THE POSITIVE INFLUENCE OF ENGLISH-LANGUAGE ACTIVITIES ON ENGLISH DIGIT-SPAN PERFORMANCE AMONG JAPANESE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN: A THREE-YEAR CROSS-SEQUENTIAL STUDY

We conducted an experimental study of an English-experience program in which children regularly engaged in English-language activities in a Japanese elementary school over the course of 3 years. Three groups of children (first, third, and fifth graders upon joining the project) participated. The children engaged in Japanese and English aural digit-span tests in the first, second, and third years of the program. Results showed that the children’s...