From the Director of KEC: Junko Matoba

Developing Human Resources Who Contribute Internationally Through English

In 1970, when I was in the 4th grade, my eyes were opened to the world when the World Expo came to Osaka. After watching “Kaoru Kanetaka: Sekai no Tabi” on TV, I had become quite interested in foreign countries and the English language. I spent time looking at pictures and other items from foreign places, and was greatly impressed when foreigners spoke English and said hello to me. Something suddenly clicked inside of me.

When I was in 5th grade, I was able to have a pen-pal from America. I started listening to a radio program on NHK by my father’s advice. Since I had never studied English before, I began studying my own with a book my pen-pal sent me, looking up words and their meaning in my dictionary. I have heard that children in the 5th-6th grade are greatly affected from their young experiences and on into an adult world, which was the same case with me. My desire to communicate with many people through English grew exponentially, and I also hoped that someday I could utilize the language in the workplace as well.

For typical Japanese, English is not treated as a second language. It is a foreign language. To learn a foreign language, two very important things are needed: necessity and motivation. Unfortunately, it is not vital for everyday life in Japan to know or even use English. Therefore, we adults and teachers must start with cultivating motivation first for children, which is possible for anyone to accomplish on a daily basis.

Our goal at KEC English School is not to create experts of the English language. By motivating students, we wish to instill a desire to learn to create a new generation that can actively contribute to human resources on a global scale.

To achieve these goals, KEC English School implements the following:

  • We foster highly qualified teachers.
  • We seek efficient teaching methods based on technical data on a daily basis.
  • We support students one-on-one for their English learning.

Why are you interested in learning English? To pass a test? For work? To speak fluently? What are your goals for the future?

The “I speak English” days are all but gone, replaced with “I speak ~~~ in English.” We would like to ask what goals you may have with learning English, what do you want to convey with the use of English. We, at KEC English School, will support you every step of the way.

Junko Matoba