Social Background of this Project

Because of rapid change of globalization in society, there is a greater demand on university graduates for English proficiency in order to find good employment. Some newer companies have declared that the major language they use for the business meetings and daily activities will be English and that they will gradually increase the number of non-Japanese employees. Additionally, many companies state their TOEIC score requirements that prospective candidates need to acquire by the time of application. In other words, having advanced English proficiency is more crucial than ever.

On the other hand, English proficiency of Iwate University students is unfortunately not very competitive at the time of graduation, due to the fact that after general education at the freshman year, the opportunity to take English courses is extremely limited. This is especially true for science majors. To respond to the demand of English, each faculty has tried to find a way to increase courses taught in English, but those capable of teaching in English cannot afford the time and energy due to the recent increase in workload for faculty members.

In order to respond to this harsh reality, this ICT project was planned. It consists of two parts: one provides opportunities to improve the students’ English skills and the other nurtures the students’ global perspective. The purpose of the courses is to shift from “Study English as a goal” to “Use English as a tool to study the students' major fields”.