How to Test Speaking Skills in Japan

Chapter 3 Work for positive washback

Recapping the problem ELT in Japan is characterized by a debilitating disconnect between stated linguistic goals and an educational reality that works against them This inherent contradiction fuels the poor state of English communicative competence amongst many learners It’s no surprise that years of study do not seem to help students speak English much because the system in which they were taught has not been properly designed for producing fluent speakers English is a subject for the test, not a skill to be actually used Many educators and adminis trators with sincere interest in actually realizing some of the ambi tious MEXT goals work as hard as they can within the limits of the system It’s tough going, however, as the negative juken eigo (test English) washback puts a constant drag on morale and productivity In such a test-heavy educational culture, students have become conditioned to put their limited time and energy into covering only material that will be tested

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