LETTER FROM HAPPY ENGLISH SCHOOL　August 8th, 2020

August 8th, 2020

LETTER FROM HAPPY ENGLISH SCHOOL

Hello. How are you doing and how is your English study going? We have finished the 2020 first-round STEP written test and have found that the STEP tests see not only students’ English competence but also their views based on logical and critical thinking and presentations of them.

I have found many students do not have insight into social issues and do not know how to express their own opinions in Japanese, let alone in English. Most students do not seem to show interest in delving into social issues nor in constructing their own ideas. Asked what they think about an issue, they are likely to answer “I don’t know,” or “I have never thought of it.” It is a pity they have little knowledge and almost no opinions about what is going on in the world.

I ask myself why students have not attained knowledge which lays the groundwork of developing ideas, and I eventually speculate that they are told to memorize what they have been taught and they actually study through rote-memorization, which does not allow them to lead to good understanding nor further developing ideas. Students learn by heart and forget after they take tests. They do not seem to build up deep knowledge by taking tests, but to get away with the tests by only cramming one-time knowledge into them.

It is impossible for students to form their ideas and opinions with that approach. They may end up resorting to their feelings and emotions when they conclude something. The approach will reflect on their judgement and decision making.

Gathering information, accumulating knowledge, acquiring experts’ perspectives

, summarizing extracts and developing ideas and opinions are the necessary process of arguing. I hope students think about climate change, social inequality, human rights, alternative energy, food security and many other issues and have their own opinions based on what they have learned by going through the process.

Education is not only for students getting knowledgeable, but for students getting analytical, critical and resourceful. With a view to the advent the full-blown digital era, students really need to think and express what they think and why they think so without drifting in the currents of overflowing information.

７月２５日に英検１次が終わり、気づいたことは英検では益々英語力だけでなく、しっかり知識を持ち、いかに自分の意見を述べられるかが問われているということです。 英検２級では、「政府はインターネットである種の情報を制限すべきか。」とか「大企業で働くことを好まない若者が増えているこの傾向は将来続くか。」とかいうようなトピックについてエッセイを書く必要があります。

今はライティングが全体の配点の３分の１を占めるので、しっかり社会情勢・社会問題を知り、その背景にあることをとらえ多角的に考え、意見を持つということが求められます。

そういうたぐいのことを問うと、多くの生徒が「そんなことを考えたことがない」と言ったりします。学校では、あくまでも知識を詰め込むことに躍起になっているようで、しっかりその知識を自分の中に落とし込むことができていないように思われます。英語は特に自分なりに使うことで自分のものになるわけです。覚えるだけに終始するようなことでは、テストが終わるとすぐ忘れてしまう残念なことになってしまいます。

やはり英語は何回も聞いたり、読んだり、言ったり、書いたりして出来上がってくるものです。覚えても使えないことでは、実際に役立ちません。自分を表現するそして意見を述べるところまで、いろいろな機会をとらえて、しっかりトレーニングしてみましょう。頭の中でいろいろな状況を英語で言ってみるとか、３０秒間英語で何かを言ってみる、そしてその後は１分と増やしてみる。様々なことに取り組んでいろいろなことを言えるようにする練習は必要です。英語での発信力をつけるために、Happy English Schoolで特に積極的に英語で表現することに取り組みましょう。