I met a lot of classmates from all over the world.
The classmates are from Asia, Central and South America, Mid-west, Africa, and Europe.
They are very friendly and eager to learn English.
It's fun for me to discuss the differences of customs of each country.
Some classmates came to the US as refugees.
They usually don't talk what they were like in their native countries.
But one of the classmates told me that he was lucky to be able to come to the US.
He made me think about how big the problems of conflicts, wars, and refugees are.
And I keenly feel that how little I know about world affairs.
I found some differences of the lesson between other countries and Japan.
1. How to say own opinions during the class
Basically, we need to be quiet during the class in Japan.
When we would like to say something during the class, we usually should raise our hands first.
In case a teacher picks me, I should stand up then I can say my opinion, the answer, and so on.
The situation is like below:
Teacher : Is there someone who wants to share your experience?
Student : Hai! ( はい : Yes )
Teacher : Then, Kumi - san.
Student : Hai! ( はい : Yes ) (Stand up) I went to.....
But in the US, students suddenly start talking while a teacher is talking.
Most of Japanese students seem to be overwhelmed.
We are also taught the importance of listening to teachers and other students carefully.
But some students try to say the answers or their opinions even though they interrupt teachers.
Teachers often say Japanese students are too quiet.
I agree with it, but in my case, I am just not used to the way of saying something during the class.
I don't want teachers and other students to regard that Japanese students don't want to talk and don't want to join in the class.
But I realize that I need to learn to be proactive like them more.
2. Most of Japanese students tend to be not good at speaking
This is related to the topic 1 above.
English education in Japan have focused on reading and writing.
That's why most of Japanese people tend to be not good at speaking.
But I was surprised to see that other students who are able to speak very well couldn't solve the questions of grammar.
They told me that speaking English is easier than grammar.
One of my Japanese friend who takes the same ESL class said to me:
"We are not good at speaking, but good at grammar. We should be proud of it."
Of course I often mistake the grammar and I often feel the sense of inferiority against speaking English.
But I try to stop feeling negative.
I just practice speaking more.
This is not the topic of differences, but it was very interesting that I found all of us have each country's accent.
I can understand the English spoken by the students who speak Portuguese, Korean, and Japanese.
But it was hard for me to understand the English spoken by the students who speak Arabic and Spanish.
It depends on each student, but I realized how the pronunciation is important.
Thank you(^o^) for reading this article!
Hello Kumi,
ReplyDeleteESL language class sounds very interesting. It is a shame you feel intimidated into silence when in class. I hope you are able to overcome this feeling and properly utilize the knowledge your teachers are able to give you. Also your Japanese friend is correct in stating that you should be proud of your very good grasp of England language grammar. I am ashamed to say that my understanding of English grammar is very limited. I have often wished I understood the rules by which English grammar operates. That best I am able to do is use the English language as I have learned it through exposure and usage. A good knowledge of grammar is essential if you are learning a language.
Here is a list of some of the issues found with the post:
Part 1:
This line:
The differences between Japanese students and students from other countries in the ESL class
Should be:
The differences between Japanese students and students from other countries in ESL class
This line:
I wrote in my previous blog that I take the ESL classes three days a week.
Should be:
I wrote in my previous blog post that I take (an) ESL classes three days a week.
This line:
It's fun for me to discuss the differences of customs of each country.
Could be reworded:
It's fun for me to discuss the different customs in each country.
This line:
They usually don't talk what they were like in their native countries.
Should be:
They usually don't talk what it is like in their native countries.
This line:
I found some differences of the lesson between other countries and Japan.
Should be:
I found some differences in how lessons are conducted in other countries and in Japan.
This line:
1. How to say own opinions during the class
Should be:
1. How to (say/state) ones own opinions during the class
This line:
In case a teacher picks me, I should stand up then I can say my opinion, the answer, and so on.
Should be:
In the case a teacher allows me to speak, I should stand up then I can (state/give/express) my opinion, the answer, and so on.
This line:
The situation is like below:
Should be:
The situation in Japan is as follows:
Part 2:
ReplyDeleteThis line:
Most of Japanese students seem to be overwhelmed.
Should be:
Most of the Japanese students seemed to be overwhelmed.
This line:
But some students try to say the answers or their opinions even though they interrupt teachers.
Should be:
But some students try to give the answers or their opinions even though they are interrupting the teachers.
This line:
I agree with it, but in my case, I am just not used to the way of saying something during the class.
Should be:
I agree with this, but in my case, I am just not used to this way of saying something during the class.
This line:
I don't want teachers and other students to regard that Japanese students don't want to talk and don't want to join in the class.
Should be:
I don't want teachers and other students to think that Japanese students don't want to talk or to join in with the class.
This line:
But I realize that I need to learn to be proactive like them more.
Should be:
But I realize that I need to learn to be more proactive like them.
This line:
2. Most of Japanese students tend to be not good at speaking
Should be:
2. Most of Japanese students tend not to be good at speaking
This line:
This is related to the topic 1 above.
Should be:
This is related to the (first/1st) topic above.
This line:
English education in Japan have focused on reading and writing.
Should be:
English education in Japan has focused on reading and writing.
This line:
That's why most of Japanese people tend to be not good at speaking.
Should be:
That's why most of Japanese people tend not to be good at speaking.
This line:
But I was surprised to see that other students who are able to speak very well couldn't solve the questions of grammar.
Should be:
But I was surprised to see that other students who were able to speak very well couldn't solve the questions of grammar.
This line:
Of course I often mistake the grammar and I often feel the sense of inferiority against speaking English.
Should be:
Of course I often make mistakes with grammar and I often feel a sense of inferiority when speaking English.
This line:
This is not the topic of differences, but it was very interesting that I found all of us have each country's accent.
Should be:
This is not on the topic of differences, but it was very interesting, I found that all of us have each country's accent.
This line:
It depends on each student, but I realized how the pronunciation is important.
Should be:
It depends on the particular student, but I realized how pronunciation is important.
Oops I made a mistake:
ReplyDeleteThis line:
They usually don't talk what they were like in their native countries.
Should be:
They usually don't talk about what it is like in their native countries.