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There is a very strong economic incentive to do well on university entrance exams - they pretty much determine the course of a Japanese person's life - and thus
by lmm 2y ago
There is a very strong economic incentive to do well on university entrance exams - they pretty much determine the course of a Japanese person's life - and thus both schools and outside tutoring focus on teaching students to score well on the English section of those exams, to the exclusion of learning to understand or speak English.
Similarly, it can be beneficial to one's someone's career to get a high score on TOEIC, so adult classes prioritise teaching people to get high scores on TOEIC. The "education" system is extremely well aligned with the economic incentives.
- skhr0680 2y agoThat is exactly what I meant by Galapagos syndrome. I should have written external(= business conducted in English) economic incentive. The elephant in the room is that 6/12 years school here are focused on rote remembering for the next entrance exam rather than learning.
- lmm 2y agoMeh. Poor priority in schooling and teaching to the test are hardly unique to Japan.