Analysis Factors Contributing Success English Through ...

Japan Society of English Language Education

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JapanSociety ofEnglish Language Education

An Analysis of Factors Contributing to the Success of

English Language Education in Finland: Through

Questionnaires fbr Students and Teachers

Harumi ITOAibruto Uhiversity ofEducation

Abstract

Finland has attracted a great deal of attention from educators all over the world mainly due

to her continuous excellence in the PISA, but Finland has also succeeded in fbstering high-level

English proficiency among her EFL learners in spite Qf the relatiyely smal1 number of lesson

hours given to learners from primary school through upper secondary school, about two-thirds the

number of lesson hours Japanese EFL leamers receive during the same period of schooling. In

order to find out factors conducive to Finland's success in bringing about highly competent

English learners, a questionnaire study was conducted against Finnish university students and

English teachers. In this questionnaire, the participants were asked to evaluate the importance of

the fifteen success flictors extracted from the review ofthe literature and the field study conducted

in Finland. These fifteen success factors have been fairly well endorsed by the participarrts except

one factor (the EU's language policy fbr globalisation). It has also been disclosed that the teachers

tended to be more positive in their evaluation than the studenis although there exists a high

correlation between the teachers' and the students' responses.

1. Introduction

Finland has attracted a great deal of atterrtion firom researchers and educators worldwide

mainly due to her constant success in the PISA, which has been conducted by the OECD every

three years since 2000 as is shown in Table 1, It is not so well known, however, that Finland has

also been quite successfu1 in English language education, which is not targeted in the PISA. In the

TOEFL, whose scores harve been used as an international index of English proficiency, for

example, Finland has constantly been ranked among the top ten countries in terms of thc

perfbrrnance of the TOEFL examinees across the world as is shown in Table 2. In contrast Japan

has constantly been ranked arnong the bottom countries in terms of the international rankings of

examinees' ayerage scores in TOEFL as is shown in Table 3. It may be inappropriate to assess the

degree of success of English language education only through the scores ofthe TOEFL, if we take

into account the differences in socio-economic and socio-cultural contexts surrounding examinees,

but it is no doubt that TOEFL scores represent in one way or another the relative success of

63




English language education in individual countries.

Tablet Table2

internationaiRankingsofnntandandJ[rpan in PIS4 20iJroEFZ(iB7) Scores in the vabrid rE7:Y, 20J2)

YeaF [inmains Fin]and japan ParticipantsRankAreaR{30) L(30) S(30) W(30) Total

Matheiuatical]iteracy

20eO Scientific]iteracy

Readingtiteracy

4]1 ]28

]2

Matherrvaticaltiteracy

2oo3 Scientifu titeracy

Readingliteracy

2I1 6214

41

Mathematica]1iteracy

2006 Scientificliteracy

Readingliteracy

212 106]5

57

Mathematicalliteracy

2oo9 Scientifieliteracy

62 9565

l Netherlands2 Singapore3 Donmark

3 Be]gium3 Austria

6 Swimrland

7 Fin]and

7 Germanv7 Pormgal10 L.uxembourg

10 Uru ua'

24242324232423za242324262526252625262S2S242S2S2426252S242425242423242624242424242423242310099989898on969696959S

atdlt ] 8 Avera e 162 areas20,2 20.120,4 21,O gl.S

NB/R=Readig,L==Listening,S==Speaking,W`=Writing

Finnish EFL learners' excellent perfbrmance in TOEFL shown in Table 2 is al1 the more

arnazing ifwe take into account the fact that Finnish EFL learners receive only about two thirds as

many lesson hours of English at school (from primary to upper secondary school) as Jalpanese

EFL learners, as is shown in Table 4. Fimish EFL learners receive 684 hours of English lessons

whiie Japanese EFL learners receive 928 hours of English lessons befbre they graduate from

upper secondary school (FNBE, 2004a; FNBE, 2004b). Why is it that Finland succeeds in

fostering top-level English proficiency among her EFL learners in spite ofthe fact that the numberef lesson hours fbr Finnish EFL learners is much smaller than that fbr Japanese EFL learners?

This simplistic question has ]ed to the present study to investigate factors contributing to the

success ofEnglish language education in Finland.

Table3 Table4

2?e!UEIEUIEZ2.Eggg£ .!:4\g.gEZOIITO S rlSO? comarisonoLessonHoursoEntishRank Area R(30} L<30) S<30) W(30) TOta] primary 45mx2hx38wx4y 228h l Singepore 24 25 24 26 99 45mx2hx38w+

i b"adkiinstan ;? 2esL ;2 gi g: Finiand

LowerSecondary 4sm.3h.3sw.2y

22sh

4 Malaysia 22 22 21 24 sg UpperSecondary 45mx38hx8c 228h

± 2U!gR2ir!gE t8 Total 6s4h

8

SeythKorea

21

20

2e

21

82 Primary 45mxlhx3Swx2y S3h

X･i,:･i.-.a; 2

:! ll i･i li ig'

Japan di',,e,r,S,e,o:,d:.ry ig::g::i:ll} ii:: Tota] 928h 28 Japan 18 16 16 18 69

29 Lao IS 17 19 IS 6s NB:mwninute,h=hour,y=year,c=coursc

30 Carnbodia 14 IS ]8 19 66

Avera e 162 areas 20,2 20,1 20.4 210 815

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2. Extracting and Classifying Factors Contributing to Finland's Success

in English Language Education

The field researches in Finland (visiting schools, observing English lessons, talking withteachers, principals, and researchers) and the study of literature on school education (Kimonen,2001; Kontoniemi & Salo, 2011; Kupari, n.d.; Sahlberg, 2007; Sahlberg, 2011; Simola, 2005;

Valljtirvi, Linnakyla, Kupari, Reinikainen & Arffitian, 2002) and on fbreign (or English) languageeducation (Kohonen & Kaikiconen, 2002; MIikinen, Kaikkonen & Kohonen, 2004) in Finland

have helped the present researcher to extract relevant factors contributing to the success ofEnglish

lariguage education in Finland. These extracted factors have been classified into three groups: (A)leamer and teacher factors, (B) cuniculum and methodology factors, and (C) socio-cultural factors.This three-way classification of success factors has been adopted from the present researcher's

previous study which inyestigated success factors of French immersion education in Canada (Ito,20e5). The fbllowing 15 flrctors, five in each group, have finally been nominated as factorscontributing to the success ofEnglish language education in Finland.

(A) Learner and teacher factors

1. pupils' trust in school and school education in general

2. pupils' trust in English teachers and their teaching methods

3. pupils' high motivation to study English

4. pupils' acquisition of study ski11s, including learning how to leam

5. high quality ofEnglish teachers

(B) Cuniculum and methodology factors

6. early start of English language education at primary school

7. the small size of English classes

8. high quality ofEnglish textbooks

9. provision ofdaily homework

1O. periodical tests and examinations (including the matriculation)(i)

(C) Socio-culturul factors

l 1 . parents' wish and support for pupils' acquisition of English

12. arnple opportunities to engage in English comrriunication outside school

13. the EU's language policy fbr globalisation(2) 14. socio-economic status ofEnglish as a global language in Finnish society

15. al]undant use ofEnglish in the media (TV, the Internet, magazines, etc,)

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3. Investigating Students' and I}eachers' Perceptions about the Degree of

Contribution of the Extracted Success Factors

3.1 Purpose

The purpose of the investigation is tQ grasp the relative degrees ofcontribution of the fifteen

factors which have been proposed as conducive to the success ofEnglish language education in

Finland through investigating learners' and teachers' perceptions about those success factors.

32 Participants

The participants of this investigation are 44 university students and 38 teachers curTently

living in Finland. The 44 students are composed of 22 students studying business English at the

University of Applied Sciences in Tampere and 22 students studying translation at the University

ofHeisinki. The 38 teachers are composed of28 primary school teachers and 1O secondary school

teachers.

3.3 Method

The participants' perceptions about the relative degrees of centribution of the fifteen factorswere investigated by questionnaires and interviews prepared by the present researcher. The 44

students were asked to fi11 out the anonymous questionnaire, This questionnaire study was

conducted in October 2011 by a university teacher who teaches at the two miversities where the

participating students are curTentiy studying. The 38 teachers either answered to the

semi-stmctured interviews conducted by the present researcher in March 2012, or responded to

the questionnaire which was sent to them through e-mai1 by the present researcher in May 2012,

As fl]r as the way of eliciting responses from the participants is concemed, a five-point

Likert scale was adopted both for the questionnaire and fbr the semi-stmctured interview The

participants were asked to indicate their perceptions about the relative degree of contribution of

each success fa¢ tor under investigation by choosing the number from 5 to 1 (5 for greatly, 4 for

fairly, 3 for more or less, 2 for harziZy, and 1 fbr nevenj which seems to represerrt their perceptionsbest. ln addition to the items related to the degree of contribution of the success factors, the

questionnaire included the items which elicited the participants' experiences oflearning English

and their perceptions about the degrees ofthe importance of English and the degree of success of

English language education in Finland as a whole.

3.4 Results and Discussion

3.4.1 Degree of success of English language education

As part of the questionnaire to examine the participants' perceptions of the relative

importance of the fifteen success factors, the participants were also asked to indicate how

successfu1 they think English language education in Finland is as a whole. The responses were

66




gathered by the five-point Likert scale: 5. very successtil, 4. successyStl, 3, can ir teUfor sure, 2,

haidZy suecesshl, and 1, not suecessyltl at ail, The percentages of those who chose respective

numbers (from 5 to 1 ) were calculated for the students, the teachers and the whole group. rlable

5

below shows the results ofthe participants' responses. For the sake of comparison, the results ofa

similar questionnaire for Japanese students who were studying education at a national university

(Ito, 20 1 1 ) are also presented.

Table 5Degree ofSuceess ofEnglish Language Education in Finland and mpan (9C)

ChoiceStudents 44

Teachers 38

Whoie

82

J Students

113

5 verysuccessfu1

4 successfid

3 can'ttellforsure

2 hardlysuccessful1 notsuccessfu1 at all

13.6484.09

2.27

o

o

34,2]65,79

o

o

o

23.4675.31

1,23

o

o

O,88

5,3153,1032,74

7,96

NB: J Students = Japanese Students

If we combine the percentages fbr Choices 5 (very successfu1) and 4 (successfu1), we can see that

more than 97% of the Fimish students and 1OO% of the Finnish teachers consider that English

language education in Finland is successfu1 as a whole. On the other hand, only about six percent

ofthe Japanese students think that English language education in Japan is successfu1 as a whole. It

is clear that Finnish students have fair more positive perceptions about the effects of English

language education they have received at school than their Japanese counterparts. This implies

that a great deal of effbrt needs to be done in order to improve the quality of English language

education in Japan, However, we rnust also take into account the differences in the social, cultural

and pedagogical contexts in which English is being taught in two countries.

3.4.2 Degree efcontribution ofthree domains ofsuccess factors

As mentioned befbre, the fifteen success factors proposed for this study were grouped into

three domains: (l) learner and teacher factors, (2) curriculum and methodology factors, and (3)socio-cultural factors, [Ilable 6 in the next page shows the relative importance of these three

domains ofsuccess factors perceived by the 44 students and the 38 teachers. The figures presentedin the table stand fbr the average points ofthe five-point Likert scale for the five success factors in

each domain. The averages above 3.0 (the median) show the positive responses while those below3.0 show the negative responses. The higher the averages are, the higher the degree ofcontributionof the factors in question is. The results reported in fable 6, first of all, that both the students and

the teachers have fairly positive perceptions about the success factors targeted in this studx with

the teachers having a little more positive perceptions than the students (4.03 against 3.77 in

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average). Interestingly enough, the students have the most positive perceptions about the

socio-cultura1 factors while the teachers have the most positive perceptions about the curriculum

and methodology factors. This may imply that students tend to conceive themselves as members

of the society while teachers tend to conceive themselves as members ofeducational circles.

Table 6Degree

ofContribution oj' 7hree Doneains ofSuccss fuctors

Domains of Success Factors Students(44) Teachers(38)Whole(82)

I learnerandteacherfactors

2 curriculumandmethodologyfactors

3 socio-culturalfactors

3.503.823,97 3,924,173.99 3,714,OO3.98

Average 3.77 4,03 3.90

3,4.3 Degree ofcontribution ofthe fifteen success factors

[fable 7 below shows the responses from the participants conceming the degree of

contribution ef the 15 success factors respectively. The figures shown fbr the students and the

teachers in the table stand fbr the'average points of the five-point Likert scales for the fifteen

individual success factors.

Table 7Participants' Perceptions ofDegree ofCbntribution ofSuecess Fltcters (ZFIive-point Liker Sbalel

No. Success FactorsStudents Teachers

44 38Whole 82l pupils' trust in school and school education in genera] 3,32 3,89 3,61

2 pupi]s' trust in English teachers and their teaching methods 3.55 4.11 3.833 pupils' high motivation to study English 4.00 4.51 4,264 pupils' acquisition ofstudy skiHs, including leaming how to learn 3.39 3.55 3.475 hig-h-gy.a.11'!xp.f.-Ep-g-/j-s-4-t-e-4g-h-glE------"---------..-............-.---".-------"----.-3-,2-Z-.-----;,5.4---.`.-=-3-,4-L6 early start ofEnglish language education at primary s¢ hoo[ 4.48 4.53 4.50

7 the smatl size of English classes 3.48 3.87 3.678 high quality ofEnglish textbooks 3.80 4,50 4.159 provision ofda{ly homework 3.73 4,21 3,9710 2eriodical tests and examinations (including thematriculation) 3.64 3,74 3,691 l parents' wish and support for pupils' acquisition ofEng[ish

12 ample opportunities to engage in Eng]ish communication outside school

13 the EU's language policy for globalization14 secio-economic status ofEnglish as a global language in Finnish society15 abundant use ofEn lish in the media TV the Internet ma azines etc.

3.753.862.934.424.913.624.212.874,504,743.694.042.904.464.82

NB 5== great contribution, l= no contribution Average 3,774,03 3,90

As a whole group, the participants considered the fbllowing five factors the most important as a

68





success factor out ofthe fifteen in this order:

15. abundant use ofEnglish in the media (TV the Internet, magazines, etc,)

6. early start of English Ianguage education at primary school

14. socio-economic status ofEnglish as a global language in the Finnish society

3, pupils' high motivation to study English

8, high quaiity ofEnglish textbooks

This result endorses the findings of the previous research on English language education in

Finland (Ito, 2010; Ito, 2012), On the other hand, the participants considered the fbllowing five

factors the least important as a success factor out ofthe fifteen in this order:

13. the EU's language policy fbr globalisation

5. high quality ofEnglish teachers

4, pupils' acquisition ofstudy skills, including learning how to learn

1 . pupils' tmst in school and school education in general 7. the smal1 size ofEnglish classes

Surprisingly enough, the EU's ranguage policy fbr globalisatien is perceived as the least

conducive to the success of English language education in Finland both by the students and by the

teachers, The average degree of contribution of this factor is 2.93 fbr the students, 2.87 fbr the

teachers and 2,90 fbr the whole group, Since the median is 3.00 in the five-point Likert scale,

these relatively low averages mean that tlie EU's language policy for globalisation is not perceivedas contributing so much to the success of English language education in Finland as a whole. On

the other hand, al)undant use of English in the media (TM the Internet, magazines, etc) is

perceived as the most conduciye to the success ofEnglish language education in Finland both bythe students and by the teachers. It is interesting to note here that these two factors (i.e., the EUS

language poliay for globalisation and abundont use oj'English in the media) belong to the

socio-cultural domain. This finding implies that we need to be carefu1 not to detemiine factors

which contribute to the success of fbreigri or second language education (not necessarily English

laiiguage education) simply by referring to the nature ofthose factors in question.

On the whoie, both the students and the teachers appear te have similar perceptions al)out

the degree of contribution of the success factors investigated in this study, although the teachers

tend to have more positive perceptions in absolute terms about the success factors treated in this

study, Let us take a closer look at this issue (i,e., similarity in the way both the students and theteachers responded to the success factors). [llable 8 in the next page shows the rank orders ofthe

fifieen success factors for the students and the teachers respectively.

69




Table 8Rank

Orclens o Success hactors in 71erms o De ee o Contribution

No, Success FactorsStudents Teachers

(44) (38)Whole (82)

l pupils' trust in scheol and school education in general 13 9 12

2 pupils' trust in English teachers and their teaching methods 10 g 8

3 pupils' high motivation to study English 4 3 4

4 pupils' acquisitien ofstudy skMs, including learning how to learn 12 13 13

.--5---bighAy-a-/jix-o±-E.ng!ts-4-!e-g-c-h-e-!-s-----t--------"-.--------.---.---------------.-----"-r--!"--------..IA-........L4..6 early start ofEnglish language education at primary school 2 2 27 the smatl size ofEnglish eiasses 11 10 118 high quatity of English textboeks 6 4 5

9provlsion ofdaily homework 8 6 71Operj-o-qig-a-1-t-e-E-tE-pm.-d-gl-a.m--Ln"a-tj-onE-Ci-n-gl-u-qlpgl-h-e--rp-a!ELc-yl-a-tjg-n-)----------------.----"-9--------..1.L.-........-?.1 1 parents' wish and support fbr pupils' acquisition of English12 ample opportunities to engage in English cornmunication outside school

13 the EU's ]anguage policy for globalisation14 socio-economic status ofEnglish as aglobal language in Finnish society15 abundant use ofEn lish in the media TV the lnternet ma azines etc,

751531 1271551 961531

As the al)ove tal)le shows, both the students and the teachers seem to have assigned a simi1ar

degree of importance to the fifteen success factors. For example, the five most important success

factors for the students are as fo11ows in the order ofimportance:

15. abundant use ofEnglish in the media (TM the Internet, magazines, etc.)

6. early start ofEnglish language education at primary school

14. socio-economic status of English as a global language in Finnish soeiety

3. pupils' high motivatien to study English

12. ample opportunities to engage in Eng]ish communication outside school

The five most important success factors fbr the teachers are as follows in the order ofimportance:

15. ahundant use ofEnglish in the media (TV, the Irrternet, magazines, etc.)

6. early start of English language education at primary school

3. pupils' high motivation to study English

8. high quality ofEnglish textbooks

14. socio-economic status of English as a global language in Finnish society

The same fbur success factors (No.15, No.6, No.3, and No.I4) appear in the list ofthe top five fbr

the students and for the teachers. In particular, the top two suceess fattors are exactly the sarne in

the same order (No, 15 and No.6) both fbr the studerrts and fbr the teachers. SimilarlM the five least

70





lmportant

lmportant.success

factors fbr the studerrts are as fbllows. with the first one being the least

13, the EU's language policy fbr globalisation

5. high quality of English teachers

1 . pupils' tmst in school and scheol education in general

4. pupils' acquisition ofstudy ski11s, including learning how to learn

7, the smal1 size ofEnglish classes

The five least irnportant success fattors fbr the teachers are as fo11ows,

least important:

with the first one being the

13, the EU's laiiguage policy fbr globalisation

5. high quality of English teachers

4. pupils' acquisition of study ski11s, including leaming how to learn

1 1 . parerrts' wish and support fbr pupils' acquisition ofEnglish

10. periodical tests and examinations (including the matriculation)

The same three success factors (No.13, No.5, and No.4) appear in the list of the bottom five fbr

the students and fbr the teachers. ln particularl the bottom two success factors are exactly the same

in the same order (No.1 3 and No.5) both for the students and for the teachers,

Thus both the students and the teachers appear to have similar perceptions abotrt the degree

of contribution of the success factors investigated in this study. This similarity between the

students and the teachers in ranlcing the success factors is endorsed by a high-level Spearman's

rank correlation coeMcient of O.876, which is statistically sigriificant as weli.

It is womh noting here that the success factor of high quality of English teacher was not so

highly evaluated either by the studenis or by the teachers although its average in the degree of

importance is over the median (3,27 fbr the students and 3.54 fbr the teachers). This success factor

was included in the final list of success factors, taking into account the othcial comment on

Fimish children's success in the PISA which regarded the high quality ofteachers as one of the

main reasons fbr Finland's excellence in the PISA (Valljtirvi, Linnakyla, Kupari, Reinikainen &

Arffinan, 2002). Our finding seems to imply that the official endorsement ofteacher factor is not

necessarily applical)le to English latiguage education which is not targeted in the PISA. Howeve#

there is a good chance that some other reason exists behind our finding fbr relatively low support

fbr the teacher's high quality. We feel the need for fUrther study on this issue,

3,4.4 Differences between the students' and the teachers' perceptions ofthe success factors

As the fbregoing discussion shows, there exists a fairly high-level similarity in the way the

71




students and the teachers perceived the importance ofthe fifteen success factors investigated in the

present study However, it is also tme that there exist some differences between the students'

perceptions and the teachers' perceptions. 'fable

9 below shows the results ofthe comparison of

the students' and the teachers' perceptions ofthe fifteen success factors investigated in the study.As the table shows, the students respended more positively than the teachers only in three factors

(No.11, No.I3, and No,15) out of the fifteen while the teachers responded more positively in the

rest ofthe fifteen factors, This result seems to imply that teachers tend to consider learner and

teacher factors (the first domain) and cuiriculum and methodology factors (the second domain)more important as success factors while students tend to consider socio-cultural factors (the thirddomain) more important. This in turn seems to refiect the difference in the position taken by

teachers and students with regards to English language education at school in Finland.

Table9Students'and T}2aehers'Perce tions Com ared

Ne. Success Factors S 44T 38 Dif r

1 pupils' trust in school and school education in general 2 pupils' trust in English teachers and theirteaching rnethods

3 pupils'high motivation to stucly English

4 pupils' acquisition of study skills, including learning how to learn

.-g...h.igtLgvfvlitug.f.-E-nglish teachers

3.323.554.003.393273,894.I14.513.553.54O.58*O.56 *O.51*O.17O.27

O,38O,35O,34O,09O,17

6 early start ofEnglish language education at primary school7 the small size ofEnglish classes

8 highqualityofEnglishtextbooks9 provisionofdaityhomeworkl9RerTg.d-iga-l-t.e.st-s-.ap.-d--e-x--a.m--i-n-g!lg"n-s--Cing!y.d-i-n-g!b.e--m..qgrlc-ulg!-ignl

4.483,483.803.733.644.533.874.5042t3,74O,05O.39O.70*O.48*O.10O.OlO.21O.45O.30O.07

11 parents' wish and support fbr pupils' acquisition of English 3.75 3.62 -O.13 O.0712 amp]e opportunities to engage in English communication outside school 3.86 421 O.35 O,1513 the EU's language policy for globalisation 2.93 2.87 -O,06 O,0414 socio-economic status ofEnglish as aglobal language in Finnish society 4.42 4,50 O.08 O.07IS abundantuseofEn lishinthemedia TV thelnternet ma azines etc. 4.91 4,74 -O,17* 023NB S=Students, T=:Teachers, DifeDifference (Teachers - Students)

" p <O,OS r= effect size

In order to assess the statistical significance ofthe differences between the students' and theteachers' perceptions, the Wilcoxon Rank Surn fest was carried out fbr the fifteen factors. The

difference was statistically significant Cp <O.05) in six factors (No.1, Ne.2, No.3, No.8, No.9, andNo.15). The difference was in favour ofthe teachers' responses in five factors while the students

responded more positively than teachers only in one factor (No.15) on a statistically significant

level. This is not so surprising if we consider the fact the teachers responded more positively than

the students on average (4.03 against 3.77) as is reported in [fables6 and 7. 0n the other hand, it isall the more noteworthy that the students responded more positively in No.15 (abundant use of

English in the media) on a statistically significant level. This point is endorsed by Kalaja Alanen,

Palviainen & DufVa (in press), who looked closely into Finnish university students' reflections

72




upon their experience of leaming English. Many of their respondents indicated that they had

leamed English a lot from TV prograimnes and films in English with Finnish subtitles which they

watched outside the school.

4. Conclusion

The present study tried to capture Finnish studerrts' and teachers' perceptions ahout the

fifteen factors assumed to be conducive to the success of English language education in Finland

through the questiormaire study conducted in Finland. These fifteen success factors had been

extrapolated mainly from the review of the literature on English language education in Finlandand the present author's field study in Finland, The results ofthe questiormaire study endorsed the

appropriateness ofthe extiapolated fifteen factors as success factors ofEnglish language edncatien

in Finland except one factor (i.e., the EUls language policyfor giobalisation). It also became clear

that the teachers tended to evaluate the importance of the success factors more highly than thestudents although both the students and the teachers showed a very similar pattern in theirassessment ofthe degree of importance ofthe fifteen suceess factors.

Both the students and the teachers selected the same two factors (i.e,, abundunt use pfE7rgiish in the media and early start pfEnglish language education atprimary schooD as the most

important success factors and similarly selected the sarne two factors (i.e., the EUir language

poticlyfor ggobalisation and high qualdy oj'English teachers) as the least important success factors.

The most important factor (abundunt use ofEhglish in the media) seems to overshadow the fact

that the number of lesson hours Fimish EFL learners receive at school before graduating fremupper secondary school is about two-thirds the number of lesson hours Japanese EFL learners

receive at school befbre graduating from upper secondary school. Ihe second most important

factor (early start qf'English language education atprimar:y sehooD is especially noteworthy for

us since the issue of starting English language education at primary school as a regular school

subject is still under heated discussion in Japan. Of course, it is necessary fbr us to carefully

consider the differences in the social, cultural and pedagogical atmosphere between Finland and

Japan before we come to a final decision on this issue.

The second least important success factor (i,e., high guali4y ofiinglish teachers) is a little

surprising and probternatic for us partly because this factor has othcially been acknowledged to be

a very important factor to explain Finland's constant excellence in the PISA (although English

language education is not targeted in the PISA) and partly because this factor has been endorsed

by the present researcher's own observation of numerous English lessons at primary and

secondary school in Finland. This discrepancy naturally necessitates fUr{2ier study for identifying

the tme reasons behind the highly successfu1 English language education in Finland,

73




Notes

(1) The matriculation examination is similar in nature to the DNC exarnination which many ofthe

university-beund upper secondary school students in Japan are required to take as part oftheir

entrance examinations to universities. The detailed explanation about the matriculation

examination is available in Ito et al. (2007).(2) In personal communication with Viljo Kohonen, an emeritus professor of the University of

Tampere, who has still been actively engaged in the research on English language education in

Finland and in Europe, Professor Kohonen pointed out that the expression t`EU's

language policy"is a linle misleading since the policy of second language education in Europe has mostly beendecided by the Council of Europe, which has existed much longer than the EU, and is an

organization which is responsible fbr educational policies for Europe. Unfortunately, this personalcommunication took place after the questionnaire was conducted, and therefore this success factor

(13. the EU's language policy fbr glebalisation) has been left as it is in this papez However, I have

a strong feeling that the results would have been much the same ifI had used the revised success

factor involving the Council ofEurope.

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