A Journey in English (1), 2005.09.09

A Journey in English
From Here to There
& Back Again
By Paul Beaufait

2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 2
TOEFL reforms (1)
 Major English
exams did not
require practical
communication.
 In other words, real
communication or
interaction was not
needed either
between people or
between areas of
language use.

TOEFL reforms (2)
 As a result,
students could
score highly on
tests and yet not
be able to
communicate in
real life....
 The new form of
TOEFL test will
measure the
language ability of
students, not only
academic
understanding but
also communication
skills in various
settings.

A Quick Look Around

How Many Languages?
"'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)

How Many Languages?
 "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)

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)

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)

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)

When? Maybe not in national-type Chinese
schools in Malaysia
 Educators in
Malaysia "urged the
Government to
abolish the use of
English to teach
Science and
Mathematics."
 "The use of
English in the
teaching of
Mathematics and
Science in
Standard One
was introduced in
2003."
 (New Sunday Times
Online, 2005)

"Rethink on classes for 1st
graders" in Thailand
 "Starting too early
may do more harm
than good: minister.
The Education
Ministry is
considering lifting
obligatory English
lessons starting in
the first grade,
 arguing that the
incompetence of
numerous students
after years of
learning stems
mainly from bad
experiences in
compulsory classes."
 (The Nation, September 19,
2005)

"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)

"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)

TESOL: AGAINST - High-stakes Testing
 "The use of single
tests upon which to
base major
educational decisions
 has been on the rise
in the United States
for several years."
 (TESOL, 2005)

TESOL: AGAINST - High-stakes Testing
 "TESOL opposes this
practice with English
language learners
 because these
students are at a
linguistic
disadvantage and
 have not been given
ample opportunity to
master the content
area that is being
tested."
 (TESOL, 2005)

TESOL: FOR - Alternative Assessments
 "Rather, TESOL
advocates use of
alternatives to high-
stakes testing for
English language
learners,
 "such as multiple
assessments and
portfolios."
 (TESOL, 2005)

From Here

Learning English: What for? (1)

Learning English: What for? (2)
0. No apparent
purposes;
1. General purposes;
2. Instrumental
purposes;
3. Integrative
purposes; or
4. Specific purposes.

"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)

"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)

"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)

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

English education:
When & where?
 Adult
 Tertiary
Colleges &
universities
 Students
 Auditors
Vocational-
technical
schools
 Skills
 Trades

English education:
When & where?
 Adult
 Other
Self-
development
plans and
activities;
'Conversation'
schools; or
Distance
education
 Anywhere
 Anytime -
almost!

"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)

Bridging the gaps
 Getting more
input:
 Browsing,
 Listening,
 Reading, &
 Viewing.
 Making more
output:
 Producing;
 Speaking; &
 Writing.

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)

To Get There
 You'll need:
 Vision,
 Passion, &
 Action.
 (Murphey, 1998)
 Based upon:
 World views;
 Local
knowledge; &
 Personal
objectives.

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.

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.

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)

And Back Again: Virtually (1)
 A virtual high
school...
with real high
goals:
Excitement,
Interest, &
Opportunity.

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
HS, 2005)

Virtual High Goals (1)
 "Get students
excited about
English by
 teaching them in
English
 about topics that
interest them."
 "Further facilitate
internationalization
 by increasing
student exposure to
non-Japanese young
people."
 (Super Virtual
HS, 2005)

 "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
HS, 2005)

 "Give our
students the
confidence to
communicate in
English,
 both with
native speakers
and other non-
native speakers
alike."
 (Super Virtual
HS, 2005)

Educated, pro-active citizens
 Awareness of
issues;
 Concerns about
the world
around us;
 Knowledge of
histories;
 Visions of the
future, &
 Passions for
action.

"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).

"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)

Ability to use English @ work
 Occupation: Student
 Major: Administrative studies
 Responsibilities:
 Class work:
 Pair work
 Group work
 Class discussion
 Homework
 Self-development

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

Goals in focus (2)
 Reflect for a
moment about
the introductory
questions:
 If so, how so?
 If not, why?

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

Communication protocols
 Learn to do it in English with computers:
keyboards, mail, & other programs, & web
sites; for example:
 Using English for forms, lists, notes, messages,
presentations, research, reports, & reviews:
 Names & addresses,
 Subject headings & body texts,
 Numbering & punctuation,
 Electronic signatures, &
 Internet searches.
 Keep doing it to develop and polish job skills!

Goals in focus (4)
 Think back:
 In how many
languages can
you answer those
introductory
questions right
now?
 Which languages?

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?

Food for Thought (1)
 English curricula are separate from:
 Introductory courses,
 Core courses,
 Applied courses, &
 Seminars.
 http://www.pu-kumamoto.ac.jp/guide-
e/admin-e/admin-curri-e.htm

Food for Thought (2)
 A key question:
 How necessary
are English &
other languages
in administrative
studies, and
 in careers and
lives beyond?

Model of passion
 Montana
connected,
 thanks to:
Mike Mansfield
(deceased), a
former:...
 Asian studies
scholar;
 U.S. representative
& senator from
Montana; &
 U.S. ambassador to
Japan;

Model vision
 Mike Mansfield helped
build
 a sister-state
relationship between
 the state of Montana
Kumamoto Prefecture
 in 1982...
 around similarities:
 mountainous beauty,
 less urban character,
&
 "frontier spirit"
 (Valgenti, 2002);
 rather than around
differences.

Model actions (1)
 Kumamoto
celebrated
 its 20th anniversary
of the sister-state
relationship
 with Montana in
2002; and
 has "strengthen[ed]
ties through
personal
interactions:
 companionship,
 support, &
 good hosting."
 (Valgenti, 2002)

Model actions (2)
 Kumamoto's 20th
anniversary
celebration
 was built with:
 community theater
performances, and
 public
demonstrations,
 including, but not
limited to:
 Showcased traditional
arts & crafts:
 Japanese puppet
theater,
 samurai swordsmanship,
 Shinto dancing,
 brush calligraphy,
 flower arrangement,
 kites, dolls, & 'origami.'
 (Valgenti 2002)

Kumamoto hopes to focus... (1)
 Not only on
possible gains
from
exchanges of
products or
merchandise
 between
Kumamoto
Prefecture and
the State of
Montana, but...

Kumamoto hopes to focus... (2)
 As much if not
more so upon
 what the people
and leaders of
Kumamoto can
learn,
 for example,
 From the
attitudes of
Montanans
towards:
 resource
preservation, &
 environmental
protection.
 (Gov. Hirotani, in
Marquand, 2002)

A Journey in English (1), 2005.09.09

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A Journey in English (1), 2005.09.09