Japanese students spend a lot of time and money trying to perfect their English. They usually start formal English education in junior high school and this continues on until they leave high school and for some, even beyond into university and adult life. However, they seem to lag behind in their ability to use the English language effectively when in comparison to their Asian counterparts and have their own unique problems for learning English. Why?

Firstly cultural reasons

Japan is not only distinct geographically but also in the basics of their language. They have no land borders with any countries and this heightens their perception of being “different”. They share a commonality with Chinese but little in common with English in terms of sentence structure and grammar. When a student tries to formulate a sentence often it is found that the verb is at the end and the SVO sentence structure is all muddled up. They try to construct a sentence modeled on Japanese lines. Hence they end up frustrated and confused.

Some Japanese feel they do not need to speak English as this takes away from their “Japanese ness”. The Japanese people are proud and have a strong sense of who they are and take pride in being distinctly Japanese. With this sense of pride comes the idea that it is not okay to make mistakes. Many a student has come to class with the idea that one can only speak English perfectly without mistakes. They feel that making a mistake means people will laugh and the student will lose face. However the key to learning whether this be in life or language, is to make mistakes so one can learn from them. As a second language learner, my speech is peppered with mistakes but I try to communicate my ideas and my friends correct them. Hence Japanese students are reluctant or reticent to speak for fear of being laughed at or making a mistake.

Secondly there are the pronunciation problems. Japanese students have problems with pronouncing the letters R and L. R occurs in the Japanese language but L does not and many students struggle with L. V often causes some problems – the sound is distinct but to many Japanese students it is said like W – the sound they make is more like “wee” than “vee”. “Th” combinations pose some problems particularly where they occur after an R or L. However these are not major problems and with some drills and lots of practice students can grasp the sounds.

Thirdly listening. For me as a teacher from New Zealand, many students had problems with my accent. The majority of English publications and programs used in Japan are American based and many students have not had the luxury of hearing a different accent. Many complained that NZ and Australian accents were the most difficult to understand. In New Zealand we speak quickly and do not enunciate clearly. An Australian accent is difficult because the vowels are said differently to American or British English. Students in Japan need to be exposed to many different accents and this in turn will improve their listening skills.

Lastly, motivation. Many students in Japan are not in English classes because they want to be but merely because they are fulfilling a requirement. Many companies require that their employees satisfy a minimum English level for promotion or bonuses. English is also the “thing” for young children – it ranks up there with swimming and ballet lessons as extra-curricular activities for elementary school children. Often they do not want to be in class because they are “forced” to go. This hinders their attitude to English and they may perceive English as an arduous task and something they “have” to do and they in turn dislike the language. This makes the teacher’s job extremely difficult as they are faced with this prejudice.

However in conclusion, there are always diamonds in the rough – many students who although face difficulties, go on to be great English speakers because they had great teachers who helped them through their problems and learning difficulties. I hope I can say, I was one of them.

Carey Andrews