Needless to say, assessment and the way teachers teach English are closely related in the EFL environments such as Japan. Many educators, including myself, have pointed out that Japanese English education’s ineffectiveness is largely due to the existing assessment systems. While the world looks to four-skills assessment or even four-skills-integrated assessment, Japan is still struggling to introduce the modern-day speaking assessment.

In this report, I would like to present some basic information about the existing assessment systems in Japan, as well as the problems these systems create. The information I aim to provide is based on my 30 years of experience as an English teacher, as well my experience as a member of the government advisory panel for English education reform.