某大学の教授が、学校教育だけで英語が話せるようになるというのは幻想だと言う。東大入試や英検1級を超える場合もあるTOEFLの要求水準に、学校教育だけでもっていくのは困難で「『体育の授業の目標を国体出場レベルにしよう』といっているようなもの」という。そればかりか、英語嫌いを増やす危険性もある。むしろ、英語が将来必要になったときに自分で学んで伸びられるよう、基本的な文法や音声、語彙などの土台づくりに目的を置くべきとの見方を示した。
本当にそうだろうか。
勿論TOEFLは、英語圏の大学に入学する際に必要な英語力を確認する事が目的。だから、大学で使用される教科書から抜粋した文章が出題される。但し、全てが難しい訳ではなく、高校生であっても、効果的な学習を行えば多くの質問に答えることができる。
TOEFLには、合否がなく、iBTの場合は、120points中、何ポイントを取得できるかを判定するもの。従って、110/120は難しかったとしても、大学入学に必要なポイントを適正に設定すれば、高校生であっても、「国体レベル」と言う程難解ではない。
例えば、早稲田大学では、1年生で英語クラスのレベル分けにTOEFLを採用している。要するに、高校3年生にTOEFLを出題する訳だが、学生が回答に際し、極端に苦慮していると言う話しはあまり聞かない。
TOEFLの導入に反対する教育者は、自らTOEFLを受験した事があるのだろうかと疑問を感ぜずにはいられない。
以下に一例として、Listeningの問題を紹介しよう。
CONVERSATION
TRANSCRIPT
(Narrator) Listen to a conversation
between a student and her basketball coach and then answer the questions.
(Male coach) Hi, Elizabeth.
(Female student) Hey, Coach. I just thought I’d stop by to
see what I missed while I was gone.
(Male coach) Well, we’ve been working real
hard on our plan for the next game . . . I’ve asked Susan to go over it with
you before practice this afternoon, so you’ll know what we’re doing.
(Female student) Okay.
(Male coach) By the way, how did your brother’s wedding go?
ところで、貴方のお兄さんの結婚式はどうだったの。
(Female student) Oh, it was beautiful. And the whole family was there.
I saw aunts and
uncles and cousins I hadn’t seen in years.
ええ、素晴らしかった。親戚全員があつまったの。何年もあっていなかった、叔母さん、叔父さん、そして従兄弟にも会えたの。
(Male coach) So it was worth the trip.
(Female student) Oh definitely. I’m sorry I had to miss
practice, though. I feel bad about that.
(Male coach) Family’s very important.
(Female student) Y ep.
Okay, I guess I’ll see you this afternoon at practice, then.
(Male coach) Just a minute. There are a couple of other
things I need to tell you.
(Female student) Oh, okay.
(Male coach) Uh . . . First,
everybody’s getting a new team jacket.
(Female student) Wow. How did that happen?
(Male coach) A woman who played here about 20, 25 years ago
came through town a few weeks ago and saw a game, and said she wanted to do
something for the team, so . . .
(Female student) So she’s buying us new jackets?
(Male coach) Yep.
(Female student) Wow, that’s really nice of her.
(Male coach) Yes, it is. It’s great that former players
still care so much about our school and our basketball program . . . Anyway you
need to fill out an order form. I’ll give it to you now, and you can bring it
back this afternoon. I’ve got the forms from the other players, so as soon
as I get yours we can order. Maybe we’ll have the jackets by the next game.
(Female student) OK.
(Male coach) Great. And the next thing is, you know Mary’s transferring to
another college next week, so we’ll need someone to take over her role as
captain for the second half of the season. And the other players unanimously picked you to take
over as captain when Mary leaves.
(Female student) Wow. I saw everybody this morning, and nobody said
a word.
(Male coach) They wanted me to tell you. So, do you accept?
(Female student) Of course! But Susan’s a much better
player than I am. I’m really surprised they didn’t pick her.
(Male coach) They think you’re the right
one. You’ll have to ask
them their thoughts.
(Female student) Okay . . . I guess one of the
first things I’ll have to do as captain is make sure we get a thank-you card
out to the lady who’s buying us the jackets.
(Male coach) Good idea. I have her address here somewhere.
(Female student) And I’ll make sure the whole
team signs it.
(Male coach) Good. That’s all the news there is. I think that’s it for
now. Oh, let me get
you that order form.
1. What are the
speakers mainly discussing?
a.
How the woman should prepare for the next game
1つの話題について話した訳ではない。
b.
The woman’s responsibilities as team captain
1つの話題について話した訳ではない。
c. Things that happened while the woman was away
幾つかの話題について話したので、Cが正解。
d. The style of the new team uniforms
1つの話題について話した訳ではない。
2. Who is buying new
jackets for the team?
a.
The coach
b.
The captain of the team
c.
A former player
d.
A group of basketball fans
3. There are two answers for the next question.
Mark two answers.
Why
is the woman surprised to learn that she has been chosen as the new team
captain?
a.
She is not the best player on the team.
b.
Her teammates did not tell her about the decision.
c.
She does not have many friends on the team.
d.
She has missed a lot of practices.
4. Read part of the conversation again. Then answer the question.
(Female student) I’m sorry I had to
miss practice, though. I feel bad about that.
(Male coach) Family’s very important.
What does the man
mean when he says: “Family’s very
important.”
a.
He hopes the woman’s family is doing well.
b.
He would like to meet the woman’s family.
c.
The woman should spend more time with her family.
d.
The woman had a good reason for missing practice.
5. Why does the coach
say: “Good. That’s all the news there
is. I think that’s it for
now.”
a.
He wants to know if the woman understood his point.
b.
He wants the woman to act immediately.
c.
He is preparing to change the topic.
d.
He is ready to end the conversation.
上記の日本語訳を記載したセクションを見てみましょう。
(Male coach) By the way, how did your brother’s wedding go?
ところで、貴方のお兄さんの結婚式はどうだったの。
(Female student) Oh, it was beautiful. And the whole family was there.
I saw aunts and
uncles and cousins I hadn’t seen in years.
ええ、素晴らしかった。親戚全員があつまったの。何年もあっていなかた、叔母さん、叔父さん、そして従兄弟にも会えたの。
この程度の会話を本当に高校3年生までに教える事ができないのでしょうか。若しそうだとしたら、日本の英語教師は、教える力が全く無いと言えるでしょう。
読解問題の場合には、比較的難易度の高い、専門文章が出題されますが、それでも、長文を短い文章に分けて説明する事で、高校生でも十分に理解できます。
私の経験では高校生でも、TOEFL100points近くを取得する学習者は珍しくありません。
