http://classified.japantimes.com/ads/pdfs/20110329-jtforum.pdf
This article from March of this year covers the current debate in Japan over whether English should be taught even earlier to students in Elementary school. While the article itself doesn’t really present any extreme viewpoints, I think it’s interesting that other countries are even considering starting foreign language education so early. I read earlier in some other article that despite the English classes offered at the middle and high school levels, the average “skill” of many non-native English speakers in Japan is still very poor (I think the article said only slightly better than North Koreans), which could possibly be another factor in this decision to introduce English to Elementary schoolers. I think it’s a very significant reminder of how widespread and powerful Western culture and influence is on the rest of the world. Not that this is a negative thing, but it’s definitely something that I take for granted sometimes when traveling to other countries, assuming that at some point I’ll be able to find someone who speaks English to help me out if I ever need it.
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