Elementary School English Education in Japan – toward Coherent English Education in an Asian Context

While English has been the primary foreign language to learn in junior high schoolsand high schools in Japan, it was introduced to elementary schools as an “optionalactivity” in 2002. According to the Japanese Ministry of Education, “MEXT,”about 97.1 percent of elementary schools throughout Japan engaged in some kind of“English activity” with an average of 15.9 hours per year (for 6th graders) in 2007.Although these figures may indicate an increase in interest in teaching English atelementary school level, additional data suggest serious concerns amongelementary school teachers. One of the main sources of the concerns is the factthat most English activities are taught by homeroom teachers who do not hold anyformal teaching credentials in English. However, the MEXT has announced thatEnglish will become a “mandatory activity,” not an academic subject, in elementaryschools in 2011, which may trigger more problematic situations.This paper addresses the issues related to the implementation of elementaryschool English in Japan from the following perspectives: (1) Role and relevance ofEnglish in an Asian context, (2) Importance of coherent education from elementaryto tertiary level, (3) Brief history and current status of elementary school English inJapan, (4) Professional competencies for elementary school English: pedagogicalcompetency and English ability.Although English is recognized as the most widely used language ofinternational communication, there has been no consensus of opinion about thepurpose and goal of English education at elementary school level yet in Japan. Inprinciple, teacher training and induction will not be offered to elementaryhomeroom teachers. In addition, the requirements for teachers of elementaryschool English have not yet been clarified by the MEXT. Main findings of thesurvey with 600 elementary school teachers, conducted in 2006 and 2007, andsuggestions for designing of elementary school curriculum, teaching materials, andteacher education will also be discussed for further research.