due to Japanese companies' expansion of overseas operations.
The number of applications filed by foreign residents to change their visa status from "College Student" or "Precollege Student" to "Specialist in Humanities/International Services," the visa status required for people wishing to work in certain sectors, totaled 9,034 in 2006, of which 8,272 were granted.
The number of applications for such a change in status was 5,878 in 2005 and 5,264 in 2004.
Asian students accounted for more than 90 percent of foreign residents who found jobs here after graduating from Japanese educational institutions, according to the immigration bureau's statistics.
Chinese students topped the list with 6,000 people, a 43.3 percent rise from 2005, followed by 944 South Koreans and 200 Taiwan students, also up 26.4 percent and 19 percent year on year, respectively.
Bangladesh claimed fourth place with 119 people, a 108.8 percent jump from 2005, while Malaysia took fifth place with 118 people, up 71 percent year on year.
About 70 percent of foreign graduates who were employed in Japan last year went to nonmanufacturing industries. Of those, 1,792 people entered commercial and trade businesses.
The number of students who stepped into computer-related fields was 1,140, while that of those who obtained education-related jobs was 479. By job description, the largest number of foreign graduates--2,711, which is about 30 percent of the total number--were hired as translators or interpreters. Accounting for more than 60 percent of the total, 893 foreign graduates obtained information-processing jobs, 882 went for sales-related jobs and 732 entered overseas operations.
A ministry official said, "Growing demand for translators and interpreters among domestic companies has perhaps helped boost the employment of foreign students."
(Aug. 15, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070815TDY01002.htm
The surge is attributable to an improving job market and growing demand for translators and interpreters jobs due to Japanese companies' expansion of overseas operations.
The number of applications filed by foreign residents to change their visa status from "College Student" or "Precollege Student" to "Specialist in Humanities/International Services," the visa status required for people wishing to work in certain sectors, totaled 9,034 in 2006, of which 8,272 were granted.
The number of applications for such a change in status was 5,878 in 2005 and 5,264 in 2004.
Asian students accounted for more than 90 percent of foreign residents who found jobs here after graduating from Japanese educational institutions, according to the immigration bureau's statistics.
Chinese students topped the list with 6,000 people, a 43.3 percent rise from 2005, followed by 944 South Koreans and 200 Taiwan students, also up 26.4 percent and 19 percent year on year, respectively.
Bangladesh claimed fourth place with 119 people, a 108.8 percent jump from 2005, while Malaysia took fifth place with 118 people, up 71 percent year on year.
About 70 percent of foreign graduates who were employed in Japan last year went to nonmanufacturing industries. Of those, 1,792 people entered commercial and trade businesses.
The number of students who stepped into computer-related fields was 1,140, while that of those who obtained education-related jobs was 479. By job description, the largest number of foreign graduates--2,711, which is about 30 percent of the total number--were hired as translators or interpreters. Accounting for more than 60 percent of the total, 893 foreign graduates obtained information-processing jobs, 882 went for sales-related jobs and 732 entered overseas operations.
A ministry official said, "Growing demand for translators and interpreters among domestic companies has perhaps helped boost the employment of foreign students."
(Aug. 15, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070815TDY01002.htm
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Australia seeks more Japanese student tourists
Australia is targeting Japanese students keen to learn English by offering language vacations and "study and surf" tours as added incentives to travel Down Under.
The new tourism strategy comes amid a protracted slump in the number of Japanese visiting Australia.
Figures released Friday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show short-term visitor arrivals from Japan fell 14.2 percent last year. In contrast, the number of visitors from other parts of Asia has been rising.
The government and tourism industry hope the situation can be turned around by encouraging Japan's "study tourism" market.
Tourism Minister Fran Bailey, who has blamed the low Japanese numbers on the Australian dollar's strength against the yen and increased competition from cheaper Asian destinations, told The Australian Financial Review newspaper the push is on to lure more Japanese students.
"A key target of future growth is the Japanese market, from school tours to language vacations and longer-term study and surf tours," Bailey said.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070807b6.html
The new tourism strategy comes amid a protracted slump in the number of Japanese visiting Australia.
Figures released Friday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show short-term visitor arrivals from Japan fell 14.2 percent last year. In contrast, the number of visitors from other parts of Asia has been rising.
The government and tourism industry hope the situation can be turned around by encouraging Japan's "study tourism" market.
Tourism Minister Fran Bailey, who has blamed the low Japanese numbers on the Australian dollar's strength against the yen and increased competition from cheaper Asian destinations, told The Australian Financial Review newspaper the push is on to lure more Japanese students.
"A key target of future growth is the Japanese market, from school tours to language vacations and longer-term study and surf tours," Bailey said.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070807b6.html
Friday, August 03, 2007
University staff drop in on students before they drop out
Recently, an increasing number of universities are trying to address the problem of absentee students through methods that some people might consider going a bit overboard--such as early-morning wakeup phone calls.
Their reasoning is that it is not just the students who lose out when they drop out and fail to earn their degrees. It is also bad business for the private universities.
At Hachinohe Institute of Technology in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, teaching staff keep detailed attendance records for their students.
Lecturers, armed with scanners similar to those used in supermarkets, scan bar codes on the ID cards of students at each class.
The information is later transmitted to an administrative database containing two weeks' worth of student attendance records.
The scanner system was developed five years ago for the university's 1,700 undergraduates as part of a student support system.
A member of the university's teaching staff is assigned to each class, taking on a similar role to a high-school homeroom teacher by keeping a close watch over students' attendance.
If a student is absent from a lecture on three consecutive occasions, the instructor calls the student's cellphone and sets up a meeting.
Staff members meet each Wednesday morning to share information so that colleagues can keep an eye on students who tend to be absent from class.
The system is paying off.
University administrators found that by closely managing absenteeism, students deemed to be at risk can be prevented from dropping out.
The higher the attendance, the higher the ratio of students gaining credits and progressing further toward their degrees. According to university officials, for every four students who repeat a year, one ends up dropping out.
A survey by the Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan showed that in fiscal 2005, the dropout rate among 550 private universities stood at 2.9 percent.
In fiscal 2002, the ratio was 3.3 percent among 439 institutions surveyed.
The main reasons for students dropping out, as cited by the universities, were: financial difficulties, a loss of interest in studying or a move to another institution.
Katsuyoshi Shinyama, a lecturer of electronic engineering at Hachinohe Institute of Technology, was responsible for a class that graduated this past spring.
"(Keeping tabs on student attendance) is like undergoing annual health checks to watch for early signs of cancer," he said.
If you catch symptoms early, the prognosis is good.
Institute president Masami Shoya said many students are now entering universities via recommendations from high schools or through interviews and compositions assessed by the university admission office, rather than through conventional competitive entrance exams.
He said he believed this was one reason some students needed to be more closely watched.
Still, the dropout rate at the university has hovered around the national average of 3 percent over the last decade or so.
"It is important to swiftly deal with problems (that could result in dropouts)," said Shigetaka Fujita, assistant to the president.
"We have somehow been able to keep the rate at this level."
At Nippon Institute of Technology in Miyashiro, Saitama Prefecture, staff members in the university's study-support center call up students who are continually absent from classes.
The members even call students who are notorious for sleeping in, even though they intend to attend classes.
Students are required to submit absentee slips each time they miss a class. Staff members want the students to feel that having to write the slips is more of a chore than actually coming to class.
The institute set up the center three years ago to help students with their studies as well as with their daily lives,
A 20-year-old third-year student said he had often played truant since junior high school because of bullying.
He enrolled at the institute after being chosen by the admissions office but felt he could not keep up with classes because he lacked basic knowledge.
He has sought advice from the center.
"Without the center, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to make friends, either," he said.
Recently, parents of students have asked if they could also visit the center.
"This is like a shelter," said staff member Takaharu Tanaka, an associate professor. "(Some of the parents) don't know how to handle their children."
(IHT/Asahi: August 3,2007)
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200708030091.html
Their reasoning is that it is not just the students who lose out when they drop out and fail to earn their degrees. It is also bad business for the private universities.
At Hachinohe Institute of Technology in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, teaching staff keep detailed attendance records for their students.
Lecturers, armed with scanners similar to those used in supermarkets, scan bar codes on the ID cards of students at each class.
The information is later transmitted to an administrative database containing two weeks' worth of student attendance records.
The scanner system was developed five years ago for the university's 1,700 undergraduates as part of a student support system.
A member of the university's teaching staff is assigned to each class, taking on a similar role to a high-school homeroom teacher by keeping a close watch over students' attendance.
If a student is absent from a lecture on three consecutive occasions, the instructor calls the student's cellphone and sets up a meeting.
Staff members meet each Wednesday morning to share information so that colleagues can keep an eye on students who tend to be absent from class.
The system is paying off.
University administrators found that by closely managing absenteeism, students deemed to be at risk can be prevented from dropping out.
The higher the attendance, the higher the ratio of students gaining credits and progressing further toward their degrees. According to university officials, for every four students who repeat a year, one ends up dropping out.
A survey by the Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan showed that in fiscal 2005, the dropout rate among 550 private universities stood at 2.9 percent.
In fiscal 2002, the ratio was 3.3 percent among 439 institutions surveyed.
The main reasons for students dropping out, as cited by the universities, were: financial difficulties, a loss of interest in studying or a move to another institution.
Katsuyoshi Shinyama, a lecturer of electronic engineering at Hachinohe Institute of Technology, was responsible for a class that graduated this past spring.
"(Keeping tabs on student attendance) is like undergoing annual health checks to watch for early signs of cancer," he said.
If you catch symptoms early, the prognosis is good.
Institute president Masami Shoya said many students are now entering universities via recommendations from high schools or through interviews and compositions assessed by the university admission office, rather than through conventional competitive entrance exams.
He said he believed this was one reason some students needed to be more closely watched.
Still, the dropout rate at the university has hovered around the national average of 3 percent over the last decade or so.
"It is important to swiftly deal with problems (that could result in dropouts)," said Shigetaka Fujita, assistant to the president.
"We have somehow been able to keep the rate at this level."
At Nippon Institute of Technology in Miyashiro, Saitama Prefecture, staff members in the university's study-support center call up students who are continually absent from classes.
The members even call students who are notorious for sleeping in, even though they intend to attend classes.
Students are required to submit absentee slips each time they miss a class. Staff members want the students to feel that having to write the slips is more of a chore than actually coming to class.
The institute set up the center three years ago to help students with their studies as well as with their daily lives,
A 20-year-old third-year student said he had often played truant since junior high school because of bullying.
He enrolled at the institute after being chosen by the admissions office but felt he could not keep up with classes because he lacked basic knowledge.
He has sought advice from the center.
"Without the center, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to make friends, either," he said.
Recently, parents of students have asked if they could also visit the center.
"This is like a shelter," said staff member Takaharu Tanaka, an associate professor. "(Some of the parents) don't know how to handle their children."
(IHT/Asahi: August 3,2007)
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200708030091.html
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
College officials get managing skills help
With the financial environment surrounding universities growing increasingly tight due to the declining birthrate, a nonprofit organization is helping university officials improve their managerial skills and get more hands-on in operating their schools.
The Support Center for University Officials aims to nurture university officials with a more professional mind-set and greater expertise, the group said.
At Ferris University's Ryokuen campus in Izumi Ward, Yokohama, 72 people, including about 50 university officials, attended an in-school training session on July 24.
"Rather than leaving the school management in the hands of faculty members, I want you university officials to gain the expertise to make proposals for the reform of the school," said Makoto Obinata, the center's chief director and a former managing director of Shibaura Institute of Technology.
With the arrival of an era when universities are scrambling for a shrinking number of high school graduates, private universities in particular are facing the need to tout their selling points to survive this difficult time.
Under such circumstances, university officials, who traditionally have simply followed decisions made at faculty meetings, will be expected to proactively make proposals, such as the reorganization of departments and new methods of conducting admission exams.
In response to such moves, former officials of Hosei, Waseda, Meiji and other universities founded the center in March and started training university officials. Many were involved in the launch of new departments and other reforms at their schools.
In the Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo-based center's training program on group discussions, for instance, participants are asked to exchange opinions about a university reform plan proposed by one of the attendants. They are asked to point out where the problems lie and discuss how to improve the original plan.
The program aims to help people view things from a different perspective from their own through other people's proposals, according to the group.
From September, the group also plans to organize a training camp in which officials from different universities are expected to take part.
Another important mission of the center is to help universities hire employees.
According to Jitsukazu Wada, director general of the center and a former board member of Hosei University, many applicants seem to be under the misapprehension that they will be able to secure a stable life as a university employee, and that it will be easy for them to take long vacations.
To prevent people from applying for a position at universities for such irresponsible reasons, the center gave detailed explanations on university workers' daily duties at a seminar it organized shortly after the group's launch in March.
Furthermore, the center reportedly has been asked by a private university to evaluate a part-time worker who is under consideration as a candidate for a full-time position.
"By now, university officials have been expected to simply support faculty members," Obinata, 75, said. "But if they acquire planning ability, they'll be able to provide a better service to students."
He also said his group hopes to help improve the expertise of officials at smaller universities, which often find it difficult to establish their own systems to improve their officials' skills.
(Aug. 1, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070801TDY04002.htm
The Support Center for University Officials aims to nurture university officials with a more professional mind-set and greater expertise, the group said.
At Ferris University's Ryokuen campus in Izumi Ward, Yokohama, 72 people, including about 50 university officials, attended an in-school training session on July 24.
"Rather than leaving the school management in the hands of faculty members, I want you university officials to gain the expertise to make proposals for the reform of the school," said Makoto Obinata, the center's chief director and a former managing director of Shibaura Institute of Technology.
With the arrival of an era when universities are scrambling for a shrinking number of high school graduates, private universities in particular are facing the need to tout their selling points to survive this difficult time.
Under such circumstances, university officials, who traditionally have simply followed decisions made at faculty meetings, will be expected to proactively make proposals, such as the reorganization of departments and new methods of conducting admission exams.
In response to such moves, former officials of Hosei, Waseda, Meiji and other universities founded the center in March and started training university officials. Many were involved in the launch of new departments and other reforms at their schools.
In the Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo-based center's training program on group discussions, for instance, participants are asked to exchange opinions about a university reform plan proposed by one of the attendants. They are asked to point out where the problems lie and discuss how to improve the original plan.
The program aims to help people view things from a different perspective from their own through other people's proposals, according to the group.
From September, the group also plans to organize a training camp in which officials from different universities are expected to take part.
Another important mission of the center is to help universities hire employees.
According to Jitsukazu Wada, director general of the center and a former board member of Hosei University, many applicants seem to be under the misapprehension that they will be able to secure a stable life as a university employee, and that it will be easy for them to take long vacations.
To prevent people from applying for a position at universities for such irresponsible reasons, the center gave detailed explanations on university workers' daily duties at a seminar it organized shortly after the group's launch in March.
Furthermore, the center reportedly has been asked by a private university to evaluate a part-time worker who is under consideration as a candidate for a full-time position.
"By now, university officials have been expected to simply support faculty members," Obinata, 75, said. "But if they acquire planning ability, they'll be able to provide a better service to students."
He also said his group hopes to help improve the expertise of officials at smaller universities, which often find it difficult to establish their own systems to improve their officials' skills.
(Aug. 1, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070801TDY04002.htm
'Eikaiwa' vets look beyond Big Four
Globalization, the Internet and increased mobility have made the planet a smaller place. The world is now often referred to as a global community, and its lingua franca is undoubtedly English. It is the official language of air traffic control and the de facto language of both international business and, apparently, international terrorism. According to linguist David Graddol, one third of the world's population will soon be studying English.
The quality of teachers was consistently cited in interviews as the most important issue for longtime learners of English in Japan.
The market for English lessons in Japan is huge, and the options facing would-be students here can be daunting. There are the ubiquitous "big four" chain schools — Nova, Aeon, Geos and ECC — that can be found near most decent-size train stations. There are a few medium-size chains, which market themselves as a more personal alternative to the major players. Finally, at the other end of the scale are the independently owned English schools, often run by expats who have decided to stay long-term in Japan.
There are alternatives to "eikaiwa" (English conversation, or English conversation schools) too.
Many companies, especially foreign ones or Japanese firms with a strong overseas presence, provide English lessons on-site for their employees. Some people may choose to avoid the conversation-school route completely and take lessons with a private tutor. They can usually be found through specialized Web sites or classified ads, and the lessons generally take place in a coffee shop or in the student's home. For those who find themselves strapped for cash, there is always the option of doing a language exchange — teaching Japanese in return for being taught English.
A few months ago I wrote an article for the Community Page about the different choices facing those who decide to teach English in Japan (see search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20070313zg.html). This time I spoke to Japanese people about the best places to study English. Everyone I spoke to had their own reasons for studying and had taken lessons at a variety of places.
Yasuhiro Nishimi works for a multinational pharmaceutical company in Tokyo and uses English most days at work. In the past he has studied at several schools, and also at his office with teachers dispatched from an agency. Perhaps not surprisingly, having lessons in his office was the most convenient option. However, the quality of the teachers was something of a problem.
"Most of them were university students, so it was difficult to talk about business matters," Nishimi explained. What's more, he said, the teachers changed regularly so it was difficult to build up any rapport with them.
Since then he has taken lessons at three of the big chain schools, as well as a small privately run conversation school near his home. In terms of learning, Nishimi said that Berlitz was the most effective of the big schools.
"The quality of the teachers was good," and "the 'Berlitz Method' worked," he said.
However, this didn't come cheaply, and he felt that the atmosphere in the school was a little too formal.
Of the other two schools, Nova faired better in terms of class size, with a maximum of three students compared to Aeon's eight. On the other hand, lessons at Aeon were always with the same teacher, whereas the teacher at Nova could change every time. Nishimi felt that the quality of the teachers at Nova was not always guaranteed.
"It depended a lot on luck," he said.
Nishimi now takes lessons at a small school near his home. He said the location is ideal, and the cost of lessons at this school is much cheaper than any of the big chains. There is also a much larger degree of flexibility in scheduling than in the larger schools (Nova was recently penalized for making unrealistic claims about the ease of reserving lessons). However, at a school this size, that flexibility goes both ways, and the teacher may also ask to rearrange lessons.
Of course, not everyone learns English for work. "Travel," "communicating with people of different nationalities," and even "watching films and listening to music" are all reasons often cited by students for studying the language. Those who want to study a more general form of English conversation usually choose an eikaiwa school — but which one?
Until recently, Yuriko Atsuta worked at a trading company in Tokyo where she sometimes needed to use English. At that time she studied general English conversation at the Lado International College of Japan, which went bankrupt in April.
However, she has now quit her job in order to try and pass the Japanese government's test for tour guides, so she is taking more specialized lessons at a small school in Tokyo.
Atsuta said that lessons at Lado were "better than in other large schools," and the quality of the teachers was "generally good." However, group size was again a problem, as classes had up to six or eight students, meaning that Atsuta had less chance to speak.
As for the small school, Atsuta said she was satisfied with the lessons she received there.
"I am given lessons by the same teacher every time and the contents are well considered and consistent," she said. "The quality of the lessons is very good because the teacher knows why I'm studying and what my objectives are."
For Atsuta, the small school has been much better, but these kinds of schools are often not easy to find.
"Large schools advertise themselves and it's easy for students to compare them," said Atsuta.
On the other hand, the advertising for a small school may be little more than sign on the street outside the school, or flyers posted through doors in the local area.
Despite this, small schools can often rely on that holy grail of marketing — word of mouth.
The Nova bunny and the 2-minute Berlitz video lessons on Tokyo's Yamanote Line may be more visible, but a recommendation from a friend is more likely to be acted upon.
Yukiko Hanaoka, a housewife from Tokyo and a friend of Atsuta's, said as much when I interviewed her. She lived in South Africa and studied English there under a private tutor for three years from when she was 10. Last year she passed the National Guide Test after studying at a well known exam prep school in Tokyo. This is her only experience learning English in Japan, but she said that if she were to take lessons at a conversation school, she'd be more likely to go to a small one.
"The larger schools may have more advantages in terms of location and facilities, but small schools are more reliable, since they are often recommended by a friend, usually have an original education program, a customized approach and a friendly atmosphere, all at a reasonable price," she explained.
When learning a language, what works for one person might not work at all for another, but a few common points emerged from the interviews I conducted.
Everyone I spoke to said the quality of the teacher was the most important factor for them, regardless of the size of the school or the type of lesson. At some of the big schools this could be hit or miss, a result either of the high staff turnover or the schools' policy of rotating teachers.
On the other hand, small schools did well in this respect. Their turnover is fairly small — at least compared with the larger schools — and students usually have the same teacher for each lesson.
For those who are starting at quite a low level, a larger school would probably be best. They often have a set teaching method that all the teachers follow, and this can be a very effective way to get to grips with the basics. However, for students who are of a higher level, or who have a more specific goal in mind, finding a good small school is likely to be more beneficial.
Ultimately, however, it's up to each individual to find out what works best for them.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20070731zg.html
The quality of teachers was consistently cited in interviews as the most important issue for longtime learners of English in Japan.
The market for English lessons in Japan is huge, and the options facing would-be students here can be daunting. There are the ubiquitous "big four" chain schools — Nova, Aeon, Geos and ECC — that can be found near most decent-size train stations. There are a few medium-size chains, which market themselves as a more personal alternative to the major players. Finally, at the other end of the scale are the independently owned English schools, often run by expats who have decided to stay long-term in Japan.
There are alternatives to "eikaiwa" (English conversation, or English conversation schools) too.
Many companies, especially foreign ones or Japanese firms with a strong overseas presence, provide English lessons on-site for their employees. Some people may choose to avoid the conversation-school route completely and take lessons with a private tutor. They can usually be found through specialized Web sites or classified ads, and the lessons generally take place in a coffee shop or in the student's home. For those who find themselves strapped for cash, there is always the option of doing a language exchange — teaching Japanese in return for being taught English.
A few months ago I wrote an article for the Community Page about the different choices facing those who decide to teach English in Japan (see search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20070313zg.html). This time I spoke to Japanese people about the best places to study English. Everyone I spoke to had their own reasons for studying and had taken lessons at a variety of places.
Yasuhiro Nishimi works for a multinational pharmaceutical company in Tokyo and uses English most days at work. In the past he has studied at several schools, and also at his office with teachers dispatched from an agency. Perhaps not surprisingly, having lessons in his office was the most convenient option. However, the quality of the teachers was something of a problem.
"Most of them were university students, so it was difficult to talk about business matters," Nishimi explained. What's more, he said, the teachers changed regularly so it was difficult to build up any rapport with them.
Since then he has taken lessons at three of the big chain schools, as well as a small privately run conversation school near his home. In terms of learning, Nishimi said that Berlitz was the most effective of the big schools.
"The quality of the teachers was good," and "the 'Berlitz Method' worked," he said.
However, this didn't come cheaply, and he felt that the atmosphere in the school was a little too formal.
Of the other two schools, Nova faired better in terms of class size, with a maximum of three students compared to Aeon's eight. On the other hand, lessons at Aeon were always with the same teacher, whereas the teacher at Nova could change every time. Nishimi felt that the quality of the teachers at Nova was not always guaranteed.
"It depended a lot on luck," he said.
Nishimi now takes lessons at a small school near his home. He said the location is ideal, and the cost of lessons at this school is much cheaper than any of the big chains. There is also a much larger degree of flexibility in scheduling than in the larger schools (Nova was recently penalized for making unrealistic claims about the ease of reserving lessons). However, at a school this size, that flexibility goes both ways, and the teacher may also ask to rearrange lessons.
Of course, not everyone learns English for work. "Travel," "communicating with people of different nationalities," and even "watching films and listening to music" are all reasons often cited by students for studying the language. Those who want to study a more general form of English conversation usually choose an eikaiwa school — but which one?
Until recently, Yuriko Atsuta worked at a trading company in Tokyo where she sometimes needed to use English. At that time she studied general English conversation at the Lado International College of Japan, which went bankrupt in April.
However, she has now quit her job in order to try and pass the Japanese government's test for tour guides, so she is taking more specialized lessons at a small school in Tokyo.
Atsuta said that lessons at Lado were "better than in other large schools," and the quality of the teachers was "generally good." However, group size was again a problem, as classes had up to six or eight students, meaning that Atsuta had less chance to speak.
As for the small school, Atsuta said she was satisfied with the lessons she received there.
"I am given lessons by the same teacher every time and the contents are well considered and consistent," she said. "The quality of the lessons is very good because the teacher knows why I'm studying and what my objectives are."
For Atsuta, the small school has been much better, but these kinds of schools are often not easy to find.
"Large schools advertise themselves and it's easy for students to compare them," said Atsuta.
On the other hand, the advertising for a small school may be little more than sign on the street outside the school, or flyers posted through doors in the local area.
Despite this, small schools can often rely on that holy grail of marketing — word of mouth.
The Nova bunny and the 2-minute Berlitz video lessons on Tokyo's Yamanote Line may be more visible, but a recommendation from a friend is more likely to be acted upon.
Yukiko Hanaoka, a housewife from Tokyo and a friend of Atsuta's, said as much when I interviewed her. She lived in South Africa and studied English there under a private tutor for three years from when she was 10. Last year she passed the National Guide Test after studying at a well known exam prep school in Tokyo. This is her only experience learning English in Japan, but she said that if she were to take lessons at a conversation school, she'd be more likely to go to a small one.
"The larger schools may have more advantages in terms of location and facilities, but small schools are more reliable, since they are often recommended by a friend, usually have an original education program, a customized approach and a friendly atmosphere, all at a reasonable price," she explained.
When learning a language, what works for one person might not work at all for another, but a few common points emerged from the interviews I conducted.
Everyone I spoke to said the quality of the teacher was the most important factor for them, regardless of the size of the school or the type of lesson. At some of the big schools this could be hit or miss, a result either of the high staff turnover or the schools' policy of rotating teachers.
On the other hand, small schools did well in this respect. Their turnover is fairly small — at least compared with the larger schools — and students usually have the same teacher for each lesson.
For those who are starting at quite a low level, a larger school would probably be best. They often have a set teaching method that all the teachers follow, and this can be a very effective way to get to grips with the basics. However, for students who are of a higher level, or who have a more specific goal in mind, finding a good small school is likely to be more beneficial.
Ultimately, however, it's up to each individual to find out what works best for them.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20070731zg.html
263 schools closed over last 4 months due to measles outbreak
Two hundred and sixty-three schools have been temporarily closed across Japan since April after a measles outbreak, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said.
The educational institutions include 83 universities, 73 high schools, 27 junior high schools and 18 elementary schools.
The ministry said 2,511 students have been diagnosed with measles between April and late July. (Mainichi)
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20070728p2a00m0na009000c.html
The educational institutions include 83 universities, 73 high schools, 27 junior high schools and 18 elementary schools.
The ministry said 2,511 students have been diagnosed with measles between April and late July. (Mainichi)
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20070728p2a00m0na009000c.html
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