Search - japanese-language-tests

 
 
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2017

Japanese offer mixed views of foreign health care

Japanese people who have received medical care overseas have mixed views of other countries' health systems, according to an online straw poll conducted by The Japan Times.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 17, 2016

Why Japanese students excel at mathematics

American education officials are turning to Japan in their quest to raise U.S. students' math standards.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 17, 2013

Whoever could pass a test to list 'values at the heart of being Japanese'?

Calling all those readers who in their heart of hearts have always wanted to be British! Well, you've got your chance now, you presumptuous Penny-Laners and putative Pythons.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 7, 2003

Time to come clean on foreign crime wave

For those who read and watch the Japanese press, these are scary times. Foreign crime is allegedly on the rise, members of the new Koizumi Cabinet are making clear policy statements against it, and the National Police Agency is ready for a new push.
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2001

Japanese exam more popular, JETRO reports

The Japan External Trade Organization held its sixth annual business Japanese language test in 15 countries Saturday, with a record 2,800 candidates taking the test.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Jun 8, 2016

Is the Eiken doing Japan's English learners more harm than good?

Critics argue that the Eiken proficiency exams focus too heavily on vocabulary, grammar and the written word at the expense of fluency.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Apr 20, 2014

To teach to test or for communication — or both?

Which is more important: to communicate in a second language or to test well?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Jul 27, 2014

Osaka bets big on TOEFL to boost English levels

The Osaka Prefecture Board of Education is pushing through a raft of initiatives to shake up English-language education, chief among them the introduction of TOEFL at top-performing high schools, which will be taught by an elite group of teachers earning approximately ¥8 million a year.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 21, 2010

New JLPT format: boon for some, bane for most

For students trying to leap the cavernous divide between Level 3 and Level 2 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) (日本語能力試験), a new test being held for the first time on July 4 breaks the task into two smaller, more manageable hops. Other students, though, might find that progress...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Jan 7, 2018

Much for Japan Times Community readers to crow and squawk about in year of the rooster

A selection of unpublished letters about Community stories from the first half of 2017.
JAPAN
Oct 25, 2003

New tests challenging TOEIC stronghold

Scoring 500 points on the TOEIC English proficiency test is a prerequisite for promotion to section chief or a higher managerial position at construction machinery maker Komatsu Ltd.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 29, 2015

Flawed entrance exam reform

The education ministry's effort to reform the university entrance exam system has serious flaws.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 26, 2019

Is Japan becoming a country of immigration?

Japan needs to create a system to build an intercultural society by learning from the efforts of other countries.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 5, 2013

Media weighs in on LDP's English education plan

The Liberal Democratic Party has a thing for archery. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's financial policies comprise "three arrows." The symbolism is based on the old Japanese saying, "Three arrows are harder to break." Since "Abenomics" has proven to be a PR success, at least with the electorate, he's using...
Japan Times
JAPAN / HONING ENGLISH
Jul 20, 2002

Japan experiments with Super English Schools

Principal Katsutoshi Wakabayashi gives a speech in English through the school's public address system at Gunma Prefectural Chuo High School every Wednesday morning, and all notices around the school are now in English.
EDITORIALS
Sep 5, 2019

Address concerns about new English exams

Efforts to improve of the university exam system are welcome, but forcibly implementing reforms without proper preparation could cause problems for high school students.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 16, 2020

Bad English in Japan: A conspiracy theory

There is no rational reason why Japan's English-language education should be so woeful. Could something sinister be going on?
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2020

Japan to cast net wider after sluggish start for blue-collar visa program

Less than 2,000 have obtained working permits under the program, a low figure given that Japan was expecting to draw 40,000 in the first year.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Nov 24, 2013

Is the JLPT really worth it?

The final countdown to this Sunday's Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) has begun, but professionals say piling pressure on examinees might do more harm than good at this point.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Jul 24, 2017

Let's discuss Japan's univesity admissions

Upcoming changes to Japanese university admissions have students, parents and teachers raising their hands to ask questions.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 2, 2011

English big business, and growing

When it comes to preparing for the April launch of compulsory English classes in elementary schools, the private sector appears to have a clear lead over public school teachers.
EDITORIALS
Dec 15, 2019

Slow start for new work visa scheme

To streamline and improve the system for inviting people from overseas to work in this country, the technical intern program should either be drastically overhauled or scrapped.
Migrants from Venezuela, seeking asylum in the United States, sit before crossing the Rio Bravo river with the intention of turning themselves in to the U.S. Border Patrol agents, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on Thursday.
WORLD / Society
Sep 24, 2023

AI's 'insane' translation mistakes endanger U.S. asylum cases

Machine translation has made huge leaps but is still nowhere near good enough for complex, high-stakes situations like the asylum process.
Japan's 2024 Word of the Year, "futehodo," is a phrase tied to a Netflix show and highlights the broader decline in the cultural significance of such awards, with recent selections often seen as superficial or promotional.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 31, 2024

Japan’s 2024 word of the year has no rizz

Some critics wondered why the word of the year award was, essentially, functioning as advertising for a TV show that is still available on streaming.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?