Job Discussion Forums

[Crab]

[kidkensei]

Hey Guys,

Finally got around to looking at some of the recommendations people posted. The section on Japanese in Swan's learner English is exactly what I'm looking for but its far too brief.

Learner English: A Teacher's Guide to Interference and Other Problems‎ - Page xvii
by Michael Swan, Bernard Smith - Foreign Language Study - 2001 - 362 pages

Bary Ward "common errors in english Japanese students make" may also be worth looking into.

Thanks to everyone that posted.

Aaron

[wintersweet]

Ah, yeah, if that's what you're looking for, the best advice I have is to learn Japanese. It really does help with understanding students' problems, particularly the ones that stem from first-language interference.

You can also find a fair number of research-based papers along those lines if you search scholar.google.com (though you'll need access to subscription journals through a university or library) and some of the EFL/applied linguistics journals. I linked a few free online peer-reviewed journals on talktotheclouds.com recently.

[alexcase]

In terms of knowing what common errors to look out for, I found this more useful that Swan and Smith:

http://www.amazon.com/Tuttle-New-Dictionary-Loanwords-Japanese/dp/0804818886

It's also a great way of reaching a basic survival level in the language the easy way. About 10-20% of the expressions in there are not in common use though

I reviewed the Safety and Challenge book a few years ago and didn't find much of it particularly specific to Japan.

Textbooks that work particularly well in Japan but might not go down so well in Europe include Passport (http://www.eltbooks.com/item_spec.php?cat=001&item=10&PHPSESSID=897d5e5d4e64e4136694436e2b511300)

and Impact Issues and Impact Values (both Longman).

Does anyone know this one?

http://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Teaching-Japanese-Colleges-Universities/dp/0194341372

I picked up a copy secondhand about a year ago and got about halfway through it, but having only worked in one junior college I don't know how accurate or still relevant it is

TEFLtastic blog- www.tefl.net/alexcase

[fluffyhamster]

The thing with the "weirder" loanwords (a subset which perhaps should be marked "loanwords") is that, whilst the Japanese in general may be unaware that such words are not in fact English (or from English or used quite that way in English or whatever) and may strike an English-speaker as interesting if not amusing, I can't actually recall those Japanese who were actually learning English from me ever using a "false friend" in their English speech or writing.

[alexcase]

None of your students ever told you they lived in a mansion, to give just one example?

Here are my most heard in class in approximate order from A-F of my big list:

-Claim (for complaint)
- Anquete (from the French for questionnaire)
-BGM
-Calling Danish pastries bread rather than cakes
-Cloak (for cloakroom)
- Drama (meaning miniseries or soap opera, rather than a genre)
-CM
- Cleaning (for dry cleaning)
- anime for non Japanese cartoons
- Deutsu (Germany)
- Esute
- Delivery health


See if you can spot the one above that didn't really come up in classroom conversation (although my factory classes in Kawasaki got pretty close)




And ones that you understand and even use yourself because you are in Japan but I still try and train them to be able to explain in other ways:
-cool biz
- Golden week
- Dry curry


And ones only the trendier English speakers would understand
-Cosplay
-Otaku

Etc

Maybe our different experiences are due to class sizes or the amount of writing (almost zero in my class) and whole class speaking we do??

[Glenski]

[alexcase]

I just checked, and Impact is not available in Spain. That is hardly surprising as they were published by Longman Japan for the Japanese market and I believe that, unlike some, they are particularly suitable for Japanese learners, although of course other East Asian learners have some similarities. Would anyone else who has taught in Europe like to comment on whether those books would be suitable there?

[chinagirl]

Check out:
James Webb's 151 Common Mistakes of Japanese Students of English
(high school level and above)

This book is bilingual. If you look at the Amazon link, you can see sample pages via the "Search Inside This Book" feature.

Raymond Murphy の文 法書シリーズや『151　Common Mistakes of Japanese Students of English』James. H. M Webb著　邦題『日本人に共通する英語のミス１５１ジャパンタイムズ社などはお薦めです）

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E4%BA%BA%E3%81%AB%E5%85%B1%E9%80%9A%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B%E8%8B%B1%E8%AA%9E%E3%81%AE%E3%83%9F%E3%82%B9151-%E3%82%B8%E3%82%A7%E3%82%A4%E3%83%A0%E3%82%BA-H-M-%E3%82%A6%E3%82%A7%E3%83%96/dp/4789012395/ref=sr_11_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1232153241&sr=11-1

[wintersweet]

[fluffyhamster]

Hi again Alex & Co, I'd forgotten about this thread!

Yeah, I can honestly say that I can't recall my students using much if any of these dodgy words. I suppose I could have "blacked out" a bit sometimes if there was a tiny brief bit of code-switching or falling back on Japanese going on (I'm not a complete Direct Method nazi), but even so, I think I'd have picked up on the real clangers and supplied the "missing" (i.e. proper) English word (e.g. "All you need to do is expand 'panku' to 'puncture'"). I guess a lot of it had to do with the fact that the eikaiwa learners that I taught were either advanced enough, or (when low-level) too frightened of their own shadows to say anything that "interesting" ('Oh no! I might make a mistake!'), and as for high schools, well, we all know how little time is made for any vocab and contexts outside of the approved textbooks.

Probably my first introduction to this stuff was courtesy of the 1995 Cambridge International Dictionary of English's list of 'Japanese False Friends' (FWIW, it supplies lists for Czech, German, Danish, Dutch, French, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian Spanish, Swedish and Thai FFs). Here it is in all its mixed-bag glory (some aren't so strange or unacceptable):

akusento: contrasting highlight
anime: cartoons, cartoon programmes
apa-to: apartment house
attoho-mu (=at home): cozy, homely atmosphere
atakku (=attack): challenging a difficult goal
akuseru: car accelerator
bi-ru: lager
baiku: motorbike
bondo (=bond): very strong adhesive
bosu (=boss): leader of gang of criminals
basuto: bust measurement
kappa: plastic rain cape
chiekkupointo: something that needs checking
ko-rasu: choral singing
saida- (=cider): soda pop/lemonade
sa-kuru (=circle): informal interest group among uni students
kure-mu (=claim): complaint
kurashikku: western classical music
kokku: tap for water or gas; cook (n)
komonsensu: knowledge of and compliance with social rules
konpakuto: small
konpanion: attractive female guide at a large exhibition
konsento: electric socket
ko-na- (=corner): section of shop or magazine
kantori-: country club; golf club
kuranke (=crank): patient (n)*
kanningu (=cunning): cheating in an exam
dekki (=deck): plimsolls
denomi (=denomination): currency devaluation
depa-to: department store
daiya (=diagram): railroad timetable
dorama (=drama): television or radio play
eko- (=echo): the acoustics of a space
ego: selfishness
enameru (=enamel): patent leather; nail varnish
episo-do (=episode): unknown, interesting past event
esuke-pu (=escape): to be absent from school or work
ibuningu: evening dress
fuasuna- (=fastener): zip
fueminisuto (=feminist): ladies' man
furo-to (=float): iced, flavoured soda containing a scoop of ice cream
ho-mu (form): railway platform
furonto (=front): hotel reception desk
furu-tsuponchi (=fruit punch): non-alcoholic fruit punch
g(i)yangu (=gang): group or individual involved in organized crime
gurama- (=glamorous): attractively buxom woman
gaun: dressing gown
g(i)yara (=guarantee): performance fee
gomu (=gum): rubber
ha-fu (=half): Japanese person of mixed race
handoru (=handle): steering wheel; handlebars of bike
hapuningu (=happening): unexpected incident
hiaringu (=hearing): listening comprehension test for foreign languages
ha-to (=heart): good or warm feeling
ha-tofuru: with good or warm feeling
hippu (=hip): buttocks
haiya- (=hire): limousine car hired with driver
hotto: hot coffee
hassuru (=hussle): complete determination
h(i)yutte (=hut): simple accommodation for mountain climbers
hisuteri- (=hysteria): bad temper
interijiento (=intelligent): something which is computerized
jya- (=jar): electric rice cooker
ji-nzu (=jeans): denim
jyanpa- (=jumper): jacket of thick, rough cloth
jyasuto (=just): exact; exactly
rippu: lipsalve
mishin (=machine): sewing machine
majikku (=magic): marker pen
mantsu-man (man-to-man): a one-to-one talk, regardless of sex
mania: enthusiast
mansh(iy)on (=mansion): large, luxury block of flats
marumottu (=marmot): guinea pig
maron (=maroon): chestnuts
masuku: hygienic cotton face mask
masuta- (=master): manager of small coffee shop, bar or night club
meritto (=merit): advantage
mu-dei (=moody): good atmosphere
mo-ningu: morning coat
mo-ningusa-bisu (=morning service): set breakfast at coffee shop
mu-ton (=mutton): sheepskin
nai-bu (=na�ve): sensitive
no-to: notebook
wanpi-su (=one-piece): dress
o-ba-: overcoat
pan: bread
pa-to: part-time job
pensh(iy)on (=pension): small Western-style guesthouse
piasu: earrings for pierced ears
piru: contraceptive pill
pinsetto (=pincers): tweezers
pesuto (=pest): bubonic plague
pinku (=pink): pornographic, like "blue" in English
picchi (=pitch): pace
pottu (=pot): large domestic thermos flask
pota-jyu (=potage): cream of vegetable soup
purinto: printed handout made by a teacher for use in class
purin (=pudding): caramel custard
panku: puncture
renji (=range): cooking-stove; microwave oven
rifo-mu (=reform): alteration; repair
repo-to (=report): written homework assignment
roman: yearning for adventure
ranningu (=ran/ningu) (=running): sleeveless undershirt, singlet
saboru (sabo=katakana, ru=hiragana) (=sabotage): to be absent from school or work
sanpuru (=sample): display models for dishes served in a restaurant
sasshi (=sash): aluminium window frame
suku-pu (=scoop): trowel
shi-ru (=seal): sticky label
sensu (=sense): good taste, particularly in clothes
sa-bisu (=service): gratis
sh(iy)a-betto (=sherbet): sorbet
sh(iy)atsu: undershirt
sh(iy)o-tokatto (=shortcut): short haircut for women
sh(iy)o-toke-ki (=shortcake): slice of cake, especially strawberry/cream cake
sain (=sign): autograph; signature
shiruba- (=silver): relating to old age
sukin (=skin): condom
surippu (=slip): to skid
suma-to (=smart): slim
sunakku (=snack): small drinking place
supattsu (=spats): leggings
spoito (=spout): dropper
sh(iy)upu-ru (spur?!): ski tracks
suchi-mu (=steam): attachment in a heater to emit steam to humidify the air
sutokku (=stock): ski stick
suto-bu (=stove): room heater
sutairu (=style): someone�s figure
su-pa-: supermarket
tarento: young media celebrity
tekisuto: textbook, especially one for foreign language learning
te-ma (=theme): subject of research or a thesis
tabako: a cigarette or cigarettes
tarappu (=trap): ramp or steps to plane or ship
torokku (=truck): trolley train
toranpu (=trump): deck of playing cards, or card games in general
beteran (=veteran): expert
bini-ru (=vinyl): polythene bag; plastic sheet
uesuto: waist measurement
uetto (=wet): tender-hearted; sentimental
e-ru (=yell): supportive cheers of spectators at sports game

[Geekish/An*l NB: The dash (choonpu) indicates a lengthening of the preceding vowel (or doubling if you like, not that this is how it appears in katakana generally and as used in the CIDE (all as opposed to actual vowel symbol doubling in hiragana, or ee > ei etc))].

*I suppose it would get confusing though if a student saw that Jason Statham film Crank, in which he runs around dressed in a patient's gown for a fair bit.