How to boost corporate Japan: Stop speaking Japanese 三木谷浩史 (H. Mikitani, CEO of Rakuten)

How to boost corporate Japan: Stop speaking Japanese.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/11/15/ilist.japan.englishization/

The article is itself boring but its comment section is interesting. I have no interest in the company but it is nice to see how things will work out.

In the comment:

What is the difference between the two? — I forgot going to the post office. I forgot to go to the post office.

I think this is a stupid example. How should non-native should know the difference without more context? It seems the first means that “I intentionally did not go to the post office.” Like “Do you have to study, now. Just forget it.”  The second one means the obvious.

三木谷浩史 H. Mikitani (CEO of Rakuten)

He claims that his English is like a native speaker’s. That is too much; he must have been thinking about high school kids when he was discussing his English skill. His innovation skill might overwhelm his poor English grammar but he should get some one to correct his English errors, in at least written format like twitter, which is blatantly public. Any case, he does not use incomprehensible English. His mistakes are typical ones made by many Japanese including myself. Basically he cannot use articles properly.

We (Rakuten Eagles) signed contract with new head coach, Senichi Hoshino today!   2011 season should become very exciting one!

=>We (Rakuten Eagles) signed a contract with the new head coach, Senichi Hoshino today!

Discuss “discuss about”

>Let’s stop discussing about our policy to convert our main language to Eng.  We are going to do this to become strong global company.

>  I agree…my GE colleagues including Jeff Immelt are using discussing “about” when want to specify the subject.

>Well I think many native people use “discuss about”.  At least my friends at Harvard did. How good is your English??RT

=> This was a reply to the complain about the misuse of “discuss about”: discuss is a transitive verb which takes a direct object without a preposition.  I think this is a minor mistake but the use of “discuss about” by natives does not change the grammar rule.  Especially he tried to justify this by citing “Harvard friends”. He must have forgotten GW Bush also graduated from Harvard MBA. A Harvard MBA does not prove his grammar is acceptable if anything at all. It is better not to use “discuss about” in a formal document. But in a speech, it may depend how people say it. eg. “About” can be a good spacer: like “discuss, … (thinking this and that)… about our best strategy.”  (About becomes “bout” in speech and can be very weak, especially in UK.) Well this might sound stupid to natives but …

>We are going to do this to become strong global company.

=> We are going to do this to become “a” strong global company.

>now most of my meetings are in English.   I think we are making a good progress!!

=> making  good progress!! (progress: uncountable)

>We are about to start have the first monthly board meeting in English.

=> We are about to start the first monthly ~

(This type of error means nothing in practice but a jerk like me can dig this out.)

>Today all company meeting is in 100% English. Going well!

–>The meaning is slightly ambiguous. He might have wanted to say:

=>Today all company meetings are in 100% English.

=>Today the company meeting is in 100% English.

>We added MacOS 10.5 to our required OS for Rakuten Toolbar. The required browsers for MacOS are Firefox 3.0, 3.5, and 3.6.

=> I guess he meant:  required ->supported

>Today we are going to have semi off site meeting w board members at Rakuten New Tower!

=> a semi off site meeting

>Good morning!  It’s beautiful day here in Tokyo!  Many many thanks for great messages for my birthday from my followers yesterday!

=> It’s a beautiful day ~

>Good morning, we are in the first　”English” executive meeting.  Big step for truely internationalize the company for Rakuten.

=> A big step for truly globalizing the company for Rakuten.

=> A big step toward truly globalizing the company for Rakuten.

>Bangkok we have Rakuten Travel Branch!  Yoroshiku!RT @ibekai: @hmikitani   Really! we are very very hottest about 35 temperature in Bangkok!

=> It’s very hot: the max temp is 35 (Celsius).  => People would know it was very hot.

>Make sence!RT @NYasunaga : Nation is the notion made by people. So the breakers can be the people. It’s all up to us .

(These are not his comments.)

=>A nation is the notion defined by a people. So the breakers  can  be the people themselves. It’s all up to us. (This is very tricky and it depends on the meaning.)

> I read a book called “the world is flat” it is very interesting and the book talk about the

=> the book talks about

He may be mumbling correct words in his head but typing wrong words in his busy schedule. There is no doubt he can communicate in English effectively but I do not see such many errors by natives in very short sentences, though his twittering is much better than others.

Writing is a good way to uncover errors since you can write and come back some time later when you can look at the own sentences with fresh eyes.

English errors Japanese often make.

Perfecting English skills is waste of time for the beginners. Once people clear the initial difficulty, however, they need to know details: especially, they need to know phrases they are using are commonly used or not. And commonly used English phrases by Japanese are often wrong partly because they are constructing English sentences in Japanese mind sets.

This does not mean they should brain wash themselves with Anglophone culture and custom. It just means people need to know commonly used phrases, and inventing phrases without knowing English in some details would cause confusion. Literal direct translation often makes wired English expression.

This problem is not specific to Japanese but to all the other non-native people. Or even  Anglophone people often encounter difficulties as well if regional custom is different from their own. Obviously people cannot what I am writing here do not need to worry about this type of mistakes but people who are teaching English in any way should know this.

So what kind of errors do Japanese make? These days Japanese are writing English in blogs and twitters, we can see errors people often make.

attend to Osaka university to study=>attend Osaka university to study

my nickname was determinated.=>my nickname was determined.

Kids go university. Parents will go to the university to see their kids.

I’m a starman. ?? Are you alien? I do not get it.

to achieve deeper communication with people all over the world.= to communicate with people around the word. A complicated sentence does not make a better expression. Simple is best if you are not sure. Fewer words will make fewer possible errors.

I believe reading is important for enriching life.=>I believe reading can enrich our life.

「発音は完璧だけれど、語彙が少ない人や 語るべき内容がない人」はまったく尊敬されません –> No one respects fluent English speakers with little vocabulary and intellectual depth.

How to master English? (ESL)

How to master English? That is a good question. Here are some obvious and not so obvious things to do.

0) Define what you want to do with English and also define what you mean by master English in your case. Being a pimp may not require complicated language skills while being a prof  does require good English skills. Incidentally  both professions require skills to manage people.

0.1) Know that learning a language take long time and no magic tool exists. Dictionaries are still one of most efficient way to acquire the depth of knowledge and examples.

0.2) Get a degree in English. This puts you on the cliff: do or die. Often that is the only way to learn difficult things.

0.3) Know that an ESL whose classmates are not serious is mostly useless beyond knowing that an ESL is useless. Fellow students may well decide the quality of the ESL experience. An ESL class at a high level like a part of a regular university system not as an extension program is useful, partly because the English level of classmates is high. Many of them are native speakers who are just taking an ESL as a Micky class. Many Quebecois do this and help to bring up the level of the class.

1) Read books or articles on the web.

Factors affecting English proficiency 2

The author has commented my entries. He has extensive first hand experience in EFL in Japan. Any one interested in this topic will find it insightful. He pointed out 10 reasons why English learning in Japan fail. I mostly copied his short version of them. You can just go straight to his web page.

TEFL FORUM: TEN REASONS WHY ENGLISH LEARNING IN JAPAN FAILS

TEN REASONS WHY ENGLISH LEARNING IN JAPAN FAILS
Charles Jannuzi, University of Fukui, Japan

1. Japan is linguistically and culturally self: self-sufficient language
2. Japanese is not closely related to English: linguistic-separation
3. Japanese is not written with an alphabet– alphabetical-difference
4. Learning Japanese requires too much effort — no energy left for another language5. Lack of effective national policy on foreign language education
6. The situation at universities–negative washback from entrance exams and the preparation for them at the senior highs.
7. The situation at universities regarding teacher-student relations, backgrounds, goals: incompatible expectations at universities
8. A lack of EFL programs, specialties, majors, minors, concentrations. There is plenty of ‘General English’. Indeed, that is one of the bitter irony of teaching EFL in Japan. Many of us have jobs because English is required, but we end up wasting far too much time and effort trying to teach students who are in class only because they have to be or have a vague idea that they want to study English with a foreigner.
9. The foreign language teaching and learning ‘culture’. That is, the overall approach to teaching and learning EFL (and these are collaborative activities) that is specific to Japan. Japanese EFL teachers tend towards ‘yaku-doku’, which could be called a version of ‘grammar-translation’. Meanwhile, foreign teachers are drawn to mostly production activities–conversational pair practice–for which there is little or no accountability in terms of evaluation.
10. The language teaching ‘profession’ in Japan. There is a lack of serious and useful teacher training and professional development. In higher education, those who are most often designated to teach EFL courses have backgrounds in literature, linguistics, and teacher training, not actual EFL teaching. If asked, many will even say that they are not EFL teachers and are not interested in teaching EFL.

These points can hinder English learning of Japanese. Any one however can overcome these obstacles if they have strong will or they face with urgent necessity. A nation, Schools nor teachers are not the ones that determine the fate of individuals. It is Individuals who ultimately defines their own fate.  (But this cannot be the national policy since a nation has to elevate its people in principle.)

Strategy for the higher education in Japan

Some highlights from “Higher Education in Japan Higher Education in JapanHigher Education” They should be able to write better English, though that is not the point of the report.

“Outline of measures for “300,000 International Students Plan”

1. To invite international students to study in Japan
>Motivation for studying in Japan and expansion of the one-stop service>
$ To actively provide information about studying in Japan.
$ To strengthen the consultative function for students willing to study in Japan.
$ To enrich overseas Japanese language education and other measures.

2. To improve entrances including entrance examination and admission to university and Japan
>To facilitate studying in Japan>
$ To strengthen universities’ abilities to provide information
$ To promote admission before students’ arrival in Japan.
$ To promote the settlement of various procedures before students’ arrival in Japan.
$ To have universities strictly manage their registrations and simplify immigration inspection etc. and other measures.
3. To promote the globalization of universities etc.
>To make universities more attractive>
$ To predominantly develop Universities as centers for Internationalization (30).
$ To increase courses conducted only in English.
$ To promote double degree programs, short-term overseas study programs and others.
$ To strengthen specialized organizational systems including universities etc. and other measures.
4. To create an acceptance environment
>Efforts to create an environment where students can feel at ease to concentrate on their study.
$ To make it possible to provide students with accommodation for a year or less after their arrival in Japan.
$ To improve and utilize the Japanese government scholarship student system etc.
$ To support and promote exchange activities with local communities, businesses, etc.
$ To enrich Japanese language education in Japan.
$ To give livelihood support to international students etc. and other measures.
5. To promote the social acceptance of students after graduation/completion.
>Globalization of the Japanese society>
$ Industry, government and academia cooperate to support students in seeking jobs or starting enterprises.
$ To consider clarification of the visa status and reworking of students’ permitted period of residence.
$ To enrich follow-up activities after students return to their own countries and other measures.
$ “Outline of measures for “300,000 International Students Plan”

The number of graduate students more than doubled in the past 20 years while the population of that age group decreased significantly. The older generation might question of the qualification and quality of these students. While younger generations argue that they are working harder and smarter, and the advance of technologies gives them greater advantage over their previous generations. This type of generational conflicts probably existed even before human started using fire if they lived long enough. All the generations think they are living in a special moment.

The number of Japanese who study abroad is not decreasing when the number of students is factored into the equation. Over all people are now studying many different places as the price of education in developed countries become prohibitively high. Despite constant political hostility between  Asian neighbors, many Japanese find opportunities in  these countries.

[PDF] 日本人の海外留学者数 … 76,464 ←  日本人の海外留学者数

[PDF] 日本人学生等の海外留学

Korea adopts Western schools

Korea’s bold attempts to create a special English speaking school district in which only English is allowed may revel the intrinsic weakness of Korean society. First, they do not want to have such a district in main land — not-in-my-back-yard attitude or just simply lack of lands. Second, they like to domesticate students with English without giving away kimchi mentality. Third, some school specifically seems to exclude Japanese. Well, they want to cultivate the environment peppered with global culture with Asian face except Japanese. — That is fine and the number of Japanese American is relatively small as well and if Japanese-Americans want to go to this Korean school is questionable.

“There is an expressed desire in Korea to seek the benefits of a ‘Western’ or ‘American’ approach to pre-collegiate education,” said Ted Hill, headmaster of the Chadwick School, whose Songdo campus has been deluged with applicants to fill the 30 percent of slots reserved for Korean students. The balance of the student body will be recruited from expatriate families living in South Korea and China.”

For them it is just a business opportunity, but hey, others want it.

Western Schools Sprout in South Korea
They like to cultivate English skills without compromising Korean identity, culture and pride.

I hope they will not repeat the failures of American universities in Japan.

バブル期の遺跡『消滅大学』

”日本にいながらアメリカに留学できるわけです。
当時のキャッチフレーズは『私、日本にいながらアメリカの大学通うの！』だそうです。”
http://home.owari.ne.jp/~shima60matsuo-s/newpage60.html

Osaka governor has already planed this type of project in Itami and it might be a good bet. To attempt to create a similar “virtual international district” from scratch, one must realize that “nation building” is not cheap nor easy.   So the governor’s idea might be better than the Korean project since Itami is more attractive than a developing island.

One difference is that Korean started it already and Japan is just thinking about it. Or it already failed similar American university nightmare, though this phenomena was fundamentally different.

If Japan and Korea want to compete globally then they have to come up with universally acceptable values shared by all ethnic groups. They are both afraid of wider  scale immigration even though they see its benefits. “Globally compete” means that excelling in hardware as well as content creation and accommodation that can be accepted by many people who can use as well as expand it as their own.

Xenophobic people like to focus on the failure of immigration in the US and France, but they totally ignoring the contribution of immigrants in these countries. Also Detail analysis of human genome indicates that ethnic puritanism is a joke. Xenophobic people idealize the past when only a pure blood-linage flourished, but such people will be disappointed to find that the population of modern human might have been down to about 600 during the last ice age. So Japanese far right wing may need to accept their neighbors as brothers and sisters.

Coming to a university in Canada and USA

International students may experience different problems than people who grown up in a country where a school is located, but most difficulties can be overcome in the end. Some problems, though, can cause you to give up school and if that happens the life can be not so easy but this is the case for any one. Giving up school is sometimes better than being stuck on to a bottomless ditch. For graduate students, changing supervisors may help and for undergrads, changing schools or majors.

In regard to dealing with new people, I think changing elementary or high schools in your own country will give you more headaches; people in the US said same thing. There are many extremely smart international and domestic students; the best part of studying and living in a new place is you can meet many eccentric folks. On the other hand some graduate students in Canada are more interested in immigration than their studies and are happier to get their permanent residence card than their intended degree. Some always complain about their new places especially when people from a country get to gather