Paper Title
Policies and History of English Teacher Education in Japan: With Focus on The Linkage of Primary and Secondary Education

Abstract
Elementary and secondary English teachers in Japan are now facing a major reformation of the system of English education. The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) has announced a vision for a full-scale development of new English education that is timed with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Elementary schools are to conduct English Language Activities classes one to two times a week for third and fourth graders, and are to conduct English Language classes as a subject three times a week for fifth and sixth graders. Lower secondary schools are to conduct classes in English in principle. Under such a situation, it is important to research policies and history of English teacher education in Japan. Therefore, this study purposed to research and analyzes policies and history of lower secondary pre-service English teacher education in Japan. Results of the study suggest that the allocation of credit units per subject group has drastically changed in the past seventy years. Results have also revealed that more than one third of the English teacher training courses are English communication courses, while only one tenth of the courses are cross-cultural understanding courses. Index Terms- Curriculum management English education, Four skills integrated approach, Pre-service teacher education