Junior High English is Chaos! Building a 'Sound Savings' from Elementary School to Prevent 'English Aversion'

"I just don't understand English at all..."
"The class is moving too fast, I can't keep up!"

Since your child entered junior high school,
have you ever heard such desperate voices?

If this sounds familiar, please do not blame your child's
comprehension or lack of effort.

In fact, the current state of junior high English is, objectively speaking,
so severe that it can be called "chaos."

Today, I will talk about the "drastic changes in junior high English" that many people still don't know about,
and the "true foundation" needed to counter them.

Table of Contents

1. A Different World from the Past! The Reality of the Junior High First-Year 'Rocket Start'

2. The 'Deep Chasm' Lying Between Elementary and Junior High School

3. Why an 'English Ear' is the Strongest Insurance for Junior High English

1. A Different World from the Past! The Reality of the
Junior High First-Year 'Rocket Start'

When you were in junior high school, how did your English classes begin? I imagine you have memories of
starting with phrases like "This is a pen" or "I am..."
and moving forward slowly, as if climbing a staircase one step at a time.

Now, that staircase has turned into a "vertical wall."

Since the 2021 curriculum revision, from the very first unit of the first year of junior high,
be-verbs and general verbs appear simultaneously, followed by a rapid succession of
interrogatives, the present progressive, and even the past tense.

Furthermore, learning "phonics (the rules of sounds and letters)"
is added to this.
Originally, phonics should be tackled after becoming sufficiently accustomed to the sounds,
but now it is a "chaotic" state where it is crammed in alongside grammar.

2. The 'Deep Chasm' Lying Between
Elementary and Junior High School

Why has it become such a rush?

It is because junior high schools are structuring their classes on the premise that
"the basics should have been finished in elementary school."

However, there is a major pitfall here.

• Explosive Increase in Vocabulary: The number of words required by the time of junior high graduation has increased
  from the previous 1,200 words to 2,200 to 2,500 words. It has almost doubled.
  

• The 'Already Learned' Trap: Words encountered in elementary school are treated in junior high textbooks
  as "things you should know," and are not
  carefully taught as new vocabulary.

Children who only 'had fun with English' in elementary school
are suddenly thrown into high-speed classes that assume they 'remember everything'.
This gap is the biggest cause of English aversion.

3. Why an 'English Ear' is the
ultimate insurance for junior high English

Phonics experts all say the same thing:

The proper, correct steps are as follows:

It is said that about 70% of the words in English textbooks
can be read using phonics rules.
Developing an 'English ear' in early childhood
goes beyond mere extracurricular lessons; it becomes the 'ultimate insurance'
that protects your child from the rough seas of junior high English.

🖋️ Author Profile

Kiko | Director of kiko's english playroom

During her childhood spent in local American schools, she experienced the frustration of being able to hear the sounds but not being able to express her opinions. Starting from that regret, she now runs a classroom in Koshigaya City that cultivates an 'English ear that thinks.' As a mother of one, she values the bond between parent and child while supporting them in acquiring genuine English proficiency that will serve them in junior high, high school, and their future beyond.

💡 In Conclusion

Before buying vocabulary books or drills, first take the time to become friends with the sounds of English.
That 'savings of sound' will definitely help your child a few years from now.

If you read this article and thought, 'I'm surprised to learn the current state of junior high English!',
please click the 'Like (♡)' button at the bottom of the screen.
I will continue to deliver tips on English education that will lighten the hearts of parents and children.

Recently, regarding your child's English situation at school,
have you noticed any changes that concern you?
Please let me know in the comments!