2005 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Comparative Study of Foreign Language Education for Children - Language Policy, Teaching materials, Textbooks, Methodology -
| Project/Area Number |
15320070
|
|---|
| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
|
| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
|---|
| Section | 一般 |
|---|
| Research Field |
Foreign language education
|
|---|
| Research Institution | Seitoku University |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
YOSHIJIMA Shigeru Seitoku University, Department of Human sciences., Professor, 人文学部, 教授 (50011309)
|
|---|
| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
FUKUZAWA Shusuke Seitoku University, Department of Human sciences., Professor, 教授 (30008700)
OKA Hideo The University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Professor, 大学院・総合文化研究科, 教授 (90091389)
KANAMORI Tsuyoshi Ehime University, English Education Center, Professor, 外国語教育センター, 教授 (90204544)
SANO Masayuki Teikyo University, Faculty of letter, Professor, 文学部・教育学科, 教授 (20042765)
KAN Hideaki Seitoku University, Department of Human sciences., Assistant Professor, 助教授 (60234150)
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2005
|
| Keywords | pedagogic objectives / common framework / political leadership / communication / consequent education / language competence / cross-cultural communication / cross-curriculum |
|---|
| Research Abstract |
1)As for the pedagogic objectives of foreign language education, we have found that there are two typical and contrasting attitudes : the Korean type and the European type. The former puts emphasis on language competence in a narrow setting, while the latter more broadly aims for the nourishment of cross-cultural communication ability.
2)We have also noticed a distinctive tendency toward the establishment of general comprehensive goals and common core curricula. In Korea, under the strong leadership of the President, they reformed the English education system to use only one English textbook in common at every school. In Europe, contrarily, the Council of Europe took a long time to compile the guidance Common European Framework for Reference of Languages : Learning, teaching and assessment (2001), expecting this to become the common foundation for foreign language education in EU. One of the noticeable characteristics of the European language policy is that they do not put any emphasis
… More
on any particular language. In the US, on the other hand, though it has no legal validity, the ACTFL (the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) compiled the report Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century, which is intended to be used as a guideline for language education.
3)The existence of strong support from the governments is indispensable for the improvement of foreign language education. Without the political leadership, Finland could not have carried out its radical reform of its education system into an integrated one of junior high and senior high schools. In France, there is a WEB site (primalangue.education.fr) supported by the national government to help language teachers and carry on foreign language teaching at the primary school level. The Korean government decided to begin teaching English at the 3rd-year grade (age 8) throughout the nation with strong support for the audio-visual facilities. There remains, however, the problem that the service and opportunities for teacher training is limited at the local level.
Foreign language education in Japan still holds the idea of American structuralistic linguistics, and the TV programs for English learning and the lessons at primary schools are far from the idea of the communicative language approach. The problem of cross-curricula also remains untouched in Japan. These short-comings seem to result from a misunderstanding of what "communication" is. For a better system of teacher training and more effective methodology, the acquisition of a clear idea of "communication" must be one of the biggest tasks to be undertaken. Less
|
