Tag - english

 
 

ENGLISH

COMMUNITY
Jan 19, 2014
Team-teaching rules can lead to confusing situations
At present, Japanese labor law restricts foreign native English-speaking teachers, referred to as ALTs (assistant language teachers) from team-teaching with Japanese classroom teachers. Students get the short end of the stick, as team teaching is considered a highly effective foreign-language teaching...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Jan 12, 2014
No lack of ideas on a course of action for English education
Last week's Learning Curve column, "English fluency hopes rest on an education overhaul," looked at the persistent mismatch between the education ministry's stated goals and the actual outcomes of English language education in Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 10, 2014
Teachers must nurture critical thinking, confidence in English for a shot at 2020 goals
Until English teachers start developing critical thinking skills in the classroom and emphasizing confidence over competence, students will never be able to converse with native English speakers 'at a viable level of proficiency.'
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jan 10, 2014
Educator with a mission sends out support from Hiroshima
Some people seem to have a knack for turning their hand to anything that comes along and, moreover, making a success of it. This is certainly the case with Hiroshima-based Adam Beck. Over the years, the American has been a children's theater director, an English teacher, a newspaper columnist and the...
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Jan 5, 2014
English fluency hopes rest on an education overhaul
Ringing in 2014, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has a dream: One nation that will actively re-engage with the global marketplace.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT ENGLISH
Jan 3, 2014
Immersion tactics come with risks and benefits
Some parents opt to immerse their children at a young age in a multilingual environment, hoping they will become not only bilingual but also have new avenues of opportunity open up.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT ENGLISH
Jan 2, 2014
Schools fret about assistant teachers ahead of proposed 2020 reforms
With education reform expected to place a great deal of emphasis on English, officials worry about the uneven quality of foreign assistant language teachers.
JAPAN / GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT ENGLISH
Dec 31, 2013
English to get 2020 push but teachers not on same page
A reform plan released in mid-December by the education ministry looks to bolster English study from elementary to high school from the 2020 academic year to pursue globalization.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Dec 29, 2013
Education in 2013: an 'A' for ambition, but Japan will have to do better
Will 2014 be the year we start to see a genuinely forward-thinking, globalized outlook for education in Japan? The rapidly changing global economy, regional tensions and shrinking population suggest huge challenges await the country's youth on their emergence into the job market in the coming years.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 27, 2013
Japan should take English lessons from Philippines
English is an official language of the Philippines but this does not mean that everyone understands or speaks English. However, it does mean that exposure to the language is so widespread that those who do speak it can communicate quite fluently.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2013
Book showcases foreigners, Japanese affected by 3/11
The earthquake and tsunami that hit the Tohoku region on March 11, 2011, left more than 18,000 people dead or missing, including 30 non-Japanese.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2013
English education set to get serious
Junior high school English teachers should conduct classes exclusively in English and be periodically tested on their skills, and formal English instruction should start in the fifth grade from 2020 under education reforms.
EDITORIALS
Dec 7, 2013
English teachers to study abroad
In a bold move to raise the level of English instruction, the Tokyo Board of Education plans to start sending its junior high and high school teachers to an English-speaking country for three months of study.
JAPAN
Nov 26, 2013
Tokyo-area teachers of English face three-month honing home-stay abroad
The Tokyo Board of Education is planning to require that all young English teachers at its junior and high schools study and live in English-speaking countries for three months.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 22, 2013
Honda makes English official language for global talks
Honda Motor Co. made English the official language for global meetings as the carmaker shifts decision-making power to regional units.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 15, 2013
A war of words over butchered English
The student wanted to make a brochure in English, aimed at attracting foreign tourists to Shiraishi. The English title of her presentation was “Come on my Island!”
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 8, 2013
Costly challenge of globalizing Japan's labor force
Japan is way behind in the race to foster professionals who can operate across national, cultural and linguistic barriers. Solutions are not cheap, but the cost of not doing anything is higher.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Nov 3, 2013
Six years following bankruptcy, Nova boosts the brand
In September, Tokyo-based Jibun Mirai Associe Co. (JMA) announced it would adopt Nova as its official corporate name — 19 months after it acquired the eikaiwa (English conversation) school chain from its previous operators, and almost six years after its well-publicized downfall.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2013
Indulge in 'Morning English' seminars with breakfast
What better way to start the morning than with a plate of eggs Benedict — made from organic eggs, of course — a cup of coffee and a copy of the new Japan Times/International New York Times?
JAPAN
Oct 23, 2013
Required English from third grade eyed
The education ministry is considering moving up the starting year of obligatory English-language education in elementary schools to the third grade from the current fifth grade by around 2020.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan