A Discussion of the Relevant Research on
Early English Language Education and Its Application
for Gaikokugo and Gaikokugo Katsudo Classes

OTANI, Yuko

子供を対象とした第二言語習得研究から得られる小学校外国語・外国語活動への示唆

大谷

由布子

大分大学教育学部研究紀要

第 44 巻第 1 号

2022 年 9 月 別刷
Reprinted FromRESEARCH BULLETIN OF THE
FACULTY OF EDUCATIONOITA UNIVERSITY
Vol. 44, No. 1, September 2022
OITA, JAPAN大分大学教育学部研究紀要（Res. Bull. Fac. Educ., Oita Univ.）

11

A Discussion of the Relevant Research on
Early English Language Education and Its Application
for Gaikokugo and Gaikokugo Katsudo Classes
OTANI, Yuko＊

Abstract
The 2017 revision of the Course of Study for elementary schools inJapan implemented Gaikokugo (Foreign Language Education) in theupper grades and moved Gaikokugo Katsudo (Foreign Language
Activities) from the upper grades to the middle grades.

Lowering the age

at which Gaikokugo Katsudo is to be taught does not mean theaccumulated practice and teachers’ knowledge from the previous versionof the Course of Study can be simply transferred to the middle grades.
But how can we successfully meet this challenge?

To answer thisquestion, this paper examines the relevant research on early language
education and discusses its application to English language classrooms inJapan, hoping to help elementary school teachers plan Gaikokugo Katsudo
and Gaikokugo lessons in their daily classrooms.
【Key words】

Foreign Language Activities, Foreign Language Education,

English at Elementary Schools, Teacher Training, Teacher Education

Introduction
Japanese EES (English at elementary schools), as a result of the criticism of the
traditional grammar based English language education in secondary schools, was initiallydeveloped in response to globalization which requires international communication andcooperation.

The fundamental goal of EES was training Japanese students to have a goodcommand of communicative English.

In this spirit, Gaikokugo Katsudo for the fifth andsixth graders was first introduced in 2011.

These activities, according to Ministry of

Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), “nurtured positive attitudes
Received April 28, 2022.
＊大谷

由布子（おおたに・ゆうこ）Department of Education, Oita University, 700 Dannoharu,

Oita 870-1192, Japan

12

OTANI

towards English language learning among elementary students” (2018: 7) but the listening/ speaking only policy did not capitalize on the students’ age-related characteristics.
Furthermore, “the transition from elementary to secondary school English language
education was not well established” (2018: 7), according to MEXT.

Reflecting these

considerations, the revised Course of Study for elementary schools introduced Gaikokugo

Katsudo in the third and fourth grades and Gaikokugo in the fifth and sixth grades as aformal academic subject.

This revision was a part of an English language education reformfrom primary to secondary school that started students learning English at a younger age
and connected junior and senior high school English curriculums by adopting a coherent
framework for students’ overall proficiency and progress.

In general, an earlier start canconfer considerable advantages on children by not only affording them more time overall,
but also enabling children to make use of different developmental stages.

To further accessthese possibilities, this paper considers the current, relevant research on child second
language acquisition (SLA) and applies the discussion to the formal, instructional context
in Japan.

Discussion
English language reform in Japan, was not an easy process.

As Butler (2007) pointed

out complicated social and political factors underlying Japan made the country take carefuland slow steps.

In the meantime, countries and areas that had a head start in earlylanguage education accumulated practice and knowledge on this subject.

This section

examines those practices and considers their language education principles and the teacher
qualification / education policies needed to implement them.

The subsequent discussion

focuses on the goals and activities suitable for students in different developmental stages
and discusses the approaches that can help children to achieve greater success in light ofthese goals.
Edelenbos and Kubanek (2009) proposed that it is important for the child second
language learner to be exposed to good teaching, a supportive environment and to havecontinuity in instruction from one year to the next, taking children smoothly from primary
into secondary education.

Curriculum consistency is, therefore, an indispensable first step.

Taiwan that introduced EES 20 years before Japan, revised its curriculum in 2015.

The

new Taiwanese curriculum bridges the 12 years of English language education fromelementary to high school (Honda et al., 2019).

While in Japan, where a uniform

curriculum is not in place nationwide, efforts are being made at the local level.

In 2016,

the Saitama Board of Education introduced a course titled “Global Studies” which teaches
English from the first grade to the ninth, using original textbooks and materials based on
its nine-year uniform curriculum (Izawa, 2020).

As a result, according to the Saitama

Board of Education, the 2019 nationwide survey of English proficiency in Japan revealed
that the ninth graders in Saitama city achieved the best results (2021, para. 2).

MEXT

13

Research on Early Language Education and Its Application(2019) has suggested that an integrated elementary and middle school curriculum is the
key to improving English proficiency.

Regardless of the debate about what attributes to

its success in improving English language proficiency, a coherent curriculum remains
important.
Once curricular coherence has been established, the next challenge is to consider how
to teach EES. As Nicholas and Lightbown (2008) suggested, the distinctive nature of young
child second language acquisition requires a distinctive child second language pedagogy.
While Edelenbos and Kubanek (2009) proposed English language teaching principles basedon their thorough survey of early language education programs across European Union
states where SLA education and training systems are regarded as the best in the world.
However, their principles are not totally new to educators in Japan.

For example, theimportance of considering learner characteristics, learning strategies, and learning styles
when teaching is already currently emphasized by experienced Japanese elementary school
teachers.

In addition, the principles for language learning, psycholinguistic issues andmethodologies proposed by Edelenbos and Kubanek (2009) are already widely used by
Japanese teachers of foreign languages.

What is needed in Japanese EES, where English

is expected to be primarily taught by elementary homeroom teachers, is to bring together
homeroom teachers’ wisdom along with that of language teachers.

One way to do this is

by team teaching (elementary homeroom teachers and language specialist teachers), andanother way is by training elementary school teachers in English language teachingpedagogy.

Either way, there is an increasing importance on enhancing the quality andquantity of teacher education, ensuring adequate support for teachers.
A closer look at the advanced EES practices in other countries reveals more things
that need to be done and updated in teacher education.

In South Korea, one of the first

Asian countries that introduced EES in 1997, it is mandatory for elementary school teachers
to receive 120 hours of training annually on English language education (MEXT, 2010a).
As the Korean Ministry of Education states “teachers are able to spontaneously take thecourses they want and maximize their professionalism” (2022, para. 4) which means teacher
training opportunities are abundant in Korea and they also cover overseas training to help
teachers obtain a masters’ degree (MEXT, 2010a, Lee, 2013).
qualification training is supported by a variety of entities.

In China, and in Taiwan,

Teachers not only have accessto both face-to-face and on-line teacher training, but they are financially supported by local
as well as central governments (MEXT, 2010b, c).

While in Japan, where teachers’

extremely heavy workload always receives attention, school boards and administrators failto encourage their teachers participate in professional development.
empowerment programs are flourishing at the local level.

Nevertheless, teacher

For example, the Tokyo

Metropolitan Board of Education has started sending elementary school teachers abroad tostudy TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) for young learners, basedon the fact that elementary school teachers’ English proficiency has direct impact on thestudents’ ability to communicate in English.

As Nicholas and Lightbown (2008) suggested

14

OTANI

that the distinctive nature of young child second language acquisition requires a distinctive
child second language pedagogy so that elementary school teachers are, as are English
specialized teachers, expected to build professional knowledge on English language
education.
Once the language policy and curriculum are established and the teachers are trainedand qualified, then the next challenge is to refine the methodology of the EES programs.
Muñoz (2007) discusses the learner characteristics in a younger child period (below nine
years of age) and an older child period (above 10 years of age) from the viewpoints ofcognitive development, language aptitude, age-related styles, and strategies, as well asaffective, personality and social characteristics.

Judging from the facts that the third

graders are eight or nine years of age, and the fifth graders are ten or eleven years of age,
“Activities for young children” can be applied to Gaikokugo Katsudo and “Activities for older
learners” to Gaikokugo classes.

The following Table summarizes Muñoz’ discussion.

Activities for young children
・involve “doing things”
・involve simple actions that do
not require multiple cognitive
operations
・can “stretch” children’s
performance when they areembedded in a familiar context
and children can make senseof them

Activities for older learners
・may involve logical reasoning
・may involve multiple cognitive
operations
・can be disembedded from theimmediate context

Language
aptitude・use meaningful chunks androutines・essentially communicative
activities that involve holistic
use of language
・provide massive amounts of
input to guarantee incidental
learning

・can help deconstruct and analyze
memorized chunks
・may involve language analysis
・involve both implicit and explicit
learning

Agerelated
styles andstrategies

・involve physical and manual
movements・make use of repetition・varied to accommodate todifferent learning styles
・may involve metalinguistic
awareness and reflection
・can be planned by learners basedon their superior metacognitive
knowledge

Cognitive
development

Research on Early Language Education and Its Application

Affective,
personality, andsocialcharacteristics

・enjoyable in themselves tostimulate motivation
・in group tasks, the share ofeach member is clear from thestart
・in L2 oral activities, children
are provided with aninteractional scaffold

・may refer to topics connectedwith learners’ interests andprofessional concerns tostimulate motivation
・in group tasks, learners cancooperate efficiently and makedecisions about who does what
・do not expose learners to theirpeers in ways that may
threatened learners’ self-image

Age
effects on
languageoutcomes・mostly oral so that learners
can benefit from theirenhanced perceptive
receptiveness・avoid heavily accented L2
input
・involve great amounts oflistening comprehension that
do not make very highcognitive demands
・provide massive amounts of L2
exposure for learners tocapitalize on their implicit
learning mechanisms

・involve focused phonetic training
and practice to allow thepotential reorganization of theL2 learners’ phonetic system
・integrate attention to meaning
and attention to form to foster
accuracy, on the basis of learners’
superior explicit learning
mechanisms and metalinguistic
awareness

15

Characteristics of adequate second language (L2) learning practice (Muñoz, 2007)

According to Muñoz, the activities for Gaikokugo Katsudo should be simple (notrequiring multiple cognitive operations) and involve physical as well as manual movements
since younger children have not yet mastered logical or analytical thinking and learn
holistically.

They like repetition and routines and can use meaningful language chunks.

Younger children are mainly concerned with familiar immediate contexts and are inclined
to have a positive attitude toward L2 learning when they enjoy language learning activities.
They need massive amounts of L2 input, which does not always result in immediate or direct
production.

Younger children’s learning can be enhanced by adults’ scaffolding, too.

Gaikokugo Katsudo instructors should be reminded of the importance of adequate input inboth quality and quantity to meet the demands of young children.
Among older learners, on the other hand, individual differences are more prominent
such as interests and professional concerns.

They are closely connected to the motivation

16

OTANI

of older learners in a similar way to how fun activities are connected to the motivation ofyounger learners.

Furthermore, social differences are notable among Gaikokugo learners;

they can study more independently and take advantage of group work, which promotessocial, interactional language learning.

The advanced logical and analytical thinking ofolder learners also enables systematic learning which helps to develop the basic
understanding of the language.

Accuracy and metalinguistic awareness that are more

prominent for older learners, according to Muñoz, is also true for Gaikokugo learners.

This

is where the gap lies between the learner characteristics and the actual practice in English
language classrooms in Japan.

How to utilize metacognitive awareness and / or logical andanalytical thinking among older learners will remain the challenge for Japanese EES.
Edelenbos and Kubanek (2009) also claim that children’s aptitude can be developedand increased in the primary school years so that activities to internalize meaningfulconcepts are encouraged and not just fun activities based on language use.

In addition,

they propose alternating between talk-activities focusing on confident, fluent expression
and those more focused on accuracy of form and meaning.

Their argument overlaps with

Muñoz’ discussion, calling for the importance of balance in Gaikokugo classrooms where
focus has been too often on fun elements and not on didactic ones and where fluency is given
greater emphasis than accuracy.
Perhaps the next challenge for Japanese EES will be how to incorporate gradual andsystematic reading and writing, including phonetic training in daily lessons.

Shin (2018)

among others consistently points out the importance of introducing phonics in earlylanguage classrooms since that is the key to early reading success (Beck, 2006).

Under thecurrent Course of Study, sound-symbol relationships are to be taught in junior high school,
while letter-sound relationships are in elementary school.

In other words, elementary

school children start discriminating English sounds through phonemic awareness activities
before focusing on phonics introduction.

This is a new challenge for teachers in Gaikokugo

classrooms where reading and writing was introduced for the first time under the current
Course of Study.

There is a need to conduct further research in this field, develop

methodologies, accumulate practices, and disseminate them through teacher education.
In this section, the main principles of early English language teaching, the implication
for its practice, and characteristics and adequate language activities for learners in younger
and on older child periods were discussed.

Edelenbos and Kubanek (2009) provided us

with the main principles of early English language learning, and Muñoz (2007) presented
age-appropriate activities for language classrooms.

Their claims have direct impact on the

EES classes under the revised Course of Study that emphasize the importance ofconsidering learners’ cognitive development.

By applying the discussion in this section, we

should be able to improve our EES practices in the future.

Research on Early Language Education and Its Application

17

Conclusion
In response to the claim that children’s developmental characteristics were not fully
incorporated into the English language programs in Japanese elementary schools (MEXT2018), this paper attempts to find a solution in relevant child SLA research.

Perhaps the

key to a successful program is to go back to the basics and, once again, ask the fundamental
questions: what goals are appropriate for elementary school students, what theirdevelopmental characteristics are, and what activities can help children to achieve greater
success in light of these goals.

Every school board and individual school is expected toclarify the educational goals to ensure the fulfillment of the basic policies regarding
designing curriculums.

These educational goals must be clearly defined and disseminatedthrough teacher education.

Each teacher is then expected to reflect the language

principles and learner characteristics in his / her daily teaching.

In this way, the basic ideaof the revised Course of Study will be realized.
Due to the limitations of this paper, the systematic introduction of literacy skills andthe use of children's meta-linguistic cognition have not been adequately addressed, which
remains to be discussed in future studies.

EES in Japan is still young, and continued

efforts to build empirical findings are expected.

The ultimate goal is to find ways to bridge

English education programs from primary to higher education.

Introducing a coherent

framework for proficiency-based assessment is an important first attempt, but it is not the
only solution.
designed.

The transition from primary to secondary education should be carefully

However, what is discussed in this paper is also relevant to secondary English

language education.

The developmental stages of elementary school students can help

secondary school teachers better understand their students, and the activities suitable forsecondary school students should build on activities appropriate for younger learners.
Incorporating children’s SLA research in English language education in Japan will help
children enjoy the privileges of learning English, which will in turn produce better outcomes
and improve the standard of English education in Japan in the future.

References
Beck, I. L. (2006). Making sense of phonics: The hows and whys. New York, NY: Guilford
Press.
Butler, Y. G. (2007). Foreign Language education at elementary schools in Japan: Searchingfor solutions amidst growing diversification. Current Issues in Language Planning, 8 (2),129-147.
Edelenbos, P., & Kubanek, A. (2009). Early foreign language learning: Published research,
good practice and main principles. In M. Nikolov (Ed.), The Age Factor and Early Language
Learning. 39-58. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

18

OTANI

Honda, K. et al. (2019). Advanced Curriculum Development of the Pre-service Teacher
Training for Primary English Education in Japan: A Comparison with Academic Subjects
in East Asian Countries. Shogakko Eigokyoiku Gakkaishi, 19 (1). 212-227
Izawa, Y. (2020). Saitama-shi no Eigo Kyoiku “Global Studies”. Shido to Hyoka, 66 (5), 15-18.
Korean Ministry of Education. (2022). Training and Evaluation of Educators. Retrieved fromhttp://english.moe.go.kr/sub/infoRenewal.do?m=0309&page=0309&s=english (2022.03.03)
Lee, W. K. (2013, October). Elementary English Education in Korea: Curriculum and Teacher
Training. Symposium conducted at the meeting of JASTEC (Japan Association for the
Study of Teaching English to Children), Showa Jyoshi Daigaku, Tokyo.
MEXT. (2010a). Chuo Kyoiku Shingikai, Shoto Chuto Kyoiku Bunkakai, Kyoiku Katei Bukai,
Gaikokugo Senmon Bukai, Sanko Shiryo: Kankoku ni okeru Shogakko Eigo Kyoiku no
Genjo to Kadai (Central Council for Education, Special Committee on Elementary andSecondary School Education, Special Committee on Course Curriculum, Special Committee
on Foreign Languages, Reference Materials: Current Trends and Issues on Elementary
School English Language Education in Korea).
MEXT. (2010b). Chuo Kyoiku Shingikai, Shoto Chuto Kyoiku Bunkakai, Kyoiku Katei Bukai,
Gaikokugo Senmon Bukai, Sanko Shiryo: Chugoku ni okeru Shogakko Eigo Kyoiku no
Genjo to Kadai (Central Council for Education, Special Committee on Elementary andSecondary School Education, Special Committee on Course Curriculum, Special Committee
on Foreign Languages, Reference Materials: Current Trends and Issues on Elementary
School English Language Education in China).
MEXT. (2010c). Chuo Kyoiku Shingikai, Shoto Chuto Kyoiku Bunkakai, Kyoiku Katei Bukai,
Gaikokugo Senmon Bukai, Sanko Shiryo: Taiwan ni okeru Shogakko Eigo Kyoiku no Genjo
to Kadai (Central Council for Education, Special Committee on Elementary and Secondary
School Education, Special Committee on Course Curriculum, Special Committee on Foreign
Languages, Reference Materials: Current Trends and Issues on Elementary School English
Language Education in Taiwan).
MEXT. (2018). Shogakko Gakusyu Shidoyoryo Kaisetsu. Tokyo: Kairyudo Shuppan.
MEXT. (2019). Eigo Kyoiku Jisshi Jokyo Chosa. Retrieved fromhttps://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/kokusai/gaikokugo/1415042.htm (2022.03.03)
Muñoz, C. (2007). Age-related differences and second language learning practice. In D.
DeKeyser (Ed.), Practice in a Second Language, 229-255. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Nicholas, H., & Lightbown, P. M. (2008). Defining child second language acquisition, definingroles for L2 interaction. In J. Philip, R. Oliver & A. Mackey (Eds.). Second Language
Acquisition and the Younger Learner, Child’s play?, 27-51. Amsterdam: John Benjamins
Publishing Company.
Saitama City Board of Education. (2021). Atarashii Eigokyouiku “Global Study” wo Jisshi
Shiteimasu. Retrieved from https://www.city.saitama.jp/003/002/008/005/p022049.html(2022.03.03)
Shin, J. K., & Crandall (2014). Teaching Young Learners English. Boston: National
Geographic Learning.

19

Research on Early Language Education and Its Application

子供を対象とした第二言語習得研究から得られる小学校外国語・外国語活動への示唆
大谷
【要

旨】

由布子

平成 29 年改定の学習指導要領によって、外国語活動の開始

学年が小学校 3 年生に引き下げられ、高学年では教科としての外国語学習が始まった。このことは、それまでに蓄積された外国語活動の教授法や活動例
をそのまま中学年に移行させればよいということではない。では、実際にどのように小学校外国語・外国語活動を実践していけばよいのか。本論文では、子供を対象とした第二言語習得研究ならびに先行事例を参考に、学習者の発達段階とその特性を取り入れた、小学校外国語教育の在り方と教員の研修、学年に応じた目標や活動について議論する。
【キーワード】

小学校外国語

外国語活動

小学校英語教育教員研修