Language Schools’ Contributions to Lifelong Learning (LLL-SIG FORUM)
DETAILS: November 26; Room 401 / (Presentation ID: 581) / 11:35-13:05
Abstract:
The focus of this forum will be on the contributions language schools in Japan have played in fostering a lifelong learning ethos. Topics that will be addressed include considerations that go into planning and establishing a language school, the greatest challenges posed by maintaining them, and good practices in recruiting, training, and retaining teachers. The role of language schools in the whole ecosystem of Japanese language education will also be addressed.
Speakers:
* Amy Cordell Long
* Catherine Takasugi
* Lesley Ito
Joseph Dias (discussant)
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Catherine Takasugi
Title: Building a community, providing a service, and reaching the lonely: Eikawa Schools do more than just teach English.
Summary:
Maple Leaf English school served a Saitama community successfully for 14 years. It evolved from a once a week kitchen table classroom to 5 days a week creative yet effective and structured language program. While the school reached roughly 100 students in its peak, COVID-19, changing family needs, and personal burnout led to its closure in 2021. The school was primarily focused on language acquisition; however, the multitude of spin-off learnings and benefits for the community, teachers, and clients were also substantial.
Biography:
Catherine Takasugi (she/her) is a part-time university lecturer at Aoyama Gakuin University and Daito University. She is also a full-time doctoral candidate at the University of Calgary in Canada. The interrelationship of school refusal in Japan for biethnic families, neurodiversity, and sense of belonging at school, is the area that she is currently researching. If you have an experience with school refusal in Japan she invites you to send her a email (catherine.takasugi@ucalgary.ca) or come engage in conversation with her during the conference.
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Lesley Ito
Title: Toward a new Eikaiwa school model: Engaging content focused on literacy development
Summary:
After attending a week-long seminar in Cambridge, where she met 22 different teachers from 11 different countries, Lesley Ito came back determined to create a unique kind of Eikaiwa school. Wishing to move away from the typical Ekaiwa model of the 1980s and 1990s where students came to short classes with low expectations of progress, she started a new school exclusively for young learners with 90-minute classes, a CLIL curriculum, a strong focus on literacy, and an extensive reading library. Students made considerably more progress with English at this new school and student retention greatly improved. While it was never the original intention, the school attracted many returnees and international pre-school graduates, to the point where these students currently comprise half of the student body. However, there have been many challenges with teaching staff and new student recruitment.
Biography:
Lesley Ito is a well-known teacher, teacher trainer, school owner, and award-winning ELT materials writer based in Nagoya, Japan. She has taught in Japan since 1992 and owns BIG BOW English Lab, an Eikaiwa school for children with a CLIL curriculum, a strong focus on literacy, and an extensive reading library. She received her MSc in Teaching Young Learners from Aston University in 2018.
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Amy Cordell Long
Title: Becoming an established brand in the local community.
Summary:
Amy opened Dave and Amy English School with her husband in 2004. It now has 4 schools with over 500 students. In the initial years, many students quit around 5th or 6th grade to attend cram school. We don’t have this problem anymore. Many students stay until they leave for university. It’s great to see the students mature, growing in confidence and English ability. Many have never left Japan but are nearly fluent. Even better is when those who graduated bring their own children to study. Once you are well known and well respected in the community, retaining students and recruiting new ones is easy.
Biography:
Amy came to Japan straight from university in 1996. She thought she would stay for one year, but 27 years, a husband, and 2 kids later, she’s not going anywhere. In addition to running Dave and Amy English School, she has written ESL kids’ textbooks and teaches at a JHS in Shinagawa.
DISCUSSANT: Joseph Dias (Lifelong Language Learning SIG Coordinator)
