The Unique Challenges Faced by Many Japanese English Learners

According to a recent report, Japan ranks a record low 87th out of 113 countries and regions in the English Proficiency Index ranking released by EF Education First, a global language school operator.

Japan also ranks 15th among other Asian countries, falling behind many of its neighbors. For more context, South Korea was 5th in Asia and 49th overall, while China ranked 14th and 82nd respectively.

These results are strongly connected to issues with English education and cultural attitudes in the country. Given that a large portion of the students we tutor come from Japan, knowing some of the context of their experience with English may be helpful.

This article will briefly explore the challenges Japan faces in learning English and how the education system and cultural background play a factor in this situation.

The education system

The Japanese education system has a unique structure when it comes to English education.

Schooling emphasizes memorization and grammar rather than practical language use. This approach results in limited opportunities for students to actually speak English, which obviously can slow down their development of comprehension and application skills.

However, the issues are not only in the lesson structures but in many cases, also with the instructors. For example, many English teachers are skilled at teaching grammar, reading and writing, but they are often unfamiliar with teaching actual conversational skills. This may be because the teachers themselves have limited experience using English in a native environment.

As a result, grammar tends to be the focus, while pronunciation and practical communication skills are often given little attention. But this should be no surprise; after all, it's difficult to teach what you do not fully understand yourself.

Focus on test preparation

Another important aspect of education in Japan is a heavy emphasis on preparing for tests. This applies to education in general, not only for English language study.

However, because English test scores are especially important for university entrance examinations, many students and educational institutions focus on learning the skills necessary to pass these tests.

This results in heavy memorization of grammar and vocabulary, but again, little actual speaking. So ironically, it is not uncommon for students who perform well on these tests to struggle to hold basic conversations.

Making this issue even worse, the English that appears in tests is often different from the English used in actual daily conversation and business situations. Therefore, many students feel that the English they learn in school is not helpful in real life.

Cultural influences and attitudes

Many tutors have likely noticed that students often hesitate to speak and require a lot of encouragement. While it's true that some students may simply be shy, it would be inaccurate to say that about an entire nation of people.

However, there is often a strong fear of making mistakes in Japanese society. Naturally, this can make learning a new language a very difficult task, as mistakes are common and necessary for improvement. 

As the popular saying goes, "You have to crawl before you can walk,"  but strong pressure for perfection makes the process of trial and error challenging and gives students yet another barrier to deal with. Keep this in mind when some of your students seem to be keeping extra quiet.

Practical use of English

In Japan, there is a lack of opportunities to use English in daily life.

Although many Japanese people receive basic English education at school or in the workplace, they rarely find themselves in situations in which they can use it. This is particularly true in areas outside of major cities. Combined with the education system putting little priority on conversation skills, you can begin to understand how rare good chances to improve English speaking skills are.

Another important factor is the role that media and technology play in English learning. There is little English content in the Japanese media, further limiting opportunities for daily exposure to the language.

On the other hand, the Internet and the connectivity provided by smartphones have improved access to English learning resources, but the practice of integrating this into daily life is still relatively new.

A new perspective

As we can see, students coming to us from Japan have to confront several unique challenges on their road to becoming effective English speakers.

When we look at education, the lack of practical language use and the focus on testing play a major role. Meanwhile, a strong cultural avoidance of mistakes and a lack of opportunities to use English make things even more difficult.

Ultimately, every student will have unique challenges, regardless of where they are from. And as tutors, we do not have the power to change these larger issues that create barriers for students.

However, simply having a better idea about the circumstances in a student's home country can help us to be more patient and more empathetic when tutoring them. It can also give us a good idea about their potential weak areas, which is where we'll want to focus to maximize their chances to improve.

This article was adapted from an original written by Sana Nozaki.