Teach English in Nanding Zhen - Zibo Shi

Among the most glaring differences between Japanese and English is the writing system, unlike Japanese, English makes use of only two different Latin scripts, the uppercase script “ABCD” and the lowercase script “abcd” Japanese, however, makes use of three non-Latin scripts, these are as follows: Hiragana which is expressly used for native Japanese words, katakana used only for foreign words and kanji, Kanji are the logo-gram characters that are used alongside Katakana and Hiragana. for example, the English word “cake” is pronounced “Kēki” and is written using Katakana “ケーキ”, while the word “cat” in Japanese is “neko” is a native word and written using Hiragana “ねこ” and the kanji for “neko” is “猫.” The distinct differences between the two writing systems make it hard for Japanese English language students to understand, this creates confusion and this confusion is then further compounded, when one takes into account, that there is no “Japanese alphabet”, the Japanese language, makes use of a syllabus, and so the use of silent letters and double consonants in English “ch”, “ph”, “ck” and “wh” only serves to add even further difficulties for Japanese English language students. It is for reasons like these that I feel As a teacher, it is our responsibility to be aware of these many intricacies and make not only the overcoming of these challenges as painless as possible for language students but make it both a fun and engaging learning experience, one that has real-world application and consequence. I feel that my students should be able to confidently leave the classroom feeling happy and that they have achieved something, that they learn something new in each lesson, something they can apply in their day to day life. I believe this philosophy to be an incredibly important and integral part of what it means to be a teacher, and that by the application of this philosophy to the practice of teaching one can see the positive impact, it has on English language students, especially those students that have very few to no opportunities and circumstances as to where they can apply acquired English language skills. For students to be able to walk into a shop and read the English labels on food items or to come home watch, read or listen to English material online is incredibly important for a students' language development and confidence. In Japan, opportunities for the application of English are rare, and the English presented in Japanese media and advertisement is convoluted, more often than not the English, Japanese English Language students will encounter in their day to day life outside of the classroom and offline will be incorrect either by meaning or grammatically. Although this so-called “Japanglish” or “Engrish” can be a seemingly endless source of humor for native speakers, it can also be a source of frustration and can create bad habits for Japanese English language learners. Very few native Japanese speak English even less can communicate it fluently, as English language proficiency in Japan is simply not required, nor, is it at all necessary. However, this doesn't necessarily reflect that Japanese people don't want to learn English or that they don't have the motivation to learn, many do, it only reflects that there is very little application for the language in Japan. The very few native Japanese people who can speak English, aren't usually qualified to teach it at an academic level outside of English language schools and universities. I feel that the various differences and difficulties Japanese English language students face while learning English in Japan can be overcome by good teaching practice, patience and philosophy. Some methods I believe that would work are as, follows: 1. How can a teacher use their knowledge and skills to help students overcome difficulties between the Latin and Japanese scripts? 1A. The standard practice of teaching the English alphabet should be sufficient, however, one can teach the majority of the English alphabet by the grouping of English letters such as "A" and "H" to create English sounds that are the same in both languages ”あ” = “AH.” This must not be confused with using the students native language as examples for English, this is merely teaching the letters “A” and “H” separately then bringing them together out of sequence to teach the English sound “ah” the same as is done in an English classroom teaching English. This method does not hold true for all the letters of the English alphabet or for all the various sounds found in the English language. 2. What methods can a teacher employ to help teach and correct grammar, sentence structure and pronunciation and help prevent Japanese English language students from forming bad habits? 2A. Authentic, written, sentence examples, that are found both in Japanese and English media and advertisements can be given to the students, so they can identify and discuss the differences between them, they can then try correcting and rewriting them, students can also produce their own advertisements, use scripts or, create their own Podcasts in English. This work can also be used later, for students to reflect on. These exercises serve two different purposes; one is to teach grammar, pronunciation and sentence structure, while the other is developing the students confidence with English, so they can then identify and correct themselves when needed and the English they see on a day to day basis.