エッセイ03

I think I have understood the truth behind Japan’s English education. It’s long been discussed that Japan’s English education needs to change so that children can get to learn how to communicate in English, and that practical English skills should be taught in schools.

However, the reality is that even students at Tokyo University can barely speak English. They are supposed to be the smartest people in Japan. What this tells me is that universities in general don’t require students to have such communication skills in English. If universities in Japan do want students who speak English with fluency, they should require students to take entrance exams to assess their language proficiency in communication. The fact that they don’t incorporate speaking exams in the entrance exams means that they consider that English communication skills are not essential in an academic field in Japan. I guess this is true because students have access to the cutting edge academic resources while they are in Japan.

However, the scarcity of communication skills could limit the opportunities to acquire diverse information from abroad, thus limit the broadening and deepening of their academic attainments and weakening their global competitiveness in the future.

The issue of unskilled Japanese students in English is directly linked to economic development. In order to take the initiative in the world economic as well as academic fields, it is highly desirable to help students grow in English communication skills. Japan is no longer an economic giant in the world. A small country like Singapore spends so much financial and educational resources on language education, knowing that multilingual human resource is the essence of economic growth. Singaporeans handle multiple languages naturally, and they have excellent English skills. The average individual income in Singapore exceeds that of Japan. National University of Singapore is ranked higher than Tokyo University.

In conclusion, Japan as a nation should take English education more seriously. We cannot get away with the population decline. Global competitiveness will be lost if Japan becomes introverted. However, we will have chances to grow if we have global human resources. Let’s revolutionize English education in Japan. We will have no time to waste.