English-language education at public schools should shift in emphasis to verbal communications skills, and for that purpose, universities must adopt the Test of English as a Foreign Language for entrance exams, the head of the Liberal Democratic Party¡¯s education reform panel said.
If the TOEFL is introduced in line with the panel¡¯s proposal, it would drastically change public English-language education at junior high and high schools, Toshiaki Endo, head of the panel and a Lower House member from Yamagata Prefecture, said in a recent interview with The Japan Times.
The panel is currently putting together a policy recommendation on improving students¡¯ academic standards, including their English. Once it is finalized, the LDP is expected to formally propose it to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the near future.
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