Regarding the Dec. 23 article "English classes face a shakeup": I disagree that high school English classes should be taught primarily in English (from 2013). Some students who are not good at English won't understand what's going on and may misunderstand what teachers say.
Just look at all the people who have gone abroad to study English but still can't speak it, probably because they didn't learn the basics of English in the first place. Meanwhile, most people who studied English diligently in Japan tend to improve their English conversation skills markedly once they go overseas.
Another problem is that some teachers won't be able to describe grammatical differences between English and Japanese. A lot of teachers in Japan can't speak English fluently. And some students will become less skilled at translating into Japanese. Translating is crucial to business people. If they can't do it, they will have trouble in the future.
In my opinion, if English-only instruction must be introduced, it should be done in the elementary schools, where most students are more likely to learn to enjoy English. Anyway, people need to practice basic communication before learning English grammar in a junior high school. I do agree with the need to increase the number of English words to be taught, since we can't understand what English-speakers say if we don't even know the words.
We all know that many Chinese and South Koreans speak English better than Japanese do and are rapidly developing their skills. I think this is because they view English as a greater necessity in their business and daily lives.
If the government doesn't demonstrate a better appreciation of international contributions, students' English skills won't improve, either.
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