improving Japanese English education and team-teaching

[eldritch48]

Here is my mandatory end of year report. I tried not to write it at all, but I got re-asked this morning

Comments

[lnherron]

Say on, brother! I totally agree, but with "Korea" substituted for "Japan." Korea's making a few superficial changes, but the major underlying problems remain, which means this country will most likely remain where it is: the highest number of TOEFL takers in the world, but among the lowest scores; firmly average among the OECD nations in terms of test scores, with below-average numbers in the top and bottom tiers.

Ach, but they didn't ask us. Well, in your case, I guess they did, but as for whether or not they're actually listening.... -.-;;

...any school

[bjeorn]

Hell, lets be honest, American schools don't do this with their foreign languages either.

I've always attributed it here to the LCD....perhaps its a school system thing.

Most of the suggestions you have here would definitely help in America as well as Japan....only there are really no ALTs here; just under valued teachers.

Re: ...any school

[eldritch48]

But American schools don't require *SIX YEARS* of the same language, with additional time usually spent in elementary school as well. Foreign language is much more "catch as catch can" in US schools...which is another problem ;)

Re: ...any school

[bjeorn]

well, I can't comment on all schools in the US, but in the Charlotte Meck. and Ashe County system they do now require four years in High School. And they theoretically give some time to it in elementary and middle school (I had some basic spanish stuff as early as 4th grade).

With the "new" focus that they had when I left, it wasn't uncommon for people to have 6 years of it; grades 7 --> 12 (although only 9-->12 was required)....and that doesn't count the few classes a month that they give in grades 4 --> 6.

....obviously I was only really in two school systems, but they were both like this.

Re: ...any school

[eldritch48]

But you didn't have to take the same language, and, frankly, having been both places...if you got consistently an 'A' in your language classes for 4-6 years back home, you'd speak fairly well....here...not so much.

[genkisakka]

Good for you for laying it all out. Many of my adult students in Tokyo had the same complaints about their English instruction -- too much random memorization, not enough speaking practice.

[anonymous]

"Nowhere else in the world is language taught with this kind of segregation"

How many countries have you taught and studied languages in? In every country I have worked in (Spain, Turkey, Thailand, Greece etc) the schools teach languages that way- hence the need for private language schools- and my own French lessons were very similar.

TEFLtastic blog- www.tefl.net/alexcase

[eldritch48]

I understand that some level of differentiation between grammar and speaking is probably necessary, but Japan is *famous* for treating them like 2 different languages.