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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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."
(Hospodarske noviny, August 30, 2005)
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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."
(Hospodarske noviny, August 30, 2005)
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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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English education: When & where?
Adult Tertiary
Colleges & universities
Students Auditors
Vocational-technical schools
Skills Trades
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English education: When & where?
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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Virtual High Goals (2)
"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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Virtual High Goals (3)
"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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Administrative studies: Goals in focus (2)
Reflect for a moment about the introductory questions: If so, how so? If not, why?
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Administrative studies: Goals in focus (3)
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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Administrative studies: Goals in focus (4)
Think back: In how many
languages can you answer those introductory questions right now?
Which languages?
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Administrative studies: Goals in focus (5)
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
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