Teaching English

Japanese University Students Create Rage Comics

Reddit user and English teacher Sukosuti has taught a class of Japanese university students about the rage faces from /r/fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuu and asked them to create some original comics.

Here is my favorite:

See the rest and vote on them them at http://www.reddit.com/r/EFLcomics/!

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Learning English From Japanese TV

Scott Bean of Kansai Gaidai University gave a special English lesson on last night’s episode of “Sekaiichi Uketai Jugyou.” It included this scene, where three Japanese celebrities assume that English-speakers would understand the katakana words for certain foreign foods:

Bean tells them that:

• Ordering a “mikkusu sando” (ミックスサンド) sounds like you want a bowl of mixed sand. Instead, you should order a “mixed sandwich.”
• Ordering “shu kurimu” (シュークリーム) sounds like you want shoe cream. The katakana term is actually based on French: Chou à la crème. In English it’s called a “cream puff.”

• English speakers would supposedly understand that “aisu kohi” (アイスコーヒー) refers to iced coffee. [Fun fact: iced coffee has been common in Japan for over a hundred years, but didn't really catch on in America until the 1990's.]
• If you ask for “gamu shiroppu” (ガムシロップ), English-speakers won’t understand that you’re asking for a syrup sweetener for your coffee. They might might think you’re talking about chewing gum or something to stick your dentures to your gums.

Viewers were also introduced to some of the following terms:

• ham actor – an unskilled actor
• top banana – a leading actor; an important person
• second banana – an actor who plays a supporting role

Many native English speakers might not even be familiar with these terms, because none are really used in everyday speech. It’s probably unrealistic to expect entertainment programs to provide serious English lessons, but sometimes it feels like these kind of shows deliberately go out of their way to teach useless words and phrases.

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Japanese Name Order: Family Name First?

A program on Japan’s NTV network tells viewers that they should no longer use English-style name order when introducing themselves in English:

Introducing yourself as “Takeshi Tanaka” is “old-fashioned” English. Now, you should introduce yourself as “Tanaka Takeshi.” [Family name first, in the way one says names when speaking Japanese.]

As proof, they cite the New Horizons English textbook, which now teaches junior high school students to introduce themselves in the “new” style. This “new” style is based on the nationalistic way that Indians and Koreans speak English. Saying one’s family name first supposedly shows “respect” for Japanese culture.

There’s a thread over at BigDaikon in which some ALTs discuss the name order issue. Those that actually care about helping their students learn proper English seem to think that the “new” style will cause unnecessary confusion. For example, here’s a comment from lifer:

The whole name order debate gets a bit tedious. Whatever the Chinese or Koreans do is irrelevant. Plus, lots of Ks and Cs have a ‘western’ name that they use when communicating in English, or living abroad for any length of time. So, Chan Yo In becomes Winston Chan, or Kim Sae Bon becomes Gilbert Kim when they are in Eigo World.

It’s really very simple to solve. Just mention the “when in Rome” proverb, but change it to “when speaking Roman…”. When you speak English, you use English conventions and customs. When you speak Japanese, you use Japanese language and customs. Otherwise, confusion reigns. When I introduce myself in Japanese, I use Japanese naming convention and introduce myself as “last name, first name”, or simply “last name”.

People are free to introduce themselves any way they like, but are also responsible for any confusion that results. So, if a Japanese person rocks up to a hotel in gaijinland and says, “hi, I have a reservation, my name is Tanaka Hiroshi”, he shouldn’t be surprised if the clerk comes back with “sorry, we don’t have a reservation for you, Mr. Hiroshi”.

I think Monkasho is trying to make yet another false binary paradigm- Japan vs. gaikoku. In Japan, we do it this way, but in gaikoku it is done another way. Since we are Japanese, in Japan, we will follow the Japanese way. Education takes a back seat to cultural insecurity.

My opinion: Japan’s Ministry of Education should not encourage the use of this “new” naming order. The United States, Great Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and other English-speaking nations still use the “old” name order for Japanese people, so it’s stupid to print textbooks instructing Japanese students to adopt the “new” system.

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AKB48′s Tomomi Itano Speaks English

An English language interview with Tomomi Itano of the pop group AKB48:

The whole interview is unnatural that it’s almost painful to watch. It seems that Itano carefully memorized scripted answers to each question, probably without even knowing the meaning of most the English words she was supposed to be pronouncing.

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“Help Japan” By Using Our Job Listing Business

Let’s Japan has blasted Gaijinpot.com and English teaching companies for tying their job listings to post-earthquake relief efforts:

“Shame on these schools for using a disaster to promote their businesses. This ad campaign is not about what you can do for Japan–it’s about the schools desperately trying to find teachers. I have a feeling that nobody wants to work anywhere near Fukushima.”

From what I’ve heard, quite a few foreign teachers have fled the country because of the earthquake and nuclear accident, so there probably is a shortage of English teachers. However, it does seem pretty tacky for profit-making ALT dispatch and eikaiwa companies to boast about how becoming their employees will help “Japan.”

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Japanese Girl Explains Titantic

YouTuber Japanarchist asks his friend Mika to provide an English language summary of the movie “Titantic”:

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