The Language Teacher
December 2001
A Chapter Working with the Community
Akagi Yayoi
JALT Yamaguchi Membership Coordinator
Founded ten years ago, the Yamaguchi Chapter has about 20 members. Our chapter has been very active in a number of areas over the past year: We are assuming the important role of promoting language education in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Not only do we offer teacher training programs for both English and Japanese language teachers but we also provide qualified language teachers to schools and institutions. In addition, our chapter publishes our own annual journal of language education and cultural studies, edited by Professor Hayashi Shinichi, Yamaguchi University.
In 2000, the Ministry of Science and Education started a new pilot program for teaching English in elementary schools. Ube City in Yamaguchi was selected as one of the cities in Japan for this project. The purpose of this project was to teach foreign languages and to deepen international understanding. In Ube, 1500 school children studied English for ten weeks at the community centers of every school district from October to December of 2000. To carry out this large-scale project, Yamaguchi Chapter sent two officers, Professors Shima Yukiko (Chairman) and Akagi Yayoi (member) from the Science University of Tokyo in Yamaguchi, to the Project Committee of the City Board of Education to act as consultants and to help develop the pilot program.
Our chapter organized an intensive teacher training program for 60 teachers and assistants in August and September of 2000 and provided the project's ten-week curriculum, which was designed by Jim Kable and myself, Akagi Yayoi, of the Science University. It included both English sounds from the Phonovisual Method introduced by Professor Shima as well as English communication and international understanding based on the principles of LINGUAPAX, the language committee of UNESCO. Many JALT Yamaguchi members worked together as teachers, lecturers, and staff on the pilot program, bringing efficiency and cooperation to design and materials development.
Students taking the lessons seemed to thoroughly enjoy studying English as an international language for global communication and being exposed to foreign cultures. They learned how to greet and communicate in English and about diverse societies in a variety of activities such as making and discussing the world map. In order to deepen international understanding, 30 guest speakers from the community (hailing from 13 different countries such as Nepal, Germany, and Zimbabwe) gave talks about their countries and shared their languages and cultures through games and songs.
Participants discussing their own lesson plans at the
teacher training program
Since the Ministry of Science and Education is planning to start English education in elementary schools nationwide in 2002, this project reinforced the ideas that English should be introduced as one of the important world languages and that English is for communicating with peoples from different cultural backgrounds for friendship, mutual understanding, and world peace.
Given the success of the teacher training program, our chapter is continuing to offer the program this year in cooperation with the Continuing Education Program of the Science University and Boards of Education in Ube and Onoda Cities. Training sessions are held once a month at the Science University with 50 people participating at present. To this end, we are establishing a network of qualified English teachers who can be sent to elementary schools whenever teachers are needed. We believe that our contribution will raise awareness to help children study English for communication and international understanding rather than for the tests and examinations still emphasized in junior and senior high schools today.
Children practicing English sounds with
their teacher
In addition to the English teacher training program, the Japanese language group of our Yamaguchi Chapter has been offering a teacher training program sponsored by the Association of Yamaguchi International Exchange and several city governments. Many teachers who received qualification to teach Japanese to international students and residents in Yamaguchi are now teaching Japanese as professionals at universities and local Japanese classes. This teacher training and supervision in the language teaching field is highly appreciated.
JALT Yamaguchi has always contributed to the community of Yamaguchi with its academic knowledge and organization, by holding lectures and workshops, publishing journals, and sharing information about language learning. As a result, the community has started to recognize this academic body, particularly now, when our society needs quality language teachers more than ever to teach English and Japanese. We are proud of our chapter and its active involvement in the Yamaguchi community!
Reported by Akagi Yayoi,
JALT Yamaguchi Membership Coordinator
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