The Course of Study for Japanese Lower Secondary School English


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  1. Overall Objectives

    To develop students' basic abilities to understand a foreign language and express themselves in it, to foster a positive attitude toward communicating in it, and to deepen interest in language and culture, cultivating basic international understanding.


  2. Objectives and Contents for Each Year

    [First Year]

    1. Objectives

      (1) To enable students to understand plain spoken English on simple and familiar topics, to familiarize them with listening to English, and to arouse interest in listening
      (2) To enable students to speak about simple and familiar topics in plain English, to familiarize them with speaking English, and to arouse interest in speaking
      (3) To enable students to understand plain written English on simple and familiar topics, to familiarize them with reading English, and to arouse interest in reading
      (4) To enable students to write about simple and familiar topics in plain English, to familiarize them with writing English, and to arouse interest in writing


    2. Contents

      (1) Language-use Activities

      The following language-use activities should be conducted in order to develop students' abilities to understand English and express themselves in it, and to foster a positive attitude toward communication.

      1. Listening

        The following activities should be included.
        (a) To listen to words or sentences and understand the meanings
        (b) To listen to questions, directions, requests, suggestions, etc., and respond appropriately to them
        (c) To listen to a series of sentences and understand the content

      2. Speaking

        The following activities should be included.
        (a) To speak words or sentences clearly and correctly
        (b) To respond appropriately to greetings, questions, directions, requests, etc.
        (c) To convey intended messages in simple spoken sentences

      3. Reading

        The following activities should be included.
        (a) To read aloud words or sentences clearly and correctly
        (b) To read questions, requests, etc. and respond appropriately to them
        (c) To read aloud a series of sentences in a manner appropriate for the content

      4. Writing

        The following activities should be included.
        (a) To copy words or sentences correctly
        (b) To listen to words or sentences and write them down correctly
        (c) To write intended messages in simple sentences

      (2) Language Elements

      In carrying out the language-use activities stated in (1), language elements suitable for the attainment of the objectives stated in 1 above should be chosen from among those elements in LIST 1.


    [Second Year]

    1. Objectives

      (1) To enable students to understand the speaker's intended message in simple spoken English sentences or passages, to accustom them to listening to English, and to cultivate a willingness to listen to English
      (2) To enable students to express their ideas etc. in simple spoken English sentences or passages, to accustom them to speaking English, and to cultivate a willingness to speak English
      (3) To enable students to understand the writer's intended message in simple written English sentences or passages, to accustom them to reading English, and to cultivate a willingness to read English
      (4) To enable students to express their ideas etc. in simple written English sentences or passages, to accustom them to writing English, and to cultivate a willingness to write English


    2. Contents

      (1) Language-use Activities

      The following language-use activities should be conducted in order to develop students' abilities to understand English and express themselves in it, and to foster a positive attitude toward communication.

      1. Listening

        The following activities should be included.
        (a) To listen to sentences or passages spoken or read aloud naturally and to understand the content

      2. Speaking

        The following activities should be included.
        (a) To listen and respond appropriately to other speakers by asking and answering questions
        (b) To ask and answer questions about what has been listened to and read

      3. Reading

        The following activities should be included.
        (a) To read silently sentences or passages and understand the content
        (b) To understand the content of sentences or passages and read them aloud in a manner appropriate for the content

      4. Writing

        The following activities should be included.
        (a) To organize intended messages and write them without missing important points

      (2) Language Elements

      In carrying out the language-use activities stated in (1), language elements suitable for the attainment of the objectives stated in 1 above should be chosen from among those elements in LIST 1.


    [Third Year]

    1. Objectives

      (1) To enable students to understand the speaker's intended message in simple spoken English passages, to develop proficiency in listening to English, and to foster a positive attitude toward listening
      (2) To enable students to express their ideas etc. in simple spoken English passages, to develop proficiency in speaking English, and to foster a positive attitude toward speaking
      (3) To enable students to understand the writer's intended message in simple written English passages, to develop proficiency in reading English, and to foster a positive attitude toward reading
      (4) To enable students to express their ideas etc. in simple written English passages, to develop proficiency in writing English, and to foster a positive attitude toward writing


    2. Contents

      (1) Language-use Activities

      The following language-use activities should be conducted in order to develop students' abilities to understand English and express themselves in it, and to foster a positive attitude toward communication.

      1. Listening

        The following activities should be included.
        (a) To listen to passages and understand the outline and/or the main points

      2. Speaking

        The following activities should be included.
        (a) To organize intended messages and express them orally without missing important points

      3. Reading

        The following activities should be included.
        (a) To read passages and understand the outline and/or the main points

      4. Writing

        The following activities should be included.
        (a) To write the outline and /or the main points of what has been listened to and read

      (2) Language Elements

      In carrying out the language-use activities stated in (1), language elements suitable for the attainment of the objectives stated in 1 above should be chosen from among those elements in LIST 1.


    3. Treatment of the Contents

      (1) In order to conduct language-use activities effectively, basic language elements necessary to convey the speaker's or the listener's ideas, feelings, etc. can be used in addtion to those elements in LIST 1.
      (2) Element C (d) b in LIST 1 is for recognition only.
      (3) Element D (a) b in LIST 1 is for recognition only.


      LIST 1 LANGUAGE ELEMENTS

      1. Pronunciation

        (a) Contemporary standard pronunciation
        (b) Word stress
        (c) Basic sentence intonations
        (d) Basic breath groups in sentences
        (e) Basic sentence stress

      2. Sentences

        (a)

        1. Simple and compound sentences
        2. Complex sentences
        (b) Affirmative and negative declarative sentences
        (c) Affirmative and negative imperative sentences
        (d) Interrogative sentences that begin with a verb or an auxiliary verb such as can, do, does, may, etc., that contain or, and that begin with an interrogative such as how, what, when, where, which, who, whose, why

      3. Sentence Patterns

        (a) 'Subject+Verb'
        (b) 'Subject+Verb+Complement' in which the verb is be and the complement is a noun, a pronoun or an adjective, and in which the verb is other than be and the complement is a noun or an adjective
        (c) 'Subject+Verb+Object'

        1. in which the object is a noun, a pronoun, a gerund or an infinitive
        2. in which the object is how+to-infinitive or a clause that begins with that or what, etc.
        (d) 'Subject+Verb+Indirect Object+Direct Object'
        1. in which the direct object is a noun or a pronoun
        2. in which the direct object is how, etc.+to-infinitive
        (e) 'Subject+Verb+Object+Complement' in which the complement is a noun or an adjective
        (f) Other Patterns
        1. 'There is' and 'There are'
        2. It+be+ ~ (+ for ~)+to-infinitive
        3. Subject+ask, tell, etc.+Object+to-infinitive

      4. Grammar

        (a) Pronouns:

        1. personal, demonstrative, interrogative and quantitative pronouns
        2. basic restrictive uses of the relative pronouns that, which and who used as the nominative case, and that and which used as the objective case
        (b)Tenses: present, present progressive, present perfect, past, past progressive and future tenses
        (c) Comparison: adjectives and adverbs
        (d) Infinitives: noun use, adjective use, and basic adverbial use denoting purpose, and cause/reason
        (e) Gerunds: the object of a verb and other basic uses
        (f) Present and past participles: adjective use
        (g) Passive voices: present and past tenses

      5. Words and Idioms:
        (a) words up to approximately 1000 including those in LIST 2
        (b) basic idioms

      6. Letters:
        (a) small and capital letters of the alphabet in print and script

      7. Punctuation:
        (a) basic use of a period, a question mark, a comma, an exclamation mark, etc.


      LIST 2

      a / about / across / after / afternoon / again / ago / all / already / also / always / am / among / an / and / animal / another / answer / any / anyone / anything / April / are / arrive / as / ask / at / August / aunt / away

      back / bad / be / beautiful / because / become / before / begin / between / big / bird / black / blue / boat / book / both / box / boy / bread / break / breakfast / bring / brother / build / building / bus / busy / but / buy / by

      call / can / car / card / carry / catch / chair / child / city / class / clean / close / cloud / club / cold / college / colo(u)r / come / cook / cool / could / country / cry / cup / cut

      dark / daughter / day / dear / December / desk / dictionary / different / dinner / do / does / door / down / draw / drink / drive / during

      each / ear / early / easy / eat / eight / eighteen / eighth / eighty / either / eleven / eleventh / English / enjoy / enough / evening / ever / every / everyone / everything / excuse / eye

      face / fall / family / famous / far / farm / fast / father / February / feel / few / fifteen / fifth / fifty / find / fine / finish / first / fish / five / flower / fly / food / foot / for / forget / forty / four / fourteen / fourth / Friday / friend / from / fruit

      game / garden / get / girl / give / glad / glass / go / good / goodby(e) / great / green / ground / grow

      hair / half / hand / happy / hard / has / have / he / head / hear / help / her / here / hers / high / hill / him / his / holiday / home / hope / hot / hour / house / how / hundred

      I / idea / if / important / in / interesting / into / introduce / invite / is / it

      January / Japan / Japanese / July / June / just

      keep / kind / kitchen / know

      lake / language / large / last / late / learn / leave / left / lend / let / letter / library / life / light / like / listen / little / live / long / look / lose / love / lunch

      make / man / many / March / May / may / me / mean / meet / milk / mine / minute / Monday / money / month / moon / more / morning / most / mother / mountain / mouth / much / music / must / my

      name / near / need / never / new / news / next / nice / night / nine / nineteen / ninety / ninth / no / noon / nose / not / notebook / nothing / November / now

      October / of / off / often / old / on / once / one / only / open / or / other / our / ours / out / over / paper / park / pen / pencil / people / picture / plane / play / please / poor / popular / pretty / put

      question / quickly

      rain / read / ready / really / red / remember / rice / rich / ride / right / rise / river / room / run

      sad / same / Saturday / say / school / sea / season / second / see / sell / send / September / seven / seventeen / seventh / seventy / shall / she / shop / short / should / shout / show / sick / since / sing / sister / sit / six / sixteen / sixth / sixty / sky / sleep / slowly / small / smile / snow / so / some / someone / something / sometimes / son / soon / sorry / speak / spend / sport / spring / stand / star / start / station / stay / still / stop / store / story / street / strong / student / study / such / summer / sun / Sunday / sure / swim

      table / take / talk / tall / teach / teacher / tell / ten / tenth / than / thank / that / the / their / them / then / there / these / they / think / third / thirteen / thirty / this / those / thousand / three / through / Thursday / time / to / today / together / tomorrow / too / town / tree / try / Tuesday / turn / twelfth / twelve / twenty / two

      uncle / under / understand / until (or till) / up / use / useful / usually

      vacation / very / village / visit

      wait / walk / wall / want / warm / wash / watch / water / way / we / Wednesday / week / welcome / well / what / when / where / which / white / who / whose / why / will / wind / window / winter / with / without / woman / wonderful / word / work / world / worry / would / write / wrong

      yard / year / yellow / yes / yesterday / yet / you / young / your / yours


  3. Syllabus Design and Treatment of the Contents

    1. In designing the syllabus, careful consideration should be given to the following:

      (1) In conducting language-use activities in listening, speaking, reading and writing, priority may be given to activities in one or more skills according to students' learning stages, but no particular emphasis should be placed on activities in any one or more skills over the three-year period. Further, at the starting stage, special priority should be given to aural and oral activities in light of the importance of teaching pronunciation.

      (2) The items stated in the contents for each year can be appropriately taught before the year indicated, in accordance with the various factors affecting students. They should be taught repeatedly after the year indicated, so that students will be proficient in them.

      (3) The language elements should be graded from easier to more difficult ones according to the learning stage and taught effectively, with some focused on recognition and others on production. In the early stages of learning sentences with simple structures such as those shown in a in Sentences and Sentence Patterns in LIST 1 should be dealt with, and in later stages sentences with complicated structures such as those shown in b and c in Sentences and Sentence Patterns in LIST 1 should be dealt with.

    2. With regard to teaching materials, a variety of suitable topics should be chosen from among those concerning daily life, manners and customs, stories, geography, history, etc. of people throughout the world, especially of those who use the particular language being taught, and of Japanese people as well, according to the students' mental and physical development as well as their interests and concerns. Furthermore besides aiming at developing an ability to understand the language and express oneself in it, special consideration should be given to the following.

      Teaching materials should help:

      1. To deepen international understanding from a broad perspective, to raise students' awareness as Japanese citizens living in the global community, and to cultivate a spirit of international cooperation
      2. To heighten interest in language and culture, to foster a respectful attitude toward them, and to cultivate well-roundedness
      3. To deepen understanding of the ways of life and cultures of Japan and the rest of the world, to broaden international perspective, and to cultivate fair judgment

        In addition, appropriate types of teaching materials should be chosen from among expositions, dialogs, narratives, plays, poems, letters, etc.

    3. As an aid to the teaching of pronunciation, phonetic symbols can be used if necessary.

    4. The basic use of a dictionary should be encouraged.

    5. To promote language-use activities, special consideration should be given to effective use of educational equipment and to gaining the assistance of native speakers of foreign languages.

    6. For students who study a foreign language above the minimum lesson hours, proper consideration should be given in each school to supplementing or deepening the contents stated in 2, and to deepening and enriching language-use activities.

    7. For students who begin to study a foreign language in the second or third year, the instruction should start with the contents for the first year.






The Course of Study for Japanese Upper Secondary School English

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