Elementary and junior high school students, unable to find native speaking teachers after the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake, will be able to talk directly with their U.S. teachers over Internet video links using a service offered by the trading house Sumitomo Corp.
Elementary and junior high school students, unable to find native speaking teachers after the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake, will be able to talk directly with their U.S. teachers over Internet video links using a service offered by the trading house Sumitomo Corp.
A trial lesson involving 15 fifth-graders and an instructor in Wyoming was given at Tomita Elementary School in Kawamata in late January.
Fukushima Prefecture, stymied in its efforts to recruit assistant English teachers by the nuclear crisis there, may resort to offering school children online English conversation lessons from instructors based in the United States.
In doing so, it would become one of the first prefectures in Japan to provide such a learning opportunity.
“Although the children were initially nervous, they were excited about the lesson,” said Michiko Takenoshita, the school's principal. “I hope there will be more opportunities like this.”
Sumitomo, which is acting as the agent of U.S. online English teaching company Eleutian Technology LLC., will offer trial lessons through March, but has not yet decided how much the full service will cost. It will employ Americans who have qualifications to teach at U.S. public schools.