[E epsilon] Online English lessons taught using science and
mathematics. I want children all over the country to learn the English they want to speak.
*View in browser* *E epsilon*
Press release: April 1, 2024
April Dream Project
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Online English lessons taught using science and mathematics. I want children all over the country to learn the English they want to speak. *Teach English using science, which stimulates children’s intellectual curiosity, and arithmetic, which often appears in children’s lives. Learning words through trial and error is the best method for Japanese children. And online, it can be delivered equally. *
This press release is a dream sent out by a business operator who sympathizes with the April Dream project and wants to make April 1st a day full of dreams, hoping to make them come true.
Our company aims to make April 1st the day to send out dreams. I agree with “Dream”. This press release is a dream of “E-epsilon”.
I want all children in Japan to be able to speak English in their own language. I don’t aim to speak fluently, but I want my children to grow up to be Japanese people who can convey words honestly and accurately, even in short sentences. I also want to prevent
differences in English language from arising due to differences in environment.
To that end, E-epsilon (located in Minato-ku, Tokyo) is creating online lessons that teach English using science and arithmetic. We would like people all over the country to know about this English learning method that is suitable for Japanese people. We aim to make speaking English no longer something special for all children.
It has been 15 years since I started an English cram school in Tokyo, advocating teaching English using science and arithmetic. At that time, Japanese people told me that I didn’t need to learn science and math in English. Since then, it has gradually gained recognition, and classes using this method have been held at various elementary and junior high schools. We have been featured in various media and have even published a book called “1+1 Drills to Improve Your English” (KADOKAWA). Currently, we are also teaching at Toshimaoka Girls’ Academy, a prestigious school in Toshima Ward, Tokyo.
* What are the current problems facing English education? *
Now, 15 years later, an international school and an international department have been added, and study abroad has become a major pillar of English education. That’s significant, but how many families would choose an international school that costs 3 million yen a year, or study abroad, which costs an equally large amount of money? Also, how many cities in Japan are there where foreigners live around and you can hear foreign languages on a daily basis?
On the other hand, it is also said that living an English-centered life from an early age can cause children to become unsteady in Japanese and affect their emotional development. Additionally, children who have studied abroad at an international school may find it difficult to return to Japan once they start working abroad.
While there is a possibility that there will be large disparities in universities, career choices, incomes, etc. depending on whether one can speak English, there is also concern that the number of Japanese people who have lost their Japanese language and identity will increase.
*Why it is difficult for Japanese people to learn English*
Japanese is a language in which the predicate comes at the end. You’ll know what you want to say in the end. It is a “listening culture” that requires listening to the end. English is a language in which the predicate comes immediately after the subject. It is a “talking culture” where what you want to say comes first. Therefore, if you set your goal to be able to speak Japanese, it will always be impossible.
Furthermore, current English education programs in schools are centered on Western ideas, and it is unclear whether they are suitable for Japanese people or suitable for children to learn in parallel with Japanese. We believe that it is important to teach Japanese children the English they really want to speak from an early age, in the fields that they are good at.
Furthermore, in many areas of Japan where people rarely come into contact with foreigners in their daily lives, they do not have the opportunity to use the English they have learned. If you don’t use words, you will never learn them, but there is no place to put them into practice. We must create opportunities for output. Even Otani, who is in his sixth year in the United States, faces a language barrier.
* So what should we teach and when should we start teaching it? * Japanese people are good at arithmetic. It is said that the students’ abilities are high compared to other countries. After all, a lot of math words are used and needed in children’s lives, games, and conversations. Mathematics is suitable as material for teaching English because you can understand the content by looking at formulas and what is written, and you can listen to it with confidence.
Also, in science, the five senses are boosted by doing simple experiments. Science is also very suitable as a material for teaching English because you can listen to the content while thinking.
The meaning of teaching both subjects in English is that you will be able to listen and think. I forget what I memorize, but I never forget everything I hear while thinking. Acquiring the habit of thinking in English from an early age will also be useful when studying for entrance exams in junior high and high school.
Therefore, we have constructed and put into practice classes that teach English through science and mathematics. The purpose of the experiment is to teach English, so the experiments are simple, but there are new discoveries each time, and being able to do them in cooperation with each other is also effective.
Another important thing is to start from an early age. Math and science can be played like games, so you can start early. In addition to reading aloud and singing, by incorporating these two subjects in a playful manner, you can also increase intellectual curiosity. This is by no means an education for gifted children.
The unique curriculum, which was created by Japanese and foreign instructors through trial and error while teaching at various schools over the course of 15 years, was created by taking into account the actual situation of the students and solving the problems of the instructors who teach. Thing.
Furthermore, we would like to continue to evolve together with school English teachers, foreign instructors, and ALT teachers. That is also our dream.
*High wall that stands in our way*
In order to spread this curriculum, I sometimes go to elementary and junior high schools to give lessons. However, no matter how happy the students are and no matter how grateful their parents are, it is really difficult to get schools to adopt them. When the teachers say it’s good, it’s the administrative teachers… and even when the administrative teachers say it’s good, it’s the board of education… and behind that is the Curriculum Guidelines established by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology… What are the big barriers? It’s also heavy.
Therefore, we decided to create an online course that brings together all the know-how we have cultivated over the past 15 years and deliver it directly to your home. You can watch this anywhere in Japan. * Our dreams, ideal online lessons *
This online course includes:
* – Phonics flashcard videos that help you memorize the words you need for class while learning correct pronunciation *
* ・Videos to learn English while doing science experiments to stimulate intellectual curiosity (targeted from infants to junior high school students) *
* ・Worksheet for writing predictions of experimental results and things learned* * ・Online lessons where you can output your impressions of the class* * ・Holding a “Science Fair” where people present their own experiments in English*
“Science Fair” is a presentation event where students present their own experiments in English. We will rent venues across the country. Students and their parents will come to a nearby venue to give presentations and observe other children’s experiments. We hope that members of the press and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology will also take a look.
We will start with the project for general families, but in the future we would like to expand this project to include kindergartens and junior high schools across the country. Once we have enough money, we would like to support 10 students and 5 teachers (not only in the English department) to study abroad each year. We support young people who are proud to be Japanese and go abroad.
Japanese people cannot speak English. I have to memorize a lot of English. Japanese teachers lack confidence in teaching English conversation. Many people are confused about whether they have to study abroad or go to an internship program.
We sincerely hope that this project will help reduce the cost of learning English and correct regional disparities in English education.
For more information about this project, please contact us below. E epsilon
mkawasaki@gamma.ocn.ne.jp
https://e-epsilon.com
“April Dream” is a project by PR TIMES that broadcasts the dreams that companies want to achieve on April 1st. We are seriously aiming to make this dream come true.
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