What happens when a booming new international tourism industry develops in a tiny farming town in northern Japan? A whole lot of the local Japanese people need to learn English.
In 2014 Yoshiko and Julian Bailey opened the first independent language school in the Niseko region. Called “SMiLE” – an acronym for Social Mobility is Language Education – the school gives local children and adults the opportunity to learn English. Since a booming international ski resort industry developed rather rapidly over the past 10 years, it became increasingly obvious to the Baileys that many townsfolk wanted to take part in the recreational, business and work opportunities that this new industry had opened up. And that in coming years, today’s primary and high school students would also need to be armed with English education and communication skills – things the Japanese school system wasn’t giving them.
“In the public school system here the focus is on passing written tests for entry to the next school or university,” Julian says. “There’s very little focus on communicative ability, so people don’t really learn to speak and listen to English.”
So began project SMiLE.
Yoshiko grew up in nearby Tokachi and became a junior high school teacher. Julian had a first class education degree from Britain’s prestigious Cambridge University and after qualifying as an English teacher decided to travel, making a living teaching English as a foreign language wherever he went. As fate would have it, he ended up in Tokachi in the late 1990s.
The new couple visited Niseko during that time and decided this was the place they wanted to live. They returned to England, saved some money to buy a house, and came back permanently in 2006. Julian worked in real estate sales in the area for five years before looking for something else to sink his teeth into… pardon the pun but initially that was bread! He opened a bakery while Yoshiko taught Japanese to the ever-increasing number of foreign residents and seasonal workers keen to pick up the local lingo. After a while they decided to tackle an issue they’d been discussing for some time – how to bridge a gap between the local Japanese and growing foreign community.
“We could see there were lots of new people coming here to fill the English-speaking job vacancies, which had the effect of disempowering local people because they didn’t have the chance to get jobs and get involved. We began to sense there were lots of people who lived here, spoke English, and had good work prospects, and lots of local people who were just spectating and couldn’t get involved.”
In Japan the main English proficiency test is TOEIC. If someone studies hard enough they can get a good TOEIC score and get a great job or promotions in Japanese companies. But Julian says if they go for a job with a foreign company in Niseko, they often learn their TOEIC study didn’t really develop any speaking or listening skills. Many times they won’t pass the first stage of an interview with a foreign company here which can be devastating for them.
“All they’ve really done is a pass a very academic hoop-jumping test which is designed for a different purpose,” Julian says. “They come away feeling a bit lousy and like they’ve wasted their time. In Niseko a majority of people don’t need academic vocabulary, they need the ability to listen and understand people, solve problems, help negotiate things, sit in meetings, understand their boss, take phone calls from customers, write a basic email response. None of those kind of skills are addressed by the current system.”
Julian and Yoshiko decided not only would they start an English language school, they would aggressively address a communicative style of teaching. Introducing Cambridge University’s respected English Language Assessment, they now offer a range of practical language courses for different purposes. For example, Julian now delivers an intensive short course in dealing with foreign customers to Hirafu and Kutchan restaurant owners.
“The aim of the course isn’t to have them speaking fluent English – it’s to introduce them to basic vocabulary and interactions, in order to give them a sense of confidence about welcoming and communicating with their customers.”
When local businesses heard about the initiative, eight of the largest foreign-owned companies established the Mountain Scholarship Fund to support SMiLE Young Learners’ tuition fees, which is now supporting 50 students.
Julian and Yoshiko have been approached by an area on mainland Honshu with similar issues and have been asked if they are interested in starting a school down there too.
“If we can do a proof of concept in the Niseko area, then there may well be wider interest in it in other areas of Japan. I like the idea of having a bit of a long-term project that doesn’t just benefit us, but that might leave a bit of legacy for further changes in English education across the country.”