英語資格取得

部活動について

部活動は、善か、悪か。

That is the question. 

シェイクスピアの『ハムレット』なら、きっとそう問いかけるところです。ですが、結論から言います。

この問いの立て方そのものが、間違っています

むき兎

問答無用でshitです❤️

ぶりぶりです。搾取以外の何者でもない。

やりがい。教育的意義。

どちらもあって素晴らしいではないですか。

By 帰宅部.

ガリ男

そこで今回は、部活動を題材に、英検1級の意見論述、2次試験の面接試験を攻略します。

問題文、使うべき語彙、そして得点に直結する英語表現を、まとめて用意しました。

英検1級のエッセイは、200〜240語で、序論・本論・結論の構成、理由は3つ。

たったこれだけのルールですが、語彙と「型」を持っているかどうかで、点数は大きく変わります。

まずは、本番そっくりの問題文から見ていきましょう。

2次試験は、1分の思考時間、その後2分で話します。

Q Eiken Grade 1: Topic

Do the disadvantages of traditional school club activities in Japan outweigh their benefits? Consider their impact on students' well-being and teachers' workload.

(日本における従来の部活動のデメリットは、そのメリットを上回っていますか?生徒のウェルビーイングや教員の労働負担への影響を踏まえて述べなさい。)

💡 ヒント:
1 foster social cohesion (社会的連帯感を育む) 2 unreasonable workload (不当な労働負担) 3 burnout and chronic fatigue (燃え尽き症候群と慢性疲労) 4 cultivate self-discipline (自己規律を養う) 5 hinder academic performance (学業成績の妨げとなる)
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エドテク本人

いかがだったでしょうか?教員の労働という視点を考えるとあながち教育的意義ややりがいで話すことは難しかったのではないでしょうか?立場は選べても両方の論点は知っておくべきです。理由が3つ必要な英検1級では、自分が選ばなかった側の最強の論点が、そのまま「譲歩(Admittedly …)」の材料になります。両陣営の弾を持っているほど、論は強くなります。

論点整理

ここでは、部活動の賛成(肯定派)・反対(否定派)の論点を、それぞれ重ならない3つの視点で、事実とデータを踏まえて深く掘り下げました。すべて、英作文にそのまま使える発展英文つきです。

なお、ここでの賛成・反対は次のように対応します。

肯定派(部活動は有益)は設問「益より害が大きい」へのDISAGREE、否定派(部活動は問題)は同じ設問へのAGREEになります。

部活動 肯定派の論点(設問では DISAGREE)

「益が害を上回る」と主張する側。3つの異なる視点から、事実を踏まえて。

視点1 | 人格形成・非認知能力(Character Building & Non-Cognitive Skills)
Club activities cultivate the kind of character that no textbook can teach. Day after day, students chase a shared goal, endure defeat, and learn to balance study with practice—an everyday training ground for perseverance, self-discipline, and cooperation. These non-cognitive skills are far from trivial: James Heckman, the Nobel laureate economist at the University of Chicago, has shown that such traits predict long-term success in education, employment, and income—sometimes more powerfully than test scores alone. A student who learns to stand up after losing a match is, in effect, rehearsing the resilience that adult life demands.
参考:J・ヘックマン(シカゴ大学・2000年ノーベル経済学賞)の非認知能力研究
視点2 | 居場所・心の安全網(A Sense of Belonging)
For many students, a club is not just an activity but a refuge. Those who struggle to shine in the classroom can find a place where their effort is recognized, where they belong to a team, and where a coach becomes a trusted adult outside the home. This matters more than ever: in fiscal 2023, a record 346,000 elementary and junior-high students in Japan were classified as “school refusers,” a sign of how many young people feel disconnected. A single club where a child feels needed can be the very thread that keeps them tied to school at all.
参考:文部科学省「令和5年度 児童生徒の問題行動・不登校等調査」(不登校 過去最多34.6万人)
視点3 | 教育機会の平等(Educational Equity)
School clubs are one of the few places where every child—regardless of family income—can play a sport or pick up an instrument almost for free. Private lessons and club teams are costly, so without school clubs, such experiences would belong only to wealthier households. This is precisely why the ongoing shift to community clubs deserves caution: surveys show most charge monthly fees, and educators warn that the change could shut out children from struggling families. Far from being outdated, school clubs are a quiet but powerful equalizer.
参考:スポーツ庁 地域クラブ活動の費用負担に関する資料(月会費の発生・参加機会の格差懸念)

続いて、反対(否定派)の論点です。

こちらはデータが豊富なのが最大の強みです。それぞれの論点に、根拠となる調査・研究を添えました。数字は、感情論を「論証」に変える武器になります。

部活動 否定派の論点(設問では AGREE)

「害が益を上回る」と主張する側。3つの異なる視点から、データを踏まえて。

視点1 | 教員への労働負担(Teacher Workload)
The current system rests on the quiet exploitation of teachers. According to OECD’s TALIS 2018, Japanese junior-high teachers work 56 hours a week—the longest of all 48 participating countries—and devote 7.5 hours to club supervision, almost four times the international average. Under the kyutoku-ho law, none of this counts as paid overtime: a teacher who sacrifices an entire Saturday to a tournament earns an allowance worth only about 900 yen an hour. The result is predictable—in 2023, a record 7,119 public-school teachers took leave for mental illness, and young people are now turning away from the profession altogether.
根拠:OECD TALIS 2018/給特法(教職調整額4%)/文科省 2023年度調査(休職7,119人)
視点2 | 生徒の心身の健康(Student Health & Well-being)
Ironically, the system often harms the very students it claims to nurture. Sports-medicine experts at the Japan Sport Association warn that training beyond 16 hours a week, or without at least two rest days, raises the risk of injury and burnout while doing nothing to improve performance. Yet morning practice, after-school drills, and weekend matches routinely push students well past that limit. The belief that “more practice always makes you stronger” is not toughness—it is a myth that science has already refuted, and children pay for it with their bodies and their sleep.
根拠:日本体育協会「ジュニア期におけるスポーツ活動時間」2017/スポーツ庁ガイドライン2018
視点3 | 教育の質・本業の圧迫(Quality of Education)
Club activities also erode the core mission of schools: teaching. More than a quarter of teachers in charge of a sports club have no experience in that sport, which makes their coaching not only ineffective but, at times, unsafe. Meanwhile, the hours and energy poured into clubs are hours not spent preparing lessons or supporting struggling learners. When a non-essential add-on begins to crowd out the very reason schools exist, it becomes hard to argue that the benefits outweigh the costs.
根拠:日本スポーツ協会「学校運動部活動指導者の実態調査」2021(競技経験なし 約27%)

使い方は2通りあります。

一つは、6つの中から自分の立場の3つを選び、本論にそのまま並べる方法。もう一つは、反対陣営の最も鋭い1つを選び、「Admittedly … However …」で先回りして潰す譲歩段落に使う方法です。

たとえば否定派(AGREE)で書くなら、肯定派の「教育機会の平等」を譲歩でいったん受け、「その価値は、公費補助つきの地域移行でも守れる」と切り返す。こうすると、相手の最強の論点を、逆に自分の補強材料に変えられます。

賛成・反対のどちらにも、事実に裏づけられた言い分があります。それを両方理解したうえで、自分はどちらに重きを置くのか。その判断と説明こそが、英検1級が本当に測りたい力です。

最終エッセイ

エドテク本人

最後にまとめた文章を載せます。賛成派、反対派の意見を読んでみましょう。読む際に自分ならどう反論するかを考えながら読むと効果的です。

賛成派

School club activities have shaped Japanese education for generations, yet critics increasingly argue that their costs are too high. While these concerns deserve serious attention, I firmly believe that the benefits of club activities outweigh their drawbacks, provided the system is reformed rather than abolished.

Admittedly, the current system imposes a heavy burden on teachers. The OECD reports that Japanese junior-high teachers work the longest hours in the world, with club supervision left essentially unpaid, and record numbers have taken leave for mental illness. Excessive training can also harm students, as sports-medicine experts warn that practice beyond safe limits raises the risk of injury and burnout.

However, these are problems of mismanagement, not of clubs themselves. Clubs cultivate non-cognitive skills such as perseverance and cooperation, which the Nobel laureate James Heckman has shown to predict long-term success more powerfully than test scores alone. Equally important, they offer a sense of belonging to students who struggle in the classroom—a lifeline at a time when school refusal has reached a record high in Japan. Above all, clubs function as a quiet equalizer, granting children from every income level access to sports and music almost for free, an opportunity that costly private lessons would otherwise deny the less wealthy.

In conclusion, while the burdens on teachers and students are undeniable, they can be resolved by hiring external coaches and enforcing strict training limits. Rather than discarding a system of such proven value, Japan should reform it to preserve its irreplaceable benefits.

(約255語)

反対派

In Japan, school club activities, or bukatsu, have long been regarded as a pillar of secondary education. While they undeniably benefit students, I am convinced that their disadvantages now outweigh their advantages, and that fundamental reform is essential.

Admittedly, clubs offer genuine educational value. They cultivate non-cognitive skills such as perseverance, self-discipline, and cooperation, which the Nobel laureate James Heckman has shown to predict long-term success more reliably than academic scores alone. Furthermore, for students who cannot shine in the classroom, a club can provide a vital sense of belonging at a time when school refusal in Japan has reached a record high.

However, these benefits are achieved at an unacceptable cost. According to the OECD, Japanese junior-high teachers work the longest hours in the world, yet club supervision remains essentially unpaid, driving record numbers of educators into mental-illness leave. Students suffer as well: training frequently exceeds the safe weekly limit identified by sports-medicine experts, heightening the risk of injury and burnout without improving performance. Moreover, since more than a quarter of coaches lack experience in the very sport they oversee, instruction is often both ineffective and unsafe.

In conclusion, although club activities foster meaningful character development, the heavy burden on teachers and the dangers to students are too serious to overlook. Japan should therefore transfer club supervision to community organizations, preserving the benefits while removing the harms.

(約240語)

出典一覧

1. 公益財団法人 日本英語検定協会「1級の試験内容・過去問」. https://www.eiken.or.jp/eiken/exam/grade_1/

2. ジェームズ・J・ヘックマン(シカゴ大学教授・2000年ノーベル経済学賞)による非認知能力に関する研究. 参考:独立行政法人経済産業研究所(RIETI)「ノーベル賞経済学者ジェームズ・ヘックマン教授『能力の創造』」2014年. https://www.rieti.go.jp/jp/events/14100801/summary.html

3. 文部科学省「令和5年度 児童生徒の問題行動・不登校等生徒指導上の諸課題に関する調査結果」2024年(小中学校の不登校 34万6,482人). https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/seitoshidou/1302902.htm

4. 国立教育政策研究所『教員環境の国際比較:OECD国際教員指導環境調査(TALIS)2018報告書』2019年(週56時間・課外活動7.5時間). https://www.nier.go.jp/kokusai/talis/pdf/talis2018_summary.pdf

5. 文部科学省「令和5年度公立学校教職員の人事行政状況調査について」2024年(精神疾患による休職者7,119人). https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/jinji/1411820_00008.htm

6. 公益財団法人日本体育協会「スポーツ医・科学の観点からのジュニア期におけるスポーツ活動時間について」2017年(週16時間未満・休養週2日). https://www.mext.go.jp/sports/b_menu/shingi/013_index/toushin/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2018/03/19/1402624_1.pdf

7. 公益財団法人日本スポーツ協会「学校運動部活動指導者の実態に関する調査報告書」2021年(競技経験なし 約27%). https://www.mext.go.jp/sports/content/20211202-spt_sseisaku02-000019265_7.pdf

8. スポーツ庁「地域クラブ活動の費用負担の在り方等について」資料, 2025年(地域クラブの月会費・参加機会の格差懸念). https://www.mext.go.jp/sports/content/20250725-spt_oripara-000043939_02.pdf

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