抄録
In the "English Education Reform Action Plan for Globalization" issued in December 2013, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology announced it will start reinforcing students’ English abilities for communicating Japanese culture to the world, and promoting international interaction and volunteer activities. On the other hand, upgrading education to raise identity of Japanese is also mentioned. To be specific, students must learn how to communicate Japanese traditions and culture to others in English. However, without the assumption that they have the ability to understand and respect different cultures, it could end up in one sided pushing of Japanese culture, and two-way communication would never be built up.
This article will firstly study the necessity of "intercultural sensitivity" education in elementary school. Secondly, it will closely examine the contents of "language and culture" which are treated in the common textbook, "Hi, friends!", and refer to its quantitative and qualitative deficiencies in cultural matters. Then, several unique teaching materials devised to encourage children to deepen their awareness of "language and culture" will be proposed. Finally, this paper will review the significance of elementary school foreign language activities as a starting line for fostering children with global views.
