A Journey in English (2),

A Journey in EnglishAbout English

From Here to There

& Back Again

By Paul Beaufait

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License

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Journey in English (Beaufait) 2

How Many Languages? (1)

"'They say if you speak two languages, you are bilingual;

Three languages, you are

trilingual.

But if you only speak one language, then you are an

American.'" (Pete Groux; in

Mervine, 2005)

Benefits of Learning English

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Policies for Learning English

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A Quick Look Around

Czech Republic(Central Europe)

Thailand(Southeast Asia)

South Korea(East Asia)

Language Outlooks:Snapshots of English Education

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Europe

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How Many Languages? (2)

"According to the [European Commission's] plan,

every European citizen should have command of at least two languages,

apart from his or her native language."

(Hospodarske noviny, August 30, 2005)

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Which Language? Czech Loss of Choice

"There is a possibility that in three years Czech children will not ...

be able to choose which of foreign languages they will start learning at schools and...

English will become the first mandatory foreign language to be learnt."


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When? Czech Lifelong learning

"All schools - beginning with nurseries and ending with high schools -

will pay more attention to the teaching of foreign languages."

"Adults will be able to attend foreign language courses partly paid by the state."


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South Asia

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When? Pakistani primary schools

"The government in Pakistan's Sindh province has decided to teach English to students from Class I in all schools run by

it."

"Sindh Minister for Education Dr Hamida Khuhro said... the decision had been taken keeping in view the growing dependability of the world on English language skills."

(The Peninsula, 2005)

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Southeast Asia (1)

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Southeast Asia (2)

Thailand

Malaysia

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When? National-type Chinese schools in Malaysia

Educators wanted the Malaysian "Government to abolish [stop] the use of English to teach Science and Mathematics."

Just two years after... "The use of English in

the teaching of Mathematics and Science in Standard One was introduced in 2003."

(New Sunday Times Online, 2005)

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"Rethink on classes for 1st graders"

Thai government officers reconsider,

"Starting too early may do more harm than good."

Because students who cannot communicate "after years of learning"

May have had "bad experiences in compulsory classes"

Starting in the first grade. (The Nation, September 19,

2005)

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"Inability to communicate in English" (1)

Thailand's "Education Minister Chaturon Chaisang said that

most students’ inability to communicate in English

despite spending years learning the language

pointed to a clear failure in language-teaching in Thailand."

(The Nation, August 28, 2005)

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"Inability to communicate in English" (2)

Minister Chaisang "added that

the practice of encouraging students to memorise grammatical rules by rote

must be discontinued

in favour of providing them with opportunities to practice speaking, listening and writing."

(The Nation, 2005)

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East Asia (1)

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East Asia (2)

Korea

Japan

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Korea: TOEFL reforms (1)

Major English exams did not require practical communication.

As a result, students could score highly on tests and yet not be able to communicate in real life.

In other words, real communication or interaction was not needed either between people or between areas of language use.

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Korea: TOEFL reforms (2)

New test to be used in Korea as of May 2006

The new form of TOEFL test will measure the language ability of students,

not only academic understanding but

also communication skills in various settings.

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Korea: "Why TOEIC for All?"

"... [I]t does not make sense that people with excellent English abilities should have to take TOEIC to apply for a company."

"TOEIC is not the best option for evaluating someone's English skills...."

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Job Korea's Enquête:Company Testing Policies

193 of top 300 companies in Korea

27% to change testing methods in 2008 + speaking

+ interviews + speeches

+ listening + writing

Samsung Group, Korea's largest conglomerate, is considering: OPIc "a test for practical

English largely focused on speaking ability"

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From Here

What Why How

English Educationin Japan

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IntegrativeInstrumentalAcademicNon-academicGeneralSpecificNo apparent purposes

entrance exams

TOEIC‘Eiken’CommunicationResearch & publication

Global understanding &

cooperation

Self-expressionInter-personal relations

TOEFL

Learning English: What for? (1)

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IntegrativeInstrumentalAcademicNon-academicGeneralSpecificNo apparent purposes

entrance examsTOEIC‘Eiken’CommunicationResearch & publication

Global understanding &

cooperation

Self-expressionInter-personal relations

TOEFL

Learning English: What for? (2)

0. No apparent purposes;

1. General purposes;

2. Instrumental purposes;

3. Integrative purposes; or

4. Specific purposes.

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"An important language"

"English is an important language to be learned

in order to do business and

communicate with other peoples of the world."

(Nakata 2002b)

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"An important role in society" (1)

"Historically we Japanese people didn't think any foreign languages so important

as we didn't feel inconvenient at all in communicating with each other in the closed society.

But [a] time has come that Japanese people must face reality."

(Language Teacher Development Project participant)

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"An important role in society" (2)

"As we were making an effort to catch up with other developing countries,

we realize[d] that English is playing an important role in our society."

(Language Teacher Development Project participant)

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English education: When & where?

K-12 Pre-school -

Primary Kindergartens Elementary schools

Cram schools

Secondary Junior high schools

Cram schools

Senior high schools Cram schools

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Adult Tertiary

Colleges & universities

Students Auditors

Vocational-technical schools

Skills Trades

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Adult Other:

Self-development plans and activities;

'Conversation' schools; or

Online learning: Almost

Anywhere, Anytime!

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"A complete & systematic approach"

"There has to be a strong lead connecting English teaching from children all the way up to adults

in order to have a complete and systematic approach to English education."

(Nakata, 2002a)

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Bridging the gaps

Getting more input: Listening, Reading, & Viewing.

Making more output: Producing; Speaking; & Writing.

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Models & motivation

"Many high school teachers are highly proficient in English and

motivated to integrate new theoretical and research insights into their teaching."

(Matsuda, 2002, p. 53)

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To Get There

You'll need: Vision, Passion, & Action.

(Murphey, 1998)

Based upon: World views; Local

knowledge; & Personal

objectives.

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"Passion, Vision, & Action"

All three are required for what Tim Murphey has called "Olympian Technology." Language Hungry

MACMILLAN LANGUAGEHOUSE (1998), Chapter 15

Without action: Dreamers;

Without vision: Workaholics;

Without passion: People going for

average (or less).

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And Back Again: Virtually (1)

A virtual high school... with real high

goals:

To create:Excitement, Interest, &Opportunity.

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And Back Again: Virtually (2)

"Funded by the National Ministry of Education, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)...

Kumamoto was selected

as one of 16 'kens' to be the host of a pilot program with

the goal of improving English education for the entire country."

(Super Virtual High School, 2002-2004)

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Virtual High Goals (1)

"Get students excited about English by

teaching them in English

about topics that interest them" [emphasis added].

"Further facilitate internationalization

by increasing student exposure to non-Japanese young people."

(Super Virtual High School)

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"Expose Japanese students to their role as world citizens and

give them enough information

to spark an interest in the world outside of our 'ken,'

thus further increasing internationalization."

(Super Virtual High School)

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"Give our students the confidence to communicate in English,

both with native speakers and other non-native speakers alike."

(Super Virtual HS, 2005)

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Overseas Travel and Study Abroad (1)

Overseas travel: Developing

awareness & appreciation of target cultures, own cultures, and global issues;

While...

Developing self-confidence and self-reliance through voluntary, school, and personal activities.

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State funding for overseas studies?

1000 students: English speaking

countries; Three months or more; 400,000 yen.

(Asahi, 2002)

100 teachers: Leave of absence; for

graduate studies; A year or more; One-half of tuition.

(Asahi, 2002)

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Overseas Travel and Study Abroad (2)

Study abroad: Studying and

using target languages;

Experiencing & observing various cultures; and

Developing attitudes, knowledge, & skills

for current and future use.

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Educated, pro-active ciitzens have it, or get it!

Awareness of issues;

Concerns about the world around us;

Knowledge of histories;

Visions of the future, &

Passions for action.

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"The Action Plan...

...to cultivate 'Japanese with English abilities.'"

(Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology [MEXT], 2004)

In particular, the ability to use

English at work (Administrative

studies faculty meeting; June 24, 2004)

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Ability to use English @ work

Occupation: Full-time student Major: Administrative studies Responsibilities:

Class work: Pair work Group work Class discussion

Homework Self-development

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Administrative studies: Goals in focus (1)

Introductory questions: Are your ideas

flexible? Do you see things from

diverse angles? Are your views

international? http://www.pu-

kumamoto.ac.jp/guide-e/admin-e/admin-e.htm

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Reflect for a moment about the introductory questions: If so, how so? If not, why?

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A range of communicative proficiencies: "Achieving international communication skills

requires not only [listening] and speaking, but also writing ability, [and] reading ability…. While the basis is English, ... students are able to study a range of languages." http://www.pu-kumamoto.ac.jp/guide-e/admin-

e/admin-e.htm

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Online communication protocols

Learn to do it in English with computers: keyboards, mail, & other programs, & web sites; for example: Using English, little by little, for forms, lists, notes, messages,

presentations, research, reports, & reviews, including: Names & addresses, Subject headings & body texts, Numbering & punctuation, Electronic signatures, & Internet searches.

Keep doing it to develop and polish listening, reading, speaking, writing, and computer skills!

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Think back: In how many

languages can you answer those introductory questions right now?

Which languages?

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Think ahead: In how many

languages do you want to be able to answer those questions - by the time you

graduate?

In which modes: Speech, writing, or

both; Online and off?

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Food for Thought (1)

In the Faculty of Administrative Studies, English courses are a world apart from: Introductory courses, Core courses, Applied courses, & Seminars.

http://www.pu-kumamoto.ac.jp/guide-e/admin-e/admin-curri-e.htm

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Food for Thought (2)

A key question: How necessary are

English AND other languages in administrative studies, and

in your careers and lives beyond?

A Journey in EnglishAbout English

From Here to There

& Back Again

By Paul Beaufait

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License

A Journey in English (2),

Education

Transcript of A Journey in English (2),