Abstract
This is a partial report on junior and senior high school Japanese teachers of English and changes in their beliefs and practices after attending a 4-month program of language and pedagogical study in Canada. Findings from this case study suggest that this group of Japanese teachers could effectively apply what they had learned abroad if they were not bound by practical constraints, external influences, or if they were teaching specifically communication-oriented classes.
Highlights
In recent years, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology has been sponsoring junior and senior high school teachers of English to study English language and Communicative Language Teaching pedagogy in English-medium countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada
Mr T. seems to have had some success, but felt a need for much modification and Ms D. seems to have been the least able to incorporate what she had learned in the program. These results suggest that some teachers in this group were constrained from adopting CLT methodologies into their classroom practices due to practical constraints, external influences, and other factors such as student levels and teacher transfers
This study suggests that practical constraints, external influences, and other factors such as school levels and school transfers may continue to constrain JTEs from implementing what they have learned abroad
Summary
The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (hereinafter referred to as “the Ministry” or “MEXT”) has been sponsoring junior and senior high school teachers of English (hereinafter referred to as “JTEs”) to study English language and Communicative Language Teaching (hereinafter referred to as “CLT”) pedagogy in English-medium countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. A study examining the introduction of CLT in South Korea listed a number of countries (Japan among them) which had limited. VOLUME 11, NUMBER 2, DECEMBER 2009: 99-116 success in doing so and summarizes the reasons why (Li, 1998). These constraints have been categorized by the author using Lamie’s (2001) “impact area” framework, developed to highlight them within the Japanese context. Wider context of curriculum; traditional teaching methods; class sizes & schedule; resources and equipment; lack of CLT texts; students’ not accustomed to CLT; difficulty in evaluation; too much preparation time; grammar-based examinations; lack of exposure to authentic language; grammar-based syllabus; insufficient funding. Low status of CLT teachers; students don’t perceive a need for it; student resistance, due to CLT practices being different from traditional teacher/student interactions; lack of support for government agencies, colleagues, etc
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