小学校での英語教育に関する研究 : 韓国での事例と比較して

When the new course of study (学習指導要領) starts in 2002, the "Period of Integrated Studies" will be set up from the third grade of elementary schools. This "Integrated Studies" is an interdisciplinary subject which is aimed to foster problem-solving skills. There are four themes in this subject: \u27international understanding\u27, \u27information\u27, \u27environment\u27, and \u27welfare and health\u27. English conversation can be taught as a part of \u27international understanding\u27. The aim of this paper is to analyze the English teaching in public elementary schools in Japan and also to introduce the case of Korea which started English teaching in elementary schools in 1997. The following results were obtained: 1. The similarities of the two countries\u27 English teaching are as follows: (1) Both countries\u27 aim of teaching English is to foster the skills of understanding and expressing basic English. (2) English is taught focusing on spoken language. (3) Students in both countries like English very much. (4) The problem is that too much time is needed to prepare the classes. 2. The differences are as follows: (1) There are two English classes a week in Korea, while most of the Japanese schools teach English once a week. (2) Team teaching is used in Japanese schools, while the homeroom teacher teaches English in Korea. (3) Japanese teachers don\u27t teach English letters, while Korean teachers teach how to write. We should learn from the English teaching in Korea, especially teacher training in Korea can provide us with a lot of ideas