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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.
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 3
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.
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 4
A Quick Look Around
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 5
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)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 6
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)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 7
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)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 8
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)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 9
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)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 10
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)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 11
"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)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 12
"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)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 13
"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)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 14
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)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 15
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)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 16
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)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 17
From Here
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 18
Learning English: What for? (1)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 19
Learning English: What for? (2)
0. No apparent
purposes;
1. General purposes;
2. Instrumental
purposes;
3. Integrative
purposes; or
4. Specific purposes.
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 20
"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)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 21
"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)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 22
"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)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 23
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
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 24
English education:
When & where?
Adult
Tertiary
Colleges &
universities
Students
Auditors
Vocational-
technical
schools
Skills
Trades
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 25
English education:
When & where?
Adult
Other
Self-
development
plans and
activities;
'Conversation'
schools; or
Distance
education
Anywhere
Anytime -
almost!
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 26
"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)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 27
Bridging the gaps
Getting more
input:
Browsing,
Listening,
Reading, &
Viewing.
Making more
output:
Producing;
Speaking; &
Writing.
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 28
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)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 29
To Get There
You'll need:
Vision,
Passion, &
Action. (Murphey, 1998)
Based upon:
World views;
Local
knowledge; &
Personal
objectives.
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 30
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.
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 31
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.
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 32
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)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 33
And Back Again: Virtually (1)
A virtual high
school...
with real high
goals:
Excitement,
Interest, &
Opportunity.
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 34
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)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 35
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)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 36
Virtual High Goals (2)
"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)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 37
Virtual High Goals (3)
"Give our
students the
confidence to
communicate in
English,
both with
native speakers
and other non-
native speakers
alike." (Super Virtual
HS, 2005)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 38
Educated, pro-active citizens
Awareness of
issues;
Concerns about
the world
around us;
Knowledge of
histories;
Visions of the future, &
Passions for action.
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 39
"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).
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 40
"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)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 41
Ability to use English @ work
Occupation: Student
Major: Administrative studies
Responsibilities:
Class work:
Pair work
Group work
Class discussion
Homework
Self-development
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 42
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
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 43
Administrative studies:
Goals in focus (2)
Reflect for a
moment about
the introductory
questions:
If so, how so?
If not, why?
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 44
Administrative studies:
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
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 45
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!
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 46
Administrative studies:
Goals in focus (4)
Think back:
In how many
languages can
you answer those
introductory
questions right
now?
Which languages?
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 47
Administrative studies:
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?
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 48
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
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 49
Food for Thought (2)
A key question:
How necessary
are English &
other languages
in administrative
studies, and
in careers and
lives beyond?
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 50
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;
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 51
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.
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 52
Model actions (1)
Kumamoto celebrated
its 20th anniversary of the sister-state relationship
with Montana in 2002; and
has "strengthen[ed] ties through personalinteractions: companionship,
support, &
good hosting." (Valgenti, 2002)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 53
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)
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 54
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...
2005.09.09 Journey in English (Beaufait) 55
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)