As I’ve written about in my previous article comparing the Japanese and American education systems Japanese students are discouraged from speaking up in the classroom. Instead the system relies on rote memorization of the information from a Japanese teacher who themselves are not very good English speakers.
There is very little student discussion or group activity and even in our English class, whenever our teachers asked “any volunteers?,” we were all silent. Having now studied in America, I think that active participation is extremely important in order to improve English communication skills.