The Latest News in ELT

June 2002

Friends of Foxnews
If you're one of the (seemingly) few subscribers to the Foxnews channel, you are no doubt concerned that the channel is to be axed at the end of July. Though it is the only non-edited English language news program on SkyPerfecTV, the Japan Times reported that it has attracted insufficient subscribers and no advertisers. There is a campaign to "save" the channel. You can contact them at: Savefoxnews@keikyo.com. (June 28, 2002 )

Yokohama Disappointment
In a recent Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper report, Yokohama registered last in average TOEFL scores in a survey of several major Asian cities between July 2000 and June 2001. Let's just hope things will pick up after the World Cup. Singapore: 253 Manila: 233 Kuala Lumpur: 224 Shanghai: 211 Jakarta: 207 Hong Kong: 206 Seoul: 202 Bangkok: 194 Yokohama: 183 (Max. 300) (June 27, 2002 )

University Confusion
A recent survey by the Japan Association of National Universities showed that the vast majority of administrators are confused by a government reform plan to turn the nation's 99 national universities into independent entities. The plan is an attempt to address the problem of the declining birthrate and calls for many large-scale mergers. But staff say the plan is too vague, is slanted toward major universities in populous areas, and doesn't detail the level of discretionary power to be extended to each school. (June 26, 2002 )

JETs with Broad Horizons
A recent Japan Times article featured the efforts of Carlo Capua from the US and Doug Brittain from Canada. The two JET program participants have been building educational bridges between Japan and Papua New Guinea. While traveling with 17 other JETs from Niigata prefecture on a Habitat For Humanity program to build houses for the needy last year, the pair were shocked by the lack of educational facilities in PNG. Despite the fact that the education of a child costs the equivalent of just ¥2,000 a year, they learned that many families cannot afford to send their children to school. They formed an NGO and have been organizing tours, both to and from PNG, and gathering much needed funds and teaching materials for use in the Waria Valley district. Both JETs plan to continue this work after their contracts finish this summer. (June 25, 2002 )

Oases of English
Saudi Arabia is considering lowering the starting age for English language classes in state schools from 12 to nine, according to USA Today. The newspaper reports that Saudi educationists are proposing a range of measures aimed at broadening young Saudis' horizons to counter growing anti-western feelings. (June 24, 2002 )

Easy English News
This a monthly newsletter published for non-native speakers in the US to help them learn about their new environment and society. It is also suitable for overseas EFL students and anyone else interested in reading about American culture. It is written on a 3rd to 4th grade reading level, but covers topics of interest to adults. Find out more here. (June 22, 2002 )

All In Favor, Click Now!
The new Commercial Code that came into effect in April allows companies to take their annual shareholder meetings online. Major firms such as Sony, NTT DoCoMo and Hitachi have used IT to send out email invitations, allow online voting and post information on their web sites in English for the benefit of foreign shareholders. (June 21, 2002 )

Love All in English
Some 100 kids are currently enrolled in a tennis center in Osaka where they take lessons in English. The Kids English Conversation Tennis School, a joint venture between the Kansai Tennis Association and NOVA, trains children from four to elementary school age. The course includes English classes where students learn tennis terms from a foreign teacher. The school hopes to foster Japanese stars who can fit in better than their predecessors on the international tennis circuit. Former top pro Naoko Sawamatsu said players' inability to speak English mentally handicaps them. "I was suspicious of players around me because I did not know what they were saying," she said. "My anxiety affected my games." The language barrier puts extra pressure on Japanese players competing at the international level. This is also no doubt true for recent high-profile Japanese stars who have been playing golf, football and baseball in Europe and the US. (June 20, 2002 )

Who Says Teaching Doesn't Pay?
A new state-subsidized independent school in Ealing, West London is the first to offer a £100,000 head teacher position. The school, one of the British Government's flagship city academies, plans to offer its head a package of up to £120,000 when it opens in 2003. The school, which will replace a struggling comprehensive in the district of Northolt, will focus on "enterprise". The new academy is sponsored by the millionaire businessman Sir Alec Reed. (June 17, 2002 )

A KO For KU
University of California students taking part in an annual exchange program at Kyoto University were so angry at the English-language program that they quit half way through the year. Each year, the prestigious "Kyodai" accepts six students, who can choose to study subjects taught in Japanese or a special program in English. The students in the latter program were unhappy about teaching methods and the fact that they had a different professor for each lecture. One student was quoted as saying the courses had "no substance to them". (June 14, 2002 )

Harry Potter, a Yokozuna?
In the Nikkei Shimbun's annual product rankings, organized like those for sumo into east and west with a Yokozuna (Grand Champion) being the No.1 spot, World Cup and Harry Potter goods took the top positions. The presence of products that help you learn a skill or offer security reflect the continued unsettled times. For example, books on how to master English conversation made the rankings at No.9 west. (June 13, 2002 )

Get Inside Their Heads
Ever wonder what your young students get up to outside class? If they're boys, chances are they're into Beyblades or manga. Well, Mistubishi is selling the rights to the popular Bakuten Shoot Beyblade animation show in 20 countries, including the US. The 21st-century spinning tops are all the rage among younger boys. Meanwhile, their big brothers are reading comics like "Weekly Jump". This hugely popular ¥220 manga shifts something like 3.4 million copies a week in Japan and Viz Communications - a subsidiary of Shogakukan - plans to capitalize on the Japan pop-culture boom in the US with an English version. Starting in November, the company aims for a circulation of a million within three years. The target demographic is boys aged 8-16. (June 12, 2002 )

Hi-Tech Globalization
There has recently been a spate of new hi-tech toys that also play an educational role. One I came across recently, a new globe by the Gakken Toy Hobby company, is just the thing to internationalize your students. With the touch of a special pen, the globe tells you the name, capital and other information about any country in English. It also plays the national anthem and gives the time difference with Japan. The globe retails for ¥22,000. (June 11, 2002 )

"JALT is not a Democracy"
It seems that the abrupt dismissals at The Language Teacher were a result of protests by the editors over planned cutbacks. JALT's financial situation is reportedly such that a plan was announced to reduce the number of issues or even replace it with an online newsletter. Perhaps in an effort to reverse declining membership, it also seems that only contributions from paid-up JALT members would be published. With a General Meeting coming up in Tokyo, details should be made public soon on the JALT web site, but as yet there has been no clarification. The above quote has been credited to JALT president Thom Simmons. (June 07, 2002 )

Is this a Hedingu or a Header?
Today's Daily Yomiuri gives some tips on learning English through football. Japanese often don't realize that such terms as "hedingu shuuto" and "pii kay" are not correct English. And lord knows what they would make of the expressions "I'm absolutely gutted" and "I'm sick as a parrot"! Teach your students a few of these and, especially if they get to meet David Beckham, they'll no doubt be "over the moon". (June 06, 2002 )

Making Waves at JALT
These seem to be "interesting times" over at JALT. Director of Public Relations Gene Van Troyer and the Director of Programs suddenly announced their resignations and nominations are being accepted for the former post until June 29th, when there will be an Executive Board Meeting at Sophia University. Meanwhile the JALT Publications web site is currently offline following the abrupt dismissal (described on the JALT site as "a few losses") of several senior editorial staff. There have been calls to arms by former JALT members and the matter looks to be dragged out for some time to come. Swords are being crossed on JALTTALK and other lists - we'll keep you abreast of developments. (June 05, 2002 )

Mitsubishi Offers Online English
Mitsubishi Corp. has started offering an online English course for university students. The course lasts 12 weeks, with four 45-minute classes a week. Students can practice reading, writing, pronunciation and conversation. Dokko University in Saitama Prefecture has paid the 3 million yen annual fee and expects some 200 students to sign on this year. Students will take the classes, which will be credited the same as an ordinary class, on university computers. (June 03, 2002 )

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