Why Japanese Struggle With English Despite Years of Study

It’s a typical Monday morning at a junior high school where I work. The second-grade English teacher approaches my desk and hands me a pile of worksheets for review. However, this task feels more like translating than actual reviewing (which isn’t part of my job description!).

Marking English sentences can be challenging, particularly when the students seem so disengaged that they often choose to respond in Japanese.

This situation leaves me feeling both frustrated and intrigued.

Out of the 19 worksheets collected, 10 students simply answered “No” to the prompt asking if they think English is important. Even if some opted for “No” to make subsequent sentences easier, the proportion is still unexpectedly high.

Some worksheets were completely blank, while others were filled out entirely in Japanese. A few students wrote “Yes” or “No” and stopped there. Very few managed to write three sentences in English.

Despite undergoing several years of English education (around 8 to 10 years), many Japanese individuals continue to face challenges in English communication.

Any foreigner residing in or visiting Japan would likely agree that encountering a Japanese person who speaks English well is more of an exception than a common occurrence.

This isn’t just a matter of personal observation.

The 2022 Education First English Proficiency Index Report categorizes Japan as having ‘low proficiency,’ placing it 80th out of 111 countries, based on testing results from 2.1 million adults in 2021.

Additionally, an article reveals that Japanese junior high students averaged only 12% on a nationally administered English speaking assessment.

Japanese junior high kids average 12% in English oral test

More than 60% of the students evaluated could not answer a single speaking question correctly.

[www.japantimes.co.jp](https://www.japantimes.co.jp)

This phenomenon has always captivated me.

Why is it that one of the largest economies in the world lags in English language education, while smaller and less developed nations make significant progress? What barriers does Japan face? And is a change on the horizon?

In this article, I will delve into some reasons behind Japan's ongoing struggles with English language education, how the situation is evolving, and my forecasts for English education in the next decade.

This article is divided into two parts covering: 1. Negative attitudes towards English (Part 1) 2. Technical challenges of English (Part 1) 3. System failures (Part 2)

1. Negative Attitudes Towards English

The mindset of Japanese individuals toward English is crucial for understanding the difficulties of English e