As early as fiscal 2024, the Japanese education ministry plans to use digital textbooks in English classes for fifth-graders and sixth-graders in elementary schools and junior high schools.
In mathematics classes, digital textbooks will also be fully used from fiscal 2025 onwards. To avoid confusion in classes, they will be used together with paper textbooks.
The ministry presented an interim report on the use of digital textbooks to a working group of the Central Council for Education, an advisory panel to the education minister, and obtained broad approval.
Text-to-speech digital textbooks are expected to be effective in teaching English pronunciation and improving listening skills. It is expected that such textbooks will make graphs and diagrams easier to view for mathematics students.
Other subjects will not begin using digital textbooks until the ministry decides.
Source: Jiji Press
