Welcome to Jordan vol.2

The problem of Japan's English education is in the fact that two goals, a goal of English for school exam and the goal of English as a language, are set separately. Through that students have to study two types of English. This must be quite burdensome for them. Eventually they would have to put priority one of them. They choose inevitably the one for school exam.

The typical school exam English must be a fill up the blank type question, English - Japanese translation or summarizing, for example. Each question has just one answer.
It strictly checks whether every part of the tool meet the standard or not. And maybe a native speaker like pronunciation, an appearance is important for Japanese people.
However as long as English is a communication tool, the thing which should be examined is how students well handle the tool. Some screws are shorter than regulation beside the others are too much longer. Also the form is not beautiful. But nevertheless some people handle the poor tool very well. Meanwhile the others who have strictly manufactured tool with beautiful appearance is so clumsy to use it.

Unifying this double standard of Japan's English education is quite simple. Changing the school exam style to an original one. Check "How they can handle the tool" with essay, interview, debate or presentation, for instance.
Of course, it also requires a higher leveled teacher. Maybe it needs a huge number of markers and task especially for an entrance exam. But it must be changed.
If they cannot change the old system, it's better to eliminate "English" from exam subjects. Language education should be more flexible. If students are confused by the stiff system of English education, it's much better learning Japanese reading, writing, listening and speaking. Mother tongue is always a base of language study.

Don't misunderstand, I'm not all negative for current English class. Just stay on it. But after assembling the tool for 3days, the forth day should be the day for practice. Through that students get to know their English become more practical one and on which level their English is.
Just assembling the tool forever is a pain. Students trough up the tool before practice. It's possible unfinished tools will be left here and there in the classroom. Again in language study, how they well handle the tool is most important even if the tool is not perfect.
The ministry of education recently announced they assist students by the application fee of English qualification test. But if they really want to improve the English education, there are more effective and less- expensive way. Students can have a meeting with Skype, change a message with e-mail, for example. We live in the time of the Internet. The budget should be spent on the right way.

To tell the truth, there is the best way to know the real meaning and technique of language study in a short time. It's travelling abroad by yourself. So you should travel alone foreign country on the first grade of your school year. But it's impossible. After all, Japanese students get to know "What is language, or communication" in their high school or collage graduation trip. Ironically, they've just put down a pen for six more year's English study just before it.

This is Japanese school education. For a job searching or English study, students all dump what they have learned in school, then they have to catch another stream and start from zero. School education should be a approaching lane for main traffic, society, although.