English is a language.
Many people have experienced long stay and/or life in English-speaking countries.
Many of them could succeed in acquire an ability to be able to fluently speak English.
Then there were at least two factors. One of them was his or her own serious exercises and endeavor to improve English ability. Another was an environment itself which gradually made them adapt to an English–speaking surrounding.
If someone can’t go abroad to study, he or she must actively study all things composed of writing, reading, listening comprehension and speaking.
The more you concentrate too much yourself on reading and writing, the less you’ll acquire the ability of speaking and listening comprehension. It’s very regrettable that moreover, abilities of both speaking and listening comprehension can’t be greatly improved in the late of life.
Which ability should be earlier? The answer is that abilities of both speaking and listening comprehension must be in priority. Reading and writing ability can be enough ensured after acquiring speaking and listening comprehension abilities because a lot of abstract work or task like memorizing words’ spelling and study of both grammar and the usage of words are better for senior students.
❶Indeed, most of elementary school students are learning rather exercises of speaking and listening comprehension.
➋At junior high school it’s better at the same time to study all of four abilities: speaking, listening comprehension, reading and writing.
➌How about senior high school?
(a)Many universities are changing the style of entrance examinations into the adding of listening comprehension test.
(b)The national center test of university entrance admission will start listening comprehension test too in January, 2006.
©It has been announced that from next year TOEFL will impose speaking ability test too.
Judging the above trends, improvement of listening comprehension and speaking abilities is absolutely necessary to great extent as well as that of reading and writing abilities.
Then, how should we effectively instruct students?
The final resolution should be to use English more and more.
On the contrary, it’s inevitable to refrain Japanese from using as possible.
2005/11/26
Kanzaburo Okamura
Many people have experienced long stay and/or life in English-speaking countries.
Many of them could succeed in acquire an ability to be able to fluently speak English.
Then there were at least two factors. One of them was his or her own serious exercises and endeavor to improve English ability. Another was an environment itself which gradually made them adapt to an English–speaking surrounding.
If someone can’t go abroad to study, he or she must actively study all things composed of writing, reading, listening comprehension and speaking.
The more you concentrate too much yourself on reading and writing, the less you’ll acquire the ability of speaking and listening comprehension. It’s very regrettable that moreover, abilities of both speaking and listening comprehension can’t be greatly improved in the late of life.
Which ability should be earlier? The answer is that abilities of both speaking and listening comprehension must be in priority. Reading and writing ability can be enough ensured after acquiring speaking and listening comprehension abilities because a lot of abstract work or task like memorizing words’ spelling and study of both grammar and the usage of words are better for senior students.
❶Indeed, most of elementary school students are learning rather exercises of speaking and listening comprehension.
➋At junior high school it’s better at the same time to study all of four abilities: speaking, listening comprehension, reading and writing.
➌How about senior high school?
(a)Many universities are changing the style of entrance examinations into the adding of listening comprehension test.
(b)The national center test of university entrance admission will start listening comprehension test too in January, 2006.
©It has been announced that from next year TOEFL will impose speaking ability test too.
Judging the above trends, improvement of listening comprehension and speaking abilities is absolutely necessary to great extent as well as that of reading and writing abilities.
Then, how should we effectively instruct students?
The final resolution should be to use English more and more.
On the contrary, it’s inevitable to refrain Japanese from using as possible.
2005/11/26
Kanzaburo Okamura
