KIPPO: How can Japanese surmount weakness in English?
Why are Japanese weak in English? It is a question that the Japanese probably have had since their island country in the Far East opened its gates to the rest of the world in the Meiji period (1868-1912). Discussions on the question have recently become boisterous day by day.
I attended an interesting symposium held in Kyoto in late August. It was convened under the theme of "Development of Human Resources in the Era of Global Collaboration - Is Simple Command of English All That's Needed?" Four panelists were present - the president of an international corporation, a Kyoto University professor, an official of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in charge of English education, and the principal of a private high school.
English education deemed a failure
The point in question was why Japanese are poor at English. Under conventional common sense in Japanese society, students in the first year in middle school begin to receive English lessons and continue to study the language for 10 years through high school and university. And for the most part, they cannot hold a conversation in English. It is said that English education in Japan has been a failure, and many Japanese generally do not refute such an opinion. Against that background, there has recently been a growing tendency to provide primary school children with English conversation lessons. They are set to become compulsory across the country from fiscal 2010 beginning next April. "I feel frustrated to hear that English education has been a failure," the education ministry official said. "But English conversation lessons in elementary school are absolutely necessary from this time on." The high school principal said, "The problem is a decline in the ability to communicate. This applies to both Japanese and English." All panelists agreed on the problem of language competence.
However, the business executive gave his view that "reading and writing are the basic foundations of both Japanese and English. Japanese education has not been wrong in this sense. The bottom line is that there is not much opportunity to speak English. A simple shift to teaching conversation will not lead to a fundamental solution." He also said the the number of people wishing to study abroad has been on the decline recently and that "corporate employees are reluctant to be stationed overseas." He faulted young people, saying the biggest problem is a drop in their challenging spirit. He was of the opinion that members of the young generation are not growing up to be spiritually virile in Japan, a nation that tends to give top priority to peace of mind and safety.
Hands-on experience needed
After listening to the debate, I recalled the impression I received after my recent discussions with university students and my advice to them on their worries. Given all these, I keenly felt that while it is all right for them to have English lessons with importance attached to conversation, they should make more efforts to learn not only in school but also outside the campus about how Japan should win respect from others and how they should behave as Japanese, and to have hands-on experience in that sort of learning in a practical and tangible manner.
The president of a Softbank Corp. affiliate is said to have been told soon after he started working for the firm "to go to the United States in two weeks." He rushed to an English-conversation school to learn practical English suddenly and unexpectedly. His American teacher, however, said to him: "Your cheerful personality suits Americans. You'll get by just fine in the United States with your cheerful personality, without at first being proficient in conversational English." The teacher's advice helped him overcome the language barrier. I believe those Japanese who achieved great work since the Meiji Restoration of 1868 probably did not rely on conversation but demonstrated their Japanese spirit to find a way out of the difficulties they confronted. Revival of such a mindset may be what is necessary for young people in the present era. I don't think English-teaching techniques that stress conversation will help Japanese recover their language skills. After all, the Japanese have been weak in English for 60 years since the end of World War II. It is not unusual for Japanese middle and high school students to go overseas and stay at the homes of their foreign hosts. I am inclined to think that a compulsory system of sending them to study abroad for about six months could be a short cut to improve English conversation. What do you non-Japanese think about this idea?
