The Latest News in ELT

July 2002

Schools Turn To Private Sector
English conversation classes are now taught in about 40% of elementary schools as part of the International Understanding segment of the recently introduced "comprehensive lessons". But as many of the Japanese teachers are unsure how to handle the classes, schools are bringing in people from the private sector. Shinagawa Ward in Tokyo has assigned a budget of 10 million yen to pay for ALTs from an employment agency. The Sakai municipal government in Osaka has asked NOVA to provide a curriculum and also teachers to help support ALTs. Publisher ALC Press has also provided teachers in Osaka, and it has been a good way to introduce its own educational materials. (July 31, 2002 )

New JETs Start Today
With this year's JET program participants starting their orientation at Tokyo's Keio Plaza hotel today, the Japan Times includes two articles on the program. One is by staff writer and former JET Eric Prideaux who came to the city of Shinjo in 1991 full of passion for karate but also worried about racism. Read his story here. The second article is a general overview, useful for anyone who knows nothing about the JET program. You can read it here. (July 30, 2002 )

Special English Zone?
The city of Ota, Gunma Prefecture, has proposed an English education zone where the entire curriculum at public elementary, junior high and high schools would be taught by native English speakers. The proposal is a result, at the grass-roots level, of Prime Minister Koizumi's deregulatory reforms and in particular the idea of "special structural reform zones" in various locations nationwide. The thinking is that if the experiments work at the local level, it will provide ammunition against bureaucratic and vested-interest opponents of reform at the national level. Possible hurdles to the Ota City plan include the difficulty of getting a consensus on using textbooks other than those approved by the education ministry and whether graduates can get certification for entrance to university. (July 26, 2002 )

New Blacklist For Part Timers
The Debito.org web site has added a new version of its University Blacklist. While the original list consisted of universities which discriminated against full-time foreign staff, usually by not offering the full tenure given to Japanese, the new list focusses on part timers. Though still short, the list (compiled by Arudo Debito, aka David Aldwinckle) makes useful reading for anyone thinking of moving to a university position. Read the list July 24, 2002 )

Daily Yomiuri Features JETs
The latest in the Daily Yomiuri's "Gaikokujin" series, published today, focussed on the JET program. It featured all aspects, from ALTs working in remote islands off the coast of Kyushu to bureacratic problems within the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR), which administers the program at the national level. The main, perennial complaint of participants seems to be that they are underutilized. A CLAIR report said that over 60% of ALTs surveyed said they were "ordered to attend (their) workplace during extended holiday periods" but 96% of them had no duties to fulfill. If you have something to say about your JET experience, why not visit our Message Board section on the JET program. (July 19, 2002 )

Boosting English in Malaysia
In Malaysia, where the national language since independence is Malay, a government plan to teach science and maths in English at all schools has become a political flashpoint. Recent studies show that more than 44,000 mostly Malay university graduates were finding it hard to find jobs, one of the reasons being their poor grasp of English. Teachers are on the whole positive towards the plan, but there has been considerable opposition from the large Chinese community. There are some 1,200 Chinese primary schools, which use only Mandarin as a medium of instruction, and they say their students have fared better than average in the two subjects using their mother tongue. (July 18, 2002 )

Test Takers Data To Be Shared
People taking the TOEIC test may soon find themselves being encouraged to test themselves in kanji, bookkeeping or even law. 28 organizations that administer some of the 500 or so certification and proficiency exams offered in Japan are to begin sharing information on test takers. The move is in reaction to increased competition due in part to the declining birthrate. Also, as the education ministry will discontinue authorization of these exams in 2005 as part of its reforms, the number of applicants is xpected to decline. (July 17, 2002 )

English Strategy Initiative
Another press report on the education ministry's plans focussed on the criteria for non-native language teachers. They will need to score at least 550 points in TOEFL, 37 points higher than the Japanese average, and a TOEIC score of 730 out of the maximum 990. They will also need to pass the pre-first level STEP test, which requires a vocabulary of 7,500 words and the ability to speak the language in "specialized subjects" as well as hold daily conversation. (July 16, 2002 )

Govt. to Boost Speaking Skills
Further details on the education ministry's plan to address the issue of the nation's poor speaking and listening skills. Among its proposals are: aiming for a speaking ability equivalent to level three (san-kyu) of the tests administered by the Society for Testing English Proficiency (STEP, commonly known as Eiken) by the time students graduate from junior high school; reaching the second or pre-second level by the time students leave high school; introducing listening tests by the National Center for University Entrance Examination by fiscal 2006; and increasing the number of lessons per week by native-speaker ALTs, which would require increasing their numbers to at least 11,500, according to a ministry official. (July 15, 2002 )

Ministry's Vision for the Future of English Education
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has announced a plan to educate "Japanese who can use English." The plans sets out a multitude of concrete measures to improve English education. These include: increasing opportunities to mix with foreigners, including establishing conversation "salons" at schools and grants for students to study abroad; incorporating listening tests in university entrance exams; establishing 100 "Super English Language High Schools" over the next three years; improving teaching standards by creating research posts in Japan and abroad, and setting minimum test score requirements for teachers of Eiken level 1, TOEIC 730 or TOEFL 550; setting a target of 11,500 ALT positions on the JET Program; creating full-time teacher posts for 300 non-Japanese over the next three years, with a future target of 1,000; and incorporating English into the elementary school curriculum within the umbrella of "general studies." (July 14, 2002 )

Engrish/Japlish Still Makes News
A Reuters article this week showed once again that people never tire of hearing about just how bad the standard of English is here in Japan, pointing out things like the airline offering "Non-stop frights", or the helpful railway station sign that reads: "For restrooms go back toward your behind." The usual suspects, like Ritsuko Nakata and Gregory Clark, gave their theories on what's wrong with the system, citing incompetent teachers, post-war complacency and Japan's centuries-long seclusion among other reasons. Some up-to-date statistics, though: number of people taking the TOIEC test annually - 1.3 million; number of NOVA students - 350,000; number of Shane students - 30,000. (July 12, 2002 )

ETS To Design New Test For China
Educational Testing Service (ETS), the US company behind the TOEFL and GRE tests, have signed an agreement with a Chinese company to create a new business English test to be used throughout the country, the first of its kind. "Since China's WTO entry, competition for talent will intensify, and the Chinese government and enterprises will emphasize vocational training, particularly English language training," said Wu Yongke, director-general of the training department of the State Economic and Trade Commission (SETC), in a statement. With China's entry into the WTO and the 2008 Olympics to be held in Beijing, demand for the test is expected to grow quickly. It is to include components for listening, speaking, reading and writing. It will be administered several times a year or on demand, and will be implemented in two stages: first it will be promoted and used in Chinese business circles, and later it will be used in economic management academies and training centers. (July 11, 2002 )

Changes Afoot For School Teachers
The education ministry is tightening rules that govern paid holidays for teachers. While the Japan Teachers' Union complains that teachers are overworked, many parents feel that the recent change to a five-day week means that teachers have too much time off. But the image of teachers having long holidays belies the fact that they have to work on weekdays even during school holidays. Many have tended to work extra weekend hours and accumulated paid days off, which allowed them to take a longer break, or have elected to study at home during school vacations. The new rules place extra restrictions on both these practices. Meanwhile, in the first review of the teacher's salary scale since 1951, the ministry is considering allowing local governments to set their own standards. This would affect the roughly 1.1 million teachers at the nation's public schools. Officials said they plan to set the salaries for teachers working at the elementary to junior high school levels higher than general civil servants. A proposal is expected by this autumn and a bill on the issue would be submitted during next year's ordinary Diet session. (July 10, 2002 )

Local Authorities Hiring ALTs
According to a recent survey by the education ministry, 25% of local governments have hired assistant language teachers (ALTs) to teach English, about a third of whom teach at elementary schools. As of last autumn, 13 prefectures, seven major cities and 710 cities, towns and villages had taken the initiative and hired a total of 2,784 ALTs. The local authorities' action is believed to be the result of the fact that most ALTs on the JET program are sent to junior or senior high schools, where there is still a shortage. But with English being a popular subject in the recently introduced "comprehensive studying time", the education ministry has stepped in for the first time and hired 20 ALTs with Japanese language ability to work at elementary schools. Meanwhile the number of ALTs to be hired this year on the JET program is up 93 from last year to 5,676. (July 08, 2002 )

Writer Louis Alexander Dies
Pioneering ELT writer Louis Alexander, most recently the author of Longman's Direct English multimedia course, died last month at the age of 70 after several years of illness. According to the Guinness Book of Records, during his heyday of the 1960s and 70s, Alexander was Britain's best-selling author, with a record of 4.7 million books sold in one year. (July 07, 2002 )

Even Break For Foreign School Grads
The Education Ministry has decided to relax a directive that prohibits tens of thousands of young people from applying to universities. The rule affects some 110,000 Japanese students who drop out of high school each year, about 1,000 graduates of Korean high schools in Japan and hundreds of international school graduates. The Japanese dropouts have had to pass special qualification tests in about ten subjects, including English, before they could apply. Those who graduated from international schools have been accepted by private and local government-run colleges but they have also had to sit the tests in order to go to state-run universities. (July 05, 2002 )

TOEIC - The Secret of My Success
The Shukan Asahi magazine reported that employees hoping to move up the promotion ladder in many major Japanese companies have to achieve high scores on the TOEIC test. The names are familiar and the English connection is usually easy to figure out (JAL, JTB, IBM Japan) though the list aso includes cosmetics maker Shiseido. JAL, for example, gives new employees three years to reach a score of 730, a level also required at electronics maker Pioneer. JTB appeals to a baser instinct, offering ¥50,000 hard cash to workers who score over 950. Actually not that much of an incentive when you think that the max is 990. 650 is considered a strong English "foundation" at Shiseido, while at IBM Japan managers have to aim for 600; 730 for assistant general manager or above. (July 04, 2002 )

Who Will Save JALT?
Following the weekend's EBM (see below), JALT has issued yet another call for candidates for a Board of Directors election. The posts up for grabs include President and Director of Program, for which there are no candidates at this point. As it is a legal condition of JALT's NPO status that all of these posts are filled, the situation has been referred to as a "constitutional crisis". The new, and final, deadline for nominations is Sunday, July 7th. Also, for some reason all news items referring to the recent developments have been removed from the front page of the JALT site. The latest remaining item is dated April 17th. The JALT Publications site is back online and mentions the EBM and the changes so far. But, perhaps not surprisingly, it glosses over the current crisis. Strangely, it doesn't mention the call for nominations. No candidates? No surprise. (July 03, 2002 )

Washing Your JET Laundry in Public
If you're a JET Program participant with a story to tell or a grievance to air, this survey taker (who claims he was "royally shafted") wants to hear it. ELT News can't vouch for the validity of it, but if you want more information, visit the JET Survey. (July 02, 2002 )

JALT President Out
We're still waiting for definite news on last weekend's Executive Board Meeting but it looks like Thom Simmons is out as president. The result of a vote on the termination of publishers of the The Language Teacher was seen by some as a motion of no-confidence, upon which several directors resigned their posts. At an extraordinary National Election Committee meeting, acting directors were named until an election can take place. Current Acting President is Tadashi Ishida. More as it comes in. (July 01, 2002 )

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