ABSTRACT
In many countries, including Japan, many students want to learn English to make themselves more marketable to employers in our current global economy, and educational institutions have repositioned their English programs to meet this demand.2 Particularly in Japan, individuals from economic organizations often become members of the government’s Council for English Education, which is responsible for making all decisions regarding English education. The Council is currently insisting on “practical English” for Japanese students so that they may become business people who can win in the global economic competition. Unfortunately, the Council ignores the study of Anglophone literature. As a result, oral communication has been emphasized along with reading skills such as scanning, skimming, paragraph and rapid reading of newspapers and business materials, and extensive reading of easy English texts. Of course, these skills are important for learning English; however, isn’t the study of literature also important?
