The history of English teaching and learning in Japan is long and complicated, and has gone through anti-English and pro-English periods throughout history going back to the Meiji period. From 2003-2008 the government plan, titled “Japanese with English Abilities” was enforced.
This indicated a change in the amibitions surrounding English ability and the seriousness with which the government asked schools to take English. The intensive training for all teachers was a major part of this plan, as was the introduction of the listening test for “center examination” starting in 2006. The start of English activities in elementary school is also in line with this plan. The plan also encourages small-group teaching and class activities making use of English.
The plan stipulates that Japanese English teachers impprove their English proficiency. The required scores or level of English that teachers are to attain is TOEFL 550, TOEIC 730 or STEP pre-first grade.
Currently, in Article one public and private schools, English is taught as an official school subject in Grades 3-6.
The first IB school was opened in Japan in 1979. There are currently 93 International Baccaulareate (IB) schools in Japan. The number of international schools not currently offering an IB but offering a bilingual program is 63. The number of these types of schools in Japan is growing year on year. A survey was sent to PYP coordinators in all PYP schools in December 2016 and yielded a response rate of 62% (868 of 1,407 PYP coordinators responded). The survey was requested by The American Councils for International Education and a summary was prepared by the IB. The results of which are relevant to this topic.
The Japanese Education department (MEXT) has stated the following overall objective regarding English Activities.
“To form the foundation of pupils’ communication abilities through foreign
languages while developing the understanding of languages and cultures
through various experiences, fostering a positive attitude toward
communication, and familiarizing pupils with the sounds and basic
expressions of foreign languages.”
In terms of language acquisition it is a well established fact that immersion in a target language is the most effective way to acquire skills in that target language.
The following information has been researched from sources around the globe and consists of common problems setting up bilingual programs in schools and best practices to make creating and maintaining these programs easier.
The most commonly reported challenges for organizations trying to implement and maintain Bilingual and translanguaging models are related to the following;
- Planning and Organization
- Vision and Goals
- Qualified Native/ Native level Teachers
- Program Leadership
- Teachers acceptance / buy in of the program
- Appropriate teaching materials
- Finances
- Parental Involvement and support
- Classroom and School Environment
- Instruction
- Accountability
- Classroom and School organization
- Program Articulation
- Student assessment and progress monitoring
- Isolation and “othering”
- The language of Schooling
- Students Socioemotional factors
- Confusion
Challenges and the Best Practices to improve them.
Planning and organization – In preparing to implement a language model in any school, leaders must Identify useful and useable resources, qualified and appropriate personnel, sources of recruitment and PR strategies to communicate the identity of the school. As detailed in 7 Steps to Success in Dual Language Immersion: A Brief Guide for Teachers and Administrators Carrera-Carrillo, Rickert Smith(2011)
Qualified native/native level teachers – Well qualified leaders and teaching staff must be selected and developed. These leaders and teachers should be proficient in both languages. The teachers should be qualified for the appropriate grade levels.
In the 2016 PYP survey, 59% of schools responded that finding teachers who are qualified in both the target language and the subject matter was a challenge in implementing bilingual PYP.
This is also echoed in the research of two-way, Dual Language Programs (2011, Haulman, Lopez)
Program Leadership – Program leaders are well-informed on the rationale for bilingual education and share an active commitment to bilingualism. They pro-actively involve the community and private sector in the design and development of the bilingual program.
Teachers acceptance / buy in of the program – All teachers become active researchers to become more knowledgeable about the model and aims of the program. They must teach language skills and content concepts at the same time. In the 2016 PYP survey, 24% of responders reported that Teacher acceptance/buy in of the programme was a challenge in implementing bilingual PYP.
Appropriate teaching materials – The school should acquire sufficient and appropriate books and instructional materials in both languages. In the 2016 PYP survey, 41% of responders reported that finding materials in the language(s) used was a challenge in implementing bilingual PYP.
Finances – Stakeholders should avoid wastage and ensure that the budget is used to achieve the aims of the program. In the 2016 PYP survey, 24% of responders reported that having the finances to cover the cost of the programme was a challenge in implementing bilingual PYP.
Parental Involvement and support – Parents should feel welcome and play different roles (leadership, decision making, resources) in the educational process. The school should provide opportunities for parents who do not speak English to participate. In the 2016 PYP survey 17% of responders reported that Student/parent demand or support was a challenge in implementing bilingual PYP.
Classroom and School Environment – The classroom and school environment communicate high expectations to students, a sense of family, a high level of trust among all school personnel and shared responsibility and decision making.
Instruction – Instruction is interactive, hands-on, collaborative and meaningful to students. It is innovative and uses a variety of techniques that respond to different learning styles. Instruction integrates the use of technology for both languages. It uses a “sheltered approach” to gradually introduce content area instruction in English.
Accountability – Accountability is improved when responsibilities for student success are clear and have been shared with all school personnel.
Classroom and School organization – Classroom and school climate and environment communicates, in concrete ways, high expectations to LEP students, a sense of family, a high level of trust among all school personnel, and shared responsibility and decision making.
Program Articulation – Program articulation indicates that there is a common program of instruction across grade levels that has been aligned with developmentally appropriate practices and student language proficiency levels in English and students’ first language.
Student assessment and progress monitoring – Student assessment and progress monitoring uses baseline student data on language and content knowledge to plan and adjust instruction.
Isolation and “othering” – In order to avoid feelings of isolation and othering, a deep understanding of both the teachers’ and students’ linguistic abilities should be gathered, when implementing translanguaging-like strategies. whilst ensuring good, positive student and teacher interaction. (2021 Ticheloven, Bloom, Leseman, McMonagle)
The language of Schooling – The language of schooling refers to the language of instruction and academic language. Schools should allow translanguaging to naturally occurs when academic language or the language of instruction is not well understood. Context includes factors such as the school curriculum, national standards and budgets (Datnow, 2005) which often strongly emphasise the learning of the school language in order to prepare students for a successful future. However, although translanguaging also considers the language of schooling to be essential, when focusing on this alone, the complexities of language and language status become visible
Students Socioemotional factors – Student socioemotional well-being is acknowledged and supported and they are encouraged to use their full linguistic repertoire. The encouragement of other languages is unanimously recognised as serving direct affective functions. The need to examine the role of socioemotional factors, such as well-being, in multilingual teaching and learning has been acknowledged in other recent research.
Confusion – Clear direction and a school-wide understanding of the students’ language choices. This final pedagogical challenge concerns student and teacher confusion. Some students admit to becoming confused when alternating languages.
In conclusion, In order to find the ‘right’ kind of bilingualism or translanguaging for learning, then, further discussion and research could clarify in which moments it can work best: certain subjects, types of assessment, working styles (collaborative learning, individual assignments, etc.), specific ages, and learner group composition could be given more in-depth consideration.
M.Locker.
Glossary
Bilingualism – the ability to use two languages
Additive Bilingualism – Additive bilingualism is when a student’s first language continues to be developed while they’re learning their second language.
Subtractive Bilingualism – Subtractive bilingualism, however, is when a student learns a second language at the expense of their first language.
Dual Language – Dual language is a form of education in which students are taught literacy and content in two languages.
Code-Switching – code-switching or language alternation occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages,
Translanguaging – Translanguaging is when a multilingual person’s full linguistic repertoire is used and honored, instead of trying to keep narrowly focused on a single language.
Click the link for an Inforgraphic on this topic
Sources
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From England to Japan. 