The Progressive Paradox: How ALT’s can usher in a new age of communicative language teaching in Japan Chris Carl Hale Academic Director, NYU School of Professional Studies, ALI Tokyo Center

A Little about Me

 What is it in a general sense?  In a classroom sense?  How about “Listening”?  Reading?  Writing? Try to come up with a definition of “Speaking.”

How is English language normally taught in Japanese classrooms?

How did we get here?

Traditional(ist) Delivery of Education in 19 th and Early 20 th Century US  Traditional education resembles a totalitarian political and social orientation  Traditional education is focused on maintaining classroom order and societal hierarchical structures  Traditional curriculum is too far removed from the referential capabilities of the student  Traditional approach transmits knowledge of facts rather than deals with issues of present and future  Near sadistic focus on high-stakes testing and classroom management Dewey, Experience and Education, 1938

Progressive delivery of education Teachers are seen as facilitators of learning, not as possessors of knowledge to be passed on Progressive education revolves around the ideal that pedagogy must be centered around experience Belief that students need to be placed at the center of the curriculum Progressive education is a highly socializing endeavor, mirroring society at large, and children are naturally social individuals capable of interacting in ways more naturally occurring in a democratic society

second language acquisition (SLA) Traditionalist SLA approaches:  Grammar Translation Method (GTM)  Audio Lingual Method (ALM) o heavily teacher-centered o little emphasis on meaningful, authentic communication o lessons were characterized by endless translation or drilling and repetition activities o the emphasis was not on social interaction and the successful transmission of messages

Progressive SLA  Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)  Content-based Language Teaching (CBLT)  Task-based Language Teaching (TBT)  English for Academic Purposes (EAP)  English for Special Purposes (ESP)  Students must be given opportunities to experience and experiment with the language actively and, above all, orally. Message transmission through social interaction (rather than translation and replication) must be the goal  Heavily influenced by Dewey, Piaget and Vygotsky

“Face-to-face conversation is the ‘cradle’ of language acquisition...” (Wong & Waring, 2010, p.212) Progressive SLA

Progressive Paradox  Movement of Progressive-minded teachers to Asia  Heavy recruitment by host Asian countries  Popular belief that native speakers of a language make the most competent language teachers (Ouyang, 2003)  Universities have increased their numbers of native- English speakers to also give an “international” image to potential students (Whitsed & Wright, 2011)

Progressive Paradox  Due to their perceived “expertise” as language teachers, these Westerners have managed to create an exception to the prescriptivist rule  With the transnational movement of these Western teachers to Asia, there has also been a concomitant importation of liberal, progressive teaching methods  To a large degree, these native teachers have been let to teach their classes according to principles learned in their own teacher training in the West, that is, with a heavy reliance on CLT methodology

“teachers spent most of the class time involved in teacher-fronted grammar explanations, chorus reading, and vocabulary presentations” (Sakui 2004, p. 157). Research involving 139 high school teachers revealed that they “did not frequently use communicative activities” (p. 132) (Nishino 2011, p. 132). 48.5% of 9,726 teachers noticed that less than half of their students’ utterances were in English during oral communication courses (MEXT 2010). The reality in secondary school classrooms Japan:

 English classes to be taught in English  Emphasis should not be on grammar and translation, but on actual language use in meaningful communication.  To carry on a dialogue or exchange views regarding what students have listened to or read. MEXT Guidelines

 To write about one’s thoughts and feelings with regard to issues like what has happened or what one has experienced in everyday situations.  Materials should be useful in enhancing the understanding of various ways of viewing and thinking, fostering the ability to make impartial judgments and cultivating a rich sensibility. MEXT Guidelines

 Materials should be useful in deepening the understanding of the ways of life and cultures of foreign countries and Japan, raising interest in language and culture and developing respectful attitudes toward these.  Materials should be useful in deepening the international understanding from a broad perspective, heightening students’ awareness of being Japanese citizens living in a global community and cultivating a spirit of international cooperation. MEXT Guidelines

 Increase opportunities for Input and Output  Emphasize communication  Emphasize the interests and ideas of the students (student-centered vs teacher-centered)  Incorporate Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approaches. MEXT Guidelines’ Aims

 How can ALTs and JTEs work together to accomplish these aims?  What are some of the restraints/difficulties you face in your daily practice inhibiting your ability to accomplish these goals? MEXT Guidelines’ Aims

 Meaning-focused Input  Activities that focus attention on messages conveyed in the language through listening and reading.  Meaning-focused Output  Activities that focus on conveying meaning through speaking and writing.  Deliberate Attention  Explicit teaching of language items.  Fluency Development  Developing fluent use of known language items. Large amounts of input/output. Time pressure to complete the tasks The Four Strands Nation & Newton, 2010

Why do people play the lottery? Why do people play?

 If you won the lottery of 100,000,000 YEN, what would you do with it?  Think of three things you would do with it and why. Be specific.  Also, think of three bad things about winning so much money.  You will tell your story to a partner  The first time you will have 3 minutes  The second time, you will have 2 minutes  The third time, you will have only 1 minute! 3-2-1

 What are your two favorite movies?  Give details about the plots and why you like them  You will tell your story to a partner  The first time you will have 3 minutes  The second time, you will have 2 minutes  The third time, you will have only 1 minute! 3-2-1

Describe the picture to a partner  Use these expressions:  What did you say about ___ ?  Could you repeat that?  I’m sorry, I didn’t understand what you said.  Where is the ___ ?  Could you tell me how many ___ there are?

Describe the picture to a partner

 JALT.org  Publications  Conferences  Job listings  ETJ  Workshops  Teaching resources  NYU Tokyo  Workshops  Teacher education  Scholarships Resources for Language Teachers in Japan

The Importance of Language Education, In Dewey’s Own Words  There is a difference in the world between having to say something and having something to say. The school and society and the child and the curriculum, 1902, p. 56

Thank you! Chris Carl Hale