Culture & Language

Pedagogical theories should be based on the culture in which they are applied, but there seems to be none originated in or adapted to Japan.

Unfortunately, college teachers tend to talk only about the definitions of some technical terms in the field of foreign language teaching which are directly imported from other countries.
I asked a certain professor, “Why do you quote only foreign theories? You said ‘individual oriented western societies’ and ‘group oriented Japanese society.’ I think the Japanese barrier against foreign languages is nothing but the Japanese culture. Furthermore, pedagogical theories should come from deep inside their cultural backgrounds and social situations.” He did not give a clear answer and just said, “To introduce foreign information can be meaningful.” Then, I asked, “At least they should be arranged for the Japanese people. Who is in charge of that?” “School teachers are,” He said. “Theories are somehow arranged for the classroom use, but it is college teachers who should adapt foreign theories to Japanese ones.” He made a forced smile, “Yeah, both of us should do so….”
All the language teachers say “Culture and language have close relationship,” but very few attach importance to overcoming cultural barrier. Japanese people have a tendency to prefer emotions and feelings to words and logics, that is, we place less significance on languages. This is the very barrier.
The phrase which symbolizes the Japanese culture might be “read / sense the atmosphere (空気を読む).” The sentence “Read the atmosphere!” sounds like a death sentence to Japanese ears! Wise people sense the atmosphere and only the fool speak out like me….

Active Learning & Multiple Intelligences

Concerning “Active learning”, John Holt was against school education. He said, “... the human animal is a learning animal; we like to learn; we are good at it; we don't need to be shown how or made to do it. What kills the processes are the people interfering with it or trying to regulate it or control it.” “Learning is not the product of teaching. Learning is the product of the activity of learners.”
Then he advocated home schooling. As he said, at institutional school, students learn both what the society requires and what the students want, however, Holt put too much emphasis on the former, I think. I still believe as a school teacher that we can facilitate students’ learning and improve their academic abilities.

The theory of multiple intelligences might be helpful in understanding multifaceted academic abilities of students. Most teachers are already aware of that and not always written-test-centric. As for me, I sometimes feel in the classroom, “She is not good at written tests but has very good ears for English!” or “What a good mimic he is!” It might be safe to say that teachers “do” and scholars only “name.”
Based on the multiple intelligences, Gardner points out that the most effective pathway to learning is different from person to person and suggests five entry points; the Aesthetic, the Narrative, the Logical/Quantitative, the Foundational, and the Experiential.
Practically, teachers should try to connect their teaching materials as much as possible with;
words, stories (linguistic intelligence),
numbers or logic (logical-mathematical intelligence),
pictures (spatial intelligence),
music (musical intelligence),
self-reflection (intrapersonal intelligence),
a physical experience (bodily-kinesthetic intelligence),
and a social experience (interpersonal intelligence).
The notion of entry points will help teachers deeply understand the teaching materials and find effective ways to teach them.

the true meaning of words

The word “family” repeatedly appeared in the passage used as a istening workshop text. The word reminded me of the sentences written by my students; “I have a family,” “I live with my family,” and “I spend my holidays with my family.” Unfortunately, if the writer of these sentences is a senior high school student, they do not make sense because “family” means “kids.” Teenagers are supposed not to have kids and actually my students do not have any kids!
Most students learn the meanings of English words by memorizing their Japanese counterparts, and do not pay much attention to their subtle differences. “Family” corresponds approximately to “Kazoku 家族,” which means an extended family including one’s parents.
Kids may be greatly surprised to know that the sentence “I have a family” means “I have kids,” and notice the cultural differences between Western and Asian societies. I think such a finding is essential in learning a foreign language.
How about the word “imagination” ? First, imagine the situation where the following conversation took place;
“Did you just hear a strange sound?"
"No, nothing. Maybe your ears are playing tricks on you.”
The underlined part can be paraphrased; it is your imagination.”
The meaning of the word “imagination” is to see or hear things that are not there. Almost all the students know the Japanese translation of “imagination,” “sozoryoku想像力, but they do not know its notion.
Japanese people rely on translation too much, so they try to study a foreign language by memorizing the Japanese counterparts word by word. Instead, they should use their imagination and grab the true meaning!!

Communication Style

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!

Gardner's multiple intelligence を考察する

Gardner に対する批判としては「知能」intelligence という言葉を
「能力」ability　という言葉に置き換えて使用したために
知能概念を拡張した、というよりは
知能概念を否定している、というものがある。

私自身は、知能の定義自体にはさほど興味がないが、
ability　に関するGardner のmultiple intelligence 理論を
日本における英語教育関係者が、ありがたがる必要は、
はたしてそんなにあるのだろうか？

まず、この理論は語学教育理論ではなく
教育一般について述べていること。

中心概念である ability については日米で
cultural back ground が異なること。

この2点に留意してほしい。

語学教育では、言語・論理が重視されるのは当然でしょ？
才能よりも努力を重んじる日本と違い
才能ないやつは、何やってもダメ！ability = gift (from God)
という発想の国なんだとか、アメリカは。

実際、Gardner は画一的に見える日本の教育を
実は違うんだ、と高く評価している。

まぁ、毎度のことですが
それが生まれでた文化的背景や社会情勢を無視して
安易に直輸入して論文の数を稼ごうとする
学者先生が、ダメなんですなぁ。

日本の文化的背景と社会情勢に熟成された
英語教育法は…意外と文法訳読かもよ♪