Observations on One Japanese University's
General English Program
by
John Westby (Associate Professor, Meijo University,
Faculty of Human Studies)
&
Philip Beech (Lecturer, Meijo University,
Faculty of Human Studies)
February 2009
Unfortunately, the general English program at the university
in question has adopted Cambridge's system.
An entirely separate criticism of competence based standards
is that they are "intrinsically behaviourist"
and that their focus is "exclusively on mechanical performance
of actions and ignores cognition" (Fleming 51) Still
others such as Ashworth and Saxton (1990) view them as failing
to take into account "mental capacity" (qtd. in
Fleming 52).
A second conceptual problem involves the Cambridge system's
and thus the university's general English program's
overdependence on corpus linguistics. Using computerized "corpora,"
Sinclair and Renouf (1988) and D. Willis (1990) describe how
a "lexical syllabus" is created that "takes
precedence over grammar and other communicative notions and
structures." They go on to describe how grammar will
be learned "automatically by choosing the most frequent
words and word combinations for teaching" (qtd. in Carter
46). This approach is reflected in Cambridge's ESOL
textbooks which provide very little grammar instruction (see
for example Cambridge's Objective KET). Both formal
and functional grammar approaches seem to have been rejected.
This disregard of grammar is surprising in light of "the
renewed attention grammar has recently received" (Larsen-Freeman
41). Unfortunately, these texts have been adopted by the general
English program of the university in question.
A third problem involves the end of term assessment done
by the general English program at the university in question.
The written examination relies on corpus linguistics to generate
the exam material. This material is different than the material
covered during the term in the textbook. In our teaching experience,
students have commented before the exams that they don't
need to study the textbook material because the exam will
not be based on it.
We believe that this kind of assessment fails to meet the
criteria for successful foreign language testing. Carroll
(1980) identified four criteria: economy, relevance, acceptability,
and comparability. In particular, this style of assessment
fails to meet the acceptability criterion (qtd. in Lee and
VanPatten 98). As Lee and VanPatten (2003) explain, this criterion
takes the "learner's point of view into consideration."
Learners must be satisfied that the "test evaluates
their progress." Importantly, they note that "acceptability
is tied to familiarity" (99). Because the students are
being tested on unfamiliar material, this assessment is unacceptable.
Furthermore, the assessment fails to evaluate the progress
made by the students in learning the material covered during
the term.
Conclusion
For the above reasons, we believe that the current general
English program at the university in question is failing to
properly educate students and needs to be revised. Such revision
should bear in mind the importance of grammar and vocabulary
teaching and be based on knowledge based rather than competency
based standards. Such revision should also include improved
assessment which measures the students' progress on
material covered by the course.
Works cited
Capel, Annette and Sharp, Wendy, Objective KET, Cambridge
University Press, 2005.
Carter, Ronald "Vocabulary" in Carter, R. and Nunan, D.(eds.)
The Cambridge Guide to Teaching English to Speakers of Other
Languages, Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Council of Europe (2001) Common European Framework of Reference
for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment, Cambridge University
Press.
Fleming, Mike "The Use and Mis-use of Competence Frameworks
and Statements with Particular Attention to Describing Achievement
in Literature" in Martyniuk, W. (ed.) Proceedings of the Conference
"Towards a Common Framework of Reference for Language(s)
of School Education?" Krakow, April 2006.
Larsen-Freeman, Dianne "Grammar" in Carter, R. and Nunan,
D.(eds.) The Cambridge Guide to Teaching English to Speakers
of Other Languages, Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Lee, James F. and VanPatten, Bill, Making Communicative
Language Teaching Happen, Second Edition, McGraw Hill, 2003.
Milton, James "The Value of Vocabulary Size Measures in
a Language Framework of Reference" in Martyniuk, W. (ed) Proceedings
of the Conference "Towards a Common Framework of Reference
for Language(s) of School Education?" Krakow, April 2006.
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