British Parliamentary Delegation Visits TUFS to Discuss English Language Education

November 7, 2022

On Thursday, November 3, 2022, members of the British Parliament (Mr. Alex Davies-Jones, MP Catherine West, MP Charlotte Nichols, and others) and the British Council (UK) members (Mr. David Thompson and Ms. Rhiannon Melliar-Smith) visited TUFS.

TUFS and the British Council signed an agreement in fiscal year 2017 for the joint development of the British Council-TUFS Speaking test for Japanese Universities (abbreviated as BCT-S). The BCT-S was initially used as the English speaking test for the TUFS School of Japan Studies 2019 entrance examination, and later in 2022 was adopted in the general entrance exam for all TUFS schools and departments.

Joining in the discussions with the delegation were Vice President Toru Aoyama, Professor Masashi Negishi, in charge of BCT-S development at the LINGUA Test Center, as well as Mr. Matthew Knowles, Representative of the British Council (Japan), and Ms. Chie Yasuda, Director of Testing at the British Council (Japan). Also attending online was Professor Barry O'Sullivan, BCT-S Development Officer in Ireland.

A wide range of opinions were exchanged covering the importance of English language education targeting communication skills, including speaking, the significance of conducting tests for the four English language skills, and the significance of the UK’s involvement in the education of English as a lingua franca.