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e Journal 2013: Forum ( Conference Issue )
While it would seem that two of the barriers to fluency of written language production,
anxiety about correct spelling, and lack of confidence regarding grammar, can be elimi-
nated or reduced by the scaffolding tools that are part and parcel of many word processing
systems, teachers here in Japan do not seem to be making use of these tools. Few schools
in Japan seem to be using word processing to facilitate the writing process. However, there
does not seem to be a viable reason why students should not be allowed to use computer
technology for the composition of writings in English. Research that investigates the effi-
cacy of such scaffolding is needed, therefore, to potentially improve the teaching of writing
in the Japanese junior high school classroom.
English education in Japan
In Japan, some 98% of the population studies English for six years or more (MEXT, 2011c),
yet few presently achieve communicative competence (
MEXT, 2011b). is can perhaps be
explained by the fact that the government stipulates that public schools use the grammar-
translation method, a system initially instituted by the post-war government, then intent
on gathering scientific knowledge and technical knowhow so as to compete more effectively
in the global economic market (McVeigh, 2004). It is also important to note that English
is studied here as a foreign language (
EFL), rather than a second language (ESL). In coun-
tries where this is true, most people have little opportunity or need to use English in their
working or daily lives (Tse, 1995). Students have little contact with English outside of the
classroom (Chen, 2001; Cheng, 1998), instead studying the language purely as an academic
subject.
Students are examined in five core academic subjects for entry into high school and
again for entry into university. In the English examinations at both levels, however, while
reading comprehension and grammatical knowledge are both carefully examined and there
is a short aural comprehension section, the testing of writing and speaking skills is severely
limited. Because many teachers focus on the skills that will be tested, little class time is
allocated to language production. Washback, or the influence of testing on teaching and
learning (see Alderson & Wall, 1993), is a serious problem.
In 2011, however, the Commission on the Development of Foreign Language Proficiency
acknowledged English as the lingua franca (MEXT, 2011a), “a medium of communication for
people who have different first languages” (Burridge & Mulder, 2001, p. 303) and recognized
that the Japanese public require “a capability of smooth communication with people of dif-
ferent cultures and countries” (
MEXT, 2011c, p. 3). While the 2003 Action Plan to Cultivate
Japanese with English Abilities had previously stipulated that all students should graduate
junior high school having passed Grade ree of the Society for Testing English Proficiency
(
STEP
), the 2011 plan asked that students be taught to speak and write about their own
views using English that corresponds to this level. It was also stated that, “classes must be
shifted from lecture style toward student-centered language activities by employing such
educational forms as speeches, presentations, debates and discussions” (MEXT, 2011c, p.
3). While these two targets may seem modest, they are in fact very problematic. Because
most of the Japanese Teachers of English (
JTEs) presently employed in public schools were
themselves educated in this system, many are not confident in their ability to produce
compositions or converse freely in English, the language that they are employed to teach.
ey may not feel able, therefore, to impart these skills to their students.
e importance of providing opportunities for students of foreign languages to produce