The Role of English Education in Japan

This paper is intended as an overview of the education system in Japan, with emphasis on how the English language is approached at each level of schooling. The purpose is to contextualize English as a foreign language (EFL) education in Japan while highlighting structural as well as procedural shortcomings. It is argued that these shortcomings negatively influence student attitudes, beliefs and motivations as related to learning the English language. Government initiatives aimed at improving communicative ability in English are introduced together with overviews of the key concepts of JUKEN EIGO (English for test taking), YAKUDOKU (grammar-translation method) and HENSACHI (deviation value/school ranking system). It is hoped that the information here provides a basis for viewing the experiences of Japanese EFL learners and developing a list of best practices for teachers and learners in this context