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Teach English in Shengrenjian Zhen - Yuncheng Shi

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INTRODUCTION In order to learn a new language, a student should be exposed to it and understand the meaning of it. In addition, the learner should be able to practice and produce it (ITTT, p. 1). Japanese students deal with a variety of issues while learning English. To begin with, the Japanese language has a different writing system, grammar and syntax (FIS, 1996 -2019). In the second place, students lack motivation to learn English and their exposure to English is relatively low (Miller, 2014). In addition, the fear of making mistakes prevent students from producing and practicing the language adequately (Rohrer, 2011). I. Language differences As for phonology, if compared to English, the Japanese system has a simple syllable structure, and it is composed of about fifteen consonants sounds; generally, the vowel sound is preceded by one of these consonants. Now, when it comes to learn English, Japanese students find hard to pronounce short vowels between the consonant, or, more specifically, diphthongs, such as the words caught/coat, bought/boat (FIS, 1996 -2019). Moreover, the sound “v” is not present in the Japanese language and is therefore “substituted” with the sound “b” (Kenworthy, 1987; P. Avery, 1992). Similarly, Japanese learners have issues in both hearing and pronouncing correctly the letter “r” and “l”, since the sounds, as pronounced in English, are absent in the Japanese language (Ohata, 1994). An additional issue faced by English learner in Japan is based on the differences in grammar. In fact, the Japanese language, differently from English, rely on the subject-object-verb order. Other main differences include: the absence of the article, and the presence of a variety of nouns which may function both as noun and adjective, the undifferentiation between countable and uncountable in the Japanese language (Rotem, 2003). As a result of the above-mentioned characteristics, naturally, producing a correct syntax is often a problem for Japanese learners. Furthermore, in Japanese schools, the main purpose of teaching English is to pass the university entrance exams. As a result, English teaching is focused on accuracy and grammar (Miller, 2014). It could be deducted, therefore, that Japanese students have reduced chances to express their opinions in the classroom, or for other creative activities dedicated to enhance their communication skills. In fact, it has been demonstrated that, such grammar-based learning has not helped Japanese students in developing their oral communication skills (Osterman, 2014). II. Fear to make mistakes Cultural reasons and fear of making mistakes, among others, are two of the main reasons which may lead English learners to avoid speaking a new language (ITTT, pp. 3). Japanese learners, as other EFL students, fear to make mistakes while speaking English. It is, however, the cultural difference that play a fundamental role in the English communication among Japanese learners. Factors such as age, sex and relative status influence the communication between people in Japan in a substantial manner. In order to avoid embarrassment to themselves and the interlocutor, Japanese people prefer avoiding any sort of communication in a language which might be hard for them to produce and for the interlocutor to understand (FIS, 1996 -2019; Miller, 2014; Aiga, 1990). An example is given by the research of Burden (2002), in which the authors finds that, as some Japanese students had been given the possibility to communicate into English with a native speaker of English, they avoided the question and tried to elude the situation (Burden, 2002). At the same time, it is also argued that Japanese people do not actually feel the need to communicate in English, since the country is isolated and the island is rather monoracial and monolingual. As a result, it is perceived that only Japanese should be spoken in the country (Tsuboya-Newell, 2017; Maher, 1997). III. Exposure to English and motivation Japanese students have a relatively low exposure to English. In fact, the only contact they have with this language is limited to the classroom and to the outdated textbooks (Miller, 2014). Learners spend about eight years studying English at school: it starts from the first year of the junior high, and it continues until the third year of high school. In addition, Japanese students continue learning English for the first two years of university (Abe, 2019). Motivation is indeed one of the driving forces to learn English. Among the most common reasons for attending English classes achieve success in exams, to study or to live in an English speaking country, to communicate with colleagues, friends or partners (ITTT, p. 8). As stated in the previous paragraph, Japanese learners of English lack most of these reasons: the only purpose which they learn English is to pass entrance exam at university. Evidences show how Japanese students perceive English classes as being boring and are they are often reluctant to participate in English classes (Miller, 2014; Rohrer, 2011). CONCLUSION The low exposure to the English language, the lack of motivation, the differences in the language and in the culture constitute major reasons for Japanese learners to not be able to fully engage in the production of the English language. Moreover, in Japan, English is not perceived as a language for communication - a privilege which is reserved only to the Japanese language – it is rather considered a subject to be studied in order to pass university entrance exams. At the same time, English language is not introduced in a balanced way in the school: the importance is given mainly to one of the productive skills (writing). The English teachers, engaged into activities designed to improve writing, may not create the need and desire in the students to communicate, even though, given the good basis that students may have in grammar, they might have a high potential to speak the language. Works Cited Abe, N. (2019, February 15). English Language Education in Japan. Retrieved from thoughtco.com: https://www.thoughtco.com/english-language-education-in-japan-2028016 Aiga, Y. (1990). Is Japanese English education changing? Cross Currents, 40(3), p. 139. Burden, P. (2002). ). A cross-sectional study of attitudes and manifestations of apathy of university students towards studying English. The Language Teacher(26), pp. 3-10. FIS. (1996 -2019). The differences between English and Japanese. Retrieved July 2019, from esl.fis.edu: http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/langdiff/intro.htm#info ITTT. (n.d.). Unit 1: Teachers and Learners. (Unit 1), 8. ITTT. (n.d.). Unit 12 - Teaching productive skills. ITTT. (n.d.). Unit 7 - Teaching new language. ITTT. Kenworthy, J. (1987). Teaching English pronunication. London: Longman. Maher, J. (1997). Linguistic minorities and education in Japan. Educational Review, 49, pp. 115-128. Miller, K. (2014, October 7). What’s wrong with English education in Japan? Pull up a chair. Retrieved July 2019, from Japantoday.com: https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/whats-wrong-with-english-education-in-japan-pull-up-a-chair Ohata, K. (1994). Phonological Differences between Japanese and English: Several Potentially Problematic Areas of Pronunciation for Japanese ESL/EFL Learners. Indiana university of Pennsylvania. Osterman, L. G. (2014, July 20). apanese Miscommunication with Foreigners: In Search for Valid Accounts and Effective Remedies. P. Avery, S. E. (1992). Teaching American English pronunciation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Rohrer, S. B. (2011). Why Do Japanese People Not Speak English? Japanese Elementary Students in a Bilingual School. research Thesis, Cedarville University, Education. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/education_theses/35 Rotem, K. (2003). apanese Miscommunication with Foreigners: In Search for Valid Accounts and Effective Remedies. Jahrbuch des Deutschen Instituts fuer Japanstudien, 15, pp. 117-151. Tsuboya-Newell, I. (2017, October 29). Why do Japanese have trouble learning English? Retrieved July 2019, from Japantimes.co.jp: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2017/10/29/commentary/japan-commentary/japanese-trouble-learning-english/#.XSyACi2B1QJ


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