A critical analysis of Japan’s language education system

Abstract

Why does Japan’s education system appear unable to produce learners who can actually converse in a language which they have been compelled to study for at least of six years? What situational factors have contributed to classroom environments where silent language learners appear to be the norm rather than the exception? In this chapter I attempt to answer these questions by offering a critical analysis of Japan’s dysfunctional language education system. After providing a general overview of education in Japan, I will discuss how recent language learning reforms by The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport, Science and Technology (MEXT) have been met with widespread scepticism by an EFL community who believe the ministry’s plans are unfeasible and fail to take into account the reality of language teaching in Japan’s schools today. It is clear that a key element in why students appear unable to develop L2 communicative competence is the continued dominance of university entrance examinations within the system. These tests remain hugely influential at the pre-tertiary level, despite demographic changes meaning competition for university places is not quite as fierce as it once was (see Kamiya, 2009; Kinmonth, 2005), and they continue to shape which aspects of a foreign language are taught and how these aspects are studied.