Medium is only part of message at Osaka school

Yoshiaki Takeuchi / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

The following is the second of a two-part report on efforts that some higher educational institutions--mainly in the Kansai region--have been making to improve their English programs.

OSAKA--In traditional foreign language courses, the language is the subject. But with the immersion method, the target language is merely the medium through which other subjects are taught. An increasing number of the nation's universities have been trying this approach, teaching specialized subjects in English.

Osaka Jogakuin College in Chuo Ward, Osaka, is one such example. The private women's school was established in 2004 with a single department offering English and international studies.

During a recent class, 15 juniors sat in a circle and discussed in English about how to offer support to parents raising bilingual children in Japan.

Their professor, Eiko Kato, allowed her students to say whatever they wanted to. One of the participants emphasized the importance of creating as many opportunities as possible to expose bilingual children to their parents' cultures. Another said parents of bilingual children should be encouraged to establish support groups.

The 15 students seemed to be relaxed, occasionally bursting out in laughter during the discussion. But the approach also means the students must be on top of their English in classes, one student said.

"If you don't understand the level of English used in these kind of classes, you'll be absolutely lost," the student explained. "My English has improved just through the work I put into preparing these courses."

In fact, her score on the Test of English for International Communication has increased by 250 points.

Osaka Jogakuin College accepts only 150 students or so a year. They are taught by 37 teachers, 11 of whom are non-Japanese. Since its establishment, the school has fused its English programs with the specialized courses. Ninety percent of specialized courses for juniors and seniors are taught exclusively in the language.

About 60 percent of freshman and sophomore courses are conducted in English. In preparation for becoming upperclassmen, the younger students are encouraged to develop their English skills, while at the same time they learn in Japanese about the basics of their specialized studies.

Kato stresses that her college does not focus only on fostering students' listening comprehension and speaking skills.

"We also aim to develop their reading and writing skills in English through a variety of approaches, such as quizzes and academic writing," the professor said. "We'd like them to have well-rounded English skills that enable them to express their own opinions in the language."

The college's inaugural class graduated last year. All 114 students looking for work landed jobs immediately after graduation.

"I believe our students' high level of English proved to be beneficial during their search for jobs," said Masanori Ochitani, the school's secretary general.

According to the Education, Science and Technology Ministry, 194 universities--or 27 percent of the nation's higher educational institutions--offered a variety of non-language undergraduate courses taught in English during the 2007 academic year.

In another example, Kwansei Gakuin University's School of Policy Studies in Sanda, Hyogo Prefecture, offers more than 20 specialized courses in English, including international relations and organizational theory of global firms. The number accounts for 25 percent of all the specialized courses available in the department.

To enable them to qualify for such courses, the department offers its freshmen and sophomores four weekly sessions in English Communication, which are taught by native speakers.

However, the department has found a great disparity in the level of English skills in freshmen over recent years, according to Prof. Masaru Honda. He said this was partly because of the nation's "pressure-free" educational policy through high school, and partly because universities have been offering a number of screening options to prospective students, under which some students can be enrolled without taking traditional paper exams.

"So we need to keep making an effort to tailor our programs to the needs of the individual and to figure out better ways to keep them motivated," Honda said.