Teach English in Zhitang Zhen - Zhuzhou Shi

English is a mandatory subject in Japanese education. Students start to learn English in the classroom from 3rd grade in elementary school up until high school. By the time they reach university, they have at least learned English for 10 years. However, according to recent study by EF Education First in their annual English Education Index, Japan is rated as “low proficiency”. Out of 100 countries, Japan is ranked at number 53, four spots down from rank number 49 from last year. English language learners in Japan encounter multiple challenges when it comes to learning English pronunciation. First of all, every Japanese consonant is followed by a vowel with the exception of the consonant “ん” (n) which is entirely not the case in the English language. Simply, the sounds that are used in English are not found in the Japanese language. In English, there are 25 consonants. On the other hand, there are only 15 consonants in the Japanese language. These are /p, t, k, b, d, g, ts, s, z, m, n, r, h, y, w/. Pronunciation becomes problematic to Japanese learners when they encounter consonants that don’t exist in their native language. Sound systems missing in the Japanese language becomes complicated for Japanese learners to recognize and produce. Probably the most prominent pronunciation problem that Japanese learners struggle with is with the approximants /r/ and /l/. It is difficult for them to differentiate the difference of both sounds simply because /r/ and /l/ are not used the same way in Japanese language as it is used in the English language. It is more accurate to say that Japanese has a single sound that is somewhere in between English 'l' and 'r' (Fallows, 2009). The Japanese “r” is often a flapped sound, similar to the “t” in American English “city”. Another consonant that Japanese learners have difficulty with is the labiodental fricative /v/. Most Japanese learners have a hard time approaching this sound. As a result /v/ is katakanan-ized to /b/. For example, volleyball becomes “bareboru”, video is read as “bideo” and the word convenience store is shortened and becomes “conbini” with all hopes of eliminating the labiodental fricative sound /v/. The sound /th/ is also problematic to Japanese learners. The sound /th/ becomes /s/. For example, “Thank you” is pronounced as “sank you”. My elementary students have the hardest time recognizing and pronouncing Tuesday and Thursday. Combined with their difficulty with /r/ and /l/, they pronounce Tuesday as “susday” and Thursday as “sasday”, making both words almost impossible differenciate from each other. I think that most pronunciation mistakes made by Japanese learners are the result of katakana English. Katakana is one of the three methods of writing in the Japanese language. Katakana is the form of Japanese syllabic writing used especially for scientific terms, official documents, and words adopted from other languages (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). It is used to transliterate foreign words into the Japanese language (Lee, 2018). For instance, “beer” in English would be katakana-ized to “ビール” (bi-ru) and “coffee” would be katakana-ized to “コーヒー” (ko-hi-). Inside the classroom, my Japanese Teacher of English (JTE) often times teach katakana pronunciation. Martin (2004) pointed out in his research 'The ‘katakana effect’ and teaching English in Japan' that katakana serves as phonetic guides in English language classes in Japan. Katakana English can be found everywhere in Japan, in TV shows, street signs, restaurant menus and unfortunately in English language textbooks too. Every time students and teachers use katakana English, Japanese intonations and pronunciation patterns are further embedded in English. This repetitive exposure and practice of katakana English compromises the growth of Japanese learners. Based from the problems discussed above, a number of steps can be taken to solve these problems. First, I believe that it is better to learn a new language at an earlier age. Currently, it is mandatory for 3rd graders in elementary school to learn English but if students start language learning English at an earlier grade, without a doubt their level of English would jump exponentially. Another recommendation would be going back to the basics and teach the students phonics. Phonics is given the least priority in school and is often forgotten by the JTE. This should not be the case as phonics is one of the main foundations in English. English and Japanese pronunciation systems differ significantly from each other but certainly our first language greatly influences our second language. As such, it is imperative for students and teachers to focus more on improving learners’ intelligibility through pronunciation teaching, rather than aiming to sound like native speakers. By focusing on certain aspects of English pronunciation that Japanese students have difficulties with, we can reduce potential communication misunderstandings. This will in turn increase Japanese students’ intelligibility, which would hopefully boost their confidence in English. Last but certainly not the least, focusing on student’s intelligibility would require new teaching materials and new teaching methods. By shifting from a teacher-centered method of teaching to a student-centered method, we can encourage the students to be more outgoing and confident in using English. This shift will also mean new textbooks and new teaching materials. Textbooks used in schools in Japan can be further improved to fit new teaching methods and approaches that promote pronunciation acquisition.