Teach English in Kendal - TEFL Courses

Even though japanese students study english for seven to ten years very few become fluent or even reach the intermediate or advanced levels; most japanese students remain beginners or pre-intermediate stage. However, there are always exceptions. Most often these exceptions are extremely motivated gifted students or students that have spent time outside of japan in a country where english is taught and or used. There are several factors that account for this situation; they are the framework in which english is taught, differences between the alphabets and sounds, and lack of practice opportunities. The japanese education system focuses on taking tests and mainly teacher oriented classrooms. The teacher stands as the giver of knowledge and it is up to the students to apply the knowledge and internalize. Also, most if not all instruction is done solely in japanese. The teachers teach what is going to be on the test so that the students can pass. Having assisted in japanese classes of many different levels I have observed that there are very little to no authentic texts used, mostly the class is made up of the textbook and worksheets; this also accounts for the lack or opportunities to practice english in an authentic style. Therefore, the students have very little practice and do not have a chance to really interact and gain confidence with the language. The japanese government is trying to change this situation and their new guidelines for english education seek to focus on a more communicative approach. This is essentially a complete turnaround from previous stances of the government. (The exact wording can be found on the website.) Although the government is changing in their approach there are still some practices that impede students. One of the most notable examples is the timing of when a student will actually learn to read write and the stubborn lack of phonics. Elementary school activities are supposed to promote fun, the government and many teachers believe that students should not be learning phonics or how to write. They think that it will interfere with child's ability to learn japanese. Therefore, students are not really exposed to phonics, reading activities or writing until two years after they begin learning english. Instead they are taught with mostly listening activities, very few speaking activities and katakana versions of anything that they have to read. The lack of phonics is at the worst time because many studies find that younger students are able to pick up pronunciations better at younger ages. The lack of phonics is also compounded by teachers who have improper pronunciation. Once the students learn the wrong pronunciation it is extremely difficult for them to change it. Instead of learning phonics japanese children are taught the katakana versions of words. For example, “milk” becomes “miruku”. This is because japanese is a syllabic alphabet where each symbol is comprised of two sounds, making the phonology of japanese completely different from english. I have observed that many students find it very difficult to read or Pronounce english words because they are so accustomed to the katakana versions. The inability to read or spell severely impedes their ability to Learn and understand english at a higher level. Also, because they learn katakana and not english they do not develop the different muscles it takes to articulate some english sounds, japanese does not use the alveolar or palatal regions; because they do not use these regions sounds like r and l are hard for them to produce and differentiate. In an Interview with a japanese person, they actually commented that after speaking english for a long time the muscles around their mouth and jaw would actually ache a little. This person is currently a college student studying to be a teacher; upon first meeting him I thought he was a foreigner because he spoke english with an American accent. He had actually lived America for about five years and attended a high school. He recalled that at first he found it very difficult to go from katakana pronunciation to english pronunciation. These are just some of the difficulties that japanese students face. In order for japanese students to become fluent speakers of english, as a whole, these areas will need to be addressed by both the japanese government and japanese teachers of english. Sources ITTT tesol course, Unit 13: Teaching pronounciation and phonology Thompson, Heather, JET Program participant. Obsevations in Kunnepu Junior High School, Kunneppu Elementary School and Oromushi Elementary School in Kunneppu Town, Hokkaido, japan from September 2010 till the time of writing this paper. Thompson, Heather, JET Program participant. Interview with Mr. Takuro, December 8, 2011. Johnson, Alexandra, JET Program participant. Observations in Higashimakoto Junior high and assorted elementary schools in Ozora Town, Hokkaido, japan from August 2006 till July 2011. Schaetzel, Kirsten ,Teaching Pronunciation to Adult english Language Learners Georgetown Law Center, Washington, DC Ee Ling Low, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore July 2009 http://www.cal.org/caelanetwork/resources/pronunciation.html Fachun Zhang and Pengpeng Yin, A Study of Pronunciation Problems of english Learners in china, accessed January 5, 2012 www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ass/article/download/2490/2336 Stewart, Tim. tokyo University Will the new english Curriculum for 2013 work? I am using this as the source because it translates and quotes directly form the Mext website where the curriculum is only stated in japanese. Accessed January 5, 2012 http://jalt-publications.org/files/pdf-article/33.11-art2.pdf