The Latest News in ELT

October 2004

Eikaiwa Still Booming
According to the latest market research, the eikaiwa business continues to boom, in particular the kids' sector. The report by the Yano Research Institute, says that the industry as a whole grew by 10.3% during fiscal 2003 and the total size of the business reached ¥375 billion. The majority of the major players, such as Nova and Geos, continued to see growth. (October 29, 2004 )

An American's Impression of Japanese Education
A local U.S. newspaper ran an article on one person's impressions of a recent visit to Japan by American teachers paid for by the Fulbright Memorial Fund Scholarship. The school principal found many things about the Japanese education system that surprised him, and some that he would like to introduce at his own school. In particular, he was impressed by "the manner in which Japanese young people conduct themselves, their politeness and seriousness about studies." He was also surprised to see that Japanese teachers still use the "chalk and talk" style of teaching, standing on a lectern at the front of the class, a style considered outdated in the U.S.
High school life tougher for test-stressed Japanese ()

Gaijin - What's in a Name?
The Japan Times recently ran an article about the use of the word "gaijin" to describe non-Japanese in this country. many people find the word offensive, and in many cases it is used in a derogatory way. But others see it as simply a way of identifying those who are not Japanese. On Tuesday, the paper carried a wide variety of comments from readers on the topic.
Gaijin: good or bad? (October 28, 2004 )

Convenient Education
Convenience store chain operator Lawson Inc. said Tuesday it will open an outlet in Kyoto University's Yoshida campus in Sakyo Ward in the city of Kyoto on December 6. Kyoto University will be the first national university to have a convenience store within its compound. The new Lawson outlet will operate in the basement of a school building from 7 a.m. till 9 p.m. Kazuo Oike, president of Kyoto University, said the university decided to have a convenience store as part of its effort to become more open to citizens. (Kyodo) ()

Nature Wreaking Havoc on Schools
287 schools were damaged in the recent earthquakes that weere centered in Niigata prefecture. The total also includes schools in neighboring Gunma and Yamagata prefectures. The full extent of damage is still being assessed by the education ministry. 235 schools in Niigata alone took the precaution of closing on Monday. Aftershocks are expected to continue throughout the week.

Meanwhile in Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures, dozens of elementary and junior high schools reopened yesterday after being closed by flooding caused by Typhoon No.23 last week. On their first day back, students attended homeroom classes and helped clean their schools. Many are still staying in temporary accommodation after being evacuated from their homes.

The post office will send emergency relief packages to Niigata for free if you send them to the Nagaoka City Hall at:

940-8501
Niigata-Ken, Nagaoka-Shi
Sawai-machi, 2-Chome 1-1
Nagaoka Shiyakusho
Saigai Taisaku Honbu (October 27, 2004 )

Tozai to help Shane's China Expansion
Shane English Schools is to receive funding that will help it expand its operations in China's rapidly growing EFL market. Shane Corporation KK, a member of the Saxoncourt Group and parent company of Shane English School Japan, announced yesterday that it has signed a Letter of Intent with Tozai Capital KK to jointly invest into the Shane branded chain of English Language Schools in China.

The Saxoncourt Group, which currently has more than 250 schools in 12 countries worldwide, has been in operation in China since 2001 and operates schools in Shanghai and Beijing, as well as a number of franchises across the country. The total number of Shane English Schools in China currently stands at 14, two directly managed and twelve franchised, teaching more than 12,000 students.

Tozai Capital KK is an M&A investment fund established in July 2004. The investment by Tozai Capital, would be their first step into the EFL market, and would enable Shane to further develop its market share, positioning the company as a market leader in the rapidly expanding Chinese EFL market. With the opening of additional directly managed schools as well as continued franchising over the next 5 years, expansion will take place throughout China with Head Offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou.
Saxoncourt Group
Tozai Capital ()

Kanazawa an English Pioneer
Yesterday's Daily Yomiuri carried an article on English education at elementary schools in Kanazawa. It looked at one school in particular where a Japanese homeroom teacher has helped make the most of a full-time Canadian English teacher hired by the city government. Kanazawa is considered a pioneer of primary English education, being the first city to introduce the subject at all 58 of its public elementary schools in 1996. Doing so was a bold move as it did not have formal approval from the education ministry. This April, the city also became one of the government-approved special deregulation zones, focusing on providing continuity in English education from primary through to secondary grades.
The ABCs of teaching primary school English ()

No Americans, Thank You
For Americans looking to work in Japan, one option that is not available is the working holiday visa. On the Japan Today site yesterday, Canadian Kevin Burns looked at the issue in some depth. Although it is illegal to come to Japan on a tourist visa and look for work, many Americans wanting to teach English here do just that because they have few practical options. Meanwhile, citizens of the U.K., Australia and other Commonwealth countries have the much easier choice of applying for the working holiday visa, which can often be processed in as little as three days. Burns examines the question of whether there is actual discrimination against Americans, looks at how schools have to bend the law to hire American teachers, and hints that perhaps Americans are seen as more likely to bring violence and drugs to Japan.
Why no working holiday visa for Americans? (October 26, 2004 )

EFL Boosts Grey Matter
The BBC reported recently on a study that shows how language study affects growth of the brain. In particular, it revealed that learning a second language actually alters grey matter, and strongly suggested that the younger the learner, the greater the effect. "Researchers from University College London studied the brains of 105 people - 80 of whom were bilingual. They found learning other languages altered grey matter - the area of the brain which processes information - in the same way exercise builds muscles. People who learned a second language at a younger age were also more likely to have more advanced grey matter than those who learned later, the team said. Scientists already know the brain has the ability to change its structure as a result of stimulation - an effect known as plasticity - but this research demonstrates how learning languages develops it."
Learning languages 'boosts brain' (October 25, 2004 )

More English Special Zones
Of the latest batch of 101 municipalities that applied for government-approved special deregulation status, nine have plans to implement policies connected with English education. They include Oyama city in Tochigi prefecture, which wants to increase English lessons for first and second graders by 10 hours a year and to focus on English during the 30-35 hours (about 1 hour a week) allocated to "integrated study" for the upper elementary grades. Other cities, such as Iwaki in Fukushima prefecture and Kurashiki in Okayama, want to turn themselves into centers of international culture.
Story in Japanese ()

New School For Tokyo's Indian Residents
Friday's Japan Times reported on the recently opened India International School, which caters for the rapidly growing number of children of Indian parents working in Tokyo. Located in Koto ward, the school teaches all classes in English. At ¥50,000 a month for tuition, the school costs quite a bit less than the average international school. It currently has 35 pupils - 23 kindergartners and 12 elementary school students, including one Japanese and two Pakistani children.
New school in Tokyo opened amid rise in number of Indian residents ()

Waseda to Offer Autumn Admissions
Waseda University, one of the most prestigious in Japan, announced this week that its commercial science department will begin admitting students in September from next year, a decision expected to influence policy at other major universities. The move was tentatively announced in June. The department has had a two-semester academic year since 1995, and students who excel can graduate in three and a half years.

An alternative to the traditional system of holding entrance exams in February and admissions in April was first offered by Toyo University in 1994. Currently 19 university faculties have both spring and autumn admissions, mainly to accommodate foreign students, returnees from abroad and those already graduated from high school. Examples include the foreign language department at Obirin University and the international communication faculty at Fukuoka International University. Poole Gakuin University in Osaka has admitted about 5 foreign students and returnees every September since first offering the option in 1998. But the system has some disadvantages. One is the small number of students who enter at the same time. Another is that, in most cases, students graduate later than those who enter in the spring and after the traditional hiring season has finished. Waseda's move may help to "deregulate" this area also. (from a story on Asahi.com) (October 22, 2004 )

The Latest on SELHi's
The Daily Yomiuri this week carried the 13th installment in its series on the government-designated Super English Language High School (SELHi) pilot project. The article looked at Osaka Jogakuin Senior High School and its efforts to develop students' debating skills through its Active Communication class. For first year students, the emphasis is on journalism, and students research their own stories, carry out interviews or surveys with fellow students and use the Internet to prepare their presentations. Listening skills are also strongly emphasized, with students required to listen to English-language sources outside of class. The all-girls school is a pioneer in English-language education in Osaka, having introduced the first course in 1971.
Message as important as delivery (Link will expire) ()

New Zaurus PDA With 4GB HDD
Sharp announced it will release a personal digital assistant featuring a 4-gigabyte hard-disk drive on November 10. The Zaurus SL-C3000, which can store data equivalent to about 70,000 sheets of A4 paper, 700 pieces of music or 19 hours of videos, features Japanese, English-Japanese and Japanese-English dictionaries. The PDA can also be used as an external hard disk of a personal computer, using a USB cable. Sharp plans to manufacture the device at 15,000 units per month, with a retail price of about ¥80,000 yen, . (October 21, 2004 )

101 Years in 101 Words
The BBC web site is holding an interesting writing competition. Stories of up to 150 words are invited, the only condition being that they use as many words from a list of 101 words that came into being in each of the last 101 years. For example, the word "egghead" was coined in 1907 and the "blues" were born in 1912. Some entries in the list date back further than you might expect, such as "mobile phone" first appearing in 1947, and "celeb" dating from 1913. Many of the words define a particular period in time, like "Blitzkrieg" in 1939, the first year of WWII, 1967's "love-in" or 1997's "dot-commer." And the latest word from 2004? chav, noun (BrE, slang) "a young person, often without a high level of education, who follows a particular fashion."
101 years in 101 words ()

ETJ Expos Off to a Flying Start
The Nagoya ETJ Expo, the first of ten Expos for English language teachers being held around Japan by English Teachers in Japan, brought English teachers together from all over the Chubu district. Many teachers hadn't seen such a wide display of teaching materials before, and the quality of the presentations was very high. Some teachers who attended are already making plans to travel to one or more of Expos held in other cities.

The next Expo is this coming Saturday and Sunday in Tokyo. It is being held in conjunction with the popular Tokyo English language Book Fair and there will be even more materials on display and even more presentations. Whether you are teaching children, high school students, university students or adults, this promises to be THE event of the year for English teachers in the Kanto area.
Photos of the Nagoya ETJ Expo
For more details of upcoming Expos, including maps and presentation schedules, see the ETJ Expo site. (October 20, 2004 )

Interprog Release JHS Text for LeapPad®
Interprog have tamed up with Tokyo Shoseki to create a version of the "Junior Horizon - Hi, English! Book1" textbook for the LeapPad® interactive player. Aimed at 3rd-4th grade elementary school students, the new book covers all 19 chapters from the original textbook in 38 pages. It goes on sale from October 20, and retails for ¥5,040 (player sold separately). The sales target is to have it in 1,000 schools in the first year. Book2, aimed at 5th-6th graders is planned for a spring 2005 release.

Special books and sound cartridges are mounted on the LeapPad® player and an attached pen is used to play games and songs, do quizzes and many other activities. The developer, LeapFrog Enterprises, has a wide range of educational materials for almost all levels, from pre-school to high school, and have sold over 8 million players worldwide. Interprog first started selling it in Japan with a phonics program in 2003. Tokyo Shoseki is one of Japan's largest publisher of school textbooks.
Leap Frog web site ()

Learning English in Style
Language schools plan to begin offering classes at the Roppongi Hills business and entertainment complex, central Tokyo's newest attraction. They will target employees of foreign-affiliated companies in the Roppongi district as well as local residents keen on learning foreign languages. The schools hope the students will choose to study for the long term.

Berlitz will offer early bird English lessons from next month, using the time before offices open in the morning. The classes are aimed at enabling students to clearly communicate their opinions in English in work and informal situations. There will also be a course for learning English through current topics, such as political and economic issues.

The classes are intended for people with a certain level of English proficiency, including the ability to conduct everyday conversations. Each class will be limited to 10 students and last an hour. A course of one class per week for a total of 15 sessions will cost ¥63,000.

Nichibei Kaiwa Gakuin will start an MBA introduction course in November for people who want to improve their careers using English. The course will enable students to acquire basic knowledge necessary for corporate management - including economics, management strategy and financial affairs - in English. It is intended for people planning to study abroad to acquire a Master of Business Administration degree. The course will consist of 10 sessions in four months and admit 12 people. Tuition will cost ¥250,000.

All the language courses will be held at Academyhills on the 49th floor of Roppongi Hills Mori Tower. ()

Can You Raed Tihs Haedilne?
The Japan Times on Sunday revisited the theme of: how Egnlsih is splleed baerly affcets how we raed it. Even if the letters in words are jumbled up in this way, reading speed and comprehension are hardly affected. The topic received a lot of attention when a certain e-mail did the rounds on the Net last year, claiming that the finding was the result of research at Cambridge University. The article says this claim is not true. It also points out that the principal applies to many other languages but not to others, including Japanese and Chinese.
Why Deos Tihs Haedilne Mkae Snsee? ()

Teachers See Drop in Standards
The vast majority of public high school teachers nationwide believe that educational reforms are doing more harm than good. A survey by the national Institute for Educational Policy Research showed that 87% of teachers believe that reforms have led to a large drop in basic academic standards, while 83% see a widening gap between schools. Of 200 schools surveyed in Match, 4,441 teachers at 166 schools responded. 95% said they wanted reforms based more on the actual realities of schools, and 85% said they thought the pace of reform was too fast. Only 23% agreed with the recently introduced system of allowing public stock corporations to build and run schools. (October 19, 2004 )

Net Threat Closes School
An elementary school in Hiratsuka cancelled classes Friday after a message was found on the Internet threatening murder at the school. Police said the Hiratsuka municipal board of education received an e-mail that a threatening message had been posted on the Internet, the Mainichi Daily News reported Saturday.

"Murder man visit -- I'm going to pay a call on Hiratsuka Municipal Hanamizu Elementary School in Kanagawa at 3 p.m. today," the message said. School was dismissed and about 30 police officers were dispatched to the school and they waited, but no suspicious people appeared, police officials said. School officials said it would increase security next week. ()

Yokohama Nat. U. Students Win ESUJ Debate
The university debate competition sponsored by the English Speaking Union of Japan was won by a team from Yokohama National University. Held at the National Olympics Memorial Youth Center in Shibuya, Tokyo on October 10-11, the event featured 30 teams from 21 universities from around the country. The winning team of Mirhat Alykulov and Ken Sasaki were runners-up in 2003. Second and third were teams from Keio University and Osaka Prefecture University. The final round saw students debating the issue of amending Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution. Among the judges was eigoTown president Russell Willis. It was the 7th time the parliamentary debate-style competition has been held. ()

Ex-Hiroshima Teacher "Hot Favorite" for Booker Prize
At the weekend, The Australian newspaper carried an article on British novelist David Mitchell, a "hot favorite" for this year's Booker Prize, who spent nine years as an English teacher in Hiroshima (where he met and married his wife Keiko, who still reads all his manuscripts). The 34-year old Mitchell's describes his third novel, Cloud Atlas, as being "about predacity and predation. Individuals preying on groups. Groups preying on individuals. Corporations preying on other branches of society. Tribes preying on other tribes." The article calls it "the hottest favourite in the history of the Booker Prize." The winner will be announced in London on Tuesday.
England expects (October 18, 2004 )

Benesse, Berlitz to Expand GTEC
Benesse Corporation and Berlitz International are to start marketing their Global Test of English Communication (GTEC) to businesses in 11 countries from next January. The GTEC combines all four language skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) in an 80-minute online test, and has been selling well to businesses since its launch in Japan in September 2003. It has already been used by some 300 companies, including Sagawa Kyubin and Nintendo, and about 11,700 people to date. Currently about 2 million people a year take English proficiency tests in Japan aimed at employees and adults in general, and the market for an accurate and reasonably priced test has been growing strongly. The latest test comes in five types. The GTEC-CTE (Corporate Test Edition) has increased technical accuracy, makes use of past tests to decrease the actual test time to 60 minutes, while also coming at a reduced price. It will be accessable 24 hours a day from any country in the world.

Benesse and Berlitz are also working on a version of the GTEC for Junior high school and lower levels as part of the continuing development of their English Curriculum Framework (ECF), that will take learners from early childhood right through to adulthood. ()

Innovative ELT Publishing
The UK's Guardian web site recently carried an interesting article on little-known but innovative British publisher Wrygate Books. Speaking on the eve of their appearance at the huge Frankfurt Book Fair, Wrygate managing director, Kevin Reid said, "Our research has shown that English language teachers like nothing so much as a good beer after a hard day's drinking, and one out of every 200 establishments in Frankfurt will be carrying our Wrygate beer mats - '50 things you didn't know about the second conditional,' and so on. That's one more thing than CUP will tell you." The article details other examples of the company's unique approach to viral marketing, such as never printing a second run and focusing on niche titles such as "English for Beekeepers" - with free asbestos mitten!
Niche work if you can get it (October 15, 2004 )

Sony's New Meishi-size Dictionary
Sony Marketing has announced a new meishi-size electronic dictionary aimed at English learners. The EBR-S7MS, scheduled to go on sale on November 6, contains a whopping 28 different dictionaries and reference titles. Among them are "Genius Eiwa Daijiten," "Oxford Modern English Usage Dictionary," "Concise Oxford Thesaurus" and "Oxford Guide to British and American Culture." With an optional memory stick, extra titles and data can be added and stored. the dictionary carries an "open price" tag but is expected to retail for around ¥30,000. ()

A Little English Goes a Long Way for Yumiko Shaku
Japan Today's Newsmaker feature looks at actress Yumiko Shaku, who has been a regular on NHK's English study program "Eigo Shabera Naito" (You Should Speak English) since it started last year. The popular young actress got her first real taste of English while on a homestay in the U.S. at the age of 14. Also, working on movies abroad has piqued her interest in language study. Working in the laid-back atmosphere of the show with comedian Patrick Harlan, DJ Jon Kabira and NHK presenter Kazuya Matsumoto has also helped rid her of her English "complex."
A little English goes a long way for Yumiko Shaku (October 14, 2004 )

The Word on the Street
Japan Today's latest Pop Vox asks people on the streets of Tokyo's Yoyogi district "What is the best way to learn English?" Read what typical Japanese people think, and how the site's always opinionated readers respond.
What is the best way to learn English? ()

Have You Been Goflibberrating?
Ever confounded your students with explanations like: "The juncterogative predicate cannot follow a impassive nominalization unless the letter E follows eleventy-eleven Z's in succession." or "Antecedents should not proceed presidents in any degenerative condition even if the couplets are directly consenting, like perhaps Q and U?" If so, then you've been guilty of "goflibberating." Though you may not have Noam Chomsky haunting you in your dreams, you may find something in common with the teacher in this recent Japan Times article.
When stumped, real English teachers 'goflibberate' (October 13, 2004 )

The English Purge
Words such as "stereotype," "safeguard" and "skill" should be purged from the Japanese language, according to the country's most prominent protector of native words. The National Institute for Japanese Language is seeking to eliminate the use of 32 English words or phrases that have become a standard part of the daily Japanese language.

In its third meeting on alternative words, the institute brought its list of purged English to 141, with future meetings still in store. "We plan to create a booklet listing all the words we have produced in our three meetings so far and hand this out to municipal governments across the country," a spokesman for the institute said.

Those words or phrases no longer given official status in Japanese are: accountability, initiative, counterpart, governance, conference, compliance, supply side, skill, stance, stereotype, safeguard, setback, solution, tool, digital divide, default, doctrine, hazard map, public involvement, public comment, priority, breakthrough, presence, frontier, portfolio, bottleneck, manpower, mission, mobility, universal design, literacy and road pricing.

Institute officials decide which borrowed words to eliminate based on the degree of understanding they have among Japanese speakers 60 or older. Each of the purged words was misunderstood by at least one third of the unspecified number of 60-somethings the institute canvassed. (Mainichi Shimbun) ()

Maths Out, English In
A school in China has taken the step of replacing mathematics with English language learning for its primary 1 pupils in an attempt to improve proficiency, the Strait Times reports. The move has been met with a mixed response among parents: one said, "Other children learn maths but mine don’t. How are they going to compete in the future?" Mr. Zhang Chen, head of the school’s mathematics department, attempted to sooth fears, "This is just an experiment. The school will definitely not let the children lose out on maths." Extra time gained from dropping maths will be used to develop the children’s linguistic skills; one period a week will be spent on maths-related fun activities carried out in English. (EL Gazette) ()

NEC Develops Real-Time, Speaking E-J Translation Device
Japanese electronics firm NEC has developed a device that converts spoken Japanese to English and vice versa, according to the NewScientist.com news service. The device, set to be launched only in Japan in a few months, is about the size of a handheld PDA and consists of three components - a speech recognition engine, translation software and a voice generator. Spoken English or Japanese is recognised and converted into text, which is then translated and vocalised by the voice synthesiser. The entire process takes about one second.

The device will initially be available only in this country and aimed at Japanese tourists and business travellers. NEC researcher Akitoshi Okumura says about 100 different native speaker voices are required to train the system and there is no reason why it cannot be adapted for other languages also. But some work remains to improve the functionality of the device, particularly dealing with problems such as background noise and different accents.

Alex Rudnicky, an expert in machine translation at Carnegie Mellon University in the U.S., believes the device will only be useful in certain situations. "For the user, it's a question of value," he says. "If you're having a medical emergency in a foreign country you'll be very happy to have the device. If you're trying to buy something from a street vendor, pointing at what you want works just fine."
Device Translates Spoken Japanese and English (October 12, 2004 )

NICT, ALC Develop Software To Evaluate English Conversation
The National Institute of Information & Communications Technology (NICT) has developed software to evaluate students' English conversation abilities, in a tie-up with ALC Press Inc., a language-education publishing company. Capable of evaluating a person's abilities in nine stages, the software is useful particularly in Internet-based remote-education services.

The software converts conversation into text data for grammatical verification, such as the use of definite articles. The check is conducted by comparing the data with a database containing English conversations by 1,300 people. However, because of the conversion into text data, the software cannot evaluate whether accent, intonation and the fluency are correct, according to sources close to the matter. The software's evaluation reliability is about 60%, almost the same as the reliability of the average Japanese English teacher. NICT and ALC aim to put the product into practical use in one or two years, the sources said. (The Nihon Keizai Shimbun) ()

English Contradictions in Korea
Today's Korea Herald newspaper carries an article by columnist Cho Se-hyon, who looks at the "contradictions" between his country's perceived goal of becoming an international hub and what he sees as growing anti-foreigner and anti-English sentiments. He cites an example: "Marking Hangeul (the Korean language) Day two Sundays ago, a group of people interested in "keeping our language alive," rated the city government of Seoul as one of the 10 worst organizations, "interfering" in the development of the Korean language by using English on city buses to help foreigners get around more easily." In contrast with this and other calls for the removal of English loanwords, he asks why so many Koreans are "eager to teach our children English in school and by private tutoring? Isn't it true that many of our parents do not hesitate to send their children to America, Britain, Australia and other English-speaking countries, spending tens of thousands of dollars just to teach them the language?"
Contradictions abound ()

Canadians in Japan
This excerpt from a recent article on Canada.com about Canadians teaching English abroad:

For companies like Geos Language Corp., Canadians prove particularly good recruits. Out of 3,000 applications, Geos hires 300 teachers to work in Japan annually, and the beginning of the school term in Canada marks the start of a heavy recruitment drive.

"Canadians do well in Japan," says Stephen McKee, personnel co-ordinator for Geos in Toronto. "Canadians are fairly well-travelled. A lot of them have done the backpacking thing and that tends to serve them well."

While travel and teaching experience definitely help, McKee says flexibility and a go-with-the-flow attitude are top traits he looks for in aspiring teachers.
Hundreds of Canadians go abroad to teach English (October 08, 2004 )

Few Professionals Have High TOEIC Score
According to the results of a Nihon Keizai Shimbun survey on business skills, while almost 70% of Japanese business professionals are interested in obtaining professional qualifications in the future, more than half currently have none. Of the 46% with qualifications, only 4% listed a score of 730 points or more on the TOEIC among them. The survey also showed that "93% of companies have systems in place to aid employees in obtaining qualifications, and that many companies use qualifications to determine differences in wages and rank." (October 07, 2004 )

Osaka's "Super Teachers"
Following its recent decision to implement a merit based salary system, the Osaka prefectural education board announced on Tuesday that it is considering a "Suupaa Kyoushi" (Super Teacher) classification for teachers who excel. Both changes are set to begin in 2006. Currently, the only option open to teachers wishing to advance beyond the "Heikyouin" (Common Teacher) classification is to aim to be a principal or assistant principal. The new system would allow teachers to continue classroom teaching, but with improved salary and other benefits. A similar system is being implemented in Hiroshima and planned in Miyazaki. ()

ESUJ University Debate Competition
The English Speaking Union of Japan will hold its 7th inter-university English debate competition on October 10-11. 30 teams from 21 universities nationwide will take part in the parliamentary debate style event. Based loosely on the deliberative discussions of the British House of Commons, parliamentary debate is lively and audience-oriented. Visiting teams from such schools as Oxford University will give model debates and workshops. Last year's winners were the team from International Christian University. The event will be held at the National Olympics Memorial Youth Center in Shibuya, Tokyo. Attendance is free of charge.
ESUJ web site (October 06, 2004 )

A Jolly Good Read
Yesterday's Daily Yomiuri carried a couple of articles on efforts to stimulate interest in reading, in the U.K. and the U.S., both of which have seen dramtic declines in reading levels in recent years. The BBC's "Big Read" campaign was started last year in response to surveys that have shown declining reading skills among British children. The broadcaster compiles a list of the nation's most popular books, as chosen by viewers. Inclusion on the Top 100 list has proven to be a big boost for sales of lesser-known titles. The No.1 for some time has been J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings."

Another article looked at the success of America's oldest continuous book club. The 125-year old Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle is open to anyone, and members are required to read at least three titles a year from a selected list during a four-year period. Diplomas are issued to those who submit reports on 12 titles.
Articles: You're never too old to start reading a book (link will expire)
BBC - The Big Read web site
Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle web site ()

Englink Launched for Beginners
Publishing company Chukei Shuppan has issued a new bi-monthly magazine aimed at beginner level students of English. The inaugral issue of Englink was launched on October 1, and the cover features popular actress Yoshino Kimura (whose English can be heard on the latest TV commercial for Oreo cookies). It's main feature is that it maintains a "simple English" level by virtue of a vocabulary limited to 2,000 words. The accompanying CD includes such features as interviews with Hollywood stars - the first issue has an interview with Milla Jovovich. The companion web site also carries the script of the CD contents as well as English quizzes and other contents related to the magazine. The first issue had a print run of 70,000 copies and is priced at ¥1,200 plus tax. The same company released the English Zone magazine in January 2003, aimed at readers with a TOEIC score of 730 or higher.
Englink web site (October 05, 2004 )

Osaka Teachers to Switch to Merit Pay
The Osaka prefectural education board announced on Monday that all teachers at prefectural schools will be paid base on a merit system from the 2006 fiscal year (which coincides with the academic year, starting in April). Starting this year, teachers will be evaluated by principals on a 5-level scale, looking at such things as whether teachers are following a pre-planned curriculum. From 2006, salaries will be based on the previous year's evaluation. Currently teachers are paid based on a scale and can look forward to regular and largely uniform annual increases, assuming they avoid censure or prolonged absences. The board said the move is aimed to "improve the motivation and quality of teachers." The new system is expected to meet opposition from the teachers' union, which says that their will be many random evaluations and no appeal system is planned for teachers. Osaka will be the second municipality to introduce the system, following Tokyo in 2000. ()

Culture in the Classroom Seminar
Japan Intercultural Institute, a non-profit organization that promotes professional development for language teachers and intercultural professionals, will hold its next seminar "Culture in the Classroom" on October 16th and 17th. The theme of the event – how language teachers can include global issues and intercultural communication issues in their teaching – will be of interest to many language teachers. More detailed info about the seminar can be found on JII's events page.
Japan Intercultural Institute (October 04, 2004 )

Karaoke Inventor Takes Ig Nobel Prize
Among the winners at this year's Ig Nobel Prize awards, held at Harvard University, was Daisuke Inoue of Hyogo, Japan, the inventor of the karaoke machine. Inoue won this year's Peace prize for "providing an entirely new way for people to learn to tolerate each other," said Marc Abrahams, director of the hilariously cornball annual awards ceremony, and editor of The Annals of Improbable Research, or AIR, a magazine that pokes fun at real, but offbeat, research. Inoue, speaking in his best broken English, accepted the prize, and glowed before the evening's only standing ovation. He then launched into a karaoke version of the old Coca-Cola jingle, "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing." The American Nudist Research Library won the prize for literature, "for preserving nudist history so that everyone can see it." Other awards went to scientists who "proved" that it is safe to eat food after it has been dropped on the floor, and those who discovered that herrings communicate by farting. ()

Creating a "Learning Community"
English teachers need to build good "learning communities" in the classroom and give their students as many opportunities as possible to use English so they can build up their confidence for practical purposes, according to a Daily Yomiuri report on a seminar held in Osaka on Saturday. Jointly sponsored by the newspaper and McGraw-Hill Education, it was attended by nearly 80 English-language teachers, who came to listen to Kathleen Graves, of the graduate faculty at the School for International Training, and Prof. Kensaku Yoshida of Sophia University.
Concept of 'learning community' introduced at English seminar ()

Harcourt Acquires PhonePass Producer
Leading test publisher Harcourt Assessment, Inc., announced on Wednesday that it has acquired Ordinate Corporation, a privately held company that specializes in automated language proficiency assessments and provides test delivery and scoring services. In Japan, Ordinate's PhonePass telephone-based testing system is rapidly gaining popularity. (More about PhonePass)

The acquisition immediately advances Harcourt’s ability to offer technology-enabled English, Spanish and other spoken language proficiency assessments and testing services to its customers in the United States and globally. It also positions Harcourt for future growth in the field of technology-based assessment.

Headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif., Ordinate Corporation is the first company to develop a completely automated method for evaluating spoken language proficiency based on advanced speech recognition technology. Used by educational, commercial and government organizations worldwide, its tests can be administered anytime and anywhere, and score reports are available in a matter of minutes. (October 01, 2004 )

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