The government educational curriculum guidelines in Japan will be changed from April, 2020

Many more ALTs will be necessary for English lessons in Japanese public elementary schools from April, 2020.

The lesson curriculum in each school will be made following the government educational curriculum guidelines, which has been decided by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

The most important difference between the current and the next curriculum guidelines is the English curriculum in elementary schools. The current curriculum guidelines have been in use from 1998 and the main role of the English lesson in the current curriculum guidelines is only to make students familiar with foreign languages. Only 5^th and 6^th grade students enjoy the activities of foreign language and teachers don't evaluate the students' understanding. Students have 35 periods of foreign language lessons in a year and the main foreign language is English. Students don't yet learn how to read and write; the activities are only in the fields of listening and speaking.

Japan's English Revolution

From 2020, 5^th and 6^th grade students must learn English, and they will learn not only listening and speaking but also reading and writing. They will learn English for 70 periods of English lessons within a year. Teachers must evaluate each student's understanding.

3^rd and 4^th grade students will start to have 35 periods of foreign language lesson from 2020. In total, the periods for English lessons will be increasing three-fold in elementary schools. The government curriculum guidelines hope that more ALTs will help these lessons for the future of Japanese students.

This is where you are vital for Japan's future! By 2020, there will be a sudden need for thousands of native English speakers to come to Japan and help these children learn. Please consider coming to be a true fulfillment of this dream. Not only can you help many students individually, but you can be part of this revolution in English education in Japan at a very exciting and important time!