A Problem in Schools
I have taught English in Japan for nearly 3 years now, and I have met many fluent English speakers but also at the same time, I have met even more people who were unable to carry a conversation despite having studied it as a foreign language for 6 years in junior high and high school. There may not be many opportunities to use English outside of class, which is partly the reason for the poor or absence of conversation skills, the blame should also go to the school system for not fostering an environment where students are encouraged to use and improve their English.
One aspect of the school that has surprised me the most when I started teaching at the junior high school was that nobody could fail my class. The grading scale is A, B, and C, whereas in the United States, the grading system for classes are A, B, C, D and F. Earning a F in class would result in a “fail” in the class, however, getting a D is just as bad. And if a student earns enough Ds and Fs in his classes, he will have to repeat the same grade over again. Since students are aware that they will not fail the class even if they did absolutely nothing, some of them sleep, and some of them end up disrupting the class by disturbing other students.
However, it is understandable that many students have little or no interest in learning English. When I was in high school, I remember yawning through all my science classes and had little interest with what I was learning. But I still paid attention in class and studied hard anyway. Although I had felt that I would never use this knowledge after I graduate from school, I still did my best because I understood that if I had earned an unsatisfactory grade, I would have to retake the class and it would also lower my chances to enter a good university. Thus, if there is a risk of failing the class, students would study much harder and learn more in class. Inevitably, however, there will always be students who will not participate, regardless of the method a teacher would implement in class. But I believe that, overall, students performance will improve and simultaneously, it would make my job as a teacher much easier and enjoyable as well.
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