Japan’s education ministry on Monday presented to a subgroup of the Central Council for Education a draft outline of a planned revision to the country’s curriculum guidelines, including adopting English as a regular elementary school subject.
The draft calls for upgrading the current activities to help fifth- and sixth-graders become familiar with English to an regular subject and introducing the activities for third- and fourth-graders.
For fifth- and sixth-graders, the number of English classes will increase by 35 per year. One class lasts 45 minutes.
The ministry also plans to substantially review the high school curriculum, including the introduction of new subjects, such as a comprehensive study of the modern history of Japan and the world as well as an integrated study of civics and social issues.
The council will hold discussions based on the draft. It will make a recommendation on the new curriculum guidelines by the end of December. The ministry aims to release the revised guidelines by the end of fiscal 2016, which ends in March 2017.
Source: News on Japan Image: Bank Image
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