ETJ Fukuoka Meeting Notes
2015.09.19 - The Tipping Point of ESL/EFL
*These notes are for educational/research purposes only
The Tipping Point the book (The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell)
What is a tipping point?
• That point when a cultural trend or social behavior crosses a threshold
and spreads like wildfire
• That point when things tip towards taking a decision, changing a behavior
etc.
o When’s a good time to buy a new car? Wait until total breakdown
of your current car? A carefully balanced calculation of resell value,
devaluation, etc.? Whatever your criteria may be, the point you
decide that buying a car is the right way to go, this is a tipping
point
Gladwell’s 3 laws of epidemics
• The law of the few
o 80/20 rule - 80% of the work will be done by 20% of the
participants in any situation
o Word of mouth is a perfect example - it’s usually done by relatively
few people but it has a huge impact (restaurants, English schools)
o The 20% are comprised of three types
§ Connectors - those who connect people to each other,
make networks
§ Mavens - those who know a lot of stuff and influence the
people they are connected to - they are usually your early
adopters, trend setters, word spreaders
§ Salesmen
• The stickiness factor
o What is stickiness? - that thing that gives a message an impact so
it doesn't go in one ear and out the other
o What makes a song stick in your head? It’s stickiness factor.
• The power of context
o Context matters
o The where and the when something happens is a determining
factor in whether something tips or not
o Timing
Tipping points in EFL in Japan
Is ESL/EFL at a tipping point?
• 1 billion students around the world now
• Technologies to take the industry into new realms are emerging and are
•
in demand
A new future for ESL is at hand
Gladwell's framework - how does it apply to us?
• The law of the few - who are the connectors, the mavens and the
salespeople in our industry? Who are giving buzz to our industry?
o ELF learning, Maple Leaf Learning, Genki English, Dream English,
David Paul, David Lisgo, Fun Kids English (NKOTB)
o Can individual teachers create the buzz on their own?
§ No teacher is an island
§ A individual teacher can create a buzz, but maybe not the
buzz
• Stickiness
o For our schools - Improving the stickiness of the information we
are presenting (our presentation method)
§ Making our lessons practical and personal for the students
and the parents
§ If students/parents can't make sense of what they are
looking at then it will make no impact on their learning
§ Personalized relationship with the material
§ Homestays and other cool things
§ By tinkering with the presentation of the information, we can
seriously improve its stickiness
o For our classrooms - Stickiness ideas for our own classrooms
§ Using tools
• iPhones, Google, helping students to learn how to
learn on their own
• The importance and excitement of bilingual searches
in getting information
§ Generating success with the material and creating a local
buzz around our school - various approaches
o Relatively rapid pace of introduction of new
material to spur students’ growing network of
English
o A focus on a core set of vocabulary and
phrases to build fluency before moving on to
the next set
o Rapid English
§ Important things students should feel to help them succeed
• A sense of autonomy/choice (self-determination), a
feeling of ownership over the language, a feeling of a
place in a larger community, a feeling of
success/progress
§ Setting up our classroom setting well (see context below)
§ Gamification- games being sticky, why not turn the entire
•
process from Day 1 into a game
• Virtual reality games and their role in the industry
(Second Life etc.)
§ Using stories in the classroom
§ Project work
§ Within individual classes
• Finding that tipping point to create a positive cycle of
motivation
§ Within individual students
• Finding that tipping point to really reach someone
o For our industry
§ Work shopping with other teachers
§ Getting classes together for teachers in the public school
system
The power of context (I.e. EFL in Japan)
o The need for English in Japan must be established
§ Overcoming stereotypes and negative attitudes towards
English
§ See below for more on need
o Learners learn how to learn
o Learning needs to be realized (achieved)
o The teaching and the learning process need to demonstrate
positive change
Open discussion things we can do to guide the context of EFL in Japan into a
place where we can have the most impact
• Timeframe - to really make a difference we’re looking at a generational
timeframe
o Seatbelt wearing rates - when the parents decide it's a good idea
then in thirty years people will all be wearing seat belts
• Capitalizing on the 2020 Olympics, 2019 rugby World Cup
o Get a network together to tap into the demand for English sure to
come, even to Fukuoka
o Approach the mayor, compete with the big chain schools
o Granny and me - grandparents and kids taking lessons together
• The job market is evolving rapidly. Focus on the need for English in
science, computers (coding, programming)
• Bear in mind and communicate with people why English is awesome
o Travel
§ Questionable - anecdotal evidence that only 5% of junior
high school students are interested in going abroad. Trips
by older people are superficial.
o Jobs (above)
o Technology (finding information, being a global consumer of
knowledge)
•
•
•
o Point to celebrities, popular culture, social media, sports stars
In our own classrooms
o Setting, teaching methodology,
o We have control of the environment and should create an
environment best conducive to success
o Promote international awareness
§ School lunches around the world (YouTube)
Frequency of classes (limitations on the once-a-week system)
o Feasibility / possibility of more than once a week classes
o Other programs (reading programs. After school holding program
etc.)
Somehow do all this while avoiding the trap of an increased perception
that everyone needs English with the sister thought that the testing
system will have to go into overdrive
o Help realign priorities in education
o Take over Monbusho?
Conclusion
If Gladwell’s ideas are right, then with the slightest push in just the right place
the tipping point of EFL in Japan can be at hand, whether if it’s for an individual
student, class, school, system of schools, or the industry at large.