In his opinion piece on the disappointing Eiken test results, Walt Gardner offers up dubious advice (“Modify instruction to improve English skills” in the April 11 edition.)
He urges English teachers in Japan to teach to the test. That is, he proposes that English be taught not as a living language that is enriched by and enriches a unique literature but as a subject that’s reduced to standardized testing.
He justifies the use of standardized tests with a curious logic. “If valid inferences are to be drawn from any standardized test, including the Eiken,” he writes, “teachers need to design lessons that provide students with practice specifically geared to the knowledge and skills being evaluated.”
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