Suggestions for Foreign Language Activities in Elementary School in Japan: Based on English Education in Elementary School in Korea
210M046 M. K.
In Japan, Foreign Language Activities (FLA) was made compulsory as an area, not as an individual subject, in elementary school in 2011. Children who are in the fifth and sixth grades in elementary school take FLA for 35 credit hours per year (once a week). It is said that the movement from “area” to “subject” is the future prospect of FLA. In other words, it can be imagined that FLA will become a “subject” in the near future. I thought that it is necessary to think about conditions for making English compulsory in elementary school in Japan in the future. So I refer to the Korean elementary school English education and system where English has been a “subject” in elementary school since 1997. The Korean and Japanese school systems have much in common. Pre-service teacher training and certification procedures are also similar. Studying elementary school English education in Korea, therefore, will be useful when considering the further incorporation of English education in elementary school in Japan. In this paper, I wrote about what Japan should learn from English education in elementary school in Korea such as training programs for in-service teachers and pre-service teacher training. I suggested concrete ideas to improve the current Japanese situation.
In chapter 1, I focused on FLA, discussing the process of introducing FLA in elementary school in Japan and the current Course of Study of FLA. I made clear that the redefinition of the timing of starting of English education by the Ad Hoc Council on Education in 1986 became the first opportunity to introduce FLA. After that, in 2002 English Activities was conducted as a part of International Understanding in “Hours for Comprehensive Studies”. Then, in 2011 FLA was introduced to ensure equal opportunities in education and connect education in elementary and junior high schools smoothly. I showed that FLA mainly focuses on familiarizing children with the sounds and basic expressions of foreign language, not teaching English letters, phonics, grammar, and so on.
In chapter 2, I discussed English education in elementary school in Korea examining the process of the introduction of an English education in Korea, its educational objectives, curricula and conditions for making English compulsory in elementary school. I made clear that English education has been conducted as “English conversation” in Adaption Activities of “extracurricular activities” and then English education was introduced in elementary school in Korea in 1997. I mentioned that the educational objectives of English education in elementary school in Korea mean that the children will participate actively in society in the future. I was impressed at the curricula. The learning items were more than those of Japan. The contents are also more advanced. They include things which are conducted in the junior high school in Japan. Elementary school English education is conducted by the proper use of the supplementary curriculum and the advanced curriculum according to the children’s learning level and previews. It can be said that it is a device to have children acquire basic English skills. I made clear that the training program for in-service teachers has two kinds of programs: the basic (general) training program and the training program for executive trainees. The contents of the basic (general) training program are fulfilling. Teachers who participate in the program can learn the theory and practice of elementary school English education at a time. After this program, immediately teachers can put into practice what they learned back in English class. Concerning pre-service teacher training, I mentioned that there is a national university of education where students need not to pay the entrance fee, tuition or dormitory fee, and that the university accepts students who aim to be teachers in the future, regardless of the economic situation of the student’s family. I pointed out that the students attend classes related to elementary school English education in elementary school teacher training universities, and the universities have an environment which can improve the expertise of English education of students who aim to be elementary school teachers.
In chapter 3, I wrote about what Japan should learn from English education in elementary school in Korea and suggested concrete ideas to improve current Japanese situation. It made clear that training programs for in-service teachers concerning FLA in Japan have problems before and after the introduction of FLA, for example, the number of hours of the programs, the contents of the programs and ways to conduct the programs. In regard to the contents of the programs, I found that there are some problems that occurred after the introduction of FLA in Japan: assessment procedure and cooperation with ALTs and Japanese instructors. In regard to assessment procedure, I suggested that teachers and children together conduct the assessment of FLA. In regard to cooperation with ALTs and Japanese instructors, I suggested that teachers, ALTs and Japanese instructors use ‘a card for meeting with ALTs’. I put forward some suggestions to improve pre-service teacher training in Japan, for example, making a lecture concerning FLA compulsory in elementary school teacher training course in universities, establishing English lesson in elementary school teacher training course in universities, participating in teaching assistant volunteer activities concerning FLA, students’ self-directed learning, and so forth.
In this thesis, I examined the Korean elementary school English education and FLA in Japan. Especially, I was surprised to know that training programs for in-service teachers and pre-service teacher training concerning FLA in Japan are not enough. It can be said that Japan needs to conduct the training programs and the teacher training with more responsibility and improve the quality of teachers.