Design and Practices of Elementary School English Class Based on the View of Education for Multicultural Society

Abstract

This study examines the practice of an elementary school foreign language class which was developed from a viewpoint of multicultural coexistence. The class was designed and practiced by the university students studying in the elementary school teacher training course, taking advantage of what they had learned from a study trip in Singapore that focused on how to have a successful multi-cultural society. In the context of accelerated globalization, the number of children with foreign roots and cultural diversity is expected to increase further in Japan, therefore the importance of multicultural education in schools is brought forward. Based on the awareness of the described situation, this paper aims at clarifying the significance of English classes with perspectives of cross-cultural understanding and explores the learning of university students who designed and conducted the aforementioned elementary English class. In addition, another purpose of this paper is to obtain concrete suggestions on education for multicultural coexistence in elementary school foreign language education. This is a practical study as part of a seminar activity with the university students who will be responsible for elementary foreign language classes in the future.