English Education for Pharmacy Students in the Japanese University: Focusing on the First Year First Semester

The purpose of this study is to investigate English education for pharmacy students in Japan. This study focuses on the first year first semester in the Japanese university.Though the world is becoming more and more internationalized, there are a large number of Japanese people who find it hard to speak English. Also at the dispensing pharmacies, there are a lot of pharmacists who have anxiety when they speak English to patients from abroad. The author is planning to investigate English education for pharmacy students in order for future pharmacists to communicate successfully with the growing number of foreigners entering Japan.In Japan, studies of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) have discussed what to teach for pharmacy students in English classes. ESP studies encourage teachers to improve students? English reading comprehension, and to provide students with knowledge regarding technical terms. However, it is true that many students don?t have positive attitude to learn English. Therefore, the author tries to seek its background and solution.The results of the questionnaire show that the students had little opportunity to learn pronunciation when they were in junior and senior high school. This is one of the reasons why they hesitate to speak English.The author makes new lesson plans for students on the first year first semester. These lesson plans focus on English pronunciation and presentation, giving students many opportunities for their utterance.According to the questionnaire after the first semester, students recognize that these lessons help them to overcome their hesitation to speak English. The results also indicate that this content and method can increase students? positive attitude toward improving their English abilities.Reference:1. Judy Noguchi, Yoko Kozaki, English for specific purposes for pharmaceutical sciences: The effectiveness of an ESP approach. Bull. Mukogawa Women?s Univ. Nat. Sci.. (2000), 48, p105-111.2. Tomoko Yamashita Smith, Japanese Pharmaceutical Students? Attitudes toward English Learning: Survey Results from One University. Bulletin of Osaka University of Pharmaceutical Sciences. (2012), 6, p41-47.3. Megumi Yamada, Revising Syllabus for Pharmacy Students Based on ESP Methods. ESP Hokkaido Journal. (2013), 2, p40-45.