I've found some statistics that show 20~30% of secondary pupils who
study modern languages in Australia and New Zealand choose Japanese
while it is chosen by 1~2% of pupils in the UK, Canada, USA(except
Hawaii and California). I understand that oceanian countries are more likely
to be affected by Asian market than Great Britain or North America. But
does that mean there are far more people in Australia or New Zealand who
are fluent in Japanese than any other western countries??(except for
Japanese Americans in Hawaii and California) I mean, Japanese or any
other asian languages can be a tough choice for native English speakers.
are there many Australians and New Zealanders who can read 'hiragana'
and count 'ichi, ni, san, shi, go, roku'?
These are some interesting statistics that indicate Japanese and other
foreign language education in English speaking countries.
Top 10 countries with Number of Students learning Japanese
1st Korea : 910,957
2nd China : 684,366
3rd Australia : 366,165
6th USA : 117,969
10th New Zealand : 29,904
Canada and UK and other western countries : not on the list
Source : www.jpf.go.jp/e/japanese/survey/result/img/2006_03.pdf
Number of people learning Japanese is 3 times more in Australia than
America while population of Australia is just only 1/15 of that of America,
which basically means you are 45 times more likely to meet Japanese
learners in Australia than America and maybe 100 times more than Britain
or European countries. Is this really true?? I'm quite surprised.
Most taught modern languages in English speaking countries
UK(GCSE Statistics)
1st French, 2nd German, 3rd Spanish
USA
1st Spanish, 2nd French, 3rd German, 4th Italian, 5th Japanese
State of Hawaii
1st Japanese, 2nd Spanish, 3rd French
State of California
1st Spanish, 2nd French, 3rd Japanese
Source : www.actfl.org/files/public/Enroll2000.pdf
Australia(New South Wales)
1st French, 2nd Japanese, 3rd German, 4th Italian
Source : www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/secondary/languages/assets/pdf/Lang06SecData.pdf
New Zealand(except Maori language)
1st French, 2nd Japanese, 3rd Spanish, 4th German
Source : 'Data Tables' from
www.educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/schooling/july_school_roll_returns/6052/32355
Thanks for reading my poor English!
study modern languages in Australia and New Zealand choose Japanese
while it is chosen by 1~2% of pupils in the UK, Canada, USA(except
Hawaii and California). I understand that oceanian countries are more likely
to be affected by Asian market than Great Britain or North America. But
does that mean there are far more people in Australia or New Zealand who
are fluent in Japanese than any other western countries??(except for
Japanese Americans in Hawaii and California) I mean, Japanese or any
other asian languages can be a tough choice for native English speakers.
are there many Australians and New Zealanders who can read 'hiragana'
and count 'ichi, ni, san, shi, go, roku'?
These are some interesting statistics that indicate Japanese and other
foreign language education in English speaking countries.
Top 10 countries with Number of Students learning Japanese
1st Korea : 910,957
2nd China : 684,366
3rd Australia : 366,165
6th USA : 117,969
10th New Zealand : 29,904
Canada and UK and other western countries : not on the list
Source : www.jpf.go.jp/e/japanese/survey/result/img/2006_03.pdf
Number of people learning Japanese is 3 times more in Australia than
America while population of Australia is just only 1/15 of that of America,
which basically means you are 45 times more likely to meet Japanese
learners in Australia than America and maybe 100 times more than Britain
or European countries. Is this really true?? I'm quite surprised.
Most taught modern languages in English speaking countries
UK(GCSE Statistics)
1st French, 2nd German, 3rd Spanish
USA
1st Spanish, 2nd French, 3rd German, 4th Italian, 5th Japanese
State of Hawaii
1st Japanese, 2nd Spanish, 3rd French
State of California
1st Spanish, 2nd French, 3rd Japanese
Source : www.actfl.org/files/public/Enroll2000.pdf
Australia(New South Wales)
1st French, 2nd Japanese, 3rd German, 4th Italian
Source : www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/secondary/languages/assets/pdf/Lang06SecData.pdf
New Zealand(except Maori language)
1st French, 2nd Japanese, 3rd Spanish, 4th German
Source : 'Data Tables' from
www.educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/schooling/july_school_roll_returns/6052/32355
Thanks for reading my poor English!