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Elementary School English Education ―The Present Condition of the Japanese Education System―
小学校英語教育は何をもたらすか―日本の英語教育の現状から考える―
HarumiNishida
2002年度の学習指導要領の改訂に伴い、小学校で英語活動を行うことができるようになった。この小学校への英語導入という動きを生じさせた原因は、( ₁ )経済界からの強い要請、
( ₂ )英語が話せることに対する憧れ、( ₃ )英語学習には適した年齢があるという臨界期説が考えられる。導入に当たっては、さまざまな賛成及び反対意見が出てきた。その主なものを見てみると、賛成意見としては、( ₁ )コミュニケーションに対する積極的な態度が育つ、
( ₂ )BICS(basicinterpersonalcommunicationskills)の基本を伸ばせるが挙げられる。反対意見としては、( ₁ )英語よりもまず日本語の読み書きを教えるべき、( ₂ )英語学習と国際理解がどのように関連するのかが不明確、( ₃ )誤った技能が身につく、( ₄ )臨界期説を疑問視、( ₅ )中学校で英語力をつけるべき、( ₆ )言語習得のためには時間数が足らない等である。
経済界や保護者などを含めた社会が英語教育に求めるものは、使える英語の習得、すなわち英語が話せる人間の育成である。これに対し、文科省が打ち出した英語活動の目的は国際理解教育の一環としての英語活動であり、この活動を通じて新しい日本人としてのアイデンティティーを確立することである。両者が目指すところには相当に大きなずれがある。研究開発校における英語学習の成果が示すように、英語力の習得はあまり期待できないかもしれない。しかし一方、英語活動を通じて自国の文化、及び異文化を理解しようとする態度が育つ、英語に関心を持ち抵抗感がなくなる、積極的にコミュニケーションをとろうとする態度が育つなどの成果は見られそうである。重要なのはこのような成果をどう評価するかである。
1. The Present Condition of Elementary School English Education
TheclassbasedontheElementaryCourseofStudyhasbeenimplementedinelementary
andjuniorhighschoolsinceApril2002.Englishactivitiescanbedoneasapartofthelearning
processrelatedto internationalunderstandingwithinthePeriodfor IntegratedStudyat the
elementaryschoollevel.
According to thedata fromtheMinistryofEducation,Culture,Sports,Scienceand
Technology inJuly2002,thepercentageofthe22,847publicelementaryschoolscarringout
Englishactivitiesinthethirdgradewas51.3%,inthefourthgradewas52.3%,inthefifthgrade
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was53.6%andinthesixthwas56.1%.ThepercentageoftheschoolswhichdidEnglishactivities
in2000was20%,and42%in2001,soitisincreasingsteadily.Butsincemanyoftheschoolswith
Englishactivities(63%)actuallydothemfor justonetoelevenhoursayear,wemaysaythat
theseschoolsshouldreconsiderhowtheydoEnglishactivities.
2. Purposes of Learning English within the Period for Integrated Study
Foreign languageconversationparticularlyEnglishconversation iswithintheareaof
internationalunderstanding listedasanexampleof the learningactivitiestobedone inthe
Period for IntegratedStudy.TheElementaryCourseofStudyrefers to learningEnglishas
follows:
Whenconducting foreign languagesconversationactivitieswithin thestudies for international
understanding,activitiesshouldincorporateexperientiallearning,appropriateforelementaryschool
agestudents,inwhichchildrenareexposedtoforeignlanguageandfamiliarizedwiththecultureand
dailylifeofforeigncountries.
TheElementaryCourseofStudycommentarygeneralrulesedition(1999)statesthe
following:
WhenconductingforeignlanguageconversationactivitieswithinthePeriodfortheIntegratedStudy
accordingtothestudents’situationsalongwithconsiderationof localandschoolcircumstances,
activitiesshouldavoidjumpingaheadtoaddresstopicsforjuniorhighschool.
ExamplesofacceptableEnglishactivitiesaresinging,playinggames,doingquizzesorparticipatingin
make-believeplayactivities.
Judgingfromtheabove,thepurposesoflearningEnglishwithinthePeriodforIntegrated
Studyarelimitedtothefollowingfivescenarios:
a)Tobedoneasapartoflearningaboutinternationalunderstanding
b)Toavoidtopicsforjuniorhighschool
c)Toexposestudentstoforeignlanguages
d)Toallowstudentstobecomefamiliarwithforeignlife,culture,andsoon.
e)Tobeexperientiallearning
3. The Movement which Brought about this Present Condition
The introductionofEnglisheducation inelementaryschoolswasapolicy,whichwas
carriedoutasapartofthegeneral languageeducationpolicy.Twomovementsarerelatedto
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elementaryschoolEnglisheducation.ThefirstoneistheintroductionofEnglisheducationin
elementaryschools.Itbeganinthe1990sandisthemoremainstreamofthetwo.Theotherisa
seriesoflanguageeducationpolicy,whichledtotheEstablishmentofanActionPlantoCultivate
“JapanesewithEnglishAbilities”(2003)bytheEducation,Science,andTechnologyMinistry.
Currentlytheformeristhebiggermovement.
4. The Reason for the Movement to Introduce English Education in Elementary School
Therearethreereasonswhythismovementhasdeveloped.First, themovementwas
formedattherequestofthe industrialworld.Secondisthepeople’sdesiretospeakEnglish.
Thirdisthecriticalperiod,optimalforforeignlanguagelearning.Expertsdifferontheprecise
beginningandendofthiswindow.Studiesindicatethatitisfourtoeightornineyearsofage,or
tothebeginningoftheteens.Otherssuggestthataround10yearsofage isthebesttimefor
languagelearning.Inanyevent,afterthatage,itbecomesdifficulttoacquirealanguage.
Weshalldiscussthesethreereasonsindetail.First,theintroductionofEnglisheducation
inelementaryschoolshasbeenstronglyrequestedbytheeconomicworldformorethanthirty
years. Inadditiontothat,manyJapanesehavebeenexposedtorapidglobalization inrecent
years,andtheyhavebeenforcedtointeractwithforeigncountriesandnon-nativespeakersof
Japaneseinvariousfields.WeareexpectedtothoroughlymasterpracticalEnglishinmanyareas
ofourdailylives.
Second,thepeople’sdesiretospeakEnglishisbasedonapsychologicalcomplexabout
Englishconversation.Thiscomplexcausestheproblemthatnooneobjectstoanargumentlike
our main English problem is that we can’t speak it.AlthoughtheEducation,Science,and
TechnologyMinistryhadvariousreforms inEnglisheducation,theaverageJapaneseTOEFL
scoreisthelowestofalltheAsiancountries.However,noonesaysthatthereformsarewrong.
TheEnglishlearningplaninelementaryschoolscomesandgoeswithoutopposition.
Third,itissaidthatitisimpossibleinJapan’sEnglishsystemforstudentstouseEnglish
eveniftheygraduatefromahighschoolorauniversitybecausetheystarttolearnEnglishfrom
juniorhighschool.Somepeoplesay it is too late,and theearlierstudentsstart to learna
language,thebettertheycanacquireit.
Theargumentisbasedonthecriticalperiod.Whenwelearnaforeignlanguageduringthe
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periodratherthanafterithaspast,wecanreachahigherproficiencylevel.
5. Purposes of English Education
ThepurposeofEnglisheducationinelementaryschools istodeveloppracticalEnglish
abilitysothatstudentsacquireasenseofEnglish-speakingcultureandgrowaccustomedtothe
Englishlanguage.Butthispurposeseemstobedifferentfromthereasonforthemovementto
introduceEnglisheducationinelementaryschools.AccordingtotheElementaryCourseofStudy
eachelementaryschoolcanconductEnglishconversationactivitieswithin thestudies for
internationalunderstanding inordertobuildup learningability, thinkingability,andzest for
livingwithin thePeriod for IntegratedStudy.Basedon theElementaryCourseofStudy
mentionedabove,weshallconsidertheneedtoexposeelementarystudentstoforeignlanguage.
Thequestionofintroducingforeignlanguageeducationinelementaryschoolshasbeena
pointofdiscussionineducationpolicyforalongtime.Becausetherehasbeenarequestthatwe
learntospeakEnglishandinordertodothat,wehadbetterbegintolearnitinchildhood,the
Education,Science,andTechnologyMinistryexaminedthespecialists’opinionsandtheresults
oftheresearchaboutlearningEnglishinthepilotschools(n=66)andfinallydecidedtointroduce
Englishconversationwithintheareaof internationalunderstandingstartingfrom2002.This
international understanding aims at understanding cross-culture, having cross-cultural
communication, and co-existing with other countries’ peoples. From this point of view,
elementaryschoolsneedtoconductexperientialstudyingsothatstudentscandevelopwilling
attitudestowardstudyingEnglish,comfortablementalitieswhenspeakingEnglish,andpractical
abilitiesforusingEnglish.
Thereasonwhylearningaforeignlanguageisintroducedinelementaryschoolsistodeal
withglobalization.Itisnotonlyrequiredinsocietybutalsothoughtofasachancetoestablish
ouridentitythroughcommunicationwithforeigners.Moreover,elementaryschoolstudentsare
extremely interested innewthingsandareatastagewheretheycannaturallyabsorbother
culturesthroughlanguage.Inadditiontothat,those,whoseactivationoftheright-brainisstrong,
aresensitiveandcancatchthingsintuitively.Asaresult,childhoodisconsideredthebesttime
forforeignlanguagelearning1).
Inotherwords, theclassaimsretainingJapanese identityasapeoplewhohavean
internationalawarenessthroughtheunderstandingofculturesbylearninglanguagesandthrough
familiaritywithEnglishratherthanenhancingtheirEnglishpracticaluseability.Butthispurpose
isdifferentfromthereasonforthemovementtointroduceEnglishinelementaryschools.
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6. Support for and Opposition to the Elementary Education System
ElementarySchoolEnglisheducationhasbeenwidelydiscussed. It startedwith the
argumentofloweracademicability.Loweracademicabilityalsowaswidelydiscussednotonlyby
thosewhowereaffiliatedwitheducationbutalsobythepublic.Nosoonerdidtheyknowthe
basicpurposesoftheElementaryCourseofStudy(whichadvocatesa30%reductionintextbook
content inadditiontoallowing individualschools topursuetheirownuniquepressure-free
educationinitiatives)thantheywereafraidofloweracademicability.
AnotherargumentbeganfromUniversity students who can’t solve fractionswrittenby
KoujiOkabe,NobuyukuTose,andKazuoNishimura(1999).Thefindingsoftheirstudyshowed
thatone-fifthofhigh leveluniversity studentscouldnotanswerquestionswith fractions.
Althoughthatwascertainlyshocking,manyuniversityteachershadalreadyrecognizeduniversity
students’ loweracademicability.Theproblemwas,people insisted, thatthereasonfortheir
loweracademicabilitywasbecauseoftheflexible,pressure-freeeducationsystempushedbythe
Education, Science, and Technology Ministry since 1981. Now, lower academic ability
encompassednotonlyuniversitystudentsbutalsoelementary, juniorhighandhighschool
students.
In2000,peoplewereveryworriedaboutthecontentsoftheElementaryCourseofStudy
thathadpushedforflexible,pressure-freeeducation.TheycriticizedthePeriodforIntegrated
Studybecauseitwasmadebycuttingdownclasstimeinother,moreacademicsubjects.
Itseemsthattheloweracademicabilitydisputehasnothingtodowithelementaryschool
Englisheducation.ButthisdisputeinfluencedtheintroductionofEnglishinelementaryschools
intwoways.Onewayisthatpeopleinsistedthatweshouldregardfundamentalacademicability
asthehighestpriority.ElementaryschoolstudentsshouldlearnJapanesereadingandwriting
andshouldnot learnEnglish.Thosewhoareopposed toelementary schoolEnglishhave
consistentlysaidthatweshouldteachthemJapanesebeforeEnglish.
Theotherwayisthroughcriticismfrombothsupportersandopponentsofelementary
schoolEnglish.They think that teachingEnglishduring thePeriod for IntegratedStudy is
incomplete.Thesupporters insist thatweshould introduceEnglishasasubjectassoonas
possible.TheopponentscriticizethatthereisadifferencebetweenthepurposesofthePeriod
forIntegratedStudyandEnglishactivities.
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6.1. Support for the Elementary Education System
Thenletustakealookattheprosandcons.ThefirstproisthatEnglisheducationraises
theactiveattitudetowardcommunication.Whenchildren learn languages, theyhavetopay
attentiontoitandstruggleinordertounderstandwhatspeakerssayandtosaywhattheywant,
unlikewhenusingtheirnativetongue.Childrentryto listencarefullyandunderstandwhat
speakerssaywithhintsfromgesturesandfacialexpressions.Moreover,theytrytoexpresswhat
theywanttocommunicatebygesturing,showingrealthings,anddrawingpictures.Whenthey
cancommunicatewithothersinEnglish,theyarehappytodoso.Theytryhardertolistento
whatotherssayandspeakmore.Children fosterapositiveattitudetowardcommunication
throughthisexperience2).
The second pro is that students can build up the basis of Basic Interpersonal
CommunicationSkills(BICS)throughEnglishactivities.This is the fundamentalability for
communication suchas greetings,pleasant responses toothers, and theability to show
considerationandbuildgoodrelationshipswithothers.Althoughtheremaybeanopinionthat
BICSshouldbetaughtintheJapaneselanguageclass,wecanexpectchildrentolearnnotonly
BICSbutalsoEnglishwithinthePeriodforIntegratedStudyandtransferBICStoJapanese3).The
transfertoJapaneseisbasedonthecommonunderlyingproficiencymodelofCommins(1980a
and1981a).Thismodelcanberepresentedintheanalogyoftwoicebergswhichrepresenttwo
languages.“Thetwoicebergsareseparateabovethesurface.Thatis,twolanguagesarevisibly
differentinoutwardconversation.Underneaththesurface,thetwoicebergsarefusedsothatthe
two languagesdon’t functionseparately.Both languagesoperate throughthesamecentral
processingsystem”4). Therefore,atransferfromEnglishtoJapanesebecomespossible.Evenifit
istaughtintheJapaneselanguageclass,itisashortleaptotransferthoseskillstoEnglish.
6.2. Opposition to the Elementary Education System
Nowweshallmovetotheoppositions.Themostcommonoppositionisstudentsshould
learnJapanesereadingandwriting first rather thanEnglish.Themost important thing for
elementaryschoolstudentswhoareontheworddevelopmentstage istoacquirethevarious
languageskillsinJapanese.TheseskillsareimportantwhenwelearnnotonlyJapanesebutalso
a second language.Studentsshoulddevelop theability to think logically, read,write,and
communicateinJapanesebeforetheylearnEnglish.
ThesecondoppositionobjectstothepurposeofEnglisheducation intheelementary
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school,whichisnottodevelopEnglishabilitybuttodeepeninternationalunderstanding.The
biggestproblem is that it isnotclearhow internationalunderstanding relates toEnglish
learning5).
Thethirdoppositionto it isthatthestudentsmightacquirethewrongknowledgeand
skills if theyare taughtEnglishby teacherswhodonot receiveenoughEnglisheducation
training.
Therearesomepeoplewhodoubt thecriticalperiod,which isoneof thereasonsto
introduceEnglishintoelementaryschool6).Studentssucceedinforeignlanguagelearningifthey
start it inthecriticalperiod.Butthissuccessisbroughtaboutonlyinthecasethatafterthey
starttolearnit,theystayinthecountrywherethetargetlanguageisspoken.Theenvironment
inJapan’sEnglishclassesisdifferentfromthesituationmentionedabove.
AlthoughanativespeakersuchasanALTmayparticipate in theclass,studentsare
mostlyJapanese;andtheyspeakJapaneseaftertheclassends.Theenvironmentisdifferentfrom
thebilingualstudent’scase.
Also, it’snotclearwhatkindofmechanismsofbrainfunctionhappenduringthecritical
period.Lennebergsaysthatitrelatestoone side-izationofthelanguagefunction.Itisbelieved
thatlanguagefunctionsareinthelefthemisphereofthebrain.Thisisolationofbrainfunctionis
calledoneside-ization.Lennebergthoughtthatthereisadifferenceintheprocessoflanguage
acquisitionbetweenthecaseofstartingto learnaforeignlanguagebefore languagefunctions
werecompletelyformedandthecaseofstartingafterward.Thecriticalperiodiscausedbythis
difference.Butthathasnotbeenprovenfromtheviewpointofneurophysiology.
Moreover,asLennebergrecognizes,wecanacquire languagepast thecriticalperiod.
However,abilitytoacquirelanguagegraduallydeclinesafterthecriticalperiod.
Thenextargumentagainst it isthatstudentsshoulddevelopEnglishlanguageskills in
juniorhighschool7).
It isnecessarytodevelopthebasisoffourskills in juniorhighschoolandhighschool:
reading,writing, listening,andspeaking.Studentsshould learn thebasic skills,especially
listeningandspeaking in juniorhighschool,whichhas the introductionperiod forEnglish
learning.
At leastfiveEnglishclassesaweekshouldbeheld inorderforthestudentstobuilda
foundationlittlebylittle.Juniorhighschoolstudentsaresuitedforlanguagelearning,because
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duringthisperiodtheircognitivefacultiesarefullydevelopedandtheyaregoodatmemorizing.
Theyshouldhaveenoughhourstolearn,andtheyshouldhaveexcellentteachersinjuniorhigh
school.
Thelastargumentagainstit isthattheEnglishclassfrequencyinelementaryschoolsis
notenough to learn the language.8) I cansay for sure that theEnglishclass frequency in
elementaryschoolsisabouttwiceaweekfromthirdgrade.IfstudentshaveEnglishclasstwicea
weekuntilthesixthgrade,howmanyhourswilltheylearn?Twohours×35weeks=70hoursa
year.Butaclasshourisactually45minutes,sotheactualtimeis52.5hoursayear.Fifty-two-
point-five×4yearsfromthirdgradetosixthgrade=210hours. It isoftensaidthatweneed
2,000hoursinordertoacquirealanguage,but210hoursisscarcelyone-tenthofthatamount.
Furthermore,evenifstudentslearnEnglishfor200hoursinelementaryschool,itisone-tenthas
effectiveasitiswhentheyconcentrateonlearning.
ElementaryschoolEnglisheducationhasbeendebatedlikethisformanyyears,andthe
argumentisstillgoingon.Inspiteofthedispute,Englishactivitieswereactuallyintroducedin
elementaryschools.TheEducation,Science,andTechnologyMinistryspecifiedpilotschoolsand
didresearchonEnglisheducationbeforetheintroduction.Next,letustakealookattheresults
andtheproblemsofthisresearch.
7. The Results of the Research
TheEducation,Science,andTechnologyMinistrybeganresearchrelated toEnglish
educationinpublicelementaryschoolsin1992andspecifiedanelementaryschoolinOsakaasa
pilotschool.Sincethen,manypilotschoolshaveresearchedelementarycurriculums,which
adoptedforeignlanguagelearningandsubmittedareportaboutprogress,results,andproblems
oftheresearch.
TheEducation,Science,andTechnologyMinistrydecidedto introduceEnglishasan
activity,notasasubject,afterexaminingtheresearchresultsof fiftyschools in1998.This
decisionwasimplementedin2002,buteachschoolcandecidewhethertheydoEnglishactivities
ornot.
7.1. The Students’ Change
Letuslookatthestudents’changesfromthereportofthepilotschools.
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•ThestudentsgenerallyenjoyEnglishactivitiesandarelikelytobehavethemselves.Ontheother
hand,however,somestudentsarepooratdoingactivitieslikesingingandplayinggames.
• Thestudents’viewhasbroadened.Itseemsthattheyhavebecomemorefamiliarwithforeigners
andforeigncountries.
• Theydevelopedtheabilitytoexpressthemselves.9)
Thesearethemainitems.Thereisalsothefollowingreport.Tothequestionof“IsEnglish
classpleasant?”92%ofstudentsansweredit is pleasant.Moreimportantly,about90%ofthe
lowergradestudentsandabout50%ofthemiddlegradestudentsansweredit is very pleasant.
Butasstudentsbecomeolder,therateofthestudentswhofeelitisverypleasantdecreases.The
activity,whichislikedbyallgradesisplayinggames(79%).Songsarelikedbythelowergrades
(50%),andstudyingwithanALTislikedbytheuppergrades(25%).
Asforregardingotherculturesandinterculturalcommunication,thestudents’behavior
wasdramaticallybetteramongthosewhohadstudiedEnglishinelementaryschool.Especiallyin
theuppergrades,morethan60%ofthestudentsaskedquestionsactivelyandgaveopinionsin
class.Conversely,thereportsaysthatthestudents’attitudetowardlisteningtootherswasworse.
ThefollowingquestionwasaskedtoteacherswhodidEnglishactivitiesatthe295pilot
schools.“WhatdoyouthinkstudentsdevelopedthroughEnglishactivities?”
• Teacherssaidunderstandingourownandothercultures.Studentswanttotrytounderstandother
countries. 124schools
• TeacherssaidstudentshaveaninterestinEnglish.StudentsdonothesitatetouseEnglish.Students
arefamiliarwithEnglish,andtrytohavefunlearningit. 120schools
• Teacherssaidstudentshaveanattitudeandabilitytotrytocommunicatewithothers. 78schools
• Teacherssaidstudentsbecomepositive.
Studentswhostudypoorlycanbeactive.
Cheerfulness
Confidence 70schools
• Teacherssaidstudentscanassociatewithforeignerswithoutprejudice.
Studentsfeelfriendlytowardforeigners. 64schools
• Teacherssaidinternationalsense,broadview,symbiosis,andconsideration. 39schools
• Teacherssaidtheabilityofexpression. 23schools
• Teacherssaidstudents’interestinJapanesedeepensaswell.
Listeningability
Pronunciation 17schools10)
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First,124outof295schools,whichdidEnglishactivitiesmentionedunderstandingour
ownandotherculture,and120mentionedinterestinandfamiliaritywithEnglish.Next,about70
schoolsmentionedthedesiretotrytocommunicatewithothers,confidence,cheerfulness,and
soon.
EveniftherearenotmanyEnglishclassesaweek,thesekindsofmentalresultscanbe
expected.
Another investigationwasconducted into theactualconditionof juniorhighschool
studentswhoexperiencedlearningEnglishinelementaryschools.
• Studentsquicklyrespondwithouthesitationtogreetings,classroomEnglish,andbeingaddressed
byanALT.
• Listeningandspeakingabilitiesarebetter.
• Students’attitudestowardALTsareoftennatural.
Also,theinvestigationshowsthattheprobleminjuniorhighschoolEnglisheducationis
that therearedifferencesamongstudents inmotivation forstudyingEnglishandacademic
ability.
• Moststudentscanspeakand listentothewordsandsentences introduced inthefirstgradeof
juniorhighschool.Butsomestudents,whofindEnglishdifficult,thinksongs,games,andskitsare
childishorworthlessanddonotshowanyinterestinothercountries.
• Ontheotherhand,somestudentsareexcellent inreadingandwritingbylearninginelementary
schools11).
Themost importantresultof foreign language learning inelementaryschools is that
studentsdiscoversomethingnewwithinthemselvesandchange.
7.2. The Result of English Ability
Ontheotherhand,as for theresultofEnglishability, theelementaryschoolshardly
announceresultsonsuchcriteriaaspronunciation, listening,speakingandsoon,becausethe
purposesofEnglishactivitiesarenot todevelopEnglishability tocultivate familiarityand
comfort.ButtherehasbeensomeresearchdoneonthisaspectofbeingexposedtoEnglishin
elementaryschools.
LetusintroduceShirohata’sexperimentalstudy12).ShirohatacomparedEnglishabilityof
studentswhoexperiencedEnglishactivitiesatapilotschoolforthreeyearswithstudentswho
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didnot.HeconductedthreeexperimentsfromDecembertoFebruaryinthefirstgradeofjunior
high school: Experiment 1 was the ability to distinguish phonemes, Experiment 2 was
pronunciationability,andExperiment3wasspeakingability.Theresultswerethattherewasno
statisticallysignificantdifferencebetweenexperiencedstudentsandinexperiencedstudentsin
thesethreeexperiments.Thatis,thereisnodifferenceintheEnglishabilitybetweenthetwo
groups.
Noteworthy in this research is that theabilitiesof listeningandspeaking,whichare
thought tobe improved inelementary schoolEnglisheducation,were the samebetween
experiencedstudentsand inexperiencedstudents.AccordingtoShirohata’s interpretation, it
seemsthatthereasonwhytheelementaryschool’smethodwasnoteffectiveinimprovingEnglish
ability isverysimple.That isbecausethestudentshavelittletimetoexperienceEnglish.The
studentsdoEnglishactivitiesonceaweek,andtheyaremainlygamessuchasbingoandfruit
basketwithoutlearningpronunciation.WecannotexpectstudentstodevelopEnglishabilityif
theyonlydoactivities35hoursayearforthreeyears.
LetusconsideronemoreinvestigationbytheprojectteamoftheJapaneseChildEnglish
PedagogyMeeting(JASTEC)13),whichhaspromotedthe introductionofEnglisheducationin
elementaryschools.
This isaninvestigationconcerningtheEnglishskillsof850juniorhighandhighschool
studentssomeofwhomlearnedEnglishinelementaryschoolandsomewhodidnot.Theresults
oftheirstudyrevealedanumberofnoteworthyfindings.
As forpronunciation, thestudentswho learnedEnglishwereslightlybetter thanthe
studentswhodidnotinthefirstgradeandthirdgradeofjuniorhighschoolandsecondgradeof
high school, but thedifference isnot statistically significant.As forEnglishknowledge,
experiencedstudentswerebetterthaninexperiencedstudentsinthefirstgradeof juniorhigh
school,butafterthatthedifferencebetweenbothgroupsalmostdisappeared.AsforEnglish
practicaluseability,experiencedstudentswerebetterthaninexperiencedstudentsinthefirst
gradeof juniorhighschool,butthedifferencebetweenthetwobecomessmaller inthethird
gradeof juniorhighschool.However,experiencedstudentsbecomebetterthaninexperienced
studentsagaininthesecondgradeofhighschool.
8. Conclusion
WehavesurveyedtheintroductionofEnglisheducationinelementaryschoolsandlooked
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attheresultsprovidedbypilotschools.Manycritics,teachers,andparentsstillactivelyargue
whetherelementaryschoolEnglisheducationisnecessaryornot.However,Englisheducation
wasintroducedinelementaryschoolsnotasasubjectbutasanactivity.TheEducation,Science,
andTechnologyMinistryisconsideringwhetherEnglishshouldbeintroducedasasubjectornot.
AsIpreviouslystated,theindustrialworld’sandtheparents’requestforEnglisheducation
istoacquirepracticalEnglish, that is, toraisethosewhocanspeakEnglish.Meanwhile, the
Education, Science, and Technology Ministry says that English activities are a part of
internationalunderstanding,andthepurposeistogenerateinternationalunderstandingasapart
ofthenewJapaneseidentity.Thereisagreatdifferencebetweenthetwopurposes.
IfEnglisheducationisintroducedinelementaryschoolsinearnestlateron,Ithinkpeople
willsaythatevenifstudentsstudyEnglishinelementaryschool,theycannotspeakit.Then,at
thattimetheEducation,Science,andTechnologyMinistrywillreplythattheyarenotlearning
Englishbutratherinternationalunderstanding.
But,ontheotherhand,itseemsthatstudents,whotrytounderstandourownandother
cultureshaveaninterest inEnglishandtrytocommunicatewithothers.Themost important
thingishowweevaluatesuchresults.Theycanbeinterpretedinvariousways. Ibelievethe
mentalresults fromtheEnglishactivitiesmentionedabovearevery important,but Iamnot
certainthatstudentshavetolearntheseinanEnglishclass,whichwassetupbyreducingthe
othersubjects’classes.Studentsneedtolearnthisinterculturalunderstanding,buttheycandoit
inclassesotherthanEnglish.Theycandevelopanunderstandingofotherculturesandthe
attitudeto try tocommunicateactivelywithothers inclassesother thanEnglish. It isonly
EnglishclassthathasaninterestinEnglish.Buttheycandothatwhentheybecomejuniorhigh
schoolstudents.IntensiveEnglishlearninginjuniorhighschoolsismoreeffectivethanEnglish
activitiesinelementaryschools.IfweteachstudentsEnglish,itshouldnotbeEnglishactivities
butratherEnglishlearning,andweshouldplacespecialemphasisontheacquisitionofskills.Ido
notobjecttoEnglish learning inelementaryschools,butIopposethecurrentuseofEnglish
activitiesbytheEducation,Science,andTechnologyMinistrybecausetheMinistrydoesnot
intendthemtobeusedfortheacquisitionofEnglishability.Theonlywayforstudentstoacquire
theskillstheyneedanddesireistoteachthemEnglishasasubject.
Notes
1) Watanabe,K.(2003).Kyo kara Hajimeru Shogakkoeigoshido no Kiso・Kihon.(pp.4-5).Tokyo:
Kyoikukaihatsukenkyusho.
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2) Naoyama,Y.(2004).ShogakkoeigokatudoEkiari,YotteHitsuyoari, tadashi,Jokentsukide.The
English Teachers’ Magazine,10,12-14.
3) Nakajima,K.(2004).ShogakkoeigodeNobasubekiNoryokuhaNanika.The English Teachers’
Magazine,10,24-26.
4) Baker,C.(2001).Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism.Clevedon:Multilingual
MattersLtd.(pp.165-166).
5) Otsu,Y.(2004).KoritsushogakkodenoEigokyoikuniIgiari.The English Teachers’ Magazine,5,
8-11.
6) Torikai,K.,&Otsu,Y.(2002).Shogakko de Naze Eigo?.(pp.20-22).Tokyo:Iwanamishotenn.
7) Ibid.,pp.42-43.
8) Moteki,H.(2001).Shogakko ni Eigo ha Hitsuyo nai.(pp.46-53).Tokyo:Kodansha.
9) Kageura, I.(2000).Shogakkoeigokenkyukaihatsugakko no Torikumi Zenjoho.(pp.124-127).
Tokyo:Meijitosho.
10) Watanabe,Kyo kara Hajimeru Shogakkoeigoshido no Kiso·Kihon.(pp.59-60).
11) Araki,S.,&Goto,H.(Eds.)(2000).Sho Tyu Ko wo Musubu Eigokyoiku to Sogotekina Gakushu.
(pp.99-101).Tokyo:Sanseido.
12) Shirahata,T. (2001).Tsuisei:KenkyukaihatsugakkodeEigoniSesshita Jidono sonogono
Eigonoryoku.The English Teachers’ Magazine,10,58-63.
13) Higuchi,T.(1997).Shogakko karano Gaikokugokyoiku.(pp.120-122).Tokyo:Kenkyusha.
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