a journey in english (1), 2005.09.09

A Journey in English

From Here to There

& Back Again

By Paul Beaufait

2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 2

TOEFL reforms (1)

Major English

exams did not

require practical

communication.

In other words, real

communication or

interaction was not

needed either

between people or

between areas of

language use.


TOEFL reforms (2)

As a result, students could score highly on tests and yet not be able to communicate in real life....

The new form of TOEFL test will measure the language ability of students, not only academic understanding but also communication skills in various settings.


A Quick Look Around


How Many Languages?

"'They say if you

speak two

languages,

you are bilingual;

Three languages,

you are trilingual.

But if you only

speak one

language,

then you are an

American.'"

(Pete Groux; in

Mervine, 2005)


How Many Languages?

"According to the

[European

Commission's] plan,

every European

citizen should have

command of at least

two languages,

apart from his or her

native language."

(Hospodarske noviny,

August 30, 2005)


Which Language? Czech Loss of Choice

"There is a possibility that in three years Czech children

will not be able to choose which of foreign languages they will start learning at schools and

English will become

the first mandatory

foreign language to

be learnt."

(Hospodarske

noviny, August

30,2005)


When? Czech Lifelong learning

"All schools -

beginning with

nurseries and ending

with high schools -

will pay more

attention to the

teaching of foreign

languages."

"Adults will be able

to attend foreign

language courses

partly paid by the

state."

(Hospodarske noviny,

August 30, 2005)


When? Pakistani primary schools

"The government in

Pakistan's Sindh

province has

decided to teach

English to students

from Class I in all

schools run by it."

"Sindh Minister for

Education Dr Hamida

Khuhro said... the

decision had been

taken keeping in view

the growing

dependability of the

world on English

language skills."

(The Peninsula, 2005)


When? Maybe not in national-type Chinese

schools in Malaysia

Educators in

Malaysia "urged the

Government to

abolish the use of

English to teach

Science and

Mathematics."

"The use of English in the teaching of Mathematics and Science in Standard One was introduced in 2003."

(New Sunday Times

Online, 2005)


"Rethink on classes for 1st

graders" in Thailand

"Starting too early

may do more harm

than good: minister.

The Education

Ministry is

considering lifting

obligatory English

lessons starting in

the first grade,

arguing that the

incompetence of

numerous students

after years of

learning stems

mainly from bad

experiences in

compulsory classes."

(The Nation, September 19,

2005)


"Inability to communicate in English" (1)

Thailand's "Education

Minister Chaturon

Chaisang said that

most students’ inability

to communicate in

English

despite spending years

learning the language

pointed to a clear

failure in language-

teaching in

Thailand."

(The Nation, August

28, 2005)


"Inability to communicate in English" (2)

Minister Chaisang

"added that

the practice of

encouraging students to

memorise grammatical

rules by rote

must be discontinued

in favour of providing

them with

opportunities to

practice speaking,

listening and

writing."

(The Nation, 2005)


TESOL: AGAINST - High-stakes Testing

"The use of single

tests upon which to

base major

educational decisions

has been on the rise

in the United States

for several years."

(TESOL, 2005)


TESOL: AGAINST - High-stakes Testing

"TESOL opposes this practice with English language learners

because these students are at a linguistic disadvantage and

have not been given ample opportunity to master the content area that is being tested."

(TESOL, 2005)


TESOL: FOR - Alternative Assessments

"Rather, TESOL

advocates use of

alternatives to high-

stakes testing for

English language

learners,

"such as multiple

assessments and

portfolios."

(TESOL, 2005)


From Here


Learning English: What for? (1)


Learning English: What for? (2)

0. No apparent

purposes;

1. General purposes;

2. Instrumental

purposes;

3. Integrative

purposes; or

4. Specific purposes.


"An important language"

"English is an

important

language to be

learned

in order to do

business and

communicate

with other

peoples of the

world." (Nakata 2002b)


"An important role in society" (1)

"Historically we Japanese people didn't think any foreign languages so important

as we didn't feel inconvenient at all in communicating with each other in the closed society.

But [a] time has

come that Japanese

people must face

reality." (Language Teacher

Development

Project

participant)


"An important role in society" (2)

"As we were

making an effort

to catch up with

other developing

countries,

we realize[d] that English is playing an important role in our society."

(Language Teacher Development Project participant)


English education:

When & where?

K-12

Pre-school -

Primary

Kindergartens

Elementary

schools

Cram schools

Secondary

Junior high

schools

Cram schools

Senior high

schools

Cram schools


English education:

When & where?

Adult

Tertiary

Colleges &

universities

Students

Auditors

Vocational-

technical

schools

Skills

Trades


English education:

When & where?

Adult

Other

Self-

development

plans and

activities;

'Conversation'

schools; or

Distance

education

Anywhere

Anytime -

almost!


"A complete & systematic

approach"

"There has to be a strong lead connecting English teaching from children all the way up to adults

in order to have a complete and systematic approach to English education."

(Nakata, 2002a)


Bridging the gaps

Getting more

input:

Browsing,

Listening,

Reading, &

Viewing.

Making more

output:

Producing;

Speaking; &

Writing.


Models & motivation

"Many high school

teachers are

highly proficient

in English and

motivated to

integrate new

theoretical and

research insights

into their

teaching." (Matsuda, 2002,

p. 53)


To Get There

You'll need:

Vision,

Passion, &

Action. (Murphey, 1998)

Based upon:

World views;

Local

knowledge; &

Personal

objectives.


Overseas Travel and

Study Abroad (1)

Overseas travel:

Developing

awareness &

appreciation of

target cultures,

own cultures, and

global issues;

While...

Developing self-

confidence and

self-reliance

through

voluntary,

school, and

personal

activities.


Overseas Travel and

Study Abroad (2)

Study abroad:

Studying and using target languages;

Experiencing & observing various cultures; and

Developing

attitudes,

knowledge, &

skills

for current

and future use.


State funding for

overseas studies? 1000 students:

English speaking

countries;

Three months or

more;

400,000 yen. (Asahi, 2002)

100 teachers:

Leave of absence;

for graduate studies;

A year or more;

One-half of tuition. (Asahi, 2002)


And Back Again: Virtually (1)

A virtual high

school...

with real high

goals:

Excitement,

Interest, &

Opportunity.


And Back Again: Virtually (2)

"Funded by the National Ministry of Education, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)...

Kumamoto was selected

as one of 16 'kens' to be the host of a pilot program with

the goal of improving English education for the entire country."

(Super Virtual HS, 2005)


Virtual High Goals (1)

"Get students

excited about

English by

teaching them in

English

about topics that

interest them."

"Further facilitate

internationalization

by increasing

student exposure to

non-Japanese young

people." (Super Virtual

HS, 2005)



"Expose Japanese

students to their

role as world

citizens and

give them enough

information

to spark an interest

in the world outside

of our 'ken,'

thus further

increasing

internationalization." (Super Virtual

HS, 2005)



"Give our

students the

confidence to

communicate in

English,

both with

native speakers

and other non-

native speakers

alike." (Super Virtual

HS, 2005)


Educated, pro-active citizens

Awareness of

issues;

Concerns about

the world

around us;

Knowledge of

histories;

Visions of the future, &

Passions for action.


"Passion, Vision, & Action"

All three are

required for what

Tim Murphey has

called "Olympian

Technology."

Language Hungry

MACMILLAN

LANGUAGEHOUSE

(1998), Chapter 15

Without action:

Dreamers;

Without vision:

Workaholics;

Without passion:

People going for

average (or less).


"The Action Plan...

...to cultivate

'Japanese with

English abilities.'" (Ministry of

Education,

Culture, Sports,

Science and

Technology

[MEXT], 2004)

In particular,

the ability to use

English at work (Administrative

studies faculty

meeting; June 24,

2004)


Ability to use English @ work

Occupation: Student

Major: Administrative studies

Responsibilities:

Class work:

Pair work

Group work

Class discussion

Homework

Self-development


Administrative studies:

Goals in focus (1) Introductory questions:

Are your ideas flexible?

Do you see things from

diverse angles?

Are your views

international?

http://www.pu-

kumamoto.ac.jp/guide-

e/admin-e/admin-

e.htm

http://www.pu-kumamoto.ac.jp/guide-e/admin-e/admin-e.htm



Goals in focus (2)

Reflect for a

moment about

the introductory

questions:

If so, how so?

If not, why?



Goals in focus (3) A range of communicative

proficiencies:

"Achieving international communication skills requires not only [listening] and speaking, but also writing ability, [and] reading ability…. While the basis is English, ... students are able to study a range of languages." http://www.pu-kumamoto.ac.jp/guide-

e/admin-e/admin-e.htm

http://www.pu-kumamoto.ac.jp/guide-e/admin-e/admin-e.htm


Communication protocols

Learn to do it in English with computers:

keyboards, mail, & other programs, & web

sites; for example:

Using English for forms, lists, notes, messages,

presentations, research, reports, & reviews:

Names & addresses,

Subject headings & body texts,

Numbering & punctuation,

Electronic signatures, &

Internet searches.

Keep doing it to develop and polish job skills!



Goals in focus (4)

Think back:

In how many

languages can

you answer those

introductory

questions right

now?

Which languages?



Goals in focus (5) Think ahead:

In how many languages do you want to be able to answer those questions - by the time you

graduate?

In which modes: Speech, writing, or

both?


Food for Thought (1)

English curricula are separate from:

Introductory courses,

Core courses,

Applied courses, &

Seminars.

http://www.pu-kumamoto.ac.jp/guide-

e/admin-e/admin-curri-e.htm

http://www.pu-kumamoto.ac.jp/guide-e/admin-e/admin-curri-e.htm


Food for Thought (2)

A key question:

How necessary

are English &

other languages

in administrative

studies, and

in careers and

lives beyond?


Model of passion

Montana

connected,

thanks to:

Mike Mansfield

(deceased), a

former:...

Asian studies

scholar;

U.S. representative

& senator from

Montana; &

U.S. ambassador to

Japan;


Model vision

Mike Mansfield helped

build

a sister-state

relationship between

the state of Montana

Kumamoto Prefecture

in 1982...

around similarities:

mountainous beauty,

less urban character,

&

"frontier spirit" (Valgenti, 2002);

rather than around

differences.


Model actions (1)

Kumamoto celebrated

its 20th anniversary of the sister-state relationship

with Montana in 2002; and

has "strengthen[ed] ties through personalinteractions: companionship,

support, &

good hosting." (Valgenti, 2002)


Model actions (2)

Kumamoto's 20th anniversary celebration

was built with: community theater

performances, and

public demonstrations,

including, but not limited to:

Showcased traditional arts & crafts:

Japanese puppet theater,

samurai swordsmanship,

Shinto dancing,

brush calligraphy,

flower arrangement,

kites, dolls, & 'origami.'

(Valgenti 2002)


Kumamoto hopes to focus... (1)

Not only on

possible gains

from

exchanges of

products or

merchandise

between Kumamoto Prefecture and the State of Montana, but...


Kumamoto hopes to focus... (2)

As much if not

more so upon

what the people

and leaders of

Kumamoto can

learn,

for example,

From the

attitudes of

Montanans

towards:

resource

preservation, &

environmental

protection. (Gov. Hirotani, in

Marquand, 2002)

a journey in english (1), 2005.09.09

Education

hospodarske noviny

english beaufait6how

english beaufait5how

english beaufait8when

language learning

native language

english beaufait2toefl

english beaufait3toefl