The Anathema of Japanese Cram Schools to ELT

Conference: The Asian Conference on Education (ACE2022)
Title: The Anathema of Japanese Cram Schools to ELT
Stream: Foreign Languages Education & Applied Linguistics (including ESL/TESL/TEFL)
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Authors:
Aaron Ward, Toyo University, Japan

Abstract:

The current research aims to advance an understanding of the role of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) study at cram school in Japan. Previous research indicates that wash-back from cram school learning and teaching practices do not positively effect long-term English language learning or retention. Other research suggests that cram school study correlates neither significantly nor positively to spoken EFL proficiency or in-class attitudes in Japanese university students. Yet, such results seem peculiar given the size of the EFL cram school industry in Japan. However, cram school is not the only form of institutionalized, extra-curricular study available to EFL students. As such, this study investigates the effects on language proficiency, as measured by performance on the TOEIC exam, of cram school study in relation to time spent living or studying abroad. The results suggest that cram school attendance appears to give rise to modest, yet statistically significant, improvements in language proficiency, but only for some groups of participants. In contrast, a pattern of significant gains in language proficiency was far more evident in participants who had spent long periods of time abroad. Given the apparently circumscribed benefits of cram school study, it is arguable that the benefits of this form of education do not seem to outweigh their economic and opportunity costs. Nonetheless, cram school was still well-attended by most participants in the study, regardless of time spent abroad. As such, speculative discussion is made about the actual socio-pedagogical relationship between cram school and language study in Japan.



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