Kyoto schools in the city of Yawata had previously experimented by allowing a small number of secondary school students to be taught the English language with the aid of the Nintendo DS application, Chuugaku Eitango Target 1800 DS. The five month test run saw the English vocabulary of the students increase by 40%, a result which prompted all schools in Yawata to employ the video game among all second-year secondary school students as of this week.
I’m loving that they’re integrating the Nintendo DS into the educational system. Maybe if future learning applications beyond simply English training or beyond language training altogether find their way into the market, the practice could trickle into Western educational systems with the proper software. Maybe the rest of America could start to find learning fun again.
