Why can't the Japanese in general speak good English?

Shuimo   Mon Jan 19, 2009 3:31 pm GMT
Why can't the Japanese in general speak good English?
Shuimo   Mon Jan 19, 2009 3:32 pm GMT
I fail to understand why people from Japan in general can't speak good English. After all, Japan is a developed country which should afford excellent learning conditions for its people to learn and speak English well. But it seems that is not the case.
What do you think?
gtyr   Mon Jan 19, 2009 4:24 pm GMT
Japanese (like other Far East languages) is very different from English. It's only natural that English phonology turns out to be difficult for them. A bit like the Finnish people in Europe.
person   Mon Jan 19, 2009 9:07 pm GMT
And yet they seem to do just fine without knowing it... A good argument against Tom's ideal of an English only world.
John Smith   Mon Jan 19, 2009 9:15 pm GMT
Japanese is cool! I want to learn Japanese.
Milton   Mon Jan 19, 2009 9:21 pm GMT
Italians, Spanish, Japanese, Brazilians have poor English skills because they have no contacts with the language: in all these countries everything on TV is dubbed into local languages, and music in the local language is extremely popular.

in Germany, everything is dubbed, but even 90% of German bands (especially dance/trance/house/pop scene) like singing in English, and English is very easy for a German to learn (still, Dutch and Flemish people have more contacts with English, no dubbing thang, and speak English even better than Germans)
french   Mon Jan 19, 2009 9:23 pm GMT
Chinese generally speak worse English than Japanese
wench   Mon Jan 19, 2009 9:28 pm GMT
Shuimo, you should post a recording of your speech.
heart   Mon Jan 19, 2009 9:33 pm GMT
we are all waiting for Shuimo's recording
LL   Mon Jan 19, 2009 10:08 pm GMT
I'm not waiting for Shuimo's recording, but I know why others are.

Shuimo,

This topic seems to be very important for you. I commented on the same thread in the Languages section-in detail. Are you going to teach Chinese in Japan by way of English?
beneficii   Tue Jan 20, 2009 12:45 am GMT
person,

"And yet they seem to do just fine without knowing it... A good argument against Tom's ideal of an English only world."

Boo yah.
Shuimo   Tue Jan 20, 2009 4:36 am GMT
<<gtyr Mon Jan 19, 2009 4:24 pm GMT
Japanese (like other Far East languages) is very different from English. It's only natural that English phonology turns out to be difficult for them. A bit like the Finnish people in Europe. >>

The question is whether the affinity of languages dictate the level of foreign language speaking competency.

Do you mean that the Finnish also speak poor English?

<<Milton Mon Jan 19, 2009 9:21 pm GMT
Italians, Spanish, Japanese, Brazilians have poor English skills because they have no contacts with the language: in all these countries everything on TV is dubbed into local languages, and music in the local language is extremely popular.

in Germany, everything is dubbed, but even 90% of German bands (especially dance/trance/house/pop scene) like singing in English, and English is very easy for a German to learn (still, Dutch and Flemish people have more contacts with English, no dubbing thang, and speak English even better than Germans) >>

Same here in China perhaps except Hong Kong. I would like to watch movies in their original sounds.
Shuimo   Tue Jan 20, 2009 4:54 am GMT
<<wench Mon Jan 19, 2009 9:28 pm GMT
Shuimo, you should post a recording of your speech. >>

<<heart Mon Jan 19, 2009 9:33 pm GMT
we are all waiting for Shuimo's recording >>

You can rest assured that Shuimo speaks good English, though not native-like, but definitely far better than ordinary non-native English learners around the world.
But I'd rather not post my recording here for reasons you might never know. LOL
commentator   Tue Jan 20, 2009 6:40 am GMT
<<But I'd rather not post my recording here for reasons you might never know. LOL >>

It's because you are being paid by the Chinese government to promote China on the web. I know all about it.
LL   Tue Jan 20, 2009 7:40 pm GMT
Perhaps it's a two-prong approach, then. Have you seen the videos of large groups of Chinese speakers shouting out in English on youtube? They are anxious to learn English quickly (and according to one video), so they can spread their culture. It's called "Crazy English" or something like that. I saw the character for "crazy" on a banner in the background.