More and more elementary schools are starting to use robots and artificial intelligence in their English classes.
The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry is planning to encourage elementary schools to introduce such devices ahead of the implementation of new curriculum guidelines, which will officially make English a subject to be taught in the upper grades.
Humanoid robot Nao greeted 19 third-grade students at Meiji Elementary School in Omuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, in mid-September, saying, "How are you?" The students responded in unison by saying, "Super!"
The robot, which is about 58 centimeters tall, is operated by a teacher via a tablet computer and speaks pre-programmed words. The Omuta municipal government, in cooperation with a private company, provided the elementary school with the robot in April on an experimental basis, as foreign-language activities will become part of the new curriculum for third graders starting in fiscal 2020.
"The children feel as if they are having a real conversation with Nao, and this leads to making them more motivated to study English," said Principal Tetsuo Miyashita.
In a questionnaire with a total of 37 students who attended classes with Nao, every student answered that they wanted to continue studying with the robot.
Nine-year-old Airu Aoyagi said: "Nao is like a friend you meet in English class. I look forward to seeing the robot every time."
The city of Ube in Yamaguchi Prefecture introduced robot Musio on a trial basis in three of its elementary schools. When someone addresses the robot, which is about 22 centimeters tall, it responds automatically using AI.
At Koto Elementary School, students from third to sixth grade use 10 Musio robots the school was supplied with.
"Students can practice English conversation [with the robot] even when they are alone," said Principal Kiyomi Okazaki.
However, Musio would sometimes respond with a joke -- if someone asks, "What day is it today?" it would answer, "I'm not a calendar."
"The robot has to be set up to suit the needs of students based on what they are studying or the grade they are in," Okazaki said.
Schools in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, are also using robots in classes on a trial basis.
Improving pronunciation
In elementary and junior high school English education, assistant language teachers, or ALTs, are dispatched to schools.
There are seven ALTs in Omuta, with two of them in charge of elementary schools. They visit 19 elementary schools in the city, which means they can only attend a class once or twice in each school in a trimester.
Meanwhile, the cost of purchasing Nao, including teaching material fees, is around 1.4 million yen per unit.
"Considering personnel expenses, it would be difficult to hire more ALTs. The introduction of Nao can help in terms of improving pronunciation and conversation skills," an official of the city board of education said.
English speaking ability will be tested in standardized university entrance exams starting in fiscal 2020. To promote the use of information communication technology (ICT) to advance English competency in elementary, junior high and high schools, the education ministry included 250 million yen in the budget appropriation request for fiscal 2019. The ministry intends to provide subsidies to schools that use robots and apps for education, thereby promoting the introduction of such devices.
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