Elementary school teachers lack confidence in teaching English

68% of elementary school teachers lack confidence in teaching English

Wednesday 16th February, 06:31 AM JST

TOKYO —

A majority of elementary school teachers who are about to start teaching English as a required subject to fifth and sixth graders this April lack confidence in teaching the subject and feel burdened by it, a recent survey by a private research body showed Tuesday.
The survey of teachers conducted by Benesse Educational Research & Development Center showed that 68% were not confident about teaching English and 62% felt it to be a burden.
The results indicate inadequate training, with the center describing the development of teaching materials and other preparations as ‘‘insufficient.’‘
The survey, conducted between July and August, covered 8,000 randomly selected public elementary schools, with a total of 2,326 teachers in charge of fifth or sixth grade classes providing valid responses.  Read More