Esports and English for Kids in Japan

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many children continue to spend more time at home, and English lessons combined with esports (electronic or digital sports) have grown in popularity among the youngest gamers, with the complicity of parents seeking how to entertain your children inside the house in a constructive way.

Tokyo-based Gecipe Inc., which launched esports English lessons a little over a year ago, said it currently has several dozen primary or elementary school-age students, but there are hundreds more in waiting list.

During the 80-minute lesson, participants communicate with the teacher and each other in English via a messaging app as they team up to play online games like Fortnite, with opportunities to learn, practice, and use new words and phrases. .

Currently, they teach elementary and intermediate courses, with teachers who are fluent in Japanese and English, as well as good video game players, said Takuya Manabe, CEO of Gecipe.

Manabe, the father of an elementary school boy, indicated that he had this idea of ​​English classes with esports during the first state of alarm for the coronavirus in Japan, which took place between April and May of the previous year, during which many schools they had to shut down, and she watched her son spend six to seven hours a day playing video games at home.

“In those months, even the extracurricular schools were closed and we did not know if it would be convenient to let the children play in the park, since we did not have much information about COVID,” Manabe said.

“He finished his homework quickly and spent his time playing video games. I don’t have a bad impression of video games, but I thought that my son would develop an addiction if he kept playing so many hours a day, and that it would be convenient for him to dedicate himself to other activities that are more useful for him. their development,” Manabe said.

Although schools in Japan have remained open since they reopened at the start of the pandemic, in some places a system has been established to attend school at different times to avoid creating crowds, some even have to study remotely for a few days.

Also extracurricular activities have been limited.

Considering the growing popularity of the courses, Gecipe is hiring more teachers to keep up with demand, Manabe said, adding that many of the teachers are not based in Japan, but in countries as diverse as Australia, Malaysia and the United States. The monthly cost for one lesson a week is 8,800 yen ($80)

The basic courses accept beginners from scratch, and it is expected that they will be able to learn simple instructions in English, basic directions for the operation of the equipment, before moving on to more complex expressions.

Among the Japanese teachers, there are some who moved outside of Japan at a young age and suffered a bit to learn English. “Many of them have experience learning the language with fun tools such as video games, sports, board games with friends,” Manabe said.

The company has received a lot of positive feedback from parents who see their children enjoying the classes.

“Normally, many children don’t want to take extracurricular lessons and parents try to force them. But our students are very enthusiastic and look forward to the next lesson,” Manabe said.

Although combining English with video games is something attractive for parents, Manabe has bigger ambitions within the world of esports in Japan, which lags far behind countries like the United States, South Korea or China.

Gecipe is working on offering advanced English lessons through video game platforms, in order to help esports enthusiasts to integrate with the international community, creating connections with players from all corners of the world.

The company will open an “esports gym” in collaboration with Tokyo Metro Co. in June. This gym will be the first to offer monthly memberships for esports players in Japan, where they will have the support and advice of professional players, who are often around in their 20s, since it is an activity that requires visual dynamic precision and good reflexes.

Both companies have indicated that they plan to open the gym in the Kita district of Tokyo once the state of emergency is lifted in the city. It will be located near the Akabane-Iwabuchi subway station, and will have 12 computers specialized in video games. Members will be able to play five different titles, including League of Legends and Puyo Puyo.

The expected cost will be 5,500 yen per month for a regular membership with which you can play up to 3 hours a day, but there will also be paid options for casual users without a membership. They will also offer online lessons for people who aspire to be professional esports players, for 12,100 yen per month, where they will have the opportunity to try out to join professional esports teams.

With so many transportation and telecommunications companies entering the esports business in Japan, this is just beginning to take shape, Manabe noted.

Esports was selected as the official all-medal event at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.