ELT Newstag:www.eltnews.com,2010://32010-08-18T13:46:20ZKeep up to date with all the news and developments in English teaching, in Japan and around the world.This page contains stories from the last seven days. Click on the calendar to the right to see any news stories from this month. They will open in a new window.Movable Type 3.35Would you like to give a presentation or have a display at one of the Expos?tag:www.eltnews.com,2010://3.25262010-08-18T13:26:06Z2010-08-18T13:46:20ZThe ETJ English language teaching Expos will be held in six cities between October and November:• Sunday October 3 -...David PaulEditor-in-Chief
The ETJ English language teaching Expos will be held in six cities between October and November:
• Sunday October 3 - Tohoku Expo (Sendai)
• Sunday October 10 - Aichi Expo (Nagoya)
• Sunday October 24 - Chugoku Expo (Hiroshima)
• Saturday/Sunday November 6/7 - Tokyo Expo and
Tokyo English Language Teaching Book Fair
• Sunday November 28 - Kansai Expo (Osaka)
• Sunday December 5, - Kyushu Expo (Fukuoka)
Would you like to give a presentation at one of the Expos? There are many presentations at each Expo. Some are by famous writers or academics, and many are by local teachers. Each presentation is 45 mins. If you would like to give a presentation, please click here to send an e-mail. You need to include the following information:
Name of presenter
Title of presentation Presentation outline (max 50 words) Information on the presenter (max 30 words) Types of teachers aimed at (e.g. university teachers)
Topic area: (e.g. reading) Please also state if a presentation is in Japanese.
Please state any commercial connection you have which might be relevant*
*Local teachers who have no relevant commercial connection are very welcome to give a presentation free of charge. The ETJ group organising each Expo will decide on which presentations to accept.
Those with a relevant commercial connection need to reserve a display at the Expo.
Would you like to have a display? Please click here to send an e-mail and say what type of display you are interested in - you will be sent more information. There are three types of displays:
Commercial displays The fee varies according to the size of the display and the number of Expos attended.
Displays for individuals or small companies There are cheap one-table displays available at all Expos.
Free displays For charities, associations for teachers, unions, support groups for foreigners in Japan.....
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The three plenary speakers at this year's JALT conference intend to lead conference-goers outside the boxtag:www.eltnews.com,2010://3.25212010-08-01T12:59:17Z2010-08-01T13:05:41ZThe three headliners at JALT2010, which will be held in Nagoya from November 19th to the 22nd, intend to lead...David PaulEditor-in-Chief
The three headliners at JALT2010, which will be held in Nagoya from November 19th to the 22nd, intend to lead conference-goers outside… “outside the box”, that is. All three plenary speeches acknowledge new directions and approaches for design and implementation of language teaching.
Alan Maley, Visiting Professor at Leeds Metropolitan University, UK, will give a talked called “The art and artistry of language teaching”. The speech will center on Maley’s notion of an “alternative paradigm based on an aesthetic view of education”. Learn more about Alan through his blog, which includes a video interview from the British Council.
Nicky Hockly, Director of Pedagogy for The Consultants-E, is an expert in the field of teaching with technology. This expanding niche in the field of language teaching will be on display during Nicky’s talk titled “Five ways to integrate technology into language teaching”. Teachers will take away practical examples of technology use in the language classroom. Nicky has lots of innovative tech ideas on her blog
.Tim Murphey, Professor at Kanda University of International Studies, will deliver a plenary speech focusing on ways teachers organize, support and scaffold activities and materials in order to empower students. Murphey refers to this as “agencying…creatively scaffolding students’ languaging abilities”. Several academic articles and teacher training videos are available at Tim’s website. ]]>
Japan to invite 4,334 JET teacherstag:www.eltnews.com,2010://3.25182010-07-25T12:31:38Z2010-07-25T12:51:14ZDespite speculation that the JET program may be soon be stopped, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has announced that there...David PaulEditor-in-Chief
Despite speculation that the JET program may be soon be stopped, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has announced that there will be 4,334 JET teachers in the coming year. This is down from the 6,273 teachers when the JET program was at its peak in 2002, but it is still a large number of teachers.
The teachers will come from 36 different different countries - teachers from Latvia will be included for the first time. 3,974 of the teachers will be assistant teachers in elementary and secondary schools, and 354 will be assigned to the international exchange units of local governments.
It still seems to be quite likely that the JET program will be reviewed some time soon, but plans for this year are clearly going ahead without many changes.
Click here for the article in the Mainichi.]]>
Most Japanese adults will not be able to study in Britain for more than six monthstag:www.eltnews.com,2010://3.25172010-07-23T22:15:30Z2010-07-23T22:46:38ZThe British government is introducing new restrictions on overseas students studying in Britain for more than six months. All students...David PaulEditor-in-Chief
The British government is introducing new restrictions on overseas students studying in Britain for more than six months. All students will be required to have a high intermediate qualification in English. The only qualifications that are accepted are TOEFL, Ielts, The Pearson Test of Academic English and the Cambridge Esol exams. TOEIC will not be accepted as a qualification.
The EL Gazette reports: 'The government laid the new immigration rules before parliament just 24 hours before
implementation and three days before the beginning of the summer recess. It also comes at the peak time for student applications for courses for the next academic year. The House has forty days to disagree with the judgment, in which case the government must amend it, but this is unlikely to happen before autumn. Meanwhile, thousands of students will be rejected because they do not have the right language level, or because they do not have the correct qualifications.'
Click here for the online edition of EL Gazette. Please note that the change in government regulations is breaking news and may not be on the EL Gazette site yet.]]>
TOEIC subcontractor hid 100 million yentag:www.eltnews.com,2010://3.25162010-07-23T10:47:22Z2010-07-23T11:04:19ZThe Mainichi reports: 'The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau has uncovered that International Communications School Inc. (ICS) had hid over 100...David PaulEditor-in-Chief
The Mainichi reports: 'The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau has uncovered that International Communications School Inc. (ICS) had hid over 100 million yen in income until the end of fiscal 2008. ICS is a subcontractor for the Institute for International Business Communication (IIBC), which operates TOEIC, or Test of English for International Communication, in Japan. Tax authorities have apparently ordered ICS to pay about 30 million yen in back taxes.'
According to sources close to the case, ICS subcontracted works related to TOEIC, including conducting the exam and promoting its widespread use among schools and companies. Tax authorities have apparently exposed crooked accounting over the subcontracted work.
James McCrostie wrote an illuminating article on TOEIC in Japan for JALT in February this year which is well worth reading for background on the current problems with ICS. He made four main criticisms - 1) the profit-oriented motives for starting the test, 2) nepotistic executive appointments, 3) questionable partnerships with companies such as International Communications Inc. and International Communications School whose services have cost hundreds of millions of yen, and 4) the misuse of test-taker fees for expenses including staggering executive salaries and funding the former chair's pet projects such as a Chinese poetry association and the Beautiful Aging Association.
Click here for James McCrostie's article.Click here for the full Mainichi article.]]>
English teacher receives criticism for using 'Hangman' at school where student hung himselftag:www.eltnews.com,2010://3.25152010-07-22T11:51:27Z2010-07-22T11:58:09ZThe Mainichi reports: 'A foreign English teacher in charge of an English class at Shumei Yachiyo Junior High School is...David PaulEditor-in-Chief
The Mainichi reports: 'A foreign English teacher in charge of an English class at Shumei Yachiyo Junior High School is facing criticism after it emerged that the teacher drew pictures of a person being hung (ala the game "Hangman") when students answered incorrectly in class. In 2008, a student at the school hung himself, but the teacher allegedly continued using the game regardless. The parents of the student who killed himself, meanwhile, are angry.'
'According to the parents of the third-year junior high student who hung himself on school grounds in November 2008, in his school notes there were also pictures that looked like hanging victims. At the wake for their son, the parents showed the picture they had found to their son's friend, who told them that it resembled pictures drawn by the English teacher in class, the parents say.'
Professor Kazumi Fujimori of Musashino University, a clinical psychologist and author of the book "Gakko Trauma to Kodomo no Kokoro no Care" commented: '"In these times, when there is a trend for even the media to show self-restraint in mentioning suicide, if that kind of instruction was really going on in the classroom, it shows great carelessness. Even if the teacher meant no harm, for the students, who must accept whatever form of teaching is given to them, it is similar to power harassment."
Click here for the full article.]]>
Committee recommends smaller class sizestag:www.eltnews.com,2010://3.25132010-07-20T14:04:50Z2010-07-20T14:11:08ZThe Yomiuri Shimbun reports: 'A committee of the education ministry's Central Council for Education has proposed reducing the maximum number...David PaulEditor-in-Chief
The Yomiuri Shimbun reports: 'A committee of the education ministry's Central Council for Education has proposed reducing the maximum number of students per class at public primary and middle schools from 40 to 35..... The committee does not specify an exact maximum number of students per class in the proposal, but sources said it would be 35 for primary and middle schools and 30 for the early grades of primary school.
More than 40,000 additional teachers would likely be needed if the class size is reduced to 35, requiring another 300 billion yen annually in labor costs. The maximum number of students per class set by law is a major factor in deciding the number of teachers allocated at a public school. For example, if the maximum number is set at 40 and a school has 41 students in one year, the school will have to divide the class into two--one with 21 students and another with 20. As a result, two teachers will be allocated to the school.
Click here for the full article.
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Dates of the ETJ Expos announcedtag:www.eltnews.com,2010://3.25102010-07-15T13:58:17Z2010-07-15T14:13:51ZThe dates of the ETJ Expos for English language teachers in Japan have been announced, and invitations have been sent...David PaulEditor-in-Chief
The dates of the ETJ Expos for English language teachers in Japan have been announced, and invitations have been sent out to publishers and other ELT-related organizations that are likely to be interested in having a display at the Expos. The dates are as follows:
Sun Oct 3 - Sendai
Sun Oct 10 - Nagoya
Sun Oct 24 - Hiroshima
Sat/Sun Nov 6/7 - Tokyo
Sun Nov 28 - Osaka
Sun Dec 5 - Fukuoka
The Expos provide an opportunity for teachers to attend and give presentations, look for teaching materials, and meet many other teachers. The presentations are for college teachers, high school teachers. elementary school teachers, kindergarten teachers ... In fact, the aim is to provide top-class presentations and material displays for every kind of English teacher in Japan.
If you are interested in having a display at one or more of the Expos, click here to send an e-mail.]]>
Ministry of Education is looking at the risks of introducing new technologytag:www.eltnews.com,2010://3.25052010-07-14T12:00:48Z2010-07-14T12:14:14ZThe education ministry has urged a full examination of health hazards and other problems that may be caused by electronic...David PaulEditor-in-Chief
The education ministry has urged a full examination of health hazards and other problems that may be caused by electronic textbooks and other Internet tools before their use is promoted in schools.
The Daily Yomiuri reports: 'The issue appeared in an outline plan on the use of electronic technology in education drawn up by the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry.....The outline seems to reflect ministry caution toward a proposal from the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry to provide tools that can access the Internet to all primary and middle school students as early as 2015.'
'The outline plan suggested introducing the technologies at some schools on a trial basis to determine what school years they should be introduced, to verify their safety and to establish guidelines for safe use.'
Click here for the original article.
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New ELT News column: 'Japan, India, Online English Writing' by Abhishek Goeltag:www.eltnews.com,2010://3.25042010-07-09T12:02:18Z2010-07-09T12:17:14ZELT News would like to welcome Abhishek Goel as a columnist. Abhishek will write about his experiences teaching writing online....David PaulEditor-in-Chief
ELT News would like to welcome Abhishek Goel as a columnist. Abhishek will write about his experiences teaching writing online. He is the founder of Cactus Communications, which has become a leader in providing online writing courses to universities and companies in Japan.
In Abhishek's first entry, 'Online Teaching and Learning – Relevant for Writing?' he writes about how Cactus was set up and the advantages of learning and teaching writing online. He writes: 'I think a key advantage of teaching written English using a computer is the opportunity for the teacher to go deep into the learners’ writing. Teachers can edit the learners’ writing, use macros to quickly insert correction codes, insert comments neatly in any part, and of course write out detailed suggestions. Imagine doing all that on paper: the resulting evaluation may not even be legible!
Click here to see the column. Click here for the Cactus Education website.]]>
Japanese study English by tweetingtag:www.eltnews.com,2010://3.25032010-07-08T12:50:22Z2010-07-08T12:59:19ZThe Wall Street Journal reports that tweeting in Japan is on the increase - Japan now has the world record...David PaulEditor-in-Chief
The Wall Street Journal reports that tweeting in Japan is on the increase - Japan now has the world record for tweets per second after a recent World Cup game - and is now increasingly being used for learning English.
Twitter is a friendly tool even for the easily intimidated, says Masato Homma, chief executive of a Tokyo-based consulting company called Learnology Co. and author of the book “How To Study English With Twitter — Connect With the World.” “With 140 characters, you’re lucky if you can get 30 words out of it. That’s one long sentence or two short ones,” he says. “There’s no need to worry about grammar. Come up with a jazzy adjective and you’re basically done.”
Birdtaka, a 43-year-old consultant who prefers to tweet in anonymity, recently started tweeting in English several times a day. “I don’t think of Twitter as studying,” Birdtaka said in a phone interview. But he says he finds himself thinking more and more in English as he thinks up his next tweet. “I didn’t expect tweeting in English would work for my English practice, but it’s actually working,” he tweeted recently – in English, of course. “It makes my brain English mode.”
Click here for the complete article.]]>
New research: Experiencing different cultures enhances creativitytag:www.eltnews.com,2010://3.25002010-07-04T12:58:52Z2010-07-04T13:04:25ZCreativity can be enhanced by experiencing cultures different from one's own, according to a study in Personality and Social Psychology...David PaulEditor-in-Chief
Creativity can be enhanced by experiencing cultures different from one's own, according to a study in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Three studies looked at students who had lived abroad and those who hadn't, testing them on different aspects of creativity. Relative to a control group, which hadn't experienced a different culture, participants in the different culture group provided more evidence of creativity in various standard tests of the trait. Those results suggest that multicultural learning is a critical component of the adaptation process, acting as a creativity catalyst.
The researchers believe that the key to the enhanced creativity was related to the students' open-minded approach in adapting to the new culture. In a global world, where more people are able to acquire multicultural experiences than ever before, this research indicates that living abroad can be even more beneficial than previously thought.
Click here to see an abstract of the research or to download the full text.]]>
When Japanese feel most ashamed about their lack of Englishtag:www.eltnews.com,2010://3.24922010-07-02T12:57:28Z2010-07-02T13:15:57Z'What Japan Thinks' has posted the results of a survey on when Japanese people feel most ashamed by their lack...David PaulEditor-in-Chief
'What Japan Thinks' has posted the results of a survey on when Japanese people feel most ashamed by their lack of English. The survey was carried out by goo Research. The 'What Japan Thinks site states: 'Between the 23rd and 26th of April 2010 1,187 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-base questionnaire. 61.4% of the sample were female, 10.1% in their teens, 17.4% in their twenties, 30.9% in their thirties, 24.9% in their forties, 10.1% in their fifties, and 6.5% aged sixty or older.'
Both men and women who responded to the survey said the most common time they felt ashamedwas 'when a foreigner asks me the way and I cannot answer'. The second most common time for men was 'when I see a foreigner with a problem in Japan and strike up an English conversation, but I end up having problems too'. For women, it was 'when on overseas travel and I cannot order food, buy stuff, etc'.
Click here for the results in English. Click here for the original goo site in Japanese.]]>
Japanese companies planning to make English their official languagetag:www.eltnews.com,2010://3.24902010-07-01T08:47:47Z2010-07-01T08:59:26ZRakuten, the Internet shopping company, have followed Fast Retailing, the operator of the Uniqlo clothing chain, in announcing that English...David PaulEditor-in-Chief
Rakuten, the Internet shopping company, have followed Fast Retailing, the operator of the Uniqlo clothing chain, in announcing that English will be their official in-house language from 2012. Some other large companies, such as Nissan, hold management meetings in English, but the announcements by Fast Retailing and Rakuten could well be the start of a new trend.
The Mainichi reports on the Rakuten announcement: 'Mikitani (the Rakuten President) remarked that he has decided using English as a common language is necessary for the company to grow into a global corporation. Rakuten has already begun requiring executives to use English at meetings and in meeting materials. Mikitani said making employees communicate in English would be needed for Rakuten to successfully expand its business operations worldwide and to hire capable employees overseas. He then hinted at the possibility of partially moving the company's headquarters' operations abroad if the need arises.]]>
A comparative study shows that Japanese preschools have hardly changed over the last twenty yearstag:www.eltnews.com,2010://3.24852010-06-28T10:47:59Z2010-06-28T11:40:01Z'Preschool in three cultures Revisited', a new book by Joseph Tobin, Y. Hsueh and M. Karasawa, is based on a...David PaulEditor-in-Chief
'Preschool in three cultures Revisited', a new book by Joseph Tobin, Y. Hsueh and M. Karasawa, is based on a comparative study in China, Japan and the US. The book is a sequel to a study in the same three countries over 20 years ago.
In China in 1985, the emphasis was on control, regimentation and discipline, but there has now been a shift to child-centred, progressive approaches, promoting the rights of the child, independence, and creativity-factors considered to be the driving force of a modern economy. There has also been a shift towards a balance between creative and individualistic values imported from the "West" that also emphasises academic readiness and traditional Chinese socialist values.
In the US, there has been an expansion in enrolments in early childhood education. Another change is increased pressure for preschool educators to move in different directions due to two conflicting authorities: the US government's "No Child Left Behind", a national policy which places importance on academic readiness, particularly, literacy; and, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, a professional and accreditation regulatory body, placed emphasis on "developmentally appropriate practice," and the importance on play and social relationships. A unifying factor for the US preschools' curriculum in both time periods was focus on children verbally articulating their feelings and opinions. Other similarities in the US preschool system reflected cultural beliefs: the right to free choice and democracy; individualism and child-centred approaches; and the power of words and self-expression.
In Japan, hardly anything has changed. Japan's goal is to make Japanese children more Japanese, decrying how much has been lost. The values the preschools emphasise are the "education of the heart" in contrast to preschools in the US and in China that emphasise cognitive stimulation and academic preparation for participation in the market economy. Japan's preschools place emphasis on the development of social and emotional competencies, of empathy, care, problem solving, conflict resolution, and the ability to function as a member of a group. Children are encouraged and expected to resolve peer conflicts and disputes among themselves while the teacher is non-interventionist, a careful observer to ensure the aggression does not go too far. In addition children are encouraged to respond to the feelings of others.