TEFL Forum: ELT in Japan, Issue #3 (August 2010)

27 August 2010

ELT in Japan, Issue #3 (August 2010)

Feature 1: Schema theory: Is this set of concepts relevant to TEFL?

Feature 2: Truespel - the English-Based Phonetic Notation  for ESL and EFL as Well

Feature 3: Writing Systems Across Languages and Cultures: Implications for Language Teaching and Learning

Feature 4: Japanese publishers of EFL books for self-study/ 自習のための言語・英語材料の出版社 

 

And then there were 13

In 2008 the Japanese government announced its ambitions to increase the number of  international students in higher education from around 120,000 to 300,000 by the year 2020.

At the same time, the higher education system was supposed to working collectively on forming a core global 30 of top universities in internationalized undergraduate programs, post-graduate education, and research. However, Japan seems to lurch from government to government and has never really got very far out of the economic doldrums for nearly two decades. This economic stagnation has compounded fiscal and monetary crises, which were also deepened by the global economic turmoil of the past several years.

Now the government has scaled back its plans for 30 world-class universities to 13--mostly because it can't really afford to fund even 13 and also because most other universities probably didn't think it was worth jumping through all the hoops in order to qualify for the funding. Meanwhile the goal of 300,000 international students seems more remote than ever in light of the fact that so much funding for international students has fallen through this year because of the ongoing fiscal crisis at the national level as well as the funding shortages at the universities.

Finally, it is this publication's opinion that the language policy goals of the '300,000 International Students Plan' are also dubious. First, most Japanese universities do not have enough faculty prepared to plan, teach and evaluate courses in English. Second, since most of the international students come from countries where English is a foreign or supplementary language, the Japanese universities and programs are completely unprepared to teach and guide the research of students who have beginning to intermediate English proficiency. And since the vast majority of international students in Japan come from China, this issue is hardly a trivial one. Still it seems unlikely that the Japanese government and the universities will be able to dig themselves out of the fiscal and financial crisis well enough for the language policy issues to get worse than they already are now (with 120,000 international students and most from China).     

Further reading at the Ministry of Education's website is at the following links. Excerpted content (in italics) follows the links.

http://www.mext.go.jp/english/news/1283454.htm

http://www.mext.go.jp/component/english/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2009/08/26/1283454_2.pdf

Japan formulated the 300,000 International Students Plan in July of 2008, with the aim of receiving 300,000 international students by 2020. The “Global 30” Project for Establishing Core Universities for Internationalization is being implemented to realize this goal by selecting measures for the internationalization of universities including the recruitment of international students, along with forming Japan’s centers of internationalization. Selected universities will receive prioritized financial assistance of 200 to 400 million yen per annum over the next 5 years. Endowed with this aid, each university will strive to recruit 3000 to 8000 international students.


In 2009, the following 13 universities were selected as global centers:

Tohoku University, University of Tsukuba, The University of Tokyo, Nagoya University, Kyoto University, Osaka University, Kyushu University, Keio University, Sophia University, Meiji University, Waseda University, Doshisha University, and Ritsumeikan University



Core universities will take the following steps to create an attractive educational and research environment for international students.


１）Expansion of course programs by which degrees can be earned through English-only classes


⇒ Establish courses at the universities selected through which English-only degrees can be obtained: 33 undergraduate courses and 124 graduate courses over the next 5 years


２）Enhancement of systems for receiving/hosting international students


⇒ Enhance systems for receiving/hosting international students, such as specialist support in studying and academics, as well as for completing various procedures and formalities both in/out of the university; and provide internship programs at Japanese corporations, etc.


３）Provide international students with opportunities to learn about Japanese language and culture


⇒ A plan to provide high-quality instruction in Japanese language and culture


４）Promotion of strategic international cooperation


⇒ Establish two separate overseas offices per core university, to enable local recruitment through admissions tests, etc., and boost the number of Japanese students studying abroad through exchange study programs, etc.

'ELT in Japan' is the sister publication of 'Japan HEO'

If you teach EFL in Japan or are interested in doing so, by all means, check it out:

http://www.eltinjapan.com/

http://eltinjapan.blogspot.com/

The latest issue of ELT in Japan is located here:

http://eltinjapan.blogspot.com/2010/08/elt-in-japan-issue-3-august-2010_3658.html


ELT in Japan's feature articles are archived at the links below:

 ELT-J ISSUE ARCHIVE

• ELT in Japan Issue #2 (March 2010) as online readable/downloadable documents
• ELT in Japan Issue #2 (March 2010)
• ELT in Japan Issue #1 (December 2009) bonus article
• ELT in Japan Issue #1 (December 2009) as online readable/downloadable documents
• ELT in Japan Issue #1 (December 2009)

Overview of original content published at Japan Higher Education Outlook

• A brief look at academic freedom in HE in Japan
• An extended look at academic freedom in Japan HE
• Are universities in Japan accredited?
• Breaking down the 'theory vs. practice' distinction
• Demographic disaster for Japan higher education Pts. II-III
• Demograpic disaster for Japan higher education Pt. 1
• ELT in Japan online publication now launched
• End of Japan's National Development State for Higher Education
• End of the national development state for HE in Japan
• Follow-up: Japan and Malaysia to establish a joint university of technology
• Getting Information on Japan's Higher Education IN ENGLISH
• How many universities are there in Japan?
• Is University of Tokyo Japan's only world-class university?
• Japan aims for world class universities
• Japan and Malaysia to establish a joint university of technology
• Japan's tertiary education system: Developments in the Koizumi era of reform
• Over half a million take university entrance exams in Japan
• Pork barrel boondoggle in the Ryukyu Islands
• Profile of Japan's top university--U. of Tokyo (Toudai)
• Teaching as a Foreign National at Japanese Universities
• TEFL Forum: Do Japanese EFL students need 'katakana eigo to learn and to read English?
• TEFL Forum: Native writing systems: Positive transfer or interference for EFL learning?
• TEFL forum: Ten reasons why English learning in Japan fails
• Ten reasons why English learning in Japan fails
• The end of Japan's national development and reform eras for higher education
• The Facially Salient Articulatory Gesture as a Basic Unit for Applied Phonology in ELT
• Try free open-source run-anywhere software
• Why is 'research' in ELT/TEFL/TESOL/AL/SLA so irrelevant?

Study in Japan: A Comprehensive Guide

Topics

• Japanese-language Schools 
• Support for Finding Employment at Japanese Companies 
• About Short-term Study and Student Exchange Programs
• Postdoctoral Fellowships for Foreign Researchers
• Follow-up Research Fellowship
• The International Priority Graduate Programs (PGP)
  Advanced Graduate Courses for International Students
• Career Development Program for Foreign Students from Asia

	"Events Information" is updated. (Jul. 29, 2010)
	New Addition "Immigration Procedures" in "For Prospective Students" (Jun. 30, 2010)
	New Addition "Qualifying Examinations for Applicants for Japanese Government Scholarships 2010" in "For Prospective Students"(May 19, 2010)
	New Addition "Application Guidelines for Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) Scholarships 2010" in "For Prospective Students" (Apr. 02, 2010)
	"New Addition " Message from a Student" (Mar. 31, 2010)
	New Addition "Application Guidelines of Japanese Government Sponsored Scholarships (Japanese Studies Student and Teacher Training Student) in "For Prospective Students" (Jan. 07, 2010)
	"Japanese-language Schools" is updated. (Jul. 31, 2009)
	"Support for Finding Employment at Japanese Companies" is updated. (Jul.31, 2009)

Tokyo Tech to take lead in supercomputing in Japan

AP - Kyodo News report that the Tokyo Institute of Technology plans to have its new Tsubame 2.0 ('tsubame' is Japanese for the fast-flying bird, the swallow) operational later this year, giving it the lead in speed and processing power in Japan. Japan, however, has taken a backseat in supercomputer progress in recent years in terms of global rankings. Still, Japanese manufacturers NEC, Fujitsu and Hitachi remain world class developers of technology for supercomputing. For example, NEC recently announced development of a computer chip that is the world's fastest, surpassing anything Intel has. And Fujitsu plans to increase sales of supercomputers to European institutions and companies.

RIKEN, the supergroup of research institutes in Japan, plans to construct the world's most powerful supercomputer, which would put the country back in the top spot. However, this extravagant undertaking faced suspension due to proposed budget cuts. The project has received enough of a 'lifeline' to keep going, but the 2012 deadline looks questionable.    

See article at link below, excerpt follows link.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9GCI7R85&show_article=1


TOKYO, June 17 (AP) - (Kyodo)—The Tokyo Institute of Technology said Wednesday it will commence in November the full-fledged operation of Tsubame 2.0, which would become Japan's fastest supercomputer.

The computer can calculate 2,400 trillion times per second, or 12 times faster than a supercomputer at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, which is currently the fastest in the country.

Tsubame 2.0, however, is expected to be overtaken once Riken, a comprehensive research institute for natural sciences, starts operating a next-generation supercomputer in 2012. The Riken supercomputer project had faced suspension under a decision by the waste-cutting panel of the government led by the Democratic Party of Japan but was later allotted a budget to continue development.

Study at a university in Japan

This is the Japan Times directory of universities:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/universities/japanese_universities.html

Bicycles as far as the eye can see

Rows of bicycles in front of the College of 
Science and Technology, 

University of Fukui, Bunkyo Campus. 

How do most students get to university in Japan? The number one choice for travel is the bicycle. Regional commuting students who drive their cars are a minority, since most students live in private apartments and dormitories near the campuses.

Believe it or not, bicycles have created an environmental problem for crowded urban campuses: thousands of abandoned bikes left on campus. Japan's numerous urban campuses are troubled by 'sodai gomi'--large items of rubbish, such as bicycles, motor scooters, motorcycles, kitchen appliances, etc.--left by students or dumped by people over the schools' walls.

Row of bicycles in front of the College of Education 
and Regional Studies, 

University of Fukui, Bunkyo Campus

A truckload of abandoned bicycles being taken
away from Univ. of Fukui campus.

Get Japan Higher Education Outlook Widget

http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/japan-higher-education-outlook

Who evaluates the evaluators? University rankings face shake up and more competition

Nature reports that university rankings are set to change for the better, with more sophisticated tools used to rank the world's HE and research institutions. As we have been following global rankings of universities and how they appear to be prejudiced against Asian institutions (except Hong Kong and Singapore), we thought we would point out this article published earlier this year.

Perhaps the biggest change is that the THES rankings will be based on data from Thomson Reuters from now on, not QS. Meanwhile, QS plans to press on and improve its own methodology. Moreover, other rankings and more nuanced and balanced methodologies are going to challenge the dominance of THES and ARWU (compiled by Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China). The former is often criticized as too unbalanced toward 'reputation' and volatile while the latter is said to emphasize scientific research results above all else. However, Japanese institutions fare about as well on both (which is, not very well) even though you might think a research bias would help them on ARWU.    

Url and excerpt follows:

http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100303/full/464016a.html

Published online 3 March 2010 | Nature  464, 16-17 (2010)

excerpt:

Several approaches to university rankings now being developed are switching the emphasis away from crude league tables and towards more nuanced assessments that could provide better guidance for policy-makers, funding bodies, researchers and students alike. They promise to rank universities on a much wider range of criteria, and assess more intangible qualities, such as educational excellence. And the THE ranking list is trying to remake itself in the face of the criticism.

end of excerpt, for entire article see link