Paper short abstract:

There is a big gap between the English proficiency of Finns and Japanese. This research will focus on comparing the English education system of Japan and that of Finland and provide the features and differences of those two systems.

Paper long abstract:

Finland has one of the best educations in the world. Finland is in the higher place in reading ability, mathematics, and scientific literacy at investigation of PISA. Also, Finns are fluent in English, though Finland is the non-English speaking country, and Finnish is the language that is considerably different from English like Japanese. According to EPI, Finns place fourth place in English proficiency in countries where English is not the national language. On the other hand, lots of Japanese are not able to speak English. Unfortunately, in TOEFL iBT, Japan is the third lowest in Asia following to Cambodia and Mongolia, even though English is the compulsory subject in junior high and high school in Japan. This big difference between the English ability of Finns and Japanese occurs because of each English education system. This paper will discuss issues relating to the comparison between English education system in Japan and that in Finland.

The research will be based on the historical books and documents, and data from newspapers, government sources, and journals. The paper will address the following issues:

a) The differences of English education system in Japan and that in Finland.

b) The reasons why Japanese students are not motivated in learning English though Finn students are.

The result will show how different English education system in Japan and that in Finland are, and also the way to improve Japanese English education system.