TEREP outline & goals

First begun in the 2000-2001 school year, the Takakura Extensive Reading in English Programme is:

• offered for one year throughout the third (and last) grade of junior high
• taught by native-speaking teachers once a week in classes of 25+ students
• used for determining 20% of a student's total English grade (the other 80% on their Japanese-teacher led classes)

Some reasons for starting at this grade rather than earlier:

• students come with two-years' English experience. During the proposal stage, Japanese teachers and administrators worried that students would be overwhelmed with such reading goals as "a book a week" and "400 pages in one year"
• teachers will have had priorhand contact with the students during JHS1 and JHS2. This is especially helpful for knowing which students need more guidance
• money. The initial purchasing of graded-readers can be limited to lower level titles and series, with advanced level reaers added only as required

In addition to the general objectives of ER, TEREP's main objectives are:

1. to raise the students' proficiency in English, particularly in terms of sight-vocabulary (words which you can understand through reading or listening, but which you may not be able to write or say)
2. to extend the natural use of English outside class
3. to create a positive attitude towards English
4. to increase student motivation in reading as an activity in itself