【設問】
The recent global health crisis has caused many changes in society. One significant change occurred when teachers around the world were required to conduct classes entirely online. Some teachers felt technology-driven education should have been started earlier; others, however, struggled with setting up and running online classes.
The fact that some Japanese teachers worried about starting classes online is perhaps not wholly surprising. Though Japan is one of the world leaders in developing digital technology, it is behind other countries in actually using it. Japan seems to be resisting the so-called global “digital shift.” This applies not only to education, but also to other areas of society. For example, the proportion of cashless payments made in Japan remains relatively small.
Many students, however, were ready for online learning. This is understandable. Recent research shows that the majority of teenagers conduct their social lives online. While studies warn that students absorb more information when reading on paper as opposed to reading on a screen, textbook publishers are already adopting a “digital first” sales strategy. They charge higher prices on printed books, and offer special free add-ons* such as additional audio and on-screen pop-up quizzes.
Nevertheless, online learning can result in a lack of genuine social contact. Even when watching others’ faces in real time on a screen, learners can feel less involved and less motivated. Technical issues are also a challenge: in one recent study, almost half of the teachers admitted they had experienced “significant technical problems” while teaching online. But these problems may be solved with practice and experience. A change to a new technology can cause anxiety at first. Forty years ago, some people were opposed to the rise of mobile phones and predicted they would never catch on, but they did.
Though online classes are not likely to replace face-to-face learning, they can benefit the way we study. The goal of education should be not just the transfer of knowledge, but also the development of behaviors that enable individuals to function well in society. We hope that Japan, and the rest of the world, can look back on the recent health crisis and reflect that, although there was much suffering, society learned from the crisis and, in some ways, took a turn for the better. (377 words)
(語注) add-ons 付属品
問1 What is the main purpose of this passage?
① To describe the ways Japanese society resists changes to education.
② To discuss one way in which a worldwide crisis affected education.
③ To explain the problems that most people have with digital technology.
④ To predict the disappearance of face-to-face learning.
問2 Which of the following is true of the “digital shift”?
① It has happened more quickly in Japan than in most other countries.
② It has made cashless payments extremely popular in Japan.
③ It is a global trend away from greater use of new technology.
④ It is the worldwide acceptance of new technology.
問3 What does the passage suggest about online learning?
① It can have a negative effect on a student’s desire to study.
② It will not become popular until publishers stop printing books.
③ Its advantages are greatly exaggerated.
④ Its problems are too often ignored.
問4 What does the passage say about changing to new technology?
① It is important to replace traditional ways of learning as quickly as we can.
② It takes some time for a new technology to be accepted in society.
③ Teachers all over the world are too slow to react to a crisis.
④ The popularity of mobile phones tells us everything about human nature.
問5 One of the key ideas of the passage is that .
① online classes are better than traditional face-to-face education
② people live in harmony even when times are hard
③ the goal of education is the transfer of knowledge
④ we can adapt to new ways of learning
【解答】
問1 ②
問2 ④
問3 ①
問4 ②
問5 ④
0コメント