THE COURSE OF STUDY FOR LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL

FOREIGN LANGUAGES

II  Objectives, Contents, etc. for Each Language

English

1	Objectives (1) To accustom and familiarize students with listening to English and to enable them to understand the speaker's intentions etc. in simple English. (2) To accustom and familiarize students with speaking in English and to enable them to speak about their thoughts etc. in simple English. (3) To accustom and familiarize students with reading in English and to enable them to understand the writer's intentions etc. in simple English. (4) To accustom and familiarize students with writing in English and to enable them to write about their thoughts etc. in simple English.
2	Contents (1) Language Activities   The following language activities should be conducted over three years in order to develop students' abilities to understand and express themselves in English. A   Listening   Instruction mainly on the following items should be given. (a) To follow the basic characteristics of English sounds such as stress, intonation and pauses, and understand the meaning of utterances. (b) To listen to English, spoken and read in a natural tone, and understand specific content and important parts. (c) To listen to questions and requests, and respond appropriately. (d) To understand content correctly by asking speakers to repeat etc. B   Speaking   Instruction mainly on the following items should be given. (a) To become familiar with the basic characteristics of English sounds such as stress, intonation and pauses, and pronounce English sounds correctly. (b) To speak correctly about one's thoughts and feelings to the listener. (c) To carry on a dialogue and to exchange views regarding what has been listened to or read. (d) To speak extensively by utilizing various techniques such as using linking words etc. C   Reading   Instruction mainly on the following items should be given. (a) To distinguish between different letters and symbols, and read correctly. (b) To read silently, thinking about the content written, and to read out aloud so that the meaning of the content is expressed. (c) To read and understand the general outline and pick out the important parts of stories, descriptive texts, etc. (d) To understand the writer's intentions in messages, letters, etc. and respond appropriately. D   Writing   Instruction mainly on the following items should be given. (a) To distinguish between different letters and symbols, and write correctly with due attention to the spaces between words etc. (b) To take notes and write impressions, opinions, etc. about what has been listened to or read. (c) To write correctly about one's thoughts and feelings to the reader. (d) To write messages, letters, etc. that correctly transmit the writer's intentions to the reader. (2) Treatment of the Language Activities A   Items to be considered throughout the three grades.   In instruction over the three grades, consideration should be given to the following points. (a) Communicative activities where, for example, students actually use language to share their feelings and thoughts with each other should be carried out while undertaking understanding and practice activities with the language elements indicated in (3). (b) In communicative activities, students should be able to perform language activities where they have to think of how to express themselves in a way appropriate to the specific situation and condition. (c) In conducting language activities, the following language-use situations and functions of language should be mainly taken up. [Examples of Language-use Situations] a.   Situations where fixed expressions are often used ・ Greetings ・ Self-introductions ・ Phone calls ・ Shopping ・ Giving directions ・ Traveling ・ Eating etc. b.   Situations relevant to students' lives ・ Home life ・ Learning and activities at school ・ Regional events etc. [Examples of Functions of Language] a.   Deepening thinking and transmitting information ・ Giving opinions ・ Explaining ・ Reporting ・ Presenting ・ Describing etc. b.   Instigating action and expressing volition ・ Asking questions ・ Requesting ・ Inviting ・ Offering ・ Confirming ・ Promising ・ Agreeing/disagreeing ・ Accepting/refusing etc. c.   Transmitting feelings ・ Expressing gratitude ・ Complaining ・ Praising ・ Apologizing etc. B   Items to be considered in accordance with the level of learning.   Consideration should be given to the following points in each grade taking into account the students' level of learning. (a) Language activities in Grade 1   Taking into consideration that this is the start of English learning, emphasis should be given to raising in students a positive attitude toward communication. Language activities that give consideration to familiar language-use situations and functions of language should be carried out.  At this stage of learning, topics should be taken up that draw on simple communicative expressions related to students' feelings and familiar happenings. (b) Language activities in Grade 2   Language activities which include a further widening of the language-use situations and functions of language should be carried out on the basis of what was learned in Grade 1.  At this stage of learning, topics which aim for communication that involves, in addition to material in Grade 1, the conveying of factual information and judgements should be taken up. (c) Language activities in Grade 3   Language activities which include an even further widening of the language-use situations and functions of language should be carried out on the basis of what was learned in Grade 2.  At this stage of learning, topics which aim for communication that involves, in addition to material in Grade 2, the expressions of various thoughts and opinions should be taken up. (3) Language Elements   In carrying out the language activities stated in (1), language elements suitable for the attainment of the objectives stated in 1 above should be chosen from among those indicated below. A   Speech sounds (a) Contemporary standard pronunciation (b) Sound changes that result from the combination of words (c) Basic word, phrase and sentence stresses (d) Basic sentence intonation (e) Basic pauses in sentences B   Letters and symbols (a) Lower case and upper case printed letters of the alphabet. (b) Basic symbols such as periods, question marks, commas, quotation marks, exclamation marks, etc. C   Words, collocations and idioms (a) Up to approximately 900 words, including those in Table 1 (including basic words    relating to everyday life such as words for the seasons, months, days of the week, time, weather, numbers (including ordinal numbers), family, etc.) (b) Basic collocations (c) Basic idioms such as "excuse me", "I see", "I'm sorry", "thank you", "you're welcome", "for example", etc. D   Grammatical items (a) Sentences a.   Simple, compound and complex sentences b.   Affirmative and negative declarative sentences c.   Affirmative and negative imperative sentences d.   Interrogative sentences that begin with a verb or an auxiliary verb such as can, do, may, etc., that contain or, and that begin with an interrogative such as how, what, when, where, which, who, whose and why (b) Sentence patterns a.   'Subject + Verb' b.   'Subject + Verb + Complement' in which (aa) Subject + be + noun pronoun adjective (bb) Subject + non-be + noun adjective c.   'Subject + Verb +  Object' in which (aa) Subject + verb + noun pronoun gerund to-infinitive how etc. + to-infinitive a clause beginning with that (bb) Subject + verb + a clause beginning with what etc. d.   'Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object' in which (aa) Subject + verb + indirect object + noun pronoun (bb) Subject + verb + indirect object + how etc. + to-infinitive e.   'Subject + Verb + Object + Complement' in which (aa) Subject + verb + object + noun adjective f.   Other sentence patterns (aa) There + be + 〜 (bb) It + be + 〜 (+ for 〜 ) + to-infinitive (cc) Subject + tell, want, etc. + Object + to-infinitive (c) Pronouns a.   Personal, demonstrative, interrogative and quantitative pronouns b.   Basic restrictive uses of the relative pronouns, that, which and who used in the nominative case and that and which used in the objective case (d) Verb tenses etc.   Present, past, present progressive, past progressive, present perfect and future formed with auxiliary verbs etc. (e) Comparative forms of adjectives and adverbs (f) Basic to-infinitives (g) Basic gerunds (h) Adjectival use of present and past participles (i) Present and past tenses of passive voices (4) Treatment of the Language Elements A   For grammatical items (b)c(bb) and d(bb), and (c)b in (3) 'D Grammatical Items', treatment should only extend to understanding. b) For (3) 'D Grammatical Items', care should be given that the treatment does not center on differentiating between terms and usages.  Rather emphasis should be on the teaching of actual usage.
3	Syllabus Design and Treatment of the Contents (1) In designing the syllabus, consideration should be given to the following. a) Taking into account the various factors affecting students and the conditions in the region, each individual school should establish objectives for each grade in an appropriate manner, and work to realize the objectives of English instruction over three grades. b) For treatment of 2 '(1)Language Activities', particular emphasis should be placed on listening and speaking language activities in each grade. c) 2 '(3)Language Elements' should be graded in levels of difficulty, from easy to more difficult, according to the learning stage, and taught effectively, focusing on recognition in some cases and on production in other cases. d) In phonetic instruction, continuous instruction of the language elements indicated in 2(3) 'A Speech sounds' should be given through pronunciation practice etc. from the standpoint of emphasizing listening and speaking.   03/03/06To supplement phonetic instruction, it is possible to use phonetic notation when necessary. e) In teaching the alphabet, it is also possible to teach a cursive style, giving consideration to the students' study burden. f) For instruction of words, collocations and idioms, frequently used items should be selected and mastered. g) Students should learn the basics of how to use dictionaries and they should become able to use dictionaries as is required. h) In accordance with the students' situation and the contents of teaching materials, consideration should be given toward the effective use of computers, communication networks, education aids, etc., and toward obtaining the cooperation of native speakers etc. Teachers should innovate in terms of learning formats, incorporating pair work, group work, etc. as appropriate. (2) In regard to teaching materials, in order to cultivate practical English communication abilities, material that gives sufficient consideration to actual language-use situations and functions of language should be utilized.  Teachers should take up a variety of suitable topics in accordance with the level of students' mental and physical development, as well as their interests and concerns, covering topics that relate to the daily lives, manners and customs, stories, geography, history, etc. of Japanese people and the peoples of the world, focusing on countries that use English.  Special consideration should be given to the following. a) Materials that are useful in enhancing the understanding of various ways of seeing and thinking, cultivating a rich sensibility, and enhancing the ability to make impartial judgements. b) Materials that are useful in deepening the understanding of the ways of life and cultures of Japan and the rest of the world, raising interest in language and culture, and developing respectful attitudes to these elements. c) Materials that are useful in deepening international understanding from a broad perspective, heightening students' awareness of being Japanese citizens living in a global community, and cultivating a spirit of international cooperation.

Table 1

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