The Latest News in ELT

September 2004

ETJ-Kanagawa is Back!
Well... almost. The first meeting in a long time for ETJ-Yokohama/ETJ-Kanagawa will be held this weekend. There will be a short organizational meeting followed by a sharing of teaching ideas. If you have a teaching idea that you would like to share, or for further information, please contact the Kanagawa Coordinator, David Harrington. Any and all ideas are welcome... something to share in 5 or 10 minutes. Entry is free!
Date: October 3rd, 2004 (Sunday)
Time: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Place: Kanagawa Roudou Plaza (The same place the Kanagawa ETJ Expo will be held in January)
Venue map in PDF format (September 30, 2004 )

John Fanselow Workshop at TUJ
The Central and West Tokyo Chapters of JALT, along with Temple University Japan, will present a workshop by world-renowned teacher trainer Dr. John Fanselow on Saturday, October 9, from 6pm. The workshop is entitled "Teachers for Change" and will be held at Temple University Japan, Tokyo campus, Room 212/213. For more information, see the TUJ web site or send a request by e-mail. Alternatively call 070-5572-2882, on the day. Entry is free for JALT members and ¥1000 for "One-day members." ()

Arudou Takes Case to Supreme Court
Naturalized Japanese citizen and university assistant professor Debito Arudou (39, aka David Aldwinckle) has appealed his racial discrimination case to the Supreme Court, after a lower court dismissed his suit seeking compensation from a Hokkaido city government for barring foreigners from a local onsen. Together with German Olaf Karthaus and American Ken Sutherland, he filed the suit with the Sapporo District Court seeking ¥6 million in damages against the Yunohana onsen and the Otaru city government in February 2001. In November 2002, the court ordered the onsen operator to pay ¥1 million each to the plaintiffs but dismissed the suit against the city.

In an appeal to the Sapporo High Court, it was argued that the ruling was in contravention of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which Japan signed in 1995, by not introducing an ordinance to ban racial discrimination. While recognizing that the onsen's policy was "unreasonable discrimination," the high court ruled that "the convention has only general, abstract provisions recommending appropriate measures to eliminate racial discrimination, and the Otaru city government does not have any obligation to institute ordinances to ban such discrimination." Former American citizen Arudou, also an occasional contributor to ELT News, has been the highest-profile Western campaigner against racial discrimination in Japan for several years. (September 29, 2004 )

TOEIC's New Rival
More details on STEP's new test that is set to rival the TOEIC, from The Nikkei Marketing Journal Friday edition. The Society for Testing English Proficiency Inc. recently announced that it will offer examinations in Business English through a tie-up with Cambridge University's English-language test development unit. The STEP BULATS tests, to be available only to companies for the time being, allow applicants to freely choose from among four exams that evaluate reading, writing, hearing and speaking skills, depending on their needs.

The society has prepared a written test and an exam taken on a personal computer, both of which are designed to evaluate reading and listening ability. Each test costs ¥2,900. The PC test allows firms to freely set exam dates and for applicants to take it at home, with the results immediately displayed upon completion. Those who sit for the written test will be notified of their scores in about five days. The results of the tests will indicate the range of work they are capable of. The society will offer writing and speaking tests beginning next April.

BULATS tests are already being given in Europe and China, and are also available to some extent in Japan. The British university unit aims to spread their use here by cooperating with the society, which conducts the STEP Test in Practical English Proficiency (Eiken). The society aims to obtain the top share in the corporate market for English proficiency tests. Alc Press Inc. and Berlitz Japan Inc. also focus on giving tests to measure business English skills.

Yesterday's Daily Yomiuri also carried an article ont he new test in its Language Connection column:
STEP BULATS offers alternative to TOEIC ()

Exchange Student's Body Found in N.Z.
The body of a Japanese exchange student has been found in a river in Christchurch, New Zealand. 23-year-old Yasuaki Shishikura was discovered in the Heathcote River early Saturday morning. Shishikura, from Chiba prefecture, was last seen close to the river late on Friday night and is believed to have been alive when he entered the water. It is not known how he got there, but two men seen nearby are being sought by local police. Shishikura's homestay family described him as a friendly and very nice person, who was returning to Japan at the end of next month. (September 28, 2004 )

English Listening Test Dry Run
On Sunday, a dry run was held of the English listening test to be taken by future university applicants. The National Center for University Entrance Examinations, which plans to introduce the listening test in 2006, held exams in 568 locations nationwide (6 venues in Okinawa could not be used due to a typhoon). Approximately 40,000 current 11th graders were randomly chosen from applicants hoping to get a feel for what they will face in just over a year's time. The 30-minute test used a special player with headphones, and students were asked to make sure their mobile phones were switched off. One 16-year old student in Tokyo remarked that the sound quality had been better than she expected and was more confident about taking the real test. (Photo: second-year high school students take the test at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. Copyright Asahi Shimbun) ()

New Man at the Helm
In yesterday's cabiney reshuffle, Nariaki Nakayama was named as the new Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister. He takes over the post from Takeo Kawamura. Nakayama hails from Miyazaki and was previously a Senior Vice Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry. ()

Survey of non-Japanese Children
The education ministry has announced plans to carry out the first exhaustive survey regarding the education of foreign children in Japan. The survey is seen as necessary to gauge the exact level of school attendance among those of elementary and middle school age. A 2002 survey of children in 14 cities in the Kanto and Tokai regions showed that one in four of the over 7,000 foreign school-age children were not attending public, private or international schools. Not being Japanese citizens, education is not compulsory - the issue is being considered from the point of view of the children's right to an education, but is also affected by a reported increase in crime and delinquency among such children. Monbukagakusho has requested a budget of ¥47 million to carry out surveys, as well as school and home visits, in over a dozen municipalities where many non-Japanese live. (September 27, 2004 )

Japan, Ireland to Honor Hearn
Events will be held in both Japan and Ireland in the coming months to mark the cenntennial of the death of Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904). A series of six symposiums across Japan will begin in Tokyo on Saturday, and Japan Post will issue a commemorative stamp on November 4. Of Irish-Greek heritage, Hearn came to Japan in 1890 and wrote 14 books on the country, including "Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan" and "Kwaidan." He wrote about various aspects of Japanese culture, such as religion, rituals, myths, and traditional art. He married a local woman in Matsue, Shimane prefecture and worked as an English teacher there and in Kumamoto. After working briefly as a journalist for the Kobe Chronicle, he taught English literature at the University of Tokyo from 1896 to 1903, before moving to Waseda in March 1904. He is well known among Japanese today by the name Koizumi Yakumo. (September 24, 2004 )

Shanghai to Clean Up its English
Shanghai, which prides itself as China's most cosmopolitan city, has announced a plan to organize its somewhat chaotic English signs over the next three years, according to an AP story in the Taiwan News. A 26-member committee that includes some non-Chinese has been established to draw up a set of rules about correct English usage. A priority is street signs, written in Chinese and English (and sometimes Japanese) but very inconsistently. For example, signs indicating Xizang Rd., Tibet Lu and Xizang Lu all refer to the same major downtown thoroughfare. Other examples of bizarre translations or idiosyncratic English can be found almost everywhere. "Please make well use of this facility in lieu of using tissue for hand dry," says a sign atop a lavatory hand drier. ()

PM Addresses UN in English
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi gave his pitch to world leaders for a permanent UN Security Council seat for Japan in very passable English. Koizumi addressed the United Nations General Assembly and said that a seat on the council was just reward for Tokyo's contributions to global peace and security. "We believe that the role Japan has played provides a solid basis for its assumption of permanent membership of the Security Council," he said. "Countries with the will and resources to play a major role in international peace and security must always take part in the council's decision-making process." ()

Experiences of a JET Newbie
A Pennsylvania news site carried an article yesterday describing the experiences of a local in her first month in Japan on the JET Program. Tiffani M. Zalinski is teaching at a secondary school in Neba in the southern part of Nagano prefecture. Her story begins, "It is so hard to believe I have been in Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun, for an entire month already. It seems like only yesterday I was flying over Alaska chewing my fingernails down to the skin in nervous anticipation for arrival at Narita Airport."
Learning to say ‘hedge clippers’ in the Land of the Rising Sun ()

SELHi School Not Lost in Translation
Yesterday's Daily Yomiuri carried the 12th in their series on the Super English Language High School pilot project. The article looked at Kochi Nishi High School, designated as a SELHi last year and the first school in Kocji prefecture to set up an English program in 1968. Part of the school's approach in to ensure that students have a solid grounding in Junior High English before moving on creative reading, summarizing and other higher level language skills. Another focus is on Global English, using English to introduce such topics as sports, religion and human rights from a global perspective. But the key to the school's program is a reduced emphasis on translation of English text to Japanese, which frees up time for more English reading or other activities. A separate article looked at the program's flexibility and the school's policy of allowing observation by teachers from other schools, holding open class days almost monthly.
School's English course plays down translation
Open class: Observers impressed with flexible nature of program (September 22, 2004 )

STEP to Compete With TOEIC
The Society for Testing English Proficiency Inc. plans to introduce a new type of English proficiency test to compete with the Test of English for International Communication, which has become very popular in recent years.

The new business English test will be introduced in conjunction with Cambridge University later this month. STEP has decided to abolish the existing five-scale grading system after many companies complained that it was difficult to use, and instead to adopt a system similar to that of TOEIC, which has a full score of 990. The new test has a maximum score of 100, and is tailored for Japanese test-takers based on an English proficiency test widely used in non-English speaking countries in the European Union, according to STEP. In addition, STEP plans to measure the speaking and writing abilities of test-takers as the two fields are said to be hard to gauge through TOEIC.

STEP, which has about four decades of history, drew about 3.5 million test-takers at its peak in 1996. But the number fell to about 2.5 million in 2003, of which about 2 million were junior high school or high school students. STEP officials attribute the declining number of test-takers to falling birthrates as well as to the trend in which many companies switched from STEP to TOEIC in screening job seekers.

TOEIC, which started in 1979 with about 3,000 test-takers, has rapidly grown and reported about 1.42 million test-takers in fiscal 2003. About 60 percent of those who sat for TOEIC in fiscal 2003 were working adults. In addition, many college students began taking TOEIC because the test is increasingly used by companies to screen job applicants. "We hear that those in charge of human resources at companies are unhappy that their employees who achieved high scores in other English tests cannot speak English," a public relations official at STEP said. "We want to measure the real command of English with our test." The Institute for International Business Communication, which runs TOEIC, believes that there will be no major shift in the number of people taking TOEIC in the near future. (Kyodo News) (September 21, 2004 )

Students Not Learning? Give Them a Drink!
In his regular Daily Yomiuri column The Practical Linguist, Marshall R. Childs looks at changes in English language teaching methodologies and examines whether the "human equation" is equally important as method. He looks at grammar-translation, audiolingualism and the communicative approach, and then beyond method to explore what physiological process accompany second-language learning, even mentioning an old study which showed that "students' pronunciation of a previously unknown language is improved by hypnosis and alcohol" and that test performance is also affected by Valium, in an unexpected way. He suggests that perhaps teachers affect the learning experience in much the same way as scientists "contaminate" the objects and processes they observe.
Method vs the personal equation (link will expire) (September 20, 2004 )

JALT 2004
The Japan Association of Language Teaching (JALT) will hold its 30th Annual International Conference on Language Teaching and Learning & Educational Materials Exposition at Tezukayama Gakuen, in Nara, Japan during November 19-22 this fall. Highlights among the hundreds of workshops, presentations, and lectures will be plenary speakers Stephen Krashen (photo), Michael McCarthy and Susan Barduhn, all of whom will also take part in the ELT News Think Tank Live event. The conference will also feature Asia’s largest exposition of learning and educational materials, an ideal opportunity for teaching professionals to select materials for their students for the following school year.
Full JALT 2004 press release (September 17, 2004 )

RIC Opens Central Japan Office
RIC Publications Asia recently opened up a new office in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture named RIC Central to service teachers and educators in the Chubu or central region of Japan. The office is accessible to teachers in the Aichi, Mie, Gifu and outlying areas of that region.

The office is located on the first floor of the Nagoya International Building, a highly popular building with the local residents, and it will have a complete selection of all RIC titles featured in their current catalog and on the web. The main purpose of the new office is to enable educators to have access to the full list, which a normal bookstore cannot offer. For further information, contact RIC on 052-583-1313. ()

Japan Has Too Few Female College Graduates
The ratio of women among those who completed higher education in Japan was the lowest in the 30-member Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2003, according to the organization's survey released Tuesday.

The ratio of women among those who obtained bachelor's degrees was 39% against the OECD's average of 55%. Master's degree holders stood at 26%, compared with the average 51%. That of doctorate degree holders came to 23% against the average 40%, said the survey, which was conducted in 2003. All of the three figures are the lowest among the 30-member group of nations.

The survey also showed Japan had fewer foreign students at universities compared with other OECD members, with the ratio of foreign students at Japan's higher education institutions standing at 1.9%, lower than the OECD's average 5.7%, the report said. Meanwhile, the ratio of Japan's public spending on education to gross domestic product came to 3.5% compared with the OECD's average of 5%. (Kyodo) (September 16, 2004 )

Berlitz to Expand Advanced Program
Berlitz Japan is to launch a new program for advanced English students. Central to the "Berlitz English" program is a communicative approach to lessons and textbook development, with the keyword being "realia." It uses realistic business scenarios as a backdrop to developing students' in all four language skills. Berlitz English was launched with Level 1-4 in October 2002. Berlitz English, Level 5-8 will begin on October 4 and aims to help students keep up with the current globalization trends in business and language. The new advanced course has a "Business Track" and a "Social Track." The former focuses on language needs for global business, while the latter is based more on social and conversation skills. Both tracks are further subdivided into "Essentials" and "Specializations." ()

Setting Up Your Own School
This one is a bit dated, but the Education Guardian site carried a story in July by Simon Moran, owner of Modern English franchise schools in the Kansai area. Tired of having his rights and legal entitlements abused at a small regional school, he decided to set up his own at the end of the 1990s. It rapidly grew into a small chain of schools and Moran became less of a teacher than a businessman and personnel manager. Interpersonal issues are another important aspect of running a school, and Moran relates several tales of the difficulties he has faced and the rewards he has reaped.
Stepping Out ()

English Teachers to be Dispatched to Model Districts
The Ministry of Education next fiscal year will send native English speakers to public elementary schools in designated areas to teach English classes as well as extend financial aid to develop teaching tools for the lessons and train Japanese teachers, government sources said. The ministry requested about ¥218 million in next fiscal year's budget for the initiative, which the sources said is designed to help elementary school children acquire "a working knowledge of English." It will ask each prefectural government to designate one model area.

The ministry will dispatch native English speakers to schools in the model districts, typically those who have visited Japan as assistant language teachers under the government's Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme. (September 15, 2004 )

What's In A Name?
A couple of recent stories about name changes in Japan. The government announced last week that it would relax rules on how Japanese spell their names in their passports. For example, those who wanted to give their children the name George have had to settle for the standard roamization of Joji. A foreign spelling was only allowed if the applicant was born overseas or had foreign names registered in an official document such as a birth certificate or foreign passport. Implementation of the more flexible approach is set to start from next April. Meanwhile, last Friday the government agency formerly known as the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications was renamed as the more manageable Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. ()

Casio's New Toy
Electronics maker Casio is to release a new dictionary that packs digital versions of an industry-leading 70 different volumes. The ExWord XD-H6500 includes seven English dictionaries, including the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary American English and the Genius Eiwa Jisho. It also includes a function that allows users to look up an English word using katakana pronunciation. A word search or translation brings up resuts from all seven dictionaries at once. Up to 1,500 English references can be stored in a Word/sentence directory. It goes on sale on October 1 and retails for ¥47,250. Casio expects to sell 15,000 units a month. ()

Daily Yomiuri/McGraw-Hill Education Seminars
The Daily Yomiuri/McGraw-Hill Education Seminars for Teachers of English will take place next month in Osaka and Tokyo. The theme is "The Importance of Language Experience and Language Classrooms as Learning Communities" and the speakers are Kensaku Yoshida (Sophia University) and Kathleen Graves (The School for International Training). Admission is free, but advance reservations are necessary as seating is limited.

Osaka: October 2 (Sat), 1:00 to 4:00 pm, Osaka Yomiuri Shimbun Hall B1
Tokyo: October 3 (Sun), 1:00 to 4:00 pm, Tokyo Yomiuri Shimbun Hall 9F

To apply, e-mail, fax or post the following information: venue (Osaka or Tokyo), Name, School/Instituion, Mailing Address, Tel, Fax and email address.

McGraw-Hill Education, 1-12-3 Kandasuda-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0041
Fax: 03-5298-7224
Email: info@mcgraw-hill.co.jp (September 14, 2004 )

ELS Japan Expanding
ELS International College recently announced that it has started construction of a new language center in Shinjuku, set to open in April 2005. Run by ELS Japan, the Japan franchise of a U.S. company, itself a subsidiary of Berlitz International, ELS language centers specialize in preparing Japanese students for entrance to some 600 universities and colleges throughout the U.S. Completion of the prescribed course earns graduates an exemption from the TOEFL test required by affiliated American universities. The entrance fee is ¥150,000 and annual tuition is approx. ¥1.6 million. ELS plans to have 100 students enrolled by April 2005 and increase that number to 500 by April 2008, with sales of approx. ¥1 billion.
ELS International College web site (Japanese) (September 13, 2004 )

ETJ Expos - Coming to Your City Soon!
English Teachers in Japan (ETJ), a non-profit organization supporting English teachers in all fields, will hold its annual series of expos across Japan, starting in Nagoya on Sunday, October 17th and finishing in Okinawa on Sunday, January 30th. The entrance fee for all Expos is just ¥500 for those with ETJ membership (also for JALT and TALE members at some events), which is free and can be obtained by signing up through the ETJ web site (see below). There will be a host of presentations by such renowned authors (and regular ELT News contributors) as Peter Viney and Marc Helgesen, as well as publishers' displays at all events. The Kanto Expo (Tokyo, October 22nd/23rd) will be a combined event with the always popular Tokyo English Language Book Fair. ETJ also appreciates any support of the events from teachers nationwide - fliers are available from the site, which can be displayed at international centers, coffee shops, bars etc. ETJ and the Expos are supported by ELT News.
ETJ Expo information ()

Pregnant Teacher Fired
An English language teacher has been fired from her post in the United Arab Emirates because she is pregnant according to gulfnews.com. The Ras Al Khaimah Educational Zone fired the woman, who has not been named, after they received a tip, when they asked her to get a medical certificate from a government hospital, the pregnancy was confirmed. The decision not to employ pregnant teachers was made by the Ministry of Education and Youth. Ali Meha’ad Al Suwaidi, assistant undersecretary for human resources at the ministry said, “At a school last year, of the twenty teachers, there were three on maternity leave at one time. We had to recruit teachers on a daily basis.” The ministry has declared that it will now request a medical report from female employees declaring they are not pregnant at the time of appointment. (EL Gazette) (September 10, 2004 )

ACTJ Conference - "Harvesting Ideas"
The Association of Canadian Teachers in Japan (ACTJ) will hold its annual mini conference on Thursday, September 23, 2004. the theme this year is "Harvesting Ideas" The event will be held on the 4th Floor of the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo from 9:20am to 1:30pm with a short general meeting to follow. The conference fee is 500 yen and ACTJ membership (optional) is 1000 yen. There will be four sessions with three presentations in each session. Because of the length of the conference it is suggested that you bring a sandwich or bento for the final session. Complementary coffee provided by the embassy will be offered between the first and second session. There will also be a Materials Table of books published by ACTJ members. To preregister or for more details, please contact Michael Dancsok with your name in the message box. ()

Learn Travel English Online
Portal site "goo," owned by NTT group company NTT Resonant, and major publisher ALC have teamed up to provide a new English e-learning system for Japanese traveling abroad. "TabiEigo BB" is a broadband service to allow users to study travel-related English using a fun multimedia approach. The content is based on ALC's CD and text materials, and includes animated "OL's" on a foreign trip, video featuring NHK teacher Ken Toyama and pronunciation practice using native speakers. The course, which is up to six months in length and costs ¥12,600 (discounted to ¥9,450 until Nov. 30), is designed around a weekly-updated schedule of five minutes study a day. English conversation is the most popular subject for online learning at home, and appeals particularly to housewives, students and the elderly.
TabiEigo BB site (Japanese) ()

Livedoor's E-mail Translation Service
Livedoor, one of the largest free internet service providers in Japan, has launched a new automatic translation tool for its Web mail service. At the click of a button, users can translate downloaded text e-mail messages from Japanese to English or vice versa. Livedoor's "Gigamailer" provides up to 1Gb of free storage. (September 09, 2004 )

Love Thy Students?
A survey has revealed a basic difference in teaching approach between Japanese and non-Japanese teachers in Japan. The survey of 61 Japanese teachers and 81 teachers from 27 countries worldwide was carried out between May 2003 and March 2004 by the Chuo Institute for Educational Research and examined variations in the student-teacher relationship. Japanese teachers placed importance on "student effort," while non-Japanese focused more on "communication." The greatest divergence was seen in how teachers elicit answers from students. While non-Japanese tend to choose students who raise their hand, make eye contact, are sleeping or making noise, Japanese teachers tend to favor a more fair, random or systematic selection process. When asked what they thought was the most important thing in education, the most popular answer among Japanese teachers was "love." Among non-Japanese it was "communication." Researchers concluded that the Japanese teachers see themselves as role models who must lead their students towards a love of learning; while teachers from abroad, aware of the cultural differences with their students, focus more on clearly defined behaviour and responsibilities and on conveying information. ()

Saxoncourt Re-Launches Web Site
Saxoncourt, the parent company of Shane English Schools in Japan, China and Taiwan and Shane English Centres Vietnam, has re-launched its umbrella web site www.saxoncourt.net. The site provides further information about the company as well as the latest Saxoncourt Group news. Recently added was the 2003 Annual Report for the Saxoncourt Group. The group operates a network of more than 250 schools worldwide, as well as teacher training and recruitment services, teaching material design and publication and offers a wide range of study abroad options.
Saxoncourt web site (September 08, 2004 )

Brains Wired Differently for English, Chinese Alphabets
A new study has come up with a finding relevant to foreign language teachers and students in East Asia: reading English-style alphabets and Chinese characters use very different parts of the brain. The conclusion was reached when brain scans of Chinese children with dyslexia were found to differ from those of native speakers of western langauges (English, French, Italian), which are consistent. According to a recent article on CNN.com, neurologists consider the results "very important and innovative," as they strongly indicate that, contrary to what was previously believed, "dyslexia...does not have a universal biological cause." It is thought that once children's brains become hard-wired to a certain writing system, they use the same "circuitry" even when processing a completely different system. While English-reading dyslexics misfire in the left temporal-parietal region of the brain associated with awareness of phonemes, 44 sounds from the English alphabet (located in the middle and upper portions of the brain's left lobe), reading Chinese fires up some different areas in the left-front of the brain associated with symbol interpretation.
Languages train brains differently (September 07, 2004 )

The Art of English Conversation
Mike Guest's regular column in last Friday's Daily Yomiuri offered Japanese students of English "eight language usage hints on how to influence and improve interactions with non-Japanese." These "interpersonal language habits and skills" are remedies to very common problems seen when Japanese try to actually put the English they have learned in the classroom to use in real communication. They include such things as not overanalyzing your sentence structure and grammar, not worrying about always using full sentences, and not turning a conversation into an interview. And there was the old favorite - avoiding the use of cool slang, except for very advanced speakers. Conversation an art, not a science (link will expire) (September 06, 2004 )

Macmillan Colloquium on Learner's Dictionaries
The First Macmillan Colloquium on Learner's Dictionaries will be held in Tokyo on the weekend of September 11-12. Speakers will include Hilary Nesi of the University of Warwick, Micheal Rundell, Editor-in-Chief, Macmillan English Dictionary, Gwyneth Fox, Dictionary Publisher for Macmillan Education, and Masaaki Osugi of Seisen University. The colloquium has been put together to give teachers in Japan a chance to learn more about, and share ideas on, the development of learner's dictionaries, with a variety of events ranging from talks by guest speakers to plenary events, workshops and an open forum. The event will take place at the Nihonseinenkan Hotel in Jingugaien, central Tokyo. To register, visit:
http://www.mlh.co.jp/html/colloquium2004/cfp_e.cfm (September 03, 2004 )

Nova Expanding TV Lesson Network
Nova has been expanding its fiber-optic network based service to students taking lessons at home. The latest service is the result of a tie up between Nova, Japan's largest eikaiwa school chain, GingaNet, a provider of TV telephone services, Kyushu Electric Power Company (TEPCO), and QTNet, a Kyushu-based communcations network company. The service, which allows students to use a television to take the "Ochanoma Ryugaku" lessons at home or at the office, is due to start at the end of September. There is a ¥25,000 sign-up fee and lessons are paid for using Nova's points system. Rather than use the regular internet, it makes use of local purpose-built fiber-optic networks that provide a more reliable connection. In Kyushu, this is the BBIQ network developed by QTNet. Several major ISPs are already providing the service to users, including DION, So-Net and BIGLOBE.

Nova started a similar service in the Kansai region in February of last year and tied up with Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) this summer. From a business point of view, the tie up helps all companies promote their new services or products. In addition to joining Nova, students need to sign up for the power companies' fiber-optic services and lease a "GingaNet Denwa" TV/telephone for about ¥3,000 a month or buy a unit for about ¥90,000. (September 02, 2004 )

The View From Singapore
Singapores's Straits Times reports today on the ineffectiveness of the English education system in Japanese high schools. It looks at how even six years spent learning the language leaves most students unable to communicate, though as one academic points out, "'Six years is in fact misleading. It is actually only 139 hours a year, or less than 3 per cent of students' time in school." It also has a brief overview of recent reforms to the system and the current debate about introducing English into the elementary school curriculum.
High school English has little impact on Japanese (September 01, 2004 )

Aso Announces More ALTs
The government announced in July that the number of ALTs employed at public elementary schools is to be dramatically increased. Taro Aso, Minister of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications said after a cabinet meeting on July 10 that the current number of 73 ALTs would be boosted to 400 in the 5th and 6th grades by next year. The following year will see an increase to 1,000 ALTs teaching 3rd grade and above. The aim is to help students become familiar with English and foreign cultures at an early age. The number of English related classes for the upper grades will double from one to two per month. ()

TEFL for Tots in Bahrain
English language classes are to be introduced at first grade level in 20 primary schools in all five governorates of Bahrain. The scheme, reports the Voice of Bahrain, begins in September for the 2004-2005 academic year and is part of a bigger initiative to revamp the educational system in government schools. Public and technical education assistant under-secretary Dr Ibrahim Janahi explained how 102 teachers from primary schools were enrolled in an English language learning project to equip them to teach the classes. (EL Gazette) ()

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