New reasons to learn English in Japan

Japanese style: Students learning English by playing a card game. – The Yomiuri Shimbun/Asia News Network

TAKAO Yamamoto is a master of active learning in English. Changing students’ pair work partners like a folk dance, the 52-year-old inspires them to learn by themselves while having fun.When he was teaching at a secondary school, this method helped his students pass the Eiken English proficiency test (Japan’s most widely used English-language test) and succeed in entrance examinations. The results were so remarkable that teachers from all over Japan came to see his classes.

But a few years ago, when he moved to Nitobe Bunka Junior & Senior High School – a private school where he now teaches – many of his techniques did not work. The students seemed to be wondering, “Why do we need to learn English?” and this proved to be the reason for his failure.