How Does its Education Affect the Roles of Japanese Internationally?
English Education in Japan
Lack of Resources and Suppliers
The problem with English education in Japan lies not only on the system of education itself, but the lack of recourses. Many of the English teachers in a public school are native Japanese speakers, who have studied English later on as their second language. This leads to mispronunciations of words. The first thing a foreign teacher would notice is that English include sounds which do not exist and are difficult to distinguish for Japanese speakers. Although native Japanese speakers understand this reality, they are unable to teach their students the correct pronunciation. Although there are quite a few foreigners in Japan, teachers are seen as a low-ranking job in the west, and therefore not many foreigners come to Japan to teach. The result is that the quality of English being taught drops. The lack of English education in the previous generation and the conservative culture of Japan has lead to a lack of resources for the current generation.
Lack of Motivation in Students
English Education in Japanese Public schools begins in Junior High School. Students at the age of thirteen are complied to study the alphabet. As soon as the students have memorized the alphabet, endless vocabulary words are crammed in to their heads, as they move on to the study of relative clauses and perfect tenses. This method of trashing the minds of students with information not only stresses out the students, but causes a lack of motivation in them. Many Japanese students claim having a difficult time in English classes due to the speed at which they teach.
Moreover, Students know that they study only for the purpose of taking college entrance examinations. Although some students may dream of becoming an overseas worker, many of them do not. They cannot find the importance in English Education.
