This article reports on a teacher-talk training course for Japanese primary school teachers, who are preparing to teach "communicative English" for the first time. The article argues that teacher-talk training is important for communicative classes with young students because most of the input and interaction is by default teacher…

States that Japanese teachers both "feel and act like professionals." Discusses the Japanese educational system and concludes that one reason for its excellence lies in the professionalism of its teachers who attend workshops, write articles, have a global consciousness, and generally perform better than those who see themselves merely…

This paper discusses the organization of early childhood education and preschool education in Japan and describes how teachers are trained for positions in these schools. It is noted that the organization of such education in Japan has undergone considerable change since the first kindergarten was established in 1877. At that time the curriculum…