日本希望加強大學生英語水平

Recently the Yomiuri News on-line reported the following:

ＴＯＥＦＬを国公立大の卒業要件に…自民が提言

自民党教育再生実行本部（遠藤利明本部長）は８日、世界で活躍できる人材の育成策をまとめた提言を、安倍首相（自民党総裁）に提出した。英語教育の抜本改革と理数教育の刷新、ＩＣＴ（情報通信技術）教育の充実を柱に、国公立大学の受験や卒業に、英語能力テスト「ＴＯＥＦＬ」で一定以上の成績を求めることなどを盛り込んだ。

　ＴＯＥＦＬは米国の非営利団体が実施する試験で、留学生の英語力を測る際などに使われる。提言では、受験・卒業の基準点は各大学で定めるとしているが、トップレベル３０校程度については、ＴＯＥＦＬ９０点（１２０点満点）以上を卒業要件とするよう求めた。

　理数教育では、文系でも、大学入試で「理数の力を重視する」ことを求めた。当初案では「理数科目を必須にする」としていたが、入試は各大学の判断で実施することから軌道修正し、大学側に促す程度にとどめる。私立大などからは、受験生の負担増を懸念する声が上がっていた。

（2013年4月8日22時25分 読売新聞）

(試譯文)

On the 8^th the Liberal Democratic Party Education Rejuvenation Execution Headquarters (Director-General Toshiaki Endo) submitted to Prime Minister Abe (the Liberal Democratic Party President) the proposal which touched on of the training measures that could shape the talented people to play an active role in the world. It incorporated a fundamental reform in English education and a reform in the education of science and mathematics. It noted the important role of strengthening the  ICT (information and communication technology) education, suggesting that when students taking the examinations of the national and public universities and colleges, and also when at graduation, the English aptitude test "TOEFL" should be used and that a certain level of test results should be required.

   TOEFL was the examination carried out by an American nonprofit institution which measured a student's command of English. At the proposal although it supposed that the standard to be set in the examination and at graduation would be decided by individual university, for the 30 top universities it asked for more than 90 points in the TOEFL (120-point full marks) as the requirement for graduation.

   In the science and mathematics education, also in liberal arts, it asked for "treating the ability in science and mathematics as important" in regard to the university entrance examination. Although in the original plan it supposed that "science and mathematics will be made indispensable", the practice that the entrance examinations would be carried out based on the judgment of individual university was adjusted, to such an extent that it urged the universities to stop it. From the private colleges etc. voices had come out which expressed the concern about the increasing burden towards students who were preparing for the examinations.

It seems that Japan is trying to strengthen its English education.