The introduction of 'foreign language (English) activities' for fifth and sixth graders in 2011 is currently one of the priorities of educational authorities in Japan. In the early 2000s, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) started the implementation...
This collection of columns on teaching English as a Second Language in Japan appeared on the English education page of a Japanese English-language newspaper over a period of almost 4 years. Article topics include these: principles of second language learning; differences between language skills; stan...
Formal English education in Japan: What causes 'unsuccessful' English language learning? Formal English education in Japanese high schools was examined on the basis of its unsuccessful outcome in the acquisition of communication skills in English despite the government's strong initiative to implement co...
It doesn’t matter what your degree is in, but you’ll need to have a Bachelor’s Degree (at least) to teach English in Japan at a school. You don’t need to have any experience in education, and your degree can be in anything — fashion, tech, psychology, etc. — but youdoneed...
Japan needs teachers with a strong command of the English language. Citizens from any of these prominent English speaking countries (U.S., U.K., Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or South Africa) are highly preferred. If you completed your education in an English-speaking school system...
Over the last 30years a burgeoning literature has devoted itself to the task of researching and directing English language education in Japan, but has, by its own admission, had little success in effecting much change in what it perceives as a system incompatible with effective language learning...
Japan’s immigration laws require you to have a bachelor’s degree in order to be eligible for a work visa. However, this degree doesn’t need to be in English, education or anything remotely related to teaching English abroad. You can’tteach with the JET program, for example, without ...
With the increasing presence of users of English outside the Inner and Outer Circles, most notably those from China and the European Union, there is now a growing interest in varieties of English in the Expanding Circle. In the teaching of English in Japan, the concept of Japanese English, ...
In April 2011, the Ministry of Education in Japan formally introduced Primary School English (PSE) language teaching in Japanese elementary schools. The PSE policy made it mandatory for fourth- and fifth-graders to attend English lessons once a week. Using the theoretical framework on why education...
The article places these two issues amidst a larger contextual backdrop of essentialisms and reductionisms that have come to bear on English teaching in a place like Japan, with its historically variegated relationship with the language. It then examines how teachers can refute reductionist views ...