＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
Recently, the “Common English Test” has been suddenly brought into the spotlight due to Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Hagiuda’s comment that “it is fine as long as students do their best within their capabilities.” However, looking at the daily news coverage, it is certainly true that there are many flaws in the test, and I think that many people feel that it is “full of problems.”
1. Problems with the Common English Test
November 1, 2019 was the day applications for the Common ID for the “Common Test for University Admissions” (hereafter abbreviated as “Common Test”), which replaced the “National Center Test for University Admissions.”
However, that same morning, Minister Hagiuda announced that “the introduction of private English tests from 2020 will be postponed to 2024.”
Specifically, the following three points were decided:
① The introduction of private English tests in 2020 will be postponed
② The common English test will be implemented in January 2021
③ A new English test will be considered over the next year, with the aim of implementing it from 2024 / The same applies to the introduction of private English tests
This began when Minister of Education Hagiuda made a comment on BS Fuji’s “LIVE Prime News” program on October 24th, in which he said, “It may be the case that children from wealthy families are able to warm up by taking a number of sessions, but they should choose two sessions that suit their means and do their best,” which was taken as an issue by the opposition parties and others as “a statement that acknowledges educational disparities caused by economic disparities.”
As an aside, in 1950, Finance Minister Ikeda Hayato of the Yoshida Cabinet replied, “I would like to move in line with economic principles, where those with low incomes eat wheat and those with high incomes eat rice,” which was reported in the newspapers under the headline “Poor people should eat wheat,” causing controversy.
The reason why Minister Hagiuda’s remarks this time were criticized as being “unfit to be a minister” is because Japan today is an “intolerant society.” However, it could be said that this remark was a blessing in disguise in that it brought to light the “problems with the Common English Test” and made them widely known.
(1) What is the Common English Test?
There are two differences from the previous National Center Test:
① In addition to the previous multiple choice questions, essay questions will be introduced.
② In order to evaluate the four English skills (reading, listening, writing, and speaking), the results of private English tests will be used (previously, only the two skills, reading and listening, were evaluated).
(2) Background to the introduction of the Common English Test
The background is “rapid globalization.” For young people who graduate from university and will be active on the world stage in the future, advanced English communication skills are essential.
Some global companies require that “meetings be conducted in English,” and some require that general employees “have a certain level of success” in “English language tests” such as “TOEIC.”
We are no longer in the days when English was only necessary for “people working overseas” or “people engaged in trade-related activities.”
As I wrote in my previous article on “My English Conversation Experience,” I think one of the reasons behind this is that, even after studying English for eight years from junior high school to university, many Japanese people, including myself, can “read and write” English but are not good at “listening and speaking.”
(3) Problems with the Common English Test
① Scoring for English in the Common Test: In the National Center Test, the ratio of “reading” to “listening” was 4:1, but in the Common Test, it will change to 1:1. This will be a fatal blow to those who are “not good at listening” or “not well prepared for listening.”
② Restructuring of English entrance exams at each university: Currently, the entrance exam system design has already been completed on the assumption that private tests would be introduced, but now that the introduction of private tests has been postponed, redesign will be necessary.
③ Compensation to private test organizations and companies: Although no mention has been made at present, there is a possibility that lawsuits for damages will be filed in the future by the organizations and companies conducting the private tests.
④ Difficulties in grading written questions: There is the fundamental problem of how to set the “criteria and conditions for a correct answer,” the possibility of “grading errors” on the part of the examiner, and “discrepancies with self-grading.” In addition, because a large number of answer sheets need to be graded in a short period of time, “part-time workers such as university students” may have to be mobilized, which can lead to “issues with the quality of the graders.”
2. English education from elementary school
I think we can all agree that it is necessary to raise the level of all Japanese people’s four English skills (reading, listening, writing, and speaking).
What is necessary to achieve this is to increase the emphasis on “listening and speaking” from the traditional emphasis on “reading and writing” in English classes not only in elementary schools starting next year, but also in junior high and high schools.
In other words, we need to improve ability in “English as a means of communication” rather than “English as an academic subject.”
(1) The problem of teacher quality
In this case, the problem is the quality of teachers. The English teachers we had in middle and high school had pronunciation that was far from that of a native speaker, which is not exactly what you would call good. If things continue like this, it will be impossible to improve our listening and speaking skills.
It is even more impossible to expect today’s elementary school teachers to have better skills than middle and high school English teachers. As a countermeasure, I think we should introduce the following types of human resources into English classes.
① Utilizing hired foreigners (native speakers)
From the end of the Edo period to the Meiji era, many “hired foreigners” were invited to many academic fields to introduce Western learning, technology, and systems. Famous examples include Lafcadio Hearn, Edward Morse, and Ernest Fenollosa.
When it comes to English education, we don’t need as many high-class “hired foreigners” as them, so I think it’s easier to gather talent.
② Utilizing foreign instructors (native speakers) from English conversation schools
③ Utilizing housewives who have lived abroad
④ Utilizing the “(English learning) know-how” of simultaneous interpreters and other personnel with high English communication skills
⑤ Utilizing “AI”
This is a learning method that uses “AI capable of two-way dialogue with native speakers” rather than humans to improve communication skills. Recently, the following was reported about the English learning AI robot “Musio.”
AKA, a company that develops artificial intelligence engines and artificial intelligence social robots, has announced that it will release and provide new children’s content, as well as goods and services that will make life with Musio more enjoyable for users of its English-learning AI robot, from November to December 2019.
Musio is an English learning AI robot that aims to help people communicate in English. It has three English learning functions: “Chat Mode” which speaks American native English and allows natural English conversation, “Tutor Mode” which allows learning English according to the level and purpose using special teaching materials and a scanner, and “Edu Mode” which allows repeated practice of words, patterns, and conversational phrases necessary for speaking English and checks pronunciation.
Doshisha Junior High School is said to have been the first in the country to use MusioX in classes three years ago.
Also, Weblio, a famous online dictionary, is now offering a service that enables students to study English with AI. This service allows students to study English online at home using Skype.
I think that this type of AI-based English learning is a promising method for the future.
(2) Problems with the content of education
First, we need to move away from the traditional focus on reading and writing in English education and continue to make efforts for several years to improve the four English skills of reading, writing, listening, and speaking in a balanced manner with correct pronunciation.
Then, in middle and high school classes and tests, we should examine the degree of acquisition of the four skills and the results and problems of the way classes are conducted, and once students have established a certain degree of acquisition of the four skills, we should introduce the “Common English Test” for university entrance exams. We must not rush into this.
Furthermore, I think it may be necessary to take note of the English education methods used in Singapore and Malaysia, which are said to have “high English communication skills” among Asian countries.
David, CEO of ETS, the developer of TOEFL and TOEIC, lists the following four points as characteristics of countries and regions with well-developed English education:
1. English education is provided from an early stage.
2. The quality of English instruction is good.
3. There are opportunities to practice using English.
4. There are incentives to learn English. (Quoted from the Global Education Research Lab at Benesse Educational Research and Development Institute)
Compared to countries like Singapore and the Philippines where English is the official language, you can get by in your daily life without using English at all in Japan, so learning a foreign language can be difficult.
For this reason, it seems necessary to change your way of thinking and adopt a more positive attitude, such as “not being afraid of making mistakes,” “not being shy,” “putting yourself in an environment where you actively use English,” and “accepting the fact that English is just a means of communication.”