Some Observations on why Japanese are Poor at English
BY
Rei Kaitsu
A SHORT PAPER
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COURSE OF
SEMINAR 1 (World Englishes)
Kumamoto Gakuen University Foreign Language Department
English Course
SUPERVISOR: Judy Yoneoka
Kumamoto Gakuen University
Oe 2-5-1 Kumamoto
Japan
January 16, 2005
Japanese English (Kaitsu) January 16
1. Introduction
Today, English is a common language in the world and we can see and
hear English everywhere; For example, on advertisements, on TV and so on.
Because of that, people try to study English very hard in many countries even
though it’s not their mother tongue. In Japan, almost all Japanese people study
English for at least 6 years. Now, even in some elementary schools, English is
already being taught.
However, Japanese have a lot of difficulty in learning or speaking English.
For example, on the TOEFL test, Japanese scored among the lowest rank of the
Asian countries. Therefore, this paper will investigate the reasons why Japanese
are not good at learning English.
For this purpose, this paper consists of four parts. The first part explains
why Japanese people make mistakes in the same way. The next part explains
especially why Japanese people aren’t good at speaking. The third part explains
problem education problems in Japan. The last part explains Katakana English’s
influence on learning English.
2. Common mistakes that made by Japanese
Many mistakes are caused by the fact that Japanese people rely on a
dictionary and Japanese too much. Actually, a dictionary is a good tool for people
who study a language.
However, they tend to pick up just one English word for
Japanese word.
ex 1) 薬を飲んだほうがいいよ。
You should drink the medicine. (Japanese speaker)
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You should take the medicine. (Native speaker)1
ex 2) 日本の女性は結婚すると仕事を辞める人が多い。
Many Japanese women retire from their jobs when they get married.
(Japanese speaker)
Many Japanese women leave their jobs when they get married. OR
Many Japanese women quit their jobs when they get married. (Native
speaker)2
In ex 1), when people look up a word “drink” in a dictionary, they will see
“drink” at first, however, the verb “drink” is used for just drinking liquid in
English. On the other hand, in Japanese, “drink(飲む)” is used for anything even
medicine as well as liquids. In ex 2), “Retire” means to leave one’s job because one
is old. It implies that one will never have another job again, so it is mainly used
for old people. For young people or middle-aged people, native speaker say “leave
one’s job” or “quit one’s job”.
As in these examples, students don’t always pick the right word for the
right situation because English has a lot of meanings in one word. So, they have
to keep that in mind.
3. Speaking ability of Japanese
Japanese people are usually said to be poor at speaking and it is caused by
cultural differences. According to Torikai (1996, p26) one of the famous
interpreters, Japanese culture is said to be a “silent culture” and it causes
problems. In Japanese culture, people who talk too much are thought not good.
1
2
奥津 文夫, 2000
James H. M. Webb, 1991, p51
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On the other hand, American culture is a “speech culture” because America
consists of various races, different cultures and religions so they have to talk each
other with language to understand each other.
Usually, speaking skills improve by just speaking, so it is natural that
Japanese aren’t good at speaking. It is difficult for them to change it, but if they
really want to speak English well, they should change their “silent culture” to
“speech culture” even little by little.
4. Katakana English
One of the biggest reasons why Japanese aren’t good at English is
katakana English. There are many loan words in Japan and almost all those
words come from English. However, those words are usually different from the
original word. Here are some examples.
ex 1) happy end (Japanese speaker)
happy ending (Native speaker)
ex 2 ) cunning (Japanese speaker)
cheating (Native speaker)3
ex 3 ) vinyl bag (Japanese speaker)
plastic bag (Native speaker)
3
多賀
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Japanese English (Kaitsu) January 16
There is a lot more katakana English and its problem is that Japanese
people believe that katakana English is native English.
Japanese people write and pronounce the name of western famous,
historical artists or politicians in Katakana. It is different from the original sound,
so foreigners usually can’t understand what Japanese people intend to say. On
the other hand, for example, in English, they pronounce French when they say
Vincent van Gogh because it is the same as original sound.
Japanese people don’t have to speak or pronounce English like an
American or British. But they should use the native English vocabulary instead of
Japanese Katakana English to make more people understand.
5. A problem in education
English has been taught for entrance exams for many years, so it has
focused on grammar, not speaking. Of course, grammar is important, but
Japanese aren’t good at especially speaking. So, teacher also should focus on
speaking.
Also, many English teachers are Japanese. It is good for students to study
just for entrance exams, but if they want to speak English or communicate in
English, teacher should be native speakers to learn original sounds. Now, there
are many ALTs (Assistant Language Teacher) than before. But there should be
more ALTs to teach students practical English.
5. Conclusion
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Japanese English (Kaitsu) January 16
As has been mentioned above, there are a lot of problems that make it
harder for Japanese people to study English: cultural differences, dependence on
a dictionary, katakana English and problems in education. However, English is a
very different language from Japanese, so it is natural for them that they feel
hard to learn English. Other countries may have the same problem as Japanese.
It is difficult to change culture or education system, but Japanese people can
change their attitude like trying not to use Katakana English or thinking well
when they look up a word in a dictionary. If they keep trying to study, their
English can be better.
6. References
Okutsu, Funio (2000), Matigaiyasui eigo hyougen (English expression which
Japanese often mistakes.), Tokyo, Sanshuussha
Suzuki, Toshio (1997), Nihonjin no matigaeyasui eigo (English which
Japanese often mistakes.), Tokyo, Maruzen
Torikai, kumiko (1996), Ibunka wo koeru eigo (English that overcomes
a different culture.), Tokyo, Maruzen
Taga, Toshiyuki (1991), Kokusaijin no eigo (International people’s
English), Tokyo, Maruzen
James H. M. Webb (1991), 121 common mistakes of Japanese students of English
(Revised edition), Tokyo, Japan Times
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