In this presentation, I examined some of the factors affecting English learning on a societal level in Europe and Asia, and drew comparisons with the situation in Japan. While the Japanese language education is often blamed for the relatively low success in developing proficient English speakers in Japan, many societal/historical factors contribute to the "unreality" of classroom language learning in Japan and make educational initiatives alone problematic. Given that situation and the input-poor environment in which our Japanese language learners study and live, I went on to give examples from student testimonials of how language learning can become "real" in the classroom, and how we can increase input volume and feelings of success through extensive reading and listening.
