The Language Teacher
06 - 2003
A Critical Look at Elementary School English in Japan from the Perspective of the Core French Program in Ontario, Canada
Toshiyuki Takagaki
Onomichi University
Introduction
In 2002, numerous public elementary schools in Japan officially started to provide English lessons as part of "The Period of Integrated Study" in which lessons in English are one of various options for the purpose of enhancing students' international understanding. Because of the infancy stage of these lessons and the lack of official teaching guidelines, elementary schools are reportedly at a loss for what to do, from lesson planning to curriculum design. Research on the core French program in Canada, to which little attention has been paid in relation to early English education in Japan, is a useful resource from which we can draw some implications for improving elementary school English instruction.
Elementary core French has been taught in Canada for over 30 years, during which time much research on the teaching and learning of French as a second language has accumulated (Foley, Harley, & D'Anglejan, 1988). About 90% of students who study French as a second language are enrolled in the core French program which has the general aim of developing basic communication skills, language knowledge, and an appreciation of French culture (Turnbull, 2000). Unlike French immersion programs in which students study French as a medium of instruction, French is taught as a subject in the core French program. Core French programs support the multi-dimensional syllabi that consist of communicative activities, language, culture, and general language education. These syllabi are based on a major research project established in 1985 called the National Core French Study (Turnbull, 2000).
As core French programs take various forms depending on the province, territory or school board, this article reviews the core French program in Ontario where extensive research has been conducted, and also examines the elementary school English program in Japan. I will review the effectiveness of current elementary school English in Japan and present some implications based on the problems of the core French program in Ontario.
Core French in Ontario and Elementary School English in Japan
In this section, selected aspects of L2 learning are highlighted with the use of Carrol's language learning model in order to holistically understand the core French program in Ontario and elementary school English in Japan. Carrol's language learning model consists of language knowledge at time of study, cognitive and biological factors, motivation, and opportunity for learning the language (Spolsky, 1989). In the ensuing discussion, it is assumed that there is little difference between Canadian and Japanese students in terms of cognitive and biological elements.
First of all, we should consider students' L1. Students in Canada are predominantly English speakers while students in Japan are Japanese speakers. Linguistic similarity between L1 and L2 is an important factor in learning L2. The greater the similarity between L1 and L2, the more likely learners succeed in acquiring L2 (Spolsky, 1989). Thus, Canadian students studying French are considered more advantageous than Japanese students studying English.
Secondly, the status of the target language in the country plays an important role in motivating students to study the language. French being an official language in Canada, Canadian students are more likely to develop both integrative and instrumental motivation (Gardner & Lambert, 1972), which help them acquire and retain L2, than Japanese students studying English in a foreign language context.
Most relevant to the program evaluation in Carrol's model is the opportunity for learning the target language. The striking difference, first of all, is the difference in total instructional hours. In Ontario, where core French is mandated from Grade 4 to Grade 8, 120 instructional hours are accumulated every year, with a 40-minute class every day. In contrast, in Japan, it is up to the individual elementary schools how much time to spend for English within the framework of the Period of Integrated Study which provides for a maximum of about 100 45-minute class units (75 hours) annually, from Grade 3 to Grade 6. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Science, Sports, and Technology (2003) found that little more than 50 percent of the public elementary schools surveyed teach English. About 65% of those that teach English provide less than 11 instructional hours, and 23 percent of them provide 11 to 22 instructional hours per year for each grade.1 Another noticeable difference is that there are no teaching guidelines for Japanese elementary school English. On the other hand, Ontario has The Ontario Curriculum: French as a Second Language--Core French, Grades 4-8 (1998), claiming to help students "advance through an organized sequence of learning experiences that permits a steady growth of knowledge and skills" (p. 2). Clearly, elementary school English in Japan is not provided with clear, specific methods which lead to students' language improvement, while core French is.
Lastly, teacher quality is different. Most Japanese elementary school teachers are not trained to teach English. In class, they often need help from an assistant language teacher who is a native speaker of English. In Ontario, French teachers must be properly qualified to teach French, either as specialists or generalists.2 Regardless of these differences, however, both programs are in favor of a communicative-experiential approach that integrates cultural elements. The lack of a sufficient number of qualified English teachers at elementary school, as well as the absence of guidelines, is mostly due to the fact that elementary school English is still in its infancy. Until 2002, elementary school teachers in Japan had no reason to take training in teaching English.
In short, core French in Ontario is more likely to produce better L2 outcomes than elementary school English in Japan, given current circumstances.
Implications for Elementary English Programs in Japan
Despite the strengths of the core French program, it has been, in fact, seen as unsatisfactory because many students fail to acquire basic French communication skills (Calman & Daniel, 1998). In response, issues such as instructional time, distribution of program time, teaching content, and teacher training have been examined (e.g., Calman & Daniel, 1998; Carr, 1999). Most importantly, Lapkin, Hart, and Harley (1998) revealed that intensive or compact core French instruction is superior to the traditional approach of short daily instruction for improvement in language skills and attitudes toward learning the language, given the same number of instructional hours. Likewise, researchers and teachers in Japan are seriously addressing issues related to the improvement of elementary school English. However, what is most lacking, in my observation, is the consideration of total annual instructional time and weekly instructional time distribution. If students are expected to develop basic communicative skills in L2 at all, we should know that even daily 40-minute instruction for five years is not good enough even in a second-language context like Canada's. Furthermore, intensive English programs should be seriously taken into account. For instance, Lapkin et al. (1998) report the effectiveness of half-day core French instruction over a ten-week period.
A program revision like this in Japan would necessarily involve turning English into an independent subject, instead of its current status as one part of the Period of Integrated Study. In addition, we need appropriate teaching guidelines. Ontario's curriculum (Ontario Ministry of Education and Training, 1998) describes expectations for each grade concerning oral communication, reading, writing, and grammar. With such guidelines, we could continuously review and improve the program at both the micro level (e.g., lesson plans) and the macro level (e.g. program evaluation), as well as better monitor students' learning.
Conclusion
This article reviewed the core French program in Ontario and Japan's elementary school English instruction in the Period of Integrated Study to find that the Canadian program is more likely to produce better L2 outcomes than the Japanese counterpart. Then, I questioned the effectiveness of current elementary school English in Japan and presented some implications based on the problems of Ontario's French program.
Core French in Canada has a long history of practice and has been accumulating an interesting body of research. The Canadian government continues to explore more effective ways to implement the program. I believe we should keep an eye on the core French research so that we can critically look at our elementary school English programs here in Japan.
Acknowledgements
This paper was inspired by Professor Sharon Lapkin who kindly welcomed me to her graduate seminar on French education at OISE/University of Toronto in the fall of 2001.
Notes
- The Chu-o Institute for Educational Research (2002) reports that 45.8% of the elementary school students surveyed also study English at juku schools.
- Specialists teach French exclusively in one or more schools, while generalists teach French, along with other subjects, to their own homeroom class (Carr, 1999).
References
Calman, R., & Daniel, I. (1998). A board's-eye view of core French: The North York Board of Education. In S. Lapkin (Ed.), French second language education in Canada (pp. 281-323). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Carr, W. (1999). Challenges faced by generalist teachers. The Canadian Modern Language Journal, 56(1), 155-179.
Chu-o Institute for Educational Research. (2002). Shogakusei no eigo no gakusyu-jokyo to rikairyoku no chosa-kenkyu [Survey on English study of elementary school students and their English recognition abilities]. Kenkyu-hokoku, No. 61.
Foley, K. S., Harley, B., & D'Anglejan, A. (1988). Research in core French: A bibliographic review. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 44, 593-618.
Gardner, R. C., & Lambert, W. (1972). Attitudes and motivation in second language learning. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Lapkin, S., Hart, D., & Harley, B. (1998). Case study of compact core French models: Attitudes and achievement. In S. Lapkin (Ed.), French second language education in Canada (pp. 3-30). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. (2003). Heisei 14 nendo koritsu sho/chu gakko ni okeru kyoiku katei no henseijokyo ni tsuite [Survey of educational practices at public elementary and junior high schools in 2002]. Retrieved April 28, 2003, from www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/houdou/index.htm.
Ontario Ministry of Education and Training. (1998). The Ontario Curriculum: French as a second language: Core French Grades 4-8. Toronto: Queen's Printer for Ontario.
Spolsky, B. (1989). Conditions for second language learners. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Turnbull, M. (2000). Second language education in Canada: A focus on core French in elementary schools. In M. Nikolav & H. Curtain (Eds.), An early start: Young learners and modern language in Europe and beyond (pp. 173-188). Graz, Austria: European Center for Modern Languages.
Toshiyuki Takagaki is an associate professor of English at Onomichi University, Hiroshima. He has conducted research on TESOL and bilingualism in Japan, the United States, and Canada. He can be reached at ttakagaki@hotmail.com.
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