English language education in Japan began as early as 1600s. One of the education establishments are Elementary schools which have grades 1 to 6 and pupils 6 to 12 years old. Junior high schools have grades 1 to 3 and students aged 12 to 15 years old. High schools also have the same grades and students aged 15 to 18 years old attend. The school year in Japan begins in April and the school week is Monday to Friday or sometimes Saturday, depending on the school. Short holidays are in spring and winter and we also have a six-week summer break. Compulsory education is Junior high school so teenagers must continue their education until they are 15 years old. But most Japanese people graduate from high school. Junior high school has English lessons which include 350 hours over 3 years and high school has 437 hours over 3 years. It depends on a school but on average a Japanese student has 800 hours of English lessons over 6 years.

However, most Japanese people still cannot speak English. I think even though Japanese can use different grammar structures, they still tend to have a little grasp of everyday/conversational English. And the biggest problem is Japanese people have difficulty pronouncing English words. The Japanese language does not have the “R”and ”L”sounds. We do not often use English at school and work.

Unfortunately, we study English but we do not have the opportunity to speak English on a regular basis. I think an average Japanese person’s grammar is pretty good because Japanese teachers of English focus on the grammar and vocabulary that will be included on the future test.

In the 1800s Japan opened its borders at last after a long national seclusion time. And little by little, the number of foreign residents who are English speakers is increasing. At the time the Olympic Games are coming up in 2020 so the Japanese government has proposed changes to increase the level of English because of this occasion, Japanese should understand the importance of English and its benefits.

Marina Sakoda, Intermediate A