Gregory Clark (VP of Akita International University) lists his insights into why it is the Japanese have a hard time learning English in Japan and how its unlikely to change despite new efforts by the government. The bureaucrats have discovered that Japanese aren’t so fluent at International conferences, not something they worried about before, but they are now being shown up by Chinese and Korean delegates who display a much better grasp of the language. (If you visited an overseas language school recently you will have noticed how the Koreans seem to own the market).
Much of his argument is based on the fact that Japanese pupils are being forced to spend six years in really awful English classes with sub-standard teachers. Rote learning all the way and nobody can hold a decent conversation.
His key points are no bars hold:
- For many Japanese, six years of forced English education simply produces the so-called English allergy — a determination to learn no more than is needed to pass exams, and an urge to forget everything once the exams are over.
- Unlike in South Korea, China and much of the rest of Asia, English ability is not as important for future careers.
- If Japan wants to match the best in the rest of Asia, English education should be concentrated at university level.
I can’t say that I agree with everything he says. The idea that foreign languages should only be taught at university seems alien to someone like myself who had to learn three foreign languages in High School (one of them being English) and went on to do a science degree.
This would produce a very small number of very good users of English. Similar to how there are small pockets of brilliant university educated Chinese linguists. It would at the same time strongly limit the prospects of those students who pick a different different field in life (the majority). English is not the final goal, it is a tool — it ensures that even a first year Japanese Biology student can access the worlds best minds and publications — and can grow up to compete with them. Being limited to their home language they would less likely be able to outgrow their teachers.
To be able to do business like the Koreans or Taiwanese Japan would need a large number of intermediate level speakers, who can do business and freely travel the world. And if they start to love the language they will make the jump to Advanced level on their own. But getting started at University or even after graduation seems woefully too late.
Of course — if Japan is unable to improve the quality of its high school education they might be left with no other option.