A brief description of the general education (一般教育 ) language program at TFU and its underlying philosophy

TFU Language Educators’ Group (TFU-LEG)

Introduction

Occasionally questions arise about the makeup of TFU’s general education language program and its goals. This is an attempt to give instructors an overview of our program and address some key issues. This is an evolving document, and we gladly welcome suggestions for clarifications, modifications, additions, etc.  

Program Components

外国語Ⅰ•Ⅱ•Ⅲ: Generally, TFU students are required to complete two years of language study—twice-a-week in 1st year (e.g., 英語Ⅰ•Ⅱ), once-a-week in 2nd year (e.g., 英語Ⅲ). Some departments require this to be English; some allow students to freely choose among all the languages on offer (currently English, Korean, Chinese and German). In principle, students are allowed to choose the language classes that fit their weekly schedules (on a first-come-first-served basis). However, some departments requiring English specify a specific period or periods for English classes (e.g., Wednesday, 2nd period), in which case students choose from the classes offered in that particular time slot. In all cases, we try to offer students a choice of classes, so they can read the syllabuses and select the class that best fits their interests and/or preferred style. We find that at least some level of choice encourages buy-in on the part of students, or at least cuts down on the “I'm a prisoner in this class” syndrome. 

Beyond the basic I•II•III sequence, we also offer 実用外国語, Independent Language Study, English Project, Study Abroad and Global Communication courses for students interested in continuing with instructor-facilitated language study. 

• 実用外国語 is a flexible, one-semester course designed to allow classroom language study beyond the basic three levels. It is available in English, German, Korean and Chinese. Students are able to take the course multiple times, depending on the themes on offer. Content is determined by the assigned instructors in consultation with the whole TFU-LEG group. Extensive reading, writing skills, communicating on modern issues, language for daily life abroad, film English and other themes have all been employed in this class. One set of 実用英語 classes is provided to the Nursing Department as part of their required curriculum. We also try to offer at least one other section of 実用英語 each semester for interested students throughout the university. 

• Independent Language Study (ILS) allows students to work with an instructor of their choice in designing and implementing a study program with the goal of hitting a particular mark on a recognized test of English, such as TOEIC, EIKEN, TOEFL, GTEC, EFTest, etc. In this case, students consult with an instructor in designing their program, implement the program, hit the target test score, and then register and receive credit for their work. This work may extend across semesters or even school years, but we encourage goals that can be accomplished within one school year. ILS can be taken multiple times for credit. 

• English Project A•B•C is a one-semester course in which enrolled students negotiate with the instructor in designing a project they will complete and present at the end of the term. It can be an English study-oriented project in which they complete a “course” of study and report on outcomes and what they learned through the process. It can be a research paper written in English. It can be a volunteer project. The possibilities are endless, but it must include a significant amount of work and result in a report/presentation shared with the group in English. Periodic consultation and progress meetings are held (weekly, bi-weekly, etc.). English Project can be taken three times (A-C) for credit. 

• Study Abroad programs give students a chance to study language and experience life and culture in another country. Some include opportunities for study and experience in specific major fields. They typically include pre-travel preparation classes designed to help students make the most of their time abroad; coursework, homestays and multiple opportunities for experience and exchange while in-country; and some kind of report on return.                              

• Rather than being a language class perse, Global Communication I•II (GC) is a year-long EMI (English as medium of instruction) course in cross-cultural communication. It provides students an opportunity to employ their English skills in learning about and discussing communication in different cultures and across cultures. Two sections of GC cater to students at different ability levels, and the I•II structure allows students to take both for credit. 

Philosophy

Beyond a requirement that 外国語Ⅰ include a communicative component, we do not have set syllabuses or textbooks for the I•II•III series or other general education (一般教育) language courses. The thinking behind this involves both freedom and responsibility for our instructors, full- and part-time. 

Prioritizing freedom of choice for instructors and students

If our students were language majors, participating in a multi-year program with a progression of courses toward clearly-defined outcomes, a common set of syllabuses or frameworks for core courses might make sense; particularly if students had chosen the program for these characteristics. Even in such programs, however, experience shows that identical courses often vary widely with the instructor—in style of instruction, in course focus/emphases, and in materials used (despite a shared syllabus and/or set text). 

For most students at TFU, our foreign language offerings have nothing to do with their decision to come to TFU and may have little to do with their personal educational goals. Given this reality and the small amount of language study most students do at TFU, we have chosen to prioritize instructor freedom and student choice in hopes that these will lead to the best learning experiences for our students. We rely on our instructors to get to know our students and make their best effort to offer classes fitting their own interests and expertise with the needs and interests of their students. We also hope that students will examine syllabuses, speak with other students, and make reasoned selections from the options available. In this way, we hope both instructors and students will be able to “put their best foot forward” in building constructive experiences studying language and culture together. 

Occasionally, a department may have a specific request regarding language education for its students. For example, the Education Department requested an effort to help students improve their scores on standardized English tests like TOEIC and Eiken. In such cases, we discuss such requests with the instructors involved and reach consensus on appropriate approaches. 

Shared characteristics

We believe that giving instructors freedom in course design and implementation should have positive outcomes. At the same time, there are some concepts that we hope will characterize all our language courses:

• Language as a tool for meaningful communication
  We hope that all language classes will emphasize and employ the target language as a tool for meaningful communication. This may take various forms, including activities involving personal interaction, reading, writing, and/or listening/viewing. We hope students will have the opportunity to see and experience language as a potentially useful tool in their professional and/or personal lives.

• Building general communication skills
  Closely connected with the emphasis on meaningful communication, most language classes involve considerable interaction between students, often involving multiple partners in a given class period or through the course of a term. As opposed to a traditional lecture-based course, language courses are thus positioned to help students build their general communication skills and abilities to understand, interact and work with others. This is an important goal of most academic departments at TFU, and a way that our language courses can contribute to student development beyond language-specific goals. This is a repeated theme in discussions among language teachers at TFU and is an important factor in the relevance of language courses, even for students who may have little current interest in foreign language learning.

• Self-directed learning
  Given the small amount of language coursework required at TFU, students making truly significant language gains will accomplish this largely through their own individual study and/or seeking out further opportunities. We thus hope that all classes will help students grasp tools and strategies for independent learning (e.g., extensive reading and listening, online learning apps, websites, podcasts, independent study tools & resources) and facilitate awareness of further opportunities at TFU and in the larger community (e.g., elective courses, study abroad programs, exchange and volunteer opportunities). LEG staff and the staff at International Academic Exchange Office will do our best to share information on such opportunities, and everyone is encouraged to inform students of other opportunities, as well. (Comment)

Area(s) of emphasis?

Given the loosely defined goals of our program, one question that has come up is this: Should we mostly focus on linguistic gains (e.g., vocabulary/grammar/fluency development), emphasize the cultural side of language study, or concentrate on stimulating communicative experiences? We don’t see these as mutually exclusive, and anticipate that most courses will involve all of these to varying degrees. The relative mixture we leave up to our instructors as they do their best to provide opportunities for learning and growth among their students—understanding that learning and growth can be defined in various ways. 

Mixed level classes

As mentioned above, as much as possible, we try to offer students a choice of classes, so they can select the class that best fits their interests and/or preferred style. We find that at least some level of choice encourages buy-in on the part of students, or at least cuts down on the “I'm a prisoner in this class” syndrome. The other side of this coin, however, is that choice results in mixed-level classes. Historically, language classes at TFU have been offered at various times throughout the day, maximizing use of limited language classrooms, with students choosing classes which best fit their interests and schedules. Mixed-level classes present obvious challenges, but they also provide chances for lower-level or unmotivated learners to be inspired by their higher functioning classmates, and avoid ghettoization of lower-level groups. 

More recently, however, several departments have set English as the required foreign language and have set aside particular time-slots for language study. This trend is likely to continue. While having all students within a department taking language classes at the same time presents the possibility of streaming by level, we are still opting to offer students a choice of classes within these time slots. However, we are open to the possibility of streaming, particularly for the highest-level learners, and will continue to discuss this issue moving forward. Your input is welcome.