A study of English language teacher education for young learners in Japan

本研究课题“日本少儿英语教师教育研究”的目的是：1）全面整合与该课题相关的理论和实践; 2）研究专家对少儿英语教师专业知识的看法; 3）确定少儿英语教师所需的基本知识和技能;（四）建议设立一个架构，以发展师资培训课程，并顾及不同类别学员的需要。在过去三年中进行的研究活动包括：1）文献调查，以建立一个理论基础，教师教育的年轻英语学习者; 2）两个问卷调查，涉及约400名教师，在国家和私营部门;和3）审查和分析手册的英语教学的年轻学习者和教师手册的教科书。根据这些活动的结果，研究小组提出了一个框架， ...更多信息 制定教师培训方案，并建议不同类型的课程模式。本研究通过超越日本国立小学，考察私立学校的英语教学以及其他国家的早期外语教学，实现了更广阔的国际视野。除了上述研究活动外，每年还举办一次学术讨论会，邀请国际知名的研究人员和实践者讨论该领域的热门问题，每年编制和分发一份约200页的年度研究报告，不仅传播研究结果，还启发从业人员，儿童英语教学：通过上述活动，可以明显看出这一领域的研究严重不足，迫切需要积累更多的数据，以进一步改进教学实践。项目活动还有助于与各种组织和机构建立网络，以开展进一步的研究。少

The aims of the research project 'A study of English language teacher education for young learners in Japan' have been: 1) holistic integration of theory and practice in relation to this topic; 2) an examination of expert opinions on the expertise of teachers of young language learners; 3) identification of essential knowledge and skills required of such teachers; and 4) a proposal for a framework to develop teacher training programmes taking into account the needs of different types of trainees. Research activities conducted in the past three years involved: 1) literature surveys to establish a theoretical basis for teacher education for young English learners; 2) two questionnaire surveys involving approximately 400 teachers, both in the state and the private sectors; and 3) examination and analysis of handbooks for English teaching for young learners and of teachers ' manuals for course books. Drawing on the findings of these activities, the research team has proposed a framework to … More develop teacher training programmes and suggested different types of curriculum models. The research has achieved a broader international perspective by looking beyond Japanese state primary schools and by examining English teaching in the private sector as well as early foreign language teaching in other countries. By doing so, it has attempted to present a new paradigm in foreign language teaching for young learners.In addition to the research activities listed above, a colloquium has been held each year, inviting internationally acclaimed researchers and practitioners in the field to discuss topical issues in the area, and an annual research report of approximately 200 pages has been compiled and distributed each year not only to disseminate the research findings but also to enlighten practitioners of English language teaching to children.Through the above activities, it has become evident that this area is badly under-researched and there is an urgent need to accumulate additional data for further improvements of teaching practice. The project activities have also helped establish networks with various organizations and institutions to develop further research. Less