Module 3 Core Article: The Context of English Education in Japan
Introduction: Welcome to the global age
Our present age is often referred to as the global age, an age where people from different cultures are able to communicate with each other more often and more smoothly.This is because of advances in technology and the increased mobility of people, and because better education is available for more people. For most countries in the world, this educationusually involves learning a second language, and that language is usually English. English is spoken by about 400 million native speakers, and possibly as many as 1 billionpeople when we add in the people who learn it as an additional language (Crystal, 2003a). Many peoplein various countries in the world see English as an essential tool for academic and employment/business in a global setting where more than any other language, English dominates.
A brief history of English language education in Japan
Japan's relationship with English goes back to the opening of the country in the 1850s. In the late Edo, Meiji, Taisho, and early Showa periods, Japan sought to learn from more scientifically advanced countries, and English was a tool for doing so. The purpose of learning English was to facilitate access to foreign books, and this was done through the teaching and learning of grammar translation. Success with English meant being able to translate written English into Japanese well. In the late Showa period, however, a major change began to happen. Events such as the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and 1970 Osaka World's Fair brought more of the world to Japan; at the same time, more and more Japanese companies were heading overseas for business. Educators in Japan began to believe that English was also important as a tool for two-way communication. It was from around this time that the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) began emphasizing the importance of teaching students to be able to communicate in English, including English listening and speaking skills. Yet change was very slow in coming. The well-established grammar translation culture was strong. Through the 1980s and 1990s, most students still did not really learn how to communicate in high schools or universities, and when these students became teachers, the only way they knew how to teach was grammar translation. MEXT set goals and asked teachers to change, but did not really help them to do so, and not much progress occurred. In 2003, MEXT stepped up its efforts with a new course of study aimed at creating a system that could produce Japanese who can (really) use English. With this course of study, a stronger emphasis began to be put on achieving a balance of all four skills of English: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Yet despite this new course of studies and MEXT and business pressure (Mikitani, 2016), a balanced teaching of four skills in English classrooms in Japan is still not very common (EharaMurakoshi, 2015). And the number of students in junior and senior high school who are reaching MEXT goals of passing the four-skills Eiken-STEP test (3rd grade for junior high and Pre-2nd grade for high school) is only about a third of all students (Wakita, 2016). A brief look at the scores of Japan's most proficient students, those who are planning to study abroad and take the TOEFL iBT test, show that compared to other Asian countries, Japan's scores are surprisingly low, considering that Japan is an advanced country that spends a lot of money on education (ETS, 2015). But it's not just students; even teachers do not seem to be very good at English. According to MEXT recommendations, teachers should achieve at least one of the following scores: Eiken Pre-1st grade, TOEFL iBT 80 points, or TOEIC 730 points. Yet only a third of junior high teachers have managed this, and only about half of high school teachers have done so.
So, what is needed?
The situation of English language education in Japan in 2016 is complicated because the need for English in Japan is not really that clear, and so residents of Japan seem to have a hard time agreeing on the purpose and approach to teaching English.According to answers on the Japanese General Social Surveys, or JGSS, one of the largest-scale social surveys in Japan, analyzed by Terasawa (2014), the number of Japanese people who say they used English at all in the past year was very small, and limited to a small number of people (especially business people and educated women). According to Terasawa, "...it is not yet a general phenomenon in Japanese society that people are required to use English either in business or everyday life" (pp. 270). So at the same time as some companies are requiring all new graduates to have high TOEIC scores or are even changing the language of use in the company to English (Mikitani, 2016), a large majority of Japanese do not even use English once per year (Terasawa, 2014).For educators in Japan, this raises an important question: would more Japanese use English if they were better at it? Many educators believe that if the English education system were better, more people would succeed at it and use it more, in business, in academics, and their personal lives.
And so we come back to the question of what kind of English should be taught, and what kind of outcomes does Japan want? Back in the 1970s, this was the topic of a famous debate. This debate was significant in that it tried to answer the questions of why and how English should be taught in Japan.
In 1974, WataruHiraizumi, a politician, submitted a report with some recommendations for English education because he felt that the current system was not producing students who could read, write, or understand English, even after six years or more of lessons. He suggested that students need more time with English to be successful, and he recommended that after one year of compulsory English in junior high school, the best students at learning language (roughly the top 5%) should be selected and then given sufficient hours of instruction so they can become fluent at English by the time they graduate from university. English would be optional for all other students. He also suggested that English should be removed as a subject from university entrance examinations.
On the other hand, Shoichi Watanabe, a university professor, did not agree with the proposal (and he was widely supported by junior and senior high school teachers). He believed that all students should study English taught in the traditional grammar translation approach because it was good intellectual training for them, and because it was impossible judge and choose the 5% of students who can be "successful" with English. He saw no need to train students to communicate practically in English, saying that they can do this outside of class if they want to.
The Hiraizumi-Watanabe debate raised many of the points that educators and policy makers have always struggled with. 1) Should English be a practical subject, or just be part of a general education? That is, do we want students who can really use all four skills for real communication, or do we just want students to know a little about the language? 2) Is English a tool to be mastered, or is studying English just good mental training? 3) Should English be a mandatory subject in schools, or should it be an elective? And should it be on university entrance exams? And 4) Is it really a practical goal to try to get everyone in Japan to learn English? Maybe it is better to just let a small number of people get good at English.
Conclusion: No easy answers
MEXT is now pushing for all students to learn English. There are still many problems about resources (money, training, staff, etc.) in addition to the unclear goals of English education. The challenge of learning English in the global age is turning out to be a big challenge for Japan.
References
Crystal, D.(2003a).English as a Global Language(2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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Mikitani, H. (2016). Japan's new business language. Project Syndicate,
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Terasawa, T. (2014). The needs to use English in Japanese society: A statistical examination
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Wakita, Y.(2016). 英語教育、なぜ学ぶ？どう学ぶ？(English education, why and how?). GakkouUnei,
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