小学校外国語活動から中学校英語授業へ : 鳴門市立大麻中学校の実践

Oasa Municipal Junior High School in Naruto City experimentally studied the ways of securing a smooth transition from elementary school foreign language activities to junior high school English. This paper aims to report the study done between April and October 2011. The study took the following three steps: (1) analysis of first-year junior high school students through a questionnaire survey and classroom observations conducted in April and May; (2) analysis of the foreign language activities through classroom observations (conducted in May and June) in four elementary schools whose graduates enter Oasa; (3) examination of the effects of the teaching methods that were developed from the analyses done in (1) and (2). The study concludes that the following five principles would be useful when junior high school teachers try to secure a smooth transition from elementary to junior high school:
1. Foster students' enthusiasm for knowledge and self-expression that they felt in elementary school foreign language activities.
2. Develop teaching contents in elementary school foreign language activities.
3. Develop teaching methods in elementary school foreign language activities.
4. Make learning enjoyable by making students feel a sense of achievement.
5. Integrate the four skills in English activities.