Whilst I’m over in Europe, all the excitment is going over in Japan. As has happened every time before, the new government has decided to upturn what the last lot did, so apparently they are looking to abolish the English Education reforms.
The good news is that this looks like the scrapping of the horrendous Eigo Note (yeah!) but might also mean the scrapping of elementary English altogether (boo!) Anyway the Ministry is apparently asking teachers their opinions to see if they can overturn the decision or even get the Eigo Note reinstated.
So what are your thoughts? Are you for or against the Eigo Note? For or against primary school English? How should it be taught? Check out the Ministry’s page here:http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/kaikei/sassin/1286925.htm And be sure to send them your opinion: to suz-tak@mext.go.jp and you must write the name and number of the project: The number of the project is 7 & the name of the project is 英語教育改é©ç·åˆãƒ—ランã€å¦æ ¡ICT活用推進事æ¥
The deadline is Dec.15
It is pretty cool that teachers are getting a say in this. Here’s more on the system they are using.
Full marks for Yumiko’s å°å¦æ ¡è‹±èªžãƒ–ãƒã‚° for bringing this to my attention and keeping everyone informed on the forum!
So, let your voice be heard!
P.S. Lots of funky new videos coming tomorrow and the next day!
I am sure the elementary school teachers would be delighted to hear that elementary English could potentially be scrapped. With regard to the eigo note books although they are FAR from perfect at least they were a small step in the right direction and gave the Japanese teachers something they can do on their own and can be helpful when dealing with those tricky 6th graders who just don`t want to work.
I am an elementary school teacher myself but even I have mixed feelings about elementary English. I feel that if it cannot be done right then maybe it should not be done at all. The whole “introducing foreign elements to Japanese kids” idea often results in nothing more than “look at how strange the foreigner is” type of lessons. This probably does more damage than good.
Dexter,
but this is what I think is our task here:
If the idea they put up so far didn’t turn out right that doesn’t mean that there IS NO way Does it. The majority of countries in the world learns English or another second language at a much younger age, why should it not be possible in Japan?
There are always many ways leading in the direction of the goal, and if the first one isn’t correct we have to try another one.
The point is: What’s the goal? I think people at the top don’t have that clear, that’s why they can’t work constructive towards anything.
About the “foreigner” thing:
I ‘ve been to several schools from 2nd grade to JH3rd,
So far I’ve never been pointed out as the “strange foreigner”
Everything and everywhere we worked in the spirit of “oneness” , which doesn’t mean that I didn’t keep them aware about differences.
And as far as Eigo NOte is concerned, I agree that it gave them an idea to become interested. But only for a few moments, because looking at it carefully they realized without any help they still couldn’t do it. Especially not with 6th graders.
But have the teachers experience one GE lesson and they are convinced and get the courage to do it.
GE is definitely a ( I think THE) way . The question is, what is the goal?
I agree with you Margrit here, 100%
I also have never felt like I’ve never been pointed out as the “strange foreigner†(in any way at all, in fact almost the opposite)
Yes, I cannot think of a good reason why Japanese has to be the only 1st world country that doesn’t teach a foreign language at elementary school.
Inoring English is no step forward!
I agree that English should not be ignored at elementary school but if it should be RIGHT and with the full support of EVERY teacher in the school. The attitude of some elementary teachers towards having to teach English is offensive and if they really feel this way about such an important subject for kids to learn then I question their decision to become teachers in the first place.
The Genki English materials definately do work and I found a HUGE difference with the younger kids when playing the songs from CD 1. Getting my schools to actually pay for these materials is another thing altogether (no matter how many times I tell them how much it will help to make the subject more enjoyable for everyone)
Regarding the “strange foreigner” syndrome maybe “strange” was the wrong word but the problem of kids (and some teachers) using the word “gaijin” still persists and at the request of the Japanese teachers some of my lessons border on becoming more of a clown than a teacher. There has to be a balance at ES between purely being an entertainer and a teacher.
Yes, I agree 100% about the teachers. They should have the students as number one, not their own comfort factor.
But, our opinions will sadly have no real impact I feel.
That is the saddest part of the whole Elementary School English debacle. The needs of the kids (learning such an important subject as English) is secondary to whether to teachers want to teach it or not (!) I thought they were being paid to do a job.
I am leaving Japanese public education after Christmas and have accepted a new job with a public school in China. I will be very interested to see how the teachers compare. I really hope someday Japan gets this problem sorted out.
I watched an interesting program last night (Mr. News) They introduced the educational system in Finland and one thing that really stood out was the textbook system. It seems they did away with government approved textbooks. Instead they allowed schools to choose materials that work in their classrooms. Having to go through all the red tape and different bureaucratic levels is sure to leave a dry and dull textbook (sound familiar?)
I truly think attitudes would change if teachers got to experiment with GE materials. I have observed and purchased a number of different textbooks/teaching materials and none have offered the support that GE does and more importantly none have had classes of students smiling and learning like GE.
Without the proper support I can understand the homeroom teachers reluctance to teach. I know I would rather spend my limited time with students teaching them something I knew well and have the confidence that they are learning it. I also would fight having to do a mediocre job with students not learning anything.
I am an ALT in Okinawa and have been for 5 years. I enjoy the job alot but am sorry to say, I feel that I’ve been often referred to as “a strange foreigner” I have to also say that I feel the education level of Okinawa is very low. I also have to say that teachers’ support with regard to English has been minimal at best. I can see English dying all together in Okinawa.
It would be sad to see it go as it’s my job, but like someone mentioned, if it’s not done right, then it should not be done at all.
One of the main hinderances of learning English by the Japanese is their overall attitude to the outside world. They are very shy and intravert and speaking this language is very challenging for them.
To sum it up, I think the Japanese techers’ attitudes have contributed to the failure of teaching English as a foreign language. It’s been fun in one way, but very difficult in other ways.
Time to move on…
I agree with every body here,
I still think that it’s my task to show them there are other ways and make them open towards the outside world.
When I started at our school last year, the principal was in big trouble because almost all of the teachers refused to take 5th and 6th years grade for fear about English.
That changed after a few lessons of watching me teaching with GE materials. They are getting confidence (not to mention the kids) and when changing to this new school year the principal called me over to thank me as he had such an easy time to get teachers willing to teach these grades.
I think it’s like yeast: it’s only small little movements, and only single “YOU” and “ME” who are starting to show what’s possible, but this makes things growing and changing until we have a delicous fat loaf of bread.
Great story and example