Abstract
Two groups of Japanese EFL learners were tracked and compared in their English communicative skills at three phases of secondary education: 7th, 9th, and 11th grades. One group learned English for three years in elementary school (ES) whereas the other did not. Quantitative analysis showed no statistical differences between the two groups at any of the three phases, suggesting that long-term effects of teaching a foreign language in elementary school (FLES) may not be expected. Qualitative analysis showed that FLES may produce mixed results. Some FLES students are willing to put efforts into language learning, whereas some others seem to have the perception that acquiring basic oral communication skills is the ultimate objective and do not seem to be motivated to go beyond that level. Thus, this paper suggests that FLES can be something of a double-edged sword.
