English language education in Japan
Encyclopedia
English language education in Japan began as early as 1600 with the initial contacts between the Japanese
and Europeans. The for-profit market
has experienced a crisis of confidence in recent years following the bankruptcies of the major Nova and GEOS
brands.
Almost all students graduating high school in Japan have had several years of English language education, however most still do not have any command of spoken English.
, founder of the Tokugawa Feudal Government, met with Englishman William Adams
. Although it is reported that the only interpreter between the two men was only well-versed in Portuguese language
, it did not stop Tokugawa Ieyasu from having a very positive relation with William Adams who remained in Japan for the remainder of his life.
However, after the death of Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1616, a change in the foreign policy of the Bakufu ordered the closing
of the English merchants' office in 1623, which consequently prompted the English to leave Japan. With the refusal of letting the English return in 1673 and the British ship "the Phaeton" seizing goods in Nagasaki
in 1808, the Bakufu ordered the feudal lords to repel all foreign ships
, except the Dutch and Chinese, by the year 1825.
The first translation of any English grammar book into Japanese was accomplished by Shibukawa Rokuzo, a high-ranking official of the Bakufu who had studied Dutch, in 1841 when he translated Murray's English Grammar from Dutch into Japanese. Then in 1848, American Ranald MacDonald
came to Japan, after pretending to be shipwrecked, and taught English to fourteen official Japanese interpreters of Dutch in Nagasaki under Bakufu orders. It would be one of MacDonald's students named Moriyama who would act as interpreter between the United States and Japan in order to establish trade relations.
After being rescued from a shipwreck and studying in the United States for ten years, Nakahama Manjirō
wrote an English textbook called Ei-Bei Taiwa Shokei (A Shortcut to Anglo-American Coversation), which used Japanese kana for pronunciation and the kanbun
(Chinese classics) word-order system. This text would later become influential in shaping the methods of teaching and learning English in Japan.
Yokohama Academy, one of the first English schools, was founded in Japan by the Bakufu in 1865 where American missionaries such as James Curtis Hepburn
taught there. By the year 1874, there were 91 foreign language schools in Japan, out of which 82 of them taught English. And in 1923, Englishman Harold E. Palmer
was invited to Japan by the Ministry of Education, where he would later find the Institute for Research in English Teaching in Tokyo and introduce the aural-oral approach to teaching English.
However, beginning from the 1880s, when Japan was fastly becoming a modernized country, books such as Shiga Shigetaka
's Nihon Jin (にほんじん or 日本人) (The Japanese People) began to surface in order to warn the Japanese public about the dangers of Western influences. Hence, up until the end of World War II
, there was a growing tension between Western ideology and national pride amongst the Japanese people.
In modern Japan, there seems to be conflicting views over how the Japanese people view the English language. On one side, it appears that there is much interest in acquiring a working knowledge of the English language, which can be demonstrated by the annual rise in STEP Eiken
applicants and the number of Japanese media outlets that have begun to incorporate English-language programs into their repertoire, in order to participate in the global economy and international community. While at the same time, writers such as Henry J. Hughes and Mike Guest points out, Japan maintains being one of the most independent nations on Earth due to its isolated geographic location and amazing translation industry requiring hardly any use of English in daily life.
The modern English language industry has recently experienced an incredible boom, followed by a number of hardships, including bankruptcy filings for two very large English conversation school chains, GEOS and NOVA. (http://teachingenglishin.com/teaching-english-in-japan.html)
in Japanese, the absence of articles
, as well as difficulties in distinguishing l and r
all contribute to substantial problems using English effectively. Indeed, Japanese have tended to score comparatively poorly on international tests of English.
An additional factor has been the use of English in daily life for "decorative" or "design" rather than functional purposes. That is, for Japanese consumption, not for English speakers
per se, and as a way of appearing "smart, sophisticated and modern". Indeed, it is claimed that in such decorative English "there is often no attempt to try to get it right, nor do the vast majority of the Japanese population . . . ever attempt to read the English design element in question . . . There is therefore less emphasis on spell checking and grammatical accuracy." Thus exposure to English encountered in daily life in Japan is unlikely to be helpful as a learning aid. (see Engrish
)
, in the 2004 fiscal year (FY) the General Account expenditures for measures related to education and science were ¥6,133.0 billion (or roughly $70.8 billion). (In comparison, the United States Department of Education
's FY2009 budget was $62.6 billion.) Japan is ranked 34rd in the world in the UN Education Index
, but scores highly in science according to PISA
.
MEXT took steps beginning in 1998 for a select number of public primary schools to have mandatory English classes ; many Japanese parents send their children to Eikaiwa schools starting even before elementary school. According to 2003 statistics provided by MEXT http://search.mext.go.jp/search?q=school+education&entqr=0&output=xml_no_dtd&output=xml_no_dtd&sort=date%3AD%3AL%3Ad1&ud=1&client=en_frontend&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF-8&proxystylesheet=en_frontend&site=english children from ages 12 to 14 spend roughly 90 hours annually in a school classroom setting. Changes in April 2011 will make English a required subject from 5th grade.
Traditionally, the Japanese have been using the Grammar-Translation Method, thanks in part to Nakahama Manjirō
's kanbun
system, to teach their students how to learn the English language. However, there are innovative ways that have been adapted into and outside the classroom setting where cell phones and pop culture have been used to teach Japanese students.
From April 2011 it will be compulsory for 10-14 to have English lessons.
. The largest of these chains were Aeon, GEOS, and ECC
; only ECC and AEON have not yet filed for bankruptcy
. The industry is not well regulated. Nova, originally by far the largest chain with over 900 branches in Japan, collapsed in October 2007, leaving thousands of foreign teachers without money or a place to live. Other teachers work in universities. Agencies are increasingly used to send English speakers into kindergarten
s, primary schools, and private companies whose employees need to improve their English for business. Agencies, known in Japan as haken, or dispatch companies, have recently been competing fiercely to get contracts from various Boards of Education for Elementary, Junior and Senior High Schools, so wages for teachers have decreased steadily in the last four years. Average wages for teachers in Japan are now around 250,000 Yen per month, although that can rise depending on experience.
to assist language teachers at Japanese high schools and elementary schools in the Japanese rural countryside and cities.
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
and Europeans. The for-profit market
Eikaiwa
or often shortened to , are English conversation schools, usually privately operated, in Japan. It is a combination of the word and.Although the Japanese public education system mandates that English be taught as part of the curriculum from fifth grade, the focus is generally on English grammar...
has experienced a crisis of confidence in recent years following the bankruptcies of the major Nova and GEOS
GEOS (eikaiwa)
was one of the Big Four private eikaiwa, or English conversation teaching companies, in Japan. Its extensive network of overseas schools made it the world's largest language school chain. The firm went into bankruptcy in Japan on 20 April 2010...
brands.
Almost all students graduating high school in Japan have had several years of English language education, however most still do not have any command of spoken English.
History
The earliest record of the initial contact between the Japanese and a native English speaker took place around 1600 when it is believed that Tokugawa IeyasuTokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...
, founder of the Tokugawa Feudal Government, met with Englishman William Adams
William Adams (sailor)
William Adams , also known in Japanese as Anjin-sama and Miura Anjin , was an English navigator who travelled to Japan and is believed to be the first Englishman ever to reach that country...
. Although it is reported that the only interpreter between the two men was only well-versed in Portuguese language
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, it did not stop Tokugawa Ieyasu from having a very positive relation with William Adams who remained in Japan for the remainder of his life.
However, after the death of Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1616, a change in the foreign policy of the Bakufu ordered the closing
Sakoku
was the foreign relations policy of Japan under which no foreigner could enter nor could any Japanese leave the country on penalty of death. The policy was enacted by the Tokugawa shogunate under Tokugawa Iemitsu through a number of edicts and policies from 1633–39 and remained in effect until...
of the English merchants' office in 1623, which consequently prompted the English to leave Japan. With the refusal of letting the English return in 1673 and the British ship "the Phaeton" seizing goods in Nagasaki
Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Nagasaki was founded by the Portuguese in the second half of the 16th century on the site of a small fishing village, formerly part of Nishisonogi District...
in 1808, the Bakufu ordered the feudal lords to repel all foreign ships
Sakoku
was the foreign relations policy of Japan under which no foreigner could enter nor could any Japanese leave the country on penalty of death. The policy was enacted by the Tokugawa shogunate under Tokugawa Iemitsu through a number of edicts and policies from 1633–39 and remained in effect until...
, except the Dutch and Chinese, by the year 1825.
The first translation of any English grammar book into Japanese was accomplished by Shibukawa Rokuzo, a high-ranking official of the Bakufu who had studied Dutch, in 1841 when he translated Murray's English Grammar from Dutch into Japanese. Then in 1848, American Ranald MacDonald
Ranald MacDonald
Ranald MacDonald was the first man to teach the English language in Japan, including educating Einosuke Moriyama, one of the chief interpreters to handle the negotiations between Commodore Perry and the Tokugawa Shogunate.-Early life:MacDonald was born at Fort Astoria, in the Pacific Northwest of...
came to Japan, after pretending to be shipwrecked, and taught English to fourteen official Japanese interpreters of Dutch in Nagasaki under Bakufu orders. It would be one of MacDonald's students named Moriyama who would act as interpreter between the United States and Japan in order to establish trade relations.
After being rescued from a shipwreck and studying in the United States for ten years, Nakahama Manjirō
Nakahama Manjiro
, also known as John Manjirō , was one of the first Japanese people to visit the United States and an important translator during the Opening of Japan.-Voyage to America:...
wrote an English textbook called Ei-Bei Taiwa Shokei (A Shortcut to Anglo-American Coversation), which used Japanese kana for pronunciation and the kanbun
Kanbun
The Japanese word originally meant "Classical Chinese writings, Chinese classic texts, Classical Chinese literature". This evolved into a Japanese method of reading annotated Classical Chinese in translation . Much Japanese literature was written in literary Chinese using this annotated style...
(Chinese classics) word-order system. This text would later become influential in shaping the methods of teaching and learning English in Japan.
Yokohama Academy, one of the first English schools, was founded in Japan by the Bakufu in 1865 where American missionaries such as James Curtis Hepburn
James Curtis Hepburn
James Curtis Hepburn, M.D., LL.D. was a physician who became a Christian missionary. He is known for the Hepburn romanization system for transliteration of the Japanese language into the Latin alphabet, which he popularized in his Japanese–English dictionary.- Biography :Hepburn was born in...
taught there. By the year 1874, there were 91 foreign language schools in Japan, out of which 82 of them taught English. And in 1923, Englishman Harold E. Palmer
Harold E. Palmer
Harold Edward Palmer, usually just Harold E. Palmer was an English linguist, phonetician and pioneer in the field of English language learning and teaching. Especially he dedicated himself to Oral Method. He stayed in Japan for 14 years and reformed its English education...
was invited to Japan by the Ministry of Education, where he would later find the Institute for Research in English Teaching in Tokyo and introduce the aural-oral approach to teaching English.
However, beginning from the 1880s, when Japan was fastly becoming a modernized country, books such as Shiga Shigetaka
Shiga Shigetaka
was the editor of the magazine Nihonjin during the Meiji period, in which he argued against extreme Westernization.-External links:* Shiga Shigetaka, The forgotten Enlightener...
's Nihon Jin (にほんじん or 日本人) (The Japanese People) began to surface in order to warn the Japanese public about the dangers of Western influences. Hence, up until the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, there was a growing tension between Western ideology and national pride amongst the Japanese people.
In modern Japan, there seems to be conflicting views over how the Japanese people view the English language. On one side, it appears that there is much interest in acquiring a working knowledge of the English language, which can be demonstrated by the annual rise in STEP Eiken
STEP EIKEN
— informally, ; often called STEP EIKEN or the STEP Test — is an English language test conducted by a Japanese non-profit organization, the Society for Testing English Proficiency, Inc. , and backed by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology .-Format...
applicants and the number of Japanese media outlets that have begun to incorporate English-language programs into their repertoire, in order to participate in the global economy and international community. While at the same time, writers such as Henry J. Hughes and Mike Guest points out, Japan maintains being one of the most independent nations on Earth due to its isolated geographic location and amazing translation industry requiring hardly any use of English in daily life.
The modern English language industry has recently experienced an incredible boom, followed by a number of hardships, including bankruptcy filings for two very large English conversation school chains, GEOS and NOVA. (http://teachingenglishin.com/teaching-english-in-japan.html)
Difficulty
In the great difficulty the Japanese have learning English, first there is the great difference between Japanese and English. Japanese word order, the frequent omission of subjectsSubject (grammar)
The subject is one of the two main constituents of a clause, according to a tradition that can be tracked back to Aristotle and that is associated with phrase structure grammars; the other constituent is the predicate. According to another tradition, i.e...
in Japanese, the absence of articles
Article (grammar)
An article is a word that combines with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun. Articles specify the grammatical definiteness of the noun, in some languages extending to volume or numerical scope. The articles in the English language are the and a/an, and some...
, as well as difficulties in distinguishing l and r
Japanese speakers learning r and l
Japanese possesses one liquid consonant, a flap that varies between lateral and central . English has two: an alveolar lateral approximant and rhotic consonant of varying phonetic properties centered around...
all contribute to substantial problems using English effectively. Indeed, Japanese have tended to score comparatively poorly on international tests of English.
An additional factor has been the use of English in daily life for "decorative" or "design" rather than functional purposes. That is, for Japanese consumption, not for English speakers
Gaijin
is a Japanese word meaning "non-Japanese", or "alien". This word is a short form of gaikokujin , which literally means "person from outside of the country". The word is composed of two kanji: , meaning "outside"; and , meaning "person". Thus, the word technically means "outsider"...
per se, and as a way of appearing "smart, sophisticated and modern". Indeed, it is claimed that in such decorative English "there is often no attempt to try to get it right, nor do the vast majority of the Japanese population . . . ever attempt to read the English design element in question . . . There is therefore less emphasis on spell checking and grammatical accuracy." Thus exposure to English encountered in daily life in Japan is unlikely to be helpful as a learning aid. (see Engrish
Engrish
refers to unusual forms of English language usage by native speakers of some East Asian languages. The term itself relates to Japanese speakers' tendency to inadvertently substitute the English phonemes "R" and "L" for one another, because the Japanese language has one alveolar consonant in place...
)
School system
According to the Ministry of Finance (Japan)Ministry of Finance (Japan)
The ' is one of cabinet-level ministries of the Japanese government. The ministry was once named Ōkura-shō . The Ministry is headed by the Minister of Finance , who is a member of the Cabinet and is typically chosen from members of the Diet by the Prime Minister.The Ministry's origin was back in...
, in the 2004 fiscal year (FY) the General Account expenditures for measures related to education and science were ¥6,133.0 billion (or roughly $70.8 billion). (In comparison, the United States Department of Education
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
's FY2009 budget was $62.6 billion.) Japan is ranked 34rd in the world in the UN Education Index
Education Index
This article contains information based on the pre-2010 Human Development Reports. The HDI and its education component have changed in 2010.The United Nations publishes a Human Development Index every year, which consists of the Education index, GDP Index and Life Expectancy Index...
, but scores highly in science according to PISA
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
.
MEXT took steps beginning in 1998 for a select number of public primary schools to have mandatory English classes ; many Japanese parents send their children to Eikaiwa schools starting even before elementary school. According to 2003 statistics provided by MEXT http://search.mext.go.jp/search?q=school+education&entqr=0&output=xml_no_dtd&output=xml_no_dtd&sort=date%3AD%3AL%3Ad1&ud=1&client=en_frontend&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF-8&proxystylesheet=en_frontend&site=english children from ages 12 to 14 spend roughly 90 hours annually in a school classroom setting. Changes in April 2011 will make English a required subject from 5th grade.
Traditionally, the Japanese have been using the Grammar-Translation Method, thanks in part to Nakahama Manjirō
Nakahama Manjiro
, also known as John Manjirō , was one of the first Japanese people to visit the United States and an important translator during the Opening of Japan.-Voyage to America:...
's kanbun
Kanbun
The Japanese word originally meant "Classical Chinese writings, Chinese classic texts, Classical Chinese literature". This evolved into a Japanese method of reading annotated Classical Chinese in translation . Much Japanese literature was written in literary Chinese using this annotated style...
system, to teach their students how to learn the English language. However, there are innovative ways that have been adapted into and outside the classroom setting where cell phones and pop culture have been used to teach Japanese students.
From April 2011 it will be compulsory for 10-14 to have English lessons.
Private sector
Private language schools for English are known as eikaiwaEikaiwa
or often shortened to , are English conversation schools, usually privately operated, in Japan. It is a combination of the word and.Although the Japanese public education system mandates that English be taught as part of the curriculum from fifth grade, the focus is generally on English grammar...
. The largest of these chains were Aeon, GEOS, and ECC
ECC (eikaiwa)
is one of the major private English teaching companies or eikaiwa in Japan.ECC is based mainly in the Kansai region of Japan and has 148 schools nationwide with many branches in the Chūbu and Kantō areas but has not entered into the rural market to the same extent as major competitor GEOS...
; only ECC and AEON have not yet filed for bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
. The industry is not well regulated. Nova, originally by far the largest chain with over 900 branches in Japan, collapsed in October 2007, leaving thousands of foreign teachers without money or a place to live. Other teachers work in universities. Agencies are increasingly used to send English speakers into kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
s, primary schools, and private companies whose employees need to improve their English for business. Agencies, known in Japan as haken, or dispatch companies, have recently been competing fiercely to get contracts from various Boards of Education for Elementary, Junior and Senior High Schools, so wages for teachers have decreased steadily in the last four years. Average wages for teachers in Japan are now around 250,000 Yen per month, although that can rise depending on experience.
JET Programme
Employees of The Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme are sponsored by the Government of JapanGovernment of Japan
The government of Japan is a constitutional monarchy where the power of the Emperor is very limited. As a ceremonial figurehead, he is defined by the 1947 constitution as "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people". Power is held chiefly by the Prime Minister of Japan and other elected...
to assist language teachers at Japanese high schools and elementary schools in the Japanese rural countryside and cities.
Cultural differences
When it comes to actually speaking English with a native speaker, Japanese students tend to become anxious about possibly sounding weird, not making any sense, and having horrible pronunciation; therefore, they shy away from speaking English altogether. However, by addressing the anxieties of the students, the English instructor can help to come up with cognitive, affective, and behavioral strategies in which students can use to cope with the anxiety they experience in English language classrooms. "Demotivation can negatively influence the learner’s attitudes and behaviors, degrade classroom group dynamics and teacher’s motivation, and result in long-term and widespread negative learning outcomes." In addition to helping students out with their anxieties, the teacher should also have a good idea about the students' learning strategies and their motivation, in order that he or she can focus on "positive motivations [that] will be helpful to the students in acquiring new information and decrease the effects of negative motivations which can interfere with the students’ second language acquisition".See also
- Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and TechnologyMinistry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Japan)The , also known as MEXT or Monkashō, is one of the ministries of the Japanese government.The Meiji government created the first Ministry of Education in 1871....
- Teaching English as a foreign languageTeaching English as a foreign languageTeaching English as a foreign language refers to teaching English to students whose first language is not English. TEFL usually occurs in the student's own country, either within the state school system, or privately, e.g., in an after-hours language school or with a tutor...
- Glossary of language teaching terms and ideasGlossary of language teaching terms and ideasLanguage teaching, like other educational activities, may employ specialized vocabulary and word use. This list is a glossary for English language learning and teaching using the communicative approach.- Accuracy - Burnout :...