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ElementarySchoolEnglishEducation（Nishida）

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Elementary School English Education ―The Present Condition of the Japanese Education System―

小学校英語教育は何をもたらすか―日本の英語教育の現状から考える―

HarumiNishida

2002年度の学習指導要領の改訂に伴い、小学校で英語活動を行うことができるようになった。この小学校への英語導入という動きを生じさせた原因は、（ ₁ ）経済界からの強い要請、

（ ₂ ）英語が話せることに対する憧れ、（ ₃ ）英語学習には適した年齢があるという臨界期説が考えられる。導入に当たっては、さまざまな賛成及び反対意見が出てきた。その主なものを見てみると、賛成意見としては、（ ₁ ）コミュニケーションに対する積極的な態度が育つ、

（ ₂ ）BICS（basicinterpersonalcommunicationskills）の基本を伸ばせるが挙げられる。反対意見としては、（ ₁ ）英語よりもまず日本語の読み書きを教えるべき、（ ₂ ）英語学習と国際理解がどのように関連するのかが不明確、（ ₃ ）誤った技能が身につく、（ ₄ ）臨界期説を疑問視、（ ₅ ）中学校で英語力をつけるべき、（ ₆ ）言語習得のためには時間数が足らない等である。

経済界や保護者などを含めた社会が英語教育に求めるものは、使える英語の習得、すなわち英語が話せる人間の育成である。これに対し、文科省が打ち出した英語活動の目的は国際理解教育の一環としての英語活動であり、この活動を通じて新しい日本人としてのアイデンティティーを確立することである。両者が目指すところには相当に大きなずれがある。研究開発校における英語学習の成果が示すように、英語力の習得はあまり期待できないかもしれない。しかし一方、英語活動を通じて自国の文化、及び異文化を理解しようとする態度が育つ、英語に関心を持ち抵抗感がなくなる、積極的にコミュニケーションをとろうとする態度が育つなどの成果は見られそうである。重要なのはこのような成果をどう評価するかである。

1. The Present Condition of Elementary School English Education

TheclassbasedontheElementaryCourseofStudyhasbeenimplementedinelementary

andjuniorhighschoolsinceApril2002.Englishactivitiescanbedoneasapartofthelearning

processrelatedto internationalunderstandingwithinthePeriodfor IntegratedStudyat the

elementaryschoollevel.

According to thedata fromtheMinistryofEducation,Culture,Sports,Scienceand

Technology inJuly2002,thepercentageofthe22,847publicelementaryschoolscarringout

Englishactivitiesinthethirdgradewas51.3%,inthefourthgradewas52.3%,inthefifthgrade

外国語教育フォーラム　第 5 号

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was53.6%andinthesixthwas56.1%.ThepercentageoftheschoolswhichdidEnglishactivities

in2000was20%,and42%in2001,soitisincreasingsteadily.Butsincemanyoftheschoolswith

Englishactivities(63%)actuallydothemfor justonetoelevenhoursayear,wemaysaythat

theseschoolsshouldreconsiderhowtheydoEnglishactivities.

2. Purposes of Learning English within the Period for Integrated Study

Foreign languageconversationparticularlyEnglishconversation iswithintheareaof

internationalunderstanding listedasanexampleof the learningactivitiestobedone inthe

Period for IntegratedStudy.TheElementaryCourseofStudyrefers to learningEnglishas

follows:

Whenconducting foreign languagesconversationactivitieswithin thestudies for international

understanding,activitiesshouldincorporateexperientiallearning,appropriateforelementaryschool

agestudents,inwhichchildrenareexposedtoforeignlanguageandfamiliarizedwiththecultureand

dailylifeofforeigncountries.

TheElementaryCourseofStudycommentarygeneralrulesedition(1999)statesthe

following:

WhenconductingforeignlanguageconversationactivitieswithinthePeriodfortheIntegratedStudy

accordingtothestudents’situationsalongwithconsiderationof localandschoolcircumstances,

activitiesshouldavoidjumpingaheadtoaddresstopicsforjuniorhighschool.

ExamplesofacceptableEnglishactivitiesaresinging,playinggames,doingquizzesorparticipatingin

make-believeplayactivities.

Judgingfromtheabove,thepurposesoflearningEnglishwithinthePeriodforIntegrated

Studyarelimitedtothefollowingfivescenarios:

a)Tobedoneasapartoflearningaboutinternationalunderstanding

b)Toavoidtopicsforjuniorhighschool

c)Toexposestudentstoforeignlanguages

d)Toallowstudentstobecomefamiliarwithforeignlife,culture,andsoon.

e)Tobeexperientiallearning

3. The Movement which Brought about this Present Condition

The introductionofEnglisheducation inelementaryschoolswasapolicy,whichwas

carriedoutasapartofthegeneral languageeducationpolicy.Twomovementsarerelatedto

外国語教育フォーラム　第 5 号 ElementarySchoolEnglishEducation（Nishida）

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elementaryschoolEnglisheducation.ThefirstoneistheintroductionofEnglisheducationin

elementaryschools.Itbeganinthe1990sandisthemoremainstreamofthetwo.Theotherisa

seriesoflanguageeducationpolicy,whichledtotheEstablishmentofanActionPlantoCultivate

“JapanesewithEnglishAbilities”(2003)bytheEducation,Science,andTechnologyMinistry.

Currentlytheformeristhebiggermovement.

4. The Reason for the Movement to Introduce English Education in Elementary School

Therearethreereasonswhythismovementhasdeveloped.First, themovementwas

formedattherequestofthe industrialworld.Secondisthepeople’sdesiretospeakEnglish.

Thirdisthecriticalperiod,optimalforforeignlanguagelearning.Expertsdifferontheprecise

beginningandendofthiswindow.Studiesindicatethatitisfourtoeightornineyearsofage,or

tothebeginningoftheteens.Otherssuggestthataround10yearsofage isthebesttimefor

languagelearning.Inanyevent,afterthatage,itbecomesdifficulttoacquirealanguage.

Weshalldiscussthesethreereasonsindetail.First,theintroductionofEnglisheducation

inelementaryschoolshasbeenstronglyrequestedbytheeconomicworldformorethanthirty

years. Inadditiontothat,manyJapanesehavebeenexposedtorapidglobalization inrecent

years,andtheyhavebeenforcedtointeractwithforeigncountriesandnon-nativespeakersof

Japaneseinvariousfields.WeareexpectedtothoroughlymasterpracticalEnglishinmanyareas

ofourdailylives.

Second,thepeople’sdesiretospeakEnglishisbasedonapsychologicalcomplexabout

Englishconversation.Thiscomplexcausestheproblemthatnooneobjectstoanargumentlike

our main English problem is that we can’t speak it.AlthoughtheEducation,Science,and

TechnologyMinistryhadvariousreforms inEnglisheducation,theaverageJapaneseTOEFL

scoreisthelowestofalltheAsiancountries.However,noonesaysthatthereformsarewrong.

TheEnglishlearningplaninelementaryschoolscomesandgoeswithoutopposition.

Third,itissaidthatitisimpossibleinJapan’sEnglishsystemforstudentstouseEnglish

eveniftheygraduatefromahighschoolorauniversitybecausetheystarttolearnEnglishfrom

juniorhighschool.Somepeoplesay it is too late,and theearlierstudentsstart to learna

language,thebettertheycanacquireit.

Theargumentisbasedonthecriticalperiod.Whenwelearnaforeignlanguageduringthe


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periodratherthanafterithaspast,wecanreachahigherproficiencylevel.

5. Purposes of English Education

ThepurposeofEnglisheducationinelementaryschools istodeveloppracticalEnglish

abilitysothatstudentsacquireasenseofEnglish-speakingcultureandgrowaccustomedtothe

Englishlanguage.Butthispurposeseemstobedifferentfromthereasonforthemovementto

introduceEnglisheducationinelementaryschools.AccordingtotheElementaryCourseofStudy

eachelementaryschoolcanconductEnglishconversationactivitieswithin thestudies for

internationalunderstanding inordertobuildup learningability, thinkingability,andzest for

livingwithin thePeriod for IntegratedStudy.Basedon theElementaryCourseofStudy

mentionedabove,weshallconsidertheneedtoexposeelementarystudentstoforeignlanguage.

Thequestionofintroducingforeignlanguageeducationinelementaryschoolshasbeena

pointofdiscussionineducationpolicyforalongtime.Becausetherehasbeenarequestthatwe

learntospeakEnglishandinordertodothat,wehadbetterbegintolearnitinchildhood,the

Education,Science,andTechnologyMinistryexaminedthespecialists’opinionsandtheresults

oftheresearchaboutlearningEnglishinthepilotschools(n=66)andfinallydecidedtointroduce

Englishconversationwithintheareaof internationalunderstandingstartingfrom2002.This

international understanding aims at understanding cross-culture, having cross-cultural

communication, and co-existing with other countries’ peoples. From this point of view,

elementaryschoolsneedtoconductexperientialstudyingsothatstudentscandevelopwilling

attitudestowardstudyingEnglish,comfortablementalitieswhenspeakingEnglish,andpractical

abilitiesforusingEnglish.

Thereasonwhylearningaforeignlanguageisintroducedinelementaryschoolsistodeal

withglobalization.Itisnotonlyrequiredinsocietybutalsothoughtofasachancetoestablish

ouridentitythroughcommunicationwithforeigners.Moreover,elementaryschoolstudentsare

extremely interested innewthingsandareatastagewheretheycannaturallyabsorbother

culturesthroughlanguage.Inadditiontothat,those,whoseactivationoftheright-brainisstrong,

aresensitiveandcancatchthingsintuitively.Asaresult,childhoodisconsideredthebesttime

forforeignlanguagelearning1).

Inotherwords, theclassaimsretainingJapanese identityasapeoplewhohavean

internationalawarenessthroughtheunderstandingofculturesbylearninglanguagesandthrough

familiaritywithEnglishratherthanenhancingtheirEnglishpracticaluseability.Butthispurpose

isdifferentfromthereasonforthemovementtointroduceEnglishinelementaryschools.


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6. Support for and Opposition to the Elementary Education System

ElementarySchoolEnglisheducationhasbeenwidelydiscussed. It startedwith the

argumentofloweracademicability.Loweracademicabilityalsowaswidelydiscussednotonlyby

thosewhowereaffiliatedwitheducationbutalsobythepublic.Nosoonerdidtheyknowthe

basicpurposesoftheElementaryCourseofStudy(whichadvocatesa30%reductionintextbook

content inadditiontoallowing individualschools topursuetheirownuniquepressure-free

educationinitiatives)thantheywereafraidofloweracademicability.

AnotherargumentbeganfromUniversity students who can’t solve fractionswrittenby

KoujiOkabe,NobuyukuTose,andKazuoNishimura(1999).Thefindingsoftheirstudyshowed

thatone-fifthofhigh leveluniversity studentscouldnotanswerquestionswith fractions.

Althoughthatwascertainlyshocking,manyuniversityteachershadalreadyrecognizeduniversity

students’ loweracademicability.Theproblemwas,people insisted, thatthereasonfortheir

loweracademicabilitywasbecauseoftheflexible,pressure-freeeducationsystempushedbythe

Education, Science, and Technology Ministry since 1981. Now, lower academic ability

encompassednotonlyuniversitystudentsbutalsoelementary, juniorhighandhighschool

students.

In2000,peoplewereveryworriedaboutthecontentsoftheElementaryCourseofStudy

thathadpushedforflexible,pressure-freeeducation.TheycriticizedthePeriodforIntegrated

Studybecauseitwasmadebycuttingdownclasstimeinother,moreacademicsubjects.

Itseemsthattheloweracademicabilitydisputehasnothingtodowithelementaryschool

Englisheducation.ButthisdisputeinfluencedtheintroductionofEnglishinelementaryschools

intwoways.Onewayisthatpeopleinsistedthatweshouldregardfundamentalacademicability

asthehighestpriority.ElementaryschoolstudentsshouldlearnJapanesereadingandwriting

andshouldnot learnEnglish.Thosewhoareopposed toelementary schoolEnglishhave

consistentlysaidthatweshouldteachthemJapanesebeforeEnglish.

Theotherwayisthroughcriticismfrombothsupportersandopponentsofelementary

schoolEnglish.They think that teachingEnglishduring thePeriod for IntegratedStudy is

incomplete.Thesupporters insist thatweshould introduceEnglishasasubjectassoonas

possible.TheopponentscriticizethatthereisadifferencebetweenthepurposesofthePeriod

forIntegratedStudyandEnglishactivities.


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6.1. Support for the Elementary Education System

Thenletustakealookattheprosandcons.ThefirstproisthatEnglisheducationraises

theactiveattitudetowardcommunication.Whenchildren learn languages, theyhavetopay

attentiontoitandstruggleinordertounderstandwhatspeakerssayandtosaywhattheywant,

unlikewhenusingtheirnativetongue.Childrentryto listencarefullyandunderstandwhat

speakerssaywithhintsfromgesturesandfacialexpressions.Moreover,theytrytoexpresswhat

theywanttocommunicatebygesturing,showingrealthings,anddrawingpictures.Whenthey

cancommunicatewithothersinEnglish,theyarehappytodoso.Theytryhardertolistento

whatotherssayandspeakmore.Children fosterapositiveattitudetowardcommunication

throughthisexperience2).

The second pro is that students can build up the basis of Basic Interpersonal

CommunicationSkills(BICS)throughEnglishactivities.This is the fundamentalability for

communication suchas greetings,pleasant responses toothers, and theability to show

considerationandbuildgoodrelationshipswithothers.Althoughtheremaybeanopinionthat

BICSshouldbetaughtintheJapaneselanguageclass,wecanexpectchildrentolearnnotonly

BICSbutalsoEnglishwithinthePeriodforIntegratedStudyandtransferBICStoJapanese3).The

transfertoJapaneseisbasedonthecommonunderlyingproficiencymodelofCommins(1980a

and1981a).Thismodelcanberepresentedintheanalogyoftwoicebergswhichrepresenttwo

languages.“Thetwoicebergsareseparateabovethesurface.Thatis,twolanguagesarevisibly

differentinoutwardconversation.Underneaththesurface,thetwoicebergsarefusedsothatthe

two languagesdon’t functionseparately.Both languagesoperate throughthesamecentral

processingsystem”4). Therefore,atransferfromEnglishtoJapanesebecomespossible.Evenifit

istaughtintheJapaneselanguageclass,itisashortleaptotransferthoseskillstoEnglish.

6.2. Opposition to the Elementary Education System

Nowweshallmovetotheoppositions.Themostcommonoppositionisstudentsshould

learnJapanesereadingandwriting first rather thanEnglish.Themost important thing for

elementaryschoolstudentswhoareontheworddevelopmentstage istoacquirethevarious

languageskillsinJapanese.TheseskillsareimportantwhenwelearnnotonlyJapanesebutalso

a second language.Studentsshoulddevelop theability to think logically, read,write,and

communicateinJapanesebeforetheylearnEnglish.

ThesecondoppositionobjectstothepurposeofEnglisheducation intheelementary


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school,whichisnottodevelopEnglishabilitybuttodeepeninternationalunderstanding.The

biggestproblem is that it isnotclearhow internationalunderstanding relates toEnglish

learning5).

Thethirdoppositionto it isthatthestudentsmightacquirethewrongknowledgeand

skills if theyare taughtEnglishby teacherswhodonot receiveenoughEnglisheducation

training.

Therearesomepeoplewhodoubt thecriticalperiod,which isoneof thereasonsto

introduceEnglishintoelementaryschool6).Studentssucceedinforeignlanguagelearningifthey

start it inthecriticalperiod.Butthissuccessisbroughtaboutonlyinthecasethatafterthey

starttolearnit,theystayinthecountrywherethetargetlanguageisspoken.Theenvironment

inJapan’sEnglishclassesisdifferentfromthesituationmentionedabove.

AlthoughanativespeakersuchasanALTmayparticipate in theclass,studentsare

mostlyJapanese;andtheyspeakJapaneseaftertheclassends.Theenvironmentisdifferentfrom

thebilingualstudent’scase.

Also, it’snotclearwhatkindofmechanismsofbrainfunctionhappenduringthecritical

period.Lennebergsaysthatitrelatestoone side-izationofthelanguagefunction.Itisbelieved

thatlanguagefunctionsareinthelefthemisphereofthebrain.Thisisolationofbrainfunctionis

calledoneside-ization.Lennebergthoughtthatthereisadifferenceintheprocessoflanguage

acquisitionbetweenthecaseofstartingto learnaforeignlanguagebefore languagefunctions

werecompletelyformedandthecaseofstartingafterward.Thecriticalperiodiscausedbythis

difference.Butthathasnotbeenprovenfromtheviewpointofneurophysiology.

Moreover,asLennebergrecognizes,wecanacquire languagepast thecriticalperiod.

However,abilitytoacquirelanguagegraduallydeclinesafterthecriticalperiod.

Thenextargumentagainst it isthatstudentsshoulddevelopEnglishlanguageskills in

juniorhighschool7).

It isnecessarytodevelopthebasisoffourskills in juniorhighschoolandhighschool:

reading,writing, listening,andspeaking.Studentsshould learn thebasic skills,especially

listeningandspeaking in juniorhighschool,whichhas the introductionperiod forEnglish

learning.

At leastfiveEnglishclassesaweekshouldbeheld inorderforthestudentstobuilda

foundationlittlebylittle.Juniorhighschoolstudentsaresuitedforlanguagelearning,because


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duringthisperiodtheircognitivefacultiesarefullydevelopedandtheyaregoodatmemorizing.

Theyshouldhaveenoughhourstolearn,andtheyshouldhaveexcellentteachersinjuniorhigh

school.

Thelastargumentagainstit isthattheEnglishclassfrequencyinelementaryschoolsis

notenough to learn the language.8) I cansay for sure that theEnglishclass frequency in

elementaryschoolsisabouttwiceaweekfromthirdgrade.IfstudentshaveEnglishclasstwicea

weekuntilthesixthgrade,howmanyhourswilltheylearn?Twohours×35weeks=70hoursa

year.Butaclasshourisactually45minutes,sotheactualtimeis52.5hoursayear.Fifty-two-

point-five×4yearsfromthirdgradetosixthgrade=210hours. It isoftensaidthatweneed

2,000hoursinordertoacquirealanguage,but210hoursisscarcelyone-tenthofthatamount.

Furthermore,evenifstudentslearnEnglishfor200hoursinelementaryschool,itisone-tenthas

effectiveasitiswhentheyconcentrateonlearning.

ElementaryschoolEnglisheducationhasbeendebatedlikethisformanyyears,andthe

argumentisstillgoingon.Inspiteofthedispute,Englishactivitieswereactuallyintroducedin

elementaryschools.TheEducation,Science,andTechnologyMinistryspecifiedpilotschoolsand

didresearchonEnglisheducationbeforetheintroduction.Next,letustakealookattheresults

andtheproblemsofthisresearch.

7. The Results of the Research

TheEducation,Science,andTechnologyMinistrybeganresearchrelated toEnglish

educationinpublicelementaryschoolsin1992andspecifiedanelementaryschoolinOsakaasa

pilotschool.Sincethen,manypilotschoolshaveresearchedelementarycurriculums,which

adoptedforeignlanguagelearningandsubmittedareportaboutprogress,results,andproblems

oftheresearch.

TheEducation,Science,andTechnologyMinistrydecidedto introduceEnglishasan

activity,notasasubject,afterexaminingtheresearchresultsof fiftyschools in1998.This

decisionwasimplementedin2002,buteachschoolcandecidewhethertheydoEnglishactivities

ornot.

7.1. The Students’ Change

Letuslookatthestudents’changesfromthereportofthepilotschools.


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•ThestudentsgenerallyenjoyEnglishactivitiesandarelikelytobehavethemselves.Ontheother

hand,however,somestudentsarepooratdoingactivitieslikesingingandplayinggames.

• Thestudents’viewhasbroadened.Itseemsthattheyhavebecomemorefamiliarwithforeigners

andforeigncountries.

• Theydevelopedtheabilitytoexpressthemselves.9)

Thesearethemainitems.Thereisalsothefollowingreport.Tothequestionof“IsEnglish

classpleasant?”92%ofstudentsansweredit is pleasant.Moreimportantly,about90%ofthe

lowergradestudentsandabout50%ofthemiddlegradestudentsansweredit is very pleasant.

Butasstudentsbecomeolder,therateofthestudentswhofeelitisverypleasantdecreases.The

activity,whichislikedbyallgradesisplayinggames(79%).Songsarelikedbythelowergrades

(50%),andstudyingwithanALTislikedbytheuppergrades(25%).

Asforregardingotherculturesandinterculturalcommunication,thestudents’behavior

wasdramaticallybetteramongthosewhohadstudiedEnglishinelementaryschool.Especiallyin

theuppergrades,morethan60%ofthestudentsaskedquestionsactivelyandgaveopinionsin

class.Conversely,thereportsaysthatthestudents’attitudetowardlisteningtootherswasworse.

ThefollowingquestionwasaskedtoteacherswhodidEnglishactivitiesatthe295pilot

schools.“WhatdoyouthinkstudentsdevelopedthroughEnglishactivities?”

• Teacherssaidunderstandingourownandothercultures.Studentswanttotrytounderstandother

countries. 124schools

• TeacherssaidstudentshaveaninterestinEnglish.StudentsdonothesitatetouseEnglish.Students

arefamiliarwithEnglish,andtrytohavefunlearningit. 120schools

• Teacherssaidstudentshaveanattitudeandabilitytotrytocommunicatewithothers. 78schools

• Teacherssaidstudentsbecomepositive.

Studentswhostudypoorlycanbeactive.

Cheerfulness

Confidence 70schools

• Teacherssaidstudentscanassociatewithforeignerswithoutprejudice.

Studentsfeelfriendlytowardforeigners. 64schools

• Teacherssaidinternationalsense,broadview,symbiosis,andconsideration. 39schools

• Teacherssaidtheabilityofexpression. 23schools

• Teacherssaidstudents’interestinJapanesedeepensaswell.

Listeningability

Pronunciation 17schools10)


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First,124outof295schools,whichdidEnglishactivitiesmentionedunderstandingour

ownandotherculture,and120mentionedinterestinandfamiliaritywithEnglish.Next,about70

schoolsmentionedthedesiretotrytocommunicatewithothers,confidence,cheerfulness,and

soon.

EveniftherearenotmanyEnglishclassesaweek,thesekindsofmentalresultscanbe

expected.

Another investigationwasconducted into theactualconditionof juniorhighschool

studentswhoexperiencedlearningEnglishinelementaryschools.

• Studentsquicklyrespondwithouthesitationtogreetings,classroomEnglish,andbeingaddressed

byanALT.

• Listeningandspeakingabilitiesarebetter.

• Students’attitudestowardALTsareoftennatural.

Also,theinvestigationshowsthattheprobleminjuniorhighschoolEnglisheducationis

that therearedifferencesamongstudents inmotivation forstudyingEnglishandacademic

ability.

• Moststudentscanspeakand listentothewordsandsentences introduced inthefirstgradeof

juniorhighschool.Butsomestudents,whofindEnglishdifficult,thinksongs,games,andskitsare

childishorworthlessanddonotshowanyinterestinothercountries.

• Ontheotherhand,somestudentsareexcellent inreadingandwritingbylearninginelementary

schools11).

Themost importantresultof foreign language learning inelementaryschools is that

studentsdiscoversomethingnewwithinthemselvesandchange.

7.2. The Result of English Ability

Ontheotherhand,as for theresultofEnglishability, theelementaryschoolshardly

announceresultsonsuchcriteriaaspronunciation, listening,speakingandsoon,becausethe

purposesofEnglishactivitiesarenot todevelopEnglishability tocultivate familiarityand

comfort.ButtherehasbeensomeresearchdoneonthisaspectofbeingexposedtoEnglishin

elementaryschools.

LetusintroduceShirohata’sexperimentalstudy12).ShirohatacomparedEnglishabilityof

studentswhoexperiencedEnglishactivitiesatapilotschoolforthreeyearswithstudentswho


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didnot.HeconductedthreeexperimentsfromDecembertoFebruaryinthefirstgradeofjunior

high school: Experiment 1 was the ability to distinguish phonemes, Experiment 2 was

pronunciationability,andExperiment3wasspeakingability.Theresultswerethattherewasno

statisticallysignificantdifferencebetweenexperiencedstudentsandinexperiencedstudentsin

thesethreeexperiments.Thatis,thereisnodifferenceintheEnglishabilitybetweenthetwo

groups.

Noteworthy in this research is that theabilitiesof listeningandspeaking,whichare

thought tobe improved inelementary schoolEnglisheducation,were the samebetween

experiencedstudentsand inexperiencedstudents.AccordingtoShirohata’s interpretation, it

seemsthatthereasonwhytheelementaryschool’smethodwasnoteffectiveinimprovingEnglish

ability isverysimple.That isbecausethestudentshavelittletimetoexperienceEnglish.The

studentsdoEnglishactivitiesonceaweek,andtheyaremainlygamessuchasbingoandfruit

basketwithoutlearningpronunciation.WecannotexpectstudentstodevelopEnglishabilityif

theyonlydoactivities35hoursayearforthreeyears.

LetusconsideronemoreinvestigationbytheprojectteamoftheJapaneseChildEnglish

PedagogyMeeting(JASTEC)13),whichhaspromotedthe introductionofEnglisheducationin

elementaryschools.

This isaninvestigationconcerningtheEnglishskillsof850juniorhighandhighschool

studentssomeofwhomlearnedEnglishinelementaryschoolandsomewhodidnot.Theresults

oftheirstudyrevealedanumberofnoteworthyfindings.

As forpronunciation, thestudentswho learnedEnglishwereslightlybetter thanthe

studentswhodidnotinthefirstgradeandthirdgradeofjuniorhighschoolandsecondgradeof

high school, but thedifference isnot statistically significant.As forEnglishknowledge,

experiencedstudentswerebetterthaninexperiencedstudentsinthefirstgradeof juniorhigh

school,butafterthatthedifferencebetweenbothgroupsalmostdisappeared.AsforEnglish

practicaluseability,experiencedstudentswerebetterthaninexperiencedstudentsinthefirst

gradeof juniorhighschool,butthedifferencebetweenthetwobecomessmaller inthethird

gradeof juniorhighschool.However,experiencedstudentsbecomebetterthaninexperienced

studentsagaininthesecondgradeofhighschool.

8. Conclusion

WehavesurveyedtheintroductionofEnglisheducationinelementaryschoolsandlooked


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attheresultsprovidedbypilotschools.Manycritics,teachers,andparentsstillactivelyargue

whetherelementaryschoolEnglisheducationisnecessaryornot.However,Englisheducation

wasintroducedinelementaryschoolsnotasasubjectbutasanactivity.TheEducation,Science,

andTechnologyMinistryisconsideringwhetherEnglishshouldbeintroducedasasubjectornot.

AsIpreviouslystated,theindustrialworld’sandtheparents’requestforEnglisheducation

istoacquirepracticalEnglish, that is, toraisethosewhocanspeakEnglish.Meanwhile, the

Education, Science, and Technology Ministry says that English activities are a part of

internationalunderstanding,andthepurposeistogenerateinternationalunderstandingasapart

ofthenewJapaneseidentity.Thereisagreatdifferencebetweenthetwopurposes.

IfEnglisheducationisintroducedinelementaryschoolsinearnestlateron,Ithinkpeople

willsaythatevenifstudentsstudyEnglishinelementaryschool,theycannotspeakit.Then,at

thattimetheEducation,Science,andTechnologyMinistrywillreplythattheyarenotlearning

Englishbutratherinternationalunderstanding.

But,ontheotherhand,itseemsthatstudents,whotrytounderstandourownandother

cultureshaveaninterest inEnglishandtrytocommunicatewithothers.Themost important

thingishowweevaluatesuchresults.Theycanbeinterpretedinvariousways. Ibelievethe

mentalresults fromtheEnglishactivitiesmentionedabovearevery important,but Iamnot

certainthatstudentshavetolearntheseinanEnglishclass,whichwassetupbyreducingthe

othersubjects’classes.Studentsneedtolearnthisinterculturalunderstanding,buttheycandoit

inclassesotherthanEnglish.Theycandevelopanunderstandingofotherculturesandthe

attitudeto try tocommunicateactivelywithothers inclassesother thanEnglish. It isonly

EnglishclassthathasaninterestinEnglish.Buttheycandothatwhentheybecomejuniorhigh

schoolstudents.IntensiveEnglishlearninginjuniorhighschoolsismoreeffectivethanEnglish

activitiesinelementaryschools.IfweteachstudentsEnglish,itshouldnotbeEnglishactivities

butratherEnglishlearning,andweshouldplacespecialemphasisontheacquisitionofskills.Ido

notobjecttoEnglish learning inelementaryschools,butIopposethecurrentuseofEnglish

activitiesbytheEducation,Science,andTechnologyMinistrybecausetheMinistrydoesnot

intendthemtobeusedfortheacquisitionofEnglishability.Theonlywayforstudentstoacquire

theskillstheyneedanddesireistoteachthemEnglishasasubject.

Notes

1) Watanabe,K.(2003).Kyo kara Hajimeru Shogakkoeigoshido no Kiso・Kihon.(pp.4-5).Tokyo:

Kyoikukaihatsukenkyusho.


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2) Naoyama,Y.(2004).ShogakkoeigokatudoEkiari,YotteHitsuyoari, tadashi,Jokentsukide.The

English Teachers’ Magazine,10,12-14.

3) Nakajima,K.(2004).ShogakkoeigodeNobasubekiNoryokuhaNanika.The English Teachers’

Magazine,10,24-26.

4) Baker,C.(2001).Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism.Clevedon:Multilingual

MattersLtd.(pp.165-166).

5) Otsu,Y.(2004).KoritsushogakkodenoEigokyoikuniIgiari.The English Teachers’ Magazine,5,

8-11.

6) Torikai,K.,&Otsu,Y.(2002).Shogakko de Naze Eigo?.(pp.20-22).Tokyo:Iwanamishotenn.

7) Ibid.,pp.42-43.

8) Moteki,H.(2001).Shogakko ni Eigo ha Hitsuyo nai.(pp.46-53).Tokyo:Kodansha.

9) Kageura, I.(2000).Shogakkoeigokenkyukaihatsugakko no Torikumi Zenjoho.(pp.124-127).

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