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rxk22
Joined: 19 May 2010
Posts: 1629
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 Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 10:41 pm Post subject: |
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| rtm wrote: |
I think another big reason is that most Japanese people don't see any reason to learn English. And, realistically, most won't have any real need to, the way Japanese society is set up now. Japan is a highly developed country, with decent universities and companies, and it is entirely possible for someone to have a graduate from a good university and have a highly successful career without needing to use any foreign language at all (which, I would guess, would be a lot harder in, say, Europe). There are no university exit exams that require English proficiency, like China or Korea. Few company employees ever have to communicate with a non-Japanese person. This is partly why you see so few Japanese university students studying abroad compared to neighboring countries.
Most of the reasons Japanese people learn English are entirely too vague and without much real purpose -- to be an "international person", because English is "interesting", to "talk with foreigners", etc. Vague reasons are not going to sustain any real motivation to learn. But, the system in Japan hasn't given them any other reasons to learn. |
That is a good point. No university exit exams. Plus many companies don't care.
I wonder why, as many Japanese companies are heavily investing abroad. Someone needs to communicate with new subsidiaries. Really is a head scratcher, that Japanese companies aren't trying to get at least some employees with high level English skills. |
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Black_Beer_Man
Joined: 26 Mar 2013
Posts: 453
Location: Yokohama
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| Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 12:39 am Post subject: |
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Last night I thought of a good answer to my question, but Spiral78 already beat me to it. Good job! 
It has to do with "The European Union". European countries are now grouped together under this banner, so they must have a common language for business or they will fall behind. That language is English. Nowadays, relations in general between European countries is pretty friendly, so there's even more communication in English.
Now look at Japan. It's an island nation separated form its neighbors by water. Relations are poor, so communication is minimal. Japanese businessmen do use English when they sell products to Koreans for example. However, I believe that this poor relationship with its neighbors negatively impacts the motivation levels of Japanese people to learn English. |
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