Yakudoku,” the traditional, non-oral method of teaching language in Japan, is described and compared with the grammar translation method of language instruction. The methods differ in that “yakudoku” focuses mainly on translation of the foreign language text into Japanese, with grammar instruction a secondary concern, and that the purpose of “yakudoku” is to render text into Japanese so that it may be understood in that language, rather than to understand the English text itself. The methods are similar in that both are accompanied by examinations administered on a large scale to secondary students, a powerful washback effect from examinations to curriculum and teaching method occurs, and focus is on written text, with neglect of oral/aural skills. A study of the classroom behaviors and teaching techniques of two Japanese “yakudoku” teachers of English as a Second Language, drawing on classroom observation and interviews, is also reported. The study confirmed initial characterizations of “yakudoku,” underlined the importance of teacher control in “yakudoku,” and revealed that the literature appreciation paradigm had a strong influence on instructional methods. Contains 40 references. (MSE) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
Yakudoku EFL Instruction in a Japanese High School Classroom by Greta J. Gorsuch, Mejiro University Despite swings of the pendulum towards and away from oral English instruction, some researchers suggest that English language instruction in high schools in Japan has largely been and is still dominated by yakudoku, a non-oral approach to foreign language instruction, thougiiRlo be related to grammar /translation (Bryant, 1956; Henrichsen, 1989; Hino, 1988; Law, 1995). Hino, in speaking of high school and university English instruction goes so far as to say Yakudoku is ‘the’ method in the teaching of English in Japan” (1988, p. 46). Writing from a perspective of university teachers dealing with high school graduates educated in the yakudoku method, Bamford agrees: “Indeed, the tradition of using the ‘grammar translation’ method is…practically synonymous with English education in Japan” (1993, p. 64). And, a survey conducted by the Research Group for College English Teaching in Japan (cited in Hino, 1988, p. 46) reported that among its 1,012 Japanese university and high school teacher respondents nationwide, 70 to 80 percent used yakudoku in their EFL classes. Despite its seeming prevalence in EFL education in Japan, little detailed, descriptive research on yakudoku English instruction in Japanese high school classrooms is to be found. Complaints and commentaries about its effects on second language reading, second language learning, and secondary and tertiary school curricula abound in the literature. But while these articles are generally relevant and cogent, they lack descriptive data taken from classrooms in which the methodology is used (Bamford, 1993; Bryant II, 1956; Henrichsen, 1989; Hildebrant and Giles, 1980; Hino, 1988; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Education I R search and Improvement EDUCATIONAL I L RES0URCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) …I-I-his document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY P. I C-re.t1/4_ OviStA. 2 TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES BEST COPY AVAILABLE INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Horibe, 1995; Januzzi, 1994; Law, 1994; Law, 1995; Mitsuo, 1996; Sheen, 1993). The purpose of this research project is to define yakudoku, and describe how it affects the English reading of two EFL teachers and their students in a high school in Japan. Central to our understanding of EFL yakudoku education in Japan is a detailed account of the instructional practices of Japanese high school English teachers, and their beliefs that fuel these practices. From there, we can postulate how yakudoku fits in with second language reading theory. Therefore, as a first step, the research questions are: 1. What are the instructional practices of two “academic” high school teachers in their yakudoku EFL classrooms? 2. How can the beliefs these teachers hold towards yakudoku EFL education be characterized? Yakudoku and Grammar/Translation Yakudoku is often likened and compared to the grammar/translation method of foreign language instruction, as in Hino: “the GrammarTranslation Method in the West, which grew out of the teaching of classical languages such as Latin and Greek, presents a close resemblance to the Yakudoku Method” (1983, p. 53). Henrichsen provides a similar definition, although with a spin, “Another Japanese language-teaching tradition that ran counter to the reforms…was a Japanese-style “grammar translation” approach called yakudoku” (1989, p. 104). The grammar/translation method, as described by Howatt (1984) is a method that developed in nineteenth Europe through a collision of the older study of classical literary texts in higher education with the changing realities of a rapidly growing public secondary education movement for young
