Message from the President
普通の日本人の家庭に育ち、日本の学校に通う子供が、帰国子女の子たちと同じように流暢な英語を話すことができるようになるのか？ 私の子供たちを通じた英語教育の実践からの答えは“ＹＥＳ”です。親の英語習熟度と子供の英語力に相関関係はなく、親の英語に取り組む姿勢と相関していることが、ある教育機関の研究でも実証されています。
我が家では3歳頃から英語教育を始め、いくつもの英語スクールを経験し、何人もの多国籍の素晴らしい先生方とロールモデルであり最高のメンターと、どうしたら子供たちが自信を持って英語を使いこなせるレベルにまで引き上げることができるのか、この10年間必死に取り組んできました。ある先生との出会いをきっかけに、普通の日本人家庭で実践できる独自の英語教育メソッドを一緒に作り上げていく中から、英語スクールSeed Academyは生まれました。
日本では「教育」と翻訳される「education」という言葉の語源はラテン語で『引き出す』という意味だそうです。日本の教育も子供を教え育てるという観点から、子供たちの能力を“引き出す”という方向にようやく変わりつつあります。英語教育を通じて、「子供たちの無限の能力や可能性を引き出し、世界で活躍できる土俵に立たせる」ことを私たちの使命としています。
"Are you able to speak English fluently?" is not something many Japanese people are able to answer truthfully. I myself can not speak English well. I have experienced many disappointing and regretful moments because of this. This has been my dream for my children:
"To master English, to be knowledgable about society in all countries, and to communicate and have the power to survive in the international community."
Will children raised in an ordinary Japanese family and in ordinary Japanese education be able to speak fluent English in the same way as international children?
The answer from my practice of English education through my children is "Yes" .
There is no correlation between a parent's English proficiency level and the proficiency of a child and the correlation is dependent on the attitude the parent's in tackling English. This has been demonstrated in research by many educational institution.
It is also said that a linguistically correct ear can be trained by the age of 9 years old. How we can achieve this high quality English environment in this Golden Age?
In my home, I started my children's English teaching at age 3. They have experienced several international English schools, had multinational English tutors
and have attended English camps abroad. I have strived to offer English as a platform for my children's continued education.
From my desire to better equip my children for the future, Seed Academy was born. With high calibre English teachers, together with a unique English teaching method
focused on interactivity, this method can be practiced in ordinary Japanese families .
The Latin etymological meaning of the word "education" means "to lead out, to train or mold".
Education in Japan is finally changing in the direction of "drawing out" the ability of our children from the viewpoint of teaching and raising children.
Through English education, our mission is to "bring out the infinite abilities and possibilities of children and set themselves apart in an interactive world".
- Maria Miyazaki
