Variations of English-Japanese Translation Questions from the Shinken Mock Exam

Abstract

The Shinken Mock Exam has a major impact on Japanese society. A source says as many as 81% of all the National Center Test applicants took the Mock Exam in question. The aim of this study is to examine how the English-Japanese translation questions in the Mock Exam of the new course of study differ from the ones of the old course of study. English-Japanese translation questions from both courses were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The result showed that though the new Mock Exam had a slight decline in the percentage of English-Japanese translation questions, the content of the questions in the two courses of study were of similar nature. It is suggested that students should have some training for English-Japanese translation somewhere.