The Latest News in ELT

June 2004

ECC Goes Celtic
ECC has recently opened a new online school based in Ireland. ECC Foreign Language Institute plans to employ about 30 people at its latest Internet-based foreign language teaching center in Dublin over the next five years. The Irish workers in the new center, which opened June 1 and is continuing to recruit, will become on-line tutors for Japanese English students. The new center will, according to the company, add to the capacity of its center in Osaka, and due to the time difference will extend the availability of the service to 2am for students in Japan. ECC's product is called "Web Lesson," which was launched in 2002 and has since been a success, leading to the expansion.

Apart from low operating costs in terms of telecommunications, property and payroll, ECC's decision to place its new facility in Dublin rather than in Japan was influenced by the number of highly talented English tutors in Ireland. According to the Irish Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Harney, "This innovative Web-based project will be an important addition to Ireland's emerging e-learning sector." ECC was established in 1962 and is now one of the "Big Five" eikaiwa chain schools in Japan, operating over 170 language campuses across Japan, with regional headquarters in Osaka, Tokyo and Nagoya. It has a base of 300,000 students and it employs about 13,000 people. (June 30, 2004 )

"Yasashii" Kids Are Tops
A survey has shown that parents are becoming more concerned with their children's internal well-being rather than their appearance. In the annual survey of 2,000 parents of children under 12 by toymaker Bandai, "yasashii" (kind) this year displaced perennial favorite "kawaii" (cute) as the word they want to hear used to describe their kids. When it came to questions about their children's strong point or what kind of adult they wanted them to be, "kind/thoughtful" was by far the most popular choice. The findings are thought to reflect parents' fears for their children's well-being following the recent spate of violent crimes involving younger children. (June 29, 2004 )

Former Teachers Find Their "Way"
A couple of newspaper stories from the weekend about former English teachers who've found their way into traditional Japanese culture. Art Lee came to Japan on the JET Program six years ago and taught at a junior high school in the "sleepy village" of Achi in Nagano Prefecture. he still lives in the village, with his Japanese wife, but now he is a professional "wadaiko" (Japanese drum) player and teacher.
A musician with a heart as big as a drum (Asahi.com)

Tom Morris lives with his Japanese wife on the Shonan coast southwest of Tokyo. He first came to Japan in 1990 at age 25 and taught history and English at a college and also in the eikaiwa system. Now he teaches ceramics and runs a B&B.
Pottering with intent between Japan and Hawaii (Japan Times) (June 28, 2004 )

Kyosandai Admits Another Exam Error
Kyoto Sangyo University announced at the weekend that there had been a mistake in marking this year's English entrance examinations. As a result, of the 2,838 students who sat the test on February 5 for the humanities department, 2,033 had a change in score. An additional 110 students were given pass grades, of whom 21 have already entered a different department or passed an alternative test for the university. Compensation will be offered to the others. No action will be taken in the cases of six students who passed due to the mistake. The error - in a reading comprehension exercise - was found this month in a collection of the university's test papers by staff at a juku (cram school). It is the fifth entrance exam error discovered at "Kyosandai" this year. ()

Keitai-packing Students Turn More to Crime
A survey by the National Police Agency has revealed that there is a considerably higher arrest rate among younger students who have a mobile phone. The survey, carried out at the end of 2002, showed little discrepancy in keitai ownership between high schoolers who had been detained by police and those who hadn't - both were around 90%. But the figures for junior high school students show a big gap: while 57% of law-abiding students had a phone, the number for law-breakers was 72%. The gap increased even further, to 32 percentage points, when looking at just boys. There was also a big difference in the frequency of phone use, 2.7 times a day compared to 7.7. ()

Hearn's Teacher's Notes Discovered
The Daily Yomiuri reported this week on recently discovered copies of essays corrected by writer Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) while he was an English teacher at the end of the 19th century. The Irish-American, Greek-born writer - known to most Japanese as Koizumi Yakumo and famous for his Japanese ghost stories - taught at the then Shimane Middle School in the city of Matsue, where he lived with his Japanese wife, in 1890-91. The copies are dry photographic plates and were found at the Kumamoto Prefectural Library. They were donated to the library in the early 1980s by a playwright, though the nature of the contents was not discovered until last summer. (June 25, 2004 )

Was That A Googly?!
The Times reported recently on the most untranslatable words in the world. While none were English, the Japanese word 'naa' - used only in the Kansai region, to emphasize statements or agree with someone - came in at No. 4. Among English words, the most befuddling was agreed to be 'googly,' a cricket term to describe "an off-breaking ball bowled delivered with an apparent leg-break action on the part of the bowler." Others also tended towards particularly British oddities and included spam (as in the tinned meat), gobbledegook, whimsy, bumf, seredipity, poppycock, chuffed and kitsch. And the world's most untranslatable word? 'Ilunga', from the Bantu language, which means "a person who is ready to forgive any abuse for the first time; to tolerate it a second time; but never a third time." ()

Understanding the Intercultural Experience
The Japan Intercultural Institute (JII) will host a Mini Summer Seminar on July 25th at Rikkyo University in Tokyo on the theme, "Understanding the Intercultural Experience." This half-day seminar will present an overview of fundamental concepts which underlie the theory and practice of intercultural education. It is intended for those who have an interest in intercultural communication, cultural difference and cultural learning, but who may not have extensive training in this area. It provides an introduction to intercultural theory and serves as a foundation for later more specialized training. The seminar will be interactive, and participants will be expected to share their insights and experiences. Seminar materials will be presented in English, with discussion in both English and Japanese.

JII is a non-profit institute supporting education and career development for intercultural professionals such as intercultural trainers, language teachers, intercultural educators, and those working in international business.
JII Web site | Mini Summer Seminar details (June 24, 2004 )

Obituary: Nick Pawlak
The following obituary was received from the Saxoncourt Group:

It is with deep regret that we announce the death of Nicodemus (Nick) Pawlak, Executive Director of Saxoncourt Polska, who passed away in hospital on Monday 14th of June after a long illness. Nick was a valuable asset to the Group and we are very grateful for his significant contribution over the years.

Nick, along with Andrew Eddles, was one of the founding members of Target Professional English Consultants in Warsaw. From its inception in 1995 Target quickly grew to become one of the pre-eminent suppliers of in company English language training and tuition in Poland. Saxoncourt purchased a share of Target in 1998, by which time the company was also involved in running schools is the Warsaw area.

Nick was always fiercely proud of his Polish roots and was a keen promoter of Poland and its role in modern Europe. He was a skilled photographer and combined this with his love of music, working for a number of well-known music publications including the New Musical Express in London.

The Saxoncourt Group would like to express our deepest sympathies to Nick's family and friends; he will be sorely missed by everyone who knew and worked with him. (June 23, 2004 )

Japan Times Eitango Biruda
The Japan Times published a vocabulary book based on its English newspaper on June 20. "The Japan Times Eitango Biruda" contains 1,300 words and phrases and the newspaper articles in which they originally appeared, taken from the last two years. It covers six fields, from politics and economics to culture and sports. For example, under the theme of government, it includes the issue of the Prime Minister's controversial visits to Yasukuni Jinja shrine. The book is useful for both increasing vocabulary and improving general reading ability. It retails for ¥1,600 and comes with a CD. (June 22, 2004 )

Working Holiday Losing Appeal
Fewer people from Australia, New Zealand and Canada are taking advantage of the working holiday visa agreement with Japan. According to the Japan Association for Working Holiday Makers, one big reason is a perceived drop in wages for English teachers as the industry becomes more competitive. It also mentions the prolonged economic slump and the continuing high cost of living here. The visa program dates back to 1980 and currently allows people between the ages of 18 and 30 from the above countries as well as South Korea, France, Germany and England to live and work in Japan for a year. But compared to the record numbers set in the early 1990s, the number of visas issued in Australia, New Zealand and Canada have dropped by 50-75% - the total for the three countries in 2003 was just 2,218 people. Meanwhile, record numbers of young Japanese are making use of the program to work in those countries. In 2003, the number of visas issued here was 20,917, up 2.5% from the previous year and the fourth increase in a row. (asahi.com) ()

Language Loss During the '5-to-7 Shift'
Marshall Childs' latest Practical Linguist column in the Daily Yomiuri was an interesting look at the "5-to-7 shift," the stage of psychological development when children become able to do many things for the first time. These include sitting still in class, following teachers instructions and other aspects of the daily school routine. Not all children develop the skills at the same time, this being a major source of frustration for many teachers of the early grades. Childs also looks at "language loss" at this age, and gives examples that will be of interest to any parent or teacher of children who have experienced a change in their language environment.
Language loss during the '5-to-7 shift' (June 21, 2004 )

We're Giving Away i-Pods!
ELT News has launched a survey to ask English teachers their views on the major foreign ELT publishers in Japan (Cambridge University Press, Longman, Macmillan Languagehouse, Oxford University Press, & Thomson Learning). Five lucky ELT News readers will be chosen from those who fill out the simple survey form, and will receive a brand spanking new i-Pod from Apple Computer. As you probably know, the i-Pod has been a huge hit for Apple and is one of the first must-have items of the 21st century.
Take the quick survey now! (June 18, 2004 )

Bedside Manner Bedtime Reading
Two U.S. Navy doctors have written a bilingual textbook that looks at the difference between Japanese and American approaches to the healing arts, "everything about the ritual of medicine in the United States versus the ritual of medicine in Japan," said Andrew Schiemel, a pediatrician. The Language and Philosophy of Western Medicine describes Western approaches to medicine, and was written specifically for Japanese medical students or those who want to study abroad or attend international conferences. "We're teaching something that is relatively new in Japan," said co-author Paul Hladon, an emergency room doctor. "Our book is targeting a specific audience: people who are curious about the West or have spent time in the West." The book has sold about 800 copies since it was published two months ago. (Stars & Stripes)
Yokosuka experience turns doctors into authors ()

Long Distance STEP
A new service was launched on Tuesday to allow students to practice for the interview test of the STEP (Eiken) test. The service is a joint venture between the Japan Institute for Educational Measurement (JIEM), of the Obunsha Group, and Manabi, a company that provides English conversation lesson by overseas telephone. Students take the 13-minute mock exam during an international call to native speakers in the U.S. and Canada, all of whom have experience as ALTs in Japan. After the exam, students receive basic advice on the telephone, which is followed up by more detailed advice sent by e-mail. The fee varies between ¥3,600 and ¥5,500 depending on the test level, which is from Level 3 to Level 1.
Story in Japanese (June 17, 2004 )

Students Lacking Communicative Skills
The Tokyo metropolitan board of education has released the results of its latest test of academic ability (gakuryoku). The English test taken by second year junior high school students showed high results in most areas - listening, reading and writing scores were all around 70%, and the overall average was 76.1%. However, when it came to communicative ability, the scores dropped drastically. For example, questions where students were asked to create a sentence using four words from a list of seven had the lowest level of student understanding and only 46.3% percent got correct answers. The results indicate a need to move away from simple writing exercises to activities where students write more expressively, based on understanding and analysis. When asked what helped their studies, students gave such replies as: "I attend cram school or study at home", "I'm taught by an ALT" or "The teacher teaches efficiently." The test was taken in February by 72,466 8th-grade students at 652 public schools. The next test, which will also include 5th graders, is scheduled for January 18, 2005.
Report (Japanese) (June 16, 2004 )

Stay Young - Be Bilingual
Research has shown that being bilingual may help counter the effects of aging on the brain. Results of a study published this month in the journal Psycology and Aging indicate that using two languages on a daily basis can help maintain what is called "fluid intelligence." This is the ability to keep one's attention on a task, and is one of the first aspects of brain function to deteriorate as people get older. But the study showed that people who had been bilingual since they were 10 years old - regardless of age - were better able to stay focused on a test activity and to manage attention, while ignoring irrelevant information, than those who were monolingual.
WebMD Medical News ()

Scottish Teachers Demand Smaller Classes
A teacher's union in Scotland has demanded that class sizes be reduced to a maximum of 20 students. The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), which represents 48,000 teachers and is the country's largest teaching union, voted to ballot for industrial action unless the government agrees to drastic cuts in class sizes by the end of the year. The union wants every classroom in the country to have a maximum of 20 pupils, compared with more than 25 at present. "That's also what pupils want and it's what parents expect. It's educationally unsound to have class sizes of 33 or even 25." said EIS general secretary Ronnie Smith. From a Japanese perspective, the current maximum allowed in Scotland - 33 students - is comparable to the actual average for junior high schools in Japan, which was 31.7 in 2002 (26.7 in elementary schools). Here, the maximum allowed is 40 students per class, a number still exceeded at some private schools. (June 15, 2004 )

Academic Ability Tests the Norm
More regional boards of education now run tests of academic ability to assess how much students are actually learning. Of the 60 boards nationwide, 51 (85%) carried out the tests as of this April, of which 29 tested all students, up from 19 the year before. Japanese and math are the most widely tested subjects, followed by English, which is tested in 42 regions. The tests became much more popular in 2002, when the school week was reduced to five days and the curriculum simplified, partly as a means of reassuring parents that academic standards weren't dropping. The education ministry wants to avoid overt competition between regions and only releases results based on nationwide samples. But 35 boards have made their overall test results public and 30 have followed up with questionnaires on study and motivation. (June 14, 2004 )

Team Teaching May Not Be the Way to Go
A study has shown that having smaller class sizes is more effective than doubling up on teachers, as in English team teaching. The study, by the National Institute for Educational Policy Research, tested students on their understanding of "comparisons" after the topic was taught the same way to several classes in different configurations. The best scores were recorded by students put into classes divided by academic ability. These classes also out-scored team teaching classes in terms of student interest, involvement and desire to learn. The study was carried out between September of last year and March, and involved almost 4,000 eighth graders at 104 schools nationwide. There were seven different class configurations such as: one teacher with a class of 40, 30 or 20 students; team teaching with 30-40 students in a class; classes of 15-20 students grouped by ability and taught by one teacher. The education ministry is encouraging smaller class sizes for English lessons, a policy being implemented at 28.7% of junior high schools, as compared to 54.8% in the case of math lessons.
Story in Japanese (June 11, 2004 )

Setting the Law Straight
The Japanese legal system is set to become more accessible, as a commision has recommended that a standard English translation of the law be established. According to the Japan Times, "A subpanel of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's research commission on the judicial system issued a proposal Wednesday urging the government to work on such a project. The move is part of an effort to support ongoing judicial reform, as well as to encourage more foreign investment in Japan." At the moment, laws are translated on an ad hoc basis, often leading to different interpretations and confusion.
Standard English legal code translation in works ()

Lifelong Language Education MiniConference
A "Lifelong Language Education" MiniConference, co-sponsored by Yokohama JALT, ETJ & LIOJ (Language Institute of Japan), will be held at the Asia Center in Odawara on Sunday, June 13. This conference will have 11 presenters leading workshops and talks full of practical language education ideas, and it is all free! Topics will include those applicable to teachers of children to teachers of adults, with each block of 4 presentations having at least one talk on each end of the spectrum. There will be four presentations running concurrently in three, 45-minute presentation slots, as well as a coffee break for informal discussion and viewing publisher displays. For more information, see web site or e-mail Scott Bronner.
JALT Yokohama (June 10, 2004 )

The Way of Afternoon Tea
The education section of The Guardian recently featured an article on a Japanese woman who runs a "finishing school" in London for her countrywomen. Hirome Cherry runs month-long, part-time courses in table-setting, flower-arranging, manners and etiquette and how to host a traditional English wedding. Even with fees of up to £80 per lesson, courses are fully booked out. Most students are the wives of locally-based businessmen, but some fly all the way from Japan to attend. The traditional Japanese tea ceremony is no longer widely practiced, so this cross-cultural alternative seems to be helping fill the void. A stirring tale ()

Foreign Visitors in Safe Hands
Yesterday's Asahi Shimbun carried an article on the information staff at Tokyo and Ueno stations, who are fluent in English - even sign language - thanks to weekly English conversation lessons. On average, staff at Tokyo station now handle about 150 inquiries a day, about triple the number when the service began in 2000. Concierges said the questions they get range from the usual topics-climbing Mount Fuji, traveling to Hokkaido and locating the nearest restrooms and lockers-to more bizarre ones like "explain what the white and red sections of the Japanese flag mean."
Station 'concierge' desks steer tourists right (June 09, 2004 )

Kick the Habit to Enter College
A study has found that high-schoolers who give up smoking have a better chance of getting into university than those who continue the habit. The Tokai regional committee of the Japanese Respiratory Society reported the finding, the result of a study by a doctor at Meitetsu Hospital in Nagoya. The study of 100 male "ronin"* students at a major preperatory school in the region found that the pass rate for ex-smokers was 36.8%, as opposed to 25.6% for smokers. For students who had never smoked, the rate was higher still, at 40.7%. The doctor said to those who think a puff helps increase concentration or decrease stress, "The results show that, in fact, academic performance will drop."
(* the term "ronin" means a "masterless samurai" and is used to describe students who fail to enter third level education straight from high school and spend a year "wandering" before they have another chance to sit entrance exams)
Story in Japanese (asahi.com) (June 08, 2004 )

ESUJ, Nikkei Sponsor Debate
The English-Speaking Union of Japan and The Nikkei Weekly are sponsoring the upcoming 3rd annual English speech contest for adults. Taking place at the Tokyo office of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun from 10am on June 12, the debate will feature 10 two-person teams in a "parliamentary debate" format. Entry to watch the debate is free.
Information (in Japanese) ()

Extensive Reading Foundation Language Learner Literature Award
The Extensive Reading Foundation (ERF) is a new, unaffiliated, not-for profit group to support and promote extensive reading in language education. As its first initiative, the ERF has established an award for language learner literature (graded readers) in English. There are four categories of the Award for individual books: Adolescents & Adults (3 categories - Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced) and Younger Learners. The Award is annual, for books published in the previous year. However, in 2004, the inaugural year, the Award is for any books in print and copyrighted up to and including 2003.

Publishers are invited to nominate up to three books in each category. The nominated books will be read by an international jury of teachers and extensive reading professionals who will come up with a shortlist of three books in each category. Language learners and their teachers worldwide are then invited to vote online for their favorite books among these "Finalists". By regularly recognizing books of outstanding quality and appeal, the Award aims to support the development of language learner literature in English, and to encourage extensive reading in language programs.

In this inaugural year, publishers nominate books by June 30th, 2004. The Finalists are announced on July 31st, 2004. Online voting commences on September 1st and closes on September 30th. The winners of the first Awards will be announced toward the end of the year. The ERF plans two further awards, for innovation and for outstanding achievement. The names and details of these will be announced shortly. For information on the ERF and on how to vote for the Finalists, see the ERF homepage. Publishers who want details on how to nominate books should send an e-mail request.
Extensive Reading Foundation (June 07, 2004 )

88% of Primary Schools Taught English in 2003
Yesterday's Daily Yomiuri reported on an Education, Science and Technology Ministry survey which found that 88.3% of public primary schools had classroom English-language activities in academic 2003. The finding reflects schools' responses to a growing enthusiasm among parents for encouraging their children to learn English. The survey of the performance of all of Japan's public primary schools - about 23,000 in all - found students were exposed to more English during class time than was planned at the start of the year. Sixth-year students, for example, were scheduled to spend 54.1% of the time allotted to integrated study periods on English, but actually spent 70.6% of the time engaged in English-language activities. Including extracurricular and special activity time, the figure rises to 83.2%. (June 04, 2004 )

NLP Training in Nagoya
A NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) training will be held in Nagoya this summer. The introductory session, Keys to Success, is July 24-25 (Saturday and Sunday). The more advanced session lasts from July 27 - August 1. The cost of the introductory session is ¥20,000. The advanced session is an aditional ¥10,000/day. The trainer is Richard Bolstadt, the director of Transformations. NLP is a series of techniques that enable people to increase communication. For more information contact Momoko Adachi
Transformations ()

New "Center Shiken" to Include English Listening
Details of the new so-called "Center Shiken", centralized university entrance examinations, were recently announced and include English listening for the first time. The English test, one of five foreign language choices available but the only one with a listening section, will be divided into a writing test (80 minutes, 200 points) and a listening test (30 minutes, 50 points). The tests will based on the new curriculum and will be taken for the first time in January 2006, by students currently in the second year of senior high school. The scope of the tests will also be expanded to include English I & II and Oral Communication I & II.
Story in Japanese ()

'No Sex Please, You're Teachers'
Yesterday's Japan Times ran an article on the current state of "relations" between students and teachers at the major eikaiwa chain schools. The article looked in particular at industry leader Nova, which has received the most bad press for its treatment of foreign teachers. One case taken to the bar association in Osaka last year produced a recent ruling saying that a contract clause prohibiting teachers from socializing with students was a form of racial prejudice. The article quoted the plaintif in that case, Robert Bisom, as well as others including ELT News editor Mark McBennett. It also pointed out the dependence of many teachers on their employers, not only for their salary, but also their visa sponsorship and often their home. "Teachers are kept cowed and obedient because they don't know what to expect and are intimidated by the laws of a new country," says one ex-teacher from Tokyo.
No Sex Please, You're Teachers (June 03, 2004 )

Norika's Afghan Experience Makes New Textbook
Actress Norika Fujiwara (32) has managed to make her way into an education-ministry approved English textbook. Fujiwara visited Afghanistan in 2002 to make a program for Nippon TV on the war-torn country. The new textbook, titled "Sunshine Advanced Reading" and published by Tokyo firm Kairyudo, uses her translated essays and photos from a book about her visit. In sixteen pages of a chapter called "Sadness and Hope", she tells of her encounters with children scarred by war and yet full of joy and hope for the future. Fujiwara says, "I was very surprised. If through this, high school students will develop an interest in Afghanistan, I'll be greatly honored." The textbook will be introduced in the 2005 school year. ()

Native English Teachers in Japan Project
Teacher Patrick Kiernan has started a project that requires the cooperation of English teachers and native English speakers in Japan. It takes the form of a survey whose aim is to find out people's views on teaching English and experiences of living and working in Japan. The survey, which takes about ten minutes, is online. There are also a version which can be taken by Japanese teachers or students of English. Kiernan is also carrying out a series of interviews with English teachers in a variety of contexts (from teachers at private language schools, to tenured university professors). If you think you might be interested in participating in such an interview, then please first complete the online questionnaire, add your name and e-mail address at the end and you will be sent further information.
Online questionnaire ()

New "Genki Phonics" CD
As a very genki alternative to the "ABC" song, GenkiEnglish.com yesterday launched the brand new "Genki Phonics" CD. Designed to make teaching the basic English sounds as fun and exciting as possible, the CD contains 10 very catchy songs along with mini-lessons and audio quizzes (as well as free worksheets from the website). Author Richard Graham says he hopes to "genkify" phonics teaching just as the previous CDs have made conversation work fun for kids all over Japan.
Genki English (June 02, 2004 )

More Schools Outlaw Smoking
In momentum toward a smoke-free environment at prefecture-run schools, 18 of Japan's 47 prefectures have either already banned or decided to ban smoking on school premises, according to statistics compiled by Kyodo News and released Sunday. With the enforcement in May last year of a health law that makes it obligatory to take measures to prevent secondhand smoke, there are increasing moves to completely ban smoking on school premises, and not simply create separate smoking and nonsmoking areas or impose a smoking ban only within school buildings. (Kyodo) (June 01, 2004 )

5 Minutes With Aeon
Aeon Digital Works, a subsidiary of major eikaiwa school chain Aeon, has launched a new English learning web site. 5minutes.co.jp provides members with daily five-minute lessons and follows up with monthly tests. The main page asks prospective users to choose which is closest to them among types such as a 19-year old colege student, 30-year old office worker or 40-year old housewife. The site charges a monthly fee of ¥980. Lesson courses can be chosen based on target language skills such as spelling, listening, speaking, vocabulary etc. Sample lessons are available.
5minutes.co.jp ()

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