Exploring the Development of Studies's Ability for Self-expression with Reference to the Case of the Education in the United Kingdom

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The purpose of this study is to explore how education in the United Kingdom (UK) places emphasis on and encourages the development of the ability to express themselves in class and to then consider the implications of these findings for language education in Japan. We thought it an urgent necessity for Japanese students to improve this ability in the globalizing world.The results of this research are as follows.1. Through the research, it has been found that various attempts have been made by teachers at schools in Japan to improve students' self-expression ability, but they are on an individual or school basis. On the other hand, in the UK, students' self-expression ability has been nurtured through classroom interaction, positive engagement in discussion, creative tasks such as drama, and grappling with tasks that have no right answer.2. In terms of the development of speaking ability in Japan, the Course of Study for Japanese language takes a step-by-step approach considering students' developmental stage. On the other hand, the National Curriculum in the UK set up a very ambitious goal to equip pupils (5-7 years old) with basic speech skills such as speech organization and attention-getting from audience.3. From the analysis of interviews with students, it has been found that 8-year-old students in the UK use effective communication strategies such as adjacency pair, clarification request, intertextuality, and deductive response patterns. Comparison between 12-year-old Japanese and British students shows that their response patterns can be both deductive and inductive depending on the content of questions. It has been found, however, that Japanese students tend to follow more inductive patterns than British students.These are the results of our three-year research project. We plan to continue to conduct further research in this important field.