Abstract
While the ability to think for oneself is essential in this rapidly changing world, it has not been encouraged in Japan’s traditional social and therefore its educational culture. Although the government of Japan has issued policies to engage students in independent thinking for almost two decades, high school and university students’ responses to surveys about asking questions and expressing opinions in class suggest that students do not think deeply in the classroom. However, careful analysis of the students' responses could indicate that (1) students in Japan have difficulties expressing questions and ideas verbally because these activities do not agree with the values with which they have been raised, (2) students are not fully taught the different values reflected in these activities at school, and (3) very few Japanese teachers are able to teach values of which they have little direct experience themselves, nor can they encourage students to practice those activities. Evidence suggests that classes in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) offer the best opportunity for students to overcome these barriers and gain experience in asking questions and expressing opinions.
Highlights
Since the turn of the century the government and business leaders in Japan have been saying that we need to teach students to think, express themselves, and judge by themselves, because the world is changing rapidly and teaching knowledge alone does not give students the ability to succeed in this globalized community
The ability to "think," did not receive much attention in Japan until 1998, when the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) released the new Course of Study, which emphasized the importance of activities with "thinking." according to the results of a survey conducted in 2014 (Okada, 2015), sixteen years after the 1998 Course of Study was issued, the introduction of thinking activities into classrooms had apparently done little to change the nature of teaching in high schools in Japan
The author, an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) (English as a foreign language) teacher in university in Tokyo, undertook a new survey to assess the role of thinking activities in higher education in Japan, with the aim of understanding whether these activities are successful in encouraging independent thinking in students
Summary
Since the turn of the century the government and business leaders in Japan have been saying that we need to teach students to think, express themselves, and judge by themselves, because the world is changing rapidly and teaching knowledge alone does not give students the ability to succeed in this globalized community. The ability to "think," did not receive much attention in Japan until 1998, when the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) released the new Course of Study (guidelines for all elementary and secondary schools), which emphasized the importance of activities with "thinking." according to the results of a survey conducted in 2014 (Okada, 2015), sixteen years after the 1998 Course of Study was issued, the introduction of thinking activities into classrooms had apparently done little to change the nature of teaching in high schools in Japan In this situation, in order to nurture students to be successful in the twenty-first century, it is crucial and urgent for university teachers to teach students to think deeply and independently they tend to pay more attention and spend more time on researching than teaching (The Nikkei, 2015, April 7, p.34). She will discuss what hinders Japanese students’ ability to think independently and express themselves, and suggest the role of EFL teachers in nurturing these skills
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