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Designated a SELHi by the
Ministry of Education
In
2004, TUINS High School became a designated Super English Language High
School (SELHi), joining the Ministry of Education’s other research
development schools, and again in 2007. There are just over 100 SELHi
schools all over Japan, and even fewer in the SELHi II program.
SELHi is an
ambitious program by Japan's Ministry of Education to improve Japan's
English Education system. For years, almost all Japanese schools have
employed the grammar and grammar-translation approach, which is dated. The
program aims to have school plan goals and design methodologies to help
students become competent speakers of the English language, or students who
can actually "use" English at a practical level. As such, SELHi schools
employ various techniques to achieve this purpose.
TUINS High
School was selected to be part of this prestigious program because we have
been on a course to provide students a Japanese curriculum with an
international perspective. Since 1990, TUINS High School has set up sister
school relations with New Zealand's Selwynn College. And in 1992, the
International English track was set up to provide university-bound students
with a curriculum that focuses on English. An annual English summer camp in
Oregon, USA was set up, as well as overseas school trips and English camps
during summer, winter and spring vacations. The SELHi program allowed us to
go even further to give our students a unique English learning experience
not offered in most Japanese high schools.
SELHi I Program (2004-2007)
TUINS High
School utilized the opportunity to strengthen its International English
track curriculum through project-based learning (PBL). The core English
class practices the 4 basic skills (reading, listening, writing, speaking)
with an integrated approach. Classes are conducted mostly in English, while
interactive, communicative activities help further students' understanding
of the required textbook. Global English classes and Current
Affairs/International Understanding classes link up with the core English
class in theme, vocabulary and grammar points.
The Global English classes
use our new, hi-tech computer rooms to engage students in activities with a
speaking and listening focus.
The Current Affairs/ International
Understanding classes use news articles/editorials to learn about current
international issues, while teaching the paragraph/essay-writing process
over the course of three years. Each class teacher communicates with each
other and there is always a project going on at one time.
What is Project-Based
Learning (PBL)? Quite
simply, during each
lesson, students undertake a project. The project, in turn, is designed to
grasp certain skills. A project has many parts to it, from planning to
researching to drafting to editing to presentation delivery. 1st year
students usually start from the end, learning to deliver recitation to short
presentations. Process writing and reports are another phase of PBL. 3rd
year students are given a final
“Virtual State Project”
(VSP) to undertake. Drawing from their international knowledge, English
ability and project/ presentation skills, students research and design their
own countries, planning and explaining systems of its government, military,
economy, social welfare, environmental protection, etc. A final presentation
is made to the teaching staff and students of other classes at the end,
whereby a live question and answer session is held for discussion.
 
In addition, TUINS
High School provides its students with multiple English learning
opportunities. 1st years embark on a 3-week English homestay program in
America. 2nd years go on a 1-week school trip to Singapore, an
English-speaking Asian country. 2nd years also go to our affiliated
university (TUINS) on English Day to
receive a full day of
English instruction from seasoned professors. Monthly international seminars expose students to
international topics delivered by leaders and experts from the international community.
English camps during holidays invite experienced native English teachers to
go on a retreat with our students. Students are also encouraged to
participate in speech contests held not just in Toyama, but out-of-state as
well. Our students often place highly in such speech contests, since our
English curriculum leans toward the productive skills.
SELHi II Program (2007-2010)
The SELHi
II program extends the SELHi I ideology to the rest of the school. As such,
the Special Advanced track follows the same curriculum as the International
English course students, minus the Current Affairs/International
Understanding classes and some of the extracurricular activities.
And most
ambitiously, the English curriculum for the Frontier track is being
revamped. TUINS High School is trying to engage lower level students in a
highly motivational, fun interactive English learning environment in order
to produce students who, despite their level of English, are not afraid to
communicate in English. The 1st year focuses on vocabulary building and
basic grammar points, while emphasizing pronunciation and recitation
practice to give students confidence in their speaking. A lot of effort is
put into designing activities with the right level and purpose to encourage
active learning. As such, rather than vocabulary and grammar, the point of
the lessons are to engage the students first, and then to build their
confidence and creativity to be communicative in English.
Classes are delivered in All-English.
The purpose of an
All-English class is multifold. First, students get used to listening to
English pronunciation. Second, students understand that they are not native
speakers of English, and so it is not necessary to understand everything.
That way, lower level students do not shut off instantly when they don't
understand something. Instead, they are encouraged to try to catch the main
idea and to guess from the English that they do understand. Whereas grammar
and grammar-translation classes require perfection, communicative classes
require an open-mind and a willingness to try. Lower level students will
often make mistakes, so there is little point in demanding perfection
through grammar and grammar-translation classes. Third, the All-English
requirement serves as a training for teachers of this school to use English
to teach English, and to improve their own level of English as well as their
pronunciation. It is too easy to fall back comfortably into speaking
Japanese, in which teachers and students only talk about English but never
use it. No wonder they say that, despite being the only First World Asian
country in the world, the Japanese can't speak English! We are part of the
mission to change that.
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