Columns that reveal the world
- Getting up close and personal with the researchers -

Japan is currently undergoing major changes in English education. Did you know that the curriculum guidelines have been revised to make foreign language activities compulsory for fifth and sixth graders starting in 2011, to significantly increase the number of hours and required vocabulary in junior high schools in 2012, and to have all classes taught in English in high schools in 2013?

The lack of English ability among Japanese people has been a topic of discussion for some time. I think that the low level of English ability is closely related to the fact that Japan has a strong domestic demand, and people can live comfortably on the island of Japan without going abroad. Another major reason is that while studying "English" as a subject for entrance exams has allowed people to memorize a lot of grammar and vocabulary, they have not studied English as a communication tool.

Until now, it seems that English has simply been considered one of the subjects required for entering a good high school or university, but from now on, "acquiring communication skills in English" will become essential for surviving in today's society, where globalization is inevitable.

What are the benefits of being able to speak English? I think everyone has a vague idea that being able to speak English will broaden your opportunities, but here's an example. While inns that specialized in catering to school trip students are going out of business one after another due to issues such as the declining birthrate, those that have changed their target to foreigners are surviving. The structure remains the same as in the old days, but the inn business has been revived by making the menus and other items available in English. Even if you don't take a step outside of Japan yourself, many foreigners come to Japan every day. Even if you don't go abroad, being able to speak English can expand your business opportunities.

I am currently volunteering as an English teacher at a public elementary school, and one of my students, a sixth grader, shared his dream with me:
"My dream is to have a library in my house, so I'm studying English. To have access to lots of books, I need to know English."
The child is not learning English outside of school. However, even children can sense firsthand the usefulness of English in the coming age, saying, "It makes a difference whether or not you have English to do something in the future."

After a two-year transition period from 2009, foreign language activities for fifth and sixth graders began in 2011. However, the burden of teaching English has been placed on elementary school teachers, who already teach all other subjects in addition to the core subjects of Japanese, mathematics, science, and social studies. In addition, current elementary school teachers who have not received training in teaching English do not know how to teach the language. Various problems have emerged and remain unsolved.

In order to solve these problems, we at the Japan Association of English Language Teaching for Children (JASTEC) have submitted an appeal to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Our main points are the following two:
First, "I want English to be introduced as a subject."
Just like the question of "which came first, the chicken or the egg," you can't teach without teachers, and you can't train teachers unless you make English a subject. I believe that introducing English as a subject will lead to training teachers who can teach English.
And, "I would like English to be introduced from the third grade of elementary school."
In Asian countries, English learning starts in the third grade of elementary school. In most cases, it is taught as a subject, and by the time students enter junior high school, they have acquired the basics of English. Currently, "foreign language activities" are taught once a week for fifth and sixth graders, but I would like to see them expanded to third and fourth graders, and twice a week for fifth and sixth graders, with a stronger emphasis on English as a subject.

As shown in the table above, even just in elementary school efforts, Japan's English education is lagging behind other countries. However, rather than regretting what we have not done up until now, we need to think about how to advance English education from now on. We need education that is not exam English, nor is it a language that only a certain type of unique person can use, but one that cultivates people who can use the word "English" fluently.

How can we communicate with people who speak different languages, and therefore have different cultures, by using English? Japanese people have a culture of understanding each other without having to say a word, but this is not the case with foreigners. In order to communicate with people who speak different languages and cultures, it is important to first organize your thoughts and express your opinions.

However, when you suddenly have to speak in English, it is quite difficult to express your opinion. I think Japanese people have not had much experience in "expressing their opinion clearly". They may feel presumptuous or embarrassed to express their opinion. They may feel intimidated to express an opinion different from the other person's, or even feel as if their personality is being denied when they are told a different opinion. I think the Japanese culture of "understanding each other without saying anything" and "reading between the lines" is wonderful, but I'm sure there are many times when even Japanese people cannot understand each other.

"What Japanese people will need in the future is the ability to express their opinions in their own words." Children who grow up in an environment where their parents read to them from a young age and where their parents listen carefully to them and offer encouragement will have a strong foundation in language.

Even though I teach English at elementary school now, I realize that children who have a foundation in their native language, Japanese, are different. Children with a foundation in language listen carefully and have acquired the attitude of trying to think things through. If they further hone their language skills, they will be able to express their own opinions logically, listen carefully to the opinions of others, and even summarize and present them.

Here we introduce an interesting study. It was the result of a study carried out by a group led by Professor Tokuda Katsumi of the Graduate School of Tsukuba University, looking at children's relationship with fairy tales and old folk tales. According to the survey results, in response to the question, "Who went to defeat the ogre with Momotaro?", 49% of three-year-olds and 89% of five- and six-year-olds answered correctly in a survey conducted in 1990. However, 20 years later in 2010, the correct answer rate had dropped to 22% of three-year-olds and 50% of five- and six-year-olds.

These results reveal that, at present, parents are not telling stories to their children. Mastering words is similar to the image of a flower blooming. The roots connect together beneath the ground, growing on many words as nourishment, and just like when a flower sprouts and blooms, the words go out. Words grow by feeding on words with proper context. Stories are extremely effective when it comes to learning words.

I teach old tales and fairy tales such as "Momotaro" and "Little Red Riding Hood" to elementary school students in English. You may think that "Little Red Riding Hood" is not suitable for elementary school students, but "Little Red Riding Hood" is. Because children know the story, they feel that they "understand" even if they are using new words and many sentences. Then, they start to use phrases that appear in the story and play with words, building their own English "My English". I also recommend English picture books like the ones on the right for child learners. I think that it is effective to learn English from old tales and fairy tales not only for children, but also for junior high school students, high school students, and adults.