Incorporating an affective ambiance and authentic language to improve English teaching in Japan

0
726

The main objective ofthis project is to help improve Japanese students’ proficiency in English by analyzing problems prevalent in Japanese English education and by introducing teaching units that can compensate forthe problems. Because ofthe implementationofthe grammar-translation method,English teachers in Japan mainly focus on reading and grammar skills. College entrance examinations play a big role in sustaining the current English teaching method in Japan. Since the college entrance examsfocus on multiple choice questions aboutgrammarthat require direct translation into Japanese,it is necessary forJapanese students to study grammarto passthe college entrance test. Due to this type ofexamination,by the time they graduate from high school,Japanese students’listening and speaking skills are relatively pooreven after six years ofstudying English. The main focusin the teaching units is to feature social ftmctions oflanguage,present authentic contexts and materials, encourage cooperative language learning methods,and facilitate affective education. By introducing these new methodsinto the current English teaching practices in Japan, English classrooms can become more vital,leading students to feel motivated,and to involve themselves more vigorously in classroom activities. The classroom climate will becomeapositive onefor students,and they canimprove their overall EnglishÂ