園長先生から From the Principal
Chapter 8 English at home
Chapter 8 is up and away. In this chapter I cover the importance of using English at home and how it can be done.
Thanks again Emi Yamaguchi for translating the chapter into Japanese.
Chapter 8 日本語
https://www.littlelorikeets.com/booklets/400-hours/chapter-8-日本語
Chapter 8 English
https://www.littlelorikeets.com/booklets/400-hours/chapter-8/
Emi Yamaguchi
Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Todays chapter is about the importance of very proficient teachers and what they mean to students,
And creole languages.
I want to thank Emi Yamaguchi for translating into Japanese.
Chapter 7 日本語
https://www.littlelorikeets.com/booklets/400-hours/chapter-7-日本語
Chapter 7 English
https://www.littlelorikeets.com/booklets/400-hours/chapter-7/
Emi Yamaguchi's Linkedin Profile:
Chapter 5 Reading Is Important
Chapter 5 is uploaded
Why is it important to start reading English as soon as possible.
Let's find out in this week's chapter.
Again a shout out to Emi Yamaguchi for the japanese translation.
Chapter 5 日本語
https://www.littlelorikeets.com/booklets/400-hours/chapter-5-日本語
Chapter 5 English
https://www.littlelorikeets.com/booklets/400-hours/chapter-5/
Emi Yamaguchi
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emi-yamaguchi-6b0719241/
#gradedreaders #reading #著書
(Images created with Bing)
Chapter 4 Katakana!?
Chapter 4 of the booklet up and away .
Katakana the root of pronunciation problems.
Everyone knows this right.... Or do they? 😅
Anyway just my ideas and opinions.
As always translateed by Emi Yamaguchi
Chapter 4 日本語
https://www.littlelorikeets.com/booklets/400-hours/chapter-4-日本語/
Chapter 4 Eng
https://www.littlelorikeets.com/booklets/400-hours/chapter-4/
Emi Yamaguchi
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emi-yamaguchi-
#カタカナ #教育 #発音
(images created with Bing)
The Importance of English Chapter 2
Chapter two of the booklet I wrote while at Globis University is up on the website.
Japanese translation by Emi Yamaguchi
Chapter two is about the GIG Economy and what it means for Japanese people wanting to work overseas from now on.
Of course these are just my ideas and opinions.
Chapter 2 日本語
https://www.littlelorikeets.com/booklets/400-hours/chapter-2-日本語
Chapter 2 English
https://www.littlelorikeets.com/booklets/400-hours/chapter-2/
Globis IMBA program:
(All Images created with Bing)
#gigeconomy #gig #japan
400 Hours Chapter 1
Chapter 1 of my booklet 400 Hours is up on the website.
Written in English and Japanese, translated by Emi Yamaguchi.
The booklet Is a collection of my thoughts and opinions on English education in Japan.
For educators these thoughts are rudimentary, the booklet is not written for them but for the parents here to understand some of the hurdles, when it comes to English acquisition in Japan.
I wrote the book while studying at @GLOBIS_IMBA and finally have time to "publish" it.
Chapter 1 Japanese:
https://www.littlelorikeets.com/booklets/400-hours/chapter-1-日本語
Chapter 1 English:
https://www.littlelorikeets.com/booklets/400-hours/chapter-1/
#littlelorikeets #education
みんなの学校
Today we attended Grassroots Education's movie session.
Mai Katagiri with her team organised the event.
The movie was very interesting, on the Intergration of special needs children and how they can fit into the school system with caring teachers and support.
Watching a few individuals go through the school year, starting out not wanting to attend but slowly understanding that they are surrounded by friends they start taking responsibility for themselves.
The movie really highlighted for me that if regular students understand they will have empathy and accept.
Where at another school other students would think that the special individual is a hindrance or strange.
In the case of the school we were watching the other students of the class listen and see that the special individual has a unique outlook too.
It's great to see this D&I happening in primary schools.
Don't sweat on the basics
Cameron here, Pinicipal of Little Lorikeets.
This is a very good point on language aquisition and is why we highlight here at Little Lorikeets why starting as soon as possible is important.
The natural order of language aquisition..
Kids will pick up the right way of speaking the language at particular times and it doesn't matter how much the parent or teacher corrects it.
I have found this with my own children and also see it daily in the school. The biggest factor I see for gettng a language is "Time in the Language".
It has taken me personally 18 years to get fairly proficient at Japanese and thats slow haha, well actually it took about 3-4 years to start being able to attain daily conversational level that Japanese natives could understand. And I wans't immersed in the language because i had the chance to communicate in English with family and friends.
From my own analogy as well as your own exxperiences learning English at primary school and high school how slow it can be..
Therefore you should invest in your childs future by giving them as much time in an all English envronment as possible.
#basics #immersive #SteveKaufmann
This article is true.
This morning my junior high student
This morning my junior high student was reading from his NHK 現代英語 about a cafe in Tokyo called "Avatar robot cafe". In the cafe they run a hybrid system where they have robots working but they are operated by people who have disabilities and cannot leave home.
I was impressed for three reasons.
1. That they are trying to merge the human and technology together and removing barriers
2. Finding a solution for the the lack of human resources in the labor market by taping into an underutilized resource.
3. That NHK is teaching this to junior high school students, which is great because it's preparing them for the technovate future they will live in, showing that NHK is forward thinking (actually the book is for senior high, but he already has 英検 準1級）
I just found this interesting as I have just finished Globis's "Technovate for future enterprise" with Jorge Calvo, PhD as our lecturer, and we learnt all about this, the new industry 5.0 ...maybe ?
Personal LinkedIn account
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameron-hill-/
Technovate for future enterprise
https://www.globis.ac.jp/curriculum/course-search-results/technovate-for-future-enterprise/
NHK 現代英語
https://www.nhk-book.co.jp/detail/text-09535-2021.html
GLOBIS University - Graduate School of Management
https://www.globis.ac.jp/
#japan #technology
#robotcafe
#NHK
#現代英語 #mba #mbastudent
#technovate
#Globis #industry4 #industry5
Little Lorikeets went out
Little Lorikeets went out on a small field trip today with the whole school to the local zoo
Usually we only go out with years 5,4,and 3 and year 1 and 2 take the day off.
BUT near the end of the school year they are starting to have understanding, and have the stamina (though there was a bit of crying and complaints on the way back).
Getting out of the school and seeing different things and animals is important for language development especially their English development.
A development that I say to the parents until I'm blue in the face is important but they are still content to attend regular Kindergarten after using us for one or two years as a preschool before normal kindergarten.
They leave just when the language is just starting to take root, and as we all know plants with shallow roots plants wither and die. And that is what use to happen, we would have speaking 2-3 year olds leave, and in the next April attend our afterschool and what they use to be able to do in kinder (output) quickly disappeared.
Which is why 2 years ago we decided to only accept graduates In our afternoon program.
It is financially costly but if I keep chasing quantity instead of quality the students levels will never increase to the levels I expect.
Something I knew instinctively but was too scared to change and so every year I still let some join the afternoon classes.
BUT after studying at Globis university about strategic thinking and sticking with it if it's sound really helped.
It was persevere or pivot time and we decided to pivot.
What disappoints me the most is the parents thinking that, oh they can speak and understand enough and that's enough.
In these times of VUCA and how the economy is changing into the GIG economy, having value, such as speaking English fluently, under your belt at a young age when children have the time for it is so important.
And so I'm glad that so far we have had 3 lots of graduate's, and though the numbers have been small (because of the reasons I forementioned) the quality of English, the comprehension is unbelievable now.
It seems that if they have the language scaffolding set by 6 years old, when they go to primary/elementary school they can retain new language so fast. And because they attended 4-5 years of international kindergarten they have output too. (Again relating to leaving too early. For an immersive English environment. output disappears very quickly after leaving)
This is a brief post on my opinions and I'll follow up with the observations that I have found over the years.
From the start I have been collecting as data the amount of time spent in my schools immersive environment and I have started to notice trends.
Thanks GLOBIS University - Graduate School of Management for starting me on the path to a more conscious way of strategic thinking.
Globis
https://www.globis.ac.jp/
Personal LinkedIn account
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameron-hill-/
www.littlelorikeets.com
#internationaleducation
#school #university #development #data #language #content #environment #management
#littlelorikeets #globis
2nd of Feb, 2nd Japanese speech Yippee
Yesterday I did a Japanese speech. I've only done 1 more in Japanese before this one. It's getting a little easier.
The speeches theme was about my Uncle and what I knew of him. Unfortunately he died recently in a bike accident.
Last time I met him was 20 plus years ago. He took me on a road trip, it was a great experience and he taught me lots of things. It's really sad I won't be able to meet him again.
Because of what happened and the fact that I am progressing towards getting my bike license, I've been increasing interested in how to ride bikes safely.
So I have been watching channels that specializes in bike riding skills to learn more about it.
One channel I have taken a liking, is Motojitsu.
Actually in yesterday's speech I referenced Fast Eddie and his channel.. Please go and have a look..
#bikesafty #安全運転 #トーストマスターズ #西宮トスートマスターズクラブ #toastmasters @motojitsuclub
Language Teaching Professionals kyoto seminar Jan
Today I went to the language teaching professional's seminar in Kyoto.
It was an exciting seminar with Chadi Dubois.
Thanks very much
#ltp #kyoto #seminar #京都駅 #セミナー #tesol #tesolcertificate #tesolteacher #davidpaul
英語の演説は大事です
Today I had a speech at the Itami #toastmasters club it went really well and luckily I won the best
speaker award.. I'm really grateful.
Though today I wasn't really in the mood to go to the club. I was going to cancel.
Sadly yesterday my uncle had died in an automobile accident and thinking of him through out the day, I wasn't quite in the right mind for today's meeting. When he worked he was very professional
when he played he played hard. I take those lessons I learnt from him to heart. Sometimes you just have to put on the smiley face and do what you have to do.
#itami #itamitoastmasters #伊丹市 #伊丹トスートマスターズクラブ
#bestspeaker #toastmasters @killermoa
Another interesting #seminar
Another interesting #seminar .. on teaching elementary/primary school kids. By Aurora Dobashi
We had fun learnt lots of new ways on how to use games etc.
Worthwhile experience.
#languageteachingprofessionals seminar
#kyoto #ltp #englishteaching #セミナー #seminar #littlelorikeets #little_lorikeets #cam_in_jap
Learning Languages
We always emphasize the importance of language and learning multiple languages.
That's also applies to me too. Even though I don't speak Japanese in the school I live in Japan and still need to be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in the nation language。So I go to a Japanese Language Toast Masters club to continue to improve. I also beclong to an English Toast Masters club to improve my English too haha.
Word of the day
Today at Toast Masters I was the Word master and pur up the word of the day.
I was impressed alot of people used the word in thyeir speeches and introductions .
I was happy to see that it was easy to use for the Japanese members.
Some examples using edify
At a time when Britain is fighting rising Islamophobia, the outpouring of affection for an Egyptian-
national superstar who is proud and public about his Muslim faith has been edifying.
— Grant Wahl, SI.com, "After Remarkable Rise, Mohamed Salah Shoulders Egypt's World Cup Hopes," 29 May 2018
Architecture to me is successful when the community is empowered by it, is edified by it, and is
elevated by it. — Steven Litt, cleveland.com, "Q&A with David Adjaye, designer of Smithsonian's African American museum," 13 May 2018
Take, as an edifying out-of-town example, the Atlantic Casino Hilton Hotel, built in 1985.
— Yvonne Abraham, BostonGlobe.com, "The Wynn mess, and the Mass. Gaming Commission’s big problem," 4 Apr. 2018
The problem is, the debate usually devolves into a facile back and forth that edifies no one.
— Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "Don't bother Doc. He's mock-drafting the 2018 NFL Draft. Pay attention, mobsters.," 21 Mar. 2018
And the thought of the administration’s settling for second best out of expediency, or vamping
indefinitely until Maestro Right should miraculously appear, wasn’t edifying.
— John Von Rhein, chicagotribune.com, "Muti re-ups at CSO through 2022, announces a 2018-19 season honoring Armistice centennial," 30 Jan. 2018
The past several weeks haven’t been particularly edifying for the health of American culture.
— The Editorial Board, WSJ, "Our Dumbed-Down Culture," 13 Oct. 2017
Reality agreed to date her high-school boyfriend, Carlos, on certain conditions intended to improve
and to edify. — Kerry Howley, Daily Intelligencer, "‘The World’s Biggest Terrorist Has a Pikachu Bedspread’," 22 Dec. 2017
The distillery tour was edifying, the country beautiful, the double-oaked bourbon like drinking an
alcoholic waffle. — Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "Doc's TML: The NFL is never as it seems," 9 Oct. 2017
Contextual Learning Seminar
Went to a great seminar today. The lecturer was Scott Crowe. A really enthusiastic lecturer who is very knowledgeable.
I learnt a lot today, but also realized how much I already know..
Will be incorporating some of Scott Crowes teachings in to my school.
I look forward to the next #languageteachingprofessionals seminar
#kyoto #ltp #englishteaching #セミナー #seminar #littlelorikeets #little_lorikeets #cam_in_jap
Toast Masters Experience
Recently I have joined ToastMasters. I wanted to Improve my public speaking abilities, meet new people and learn how to teach public speaking to the students of my school Little Lorikeets.
It's been a great experience, really enjoyable. I have Joined a Bilingual club in Itami called Itami ToastMasters there I intend on polishing my English public speaking. The other club which is in Nishinomiya and is a Japanese only club, and is called Nishinomiya ToastMasters there I can gain the ability to do a speech in Japanese . Public speaking is a really important skill to develop and even though I am able to speak publicly in a proficient manner in English I could still use polishing. My main concern though is developing my ability to speak in Japanese as I intend on living in Japan indefinitely.
In Little Lorikeets I always encourage the students to stand up in front of their peers and read their graded reading or the paragraph that they have written from the project we are working on for the week.
This month at the Itami ToastMasters club I was fortunate enough to win the Table Topics award . Table topics is a great way to practise your impromptu speaking abilities and get use to being put on the spot in front of an audience.
I hope that if ever you get the chance to attend a ToastMasters meeting you will take it up.
and maybe I might meet you there.
School contracts 来年度契約
Having a dinner party with the owners of schools that I have contracts with.. great people such a fun time.
Next school year is going to be even better for their students.... #ikedacity #池田市 #保育園 #english #cam_in_jap #littlelorikeets #幼稚園 #little_lorikeets #成果授業
My experience with bilingual kids
Over the years I always encounter parents who are worried about putting their children into an International, English only school. They worry that their child will not learn Japanese properly and will be left behind, I can say that this is not the case from personal experience.
I have five children and the oldest now is Eleven years old, sixth grade at primary school. The next is fourth grade, and then the next after that is second grade.The fourth child is attending a Japanese Kindergarten but at the start had practically zero. Now he is in his final hear he is speaking Japanese more fluently every day.
None of our children when they started two year kindergarten. When they started two year kindergarten that’s when their Japanese took off and by time they graduated their spoken language is equivalent to their peers. The final child is attending our International kindergarten but will attend a Japanese kindergarten from next year as she needs to speak Japanese before she enters primary school.
In my house from the start Ive set the rule of “No Japanese” and even when we go out we continue to speak English only. But as the kids are getting older more and more Japanese is insidiously creeping into my household, of course the kids who practically had no Japanese ability at all are now fluent in Japanese and can describe certain thing a lot easier in Japanese, and so I have to tell them to stop describing the topic in Japanese and to explain it in English. This of course is important because until I hear them try to describe the topic they want to talk about I can’t correct them or add more advanced concepts or terminology to their language.
I ask my wife about their Japanese and she says it’s perfect and they have no problem communicating with their Japanese grandparents or our Japanese friends in Japanese. Of course with our first child starting Primary school it was a bit hard but only because of having to learn hiragana, katakana and kanji from zero, we didn’t give him any Japanese colouring books or Hiragana drill books when he was younger, so he had to learn from zero and his Japanese reading ability was low but now he’s in sixth grade and there is no problem as such and because our younger children have been watching him go through this they have learnt what to do, a lot faster. Our second child who is in fourth grade now is finding it a lot easier to pick up kokugo (Japanese language) than he did.
Now on the other hand Japanese parents with Japanese grandparents, friends aunts and uncles, Japanese TV , Japanese people sitting beside them on the train etc etc don’t need to worry about their Children not being able to get Japanese…
There is No chance of this in Japan the language is too pervasive, too natural for them to pick up. Even from their mother's belly they are hearing Japanese and learning it, when they are at the Baby Hirobas (learning circles) they are seeing other mothers, fathers and babies talking to each other. At the parks they go to and play at, the people there are all speaking Japanese. mothers give their children Japanese colouring sheets that have Hiragana written all over them and the children ask what’s this and what’s that and the mothers teaches them in Japanese. Even when they went to their grandparents house for the weekend the grandparents speak to them in Japanese and explain things to them in Japanese. At home while eating lunch the mum turns on the TV and watches Japanese TV programs, or listens to Japanese music. I know of these things because it is what is happening to my children too.
Even If you put your child into a International Daycare and spoke to the child in English at home and made it an English mainly environment the children would still get Japanese from dad when he gets home from work unless he decides to speak English too. Grandparents and friends when they visit , outside shopping and traveling, there is too much chance to hear and speak Japanese.
At the start the well intending parents are expecting to speak English all the time to their child, and so they worries about Japanese, but It takes a rare individual to do that and over the years. I see that parents end up speaking Japanese to the child anyway, especially if they are tired from working all day. Trying to describe something in another language to a crying child gets tiring when you yourself is tired.
So even though I could keep on going into every minute detail I’ll finish here by saying that In Japan and parents thinking of putting their children into an International School should not be concerned about the child not learning the mother tongue.
If anything they should be really really concerned with their children learning English or another language to a proficient level so that, that child can hear natives speak without a problem and be able to speak with a beautiful accent with clear pronunciation.
Cameron Hill
言語に関する本を読んでいるのですが
言語に関する本を読んでいるのですが、その本によると、人間は赤ちゃんの時から常に「聴く」ということを行い、口や発声器官の使い方を学習していると書かれてありました。生後18ヶ月までには、ちゃんとした単語ではないものの、言葉を言い始めるようになり、小学校へ入学する頃までずっと、口や発声器官の使い方を学び続けながら、正しく言えるようになっていくそうです。生後18ヶ月までに既に膨大な量の認知用語彙を持っており、18ヶ月以降からは文法を習得し始めます。つまり、単語を意味のある文章へ繋げていく力を学んでいくのです。そして、すぐに子どもはどんどん複雑な文章を作り上げていけるようになります。
これらの情報から推定すると、親から50語ほどしか学ぶことのない日本の子ども達に対し、英語圏の赤ちゃんが平均して100語ほど習得しているという状況からも、日本人にとって英単語の発音が難しい理由が理解できると思います。18ヶ月という時間をかけて「音」(有声音／無声音)を正しく習得するという事実から、第二言語を学び始めるのは、早ければ早い方がいい、その重要性が分かると思います。早くに始めると、子どもは発声器官を上手く使える状態で習得できるようになっていきます。一方で、年齢が進んでから言語を学習する場合、正しい発音を学習しながら、同時に単語や文法も学ばないといけなくなるため、負担がかかり難しくなるでしょう。
I've been reading a book on language.
The author writes that as babies we are always listening and learning how to use our mouths and vocal organs. By 18 months old we are starting to say words maybe not well formed words though.
What's he says is we are still learning to use our mouths and vocal organs to say things properly right up until we get to primary school. He says that by 18 months we have a huge passive
vocabulary though. He says that from 18 months onwards we start developing grammar which is the ability to link words together in meaningful sentences. In a short period of time children are able
to start making more and more complicated sentences.
So taking this information and extrapolating it to Japan children who learn from their parents only 50 something sounds, whereas the average English speaking Baby learns hundreds, we can see why
Japanese have difficulty pronouncing English words. When we see that it takes 18 months to start getting the sounds right .ie. the voiced and unvoiced sounds, it shows the importance of starting
another language as soon as possible so that the children can get their vocal organs ready.
If you start learning a language at an older age the frustrations of having to learn how to make the sounds and learning the words and grammar all at the same time would be overwhelming.
David Crystal
#bilingualkids #バイリンガル #子供英語 #池田市 #英語
#保育園 #幼稚園 #internationalschool #池田市英語 #インターナショナル幼稚園 #インターナショナル保育園
#インターナショナルスクール #池田市 #箕面市 #川西市 #豊中市 #宝塚市 #英語生活 #英語で遊ぼう #バイリンガル育児 #little_lorikeets #littlelorikeets #davidcrystal #littlebookoflanguage
KInder starting back 幼稚園の新学期
Getting in to the flow, after 3 days the new kids are starting to get use to the #schools schedule.
The kids are great
#learning #english #esl . #bilingualkids #バイリンガル #子供英語 #池田市 #littlelorikeets #英語
#保育園 #幼稚園 #internationalschool #池田市英語 #little_lorikeets #cam_in_jap #インターナショナル幼稚園
池田市 豊中市
箕面市 宝塚市
伊丹市 川西市
2018 starting ceremony 入園式
On Saturday the 7th we had our starting ceremony for our #kindergarten
It went very well and the parents enjoyed it. Lots of the parents speak #english very well which is a great help too.
#入園式
#learning #english #esl . #bilingualkids #バイリンガル #子供英語 #池田市 #littlelorikeets #英語
#保育園 #幼稚園 #internationalschool #池田市英語
#little_lorikeets #cam_in_jap #インターナショナル幼稚園
池田市 豊中市
箕面市 宝塚市
伊丹市 川西市
英会話
見学に行かせてもらいました
Went to K.I 保育園 for a #見学 #schooltour yesterday. To get some ideas and learn somethings.
I use to work at K.I kids from when I got to Japan until around 8 years ago. The owner is a good friend. I've learnt lots over the years from her.
http://ki-kids.net/
#daycare #川西市 #保育園
#インターナショナル保育園
#bilingual
Continuation Ceremony / 卒園式
今日はPreschool kidsのContinuation ceremony（継続式）でした.+*:ﾟ+｡.☆ 1人づつ前に立って☆
聞かれたことに答え、証書を受け取りました！
緊張してるkids・張り切るkids・いつもより大きな…小さな（笑）声でしっかり答えていましたね！
これからは今までのようにNo Japaneseの時間が長くありません…でも、続けていかないと意味がない！これからもみんなの笑顔に会えるのをRainbowクラスで待っています☆
いつものようにお友達とペアになって公園にも遊びに行きました～.+*:ﾟ+｡.☆今日はママも一緒のお友達も、いつものように外でもEnglish onlyで遊べましたね( *´︶`*) 今までのお子様の頑張りをたくさん褒めてあげてください！
また4月からもContinuing！
#卒園式
#learning #english #esl style. #bilingualkids#バイリンガル #子供英語 #池田市#littlelorikeets #英語
#保育園 #幼稚園 #冬 #internationalschool #池田市英語 #little_lorikeets #cam_in_jap
Friends
Friends
来年度の幼稚園／保育園 入園の説明会を実施しています。
毎年、同じ質問をされるのですが、そのうちの一つについて、ここでお答えしたいと思います。他のよくある質問については、また別の機会にお話致します。
今回お答えしたいのは、「インターナショナル幼稚園／保育園に通ったら、小学校で友達ができなくなるんじゃないか」という質問です。
まずお伝えしたいのですが、友達はできます。インターで出会った友達、つまり英語を話す友達とは、同じ小学校に行くなら、当然友達になるでしょう。日本の幼稚園に通ったとしても、小学校に上がってからもずっと同じ子と友達でいるかは分かりません。池田の保育園で教えていますが、子ども達は、呉服小学校、池田小学校、五月丘小学校、緑ヶ丘小学校、秦野小学校、と、色々な小学校に通っています。幼稚園や保育園で一番仲がよかった友達と同じ小学校に行くとは限らないし、同じ小学校に行ったとしても、同じクラスになるとも限りません。子どもは、すぐ友達をつくります。私自身、3つの小学校に通っていましたが、友達はできましたし、高校でも同じように友達がいました。
敢えて言うのであれば、インターでできた友達は、一般の学校でできた友達とは違う価値があるのではないでしょうか。なぜかと言うと、その理由の一つは、英語で会話できる仲間ができること、そして、一緒に遊んだり英語を伸ばしたりできる環境も共有できる、ということです。これはインターに行ったことによる最高の特典ではないでしょか。
もう一つの点として、非常に高い英語力があると、外国人の友達もできやすいでしょう。そのような出会い・関係は、将来かけがえのないものになると思います。そこから、どんな世界が拡がっていくか、計り知りません。
友達ができる・できないという点はさておき、将来の仕事のことを考えてみましょう。小学校に上がって友達がたくさんでき、英語を流暢に話すことができれば、英語しか使えないような職種があった場合、その仕事に就けるチャンスがあります。一方で、日本語しか話さない子ども達は、小学校でたくさん友達はできても、幼稚園や保育園からの友達でない可能性が高いと思います。そして、そのような子ども達は、カタカナ英語や日常英会話レベルでは、高い英語力が求められる仕事に就くことは難しいでしょう。
私自身の経験から言えることもご紹介します。5人の子どもがいるのですが、上の子2人は今小学生で、3番目の子も今年小学校に入学します。2人とも、幼稚園の時の友達と、小学校に上がってからの友達は違うようです。みんな少なからず、そんな感じなのではないでしょうか。幼稚園で一番仲がよかった友達と、小学校1年では違うクラスになってしまったり。
そこには言語の壁はなく、私の子ども達は幼稚園や小学校の友達には日本語しか話しません。が、これは私の頑固さが功を成してか家の中では英語しか話しません。英語しか話せなかった私の子どもたちは2年間の幼稚園生活を過ごし、今では英語も日本語も流暢に話せています。
私が子ども達を日本の幼稚園に通わせた理由は一つ、彼らにはきちんとした日本語をしっかり学んでほしいと思ったからです。一般の日本の家庭で育った子どもであれば、これは何の心配もいらないことで、この点については、次のブログでお話しようと思います。
My Experience with bilingual kids
何年もの間、子どもをインターナショナルスクール、つまり英語オンリーの学校に入れることを懸念する親御さんをみてきました。
懸念されていることは、インターに入れると日本語が適切に習得できず、遅れをとってしまうんじゃないか、ということだと思います。ですが、私自身の経験からすると、それは心配ないと言えます。
一番上の長男は今10歳の小学4年生です。 二番目の子どもは小学2年生、三番目の子どもは年長です。 四番目、五番目の子ども達は私のスクールに通っていて、英語を流暢に話しています。四番目の子どもは、来年4月から幼稚園に入園しますが、今の時点で日本語の力は実質ゼロに近く、上の子達が幼稚園(2年保育)に入園した時と同じ状態です。 幼稚園に入園した時が、彼らにとっての日本語のスタートとなるのですが、卒園する頃には、他の子ども達と同じぐらいの日本語レベルになっています。 家でも、始めから「日本語禁止」ルールを徹底していて、外出する時も英語でしか話しません。
でも、子ども達が大きくなっていくにつれ、知らない間に日本語がどんどん回りから入ってくるようになり、日本語の力が全くない状態であっても、日本語が流暢に話せるようになり、物によっては日本語で表現するこ方が簡単に感じているようです。そのため、日本語で表現せずに英語で説明するように、子ども達には伝えています。
これはとても大切なことだと思っています。子ども達が自分の話したいことを自分の言葉で表現しない限り、間違いを直してあげることも、もっと複雑な概念や言葉を教えてあげることも、できないからです。
妻によると、子ども達の日本語は完璧で、日本人のおじいちゃんおばあちゃんや友達との会話に全く問題ないと言っていました。 もちろん、一番上の子が小学校に入学した時は、少し苦労しました。でもそれは、全くゼロの状態から、ひらがな、カタカナ、漢字を習わなければいけなかったからです。小学校に入るまでに、日本語のぬりえや、ひらがなの練習帳などを与えていなかったため、ゼロからのスタートで、日本語の読みの力も高くありませんでした。でも長男も今4年生になり、そのような問題はなくなりました。そして、下の子ども達は、上の子の様子を見ているので、どうすればいいのか、より早くスムーズに掴んでいっています。二番目の子は今小学2年生ですが、長男の時と比べると、国語の勉強が簡単に感じているように思います。
一方で、日本人の両親、おじいちゃんおばあちゃん、友達、おじさんおばさんがいて、テレビを付ければ日本語が聞こえ、電車に乗れば隣には日本人が座っている…そんな環境にいる子どもに対して、日本語が習得できないんじゃないかという心配は全く必要ないと言えます。
日本にいる限り、日本語は広く行き渡っていて、自然に身につけていくことができるので、前述のような心配は全く要らないと思います。産まれる前、お母さんのお腹にいる時でさえ、子どもはお母さんの日本語を聞き、学び始めています。産まれてからは、子育てサロンなどで、お母さん達と赤ちゃん達の会話を見聞きしています。公園に行くと、そこで会う人はみんな日本語を話しています。 ぬりえの中にもひらがなが書かれてあり、子どもはお母さんに「これ何？」「あれ何？」と聞き、お母さんもそれに答えて教えます。週末におじいちゃんおばあちゃんの家に行けば、子ども達に日本語で話しかけたり、日本語で何かを説明したり、すると思います。 家でも、お昼ご飯の時に、お母さんがテレビを付けたり、日本の音楽を聞いたりしていることもあるでしょう。 私自身の子ども達も、そういう環境にいます。
子どもをインターに入れ、家でも英語で話すなど、英語オンリーの環境にしたとしても、父親も英語しか話さないと決めない限り、子どもは父親から日本語を学んでいきます。おじいちゃんおばあちゃん、友達からも、そして外出先や旅行先でも、日本語を耳にしたり、話す機会は、本当にたくさんあります。
意欲が高く熱心で、子どもに英語で話しかけ、英語ばかりで日本語は大丈夫かと心配をされる方もいますが、そのような方は稀なケースです。この何年間の間、最初は頑張って英語で話しかけていたものの、最終的には、特に働いているお母さんですが、仕事からの疲れなどもあって、次第に子どもに日本語で話してしまうという方を何人も見てきました。疲れている中、母国語以外の言語で、泣きわめく子どもに何かを説明するということは、さらに疲れることでしょう。
他にもお話できることはたくさんあるものの、今は最もお伝えしたいこと、つまり、日本でインターナショナルスクールに子どもを入れてみようと考えている親御さんには、母国語習得の心配は一切要らないということをお伝えしたいです。
もし、心配するのであれば、母国語ではなく、むしろ英語や他の言語の習得に関してだと思います。その言語のネイティブの話すことを問題なく聞き取り、きれいなアクセントとクリアな発音で話せるようになるにはどうすればいいのか、そういうことに関心を持つ方がいいのではと思います。
Over the years I always encounter parents who are worried about putting their children into an International, English only school. They worry that their child will not learn Japanese properly and will be left behind, I can say that this is not the case from personal experience.
I have five children and the oldest now is ten years old. fourth grade at primary school. The next is second grade, and then the next after that is in the last year of kindergarten. The remaining two are attending our International school and speak English fluently. The fourth child is going to attend Japanese Kindergarten from next April, and right now that child has practically zero Japanese ability as did all of our children when they started two year kindergarten. When they started two year kindergarten that’s when their Japanese takes off and by time they graduated their spoken language is equivalent to their peers. In my house from the start i’ve set the rule of “No Japanese” and even when we go out we continue to speak English only. But as the kids are getting older more and more Japanese is insidiously creeping into my household, of course the kids who practically had no Japanese ability at all are now fluent in Japanese and can describe certain thing a lot easier in Japanese, and so I have to tell them to stop describing the topic in Japanese and to explain it in English. This of course is important because until I hear them try to describe the topic they want to talk about I can’t correct them or add more advanced concepts or terminology to their language.
I ask my wife about their Japanese and she says it’s perfect and they have no problem communicating with their Japanese grandparents or our Japanese friends in Japanese. Of course with our first child starting Primary school it was a bit hard but only because of having to learn hiragana, katakana and kanji from Zero, we didn’t give him any Japanese colouring books or Hiragana drill books so he had to learn from zero and his Japanese reading ability was low but now he’s fourth grade there is no problem as such and because our younger children have been watching him go through this they have learnt what to do, a lot faster. Our second child who is in second grade now is finding it a lot easier to pick up kokugo.
Now on the other hand Japanese parents with Japanese grandparents, friends aunts and uncles, Japanese TV , Japanese people sitting beside them on the train etc etc don’t need to worry about their Children not being able to get Japanese…
There is No chance of this in Japan the language is too pervasive, too natural for them to pick up.
Even from their mums belly they are hearing Japanese and learning it, when they are at the Baby Hirobas they are seeing mums and babies talking to each other. At the parks they go to and play at, the people there are all speaking Japanese. Mums give their children Japanese colouring sheets that have Hiragana written all over them and the children ask what’s this and what’s that and the mum teaches them. Even if they went to their grandparents house for the weekend the grandparents speak to them in Japanese and explain things to them in Japanese. At home while eating lunch the mum turns on the TV and watches Japanese TV programs, or listens to Japanese music. I know of these things because it is what is happening to my children too.
Even If you put your child into a International Daycare and spoke to the child in English at home and made it an english mainly environment the children would still get Japanese from dad when he gets home from work unless he decides to speak English too. Grandparents and friends when they visit , outside shopping and traveling, there is too much chance to hear and speak Japanese.
At the start the well intending mother is expecting to speak English all the time to her child, and so she worries about Japanese, but It takes a rare individual to do that and over the years I see mums end up speaking Japanese to the child anyway, especially if she’s tired from working all day. Trying to describe something in another language to a crying child gets tiring when you yourself is tired.
So even though I could keep on going into every minute detail I’ll finish here by saying that In Japan and parents thinking of putting their children into an International School should not be concerned about the child not learning the mother tongue.
If anything they should be really really concerned with their children learning English or another language to a proficient level so that, that child can hear natives speak without a problem and be able to speak with a beautiful accent with clear pronunciation.
真似されるということは最大の賛辞
昨夜、池田周辺を歩いていたら、あるポスターに目が止まりました。
どこかで見たような…というより、最近私がブログで書いていた内容とほぼ同じようなことが書かれてあったからです。
だとすれば、「真似されるということは最大の賛辞」“imitation is sincerest form of flattery “ と考えてもいいのかも？
いずれにしても、他のスクールでもこのような(私が書き続けてきた)内容を重要だと思って伝えようとしている、ということは良いことだと思いますけどね。
I was walking through Ikeda last night and noticed a poster on their window.
The theme of the message on that poster seemed very familiar to me, it almost seems like the theme I wrote about in a recent articles.
Well if that is the case,as they say “imitation is sincerest form of flattery “.
Still it's good to see other schools are recognising that and are moving to address that important message.
なぜローマ字は3年生からで、英語は5年生からなのか
日本人にとって、“R” と “L” の音の聞き分けがなぜできないのか、ずっと疑問に思っていました。発音を何回直されても、間違ったアクセントに戻ってしまっています。
その理由の一つとして、ローマ字が挙げられるのではないでしょうか。小学校では、英語より先にローマ字を習うので、それの影響が大きいのではないかと感じます。
上の画像を見て下さい。
“ra” “ri” などが、“ら” “り” ...の真下に示されています。アルファベットの文字Rと、日本語の「ら行」の発音がリンクされ、Rを見たら、「ら行」の発音をするように促されてしまいます。実際は、「ら行」の音は英語圏の人にとってはLの音に近いのですが。
ローマ字は小学校3年生で学習するそうです。英語学習が始まるのが5年生なので、その前にローマ字を習うことになります。
このことからも、英語を始めるなら早ければ早いほうがいいと思います。学校でローマ字を習うより前に正しい発音を習得でき、聞く力も高めることができるからです。考えてみてください。例えば、小学校1年生の子どもが、これまで全く英語を習っていなかったけれど、ある日突然「英語をやりたい」と言ってきたとしましょう。カタカナの発音が既に身に付いてしまっているため、小学校1年生のこの段階で、もう状況はかなり不利だと言えます。そして、2年後にはローマ字を習うことになるのです。
この文科省のサイトに書かれてあるのは、外国語の文字指導において、「子どもたちに過度の負担を与えたくない」、そして、「聞く・話す等コミュニケーションを中心とした英語を始めるべきだ」、とあります。その点に関しては共感しますが、アルファベットを教えずローマ字という形態で英語の文字を教えるということは、逆方向に向かっている気がしてなりません…。
上の画像の“SIRO”と書かれたところを見て下さい。これも、問題点の例の一つです。“ Shi” の代わりに“Si” と習うため、名前を書く際、英語圏の人にとっては“Simon”と呼ぶところを、“Shimon” とするべきなのかと混乱してしまいます。
ローマ字を教える目的の一つは、子どもが自分の名前を英語の文字で表せるように、ということなのかもしれませんが。
上の船の絵を見て下さい。その下に書かれてあるローマ字は “hune” となっています。しかし、私の耳には、日本人が言う 「ふね」の「ふ」は、“H” ではなく “F” の音に聞こえます。
ローマ字は、外国人にとってはガイドブック等で(読むために)役立つものだと思いますが、それ以上の何でもないと思います。それどころか、ローマ字の新しい形のせいで、英語圏の外国人がローマ字を使う場合においても混乱を招いている気がします。
とにかく、既に確立されたこと、正しいとされていることは、変えられません。では、私たちにできることは何でしょうか？
私が言えることは、できるだけ早く、特に学校生活が始まる前に(習い事に費やせる時間が十分あるうちに)外国語をスタートさせる、そしてできるだけ続けさせる(もちろん時間もお金もかかりますが、子どもの脳にしっかり定着しなければその言語を使う力はすぐに衰えてしまいます)、ということです。 このことからも、「幼稚園に行く前に2年もやっていたから大丈夫」というような考えは間違っていることが分かると思います。
何年も子どもたちを見ていて分かったことですが、子どもはある年齢に達すると、文字で書かれた言葉を読み取り理解するようになります。3～4歳で文字や短い単語を認識するようになり、5歳になるまでには長い単語を認識して読み始める(強制的に読まされて読むのではなく、ちゃんと理解して読む)ようになります。 そして、6～7歳までには、サポートされながらも上手に読めるようになって自分で単語を発することができるようになります。8～9歳では、ほとんどのことが読めるようになります。ですので、外国語の音声に慣れてからアルファベットを習うべきだという文科省の考えは正しいと言えます。しかし、3歳以前に始めたほうがいいと、私はこれまで自分が見てきた経験から思います。英語ができるようになるまで、週1回50分(大体の学校の平均)、英語オンリーの環境で8～9年かかるのであれば、小学校3年生から始めると…想像してみてください。これが、日本が2020年から導入しようとしていることです。
日常会話ができれば十分、大学入試で合格点が取れる…と考える人もいるでしょう。
English path article この記事の著者も、そういった考えは間違ってはいないと述べています。“R” と “L” の音の違いが聞き取れなくても、リスニングテストで合格点を取れる、とも。もう一つ別の視点も取り上げられています。外国語を習うよりもまず母国語が確立させる方が大切だという意見もありますが、韓国での例を見ると、小学校3年生から英語学習が導入されていても母国語である韓国語への弊害はないことが分かっているそうです。
しかし、先に述べた点について強調したいのは、入試のためだけに英語を学ぶことに対しては同意しません。それは言語を学ぶということとは違います。
以下のリンクの記事によると、ビザ取得の条件として英語が十分に話せることを要求する国が出てきているそうです。
Immigrants' spouses 'must speak English before entering UK'
以前は、ビザの審査の前に2年の猶予があり、その間に英語を習得すればよい、というものでした。これもまた、考えるべき点の一つだと思います。
Little Lorikeets では、今少し興味深い現象が起きています。私達が当スクールを開校した頃から通い始めてくれている子どもたちなのですが、年中や年長から英語を習い始めてほとんどのことを理解しているものの、私と他の講師が話す「本当の(ネイティブの)会話」を聞く際、かなり集中して聞かないと会話についていけないようです。一方で、赤ちゃんの頃から通い続けて現在年少の子どもたちは、私たちの話すスピードで理解できています。それは本当に素晴らしいことで、私がずっとお伝えしてきたことが証明されていると言えるでしょう。
Honda makes English official in 2020
ホンダ、楽天、P&Gのような企業で、英語を社内の公用語にする動きがあるそうです。社内のコミュニケーションやミーティングなど全てを英語で行っていくようです。これもまた、知っておくべき点の一つだと思います。
このように、小さいうちにバイリンガルに育つ機会を与えれば与えるほど、成長して大人になった時、たくさんの素晴らしいチャンスが得られる、と考えられるのではないでしょうか。
翻訳者 北村敦子
I don't know why Japanese can't get the “R” “L” sounds down, even after being corrected numerous times they resort back to the wrong accent.
One reason could actually be because of Romaji, and the fact that it is taught before actually formal English classes start at primary school.
As you can see from the above image “ra” “ri” etc is directly below “ら” “り” etc..
This is Just reinforcing the Japanese “ら 行” accent while associating it to the character “R” so that when ever some one sees a “R” they pronounce it with what we foreigners from English speaking countries hear as “L”.
It is a shame that Romaji is taught first at 3rd grade before formal English start's in 5 grade. This is one of the reasons I believe that starting earlier is better, so that children can get the proper accent developed long before that, also their hearing is developed too. Imagine a 1st grader having no English education all of a sudden wanting to start English, already they are at a disadvantage because the katakana accents is well developed, but not only that only after 2 years of English they start learning Romaji.
From what it seems like according to this article they don't want to overburden the children with foreign characters, and that the child should start with communication based English such as speaking and listening, I do agree with this point but as for not learning alphabet but teaching Roman characters in the form of Romaji is backwards..
Look at the above image to where “ SIRO” is, this is another example of causing problems later on .. people learning “SI” instead of “ Shi” are going to be confused when they think their name should be “Shimon” but every body in an English speaking country will be calling them “Simon”.
Maybe this is the one reason Romaji is taught, so that the child can Spell their names in Roman characters.
Look at the picture of the ship, the romaji word written there is “hune” but to my English ears when Japanese say “ふね” it sounds like an “F” to me not an “H”.
I can see where Romaji can be useful for foreigners in their guide books but that's about it and with this newest form of Romaji I can see even more confusion when English speaking foreigners use it.
Anyway, I can't change the established system, that knows it's right. So what can I do!?
I can say this, get into a foreign language as soon as possible especially while the child is not in the school system(they have more time to do extra curricular Activities), continue with that language ( yes it takes time and money but unless the language is really formulated in the child's brain they will lose their ability to use it really fast. This is why thinking ‘oh they did it for 2 years before kindergarten’,is the wrong thinking).
I have seen over the years that children do pick up and comprehend written language at certain ages, 3 - 4 years old they can recognise characters, and short words, by 5 years they notice longer words and start reading (with understanding , not forced learning) by 6-7 they are reading fairly well with help and can sound out words by themselves . 8-9 they can read most things. So what the ministry of education says is true to a point, the children should know the foreign sounds before they learn the alphabet, but based on my observations that means starting well before the age of three. If it takes 8 -9 years to get good at English and that is in an English only environment and more than once a week for 50min ( which most schools offer) imagine them starting at 3rd grade. Which is what they are intending on doing in Japan from 2020.
Some might think daily conversation is fine, it will get me the marks for my university entry exam...
English path article this author seems to think that kind of thinking is ok. He says even without being able to hear the “R” and “L” sounds the examinee will still be able to get a pass mark on their listening portion. One thing he does mention is some people think that getting the mother tongue established is more important than learning another language, but he points out that in Korea; who have been doing English in school from 3rd grade; haven’t noticed any notable problems in Korea's Native language.
But in reference to the aforementioned point, I disagree about just learning English to pass an entrance exam, that's not the point of learning the language.
This article in the link below high lights that now countries are starting to demand proficiency in English before a Visa is accepted.
Immigrants' spouses 'must speak English before entering UK'
In the past you were able to gain proficiency in the country for 2 years before you were assessed it is something to think about.
I'm right now in an interesting predicament, in Little Lorikeets we have older students who started when we first opened and are very good at English but started learning English at nenchu , nencho level and though they understand most things, when they encounter a real conversation between myself and another teacher they have to listen very hard to keep up, whereas the children that were babies when they started and are now at nensho level can understand what we are saying at speed.
Honda makes English official in 2020
Which is great because it's proving my point and as companies such as Honda, Rakuten, P&G have made it or are making English the official language of the workplace for communications, meeting etc and it is essential to know.
So the more chance you give your child when they are young to become bilingual the better opportunities they will have when they are adults.
Cameron Hill Little Lorikeets owner
Translator: Atsuko Kitamura
英語習ってみない？
英語習ってみない？楽しいし、誰でもできるよ。英語しか話さないスクールに行ってみる？きっとそれがいいよね。
スクールに行ってみたら…わぁ、みんな英語しゃべってる。日本語はしゃべっちゃダメなんだって。どうしよう。困った。英語って簡単だと思ってたのに。でも、言ってることが全然分からない。全然楽しくない、もう帰りたい…。
これは子どもたちによくあることです。英語オンリーの環境はストレスとなり、日本語も話してくれるスクールの方がいいのではと思うでしょう。しかし、子どもたちを見ていて思うのは、日本語も使うスクールに通い続けると、ボキャブラリーはあっても使える文章は少なく、会話につなげることができていないように思います。
こういったことからも、また、ネイティブの会話を聞けば聞くほど、自分で会話していくことが簡単になるので、できるだけ早いうちに英語を始めることは大切なのです。
Little Lorikeetsでは、親と一緒に参加する baby, toddlerのクラスがあり、子どもたちはレッスンを通して英語を聞くことや英語の構造に慣れていきます。ですので、プリスクールの年齢に達した頃には、既に英語に慣れているため、例え意味が分からなくてもストレスを感じることはありません。会話をたくさん耳にしていますし、英語で何か行うという経験も積んでいるからです。
Babyのレッスンと言っても、単に「赤ちゃん」を指しているのではありません。当スクールに初めて通う子どもたちのことであって、この最初の段階というのは、とても重要な時期です。これを逃したら、後に、理解する際に色々と問題が出てくるでしょう。
Babyから更に進んでいくと、より高度な内容のhappy toddler、そして親と離れて子どもたちだけで英語オンリーの環境で学ぶ Munchkin/preschool へとステップアップしていきます。しかし、この頃までに、子どもたちは英語を話すということに慣れており、上達するのもどんどん速くなっていきます。Babyの頃から始めた子どもたちが、Munchkin/preschoolのレベルになった時、英語を話し出すのが本当に速くて、とても驚かされます。彼らの英語を聞いて理解する能力、フレーズを繰り返したり覚えたりする能力は、目を見張るものがあります。言うまでもなく、英語の環境にいる時間は重要です。週5日のプリスクールに来ている子どもたちは、数ヶ月間のうちに流暢な英語を話すようになっていて、本当に素晴らしいです。このようなことからも、英語オンリーの環境は非常に効果が高く、また、その
ような環境にいる時に日本語を話すと英語の理解を大きく妨げてしまうことが分かります。ですから、大人が思う、子どもたちが英語を習い始められそうな年齢(2～3歳)から英会話教室に通うよりも、もっと早い段階(生後4ヶ月ぐらい)からインターナショナルプリスクールに通うほうが、価値があると思います。
そんな早くから英語を始めたら、混乱するのではと心配されている親御さんもいるでしょう。でも、私や他の親御さんの経験からすると、そのような心配は必要ありません。
バイリンガリル能力に携わる研究者の論文によると、子どもの脳は生まれた時から多数の言語を習得するようになっていますが、その能力は年齢とともに衰えていくようです。ですから、新しい言語を始めるなら、早ければ早いほうがよく、また、今日のような競争社会において、2つ以上の言語を流暢に話せるようになることは今後もっと価値のあるものになっていくでしょう。子どもたちの生きる世界はこれからより小さくなっていきます。そのような世界で働き生活していく上で、2つ以上の言語を操れることは子どもたちにとってたくさんのメリットをもたらしてくれると思います。
https://eibalance.com/2013/05/03/kuhl-constructs-how-babies-form-foundations-for-language/
翻訳者 北村敦子
So you want to learn English, it's a fun thing to do, anybody can do it so let's go to a school where they only speak English that's a great idea. Get in the school wow everybody is speaking English... what?... I'm not allowed to speak Japanese, this is difficult I thought English is supposed to be easy. But I don't understand a thing he is saying I hate this I want to go home..
This is a common situation for most kids.. in their situation it's stressful and maybe going to a English school that uses Japanese within the school is a better option.. though from my experience in seeing kids doing lots of that sort of training they end up with lots of vocabulary, a few sentences that they understand but no means of using it or the ability to thread conversations together.
This is why i say getting in as soon as possible in English is of the utmost importance because the more they hear native conversations happening the easier they find it to have conversations themselves.
Fortunately at Little Lorikeets we start from Baby lessons and toddler lessons where the child enters the school together with their parent and get use to hearing English and the structure of English throughout their lessons, so that when they finally join our preschool class they are used to English and don't feel stressed when they don't understand something where they get to hear lots of conversations and experience situations in English..
When I say Baby lessons it's not only for babies, it’s for students first entering into our school, this is where the very beginning foundations are laid down which are So important because if they are missed, later on there can be problems in understanding. Then as the child progresses they are moved on to happy toddler where they learn more advanced ideas, finally they join our Munchkin / preschool classes where they start learning on their own in an only English environment. But by this time they are use to the idea of speaking English and start to progress faster and faster, it's amazing to see how fast children who have started as babies start speaking English when they enter the preschool / Munchkin classes. Their ability to hear and understand, the ability to repeat a phrase and remember it is outstanding. Of course time in English is important and children that join the five days a week preschool are speaking fluently for their age in only a few months, it's incredible. It shows that being in an English only environment is a great aspect and not having Japanese in that environment to interfere with their understanding of English is a big factor. That's why I am of the opinion that joining a international preschool at a young age (from 4 months~ ) is of more value to the child than joining an English school (英会話教室）at an age when parents think the child is capable ie 2 -3 years old.
Some parents worry that their child will be confused if they enter the environment too early; from my experience and from other parents experiences this is not the case.
There are articles now from researchers on bilingualism, showing that a child's brain is designed to absorb languages from birth, but the ability to do so naturally actually decreases with age. So the sooner to start a new language the better, and in today's competitive market a child that's fluent in more than one language is going to be a valuable commodity that will give them benefits in work and as citizens of this World which is increasingly getting smaller and smaller.
https://eibalance.com/2013/05/03/kuhl-constructs-how-babies-form-foundations-for-language/
Little Lorikeets Owner Cameron Hill
子どもたちに流暢な発音を。。。
子どもたちに流暢な発音を望むのであれば、ネイティブの人の口の動きを見させて、正しいアクセントと発音を学ばせる必要があります。小学生から英語を習い始めた子どもたちは特にです。残念ながら、小学生になると子どもたちの耳と口の筋肉は日本語仕様になってしまい、英語の発音を難しいと感じてしまうからです。 日本語のアクセントをなくすのも簡単にはいきません。
日本語がまだ影響を及ぼしていない時期であれば、子どもたちのリスニングスキルや理解力を伸ばすために、英語学習のDVDなども良いですが、 正しいアクセントや発音で話せるようになるには十分ではありません。子どもは、自分は正しい文章を言っていると思っているかもしれませんが、ネイティブからのフィードバックがなければ、確信は持てないでしょう。
英語の歌を聞くことも、「聞く」ことの助けにはなりますが、発音までは必ずしも役立つとは言えません。聞いている歌の言葉と正しい発音を教えてもらわなければ、それっぽい言葉に聞こえるような音を発したりしても、ネイティブが聞いて分かるかどうか確かではありません。親がカタカナ英語の発音を教えてしまったりすれば、更に悪影響です。
リーディングの教材もボキャブラリーやリスニングスキルを身に付けさせるためには有効です。ですが、先ほどの話と同様に、子どものアクセントと発音をネイティブに正しく直してもらわなければ、ネイティブの人の口の動きを見て適切に発音することはできませんし、同じ間違いをし続けてしまうでしょう。
子どもたちが声に出して読んでいく教材で有名なものがありますが、それも、読んでいる時に正しく直してもらわなければ、効果があるとは言えません。集団で、教科もレベルもバラバラな中では、正しく直してあげることはほぼ不可能です。
有名なラジオの英語講座で学習している人もたくさん知っていますが、その方たちのリスニングスキルはいいとしても、発音は大抵の場合、良いとは言えないものです。中学生の男の子でそのラジオ講座を学習している子がいるのですが、朝のコーヒータイムにももう４年も来てくれていて、発音とアクセントが上達してきています。でもそれは、彼自身も努力しているし、私もコーヒータイムで
彼の発音を正しく直してきているからです。もしそのラジオ講座だけだったら、このように上達することはなかったと思います。彼は、小学5年生の時から通い続けてくれていますが、マンツーマンでずっとやってきたからこそ、このように上達していったと思います。非常に恵まれた環境だと思います。一クラス35人ぐらいの中で週一回だけの授業だったら、おそらく不可能だったでしょう。
しかし、この男の子の例からも分かることですが、上達は見られても、赤ちゃんの頃から始めた子と比べると、かなりの努力が必要になると思います。赤ちゃんの時から英語を聞き始めた子は、外国語の音に耳が慣れているし、ネイティブの先生が歌ったり教えている時の口の動きも見ているので、1歳～1歳半ぐらいになった時に、聞いた言葉を話し始めることができるようになります。このように早くから始めると、小学生になる頃までに子どもたちは英語の音、特にRの音を聞くことができるようになり、口の筋肉や舌も英語の音仕様になっていきます。
Little Lorikeets では、baby のクラスがありますが
(胎児のうちでも英語に触れていると言語の発達に大きな効果があることが分かっているので、今年度から妊娠中の女性も受講対象となりました)
、ボキャブラリーや歌、使えるフレーズなど、徐々に取り入れていき、この言語形成の上で重要な時期にたくさんの英語に触れる機会を提供しています。そして、適切な段階でリーディングも取り入れていき、ボキャブラリーと音を段々増やすようにしています。小学校6年生まで当スクールに通い続けてくれたなら、読みの力はかなりのレベルにまで伸び、リスニングは驚くべきレベルに到達するでしょう。リスニングにおいては、中学校のテストでリスニングの配点が高くなっているようですので、大切だと改めて思います。先ほどの中学３年生の男の子ですが、英語の試験で高得点を取ったようです。中でも、リスニングは満点だったと聞いています。
このことから、また別の視点になりますが、子どもたちは一人一人それぞれに学ぶ可能性を持っていますが、スクールの園長として私は量よりも質を追求しなければならない立場にあります。ですので、今年度以降、 baby, happy toddler そして munchkin
のレベルの子どもたちのみを入会対象とさせて頂きたいと思います。当スクールを設立した時、趣味や習い事の一環ではなく、英語に対して真剣な人たちのことを考えてスタートさせました。嬉しいことに、英語の大切さを実感してスクールに通い続けてくれている人たちがたくさんいます。そして、結果として、皆さん大きな効果に気付かれています。
Children wanting to be and sound fluent need to see a native person's mouth to get their accent and pronunciation correct. Especially children who are starting English from primary school. Unfortunately their ears and mouth muscles are already set for the Japanese language so they will find English difficult to pronounce . which makes it difficult to overcome the Japanese accent.
Products like DVD series that are used to teach English are great for the child's listening ability and understanding especially if they have no Japanese mixed in, but doesn't necessarily help the child speak with a correct accent or pronunciation. The child thinks they are saying the sentence correctly but without the feedback from a native they can't be sure.
Listening to English songs, again helps the hearing but not necessarily the pronunciation, unless they have been taught the song's words and correct pronunciation they usually sing along haphazardly just making sounds that seem similar to the words of the song but aren't necessarily recognizable to a native listening to them. Even worse is if the parents teach them the words but with a katakana accent.
Reading programs are good for vocabulary and listening if they have that component, but again unless the child's accent and pronunciation are corrected by a native and the child can see the native teachers mouth so that they can make the sound properly, they will just go along making the same mistakes.
One famous system where the kids are made to read their materials out loud works, but only if the pronunciation is being corrected at the time, and in a big group of different subjects and levels all speaking at the same time correction is almost impossible.
There is a famous radio program that teaches English, and I've met plenty of people who use it, their listening skills are good but their pronunciation is usually terrible. One junior high school boy who's been doing that course and coming to my early morning coffee time for the last four years has improved his pronunciation and accent considerably, but only thanks to his own hard work in coffee time where I have been correcting his pronunciation. If he was left to that program only I don't think he would have improved. He was in his 5th year at primary school when he started, this improvement comes from an almost man to man approach that's he's been lucky to participate in. If he was in a class of 35, being taught once a week only, it would have been impossible.
But through this boy's example I see progress can be made but it's hard work compared with starting as a baby, who will be hearing English and getting their ears use to foreign sounds, seeing the native teacher's mouth movements while they the teachers are teaching or singing, and then when the forementioned child is around one and a half years old they can start to speak these words themselves. Starting out this way, by the time they get to primary school age their ears are able to hear the English sounds particularly the “R” sounds and their mouth muscles and tongue are used to forming the English sounds.
At Little Lorikeets we start from baby classes ( from this year we are accepting pregnant ladies into the class as well, because we have seen that even being exposed to English while in the womb seems to make an even bigger difference in language development) and work up slowly introducing vocabulary and songs, useful phrases, allowing them to see lots of English words during those formative stages then at the right developmental stages we introduce graded reading where each story increases in vocabulary and phonic sounds. If the child continues with us into their primary school final years they will be well versed in English with the ability to read, their listening skills will be phenomenal, which is important; I have heard that English exams at junior high are increasing their listening components. Recently that third grade junior high student got a very high mark but in his listening component he got 100%.
This leads me to another point, I realise that every child has the potential to learn but as a school principal I have to aim at quality and not quantity that's why from this year onwards we will only be accepting students at the baby, happy toddler and munchkin levels. When I made this school I really wanted people who were serious about English and didn't treat it as a hobby or extracurricular activity. Fortunately we are meeting a lot of parents who are realising English is important and are continuing with us and as a result they are seeing great results.
Cameron Hill School principal
多ければ多いほど
今年に入ってから、Colin と私は、週に数回来ている子ども達と週に一回しか来ていない子ども達の中で大きな違いがあることに気付き始めています。
もちろん、英語に費やす時間を決めるにあたって色々な事情を考慮されているだろうと思いますし、全くゼロよりかは週に一回でも来られればいいとも思います。でも、当スクールでは、バイリンガルの子どもを育てることに目を向けていて、「私の名前は～です」「私は～歳です」「私はハンバーガーが好きです」「これはペンです」等といった、日常の短い会話しかできないような大人になってほしくはありません。
私の伝えたい主なポイントは変わっていません。
1. 若ければ若いほうがいい、2. 英語を使う時間が多ければ多いほうがいい、3. 日本語は話さない ( この辺りの地域で、インターナショナルスクールと言いながらも学校内で日本語がたくさん使われているという噂を耳にしたことがあります)
今年度から、週3回のG2キッズ 2時間コース、週5日のプリスクール、そして水曜日の kookaburra クラスがスタートして、週に2回以上来てくれている子ども達に大きな変化を見出だしています。このような子ども達は、英語に自信を持っていることが見て分かりますし、お互いに英語で会話しようとしています。彼らの語彙は定着するのが速く、また定着する単語の数も増えています。教えられた言葉を繰り返す能力も素晴らしいですし、読みの力も急速にレベルアップしています。この他にもたくさんの効果を見てきています。
ですので、100%英語で過ごすことは非常に効果的であると言えます。 もし、お子さんの英語力において大きな成長を見たいと思われるなら、スケジュール上可能であるならば英語のクラスを増やしたり、家でも英語で遊ぶ時間(映画を観る、テレビを見る、音楽を聞くなど)をもっと増やすことを考えてみてください。
また、ここ何年もの間、お母さん方から、「英語クラスに行った後に、今日はどんなことしたの？と聞いても、子どもはわからない、とか、楽しかった、と答えるだけです」ということをよく聞きます。正直なところ、何の科目をやっているかは関係なく、国語であろうと数学であろうとダンスであろうと体操であろうと、子どもは同じような返答をするでしょう。
私自身の子ども達も同じような感じです。「学校どうだった？」「よかったよ」「何したの？」「さぁ…わからない」
一日の終わりには、直接的なことは聞かないほうがいいように思います。そうではなくて、子どもの言うことに耳を傾け、子どもが英語を使って何か言おうとしているかどうか様子をみてください。例えば、「これは英語でば何て言う？」とか、「～は英語で何て言う？」というような質問をして、子どもの口からどんな言葉が出てくるかをみてください。そうすることで、子どもは自信を持つことができ、もっと英語を使いたいと思うようになります。家でそのように力がつくと、スクールに来たときに更に英語を学びたいという気持ちが強くなって、お父さんお母さんを喜ばせたい、驚かせたいと思うようになるでしょう。
他にもたくさんのことが考えられますが、今挙げたことはこの数年間で私が気付いた点のほんの一部です。
ヒル キャメロンより
This year Colin and myself have been noticing a difference in the children who come multiple times a week compared to the children who only come once a week.
Of course there are many considerations in the amount of time you allocate to English and one time a week is better than none at all, but at this school we are concerned with making bilingual children, not children who will become adults and only be able to have short conversations that only concern everyday things ie my name is….. I and I'm,,,, years old. I like hamburgers, and this is a pen. etc etc….
My main point of view hasn't changed 1. the younger the better and 2nd the more time in English the better. 3. no Japanese,( I've heard rumours of other schools in this area saying they are international schools but yet they still use lots of Japanese)
This year with the commencement of the 2 hour three times a week for G2 kids classes and the 5 day a week Preschool and also the introduction of the kookaburra class on Wednesdays, we are seeing a big difference in the kids who come 2 or more times a week. Those children are showing more confidence with English and are even trying to make conversation with each other, their vocabulary retention is increasing rapidly, the ability to re-say the sentence that is being taught is incredible. Their reading levels are rapidly leveling up (graded reading), and there are many other effects that we have noticed.
So the amount of time they are in a 100% English only, has a big effect.
so if you want to see great improvements in your child's English abilities think about adding more English classes if possible to their schedule, or playing more English based movies / programs / music at home.
On another note, over the years we hear from mums “we ask our kids after English what did you do and the child responds with,,, , , I don't know, I had fun “. . . Truly it doesn't matter what subject the child is doing whether it's kokugo, or mathematics, , dance or gymnastics the child is going to respond this way. We know this with our own kids,,, , , “how was school?” “good”. “what did you do?”,,, “umm I don't know”
At the end of the day I think it's better not to enquire directly and just listen and see if the child decides to use some English here and there, ask questions like “what's this in English? “ or “ how do you say……… , in English? “ and see what comes out of the child's mouth. . . this will give the child confidence, and they will want to use English more and also because they are being reinforced at home when they come to school they will be more willing to learn more and more English to impress mum and dad.
There are lots of things to take into consideration but these are a few of the things I've noticed over the years…