IN traditional foreign language courses, the language is the subject. But with the immersion method, the target language is merely the medium through which other subjects are taught. An increasing number of universities in Japan have been trying this approach, teaching specialized subjects in English, The Daily Yomiuri has reported.
According to Japan’s Education, Science and Technology Ministry, 194 universities — or 27 percent of the nation’s higher educational institutions — offered a variety of non-language undergraduate courses taught in English during the 2007 academic year.
Osaka Jogakuin College is one of them. Since its establishment, the school has fused its English programs with specialized courses. About 60 percent of freshman and sophomore courses are conducted in English — students are encouraged to develop their English skills, while at the same time, they learn the basics of their specialized studies in Japanese. Ninety percent of the courses for juniors and seniors are taught exclusively in the language.
Professor Eiko Kato at Osaka Jogakuin stresses that the school does not only focus on fostering students’ listening comprehension and speaking skills. “We also aim to develop their reading and writing skills in English through a variety of approaches, such as quizzes and academic writing,” the professor said. “We’d like them to have well-rounded English skills that enable them to express their own opinions in the language.”
In another example, Kwansei Gakuin University’s School of Policy Studies offers more than 20 specialized courses in English, including international relations and organizational theory of global firms. To enable students to qualify for such courses, the department offers freshmen and sophomores four weekly sessions in English communication, which are taught by native speakers.
However, the department has found a great disparity in freshman English levels over recent years, according to professor Masaru Honda at Kwansei Gakuin. He said this was partly because universities have been offering a number of screening options to prospective students, whereby some students can be enrolled without taking traditional English exams. “So we need to keep making an effort to tailor our programs to the needs of the individual,” Honda said.
