How to Test Speaking Skills in Japan

9 Chapter 1: The conundrum of teaching English in Japan

status and support (Yoshida, 2003) In addition, English enjoys the full backing of the Japanese government, albeit largely for national economic goals (Hagerman, 2009) According to Tahira (2012), the Ministry of Education, Cul ture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) has been regularly publishing a set of educational guidelines known as The Course of Study since the end of World War II These are now considered the official principles for English education in all public schools Their role is to provide overall goals and appropriate curricula The follow ing excerpt from the MEXT English website provides a cogent snap shot of governmental hopes and dreams for English (MEXT, 2014): Amid ongoing globalization, the development of students’ pro ficiency in English, a common international language, is crucial for Japan’s future . Japanese people should expect to achieve top-level English proficiency in Asia. Under the reform of English education, not only the cultivation of fundamental knowledge and skills, but also such abilities as to reason, make decisions or express oneself in order to solve problems by oneself will be inevitable… With an eye to the year 2020 in which the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held, the government will proceed with studies on the new reform of English educa tion throughout elementary, junior high and high schools so that the reform will be performed in a stepwise fashion. Crucial for Japan’s future… achieve top-level English proficiency in Asia…the new reform of English education … these are all strong words that highlight bold and ambitious aims From these statements it is clear that MEXT wants the ELT system to be more effective in pro ducing students who not only understand English, but also actually use it to communicate effectively (Ainscough & Shiozawa, 2000) … and the reality on the ground Given all of the institutional guidance and resources put into En-