By introducing the subject teacher system for fifth and sixth graders, it will be possible to provide students with detailed guidance, and the quality of classes will improve, especially English, science and math.

This sounds good to me. Some teachers are clearly incapable of teaching everything well, especially if everything includes English. There is also the big problem that if the teacher has a poor relationship with a child, that will affect every lesson the child takes.

Probably would only be viable in school districts in cities with a large enough student population.

How about teachers be required to actually know the subject they are teaching? What a concept...

Wait this is not the case now?

I went to school in 4 different countries and every single one had subject focused teachers.

Imagine learning from a teacher teaching a subject he/she didn’t choose, has no personal connection with and even less real zest or interest. You see why the whole learning culture here is a painful and dull chore and why the concept of life-long learning is over before it begins. Great way to charge the next generation for success ay?

It’s taken this long and all of those lost decades to do something about it too. Just think about that for a second. How much potential has been lost by these Ministries of Expediency. Good luck to the next generations of teachers who now actually get to choose what they teach. You have a big mission ahead. Reboot the young minds of the nation, bring the magic back.

Japan has one of two choices since expanding English education in elementary school. Making English a graded subject in fifth and sixth grades was always going to be meaningless if Japan didn’t:

a) Train current elementary school homeroom teachers how to teach foreign languages, which would involve years of effort both in pedagogy and methodology and in language ability; or,

b) Hire EFL teaching specialists at elementary schools.

The traditional model of elementary teachers being jacks-of-all-trades, while junior high and high school teachers specialize, may need to change. It is important for kids at that age to have a consistent teacher with whom they feel secure and form a bond, but everyone knows the first option of getting all elementary teachers competent in English language teaching, let alone in English, isn’t going to happen.

I know that system very well from my school days many decades ago, behind the iron curtain. The first four years we had a homeroom teacher for most subjects and after that, now comes the difference, again a specialized homeroom teacher for a few subjects and specialized teachers for all the other subjects. By the way, regarding foreign languages we had at first Russian language lessons, starting in the fifth grade and obligatory, and after that started English lessons as we were seven-graders , but those only for all students with good grades in those Russian lessons, and we also weren’t even allowed to leave or to travel to English speaking countries, as everything had been under Russian influence. Anyway, my TOEIC is 980 and quite sufficient for what I need. Try to get this score as a native speaker, if you dare...lol

I took the TOEIC to experience what it was like. I was massively hungover and left the test early. I got a 985. Also, an ambulance went by during one of the audio questions. Pretty sure I missed that one.

I think a subject-teacher system is only necessary for subjects that require specific knowledge to teach. That eliminates most subjects, but would bring in specific teachers for say English and music. Which, they already do in many (most? all?) schools in Japan.

What is the effect on L1 if some classes are actually taught in English. Will the students miss essential vocabulary in L1? Japan produces a lot of false beginner English speakers and maybe 1 or 2 talented students per class that can actually speak English.

Invalid CSRF