Japan to raise English fluency

The Japanese government has set an ambitious goal of making the Japanese fluent in English, by recommending that all English classes for those aged 16 to 18 are taught mainly in that language from 2013।

The inability of most Japanese to speak English, despite compulsory classes from the age of 13, is well known and a source of embarrassment for Japan।

In Stockholm last month, Professor Toshihide Masukawa, a co-winner of this year's Nobel Prize in physics, insisted on delivering his lecture in Japanese।

Despite being able to read scientific literature in English, the 68-year-old academic cannot communicate in English and is known to dislike the language। But one thing he regretted was not being able to converse with other Nobel laureates.

The revised curriculum guideline recently announced by the Education Ministry is aimed at avoiding such situations।

English teachers at senior high schools in Japan will teach their classes in English and limit the use of Japanese only to the explanation of complicated grammar।

Senior high school students will also be required to master 1,800 new English words, up from the present quota of 1,300, while those aged 13 to 15 at junior high school will have to learn 3,000 new words, an increase of 800।

The new quotas will put the Japanese on a par with the level of English taught at schools in China and South Korea।

Mr Tsutomu Shiozaki, head of a national federation of English teachers, welcomed the new guidelines।

'People say that if we teach entirely in English, students will not be able to follow the lessons। That's not true. Language is to be used. If we use it often, students' awareness will change,' he was quoted as saying by the Asahi Shimbun.

Mr Shiozaki is the headmaster of a senior high school which was one of several chosen by the ministry a few years ago to teach English classes entirely in English।

But for most of Japan's English teachers, the new curriculum guideline is bad news, especially for those in their 40s and 50s who generally do not speak English well and are often terribly embarrassed by their pronunciation।

Mr Yo Hamada, 26, an English teacher at a school in Yokote city, Akita prefecture in northern Japan, feels it is pointless to teach in English if the format of university entrance examinations remains unchanged।

At present, English classes at high school focus on helping students to pass these examinations, which test only reading and comprehension and include a listening section। This is why, while most Japanese leave school able to read and write English to some extent, few end up being able to speak the language.

'Unless the requirements of entrance exams are changed, in fact unless the whole system of English education is changed, I do not see the point of trying to teach in English। I myself am reluctant to do so,' said Mr Yo.

He is proficient in English, having attended graduate school at the Tokyo campus of an American university।

Professor Matsuo Kimura, an English language education expert at Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo, believes that with the right training, it is feasible to teach in English। But he stressed that an integrated English curriculum from primary to senior high school is necessary to produce students who can speak English.

'At present, such a curriculum does not exist,' he said।

From 2011, 11- and 12-year-old Japanese children in primary schools will spend an hour a week using simple English for 'international understanding'।

But many think that is not enough।

Getting the pronunciation right is a problem for most Japanese and when the typical Japanese speaks English, it is often barely intelligible to a foreigner।

Most Japanese learners use the Japanese script to notate English sounds - something which virtually guarantees that what comes out of their mouths resembles Japanese more than English।

'Unless the requirements of entrance exams are changed, in fact unless the whole system of English education is changed, I do not see the point of trying to teach in English। I myself am reluctant to do so.'

Mr Yo Hamada, an English teacher। Japan's high schools focus on helping students pass university entrance exams, which test reading and listening skills, but not speaking skills.
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