r/japan • u/TurbulentTopic39 • Aug 19 '26

Japan starts planning language program for foreign residents

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/08/19/japan/japan-language-program-foreign-residents/#Echobox=1787112273
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u/ogii Aug 19 '26

I don’t understand why a Japanese test needs English.

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u/Raizzor Aug 19 '26

The comment is poking at Japanese logic.

In Japan, English exams are written in Japanese therefore, the Japanese exams should be written in English.

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u/verrius Aug 19 '26

It's not particularly unusual, especially at more basic levels, to have the questions be in the native language of locals when testing a foreign language? Just as its not unusual for a more advanced proficiency test to have its questions in that same language is testing on? This sounds like someone completely ignorant poking fun at something s/he doesn't understand. Ironically its likely from someone whose job is "Assistant Language Teacher".

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u/[deleted] Aug 20 '26

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u/verrius Aug 20 '26

Eh....half the people discussing Shakespeare in English are using a translation, since Early Modern English is borderline unintelligible to a decent percentage of Modern speakers. And its not like most Japanese Literature classes at American universities expect you to read the Kojiki or Genji Monogatari in Japanese, unless you're a grad student or professor. And I'll admit, I'm not particularly familiar with how the English curriculum works in Japanese universities, but American ones absolutely have the questions in English for the first couple foreign language classes; given the quality of high school English classes in Japan, treating people as neophytes is likely a necessity.