An analysis of employment examinations for full-time Japanese teachers of English : In the case of Saitama Prefecture and Saitama City

The purpose of the present research is to analyze employment examinations aimed to recruit full time Japanese teachers of English conducted by Saitama Prefecture and Saitama City. The findings of the analysis of the publicized examinations (written tests) of the past three years include: 1) English proficiency is the main target of the examination, not special knowledge on TESOL or TEFL, 2) reading ability is mostly needed, followed by listening and writing abilities, 3)te ting of instructional skills are included, 4) questions on the Course of Study are found every year. Suggestions are made to improve training curricula for EFL teachers