Vision 2035, Pillar 3: Flip the Model: Focus on Speaking

Vision 2035: Advancing English Proficiency for the Future of Japan
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If we want Japan to be a leader in English proficiency across the Asia–Pacific, we need to rethink what happens in our junior and senior high school classrooms. Right now, the balance between speaking practice and traditional grammar or reading work is completely out of sync with the skills students actually need.

In most junior high schools, students get about five hours of English a week, but nearly all of it is spent on grammar drills, translations, and reading passages, often delivered in Japanese. Speaking practice, in contrast, is usually limited to a single Oral Communication (OC) class, maybe two if they’re lucky.

It’s no wonder that many students graduate without the ability to hold a conversation. This OC-to-traditional class ratio needs to be flipped. Schools should be giving students five hours a week of OC, and one or two hours for grammar and reading. And before anyone says this requires an army of native English teachers, it doesn’t. With the right training and support, Japanese English teachers can lead speaking-focused lessons effectively. Technology can make this even easier, whether through AI conversation partners, language lab software, or real-time exchanges with students abroad via Zoom.

The need for change is urgent. Japan ranked 92nd out of 116 non‑English‑speaking countries in the EF English Proficiency Index (2024). Increasing OC time is one of the most direct ways to close this gap and prepare students for both domestic exams and real-world communication.

This doesn’t mean abandoning grammar and reading. What it does mean is that we teach these skills in the service of speaking, listening, and writing. If speaking proficiency becomes the top of the pyramid, every other skill supports it. Grammar points are chosen to strengthen spoken expression. Reading passages are taught with the goal of spoken summaries, or they are dialogues and scenes from plays or films that students can act out. Research-based reading can fuel presentations, helping students connect their reading to real communication. When speaking and writing are the ultimate goals, the entire approach to teaching English changes.

Second-language research supports this approach. Linguist and educator Stephen Krashen, a leading figure in the field of second-language acquisition, developed the Input Hypothesis, which emphasizes the importance of meaningful, comprehensible input combined with opportunities to actually use the language. In other words, students need to talk more, not just study about talking.

For this shift to stick, everything else must align. Exams, grading policies, and daily timetables all need to reflect the value of speaking skills. If we make that change, students will graduate ready to use English in their studies, careers, and lives.

Next Article: Pillar 4: Start Early and Start Right →