"iBT" --- new TOEFL terror of Japanese

[Taro Toporific]

Agency Overhauls English Proficiency Test
ABC News: 24 Sept
....the TOEFL the Test of English as a Foreign Language. Now that test has undergone a major makeover, aimed at better evaluating how well applicants can communicate in English. As the test debuts Saturday, some students particularly Asians are worried they'll be disadvantaged because of how they were taught English in school...., the Educational Testing Services will be giving the new TOEFL "iBT" (Internet-based test) ...will phase in worldwide over the next year. ....
....Most Asians, especially (from) Japan, Korea, Taiwan, love reading, structure, grammar," Yoshihiko Iwasaki, a Japanese student hoping to attend business school, said while on break from a Kaplan TOEFL test-prep class in Boston earlier this week. "(Our) speaking is weak, because sometimes, it's impolite to speak out, to describe an opinion, or talk to the teacher. When we take a class, we just sit and take notes and memorize.....more....

[Samurai_Jerk]

I really is a tougher test and much better. But I'm sure all the test prep companies will come up with tricks to get a higher score in a few months.

[Neo-Rio]

After 6 years of living in Japan, I have come to the conclusion that Japanese people can't learn English simply because the majority of them lack the social skills required to communicate in it.... and to certain degrees the lack of communication skills and social sense extends to their own language and society as well.

It seems the Japanese have a hard time navigating their own way in their own society. Perhaps all English teachers need to pull out "How to win friends and influence people" and start with that before moving onto teaching a foreign language.