Cash problems for Japan's English(50759)-英语教育-(158)-21英语网

本文作者： 21ST

日本:小学英语教育遭遇财政危机

据日本《读卖新闻》报道，最新调查显示，日本小学英语教学又现危机。虽然很多学校正在积极“备战”英语必修课计划，但是教育经费不足使得他们难以招聘到以英语为母语的外籍教师，只能让本国英语教师仓促上阵。专家担心这样的举措将对教学质量产生不良影响。

THOUGH many cities in Japan are planning to employ native English speakers to help fifth- and sixth-graders learn the language, a recent survey shows that some cash-strapped local governments are reluctant to do so for financial reasons, The Yomiuri Shimbun has reported.

The news paper survey polled education boards in Tokyo’s 23 wards and 17 cities. About 40 percent of respondents said they would hold 35 or more English lessons each year, or at least one lesson per week from April, ahead of the subject’s official launch in 2011. There are 16 cities around Japan that are planning to introduce similar programs, including Kyoto, Saitama, Chiba, Yokohama and Kitakyushu.

The survey also found that, in some areas of Japan, the amounts of resources being allocated to the English-teaching program are insufficient. Some local governments cannot afford to hire English-speaking teachers, which will seriously dampen the effectiveness of the lessons.

For instance, while Tokyo’s Minato Ward plans to have English lessons for fifth and sixth graders as often as twice a week from April, and can afford to spend 5,860,000 yen ($59,300) for one school on average, Osaka only plans to have nine English classes a year at each school and will spend an average of only 120,000 yen ($1,200) per school, about 49 times less than Minato. Yamagata Prefecture’s Shinjo municipal government, which has been told by the Japanese Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry to restructure its finances, has scheduled 15 or more English classes at its 10 primary schools, but has no plans to employ assistant language teachers.

“The most effective method for students to cultivate English pronunciation and listening skills is via the speaking and body language of assistant language teachers,” Mejiro University professor Takashi Tada said. “If the classes are badly managed (by inexperienced teachers), students will come to hate English.”