There can be few subjects of study more potentially useful to the future life and career of a Japanese High School student than his or her learning to understand and speak the English language. In today’s age of globalization, technology, finance, and information are the keys to success and development. English, the lingua franca of the global community, is essential for reaping the benefits of globalization. While Japan is not considered a failure in many aspects, its inability to understand and grasp the English language makes it prone to failure and unable to take advantage of the benefits of globalization “There are several areas in which Japan deserves to be labeled a failure, but it is in English-the lingua franca of today’s world-that Japan has flunked the most conspicuously. The US non-profit organization Educational Testing Service (ETS) compiles and administers the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)…appallingly, Japan’s rank is a miserable 180 among the 189 countries in the United Nations” (Takashi 1).
This analysis will address why it is so imperative that Japanese High School students who wish to enter university study the English language. A conclusion will address the likelihood of Japan’s ability to overcome its apparent allergy to the English language.
The world’s cultures and borders have melded as globalization of markets, economies, and governments continues to occur via technology, finance, and information exchange. The more a people or an individual is fluent in the world’s primary language of communication, English, the more equipped they, or he or she, are to reap the benefits of globalization. However, many students in Japanese high schools have an inadequate grasp of English. They are poorly prepared to take advantage of English language courses at university. Currently, Japanese students begin to learn English in Junior High School, as a component of Japan’s compul...