英語ノート指導資料の評価
メタデータ

言語: English
出版者: 北海道言語研究会
公開日: 2012-02-02
キーワード (Ja):
キーワード (En): Japanese Elementary School, English,
Eigo Note, Teachers' Guide Evaluation
作成者: ゲイナー, ブライアン
メールアドレス:所属:

URL

http://hdl.handle.net/10258/699

An evaluation of the Teachers' Guide for Eigo
Note
その他（別言語等）のタイトル
著者
journal or
publication title
volumepage range
year
URL

英語ノート指導資料の評価
GAYNOR Brian
北海道言語文化研究
9
75‑91
2011‑03‑30
http://hdl.handle.net/10258/699

北海道言語文化研究
No. 9, 75-91, 2011.

北海道言語研究会

An Evaluation of the Teachers’ Guide for Eigo Note*
Brian GAYNOR

英語ノート指導資料の評価
ブライアン

ゲイナー

Abstract：At the start of the school year in April 2011, all public elementary schools in Japan will begin
conducting compulsory English classes for 5 th and 6th grade students. To meet concerns about the lack ofsuitable materials MEXT has published and distributed Eigo Note, a two level textbook, to all public
elementary schools along with a detailed Teachers’ Guide. This paper analyzes the Teachers’ Guide inorder to examine what sort of pedagogical approach is suggested and also reports on the results of a‘snapshot’ survey of teachers’ attitudes to, and uses of, the guide, in the classroom.

Key words：Japanese Elementary School English, Eigo Note, Teachers’ Guide Evaluation

1.

Introduction
At the start of the school year in April 2011, all public elementary schools in Japan will

begin conducting compulsory English classes1 for 5th and 6th grade students. For the vast majority ofschools, this should entail no major changes from their present curriculum. According to a 2007
survey conducted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT),
97.1% of schools were already conducting ‘English activities’ (eigo katsudou) on a regular basis.
However, contained within this percentage was a vast array of approaches, with some schools
offering immersion-like programs (Butler, 2007a), while others limited themselves to activities that
one teacher described as mere ‘play time’ (Kusumoto, 2008:31). There is also the related problem oftraining and guidance for the approximately 417,000 elementary school teachers2 (MEXT, 2010)
who will, at some stage in their careers, have to teach English classes. In a comprehensive survey ofapproximately 3,500 elementary school teachers conducted by the education and publishing company
1

In the MEXT ‘The New Course of Study’ policy document, the classes are officially referred to as ‘Foreign

Language Activities’ (gaikokugo katsudou). However, the same document also states, “In principle English should
be selected for foreign language activities”. For the purpose of this paper I have used the two terms interchangeably.
2This refers to the total number of teachers in public elementary schools. Obviously, not all of them will be

conducting English classes from 2011, but as classes are regularly rotated, over the course of their careers they can
expect to be teaching English at some stage.

An Evaluation of the Teachers’ Guide for Eigo Note

Brian Gaynor

Benesse (2006), the vast majority of respondents reported having little practical experience inteaching English.
In an attempt to address these issues (and others detailed below), MEXT has published anddistributed Eigo Note, a two level textbook, to all public elementary schools. The textbook comes
accompanied by a Teachers’ Guide (TG) that provides detailed instructions on how to teach a full,year-long 35 hour curriculum. Although McGrath warns that “a book should not be a course in thesense that it determines the totality of the learning experience” (2002: 37), for many elementary
school teachers in Japan, the course book and TG has to determine the totality of not only thelearning experience, but the teaching experience as well.
The purpose of this paper therefore is to analyze the Eigo Note TG in order to examine what sort ofteaching experience is suggested by the TG. In doing this I approach the TG as both a policy
document and a pedagogical guide to teaching English to young learners. This approach is reflectedin the structure of the paper, which begins with an overview of the general educational environmentof which the TG is part, before moving on to a detailed examination of the contents of the TG. In
addition, I also conducted a brief, ‘snapshot’ survey of teachers’ attitudes to, and uses of, the guide,with the results highlighting a number of issues in terms of the guide’s effective use in the classroom.

1.1

Policy BackgroundIn 2002 MEXT allowed local governments and individual elementary schools to conduct

foreign language activities so long as these promoted international understanding. MEXT’s proposals
were issued as ‘guidelines’ and were not compulsory with the result that there was no set central
policy determining such matters as curriculum, syllabus, pedagogical approach, the allocation of
resources and materials, and who should conduct these ‘foreign language activities’ in the classroom.
Decisions pertaining to these factors were deferred to either the local Boards of Education, individual
schools, and in many cases, individual teachers (Butler, 2007a: 129).
The result was a widespread diversity in methods and approaches. Butler, reporting on this diversity
soon after this policy was implanted in 2004, noted that, “while some [schools] have introduced
Japanese-English immersion bilingual programs, others have no English or other foreign language
activities at all” (2007a: 130).
Cognizant of this and in an attempt to remedy the situation, in 2006 the Central Council of Education
proposed that English education should be made compulsory for fifth and sixth grade students in allelementary schools (MEXT, 2006). This recommendation was officially adopted by the Japanese
Government in 2008 and passed into law in 2009, with ‘compulsory foreign language activities’ to be
put into practice in all public elementary schools by the start of the 2011 school year.
Although compulsory, English is not deemed an academic subject in the same way Japanese, Maths
or Social Studies are. Rather it comes under the domain of ‘general integrated studies’, akin to art
and music. This means that no evaluations or grading is involved in English classes, which in turn

北海道言語文化研究
No. 9, 75-91, 2011.

北海道言語研究会

has a number of implications for actual classroom practice, as this paper will subsequently outline. In
addition, its non-academic status tends to fudge the issue of standards and content; local boards ofeducation and individual schools are still at liberty to determine their own programs. This in turnaffects educational outcomes and impacts on the Junior High School level, where it is feared that the
introduction of compulsory classes - standardized only in terms of minimum hours to be taught - will
do little to ameliorate the problem of students with differing abilities entering formal English
education at the secondary level (Nishizaki, 2009).

2

Analysis of the Teachers’ Guide for Eigo Note
Much of the existing literature on material’s analysis and evaluation assumes that the teacher iseither a native speaker of English or highly proficient in the language, and in both cases is trained inteaching English as a foreign language (Cunningsworth & Kusel, 1991; Hemsley, 1997; Gearing,1999). For this reason, detailed analyses of the TG tend to get short shrift, either being overlooked
completely (McGrath, 2002; McDonough & Shaw, 2003; Tomlinson, 2003) or relegated toadmonishments about not over using the TG (Good, 2001). However, such implicit biases are quite
untenable in situations such as Japan where the opposite of such assumptions hold true. Rather, insuch situations the very important aim of the TG is “to provide essential support for teachers whose
own knowledge of English is shaky and incomplete, who perhaps only have a basic understanding ofsome of the rudiments of language teaching” (Cunningsworth & Kusel, 1991: 131). Essentially the
TG fulfills the role of teacher-training material in that it provides methodological guidance, linguistic
information and background information on cultural issues, and thus “can function explicitly as [a]source(s) for professional development” (Wharton, 2004:212).
Teachers Guides are the poor orphans of EFL: “Literature concerning evaluation of TGs is extremely
thin on the ground” (Hemsley, 1997:73); “there is very little on the evaluation or use of teachers’
guides” (Good, 2001: 22); “This topic is a neglected area in the literature” (Cunningsworth & Kusel,
1991:128). Thus, in designing an analytical framework for the Eigo Note TG, I have relied quite
comprehensively on the detailed criteria formulated by Cunningsworth and Kusel. I follow their
distinction between global appraisal, which focuses in the broad assumptions underlying the overall
methodological approach of the TG; and a detailed evaluation, which examines how teaching
objectives, methodology, pedagogy, activities and evaluation are specified for each unit of the coursebook (1991:129).

2.1

Global Appraisal
The aim of a global appraisal is to elucidate the general principles upon which the TG isbased. To this end, Cunningsworth & Kusel propose a series of evaluative questions from which I
have adapted the following three:(1) What assumptions are made about the teachers’ knowledge and experience of language teaching?

An Evaluation of the Teachers’ Guide for Eigo Note

Brian Gaynor

For Eigo Note the TG assumes that teachers have minimal knowledge and experience and thus
provides a comprehensive lesson plan for each unit, detailing what is to be taught; how it is to betaught and in what order; provides clear instructions on the teacher’s, student’s and AssistantLanguage Teacher’s (ALT) roles; and addresses a number of underlying linguistic, grammatical andcultural points in order to provide a richer understanding of the lesson’s objectives.
(2) What assumptions are made about the teachers’ knowledge of English?
Here the assumption is, again, that teachers have minimal proficiency in English. All instructions,guidance and explanations are in Japanese, and any actual learner centered English language content
such as dialogues, songs, chants, etc., are accompanied by a full Japanese translation. Unfortunately,as the ALT’s role is also explained solely in Japanese, a rather bewildering (for the teacher) paradox
arises: as the teacher is assumed to have a minimal grasp of English everything is explained inJapanese, yet to explain to the ALT their role in the lesson the teacher is also expected to be able totranslate the TG into English.
(3) What assumptions are made about teachers’ awareness of the cultural context portrayed in thecourse material?
Eigo Note is intended to foster both foreign language communication skills and cross-cultural
understanding, so there is continued emphasis throughout the TG on various aspects of different
foreign cultures. The emphasis, it should be noted in passing, is on ‘different’: contrasts rather thancommonalities with Japan are fore grounded, with a constant ‘us and them’ approach to the
explanations. At the end of each lesson there is a comprehensive explanation of various aspects offoreign culture pertaining to the theme of the lesson; for instance in lesson 3, ‘Numbers’, there is an
overview of counting systems in different countries. In addition, during the detailed instructions for
conducting individual classes, possible opportunities for cultural expansion are highlighted in the TG
with an asterisk. The presence of the ALT obviously has vast potential for developing and expanding
these cross-cultural themes (Butler, 2007b) and the TG makes repeated reference to this, but thepracticalities of how both the teacher and the ALT can best exploit these are left unexplained.

2.2

Detailed Evaluation
According to Cunningsworth and Kusel’s criteria, detailed evaluation “concerns the way the

TG deals with different aspects of the course and how each unit…should be taught” (p.133). For the
purpose of this paper, I have chosen Lesson 4, “Let’s do a self-introduction” (jikoshoukai wo shiyou).
As with the global appraisal, I have adapted Cunningsworth and Kusel’s criteria to examine thefollowing factors: layout and content; objectives; cultural awareness; procedural guidance;
motivation; and assessment.

2.2.1

Layout and Content
The TG is 81 pages long and is intended to provide teachers with complete instructions on

北海道言語文化研究
No. 9, 75-91, 2011.

北海道言語研究会

how to teach a year long, 35 hour English curriculum. It begins with a short introduction stating theoverall objectives for the course, lists the 9 main lessons and their themes with each lesson further
divided into 3 or 4 units, and explains the basic structure of the TG. The structure is separated into
four parts:(1) Lesson Introduction(2) Lesson Explanation(3) Example Class(4) Vocabulary and Cultural Background Notes
There then follows a curriculum chart for the whole course, showing how each lesson is divided intoeither three or four related units, what the main content of each unit is, and the main English phrase
around which that lesson is based. (A translated version of the chart is given in Appendix 1). The
explanation for each lesson and their units also follow a fixed pattern. Each lesson begins with adescription of its objective, and the contents and instructions on how to conduct the lesson.
Subsequently, each unit within the lesson is explained in terms of: aims, English vocabulary andphrases to be learned, listening tasks, chants, activities, and necessary classroom English. In addition,transcripts for the contents of the CD are provided along with a complete translation into Japanese.
There then follows a detailed plan for teaching the unit, with alternative methodologies suggested
along with points to note. At the end of the overall lesson there is a section devoted to vocabulary
and language use. In Unit 4 this consists of an explanation of countable and uncountable nouns,
second and third person question forms, the use of the term ‘juice’, and examples of other ways toexpress gratitude besides ‘thank you’. The final section of each lesson is devoted to backgroundinformation on various aspects of cross-cultural understanding deemed relevant to the theme of thatlesson. Finally, at the end of the TG is a list, divided by lesson, of all the English vocabulary (with anaccompanying Japanese translation) that appears in the TG, student’s book and on the CD.

2.2.2

Objectives
The overall objective for Eigo Note is provided in the first paragraph of the introduction to

the TG. It quotes directly, and at length, from MEXT’s official policy guidelines on ‘Foreign
Language Activities’:“To form the foundation of pupils’ communication abilities through foreign languages whiledeveloping the understanding of languages and cultures through various experiences, fostering a
positive attitude toward communication, and familiarizing pupils with the sounds and basic
expressions of foreign languages” (MEXT, 2009).
In turn, each individual lesson has its own specific objective. Thus for Lesson 4, the objective is toexpand on the language learned in Lesson 1 in order to convey personal information, including likes
and dislikes with the aim of being able to make a brief self-introduction in English. The emphasis ison pronunciation, particularly differentiating between gairaigo (Japanese words ‘borrowed’ fromAn Evaluation of the Teachers’ Guide for Eigo Note

Brian Gaynor

foreign languages) and the corresponding English antecedents (eg: hamubaga and hamburger).

2.2.3

Cultural AwarenessAs one of the main aims of foreign language activities is “developing the understanding of

languages and cultures”, the TG devotes considerable space to detailing how such understanding canbe incorporated into the lesson. Each lesson begins with an explanation of that lesson’s intended‘International Understanding’ (kokusai rikai) objective, which, for Lesson 4, is to understand thedifferences in word pronunciation and gestures. Throughout the lesson, opportunities to incorporate
activities that achieve this aim are signposted, and at the end of each lesson is a section that provides
background information relevant to the main theme of the lesson. In Lesson 4, for example, in
keeping with the theme of likes and dislikes, there is an explanation of the different traditional sports
played in other countries.
Lesson 4 does, however, unwittingly highlight the problem of pragmatics, or rather, a lack ofawareness of pragmatics, in the TG. The aim of this lesson is to enable students to give a brief
self-introduction in English, incorporating some personal information and expressing their likes anddislikes. Yet, the pragmatics underlying this are quite different in Japanese and English. In Japan
self-introductions are an integral part of social communication and, even in many informal adultsituations, quite often include some expression of personal preferences. In contrast, introducing
yourself and detailing your likes and dislikes would seem quite strange to a native speaker of English.
The problem with Lesson 4 (and it holds for a number of other lessons too) is that the discourse
practice is at odds with the contextual pragmatics. The situation is, in a sense, one where theJapanese students are learning English to communicate with a Japanese audience.

2.2.4

Procedural Guidance
The TG provides comprehensive and detailed instructions on how to conduct foreign

language activities for all lessons – it essentially tells teachers what to do and how to do it, from start
to finish. For each of the four units contained in every lesson, a detailed, chronological plan isprovided, divided into successive time segments, with clearly delineated roles for the teacher,
students, ALT, and textbook. In addition, there is explicit guidance on the language to be used, bywhom and when; the activities to be undertaken and in what order; along with details of what
supplementary materials are required. In its very comprehensiveness, the TG could well be seen topreclude alternatives or encourage any innovation on the teacher’s part. As such the TG could becriticized for ‘deskilling’ teachers (Richards, 1993:7), or relegating the role of the teacher to mere‘technician’ (Good, 2001: 30).

北海道言語文化研究
No. 9, 75-91, 2011.

北海道言語研究会

2.2.5 Motivation
It is axiomatic that learner motivation is a major factor in foreign language learning and theessential criterion for any TG in this respect is: “Does the TG make a positive contribution toheightening and sustaining the learner’s motivation?” (Cunningsworth and Kusel, 1991:136). For
Eigo Note the answer would be a qualified yes. Although there is no distinct section devoted tolearner motivation, there is constant advice given throughout the TG on how to engage students, awide variety of activities are suggested, and there is a constant awareness of the need to match thecourse content with the socio-pragmatic skills of the students.
Where the TG could be faulted is its omission of advice on how to develop learner autonomy within
students, particularly in encouraging self-study habits outside the classroom. In her study ofelementary school student motivation for learning English, Carreira found that students in the higher
grades have a “developmental decrease in motivation” (2006:151) compared to younger children. To
counter this she follows Lepper and Henderlong’s suggestion that teachers should “promoteautonomy and self-determination in learners” (2000: 289), yet the TG provides no advice on how toachieve this.

2.2.6 Assessment
If we follow Pinter’s definitions of formative assessment as “an ongoing process ofchecking to see if students are achieving target objectives”; and summative assessment as “taking
stock of what has been learned and achieved…at the end of a course” (2006: 132), then the TG
comprehensively incorporates the former, but clearly eschews the latter. The aims and means offormative assessment are outlined in a separate section at the beginning of the TG, with evaluationconsidered in terms of the above-mentioned objectives for elementary school English. Examples are
given of how such assessment may be carried out for each objective, and within each lesson
instructions are given on how and when the students can be observed to monitor progress. By
explicitly linking assessment to learning objectives, the TG provides a “check on the potential valueof each lesson to the pupils…[which] makes assessment a much more straightforward process
because they can act as a target or focus against which we can measure what was actually learnt”(Cameron, 2001:228).
However, the lack of a summative assessment procedure in the TG does potentially create problems
in the transition from elementary to junior high school. Students have little idea of how far they havecome in learning English, while English teachers at the junior high school level, confronted withstudents from diverse elementary schools and thus most likely, diverse English language programs,
have no easy way of determining their new students’ relative abilities.

3

SurveyAlthough the primary purpose of this paper is to evaluate the TG as written, I also

An Evaluation of the Teachers’ Guide for Eigo Note

Brian Gaynor

conducted a short exploratory survey to discover teachers’ attitudes and use of the TG. The survey, it
should be immediately noted, was limited to a convenience sample of four teachers in an elementary
school in the town where the author resides. It is not intended to be definitive in any way, but rather
to provide a brief snapshot of how working teachers’ perceive the TG, and hopefully to act as thebasis for a more extensive survey this author plans to conduct in the future.
The survey took the form of a brief questionnaire written in Japanese (see Appendix 2 for the English
language version). A total of 9 questions were asked, with the first five questions concerned with theteachers’ English proficiency and training in teaching EFL to young learners; the remaining fourquestions were designed to elicit their attitudes towards the contents and use of the TG. As the sample
was so small, I will omit a detailed statistical analysis of the individual questions, insteadhighlighting the main results from each section.

3.1

Teachers’ English proficiency
Of the four teachers surveyed, only one ranked their English ability at the ‘intermediate’level. Two rated themselves as ‘pre-intermediate’ and one as ‘elementary’. This was to some extent
borne out by their reported test scores for English, with the ‘intermediate’ teacher having a TOIEC
score of 610 and having successfully passed Level 2 of the STEP-Eiken 3 test, the ‘pre-intermediate’
pair having TOIEC scores of 485 and 510 (though their STEP-Eiken levels differed: Level pre-2 andLevel 3, respectively); and the ‘elementary’ teacher having achieved only Level 3 on the STEP-Eiken
test.

3.2

Experience and training in teaching English
Only one teacher had more than 2 years experience of teaching English. None of theteachers had received any training in teaching EFL to young learners prior to commencing theircareers, while those who have and haven’t received in-service training in teaching EFL was evenly
split between two teachers who have, and two who haven’t.

3.3

Use of Eigo Note and the TG
All of the teachers used Eigo Note in their classes either ‘often’ (2 teachers) or ‘every class’(2 teachers). Similarly, the question on use of the TG saw three teachers use it in ‘every class’, withthe remaining teacher using it ‘often’.

3‘STEP-Eiken’ is the common name for the ‘The Eiken Test in Practical English Proficiency’ which is conducted by

the non-profit organization, the Society for Testing English Proficiency Inc. The test is officially recognized by
MEXT, and as part of its plan to cultivate ‘Japanese with English abilities’, the ministry uses different levels of thetest as official benchmarks for measuring English proficiency levels.

北海道言語文化研究
No. 9, 75-91, 2011.

3.4

北海道言語研究会

Attitudes towards the TG
Question

1

2

3

4

(a) The Teachers’ Guide is easy to use.

1

3

-

-

(b) The TG has all the information I need to teach an English class.

1

2

1

-

(c) I have to adapt the TG for my class.

1

2

1

-

(d) I use the TG with the ALT.

-

-

-

4

(e) The objectives of each lesson are motivating for my students.

-

3

1

-

(f) I follow the lesson plan for each unit exactly.

-

1

2

1

(g) The TG provides enough cultural information for each lesson.

-

1

2

1

(h) I follow the same curriculum as the TG.

4

-

-

-

(i) Using the TG makes it easier for me to plan the English class.

4

-

-

-

(j) Methods of student evaluation are appropriate.

-

1

3

-

(k) The TG provides sufficient theoretical background on how to teach

-

1

2

1

(l) The TG makes me a better English teacher.

2

2

-

-

(m) I could teach English classes without the TG.

-

1

-

3

EFL to young learners.

Table 1: Results from Q8. (Note: the numbers in the squares indicate the actual number of teachers who
agreed/disagreed with each statement).

There was a general agreement that the TG was easy to use though as the answer to (c)shows, the majority of the teachers still have to adapt the methodology in the TG to meet the needs oftheir class. The unanimity of the replies to (d) is perhaps indicative of both the independent role the
ALT plays when she/he visits the school, and the lack of an English translation/explanation in the TG
that would make it comprehensible to the ALT and thus allow for more team-teaching with thehomeroom teacher. Although the answers to (f) mirror those for (c) to some extent in that the teachers
don’t religiously follow the prescribed plan from start to finish, the unanimity of the replies to (h)show that over the longer term, the TG is the de facto English curriculum in their school. This is inline with the results from the Benesse survey (2008), which showed that the most problematic issue
facing teachers was the lack of guidance on how to create a complete curriculum for English classes.
Similarly, all four teachers agreed with (i) with the TG apparently offering a welcome solution to theAn Evaluation of the Teachers’ Guide for Eigo Note

Brian Gaynor

oft-cited complaints (Benesse 2008, Butler 2005; Izumi 2007) of a lack of knowledge of lesson
planning and a related lack of class preparation time.
The responses to the final three statements, (k), (l) and (m), are perhaps indicative of a divide in theteachers’ perceptions between the practical and theoretical benefits of the TG. In terms of the
day-to-day realities of preparing material and teaching same in the classroom, the TG is of
considerable help. However, in providing an underlying rationale for what and how they teach, theTG falls short, though this may well be a reflection of the teachers’ lack of interest, something thatwould be worth pursuing in a further study of teacher motivation.

3.5

Comments
Two of the teachers wrote comments to the effect that they wished there was an English

language version of the TG available so that they could use it with the ALT. Similarly, one of theteachers would like more detailed guidance on how best to utilize the role of the ALT in theclassroom, particularly in terms of promoting cross-cultural understanding. Both of the 6th gradeteachers, who had used Eigo Note the previous year with their then 5th grade students, complained
about the lack of variation in activities from one year to the next and criticizing the repetition ofthemes. One of the 6th grade teachers also complained about the proposed methods of evaluation,
writing that at the end of the year it was “unclear” (aimai) what level of English the students had
actually achieved in the class.

4

Conclusion
In her 2008 survey of the needs of elementary school teachers of English, Kusumoto (2008)

identified the most critical problems as a “lack of tangible guidelines by MEXT. Since most teachers
do not have a clear idea of the learning objectives and goals, they struggle to decide what to teachand how much to teach it. These problems lead to another challenge that most teachers identified…alack of time and materials” (2008:32). The publication and distribution of Eigo Note and its
accompanying TG has gone a considerable way towards alleviating these problems, though the TG is
far from perfect, particularly, as this paper has shown, in terms of the role of the ALT inteam-teaching, and its suggested methods of student evaluation.
Yet, it should also be recognized that the TG is never going to be able to attain such perfection. The
sheer diversity of elementary schools within Japan, their English language programs, the teachers
teaching them, and the students (hopefully) learning from them, is always going to mitigate against
an across-the-board success for the guide.
A more valid criticism, I would contend, is that the TG has to do too many things at once. It isassigned roles, particularly in terms of teacher training for EFL and the theory behind second
language learning, that should really constitute a part of a dedicated in-service training course forteachers. There is also the issue of what constitutes best practice, exemplified by all four teachers

北海道言語文化研究
No. 9, 75-91, 2011.

北海道言語研究会

agreeing to the statement that ‘the TG makes me a better English teacher’. Although the TG
explicitly states that it should not be perceived as the sole method of conducting English classes, theday-to-day realities of homeroom teachers, faced with the ongoing demands of teaching a diverse
array of subjects, general administrative tasks, and, most importantly, the responsibility for the careand welfare of their students, means that the TG is assigned a broad, all encompassing role fromcurriculum planner to a source of jazz chants. It becomes the de facto English class, and in its
detailed, inclusive structure, could be seen to unwittingly thwart the development of both teacher andstudent autonomy.

References
Benesse Center for Future Education (2008) Shougakkou eigo - kyotenkou no torikumi ni kansuru chousa. On WWW
at http://benesse.jp/berd/center/open/report/syoeigo_kyoten/2008/pdf/data_all.pdf. Accessed 11.12.2009
Butler, Y.G. (2005) Nihon no shougakkou eigo wo kangaeru - ajia no shiten kara no kenshou to teigen, Tokyo:
SansedoButler, Y.G. (2007a) Foreign language education at elementary schools in Japan: Searching for solutions amidst
growing diversification, Current Issues in Language Planning, 8(2), pp.129-147
Butler, Y.G. (2007b) Factors associated with the notion that native speakers are the ideal language teachers: An
examination of elementary school teachers in Japan, JALT Journal, 29(1) pp.7-40
Cameron, L. (2001) Teaching languages to young learners, Cambridge: CUP
Carreira, J.M. (2006) Motivation for learning English as a foreign language in Japanese elementary schools, JALT
Journal, 28(2), pp.135-157
Cunningsworth, A. & Kusel, P. (1991) Evaluating teachers’ guides, ELT Journal, 45(2), pp.128-139
Gearing, K. (1999) Helping less-experienced teachers of English to evaluate teachers’ guides, ELT Journal, 53(2),pp.122-127
Good, J. (2001) Re-inventing the wheel. Lesson planning: Teacher-Training vs. The Teachers’ Guide, Essex
Graduate Student Papers in Language & Linguistics, Vol. 3, pp.19-32
Hemsley, M. (1997) The evaluation of teachers’ guides - design and application, English Language Teacher
Education and Development, Vol.3, pp.72-83. ON WWW at
http://www.elted.net/issues/volume-3/index.html. Accessed 5.5.2010
Izumi, E. (2007) The role of homeroom teachers and teacher training in English language education inelementary schools, Bulletin of Kyoto University of Education, No.110, pp.131-147
Kan, M. (2002) ALT ga fureru no wa ii keredo: Koe ni dashite yonde wa ikenai ALT mondai, Eigo Kyouiku, 51(10),pp.16-17
Kusumoto, Y. (2008) Needs analysis: developing a teacher training program for elementary school homeroom
teachers in Japan, Second Language Studies, 26(2), pp.1-44
Lepper, M.R. & Henderlong, J. (2000) Turning “play” into “work” and “work” into “play”: 25 years of research on
intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation. In C. Sansone & J.M. Harackiewicz (Eds.), Intrinsic and extrinsic

An Evaluation of the Teachers’ Guide for Eigo Note

Brian Gaynor

motivation: The search for optimal motivation and performance (pp.257-372), San Diego: Academic
Press
McGrath, I. (2002) Materials evaluation and design for language teaching, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University
Press
McDonough J. & Shaw, C. (2003) Materials and methods in ELT, Malden: Blackwell Publishing
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) (2006) Chuuou kyouiku shingikai
gaikokugo senmonbukai dai 18 kai gijitou.
http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/chukyo/chukyo3/015/siryo/1216968_5040.html.
Accessed 18.8.2010
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) (2007) Shougakkou eigo katsudou jisshijoukyou

chousakekkaigaiyou.

http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/houdou/20/03/08031920/002.htm.

Accessed 17.9.2009
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) (2009) Foreign Language Activities.
http://www.mext.go.jp/component/a_menu/education/micro_detail/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2009/04/21/12610
37_12.pdf. Accessed 25.7.2010
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) (2010) heisei 17 nendo gakkou kihon
chousa. On WWW at http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/toukei/001/05122201/001/001/001.htm. Accessed
25.7.2010
Nishizaki, U. (2009) [Shougakkou gaikoku katsudou (eigo katsudou)] ni okeru shidosha no genjou to kadai, Journalof Toho Gakuen University, 39(1), pp.11-22
Pinter, A. (2006) Teaching young language learners, Oxford: OUP
Richards, J. (1993) Beyond the text book: the role of commercial materials in language teaching, RELC Journal,
24 (1), pp.1-14
Richards, J. & Mahoney, D. (1996) Teachers and textbooks: A survey of beliefs and practices, Working Papers, City
University of Hong Kong, 8(1), pp.40-61. On WWW at http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkjo/view/10/1000098.pdf.
Accessed 11.9.2009
Sharpe, K. (2001) Modern foreign languages in primary school, London: Routledge
Tomlinson, B. (2003) Developing materials for language teaching, London: Continuum
Wharton, S. (2004) Materials, learners and teachers: course and materials design, Birmingham: AUP

執筆者紹介
氏名：ブライアンゲイナー

所属：室蘭工業大学大学院工学研究科ひと文化系領
Appendix 1
Eigo Note Teachers’ Guide Curriculum for the school year (5 th Grade).

北海道言語文化研究
No. 9, 75-91, 2011.

北海道言語研究会

Contents
Lesson

Title
Unit 1“Hello”around the1

Using gestures

Unit 3

Unit 4To learn about

To learn how to

Greet yourgreetings

greet; say yourfriends;*********

nameexchange*******

world

Main Phrase

Unit 2business cards
What’s your name?/My name is Ken./Nice to meet you.
To learn about

To learn different

To learn about

To convey

emotions

gesturesgestures andemotions ingreetings

words and2

gesturesMain Phrase

How are you?/I am happy.

Playing with

Using gestures

Using gestures

To learn ‘how

To play

numbers

from around thefrom around themany’ question

games withworld to count 1

world to count 1 toforms

numbers

to 10

20

3

Main Phrase

How many?/Five.

Let’s do a

Asking about

Stating your own

Asking about

Making aself-introductio

likes andlikes and dislikes

your friends’

self

n

dislikes

likes andintroductio

dislikesn including

4

your likes
and dislikes

5

Main Phrase

Do you like apples?/Yes, I do./No, I don’t./I like bananas./Thank you.

Learning about

To learn about

To clearly state

To clearly state

To state

clothes

different clothes

your opinion; towhat clothes

andfrom around thelearn phrases foryou like to buy

confirm

worldclothes shoppingwhat
clothes you
likeAn Evaluation of the Teachers’ Guide for Eigo Note

Brian Gaynor

Contents
Lesson

Title
Unit 1

Unit 2

Unit 3

Unit 4Main Phrase

I don’t like blue.

Foreign

To learn the

How to ask and

To practice

To make aLanguages

difference in

reply to questions

asking andfruit parfait

pronunciation

about wants

replying toand explain

between foreign

questions about

its contents

words and

wants

6

gairaigo
Main Phrase

What do you want?/Melon, please.

Quiz

Through the

To understand the

To practice

To hold acompetition

writing of kanji,

question “what’s

asking andquiz

to learn the

this?” and how toansweringcompetitiondifferencesanswer“what’s this?”7

betweenquestionsJapanese andEnglishMain Phrase

What’s this?/It’s a pencil.

Timetables

Learning about

To learn subject

To tell yourTo make asubjects in

names and days ofpartner about

group

foreign

the week

your own

timetable

8elementary

timetableschools
Main Phrase

I study Japanese.

Making a

Breakfast in

Vocabulary for

How to ask

To explain

lunch menu

Japan andfood

politely for foodyouroverseas

9group’slunch menu

Main Phrase

What would you like?/I’d like juice.

北海道言語文化研究
No. 9, 75-91, 2011.

北海道言語研究会

APPENDIX 2
Questionnaire
1: How many years of experience do you have teaching English in elementary school?
0–2

3–5

6–9

10+

2: What is your level of English?
Beginner

Elementary

Pre-Intermediate

Upper-Intermediate Advanced

Intermediate

Native Speaker Like

3: Have you taken any of the following English language proficiency tests?
TOIEC

Yes / No Score

TOEFL

Yes / No Score

STEP-Eiken

Yes / No Highest level passed

4: Did you receive any training in teaching EFL to young learners before you began teaching inelementary school?
Yes / No
5: Have you received any training in teaching EFL to young learners since you began teaching inelementary school?
Yes / No
6: How often do you use Eigo Note in your English class?
Every Class

Often

Sometimes

RarelyNever

7: In planning your English class, how often do you use the Eigo Note Teachers’ Guide?
Every Class

Often

Sometimes

RarelyNever

8: Please rate the following statements about the Teachers’ Guide.

(a) The Teachers’ Guide is easy to use.

Agree 1

2

3

4

1

2

3

4

(b) The TG has all the information I need to teach an English class.

DisagreeAn Evaluation of the Teachers’ Guide for Eigo Note

Brian Gaynor

1

2

3

4

1

2

3

4

1

2

3

4

2

3

4

2

3

4

(c) I have to adapt the TG for my class.

(d) I use the TG with the ALT.

(e) The objectives of each lesson are motivating for my students.
1(f) I follow the lesson plan for each unit exactly.
1(g) The TG provides enough cultural information for each lesson.
1

2

3

4

1

2

3

4

2

3

4

2

3

4

(h) I follow the same curriculum as the TG.

(i) Using the TG makes it easier for me to plan the English class.
1(j) Methods of student evaluation are appropriate.
1(k) The TG provides sufficient theoretical background on how to teach EFL to young learners.
1

2

3

4

1

2

3

4

2

3

4

(l) The TG makes me a better English teacher.

(m) I could teach English classes without the TG.
1

9: Please write down any comments you have about the Eigo Note TG?

北海道言語文化研究
No. 9, 75-91, 2011.

北海道言語研究会