The Tokyo Metropolitan Government said Thursday it will open a language immersion facility in Koto Ward in September 2018 to raise the English proficiency of children ahead of the 2020 Olympics.

The draft version of new curriculum guidelines for elementary and junior high schools unveiled by the education ministry calls for improved teaching in each school subject so that students will acquire the habit of in-depth learning through proactive efforts and dialogue. It also calls for upgrading English to an official subject for fifth- and sixth-graders, and making computer programing a….Read more

Currently, English is categorized as part of “foreign language learning activities” [in Japan’s elementary school curriculum], and school children learn English through songs and games. From 2020, however, English will become an official subject for fifth and sixth graders. According to a dispatcher of assistant language teachers to elementary schools, disparities are already appearing in children’s academic abilities. “There is….Read more

TOKYO — Students in Japanese elementary schools will start learning English in third grade, two years sooner than now, under a proposal announced Tuesday by the education ministry.   From fiscal 2020, third graders will initially acquaint themselves with the language through listening and speaking as fifth graders currently do. Fifth and sixth graders will learn to read and write….Read more

TOKYO, Feb. 14, Kyodo — Japanese elementary schools will start English education earlier and elementary and junior high schools are told to teach in classes that two disputed island groups are Japanese territory under new curriculum guidelines, the education ministry said Tuesday.   It is the first time that the ministry decided to state in the legally binding guidelines that….Read more

The Education Ministry’s current curriculum guidelines already stress developing students’ English-language skills in a balanced way across the four basic communication skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The next set of guidelines will make English an official subject in the elementary school curriculum and will call for junior high school English classes to be taught in English. English is….Read more

On Jan. 23, the Textbook Authorization and Research Council of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) released a draft of discussion points concerning the inspection of English audio materials for elementary school children when textbooks used in elementary schools are screened in fiscal 2018 and beyond. Since the textbook screening is limited to printed material, MEXT will consider setting….Read more

Tokyo, Dec. 21 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese government panel on Wednesday recommended a drastic review of school subjects under the next curriculum guidelines to be implemented in stages from fiscal 2020, including the adoption of English as a regular subject for elementary school fifth- and sixth-graders. The Central Council for Education at the education ministry also called for introducing activities to….Read more

A growing number of juku [cram schools] are sharing professional teaching skills with regular school teachers. Juku teachers are not only well-versed in effective methods of teaching students but also in handling parents and guardians. Recently, demand for skill support is increasing for incorporating active learning and other new learning methods in the classroom.   Aeon, which runs English-language schools in Japan, started….Read more