The purpose of this paper is to determine how Japanese 7th graders regard learning English in primary schools and the effects of this on learning English in middle schools. More specifically, we aim to examine how the experiences of writing activities and the length of learning English in primary schools influence students’ later study of English.
The 7th graders in this study have positive views on learning English at primary school and keep motivated to study English once they enter middle school. However, some students who did not experience any writing activities while at primary school now consider that learning English at primary school is of little use for English lessons at middle school.