Japanese Schools Make Nintendo DS Compulsory

[lenardo1]

testing has shown a marked increase in student performance when being taught With a DS with the appropriate software, vs not having the DS.

a year? 2 years ago -i think it was a school district in japan did a test pilot of the DS for their english classes competancy test-

at the time the AVERAGE 8th grader taking the test got ~30% on taking it the first time

the group using the DS averaged 80%... i know we discussed it here back then. trying to find the original article.

 

 

found AN article about it finally--not the one i wanted though

 

from 2007

Since the day Nintendo showcased the features of the DS, I was expecting such a thing to happen in Japanese schools. The DS will be used in junior high schools in Yawata, Kyoto, during English courses to help students improve their lexicon. I’d say it is rather an intelligent move to introduce new ways of learning , boosting hence students motivation and disposition to learn a foreign language.

When Nintendo DS consoles were handed to third-year junior high school students as part of an experiment using English vocabulary training software, the students’ English vocabulary increased by an average of about 40 percent over five months.

Indeed the Nintendo DS can be an excellent learning tool,but then schools should make sure that kids aren’t hiding a Pokemon cartridge in their pockets, as this wouldn’t be really what the board of education wants!