This article reports on the practice of an English Language Teaching (ELT) experiment at an elementary school in Japan, employing an international standardized test as a stimulator in a private school context. The introduction of assessment tasks and the implementation of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) Primary towards 11 to 12-year-old students revealed a strong learning motivation of young learners and their enthusiasm for the practical use of the foreign language. Although the discussion has been continuing about whether or not English language should be taught at an earlier age, the field of Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL) is increasingly expanding, and the government policy has set the directions of elementary school English to be started at a lower grade. This article illustrates the impact of assessment opportunities and highlights the motivation of Japanese EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners. The power of social values, including family influence, is observed and the experimental classes exhibit the strong desires of Japanese young learners to communicate in English however limited their abilities may be. The results could potentially contribute to the development of TEYL in Japan and suggest the need for further longitudinal research into motivational transition from elementary to secondary school English education.

調査・実践報告