Speak Up / A foreign take on primary school English
Nabin Panda Special to The Daily Yomiuri
The question of whether English should be made a compulsory subject at primary schools has been the subject of much debate in this newspaper. The debate has principally produced three schools of thought.
First, the sanseiha (supporters' group), consisting largely of Japanese education ministry personnel and their advisers, advocate that English instruction should be extended to the primary school level. It maintains that younger minds at that stage can acquire a second language better and more effortlessly, at least with regard to the pronunciation patterns of English.
In contrast, the second group, the hantaiha (opposition group), is dead against introduction, alleging that it will undermine Japanese culture and identity, and affect first language proficiency.
Then there is the shinchoha (discreet group), which advocates a prudent path; it does not resist the introduction of English but proposes that appropriate groundwork--trained teachers and a sound curriculum--should be prepared prior to any change.
In looking at these arguments, even an independent observer like this writer, cannot but feel like giving his own commentary on this vital issue.
Whether English should be taught to Japanese primary school students rests on whether Japanese education policymakers want to append a new subject to the curriculum.
Around the world, conventional primary school curriculums concentrate on subjects like mother tongue language studies, mathematics and science, with the conviction that language will make the pupil literate, mathematics will develop her analytical capability and science will introduce her to nature and society at large.
However, with the advent of globalization a new theme has come to the fore, where individuals and nations come in contact with different individuals and nations, where they are expected to be understanding and tolerant of the culture of their counterparts. They are required to appreciate the intricacies of the different culture. And since language is the main carrier of culture, they first need to acquire it.
A second language helps establish a bi- or multi-cultural bent of mind. Hence, the Headmaster's Association of Europe advocated making a modern language a core obligatory subject alongside the ones mentioned above.
This notion captured the imagination of the sanseiha, who constructed upon it the national strategy of cultivating knowledge of English among the Japanese people by introducing it as a foreign language starting at primary school.
Why did the ministry select English for instruction? Under the present curriculum, schools are free to teach any foreign language of their choice, and they are doing so. The university entrance examinee, too, has a list of languages to pick from.
But now that English will be made mandatory even at primary school--English was made compulsory in high school way back in 1973--no student will ever study any other language than English. In other words, foreign language education will be narrowed down to only English. In socio-linguistic terminology, English will earn the status of an official language, which is paradoxical when Japanese itself has no such official status under the law of this country. Further, since it is compulsory for children to attend primary and middle school, virtually everyone will study English.
But there is nothing untoward about this. The ministry has taken a pragmatic stand and is doing what should it have done. For historic reasons, English has become paramount in Japanese society as it has elsewhere. Recall how soon English replaced Dutch in the closing years of the Edo period (1603-1867). During the Meiji era (1868-1912), the oligarchs under Education Minister Arinori Mori even suggested replacing Japanese with English. In the years immediately after World War II, pupils thronged private English classes after school hours.
The same trend continues today. one does not have to be an English supremacist to see the predominance of the language in every domain of Japanese life. Advertisements and lyrics in pop songs often have one or two English words in them. Japanese universities entice foreign students by telling them that they can study in English; no other foreign language is a medium of instruction. English is known for its vast impact on the katakana corpus. In practice, Japan has adopted English as a second language.
It is from these perspectives that the ministry apparently has chosen English as the second language to be taught at primary schools.
There is an international connotation to the selection too. Many countries, including some in Asia, have made it their national mission to learn English. It has become a sine qua non of their mounting economic affluence. It is a mistake to believe that Chinese and Indians have captured the IT market solely for their analytical capabilities. In reality, it is their analytical capability coupled with English knowledge that has made their success possible. The hantaiha needs to appreciate this fact if they are serious about maintaining Japan's position as a world economic power.
The shinchoha are applauded for their concern for the language rights of foreign children in Japan. In Tokyo and other areas, both governmental and nongovernmental organizations are striving hard to bring Brazilian, Korean and Chinese children into the Japanese mainstream by teaching them in their mother tongue at primary school level.
However, Japan's structural problems--the low birthrate and graying population--and global economic trends ought to force Japan to open itself to a multitude of nationalities before long. The present method of teaching Japanese through their native languages will fail to work then for want of finance and manpower.
This means there is a need to build a Japanese workforce who can communicate with foreigners in a common language--English. And since there are many Japanese who do not go to university but will still need English ability in the course of their life, the language will have to be taught during the compulsory education period.
But then there is the argument that the Japanese language must be saved from contamination with English. In this desire to maintain linguistic purity, Japan is just like France, and I love it for that. But that does not mean that Japan never saw any need to learn English. Rather, it deconstructed English--it used English as a tool to represent itself to the world, while still retaining its own values and traditions. Japan, moreover, is the only country in Asia where higher research can be pursued using mother-tongue material only.
Introducing English at primary school will not dilute this situation. Look at the way English language programs on TV use Noh dances performed while introducing simple English vocabulary and sentences--how can this be said to have polluted children's minds? Such evidence should dispel the anxiety of those who are passionately concerned about linguistic hegemonism.
English is indeed a hegemonic language. But there are ways to contain it. It cannot be stopped by not studying it; as the saying goes, study it to check its domination. Alternatively, the other way is to spread one's own languages around the world. Like China's Confucius Institute, Japan can also try to spread its language fervently, albeit with caution. Being an economic leader, the country has the potential and standing to execute this. Efforts should be made to educate immigrants to this country in Japanese even before they move here.
The ideal should be to integrate English-speaking Japanese and Japanese-speaking foreigners to enable them to lead trouble-free lives in Japanese society.
Panda teaches Japanese language at the University of Delhi, India. Presently, he is pursuing his doctorate in foreign language policy in secondary education in India at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies. He can be contacted at doc07001@stu.grips.ac.jp
(Jul. 27, 2007)
Nabin Panda Special to The Daily Yomiuri
The question of whether English should be made a compulsory subject at primary schools has been the subject of much debate in this newspaper. The debate has principally produced three schools of thought.
First, the sanseiha (supporters' group), consisting largely of Japanese education ministry personnel and their advisers, advocate that English instruction should be extended to the primary school level. It maintains that younger minds at that stage can acquire a second language better and more effortlessly, at least with regard to the pronunciation patterns of English.
In contrast, the second group, the hantaiha (opposition group), is dead against introduction, alleging that it will undermine Japanese culture and identity, and affect first language proficiency.
Then there is the shinchoha (discreet group), which advocates a prudent path; it does not resist the introduction of English but proposes that appropriate groundwork--trained teachers and a sound curriculum--should be prepared prior to any change.
In looking at these arguments, even an independent observer like this writer, cannot but feel like giving his own commentary on this vital issue.
Whether English should be taught to Japanese primary school students rests on whether Japanese education policymakers want to append a new subject to the curriculum.
Around the world, conventional primary school curriculums concentrate on subjects like mother tongue language studies, mathematics and science, with the conviction that language will make the pupil literate, mathematics will develop her analytical capability and science will introduce her to nature and society at large.
However, with the advent of globalization a new theme has come to the fore, where individuals and nations come in contact with different individuals and nations, where they are expected to be understanding and tolerant of the culture of their counterparts. They are required to appreciate the intricacies of the different culture. And since language is the main carrier of culture, they first need to acquire it.
A second language helps establish a bi- or multi-cultural bent of mind. Hence, the Headmaster's Association of Europe advocated making a modern language a core obligatory subject alongside the ones mentioned above.
This notion captured the imagination of the sanseiha, who constructed upon it the national strategy of cultivating knowledge of English among the Japanese people by introducing it as a foreign language starting at primary school.
Why did the ministry select English for instruction? Under the present curriculum, schools are free to teach any foreign language of their choice, and they are doing so. The university entrance examinee, too, has a list of languages to pick from.
But now that English will be made mandatory even at primary school--English was made compulsory in high school way back in 1973--no student will ever study any other language than English. In other words, foreign language education will be narrowed down to only English. In socio-linguistic terminology, English will earn the status of an official language, which is paradoxical when Japanese itself has no such official status under the law of this country. Further, since it is compulsory for children to attend primary and middle school, virtually everyone will study English.
But there is nothing untoward about this. The ministry has taken a pragmatic stand and is doing what should it have done. For historic reasons, English has become paramount in Japanese society as it has elsewhere. Recall how soon English replaced Dutch in the closing years of the Edo period (1603-1867). During the Meiji era (1868-1912), the oligarchs under Education Minister Arinori Mori even suggested replacing Japanese with English. In the years immediately after World War II, pupils thronged private English classes after school hours.
The same trend continues today. one does not have to be an English supremacist to see the predominance of the language in every domain of Japanese life. Advertisements and lyrics in pop songs often have one or two English words in them. Japanese universities entice foreign students by telling them that they can study in English; no other foreign language is a medium of instruction. English is known for its vast impact on the katakana corpus. In practice, Japan has adopted English as a second language.
It is from these perspectives that the ministry apparently has chosen English as the second language to be taught at primary schools.
There is an international connotation to the selection too. Many countries, including some in Asia, have made it their national mission to learn English. It has become a sine qua non of their mounting economic affluence. It is a mistake to believe that Chinese and Indians have captured the IT market solely for their analytical capabilities. In reality, it is their analytical capability coupled with English knowledge that has made their success possible. The hantaiha needs to appreciate this fact if they are serious about maintaining Japan's position as a world economic power.
The shinchoha are applauded for their concern for the language rights of foreign children in Japan. In Tokyo and other areas, both governmental and nongovernmental organizations are striving hard to bring Brazilian, Korean and Chinese children into the Japanese mainstream by teaching them in their mother tongue at primary school level.
However, Japan's structural problems--the low birthrate and graying population--and global economic trends ought to force Japan to open itself to a multitude of nationalities before long. The present method of teaching Japanese through their native languages will fail to work then for want of finance and manpower.
This means there is a need to build a Japanese workforce who can communicate with foreigners in a common language--English. And since there are many Japanese who do not go to university but will still need English ability in the course of their life, the language will have to be taught during the compulsory education period.
But then there is the argument that the Japanese language must be saved from contamination with English. In this desire to maintain linguistic purity, Japan is just like France, and I love it for that. But that does not mean that Japan never saw any need to learn English. Rather, it deconstructed English--it used English as a tool to represent itself to the world, while still retaining its own values and traditions. Japan, moreover, is the only country in Asia where higher research can be pursued using mother-tongue material only.
Introducing English at primary school will not dilute this situation. Look at the way English language programs on TV use Noh dances performed while introducing simple English vocabulary and sentences--how can this be said to have polluted children's minds? Such evidence should dispel the anxiety of those who are passionately concerned about linguistic hegemonism.
English is indeed a hegemonic language. But there are ways to contain it. It cannot be stopped by not studying it; as the saying goes, study it to check its domination. Alternatively, the other way is to spread one's own languages around the world. Like China's Confucius Institute, Japan can also try to spread its language fervently, albeit with caution. Being an economic leader, the country has the potential and standing to execute this. Efforts should be made to educate immigrants to this country in Japanese even before they move here.
The ideal should be to integrate English-speaking Japanese and Japanese-speaking foreigners to enable them to lead trouble-free lives in Japanese society.
Panda teaches Japanese language at the University of Delhi, India. Presently, he is pursuing his doctorate in foreign language policy in secondary education in India at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies. He can be contacted at doc07001@stu.grips.ac.jp
(Jul. 27, 2007)