Japan Today- Education ministry proposes radical English education reform

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has announced plans to reform the English education curriculum at junior high schools across Japan from the 2020 school year. The main change will be that all English-language classes will be conducted entirely in English.

Education Minister Hakubun Shimomura told reporters at a news conference that “the goal is to enable students to learn communication skills vital to everyday life at an earlier age by speaking with native speakers of English, a skill I believe to be in great demand for this current generation,” TBS reported.

Under the new plan, from April 1, 2020, third-year elementary school students will begin taking English courses as a foreign-language activity. English will become a formal subject from fifth grade (it is currently designated as a foreign-language activity) three times a week.

The Divine Wind Vault http://divinewindvault.blogspot.com (C)2006-13