Why Is English Challenging to Learn for Japanese Students?

Japanese are known for being disciplined, dedicated, and hardworking individuals not only in their work but also in other aspects of their life like hobbies and studies. But why is it difficult for them to learn English despite their strong dedication, patience, efforts, and determination?

This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Princess D. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT.

My Teaching Experience

I’ve been teaching English in Japan as my part-time job for more than one year now. I have seen and handled students of different ages, backgrounds, language levels, and experiences. Most of them are university students and young professionals, and I couldn’t argue how impressed I am knowing their educational background and social status. Some of them are attending top universities in the country, while others run their own companies here and abroad. There are times when I could not help comparing these people to those who are in my country that takes no effort utilizing English. In the Philippines, even taxi drivers and street children with little education and no much experience can communicate in English, although not perfect but enough to have a decent conversation. Then I realized, in the Philippines, English is everywhere. From textbooks to public advertisements and national news, and even up to social media. However, it’s not the same thing in Japan. Students start to study English extensively at school, and some also spend additional time and money for English language schools and private tutorials.

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But still, the Japanese cannot speak English, why is that?

The answer might probably be the lack of opportunity to use it. Learning a language is quite similar to learning how to ride a bicycle, we don’t learn it by books but by practice. In our school, I have noticed that students who take free conversation classes frequently develop confidence in speaking and they also show significant improvement compared to those who only take grammar lessons. Also, some students I have who have experience living abroad and/or having foreigner friends or partners display strong English communication skills, both written and oral, regardless of their past English learning experience in school. Whenever I ask students why they want to learn English, they always give me the answer to wanting to make foreign friends or wanting to use English in their travels and leisure outside Japan. Some want to use it for business while some just simply say they think people who speak English are cool. Regardless of the purpose, Japanese students have this goal of being fluent in English. That’s why most English language schools in Japan apply Communicative Language Teaching which is more focused on the conversation. “Eikaiwa (English Conversation)” is very popular now among Japanese who want to learn English particularly those who want to brush up their English by having a real-life, actual conversation with an English speaker.

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I am very much impressed with how Japanese students are making efforts in learning English. But hours of intensive study would never be enough to achieve that goal, the application is also important. As a teacher, I always motivate students to use English when talking to their Japanese peers, and if they find it a little weird, I encourage them to make friends of different nationalities. Some students who choose to only take grammar lessons should be encouraged to take conversation classes too or at least find opportunities to use English, whether joining intercultural events or making foreigner friends. In this way, students would not perceive studying English as a responsibility but an enjoyable way to connect with people and learn new things aside from learning the language itself.

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