An Innovative Approach to In-Service Teacher Training for Teaching English at Japanese Public Elementary Schools

Abstract

Public elementary schools in Japan are currently tackling the enormous challenge of preparing to teach English as a formal academic subject to their pupils, an endeavor which will officially begin in 2020. Unfortunately, however, it has been reported that teachers are not well prepared for this endeavor, and their anxiety regarding English instruction has been dramatically increasing. To help partially ameliorate this situation, an innovative in-service teacher training approach was developed and then validated. Data collected by questionnaires as well as reflective reports, interviews and field note entries were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The findings suggest that positive or constructive relationships between school administrators and teachers are crucial for the successful implementation of this experimental approach.