Junior high students rip elementary English as ‘useless’: survey
Saturday, June 24th, 2017- Columbus, Ohio-
I can remember teaching English at elementary schools in Japan back in the dark days of English training in Japan from 2004-07. Back in those days, there was no established material, no budget for materials, nobody at the elementary schools that could teach English as a Foreign Language effectively, and certainly no establish benchmarks that we could refer to gauge effectiveness. The outcomes of this situation were 1) I got in the best shape of my adult life, 2) my Japanese ability improved greatly, 3) out of determination to leave the schools better than the way that I found them, I volunteered to have the other English teachers at our organization observe a teaching exposition at one of my 5th grade classes. The teaching plan which required interaction with the homeroom teacher, bag of tricks that I assembled and paid for out of my own pocket became part of everyone’s repertoire when visiting elementary schools.
Clearly, being in good shape, having stronger Japanese ability, and growing as a teacher made me the winner, but the same cannot be said about the students that I served or the teachers that I worked with at the elementary schools. In 2007, I returned to the US and honestly, I was disillusioned in the Japanese public-school system and the profession of teaching altogether.
In 2016, I was interviewing an English teacher who recently taught in Japan for my tutoring dispatching firm. When asked about her teaching experiences, she told a story of teaching at elementary schools in Japan that were identical to the one that I experienced a decade prior. What about the “foreign language activity” program that has been in place at Japanese elementary schools since 2011? “Any textbooks, established curriculum, and materials used for this?”, I asked. No was the answer. Hence, English at elementary schools in Japan was as if the hamster on the wheel. It wasn’t in a good place in 2004 and wasn’t going anywhere in 2016. The June 21st, 2017 Japan Times article of the survey proves this. However, in retrospect, the fact there are currently 35 hours dedicated to reading and writing activities for 5th and 6th graders is actually some sort of resemblance of "kaizen" than the dark days that I partook in. However, this breaks down to less than 12 hours per trimester. The busy expatriates that work for Honda or one of its suppliers in Columbus that my organization has been training since 2014 average this much contact time with an instructor. The difference is, the expat in Ohio is in the US to work for their company, the 5th grade student in school in Japan has the full-time job of being a student. One that has become proficient in a second language in their home country didn't do so with so little dedication. Maybe the expectation to become proficient in English 5th grade is unrealistic, however, the Japanese expat in the US that is over the age of 35 and can point back to the six years of compulsory English, yet can't do the basics is puzzling.
While this article decisively points to the problem of English being teaching methods of translating English into Japanese, dreadful memorizing and grammar exercises as the culprit of zapping the good deeds originating at the elementary school level, the foundation at the elementary schools need to be looked into as well. Key questions that need to be answered-
- What is the aim?
- What is the curriculum?
- Who at the elementary schools is taking ownership and the lead while the native English teacher is away?
- Is there an established set of material and textbook available?
I am pleased that 6th graders see value in the English skills acquired and see an overall benefit in English education. This could be stronger if the foundation at the elementary school was approached and taken seriously by all involved. English at the junior and senior high school level needs to be revamped altogether. No matter how solid the foundation is at the elementary school, the archaic and backward way of teaching English at the next level has to be done away with.
Lastly, the policy of doubling English classroom hours by 2020 (three years from now) is a step in the right direction. It is not enough, but anything will do at this point. Shame on those at elementary schools with concerns over being adequately prepared for the shift by 2020. English at elementary schools was in full swing when I came onto the scene in 2004 more than 13 years ago! How much time does the inefficient body of public schools in Japan that are being funded by taxpayers money need?
Daniel J. Stone, MBA
ダニエル・ストーン
Principal Consultant and Trainer
Two Birds One Stone Learning, LLC
3700 Riverside Drive, #21861
Columbus, OH 43221
www.onestonelearning.com
