JAPAN: One Japanese school mulling introducing video games as part of their english curriculum

Record ID: 464311

  • Title: JAPAN: One Japanese school mulling introducing video games as part of their english curriculum
  • Date: 29th June 2008
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) OTOKO OKUBO, 39 YEAR-OLD, HEAD OF THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT, SAYING: "When you get to the second or third year of junior high school (12-14 year olds), English gets harder for them and you get a larger disparity in the student's English abilities. So for those that have lagged behind in class, its a great way for them to work on their vocabulary at their level and at their individual speed."
  • Embargoed: 14th July 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Science / Technology,Education
  • Reuters ID: LVA4ABQ263A3GZNU0AOT09ZXIGQA
  • Story Text: One Japanese school is considering introducing the popular portable video game console Nintendo DS into their daily English language curriculum - a growing trend in Japan where the video game is being used in more and more in classrooms.
    Nintendo is banned in all parts of the Tokyo Joshi Gakuen School, except the classroom.
    Here, these junior high school students do not need to hide them away from their teacher, Motoko Okubo.
    Okubo, who is the head of the English department, has used the hand-held DS and textbook software since May in weekly sessions focusing on vocabulary, penmanship and audio comprehension.
    With years of games like Super Mario Bros. on the prohibited list, she says students weren't expecting the Nintendo to enter their classes.
    Now she finds it especially useful in helping the laggards in the class keep up with the rest.

    "When you get to the second or third year of junior high school (12-14 year olds), English gets harder for them and you get a larger disparity in the student's English abilities. So for those that have lagged behind in class, its a great way for them to work on their vocabulary at their level and at their individual speed," she told Reuters after one such session was opened to the media on Thursday (June 26).
    Japan has around 15,000 middle and high schools and in 2000, launched reforms to create a more "relaxed" environment aimed at fostering creativity and reducing rote learning. But parents and the media have complained that the reforms have gone too far and demand a return to rote learning, especially after international surveys showed Japanese 15-year-olds continually falling in rankings for science, mathematics and reading.
    Nintendo was not envisioned as part of that plan and remains a rare find at most Japanese schools, but is seen by some as a way to re-introduce rote learning relatively painlessly.
    Japan's education ministry leaves decisions on teaching tools to schools, but if up to first-year student Kana Kawasaki, the DS would be a no-brainer.

    "Coz its like a normal game and its fun to learn this way,"
    she told Reuters.
    Classmate Kanako Takahashi more cautiously welcomed the games to the course work.

    "I think its more useful and better to be taught by one person, but with this DS you can move ahead at your own pace so that's good too,"
    she said.
    Still early in a one-year free trial period, vice principal Junko Tatsumi says results so far have been encouraging.
    But while it looks like fun and games, its still a very serious educational effort, she insisted.

    "I don't think the idea is for the children to only have fun with the Nintendo DS's and for the exercise to end there. The point is for these children to use these DS's and learn as many new words and phrases in order to build up their communication skills with the world outside,"
    So far, it's only English at this all-girls junior high, but at selected schools from Tokyo to Nintendo's home of Kyoto, the DS console and stylus are employed in math and Japanese classes too.
    Nintendo says the number of schools with consoles is still small, but the DS's touch screen and mix of advanced and easy-to-learn games, including 200 licensed education titles, has been a cash cow as more women and older consumers try it.
    Global DS sales since launching in 2004 exceed 70 million units and if introduced into more schools is likely to rise even more.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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