Let’s Think About English Education in Japan

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Akashi National College of Technology

A: In Japan opportunities to use English have increased as globalization has progressed. Especially in large companies like “Rakuten” and “UNIQLO”, English has come to be used frequently in business. Like this, English rules over all other foreign languages in Japan. As the world advances toward globalization, it becomes more important that we communicate with people from other countries. As such, “Foreign Language Education” in Japan, mainly involves learning English as an international language. In Asian countries like China and South Korea, English education has excelled, while in Japan we seem to lag behind. However, compared with Japan’s former education system, English teaching materials used in schools have become very easy to understand.
C: In recent years, we have started English education from elementary school, and the environment in which we learn English has improved. In fact, Japanese should be proud of their English education with respect to grammar. Some serious students are superior even to native English speakers in grammar. However, although we can understand what one’s saying, we can’t always respond appropriately. So, even in English education in Japan today, there are still problems.
A: What problems of English education exist in Japan now?
B: Well, most countries in the world use English to promote globalization. And, it is becoming increasingly important to talk in English in our daily lives. And yet, recent English education in Japan still places much more importance on the English grammar of the national center test for university admissions than it does on real communication.
A: What instances of this are you familiar with?
B: Well, many English classes simply involve grammar and translation, and they offer few opportunities to create sentences about our daily lives.
A: Right. We can’t speak English naturally, when we try to communicate with foreigners.
B: Yes. So, of course, the problem is that we have so few chances to speak in English.
A: What else?
C: I think there is also a problem with the teachers when they try to teach English pronunciation. For a period of two years from the age of 6, I was living in Malaysia and learning English. Then, I took English classes in Japan, and I immediately noticed that my Japanese English teachers were teaching English with bad pronunciation. In Japanese and English, the method of pronunciation and vocalization is obviously different. Therefore, this is a difficult problem. As a result, Japanese students cannot talk in English, when they go abroad.
B: Right…When I was a junior high school student, I was taught English by an English teacher whose pronunciation sounded Japanese and was more like katakana than English. Furthermore, when the ALT, a native speaker of English, came to my junior high school, the students didn’t have good attitudes towards practicing English. Our English teacher translated everything that the ALT said. So, we just waited for the translation without listening to the ALT.”
A: Hmmm… That all sounds pretty bad.
C: Then, what can we do to solve these problems?
B: Most countries in the world value foreign language education in a variety of ways. Now, let’s take a look at examples of this in European countries and South Korea.
C: First: European countries. In most European countries, foreign language education begins in the third grade of elementary school. They study English in a fun atmosphere through singing songs and drawing pictures. And, English practice is not limited to the classroom. The youth of Europe have many opportunities to use English in everyday life in and around their homes.
A: Next, let’s look at Japan’s closest neighbor: South Korea. Since 1997, English education in South Korea has been compulsory from the third grade of elementary school. They have placed native English speaking teachers in each school to increase exposure to native English pronunciation. In addition, with the spread of multimedia, teaching materials for native English speaking teachers have developed rapidly throughout the world and have become particularly popular in South Korea.
B: By utilizing multimedia, English education is not limited to the classroom in South Korea either. Instead, it is widely accessed in homes. At present, programs that take advantage of multimedia, regardless of time and place, help students to learn English with the support of native English speakers from around the world.
A: Now that I have seen the efforts of English education in two regions of the world, I wonder what the future of English education will be in Japan?
C: Again, I think we should teach English to children from an earlier age in Japan as seen in the two regions we just learned about.
B: I don’t think so. Even if students learn English earlier, it means that they might just play in English or just sing a song in English? Does that make sense?
C: I think that if we introduce fun games and songs in English, it will increased student motivation to learn English in the future.
B: I see. But, I think it is wrong for us to rely completely on schools for English education.
A: What do you mean?
B: It is crucial for parents to have a consciousness of the importance of English education for their children. Much more support from parents is needed for children in many subjects including English while kids are still small.
A: I see. So, if it is possible, parents should give children an opportunity to have contact with English while they are small. On the other hand, it is important that children try to be positive about learning English as they sing songs and learn English at school under unrestricted circumstances. What do you think about the use of multimedia for learning English in the manner that the Koreans do?
C: That is also very practical in the sense that it keeps English education up-to-date along with the trend of the times. And, where English is concerned, it would help us to keep up with our Korean neighbors. Multimedia is becoming popular in Japan, and I think that the Japanese have an especially nice opportunity to communicate with native English speakers through multimedia. I think there is also an advantage to keeping English education fun.
B: O.K., let’s look back through the presentation briefly. First, we discussed problems in English education in Japan now. Then, we considered examples of English education in European countries and South Korea. Based on these, we thought about what English education in Japan in the future should be.
A: As the world grows smaller through globalization, the importance of knowing a common language like English will only continue to increase. Even if we will live in Japan, opportunities to use English will increase more and more. Under such circumstances, knowing English will help us to communicate freely with people around the world.
C: As professional engineers, English ability would be particularly useful at international conferences, where we could hear the opinions of engineers from other countries. And, in turn, we could share our knowledge and expertise with confidence in front of an international audience. But first, to change the reality of ideals like these, we must consider how to promote and stimulate interest in English education.