TOEIC won't provide English tests for Japan's new university entrance exam
The domestic operator of TOEIC said Tuesday it will not provide its English proficiency test as part of the country's standardized university entrance exam system due to start next April because the process is too complicated. Seven other tests offered by the private sector, including ...
Foreign Minister Taro Kono suggests need to end reversal of Japanese names in English
Foreign Minister Taro Kono says his ministry will consider breaking with the tradition of reversing Japanese names in English and some other foreign languages.
To pass the test, applicants will need to have Japanese skills good enough for daily life.
French universities to offer more courses in English to attract foreign students
France wants to boost the number of foreign students at its universities by more than half over the next decade and will offer more courses taught in English to attract them. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, announcing the plan on Monday, said increasing the number of ...
America is one of the few cultures with insults for smart people
Americans enjoy the dubious distinction of having a high degree of linguistic diversity it comes to mocking the smart and the educated.
Trump calls Comey a 'slime ball,' sparking rush to dictionaries
U.S. President Donald Trump's denunciation of former FBI Director James Comey as a "slime ball" on Friday triggered a jump of 60,000 percent in look-ups for the word on the website of dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster's. The disparaging term was among the top words looked up ...
English school chain ECC Co. will launch a Japanese course in the Philippines in June in partnership with a local college amid growing interest in the language among Filipinos. The Osaka-based firm and the University of Perpetual Help plan to provide a 6-month e-learning program, ...
Iran bans English in primary schools after leaders' warning of 'cultural invasion'
Iran has banned the teaching of English in primary schools, a senior education official said, after Islamic leaders warned that early learning of the language opened the way to a Western "cultural invasion." "Teaching English in government and non-government primary schools in the official curriculum ...
Rural Gunma city to start English-immersion program targeting urban students
A rural city in Gunma Prefecture will launch a program next year offering a year-long English-immersion dormitory experience for junior high and high school students. A three-month trial course set to run from this August has attracted more than 1,900 applications from across the country, ...
'Gamified' language app Duolingo finally adds Japanese
Just as many readers are swapping paperbacks for tablets, many language learners are trading in their textbooks for apps so they can study on the go. One of the most popular language applications on the market is Duolingo, a program that "gamifies" learning by rewarding ...
Shiga city offers Spanish, Portuguese classes for children of migrant families
A public-private program has been underway in a Shiga Prefecture city to teach Spanish or Portuguese to children of migrants from Latin America working at local manufacturing plants. The program in Konan, launched in 2013, started after local officials found many children of Latin American ...
From high school nightmare to living the baseball dream
When Taira Uematsu returns home after the big league season, the San Francisco Giants' bullpen catcher spends a lot of time teaching baseball, and the most important lesson may be, "Have fun." Uematsu rediscovered that fun for the game in the U.S. after three years ...
