The Latest News in ELT

December 2004

Upcoming Yokohama JALT Meeting
The Yokohama JALT meeting for January, 2005 will be on the theme "Japanese University Students' Stereotypes of Chinese and Americans: A Quantitative Study." The presenters are Prof. Christopher J. Long, Ms. Hisako Otsuka, and Mr. Naoki Ikeda (Sophia University Professor specializing in Sociolinguistics with Senior Project Students). The presenters will discuss findings from a study of Japanese stereotypes of foreigners. Two groups listened to the same voice in Japanese. One group believed the speaker was American, the other Chinese. Both groups rated the speaker on 30 items (e.g., intelligence, fluency). Differences in ratings given by both groups and implications for intercultural communication in Japan will be presented. The meeting will be held on Sunday, January 16th, 2:00pm - 4:30pm, at Ginou Bunka Kaikan (Skills & Culture Center) near JR Kannai & Yokohama subway Isezakichojamachi.
See Yokohama JALT site for a map and more information (December 23, 2004 )

Gaba Introduces CASEC
"man-to-man" English teaching specialist Gaba is to introduce a new online testing system. They will begin offering the Computerized Assessment System for English Communication (CASEC) on January 4, 2005. The online test was originally created by The Society for Testing English Proficiency (STEP) and is now developed and administered by The Japan Institute for Educational Measurement (JIEM, part of the Obunsha group). The test is shorter than its written equivalent, taking about 30-40 minutes, scores are given immediately, and the test is available online 24 hours a day. Since its introduction three years ago, over 170,000 people have taken the test. Gaba president Chutatsu Aono said, "The CASEC offers not only the ease and convenience of an online test, but also a high level of accuracy and is an ideal partner for Gaba's client service. Our aim is to be a Total English Solution Provider."
Gaba web site (December 22, 2004 )

JACET's Tanabe Dies
JACET President Yoji Tanabe died on Sunday morning of a cardiac infarction at a hospital in Tokyo's Musashino city. He was 71. Emeritus professor at the prestigious Waseda University, he was also head of the Language Communication department at Tokyo International University, where he specialized in English phonetics. For 33 years from 1968, he was a presenter on a variety of English language study programs on NHK radio. The funeral service will be from 10:30 to 12:00 on December 22 (Wednesday) at Gokokuji, Bunkyo ward, Tokyo. He is survived by his wife Kumiko. (December 21, 2004 )

Electronic Village Online 2005
The CALL Interest Section of TESOL recently announced details of the Electronic Village Online for 2005. Registration for these free 6-week Internet-based sessions begins January 3. Sessions run January 17 to February 27. You do not need to be a TESOL member to participate in EVO. Topics include: Filming and Editing for the ESL/EFL Classroom; Becoming a Webhead: A Hands-on Workshop on How to use Web Communication Tools for Language Teaching and Learning; Effective Techniques for Teaching English Through Drama; Making the Transition from ESL to ESP; and many more.
Find more details here ()

Saturday Classes Making a Comeback
A growing number of schools are reintroducing lessons on Saturdays. Five schools in the Tokyo area have done so this year, and that number will triple to 17 next year. The metropolitan board of education has allowed the change, as long as it doesn't "interfere with the principle of the 5-day week system." The move is part of a reversal in educational policy, as changes introduced in the last few years are seen to be causing a decline in academic standards. Many schools nationwide have "supplementary lessons" on Saturdays, but very few have classes that are part of the curriculum. But in Tokyo, more than 70% of private junior high schools have refused to change to the 5-day week, introduced in 2002. (December 20, 2004 )

National Uni. Fees Going Up
The standard for tuition fees at national universities is to be increased from next April. The education and finance ministries announced that the standard for annual tuition will go up by ¥15,000 to &535,800. The increase will be introduced just a year after changes to the law that turned all national universities into private entities and allowed them to set their own fees. The standard fee level is based on a national average, and universities are allowed to set their fees below or up to 10% above that level. The increase reflects the need for universities to maintain income levels, but some schools plan to avoid increasing fees for fear of losing students. ()

New Dictionary, Eh?
Oxford University Press has published a new edition of its dictionary of Canadian English. The Canadian Oxford Dictionary has over 300,000 entries, of which 2,200 are uniquely Canadian words, based on sources as varied as literature and restaurant menus. "It is really important for Canada to have its own English dictionary because we are not properly represented in American or British dictionaries," said OUP lexicographer Heather Fitzgerald. Giving the dictionary its distinctly local flavor are 648 references to skating and hockey, as well as colloquial terms like 'cougar' (an older woman who preys on younger men), 'bangbelly' (a cake made from rice), and 'double-double' (a sweet and creamy coffee). In 2004, OUP is celebrating its 100th anniversary of publishing in Canada.
Oxford University Press Canada web site (December 17, 2004 )

3 Billion English Speakers by 2015
A study for the British Council has predicted that in just over a decade, half the world's population will be speaking English, leading to a huge worldwide boom in the ELT. Two billion people are expected to start learning English within the next 10 years, and three billion will speak it by 2015. But the EFL boom is not expected to last, as more and more children receive early English education as they learn to read and write, and many universities are turning to English as the chosen language of instruction. The number of EFL students will drop to 500 million by 2050.

The findings are the result of computer-modelled simulations by Open University lecturer David Graddol, and were presented last week as 'The Future of English' at the Council's 'Going Global' Conference on International Education in Edinburgh. The conference is the first to look at the future of an industry that is worth 11 billion ($21 billion) to the UK economy.

The model used UNESCO estimates for education provision, demographic projections, government education policies and international student mobility figures, as well as other factors affecting world population. But although English is set to become even more of a global language, other languages such as Chinese, Arabic and Spanish are also expected to see growth rather than decline. French is expected to be a casualty of the global changes, while German is enjoying growing popularity in parts of Asia.
Download British Council report (Microsoft Word file) ()

English + Math = Success
Publisher Gakko Tosho is to publish the country's first math textbook for primary students written entirely in English, according to the Daily Yomiuri. The company is confident that the growing number of schools and districts introducing English in elementary schools will ensure the book's success. The Japanese version of the textbook has an almost 13% market share. The English version, translated by Chuo University professor Michimasa Kobayashi, will not be offered as an official, education ministry-approved textbook, but will be sold through regular bookstores. The books feature colorful cartoon-style illustrations, as well as dialogs and hints from child characters. The company is also considering publishing English versions of texts for other subjects.
English plus math book equals 2 birds with 1 stone (link will expire) (December 16, 2004 )

School Hours May be Upped
The education ministry is considering a reversal in its almost 30-year policy of reducing the number of classroom hours. Due to recent studies that indicate falling academic standards in Japan, the ministry sees the need for a change of tack. While it has yet to decide how to tackle the problem, there are plans to ask the Central Education Council early next year to look at ways of increasing the average number of classroom hours from the current 5,367 during elementary school and 2,940 during the three years of junior high school. Options include specifying a minimum rather than an average number, or encouraging schools to ensure that students spend more time in the classroom. ()

Ground-Breaking Akita Int'l University
Yesterday's Daily Yomiuri included a feature on Akita International University, believed to be the first Japanese university to conduct all classes in English. The prefectural government-run school opened in April, taking over the campus used for 13 years by Minnesota State University Akita. That school held all classes in English, but as a school affiliated with a US institute, it was not granted university status by the government. It had a very high drop-out rate of almost half of all students.

AIU had an applicant-to-place ratio of almost 16:1, and ended up accepting 134 students, more than its original quota of 100. This includes about 30 foreign exchange students from the US, Mongolia and China. All students are also required to spend the first year in the university dorm and study for at least a year at one of several affiliated universities overseas. Students are grouped into classes of about 15 based on their TOEFL scores. They have a heavy daily workload of assignments and take the TOEFL test every two months or so. AIU President Mineo Nakajima says he believes the average score has already reached about 530. The more than 20 non-Japanese teachers make up over 60% of the total faculty.
English-language university breaks mold (link will expire) (December 15, 2004 )

Shane Teaching Expo Guides, Volunteers
This autumn, teachers from Shane English School Japan in Nagoya, on behalf of Shane Language Services (SLS), have been providing English lessons to the residents of Seto who are involved in the World Exposition, Aichi, Japan 2005 that will run from March to September next year. Seto, a small town famous for its high quality ceramics, is located just east of Nagoya and close to the site of the Aichi Expo. Organizers have recruited many townspeople to act as guides, host families, and volunteers. The organizers contacted SLS to provide English teachers to train the volunteers in simple English.

Lessons are held once or twice a month at a community centre in Seto. Seventy students attend the classes and take 90-minute lessons taught by six teachers from SESJ. Topics include greetings and introductions at the airport, describing family, and talking about health issues. The lessons are highly communicative with pair and group work to maximize student talking-time. The language is functional and used communicatively helps students learn when and how to use the language appropriately.
Expo 2005 Aichi Japan ()

Gaba to Enter Chiba
Gaba, the Tokyo-based school that specializes in "man-to-man" English teaching, is to open its first school in Chiba prefecture. The new "Learning Studio" will open on the 19th floor of a high-rise office building next to Chiba JR station on February 3. The 120 square-meter school will ahve 11 teaching booths and looks out over Tokyo Bay. CEO Aono said, "The Chiba LS will not only offer convenience for commuter clients studying at schools in Tokyo, but is also good news for Chiba residents, who understand the importance of being able to communicate with foreigners." Gaba will open a new school in the Umeda district of Osaka in January, its first school outside the Kanto region. (December 14, 2004 )

Christmas CD for English Learners
Saxoncourt ELT have just released their latest product to help students learn English while experiencing the magic of Christmas! Christmas Magic is a specially-enhanced CD packed with songs, games and hands-on activities. The CD includes 24 Christmas carols with lyrics, a list of selected vocabulary used in the carols together with definitions and translations (English to Japanese), and a fold-out Christmas board game (54 x 48 cm). In addition, when used in a computer, the CD has a number of additional features including two computer games for matching pictures and words, A4-sized "Print-and-Sing" lyrics sheets for all 24 carols, and six printable make-your-own Christmas cards.
Available from the Nellies website (December 13, 2004 )

TER Book Fair a Success
The English Resource announced this week that a recent book fair was a great success. The TER Yokohama Book Fair was held in November at the Yokohama World Porters entertainment and shopping center. The event was held mainly to attract visitors from the Kanto region who are interested in ELT, children's items, and presentations related to language teaching in Japan. The number of attendees was given as about 330 and sales turnover dfrom the event was ¥1.7 million. Most of the ELT publishers were represented and there were a total of 9 presentations. Publishers offered discounts on books and a wide selection of Christmas items. (December 10, 2004 )

OED News December Issue
The December issue of the Oxford English Dictionary-related newsletter is now online. Apart from articles by people involved in the the US$70 million revision programme, OED News also includes a list of Appeals for help with particular words: do you remember reading about a quad bike before 1989? Or eating a tikka masala before 1975? Often these are slang or colloquial items which cannot be researched in specialist texts and are most likely to be found by a general reader in non-specialized or popular literature. If you can help with any of the words listed, they'd love to hear from you. OED News is published quarterly, and contains articles by editors, researchers, and contributors on their work for the OED, and regular updates on the programme's progress.
OED News ()

Foreign Tourists to Face Stricter Entry Procedures
New anti-terror measures proposed by the government will mean stricter controls on non-Japanese entering the country. They include mandatory finger-printing and photographs of all entrants. There are also plans to fingerprint applicants for visas before they travel to Japan, and to require hotels and inns to ask for the nationality and passport number of foreign customers at check-in. Though the plan is likely to spark criticism about infringing on the rights of foreigners, a government panel, headed by Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda, is expected to give it final approval today. ()

Early English Education Useless?
A Kyodo news story yesterday looked at a study done several years ago that purported to show that starting English education in elementary rather than middle school had no real effect on students' communication ability. The study by a professor at Shizuoka University compared two groups of students, one that started English in an elementary school pilot program, the other beginning in junior high. The study showed that the two groups averaged the same score in a test of their ability to understand English words orally, pronunciation and the number of words they used in a five-minute conversation. The article also includes some quotes from bureaucrats and teachers.
Study showed early English education useless (December 09, 2004 )

Women Still Favor English
According to a survey quoted in the Daily Yomiuri this week, English is the most popular among private classes taken by women. In the survey of about 500 women conducted last year by Recruit Co., 33% said that learning English was their favorite means of self-improvement, with 23% going to fitness clubs and 13% attending cookery classes. Respondents said they were repared to pay for such classes because they wanted to "change the pace of their life, enrich their private liffe, improve their abilities, or to prepare for a future career." ()

Glossy English for the Ladies
Yesterday's Daily Yomiuri carried an article on magazines written in easy English and aimed at women. With glossy covers and articles on movies, travel and food, they look very similar to established women's fashion magazines. The number of such magazines has ballooned during the last year. Examples included: 'ENGLINK' from Chukei Publishing, which like learner dictionaries uses a vocabulary of 2,000 words; 'Virgin English' (Alc press), which carries the copy "Getting beautiful in English"; 'English Style' (Gakken), which invites readers to "Enjoy gourmet English!"; 'In English' by Takeshobo and 'Eigo de Good Life' from MC Press. One magazine editor commented, somewhat cynically, "Women are greedy and they get bored learning English unless there's something in it for them. That's why new types of English magazines with celebrity and lifestyle stories were created." (original article not available online) (December 08, 2004 )

JALT2004 Photos Online
JALT have put a gallery of photos of the recent national conference on their site. You can access it at: http://www.jalt.org/gallery/.

Meanwhile, the call for presentations for JALT2005 is already open, and will remain so until February 28, 2005. More information is available on the conference website. Next year will see the conference return to the Granship venue in Shizuoka, and the theme is "Sharing Our Stories." The conference is scheduled for October 7-10.
JALT2005 (December 07, 2004 )

Schools Ill-informed About Copyright
The education ministry has revealed in its first survey of copyright awareness at schools that the vast majority lack basic knowledge of copyright laws. While the use of written or graphic content for educational purposes is allowed under certain prescribed conditions, the law prohibits copying and distribution of commercially sold drills, for example. In the recent survey of about 4,000 schools nationwide, to which 1,760 schools replied, about 90% said that they have no one on their staff who is familiar with the issue. About half of the schools said that copyright was an important social issue, but the reality doesn't seem to reflect that view. Some teachers claim that as they are unlikely to be sued, they don't consider it a serious problem. The Copyright Research and Information Center, which helped with the survey, said that it has seen a growing number of schools buying single copies of computer software, rather than separate copies for each user, as required by law.
Copyright Research and Information Center
In the news: discuss it ()

Shinagawa to Give PHS to All Primary Students
Tokyo's Shinagawa ward announced a plan to issue a personal handyphone system (phs) to all primary school children from next April. The scheme was jointly developed by the ward and a NPO made up of local manufacturers. The phones will be given to about 12,000 pupils, who will be able to activate a simple alarm by pulling out an attached pin. The ward will contact community and PTA leaders in the vicinity of the alarm. (December 06, 2004 )

English Carnival in Taipei
The Taiwanese government held the 2004 English Carnival in Taipei over the weekend, with the aim of highlighting the achievements of its "Building an English-friendly Environment Project." It also sought to demonstrate the importance of English in Taiwan today, as the country strives to increase its international competitiveness and to have its voice heard in the international community. An evaluation committee consisting of government agency representatives, scholars and members of the English media reviewed the achievements of government and private agencies in developing an English friendly environment, including signage, publications, Web sites, English staff training and bilingual customer service. ()

Korean Leader Regrets Not Studying English Harder
Korean President Roh Moo-hyun expressed regret on Saturday over his poor English language ability after a chain of overseas visits for summit talks with international leaders. "I would have studied English harder if I had known that I was to become president," Roh said jokingly, while meeting with South Korean residents in Poland. "I've been visiting a number of foreign countries," he added. "And I can't speak English, which often makes me uncomfortable." In the latter half of this year, he has visited 11 countries on three different continents. ()

IIBC Launches New Magazine, Test
The Institute for International Business Communication (IIBC) has launched a new free magazine aimed at junior and senior high school students. The first issue of 'Enjoy,' described as an "English communication magazine," was released on November 30 and will be published twice yearly. The inaugural issue of the 8-page magazine, featuring an interview with popular DJ and celebrity John Kabira, had a print run of 50,000 copies. It is being distributed to English departments at schools nationwide and teachers can request copies for their students by telephone or fax (Inquiries: 03-5521-6007).

As administrator of the TOEIC and TOEIC Bridge tests in Japan, IIBC hopes the magazine will appeal to students interests while helping them improve their communicative abilities, which in turn they will want to test. Over 10 million people took the TOEIC test in Japan in 2002.

IIBC also announced yesterday that they will start promoting its test of spoken English to institutional clients, such as schools and businesses, from January 15. The TOEIC LPI interview test consists of 20 to 25 minutes of role-playing, free conversation with a native speaker using a system approved by ETS, the original developer of the TOEIC in the US. Interviewers will take part in workshops and regular refresher courses with ETS instructors.
Institute for International Business Communication web site (December 03, 2004 )

Snuggling Ifbot Sensei
A new robot developed to help elderly Japanese from going senile may soon be teaching English to their grandchildren. The 45cm Snuggling Ifbot, which bears a passing resemblance to Toy Story's Buzz Lightyear, was developed by Nagoya-based high-tech venture Business Design Laboratory Co. It is programmed with the Japanese conversational ability of a five-year old, using such phrases as "It is a fine autumn day," by detecting the season from its internal clock, or "Are you bored? What do you want to do?"

"This robot has in its memory several million patterns of word phrases that it uses when spoken to," said Takao Ohsuga, senior executive at Dream Supply, a Nagoya-based IT firm which developed the product's software. Makers plan to program the robot in English -- not for export, but to teach the language to Japanese children. In addition to chatting, Ifbot can sing songs, play quiz games and inquire about its owner's health. Snuggling Ifbot went on sale yesterday for ¥604,800 or it can be rented from Dream Supply for ¥16,800 a month. (December 02, 2004 )

Britcom Wordplay for Advanced Learners
In a recent Daily Yomiuri article, Ginko Kobayashi wrote about a study method that may appeal to advanced learners of English - the British sitcom. Beginning today, the BBC Japan channel will be added to the SkyPerfecTV! satellite network, allowing viewers in Japan to enjoy some classic British comedy shows and dramas. Among the classic comedies are "Black Adder" (starring "Mr. Bean" Rowan Atkinson) and the political satire "Yes, Minister." Both provide endless examples of brilliantly-written wordplay. The article also cites examples from another recent hit series, "The Office", though it is not currently scheduled to air on the new channel.
British comedies teach the joy of advanced English (link will expire) (December 01, 2004 )

Mac is Back!
Apple Computer is making strong inroads into the education market in Japan, according to Asahi.com. The site reported recently on the growing number of third-level institutions that are going for the Macintosh brand rather than the dominant Microsoft Windows. In September, Kyushu Sangyo University installed 80 iMac G5 machines in its faculty of fine arts. Among national universities, Tokyo University switched in the spring and Tohoku University, Kobe University and Ochanomizu University are among others that have ordered up to 100 machines each. Sales have doubled since 2002 and Apple Japan has added 10 new staff to its education department. One reason for the renewed popularity is that the current Mac OSX operating system is based on the Unix system popular with researchers. ()

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