{"id":34732,"date":"2014-04-23T10:14:59","date_gmt":"2014-04-23T14:14:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/?p=34732"},"modified":"2014-04-23T10:15:51","modified_gmt":"2014-04-23T14:15:51","slug":"japan-times-osaka-embraces-english-reformation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/2014\/04\/23\/japan-times-osaka-embraces-english-reformation\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan Times: Osaka Embraces English Reformation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former AJET Chair\u00a0Matthew Cook<\/a> (Osaka-fu<\/a>, 2007-12)<\/b>\u00a0<\/strong>has been heavily involved in this cutting edge effort to improve Osaka’s English education system and is quoted in the article.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Osaka embraces English Reformation<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n

http:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/community\/2014\/03\/30\/issues\/osaka-embraces-english-reformation\/#.U1fJOmRARzE<\/a><\/p>\n

BY TERU CLAVEL<\/a><\/p>\n

While Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto\u2019s controversial political antics have increasingly drawn criticism, little attention has been paid to how his leadership has prompted the most progressive reforms of English-language education in the nation.\u00a0Hashimoto, who served as Osaka\u2019s governor from 2008-11, made possible the appointment of fellow Waseda Law School graduate Toru Nakahara as superintendent of the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education, charging him with the task of empowering students to compete on a global stage.<\/p>\n

Only in Osaka will students in the public school system have the opportunity to start preparing for the TOEFL iBT \u2014 an internationally recognized English-language proficiency exam for non-native speakers administered over the Internet that tests reading, writing, speaking and listening skills for entrance to English-speaking university overseas \u2014 in grade one of primary school.<\/p>\n

With the urging of Mayor Hashimoto, Nakahara \u2014 who also graduated from the University of Michigan Law School and was a practicing attorney at a California firm for 10 years \u2014 left the private sector and took a substantial pay cut to become the principal of Izumi High School in Osaka in 2010. In 2013, Nakahara became Japan\u2019s youngest-ever superintendent at age 42, overseeing 1,600-plus schools, and he formed what is known as the English Reformation Project Team.<\/p>\n

Nakahara\u2019s accomplishments in the United States and at Izumi High School have led him to be recognized as an education innovator.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing I noticed when I was in Ann Arbor (Michigan) was the necessity to have English-speaking abilities, otherwise nobody outside of Japan is even going to acknowledge you,\u201d he says. \u201cWe Japanese do not have a strong ability to debate with others. We lack opportunities to debate throughout our education, and we are not good at logical and critical thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Izumi, he started a TOEFL preparation course that took place outside school hours and attracted more than 200 students \u2014 some of whom went on to U.S. universities or the international sections of those in Japan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether you like it or not, you need to deal with other cultures, and you need to deal with people outside of Japan,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

For example, referencing current Asia-Pacific tensions, he continues: \u201cWe have land issues with China and Korea \u2014 we need to resolve issues with them through direct in-person communication without a translator. It would make a big impact if we spoke directly to the Korean president and high-ranking Chinese officers who do speak English.\u201d<\/p>\n

To begin within the next year, the four major changes to Osaka\u2019s English-language curriculum will be: dedicated TOEFL iBT preparation, a comprehensive English program starting in grade one, the hiring of Super English Teachers and the acceptance of third-party English exam scores (such as the TOEFL iBT) for high school entrance exams.<\/p>\n

No other public school curriculum in Japan includes preparation for the TOEFL, which increases the opportunities of Japan\u2019s next generation and will in turn help Japan grow globally.<\/p>\n

Nakahara says: \u201cAs educators, we have to give our students two tickets: one to get them to international universities outside of Japan and the other for domestic universities. I want to give them a choice. And to become prospective leaders, we have to educate them so that they can clear a base TOEFL score of 80, or 100 for top-notch universities including Harvard.\u201d (The TOEFL is scored out of 120).<\/p>\n

According to Matthew Cook<\/strong>, a full-time member of the English Reformation Project Team and the first non-Japanese civil servant on Osaka\u2019s Board of Education: \u201cApproximately eight of the top 15 schools in Osaka Prefecture will introduce special TOEFL iBT courses into their curriculum,\u201d starting in April 2015.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe following April of 2016, approximately seven more top schools will do the same,\u201d Cook says. \u201cThese special courses will be for 40-80 students in each school who voluntarily enroll in these courses to significantly increase their English levels.\u201d<\/p>\n

This program is meant to create an English-major stream for those looking to study overseas, similar to the science and medical track meant for those students hoping to attend medical school.<\/p>\n

To attain high scores on the TOEFL exam, the Osaka Board of Education recognizes it must work backward and chart an English-language course that starts in primary school grade one \u2014 earlier than the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology\u2019s (MEXT) currently mandated grade-five start. A pilot phonics program for approximately 20 elementary schools that elect to participate will begin in September this year and will run through March 2016 with hopes to expand to all Osaka prefectural elementary schools thereafter.<\/p>\n

This curriculum, Cook explains, takes a holistic approach to English-language education.<\/p>\n

\u201cFocusing on the content and the curriculum, specific vocabulary is repeated and recycled over and over between content mediums. For example, students will hear phrases in songs then in a story,\u201d he says. \u201cWhat we are doing is more strategic than anywhere else I have seen at this point, and we are starting from scratch.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the middle school level, approximately seven schools will participate in intensive English reading programs. \u201cThese schools will each be given a budget for buying extensive reading libraries, as well as for teacher training and support,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Another unprecedented move is the plan to hire Super English Teachers (SETs) for the 2015 academic year to teach at these pre-selected top high schools. According to Cook, these teachers will be \u201cthe best and brightest Japanese, English-speaking citizens\u2026 who have TOEFL iBT scores of over 100 points or an IELTS score above 7.5.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Osaka Board of Education will grant special teaching licenses to these candidates, and they will teach for three- to five-year contracted terms and be paid approximately $74,000 per year. In contrast, Japanese teachers in their mid-20s earn approximately $44,000 per year. These SETs will also be expected to have regular teacher responsibilities including homeroom and club supervision.<\/p>\n

To incentivize students to prepare for the TOEFL, and to align English-language education objectives across grade levels, in 2016 the Osaka Board of Education will accept scores from the TOEFL iBT, IELTS or EIKEN English certification tests in addition to the existing English entrance exams administered by the Osaka prefectural high schools. If students choose to submit their results from these other tests, the board will take the higher of the two scores (based on an equivalency chart). Cook explains that these three tests will be accepted because they assess all four language skills, including speaking. \u201cEach of these exams has been given a scoring rubric that has an equivalent score on the regular English entrance exams,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

The educators behind these reforms can be called mavericks. They are not including foreign native-English-speaking ALT\u2019s (Assistant Language Teachers) in their plans and are surpassing MEXT\u2019s English curriculum that Nakahara refers to as \u201cthe minimum threshold\u201d\u00a0Cook goes as far as to say: \u201cWhat MEXT has been doing is a farce. They are talking about changing English language six years from now in 2020 for the Olympics. We are talking about changing things now.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the works are plans to include tablet computers in high schools to maximize in- and out-of-classroom time via the flipped-classroom model, to implement student assessments that hold teachers accountable, to increase ties with abroad and overseas summer study opportunities at top English-speaking universities and to hold regular parent-education programs.<\/p>\n

Such radical changes, however, do not come without challenges. Nakahara says he has learned that many current teachers are used to \u201cold-fashioned\u201d methods of teaching English and are resistant to change. Another potential snag may come from a change in political leadership \u2014 the Osaka Board of Education\u2019s budget has been supported and approved by the incumbent Governor of Osaka, Ichiro Matsui. Last, Nakahara mentions how he feels the media is not always supportive and has \u201cfixed ideas\u201d that can send a negative message to the general public about the reforms.<\/p>\n

Professor Robert W. Aspinall of Shiga University and author of \u201cInternational Education Policy in Japan in an Age of Globalisation and Risk,\u201d supports the efforts in Osaka \u2014 he has been an advocate of creating separate tracks for concentrated English study and incorporating an exam that tests for English speaking into the curriculum. However, he expresses concern about the teaching qualifications of SETs and questions whether their higher salaries will alienate other teachers in a culture with a strong egalitarian ethic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe creation of any kind of elite track needs to be done with great care. Teaching is actually very collaborative \u2014 it\u2019s people working together all of the time,\u201d Aspinall says. \u201cYou can\u2019t just parachute in one or two teachers \u2014 you need to get all the teachers on board.\u201d<\/p>\n

It seems Osaka is light years ahead of its closest metropolitan counterpart \u2014 Tokyo \u2014 where the English-language education discussion rests on the report of an advisory committee, with plans to raise numbers of ALTs and increase opportunities for native-Japanese English-language teachers to study abroad. Therefore, the greatest possible outcome may be, as Aspinall says: \u201cIf they overcome some of the hurdles of Japan\u2019s broken English-language education system in Osaka, then that could have a sideways influence on other local education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similarly Nakahara, the mastermind behind the plan concludes: \u201cI hope other cities and prefectures will at least take a moment to consider whether or not what Osaka is trying to do is beneficial to the future of children.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former AJET Chair\u00a0Matthew Cook (Osaka-fu, 2007-12)\u00a0has been heavily involved in this cutting edge effort to improve Osaka’s English education system and is quoted in the article. Osaka embraces English Reformation http:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/community\/2014\/03\/30\/issues\/osaka-embraces-english-reformation\/#.U1fJOmRARzE BY TERU CLAVEL While Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto\u2019s controversial political antics have increasingly drawn criticism, little attention has been paid to how his leadership […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[30,318,177,319,304,282],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-japan-trends","category-jets-in-the-news","category-language-study","category-local-government","category-notable-jet-alums","category-jet-roi"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pkZ7m-92c","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34732"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34732\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34734,"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34732\/revisions\/34734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}