my opinions about Japanese Eng;lish education ( No.1)

Here is my opinion about Japanese English education. (NO.1)

第３回テーマ　日本の英語教育

１、少なくとも６年間は英語を学習しているにもかかわらずなぜ日本人は英語がしゃべれないのか？

(How come Japanese People are very bad at speaking in English even though we learn it for at least 6 years at school? )

・ Lack of motivation and definite reasons for learning English because English is not so important in Japanese society. People’s lives and careers don’t rely on English skills.

・ People have forgotten that English is a language and a means of communication. English is considered just as a school subject and students are studying English just to pass exams which stress grammar and reading. Hence Japanese English education is based on grammar and translation-based learning, not listening and speaking.

・ Teachers themselves have been taught in the old-style grammar and reading-based teaching method and they can’t speak English fluently. They don’t have a clue about how to teach kids to improve their listening and speaking skills. And poor English listening and speaking ability in teachers creates nothing better in students.

・ English is not spoken in English classes to give commands and instructions to students. Mainly Japanese is used in classes.

・ English textbooks are full of explanations and instructions in Japanese not in English.

・ The full potential of native English teachers is not being utilized during English classes. They are just used to practise English words and sentences over and over again like a parrot.

２、どうすれば日本人の英会話力は向上すると思うか？（改善策など）
(What could be done to improve Japanese people's English communication ability?

I have come up with three ideas to improve Japanese people's English skills ( especially for students).

・Creating a new style of teaching.

Making the most of native English teachers and let him/her teach English alone for one period and then Japanese teachers review the class and teach grammar in the next period. In this case, Japanese teachers are not supposed to speak during the native teacher’s session so that the students can concentrate on English the native teacher is saying.

・ Motivating students by creating an oral communication test and making it requirement for the exam.

Currently students are studying English for entrance examinations of university or college which put emphasis on reading and grammar. This is the main reason why grammar and reading are mainly taught in schools. I think it is very difficult to give a speaking test for each examinee because of time constraints. So instead, we should create a new oral communication test like Eiken( but the new test targets listening and speaking skills) and require students to have a high score of the test before they apply for the exams. Then students have a reason to improve their listening and speaking skills. We should also make writing and reading test easier so that students can have more listening and speaking classes.

・Creating an English only TV channel ( especially for children)

People watch TV every day. If there is a TV channel that broadcasts nothing but English programs ( mainly children’s shows), available every day, it could be a very good opportunity for children to become familiar with the language and learn a lot from it.

*This article has been corrected.