The Latest News in ELT

May 2003

E-dictionaries Show Steady Growth
The Japanese market for electronic dictionaries grew by 15% last year to over ¥41 billion. One of the latest, Sony's DD-IC500S measures 7.2x10x1.39cm, about the size of a box of business cards, and sells for ¥25,000. With the battery included, and despite the weighty 21 dictionaries it comes with, the device weighs a mere 109 grams. The main English dictionary is the Oxford Advanced Learner's. There is also a feature that presents the closest English words based on katakana pronunciation as well as dictionaries of computer terms, travel English and a "Japan Q&A". (May 30, 2003 )

Education Up in Smoke?
A recent survey has shown that about 30% of high school students are habitual smokers, even though they realize the damage it does to their health. The Kizu public health office in Kyoto Prefecture, which surveyed more than 2,200 students, has called for anti-tobacco programs to be started earlier as about 30% of the students who smoke daily said they started the habit before the age of 12. A whopping 84% said they had started smoking by the time they entered high school. About 90% of the smokers said they bought cigarettes at vending machines. More than % said they understood that smoking was harmful to thier health. (May 29, 2003 )

JALTCALL Revival
It seems that the 8th annual JALTCALL conference has been rescheduled for October 4-5, 2003, following an earlier postponement due to fears of the SARS epidemic. The call for papers has been extended to the end of June. The conference committee reports that they are especially looking for more proposals relating to pre-school children, elementary school, jr. and sr. high school, conversation schools, and business. The event will be held at Kinjo Gakuin University, Nagoya. The theme this year is "JALTCALL 2003: CALL for All" and the motto is, "CALL is hot, CALL is cool". See the ELT Calendar web site for more info. The latest details should be posted soon at the JALTCALL web site. (May 28, 2003 )

Call For Papers: Canadian Connections
The Association of Canadian Teachers in Japan (ACTJ) will hold a mini-conference on Tuesday, September 23 from 9:20 to about 1:30 at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo. For people wishing to make presentations or lead a workshop, there will be three spaces available for three 45-minute sessions, or nine time slots to fill. For co-presenters, at least one member should be either a Canadian or a member of the ACTJ. Topics of the presentations could include: case studies, your current research, leading a discussion, or sharing an idea that has worked for you in the classroom. If you want to do a presentation, please contact Michael Dancsok, VP of ACTJ, stating your name, full address, affiliation, and what type of equipment you may need. Also write about a hundred-word summary of what your presentation will cover. The deadline for applications is June 14, 2003. E-mail | Telephone/fax: 03-3848-3213. (May 27, 2003 )

Talk the Talk
A recent article in the UK's Telegraph newspaper focused on the ongoing global "battle" for dominance between US and British English. In particular, the article -- tilted "Walk this way, talk this way" -- looked at the Asian markets, including Japan and Korea, where there is a strong tendency to favor the American variety. (May 26, 2003 )

JALTCALL Conference Hit by SARS
The following was posted last night on the JALTCALL web site:
"Due to a request from Ministry of Health and Labor regarding the possible spread of SARS, the President of Kinjo University has asked us to postpone the upcoming JALTCALL conference. Thus, we are sorry to have to announce that the conference cannot be held on June 7/8, and you should now take immediate action to cancel travel and accommodation plans. We are considering options now, including postponement, and hope to make an announcement as soon as things become clear. We will also be monitoring the SARS situation as it develops.

We will be contacting people who registered for the conference on an individual basis. We also welcome comments, questions, and feedback, which should be sent to the following email address:
conf-feedback@jaltcall.org

This sudden notice came as a surprise and shock to us all, and we are extremely sorry for any inconvenience caused. On behalf of the Conference Committee - Timothy Gutierrez (JALT CALL SIG Coordinator)" (May 23, 2003 )

Whew!
It seems that teachers from the US can breath a sigh of relief. The $80,000 US income tax exemption for citizens working in Japan, which was targeted by politicians looking to pay for tax cuts back home, looks to be safe. Cutting back or even abolishing foreign housing allowances had also been discussed. But the provision in the bill was dropped in a compromise between House and Senate negotiators. According to US Inland Revenue Service figures from 2000, about 358,000 people working outside the US benefit from the exemption. ()

All Together Now
In a development with huge implications for Japan's ELT industry, the forthcoming ETJ-organized series of ELT Expos will be something of a great gathering of the clans. The efforts of ETJ founder David Paul have resulted in both cooperation between the major publishers on a scale not seen for years and a series of major events that will reach all corners of Japan.

Paul met with the publishers this week, a gathering that could have led to divisions or exposed rivalries between competitors. Instead, all present unanimously gave their seal of approval to the project. The open and inclusive nature of ETJ has also allowed it to reach agreement with JALT, with the result that existing JALT events will be incorporated into the Expos. ELT professionals all across the country, at all levels and from all fields will find a forum to explore, discuss and present teaching materials, ideas and services.

The publishers have all agreed to attend the Expos and include promotion materials in their catalogs, a level of marketing support previously unthinkable in ELT in Japan. Events such the Hokkaido JALT Conference and the Hiroshima JALT Book Fair will be incorporated in the series of nine Expos. Exact dates are yet to be confirmed, but the Expos will be held between October 2003 and January 2004 in the following cities: Sapporo, Sendai, Niigata, Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima, Fukuoka and Kagoshima. Several big names in ELT have already been confirmed for specific events - suffice to say that these events will be the biggest in the regions for many years.

So far, the following publishers and ELT-related organizations have agreed to have displays at the Expos and sponsor speakers:
ABAX, Banner, Cambridge University Press, David English House, DynEd, EFL Press, Independent Publishers International, Intercom Press, Longman, Macmillan, McGraw-Hill, Oxford University Press, RIC, Thomson Learning, Towry Law. (May 22, 2003 )

RIC Translation Service
RIC Publications Asia, which recently joined the ranks of ELT publishers in Japan, has launched a new translation and printing service. For schools and educators, any type of document can be handled: conference papers, thesis, home-stay introduction letters, marketing materials, flyers, brochures and more. "Among our team are 10 professional translators, many of whom have a lot of teaching experience and have worked in education for a long time," said President John Moore. Other services include proofreading, copy editing, DTP and design. Apart from English and Japanese, languages include Chinese, Korean, Thai, German, French and Spanish. For more info, contact RIC by e-mail (trans@ricpublications.com), telephone (03-3788-9201) or fax (03-3788-9202). ()

Pana Wave's Roots in English Teaching
Frenzied media coverage of the white-robed Pana Wave Laboratory cult and its journey through central Japan has largely died down, particularly since the apocalaptic date of May 15th came and went. But one little-known fact about cult guru Yuko Chino (69) is that she got started as an English tutor. Having grown up in a broken family in Osaka, Chino was regarded as attractive and intelligent but somewhat withdrawn at the junior college where she studied English. After graduating, she rarely left her home and her mother proudly told people that she regularly conversed with the Archangel Michael. It was at this time that she started teaching English to neighborhood children. She waived the fees provided they would join her in prayer. Those children became the first of her followers, a legion that swelled to a reported 2,000 members. (May 21, 2003 )

Arels-Baselt to Merge?
In a largely PR-driven move, two of the UK's major ELT organizations are considering a merger. The private-sector Association of Recognised English Language Services (Arels, the world's oldest ELT association) and the British Association of State English Language Teaching (Baselt) have held a series of meetings over the last few months, with predominantly positive results. Advantages of the merger include efficiency of scale, increased competitiveness in the international market, and a clearer brand image. The organizations would unite under the brand name "English UK," which would join "Universities UK" beneath the "Education UK" banner. The new body would represent institutions recognised by the English in Britain accreditation scheme, currently run by Arels and Baselt together with the British Council. (May 20, 2003 )

New Online Translation Service
The Japanese operation of US firm Amikai has started a speedy online translation service between English and Japanese and five other European languages: French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. The service costs ¥15,000 monthly for three user licenses per language pair (eg. English - Japanese) with a third language costing an additional ¥3,750. ()

Students Grading Teachers?
From next year, public high school students in Tokyo will be able to grade their teachers. Teaching ability, presentation and course development will be among the skills evaluated, though schools will be allowed to choose their own evaluation system. The plan is to be implemented at 100 schools -- out of 174 that volunteered -- on a trial run basis. The move is part of the metropolitan government's reforms of its high school system as public schools struggle to compete with private institutions for a dwindling school-age population. The school district system, which assigned schools depending on the student's place of residence, was abolished this year. (May 19, 2003 )

The Taxman Cometh
Americans working in Japan will want to keep up with the latest developments regarding their income tax exemption. Currently, under the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) US citizens do not have to pay US income tax on the first $80,000 they earn here. But with President Bush needing to make some changes to pay for tax cuts at home, that may be about to change. This could mean having to pay both Japanese and US income tax. You can read some background information here but the situation is yet to be decided. If you'd like to voice your opinion on the matter, you can write to your Congressman/woman here. (May 16, 2003 )

Japan's Blank Slates
Many of Japan's younger secondary school kids draw a blank when asked to express their opinions, according to a Kyodo story on recent education ministry analysis of a nationwide test. The story reports that "students lack critical-thinking and expression powers, and their overall academic achievement level is apparently declining...According to the analysis, the percentage of correct answers to questions in English which required (junior high school) students to write was lower than the estimated percentage, while 41% of the students left answer sheets blank for a question asking them to explain their 'treasures' using more than four sentences." (May 15, 2003 )

Seeking Teacher Who Likes Garlic
The town of Gilroy, California is searching for a new international relations coordinator of its 15-year-old exchange program with Takkomachi (pop. 7,200) in the southeast of Aomori prefecture. The duties of current coordinator, John Barbara, have included organizing dozens of exchanges by students, business and community leaders between the twin "garlic towns" and teaching English conversation at five schools in the area. Applicants must have a 4-year degree and - here's the catch - be residents of Gilroy or a neighboring town. The job includes a free ski/snow boarding pass to nearby slopes, a "healthy salary and full health benefits," a rent-free, furnished apartment and the majority of travel expenses. For more details, contact John Barbara or see here. ()

Nova Sued by Student
Major English language school Nova has been sued by a former student for the return of unused tuition fees, according to a Kyodo story. Under the school's points system, the 37-year old man from Shiga Prefecture paid ¥820,000 for textbooks and 600 points for lessons in March 2000. Over the course of two years, he used only 54 points worth ¥68,000 before ending his contract. Nova claimed that most of the man's unused points had expired under its contract and returned about ¥45,000. In his lawsuit, filed at the Kyoto Summary Court, the plaintiff says that Nova's tuition repayment system is violating the law and called for the return of ¥700,000 of the unused tuition fees. "Nova is allowed to keep only ¥130,000 in this case if it followed the law governing commercial contracts," he said. (May 14, 2003 )

Australian TESOL Fair
The Australian Embassy Education Section will hold a "TESOL Teacher Training and Education Course Fair" in Tokyo and Osaka on May 24 and 25 to introduce Australian courses for practising and intending teachers, particularly those specialising in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). The Fair will feature presentations from a representative from English Australia and The Australian Council of TESOL Associations at 11am and 2pm. The guest presentations will provide background information on Australian TESOL courses and hold a demonstration of interactive communicative teaching methodology. Admission is free. Further information is available on the Australian Embassy website or contact the Education Section by telephone (03) 5232 4164 or fax (03) 5232 4119. (May 13, 2003 )

Message in a Bottle
Several bottles with messages written in English have made their way from Japan and washed up in the US states of Oregon and Washington in the last month. The oldest was launched as long ago as 1985. One message, also in Japanese and Chinese, was written by Satoshi Ohta, an education major at Kagoshima University. It read:

"How wonderful!! Thank you very much for finding this bottle. I floated this from Kodakara Island of the Tokara Islands, Ryu Kyus of Japan on Aug. 5, 1995. I'm a student of Kagoshima University and major in education. On Kodakara, I'm camping for biological practice and enjoy the beautiful nature of Tokara Islands. In memory of my island life, I made this bottle. Please let me know where and when did you find this bottle. Thank you very much." (May 12, 2003 )

Online Activity Resource
Teacher's Pet is a new site offering a simple program for making English teaching activities with Microsoft Word. Started by Chris Lacey, a computer savvy EFL teacher in Budapest, Hungary, it offers a unique teaching resource search facility and a useful text tool for creative language teachers. Example activities include gap fill, word or sentence jumble and multiple choice. (May 09, 2003 )

e-Japan Initiative Progressing
According to a story on the NE Asia Online Web site, approximately 10% of Japan's 40,000 schools have broadband Internet access. The number has been steadily increasing as part of the government's e-Japan initiative launched in 2001. The plan envisioned all the country's schools being linked via a single network. Dai Hagiwara of the quasi-governmental Telecommunications Advancement Organization of Japan (TAO), says that plans to get the remaining 90% of schools to join in are also progressing smoothly. There is now, he says, at least one model school in every town and village district.

In a separate story, schools run by Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward are to post exam results on the Web. The ward allows parents to choose which school to send their children to and the plan aims to help them make this decision. According to the ward's education board, the scores from tests taken this spring by about 1,450 first-year students at 18 junior high schools will also be used by teachers in considering their teaching methods. (May 08, 2003 )

Do You Want Fries With That?
Can the educational benefits of Shogakukan's new English-language classes outweigh the dietary implications? The company has launched a three-month program of weekly classes at 12 McDonald's outlets in the Tokyo area. Each class is made up of about ten children aged two to four and their mothers, who pay ¥1,000 for the 45-minute lessons. Led by one native-speaking and one Japanese teacher, they sing songs and place orders in English and have their food delivered at the end of the class. The two companies hope to be running the classes at 100 outlets within a year. (May 07, 2003 )

New Yorker Wins Council Seat
Anthony Bianchi, a 44-year old English teacher from New York, received the most votes in the recent city assembly election in Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture. Bianchi ran on a platform of educational and other reforms with the slogan "progress rather than precedents." He was hired by the city's board of education in 1996 to implement a native English-teaching program but encountered bureaucratic opposition and red tape at almost every turn. He credited his victory to the support of thousands of former students. Bianchi first came to Japan in 1988 and acquired Japanese citizenship last year, partly so that he would be eligible to run in the election. (May 06, 2003 )

NPO to Help With EL Teacher Shortage
The Japan Times reports that a new nonprofit organization is planning to create an unofficial accreditation system to help cope with the shortage of people qualified to teach English at elementary schools. Japan-Shogakko Instructors of English (J-Shine) -- set up in February -- said the plan was aimed at teachers at private schools who need education board recognition in order to teach at public elementary schools. The first step, which begins today, is to accredit private institutions as providing qualified English education and training for instructors. "Without the help of trained and qualified English teachers, English education at elementary schools will not work," said J-Shine Chairwoman Okawara. "It is a pressing task to mobilize experienced English teachers at private institutions to teach (elementary school) classes." (May 01, 2003 )

Top