ERIC Number: EJ1214430
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Apr
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1533-242X
EISSN: N/A
Comparative Education: Why Does Japan Continue to Struggle with English?
Nuttall, Lee
Reading Matrix: An International Online Journal, v19 n1 p74-92 Apr 2019
This report discusses why Japan continues to struggle with and appears on the surface to be reluctant to embrace the English language as a medium to conduct business and indeed tourism as opposed to their South East Asian neighbours. The topics covered were the historical context of Japan's isolationist policy, Japan's educational system, and their English educational policy. In addition, I compared and contrasted Japan's test performance and/or results with other South East Asian countries based on secondary source data from three recognised international English proficiency tests TOEIC, TOEFL and IELTS. Next, I discussed the economic implications, due to the lack of an English speaking workforce. Finally, I included a case study, which focused on a Japanese company who adopted English as the company language.
Descriptors: Comparative Education, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Foreign Countries, Language Attitudes, Business Communication, Business English, Public Policy, History, Language Tests, Scores, Language Proficiency, Cross Cultural Studies, Case Studies, Labor Force, Corporations, Language Usage, Student Attitudes, College Students, Japanese, Native Language
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Japan
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Test of English for International Communication; Test of English as a Foreign Language; International English Language Testing System
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A