Problems with the Implementation of Communicative English Teaching inJapan; Focusing on the Situation of English Teachers in a High School
Ayuka Nakagawa
Kansai University, Japanayuka20602@msn.com

Abstract: In Japan, “the School Curriculum Guideline” for the high school

English stated that communicative English skill should be put a greater focus
to prepare students who can participate actively in the globalized world. In
actual classes, however, teachers tend to put more focus on developing
students’ grammatical and reading skills. This paper aims to clarify thefactors which contribute to the difference of focus by conducting a case study
in one public high school. This study pinpoints two factors which prevent
teachers from implementing communicative English teaching: one is aproblem in the educational system in Japan and the other is the teacher’senvironment.

Keywords: High School English, Communicative English Teaching, Teacher’s Environment

Background
According to the latest “School Curriculum Guideline” in Japan which published by Ministryof Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in 2008, the goal of high school English education
is to develop students’ English communication skills. The communication skills here are defined as 1) theskill to understand the language and its culture, 2) the skill to communicate with others actively and 3) theskill to convey one’s ideas and understand others’ ideas properly. In addition, teachers must teach theclasses in English to expose students to spoken English. The survey done by Ministry of Education,Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2010) showed, however, that teachers do not teach in English inapproximately 80 percent classes but oral communication classes. Also Nakai (2010) pointed out that
there are still not so many teachers who put focus on teaching communication English in classes. In thispaper, we will discuss the problems which prevent high school teachers from implementing
communicative English teaching as a case study.

PurposeThis paper aims to clarify the situation, including the procedure in classes and the environmentof English teachers in one Japanese high school to identify the problems when teachers practicecommunicative English lessons in their classes.

MethodWe conducted a semi-structured interview with two English teachers in High School A, apublic high school in Osaka, Japan. In this paper, we will call the two teachers Teacher A and Teacher B.
The information gained by the interviews were coded and sorted into three elements: concept of classes,
beliefs and teacher’s environment.
In addition to the interviews, we observed the classes of the two teachers. When observing, we
kept journals of the class conditions, such as the procedure of the classes, teacher’s techniques andstudents’ behavior. The information gained by observing classes were coordinated from threeperspectives: materials, teachings and ingenuity. After capturing the features by observing two teachers’classes, we interpreted the basis of their classroom practice through an interview.
The table below is the brief introduction of the two teachers.
Sex/AgeAB

Male/40s~50s
Male/30s

GradeSubject

Teaching Methodrd

3 yearReading

Conventionalized English teachingndReadingCommunicative English teaching

2 yearResults and Discussion
This is the result of observation and interview.
Sort
Teacher A- A grammar workbook andMaterials
a reading workbook.
- Handouts of hints.
- First students work onClassgrammar or reading
Observation
problems.
Teaching- During the work, students
can talk with others.
- After work, teacher writes---

Teacher B
A textbook and worksheets.

Students often read aloudand answer teacher’squestions.
Teacher gives direction in
English all the time.
A blackboard is not used soIngenuity

Concept ofclasses

solutions on a blackboard
and students take notes.
The class atmosphere isrelaxed.
Students can referhandouts when they face
tough problems.

By treating hot topics, gain
students’ attention.
Decide the materials usedin classes by negotiatingwith other English
teachers.

-----

Interview
Belief-Environment

Even if “the SchoolCurriculum Guideline” haschanged, train grammar
and reading skills should
be kept.
When considering
entrance examination for
university, communicative
English skill is should not
be targeted.

-Often communicate withother English teachers tonegotiate the contents andspeed of classes and to
divide tasks.

---

often and students refer tohandouts.
To gain students’ attention,teacher show backgroundmaterials by an iPad or a
projector.
By giving seals and taking it
into grades, foster students’utterances.
In addition to reading andunderstanding the textbook,train pronunciation andconversation in classes.
To attract students, use
audiovisual materials inclasses.
No English-Japanesetranslation.
Want students to attain skills
to understand English
without translating it intoJapanese.
To attract students to thecontents of the texts, sparetime and energy tointroduction parts.
Want students to aquire thenew knowledge throughEnglish texts.
Because of the original
teaching method, it isdifficult to cooperate withother teachers and do alltasks by own.

By analyzing and comparing the two teacher’s classes and interviews, two external factors
which prevented teachers from practicing communicative English teaching were identified.
1) Problems of the Educational SystemIn Japan, “the School Curriculum Guideline” states that the English skill that should be put
greater focus in high schools is communication skills. The entrance examinations for university, however,tend to assess students’ grammatical and reading skills the most. In such situations, the beliefs forteaching English of each teacher diverse, and the beliefs have great effects on their teaching. Teacher Aand Teacher B shows the contrasting beliefs and teaching methods in this study.
2) Problems of the Teachers’ Environment
Teachers of the same grade and subject often report on progress and divide tasks. There appears
to be a norm that teachers treat the agreed and shared contents among teachers in their individual classes.
Therefore, if one teacher does not obtain agreements of other teachers when proposing a new teaching
method, it cannot be conducted or even if it is conducted, the teacher cannot receive cooperation fromothers and may be isolated.

Teacher A, who put importance on cooperation and informal talks among teachers, reflects theideas from other teachers in his classes. On the other hand, Teacher B stated that he cannot obtain otherteachers’ agreements in not teaching English-Japanese translation. If the teaching focusing on grammarand reading which Teacher A, who put importance on the cooperation among teachers, practices is themajority, then the communicative teaching which teacher B practices would be the minority. Thus,
although Teacher A shares his tasks to create classes with other teachers, Teacher B does the work byhimself.
The 2 factors stated above show that now in Japanese high school, English teaching is focusedon grammar and reading, targeting entrance examination for university, and there is less tendency of
putting importance on communicative English skill. Moreover, it indicates that it is quite difficult topractice the new teaching method such as communicative English teaching without obtaining theagreements of other teachers, because teachers cooperate with each other to develop their classes.
Therefore, even if the curriculum has been modified, teachers keep teaching using the conventional
methods.

Future Direction
In this study, the observation of classes before the interview supplementarily helped when
understanding teachers’ ideas and beliefs through the interviews. The information we obtain through thiscase study, however, is only a part of the school situation. In order to shift the conventional teaching
method to the new one which promotes students autonomy and communication, it is necessary to
determine the situation in the school in detail in the first phase. Thus, for the future direction, more
informal talks with the 2 teachers are needed, with further observation and interview of other English
teachers in High School A.

References
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. (2008). The School Curriculum Guideline in HighSchool, Foreign Language and English.
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. (2010). Survey of Educational Improvement
Implementation in High School
Nakai Hirokazu. (2010). An Inquiry into Teaching English in English at Senior High Schools. Departmental Bulletin
Paper in Osaka Jogakuin University 7, 33-53.