抄録
Since most Japanese preschool and school children trying to learn English are exposed to English only for about an hour a week, we are convinced that it is more effective for them to learn not only through aural-oral practices but also with the assistance of reading. We experimented on one group of children who had studied English for about two years with the aural-oral approach and reading instruction. For a month each they covered two stories, one through reading and the other through listening. When they were asked to reproduce the stories while looking at the pictures, they performed better after reading instruction than after aural-oral practices. Furthermore, even seven months after the experiment they showed better retention of English in reproducing the story they had learned through reading instruction rather than the story through aural-oral practices. This case study has proved that assuming aural-oral practices have been provided for some time, learners with limited exposure to English can better retain their English in their short-term and longer-term memories with the assistance of reading.
