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China

According to the ‘China’s Standards of English Language Ability’, promulgated by the China’s Ministry of Education in June 2018, the ability of English learners is classified into either of these categories - ‘basic’, ‘intermediate’, and ‘advanced’. The Chinese government requests that all primary students meet the English standard of ‘CEFR A1’ level upon the completion of six years of primary education, ‘CEFR A2’ level upon the completion of junior secondary studies, and ‘CEFR A2-B1’ level upon the completion of senior secondary studies. However, the general poor quality of English education teaching in China and the government’s strong intention to prohibit early English education in kindergartens are making the goal very hard to achieve without a solid and innovative English learning solution.

Japan

Based on a recent English Proficiency Index survey, Japan ranked 35th out of 72 countries on English proficiency. In view of improving students’ English proficiency, the Japanese government has announced that by early 2020, all high school graduates must achieve a level of English proficiency equivalent to ‘CEFR B1’. This is a significant leap from the past. In Japan, English education used to start only in the very late years of primary education, but the situation will be changed from 2020 onwards, as English education will start from the 3rd grade. To achieve the ‘CEFR B1’ level, students are generally expected to have over 2500 hours of exposure to English. But the reality is, Japanese students only have fewer than 1000 hours of English exposure in their study from elementary school to high school. So, English reading provides an essential remedy for such shortfall in English study hours.