抄録
This paper investigates the issues of students' ability to learn and the necessity for educational knowledge from 1957 to 1969, using the specific example of English teaching. With a special focus on discourse in the movement of the Japan Teachers Union, this paper examines the manner in which teachers dealt with these issues by constructing their own discourses and practices.
Several points emerge from the analysis of educational movement discourses in English teaching. People, including educational participants, initially tended to believe that learning English served no purpose, and students found it extremely difficult to master the language. In the movement of the Japan Teachers Union, however, teachers indicated that the aim of learning English was not only to master the language but also to build the learner's character; therefore, it would be useful for all students to learn English. This idea is embodied in the “Four Goals, ” which seek the solidarity of nations and the deepening of students' understanding of their own languages rather than the acquisition of English. Consequently, two concrete attempts to attain these goals are notable. The first is independent practices by teachers to concretize the “Four Goals” that help build character. The second attempt is the discourse to redefine the ability to measure achievement in independent practice. The discourse on ability demonstrates that “true ability” is best measured not by the achievement tests given by the Ministry of Education but rather by a “zest for living.”
In summary, focusing on the building of students' character rather than the mastery of learning materials led to a “solution” of the issues involving students' ability to learn and the need for educational knowledge in the discursive space alone. This form of “solution, ” through the analysis of discourse within the educational movement, is described as the “Japanese educational structure from the perspective of student's ability to learn.”
