One way to break down the cultural barrier is to fully beware of the differences in the communication styles and to have multiple standards.
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The Japanese notion of communication is quite different from the American counterpart. So, for Japanese people to use English fluently, they ought to have enough knowledge of communication styles.
Communication is often compared to playing catch, but this is not the case in Japan. Japanese communication style is like archery, that is, only the respected elderly persons can shoot the arrow of words, aiming at the target somewhere in the air. The role of others is to praise the art of shooting. If you should shoot at the other person, he or she would be frightened and inflamed with rage!
In Japan, the people who suggest their own opinions are not respected. Instead, people who guess other people’s feelings are highly evaluated. Japanese society requires not the linguistic-logical intelligence but the interpersonal intelligence.
There is a joke about Japanese way of communication. At the conference, non-Japanese people smile, stand up and speak out, whereas Japanese people smile, be silent and sleep. Jokes have some fragments of truth, I believe. So, when you speak English, stand up and speak out. When OTHER people speak Japanese, keep silent and pretend to be dead. Be wise and switch according to the situation!
*********************************
The Japanese notion of communication is quite different from the American counterpart. So, for Japanese people to use English fluently, they ought to have enough knowledge of communication styles.
Communication is often compared to playing catch, but this is not the case in Japan. Japanese communication style is like archery, that is, only the respected elderly persons can shoot the arrow of words, aiming at the target somewhere in the air. The role of others is to praise the art of shooting. If you should shoot at the other person, he or she would be frightened and inflamed with rage!
In Japan, the people who suggest their own opinions are not respected. Instead, people who guess other people’s feelings are highly evaluated. Japanese society requires not the linguistic-logical intelligence but the interpersonal intelligence.
There is a joke about Japanese way of communication. At the conference, non-Japanese people smile, stand up and speak out, whereas Japanese people smile, be silent and sleep. Jokes have some fragments of truth, I believe. So, when you speak English, stand up and speak out. When OTHER people speak Japanese, keep silent and pretend to be dead. Be wise and switch according to the situation!
