Possibilities of Applying Immersion Programs in Public Junior High Schools in Japan
212M026 M. S.
Amidst the rapid progression of internationalization, raising children who are able to communicate with othersuse by using their second language is considered more desirable than before in Japan. In order to raise children who can use second language as a communication tool, we need to think hard what we can do at school. What kinds of methods should we turn to in order to develop such human resources? I would like to propose the application of immersion programs to English teaching in Japan. The purpose of the immersion programs is to teach a second language by learning school subjects through the second language.
In Chapter 1, I gave a concise introduction of immersion programs,and discussed bilingual education, criticism to immersion programs and motivations.
In Chapter 2, I introduced immersion programs in Canada and the United States. In Canada, each state can decide how they provide education and has already provided various immersion classes. They focus on giving classes to enhance children's ability to think. In the United States, immersion programs were first put in place in the 1970s, and in 2005, 11 elementary schools embraced Japanese immersion programs.
In Chapter 3, I treated immersion programs in Japan. Some private schools have adopted English immersion programs, such as Kato Gyoshu Gakuen and Nagoya International Junior and Senior School. A few public schools have also given immersion classes like Tokyo Metropolitan Institute Igusa High School.
In Chapter 4, I introduced my observation about immersion programs. One of the reasons why immersion programs are needed in Japan is internationalization of Japanese society. MEXT announced that English classes in elementary schools will begin in the fifth grade and students will get grades and have to use textbooks by 2020. This means that teachers in public junior high schools will have well-prepared students for English.
"The earlier, the better" is one general rule for learning a new language. Children at early ages are just like sponges that absorb anything with ease. They are expected to be able to learn a lot of things through English immersion programs.