Why 95% of Japanese can't speak English
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- Опубліковано 20 тра 2024
- Lingoda
Discount code: TAKASHI20
Link: try.lingoda.com/Takashi20
Thanks to Nick
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Being from a country where it's practically mandatory to speak English if you want to be successful in most fields, it amazes me how Japanese people don't really have that necessity. This made me respect even more those who learn it, because it shows that they're truly interested in communicating with others. Kudos to all of you!
fr, 40% of the people I know speak it ok, and 20% are fluent and I live in Eastern Europe.
It came to the point where I have to learn german so I have an edge since that's a harder language and fluent speakers are rare, I got a job knowing some broken german and the employer said it's fine as long as I'm willing to improve it.
All the jobs I wanted already had better applicants who may be less fluent than me in English but have better skills, where as with german they took me on the team without any experience in the field(finance)
Indian？
Well, Japan is rich by themselves, they simply don't need.
@@andrettax6052it was. Japan been stagnant since the late 80s. As of right now they’re close to 30th spot on gdp per capita (nominal). Similar to Slovenia in Eastern Europe according to IMF. Hard to explain how it happened. They seemed unstoppable st one point.
It's actually impressive that they don't need to speak English to be successful. It just shows how rich their language is. They don't have to borrow foreign words to communicate even complicated and technical ideas. We could never teach math or science in our own language. We simply don't have enough vocabulary for it. Our economy also isn't self-sustaining. Hence, we have to rely on English in business and most fields or else we'll all be back to agriculture. Lol.
I am one of those Japanese who can understand English as a language but struggle to speak it. Many Japanese seem to have a complex about Japanglish. I was one of them. However, as I traveled to various countries, that complex disappeared. I learned that Thai, Korean, Chinese, and Spanish people speak English with their own unique accents.
But I still add "sry my broken eng” at the end of the sentence lol
Much love and respect to you! English must have not been easy at all to learn from your perspective. I am struggling to learn Japanese, since all the languages I speak are Latin based or Germanic. It's very tough, but Japanese is a beautiful language and it always warms my heart when the Japanese make so much effort to try to convey what they mean through the few English words they know ❤
I spent like an hour in Nara speaking through Google translate with an elderly. He was so eager to communicate to me in English 😭 it was super nice !
From almost 2 decades of watching anime i can understand what is being said most of the time but struggle to speak it
Your English is very good.
_I hereby decree that you can drop the apology at the end of your sentences_ !
Your written English is very good and the fact that you keep persisting is commendable. One last thing, please stop apologizing, you have done nothing wrong nor are you burdening anyone. 😉
You're doing well! ❤ Don't worry, also somehow I am like you in that situation with English: I'm a argentine, an Spanish-native speaker, but now being an adult I can defend in English using grammar, I can't pronounce well it but from time-to-time I try to read things on internet so I can't forget what I learned years ago.
Actually I'm learning Japanese ^^
I love how all of these people made an effort to speak when put on the spot. It's not easy. Great job guys!
nice to see Nick in a video again.. everytime he appears he gives some good advices/thoughts
Shoutout to Nick for showing positive and reassuring body language and for speaking clearly and concise. I mean that is expected from a teacher but what I’m trying to point out is that if you plan to visit Japan and talk with locals, actions like these will make you more approachable/comfortable to talk with.
It happened to me. I wanted to buy food at a local food truck in Tsuchirua, I politely asked "eigo?" and the girl told me no while giggling. So what followed were some awkward but very funny 5 minutes of me pointing out what I wanted and she pointing to me which sauces I wanted and how much it all costed. Smiling and body language go a long way, people.
I am Finnish and I just spent 3 months in Japan (around Osaka, Kyoto and in a small town in Wakayama pref.) and I surely became a silent person during these months, since I don't speak Japanese and 99,9% of the people I met did not speak English. I still had good time and experiences and I am definitely going to go back in the future, but be prepared for this! (I have travelled alone around Europe, in the Middle East and East Africa and was always able to find people who spoke English enough to have good coversations, but Japan and South Korea too, have been more difficult in this matter!) Anyway, I do love travelling in East Asia and definitely going back soon! ❤ (I am fluent in Finnish, English, Danish and Swedish, but no use for any of those languages this time.. 😅 )
Finnish is so hardddd
Are you a millonaire? I can barely afford a bus to visit next town with the salaries in Spain.
@@BlackHoleSpain He's Finnish. 😅
work online, travel the world
I have a question. I don’t mean to be rude, but how often do Fins even speak Finnish in their own country? From what I’ve heard the Nordic countries have given into English when it comes to business, higher education, and even the court systems.
Watching you the last year and a half or so, I can tell your english speaking skill is getting way better Takashii! Keep it up
I was always bad at english in school because I felt like I was behind everyone else and hated my teachers because in my eyes they explained stuff poorly. Then I started watching live streams on Twitch in english and have improved a ton since then. First of all because it was a topic that interested me (gaming) and second of all I could just listen and learn at my own pace. I think it is almost impossible to learn a language if you don't put in time outside of school to learn it. Now that I am fluent in english I can watch a lot more content that was simply not possible before. For that reason alone I think it is worth learning english but obviously being able to communicate with a lot of people world wide is also a big plus.
"I think it is almost impossible to learn a language if you don't put in time outside of school to learn it." - very true! It's baffling how many people think just a couple of hours in school every week might somehow be enough to properly learn a language. It's not enough. Not even close. Remember how long it takes children to learn their mother tongue. Years and years, even though they are completely immersed in the language every hour of every day. Still takes years. Learning a language framework takes a long time, there are basically no shortcuts.
I mean your paragraph here is written perfectly
I only really learnt english outside of school. You will never learn a language unless you immerse yourself in it.
Wow, your English is native-level. Congratulations. And you're absolutely right about how languages are really learned. The biggest reason people in smaller countries speak English much better than those from larger countries (e.g. the Portuguese speak English way better than Spaniards) is that their foreign media isn't dubbed.
Frankly, it was the same with me, I've been watching youtube in english since I was about 5(?) roughly the same time I was introduced to Minecraft, and honestly Watching videos and stuff like that has made me learn WAY more than actual school and such
I'm American and throughout all my years of schooling, the only language that was ever available in school was Spanish and they did eventually have an Italian class when I got to high school. I understand where the kids are coming from. I took Spanish for nearly 7 years and barely know it at all outside of the basic stuff. As it is in Japan where it's just a subject you're required to take, that's how it is here throughout middle school and high school. We were young and didn't understand the immense benefits of actually learning the language. 95% of us just did what we needed to at the time to pass the class. Spanish is widely spoken here, too, unlike English in Japan. Of course as an adult, I look back and really regret not taking all my years of Spanish seriously just as I'm sure a lot of these kids will feel as they get older.
Similar to how I feel here in Canada. French is one of our official languages and English speaking provinces fail at teaching this tool. A big part here in the French classes are not designed for you to learn as a communication tool. It feels as it's just lip service to appease our language laws and our provinces can do better.
How Spanish is taught in the US is so bad lol I have heard native Spanish speakers take Spanish for an easy A and still fail because nothing makes sense to them and it doesn't sound natural to them. This is what I have heard about learning English in Japan. They it is taught sucks and they don't do enough speaking
@@MegaCynarI'm Québécois and I enjoy consuming cultural content produced in English-speaking cultures, rather than rely on translations/dubs. Sadly, language is very politicized in Canada. I noticed that all the road signs are bilingual outside Québec but only in French within my province. I don't find that fair but I'm in the minority among my peers. I think that, in order to truly learn another language you need to have an interest in the broader culture behind that language. I like Japanese food and entertainment but not enough to learn Japanese.
Just brush up on it you bum
My school had Spanish, Japanese, French, and german
Makes me happy to see Japan’s younger generation open up to the rest of the world. All these kiddos that wanna travel and experience new places really made my day. I wish them all the best, and lots of success in their studies. 🤙🏽😁
Japan’s population is becoming smaller compared to the rest of the world.
We are doing a program to open young people in Japan to the outside world by having native English speakers teaching Japanese students on English as well as cultural knowledge
Agree ❤
Awesome video! I like the guest interviewer format for this episode. Very inspiring. Your friend seems like an engaged teacher and his three language learning points are completely valid. Thanks!
Was great to see your mate host your show Takashi
Also very true about what all he had said !!!
HNY!!!!! ✌🏻
Not everyone 'has to' be able to speak English.
But if they can, it's lots of fun to communicate with international people. Good luck to language learners!!
English is very important if you want to be able to communicate with anyone around the world.
@@Rui28Costa Yep, if someone can speak English, Mandarin, and Spanish, they can speak to a huge majority of the world. Mandarin may be the most common first language, but English is the most common SECOND language, and a truly startling amount of people can understand and speak it at least at a rudimentary level. It's the new lingua franca.
Not only that the companies would see them as an asset if they can speak fluent English.
@@JB-xl2jc yeah yeah, as someone that knows both english and spanish (not that much, but probably enough to communicate well), i find hard to not be able to speak to someone
Agreed! It's so much fun to communicate with everyone around the world. This is why I am learning more languages too.
I've been to Japan twice, once in 2014 and again in 2023. There were FAR more people able to communicate with me in english in 2023 compared to 2014 especially in Tokyo. With the exception of a few small restaurants we were generally able to communicate everywhere we went in Tokyo. In Kyoto things were a bit more difficult but was still better than I experienced in 2014 Tokyo.
The development of google translate and being able to translate a lot of the writing you see on the fly definitely helps now filling some of the gaps, as does UBER which wasn't available the first time I went which made getting around at night much easier without needing to communicate as much.
I'm not surprised. IRL streamers have invaded big cities like Tokyo and Shibuya. It's too bad that the Japanese people are letting these streamers get away with everything.
Strangely, my two most recent trips to Japan were also in 2014 and 2023... Almost everyone in Tokyo spoke to me in basic English last year, even though I'm fine with speaking Japanese. I could tell they only knew a few words, but I thought it was polite for them to try to accommodate the non-Japanese speakers.
It funny because if you ask people in the US whether they can speak Japanese they will say yes because they have watched a lot of sub anime then you try to talk to them ....
I was there a year ago and like 95% of people couldn't speak English. You can't communicate there at all if you don't speak at least some Japanese. Ofc people are polite and you can try to use the translator, but forget about going out there asking things in English. Don't give wrong ideas to future tourists.
japanese study english all thru school, but...there are so many more sounds in english than there are in japanese. it is difficult for japanese to pronounce english. the sound of 'l' does not exist, so the american 'r' is substituted. 'b' is substituted for 'v'. the vowel sounds are limited, just as they are in spanish or italian. and there are more difficulties. the 'voice box' begins to harden at about age ten. after that age it is hard to produce new sounds. english speakers find it difficult to understand what the japanese are saying when they speak english. i knew a japanese girl who gave herself the name 'veronica' so that she would have to pronounce the 'v' and the 'r'. she could have gone one better, tho, and called herself 'valerie.' just for fun, look for videos of japanese speaking spanish. they are quite good at it. there is a japanese boxer who went to mexico to improve his boxing. you can hardly tell him from a native speaker. @@fos8789
Bless that you do and have this YT channel otherwise i never qould have had this much insight into Japan and the peoples mindset 😊
Thanks for this great video, as well as the helpful tips given by Nick!
Im now more motivated to get back into learning Japanese so the next time I visit, I can speak it well.
6:23 Kudos to Nick for shedding light on the real reasons why people struggle with language acquisition and outlining the fundamental steps to learn a new language. It's a breath of fresh air to hear an explanation that doesn't just point fingers at "grammar" or other typical excuses offered by some "experts."
For some reason those normal long videos are better than watching just short videos about Japan and the whole culture differences out there..
Really like your content Takashi, greetings from Egypt = )
If you have any experience of teaching English in Japan, tell us why no many Japanese people are not fluent in English!
Hey takashii how did you learn English?
@@vaasblyat8384basically self study.
I majored English and American literature in uni but none of my friends from classes are not fluent at all unless they studied abroad.
Lol , I'm Algerian and I consider myself somehow fluent in English
The high school/university entrance exams do not test "speaking" so English teachers spend very little time on improving speaking skills in class.
I found that a bit shocking when visiting Tokyo - and I'm not an Anglophile, my mother tongue's Spanish. Since the Japanese ed system is so good, I initially thought it was a conscious/unconscious choice based on historical resentment (which I think it's totally guaranteed). It's interesting to find out there are other reasons behind the phenomenon.
I'm trying to learn Japanese. This teacher was very helpful, especially the part about the steps. I'm still on step one.
Your channel is getting more and more interesting! Thank you for such great content. ❤
I live in Germany, and I always thought that both Japan and Germany, being tiny nations with powerhouse economies and cutting edge technological develpment, had a lot in common. Most Germans speak at least some English, so I naturally assumed that most Japanese would be able to speak at least some English as well.
I just got back from my first visit to Japan. I spent a week in Aizu-Wakamatsu, Prefecture Fukushima. I don't speak Japanese, other than a few phrases like please, thank you, good morning, etc. Almost nobody in Aizu, and surprisingly few people in Tokyo, speaks any English whatsoever, not even young people. That really shocked me. In fact, the person I met, who had the best command of English, was an elderly gentleman.
There are, of course, fantastic apps that can translate spoken language in both directions. For that reason, I think most Japanese probably will never see a need to go beyond step one, as Nick notes around 8 minutes into the video.
Other than that, I had a fantastic time in Japan, and despite the language barrier, everyone was polite, friendly, and helpful.
Yeah, it's crazy because every Japanese student has to learn English in school 😅
This is why I'm trying to learn more Japanese. I'm like juuuust at an N5 level. And like, how many kids have to take Spanish in the US and don't know a word? Many
Germany has a high level of English proficiency for some reason (idk why, please enlighten me if you know). I suspect part of it may be due to being closer to England and other European countries where it’s the Lingua Franca with places like France, Belgium, etc. Funnily enough, I lived in France for a little while to teach English, and I found that the level of English language proficiency amongst French people was lower than amongst German people in the Frankfurt area that I experienced when I was visiting relatives.
For Japan, there is not a strong anglophone presence directly next door (outside of US bases inside of Japan), so there doesn’t seem like the incentive is a great to learn English.
@@kuznecoffjames Where do you think the Anglos and Saxons migrated from? "Old English" is old German. But I never understood why the English/British didn't differentiate the Dutch from Deutch. Perhaps they were perceived as the same from the English/British? (I used to think that "Pennsylvanian Dutch" was really Dutch.)
how is japan tiny, there are 120 million of them? germans are over 80 million too, what are you talking about
We appreciate these interviews. We hope to see more of them in the future.
Konnichiwa Takashii. I just want to say I love your videos. It's interesting the views of all the people you interview. I'm a hafu living in America. I know some Japanese. It's sad when I can't understand what my Obaachan says sometimes. My okaasan has to translate alot for me. I habe been trying so hard to learn more. I have to use Google translate alot to communicate with my family in Japan. I struggle to find Japanese friends to help me learn more. Anyways, keep up the hard work Takashii. 😊😊😊😊
I went to Hirosaki as a solo traveler a few years ago. And I didn't anyone could speak English there. But most people I met there were so kind and ready to help. We communicated in different languages. I am so impressed by their kindness.
u can tell takashii really tried to pronounciate really well the words in this video and he nailed it! i like your english with the japanese kick to it it sounds nice!
I agree with what he said at the end first the most part but I think throwing yourself into the deep end as soon as possible is the best way to improve, I studied Japanese for about 4 years not really being able to speak that much. Then about 2 years ago I started working at a Japanese Restaurant in my home city, it was a restaurant that until that time had only hired Japanese people. At that time my city had been locked down for a while and no new Japanese people had came into the country for almost two years due to the pandemic, which may have helped me get the job. Due to this as well, most of my coworkers at that time could speak decent enough English except for the manager who funnily enough got me the job. At first I would speak a mixture of English and Japanese at work but as time went on, the borders began to open and new people started coming in, more than being unable to speak English, it's more like they had no confidence in speaking English, so we began speaking primarily Japanese at work. My vocab is dreadful but being in that environment I learned how to explain what I didn't know how to say and my Japanese improved 10 fold. This got kinda long but my point is you don't need a lot of vocabulary to start speaking, you just need to find the right environment, I can't say it's easy as I feel I was extremely lucky to get the opportunity to work where I did, I then moved to Japan 9 months ago and while there's still quite a lot I don't know, I feel like I can speak it quite naturally at this point
love your interesting contents, Takashii!
I’m Taiwanese and the situation here is similar, we understand English but cannot really speak it :(
I completely agree with Nick saying that schools teach English as a subject instead of a communication tool. It’s the same in Taiwan. I think when the education focuses too much on teaching the academics side of English, it actually hindered students ability to learn how to speak as we became way too afraid of making mistakes. I find it quite detrimental as speaking skills can be improved much faster when one is not afraid of making tons of mistakes!
btw thanks Takashii for always making interesting and insightful videos! I enjoy watching them a lot😆✨
Your written English is amazing though! 😊
P.S - I am hoping to visit Taiwan this year! 🇹🇼😊 (I am from Australia 🇦🇺)
A lot of people from the Philippines have poor English grammar, and are actually quite bad at the academic side of English, however, they can communicate very fluently with native english speakers. It's Nick's theory that about Step 2 (listening and absorbing english media) being very important, and its actually proven in our case. Most Filipinos fail at the academic step 1 grammar rules of english, because naughty children will ignore their lessons in school, but they learn english anyway because all the videogames, media, tv shows, books, comics, magazines, are in english. They absorb the language at a conversational level.
Meanwhile the US wants us to sacrifice American lives for people who refuse to learn the language we speak. Pathetic.
@@elsief6923Probably used google translate
@@idleeidolonand given the fact that America colonized Philippines from 1899 to 1946
I would like to add that on top of cultural and education system differences, there is also a lack of curiousity beyond national borders. When I try to learn a new language (for perhaps travelling), I'm naturally curious about the culture, cuisine, history, etc. of this new place. Hence this curiousity helps to drive my desire to learn colloquial terms or phrases, listen to podcasts or shows to better grasp the accent, and learn basic etiquette to better improve my travel experience. This interest will start to positively feedback into the learning experience, especially when you start using the language and getting complements or feedback from locals. I really do think an innate sense of curiousity is pretty important to learn anything new, not just language.
Yea!!!
I think the main thing is the lack of "Americanization". Here in Europe American infleunce is everywhere and it seems to me that that doesn't exist in Japan.
@kentagent6343 as an American I think the world could use a little less American in it.
100%. The more you immerse and enjoy the culture, food, etc. the more you will connect and have a great experience. It’s my favorite aspects of learning new languages :)
I thought this was the short answer the teacher was going to give. The interviewees don’t see themselves moving abroad for their professional careers at all. Something quite common elsewhere.
the ‘mattaku NO’ guy had me rolling 😂😂😂
Great video … quite an eye-opener … your US friends explanation of 3steps of learning language really makes sense…Thx!
You will not make money teaching English in Japan. Unless you are catering to the upper or middle upper class.
Data?
He might have been talking about starting an English teaching business that receives government grants and not being an ALT.
@@badanxiety6886 Go look at the salaries in jpy for Eikaiwa teachers or even middle school or high school teachers. Japanese society as a whole does not value English education.
Eikaiwa isnt jet. And nobody with a brain does ANY form of teaching for the money. "You cant be rich being a teacher" isnt some secret news@beschterrowley3749
@@buw0mpEven if you are an alt or going through any other government subsidized program, pay is very low, compared to the average full time employment, 正社員 jobs.
It’s so crazy to me that so many people in this video say they can’t speak English, but they’re saying it in English and even able to respond to you and converse. If I could speak Japanese on the level of their English I would be so proud. 😭
I feel so proud when I'm watching anime and hear a word or phrase j recognize. Nani?!?!?
Well I can say "Non parlo Italiano" and "No able Espanol" without being able to speak Italian nor Spanish itself :D
@@belialofedenRight? I get a little excited when I can read a store sign in the background of ‘Alice in Borderland.’
@@belialofeden Daily reminder that anime isnt real. Anime is not Japan.
@@SussyBaka-sv1fj of course. But there's no largely Japanese speaking cities or anything like that near me. I don't come across Japanese unless I'm watching anime or shopping. It's the small bit of the culture I can easily access You also don't have to be a jerk about it lol because I never said anything about anime being real or representing Japanese culture as a whole. Grow up
Wow, really love your videos TAKASHI.
Something that stuck out to me in this video, at the very end you asked viewers that if they were to come to Japan, to learn some Japanese. I just actually got back from my first ever visit to Japan, and while I won't claim to be anything more than a novice with very select understanding of the language from about a year of light studying, it really did help my overall experience being able to somewhat understand what was being said to me at times by locals as well as being able to respond back in select situations. I also feel it's just a sign of respect to try and at least have some understanding of the language if you're going to visit a country and its people.
I've been watching your content for a little over a year now, Takashii, it's been very enlightening and informative and it's been fun seeing my own improvements in my comprehension of the Japanese language while hearing Japanese people speak in their native tongue during your interviews. Thank you for your content and I'm always looking forward to your next video!
Super interesting video. The insight on why Japanese people struggle so much with English was super interesting, and I think the problem is similar in France where I live (people struggle with English here too). It comes from the way it's taught in school, mostly.
Hey Check My Mindfulness Interviews. Thank you for be here 🌳
My former high school teacher is an ALT in Japan now and she said that it has something to do with the educational system as well. But in her experience, it's easier to communicate in English in Tokyo than the countryside. Nice video Takashi san, I like the format here. Happy new year みんな！
Your English is getting more and more fluent sounding. Well done!
I relate a lot to what has been said in the video about practicing real English versus studying it as a scholastic subject: when I was in high school, I could only "read" English, but spoken English was impossible to understand. In university, I had to read many scientific English texts, and my comprehension of written English improved further, but it's only with the advent of UA-cam that I've really begun to understand the spoken language. I've taken many online courses in English and messaged people from all over the world, and I realized how different a "real" language is from one learned only in books. Now I can understand spoken English very well.
I really like the changes made to the subtitles! Not as big and they’re much more subtler so as not to take up too much space on screen!
This video made me hopeful, since it seemed that around 30+% of the respondents spoke decent English which I was expecting to be closer to 15%. And, as usual, I suspect a major issue is confidence. Most people I’ve met who are learning English actually have pretty good pronunciation, but lack confidence, so don’t speak so much. I agree that learning almost any other language is more important than English specifically.
Nice work Takashi San, am very interesting in the subject that you explore in yr show, am coming to Tokyo on 16th January, will be great to catch up with you for a coffee somewhere in Tokyo.
You do some really fun videos. Thank you guys.
I lived in Germany for two years and was amazed at how well people can speak English there. Many were even happy to practice their English with me.
When I visited Japan recently, I had learned a little Japanese beforehand, and it was very useful. To me, people there seemed shy about their English, that they might make a mistake. I can understand that. I worry I will make a mistake when speaking another language sometimes.
By the way, I absolutely loved both countries.
English and German have common roots. I'd assume its just so much easier to learn. And one point this video also mentions... German native speakers consume a huge amount of English media. 😂
Absolutely, in Germany we start learning English from 3rd grade primary school. And the greatest pop cultural influences are definitely from the US. Especially since our own movies, TV shows and music are complete garbage 😂
If true, then Germans have made big progress. 20 years ago in Germany I was in a big international youth camp with thousands of German teenagers and young adults. Very few were fluent in English. It was really strange coming from Nordic background. I think ca. 2005 was when Germans discovered internet, which might explain the rapid improvement.
I don't know about i often go to Germany to buy things since i live close to the border and they get a lot of Dutch customers. but there is always chaos because the people working in the shops only know German and and get really confused if you try to talk to them in English
the language distance between English and German, English and Japanese is completely different. English's root is German language (not Romance language), very common SVO syntax and grammer and alphabet , while Japanese is SOV language so the rate of picking up the language is completely different... For instance, Korean also have the same SOV structure of Japanese and some also learn the Chinese letter Kanjis (since a lot of Korean words are made of Kanji combinations), so they tend to learn Japanese at a very fast rate being the same structure with Kanjis, while Chinese language have the same structure of English SVO so they are known to learn English much faster than the Japanese.
In my experience in visiting Japan twice, I've found people to be very helpful and was always able to find someone who spoke English to help me find my way around. That said I do speak enough Japanese to start a conversation (very very basic), that perhaps puts people at ease.
Thanks for the video. I watched to the advert. The concept mentioned of communication tool vs subject to study is good. I know a Japanese woman who is a wonderful person in many ways, and if she learned English she could go far. However she also thinks it is just a study subject and she hates studying.
Thank you, good video.
as an English person learning Japanese it's super interesting to see people that are the same, but flipped
I have so much respect for people who learn other languages to fluency or even just to a useful level. I can mostly get by in Spanish but have also been studying Korean for almost 2 years but it’s so hard that my expressive abilities are still very poor. We keep trying!
DONT GIVE UP! Just keep nit picking and even a tiny bit consistent and it'll stick more and more! I've just started teaching myself Japanese over the last few months and its just amazing how much consistency matters more than any other part of language learning.. Just keep exposing yourself to the language even if in small bits cause its hard or you feel like you're failing at getting better. You'll get there! Especially if you still enjoy the thought of truly being able to use a specific new language someday, that you've always been interested in. 👍
@@burjalmadre Thank you for the encouragement. I stick with it because I love it and while I don’t have much time to devote to it, it’s been rewarding to see even the slow and steady progress. Sometimes I have to step back to remind myself that while I don’t actually speak Korean yet, I know sooooooooooo much more than I knew a couple of years ago when I knew ZERO, ha!
Where are you from? I tried to learn Korean at the Korean Cultural Centre in Madrid... but they were horrible, since their courses were just 60 hours per year, 30 weeks at 2 hours per week, only allowed 40 students each year, and their schedule was not compatible if you were working elsewhere, since the class was from 4 PM to 6 PM.
Which Spanish? I’m half Mexican but was never raised to understand the language… how did you start?
The reason why English is taught is that it is common around the world. Not just US and UK. The majority of Europeans learnt English . And English will get you buy in India, Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand. To name a few. As for Netflix, people in non-english speaking countries do watch movies in their own language.
Takashii, your videos are so good. 👏
When I learned Mandarin, I did step 2 and 3 together, but I don't think I studied enough. I've forgotten much, but also always struggled with speaking. I have had an interest in Japanese for over 20 years now, and never really took it anywhere. Step 1 forever, you could say, even if I went a little further. When I visit Japan, I would like to speak in Japanese, so I am definitely taking it more seriously, I would like to not just understand a song, or a vague speech, but truly understand and communicate.
I recently returned from Japan a few weeks ago. Compared to my previous trip to Japan 5 years ago, a lot more people now speak English. Our first night in Nagoya, we were walking around looking for a restaurant that was open. We were standing in front of a restaurant trying to read the business hour signage, when an elderly Japanese woman behind us told us that it was closed in English. When we found a restaurant the young waiter there knew how to speak some English. Almost every hotel we stayed at had staff that could converse in English even in remote areas like Beppu and Minobu. In the Beppu hotel, we were greeted by a younger female staff. She barely spoke any English, but tried to help us with a translation app. Later an older Japanese woman came to greet us in Japanese. When she realized we were American she spoke to us in perfect English. We then found out that she was from LA. We thought she was an outlier, but the next morning during breakfast, another older Japanese woman spoke to us in near fluent English. Even on the trains, the operators would make announcements regarding our arrival destination in English. It was something I didn't noticed 5 years ago.
Maybe they had more time to study indoors because of the pandemic and those working in tourist areas/industries prepared for when tourists could come visit again after the restrictions ended. I read somewhere that 8% of Japan’s GDP comes from tourism, so it makes sense they’d value that kind of thing.
Beppu used to be a large military base after the occupation plus I think there a bunch of international schools there. So no big surprise in Beppu
That's just your imagination. English isn't any more spoken in Japan now than it was 5 years ago. You were probably just used to it the second trip. The first trip is always going to be a shock.
I used to teach at an eikaiwa and at a high school in Japan! I do agree that Japan should make English an elective language course (like how in the States, depending on where you live, you get a few different options of second language classes to take in school) because not everyone is going to be interested in or need English in their lives. As for the steps that was mentioned about language learning... I do think the listening and producing steps can be done concurrently. You can practice as you learn, so to speak. Anyway, Japan is super conservative and slow to change, so I doubt they're gonna change their ways anytime soon XD
I´m Swedish so I`m fluent in Swedish. I would say that English is my second language because in Sweden we learn English at a very young age (7 years old) and we study it until we are about 15 years old. Almost all the tv-shows here in Sweden are from America so even when we came home from school English would still be with us. I would say that I understand English perfect but because I don´t speak English very often I have some problems with finding the words when I talk to someone in English. I get a bit stressed because I want to find the words just as fast as when I speak Swedish 😅 Now I am studying Japanese and I find it so hard. In Japanse they don´t use "a" or "the" so it´s a bit harder to understand when one word and can mean a lot of different things. So I can really understand why people from Japan find English difficult. But it always fun to learn a new language ☺
x2 I have the same problem with English bcs my first language is Spanish so English is a struggle for me I can understand it but when I have to talk I really can't I get so nervious finding the words I need and at the same time translating everything in my mind from Spanish to English is so hard 😂
nick did great! hope you guys collab more
Just came back from a bucket list trip from Japan! I didn’t think Japanese people were bad at English. Likely can’t hold a big conversation, but you’d be surprised how sufficient the English they know combined with things like pointing and body language. And a lot of them seemed genuinely excited to try their English with you. I can’t say the same if Japanese people visited America, lol.
I see that if i wanna go to japan ill need to learn quite a bit of japanese. This is very useful, thank you Takashii!
This ia so real.. i have many Japanese friends we usually communicate by chat . When i met them in Japan last year, they litteraly can not speak English and i found some misunderstanding in communication.. i decide to learn Japanese harder now for next trip meet up with them.. but STILL they are nicest and kindest people in the world.. love them 😊..🥰..
I was really surprised at this when I came to Japan! I knew few people spoke English but I was shocked at the extent that was even in places like Osaka and Tokyo! I actually met with a friend who studied aboard in the US 5 years ago and when we met up to hang out, he could barely speak English anymore! He was near fluent when he lived here!
I totally understand why tho. Studying Japanese for almost 7 years, I can read and write and even understand what people are saying but I struggle to form sentences and respond confidently. If you don't have someone to constantly speak the language with whether English or Japanese, it's very hard to communicate when the time comes for it!
..."we don't really care about other countries."😂
who are you and where are you from 👽
😂
I have some friends that still reside in San Francisco, CA who grew up there and are Japanese descent like their parents are from Japan. Fortunately, the Japanese American community has Japantown in San Francisco and offers schooling there to continue language and culture. One of my friends enrolled her 5 children there. When she goes back home to Japan, then she and her 5 children are able to communicate.
I personally have not been to Japan and the country has always been on my wishlist. It seems like family members/cousins from both my mother and father's side have visited and have had wonderful tourist experiences, but no mention of any language issues. One of my maternal cousins who majored in Japanese language at UC Davis spent a year in Japan (I'm not exactly sure where) but it got him to the point he did not want to come back to the U.S. as he loved his experience in Japan.
I've planned my first visit to Japan this summer and I cannot wait! I love Japan and the Japanese people! Love from UK/Ireland
That was a very interesting interview. I am struggling to speak Japanese & when I get there from UK in March, I was hoping to find more English speaking Japanese so they may help me travel through your wonderful country. I do find your language challenging, you speak so fast! I have been listening to Japanese people on UA-cam for a month now & am struggling to say the most basic of things😢
Thank you so much for your content, keep posting.
One of my favorite filmmakers is Akira Kurosawa. I always watch his films in Japanese with English subtitles. It was difficult at first but once I was more familiar hearing the language it sounded so much better. To me it enhances my enjoyment to hear dialogue as it was meant to be spoken.
this is really interesting subject!. here in Chile is the same, just few people speak English fluently. even university graduates don't speck English correctly. i learned a lot that i know because of Gaming and internet. and i learned a lot of Japanese from Anime and watching Japanese shows online. by learning a new language you has to realize how you learn your first language when you where a little kid, Just copying every person around you and failing and be corrected. And some times been ridiculized for speak bad, this point is importan because this happen when we are, as adult, traying to learn a new language and feel shame, then quit and never actually learn.
Nick is very cool guy, I hope there will be more videos with him
Really enjoyed this video! Hope you and your loved ones are safe from the earthquake as well
I've always wanted to be fluent in two+ languages, seems super useful, fun and great to put on a resume... Wish it didn't take so much time and dedication =p
It always "bugged" me (not in a particularly bad way but yeah) when people I knew could pick up languages and be conversational in a matter of weeks or months. I could try for years and just not get it.
@@JB-xl2jc Unless you're talking about Spanish idk what you're talking about. No one who has ever seriously studied a foreign language expects another person to become conversational in a matter of weeks or months (if we take "conversational" to mean being able to understand at least 90% of informal discussions). The UA-cam videos lie (unless you're some 130IQ genius). If you're serious about learning a new language, you have to throw timeframes out the window and focus on immersing yourself in that foreign language as much as possible. Watch UA-cam videos, read children's books, and talk with natives so that you're both absorbing the information and forcing yourself to think in that language.
@@chris_hawk My old Latin teacher could pick up languages and converse in them- if they were a romance language he said it took a matter of weeks due to the similarity (and by the time I met him he spoke every major romance language fluently), whereas completely unrelated languages (he also spoke both Japanese and Chinese) would take him closer to 6 months. He was a polyglot and technically qualified to be considered a "genius" linguistically though, so that's not exactly common. Cool superpower to have!
It’s easy, just be born to bilingual parents who force you to attend a Saturday language school, or grow up in some country with great English education :P
Easiest thing you could possible learn it just few people want to put in the time commitment but all you have to do is watch UA-cam in target language long enough. Then when you have enough vocab and language construction stuck in your head you just start talking to any foreigner who will listen but you know English so eventually everyone else will. Just start with a easy one like Spanish, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, and French
Bro this country is lovely it’s my dream place to travel. Yes anime and all but mostly it’s a beautiful country, beautiful people the nature of it is nice and overall everything about it drives me to want to visit it!
What Nick said about why people in Japan don’t learn English is also exactly why most Americans are also not bi-lingual. Many people know the basics of a couple of languages of whatever they studied in high school and college, but to be fully fluent in a language, you need to put in the time and effort into studying and maintaining the knowledge. Great video, though.
Well, the education system in the US is also not that great.
I cringe every time someone uses "could of" instead of "could have" or "could've" in written text.
I can forgive someone for making that mistake in speech, but in written form? Really now?
As a Greek person I make many mistakes when speaking English, due to the fact that I rarely practice speaking.
But it is unacceptable to not understand the grammar of your native tongue.
It is ridiculous that bilinguals that have English as their 2nd or 3rd language, often know better English than Americans that know English and nothing else.
@@arjix8738 Ugh, I couldn't agree with you more! My English is not that great considering I majored in Japanese and haven't studied English language since my freshman year of high school, but it still drives me nuts that many Americans struggle with the basics. 🤦
I’d love to learn other languages but Spanish and German are not on my list. I’m not interested in what school teaches and they don’t teach it right. Teaching good stuff and teaching it good means more fun and more smarts.
@@arjix8738 Don't forget American people with their double negatives "He ain't nothing" 😂
@@sophietwilight7502 ugh I hate double negatives, Greek has that problem as well
For example "You didn't do the dishes?", no matter what you answer, it means that you did not do the dishes
This was a fascinating video. I have always been under the impression that more Japanese people speak English pretty well. Japanese culture has so many little bits of English thrown in so it's surprising to see so many don't speak English better.
Really good content!!
Wow... This is so well done/said. Nick nailed this perfectly, Glad to call him an old friend. Takashii, thank you very much from not shying away from difficult content and subject matter. If you wanna come here, learn the language and keep it copacetic. But if you are Japanese and have high career goals, learn English as it will help you advance. I have now subbed.
As an Mandarin speaker immigrated to the US from Taiwan for over 23 years, and a conversational speaker in Japanese and Spanish, I have come to the understanding that, for native Japanese speakers, it is very challenging to try to learn English as a second language; in learning new languages after you are no longer a child, we often try to "translate" the new language to something we can relate to in our first or native language, which is completely natural, but that makes it hard for Japanese natives to speak with proper pronunciation
For example, in Japanese, you can only end a word in a vowel (あ、い、う、え、お) , or the consonant "n" (ん)
The letters ら、り、る、れ、ろ is pronounced with the consonant between r and l sound, so more like a leh sound like in booklet, kinda, not exactly, its an approximation at best
The sentence structure is completely different; In Japanese and Korean (and maybe other languages), it is Object Subject Verb, instead of Subject Verb Object, and subject are usually assumed instead of stated outright, especially when you refer to people in conversations
So, with that in mind, one reason it can come across as "they can't speak the good English (choice of word intended)" is because if you give a Japanese speaker the phrase "Be your inspiration to inspire others", they would possibly pronounce it as "bi yoru insupurashion, tu insubaira ozasu" kinda, but you can see how hard that is to write out the pronunciation in English for it
And of course, the classic tale of Rs in languages, people would deem Japanese speakers as unable to pronounce Rs and Ls properly, and that is because they have a pronunciation of something more in between
Anyway, that is just my two yen on this matter. I also think it is very self-centered of people to say that "they should just learn/speak English" and it makes Japanese people and people from other countries feel compelled and less confident in themselves because they think they can't communicate in a way that is communicated by the majority or those with influence.
Hope this helps to anyone who actually takes the time to read this in full, have a lovely day everyone!
BECAUSE IT'S JAPAN.
Honestly, I came to post my opinion about the title of the video... The audacity. it is a ridiculous notion to expect another country with a totally different language to "know English".
Like... can you imagine... You're in Japan asking a Japanese stranger why they don't speak your non-Japanese language 🤣 wow... just wow.
Come to the united states and ask the more logical question _"Why don't most U.S. citizens speak Spanish? Like... Mexico is right there"_
Yes I 100 percent agree it's disrespectful to think they need your language
Yeah but to be fair English is the global lingua franca now and for Japan to maintain its status as a highly developed nation (and not stagnate like it did pre-Meiji Reformation), the Japanese have to trade with the world and adapt scientific and technologic advances around the globe into the Japanese system.
Exactly. It's such a chauvinistic idea to expect English to be spoken everywhere.
I really want to learn 1.Japanese 2.French and 3. Korean. I know the tiniest bit of Spanish and I learned most of that just in everyday life and not in my Spanish classes in school. French is hard for me at this age because I'm so much more used to Spanish and they are similar but yet very different. I don't think there is much hope for me learning Korean though, it is very hard for me to grasp. My husband and I plan on visiting Japan at some point and I want to work very hard to learn at least more of the basics before we go.
Hey Check My Mindfulness Interviews. Thank you for be here 🌳
I spent the last weeks traveling around Japan and the people who work with tourists almost all spoke English. A huge difference with China, where almost no one at the airport, not even employees and border guards, speaks English.
Great guest and very interesting!
Great video
HAHA THE GUY THAT STOLE THE MIC AND JUST TOOK OVER
I am not from USA UK Australia new Zealand.
But my parents made sure that English was part of my schooling. As a result I can now communicate with ppl even when I travel to non English speaking regions cause generally you will always find someone who speaks a lill English.
English is very popular Becuase of 2 reasons..
American English movies and now Netflix and the fact that UK colonised a large part of the world spreading English.
Maybe politics of certain regions don't appreciate English..
But I feel that since a large part of the world knows English..
Its a useful language to learn..
You have very wise parents.... Good for you!!
Would you ever consider putting Japanese subtitles on your videos for those of us wanting to use your videos as a tool for learning Japanese? I think that could be really helpful!
I am Japanese. I think one of the main reasons is that the Japanese education system is terrible.
All English lessons at school are taught in Japanese and the teachers do not speak English at all. This is because English education focuses only on reading. (Often referred to as "English for university entrance exam")
This’ll be a good one
I was just in Osaka and since it's a massive city I thougth people would speak English there. Not at all. I had to go to language meet-ups to meet Japanese people who could speak English. And I saw no difference in the older and younger generations.
Love the vids man and your english is very good
This was insightful. I’ll be in Tokyo for the first two weeks of march. I thought more people speak English in Tokyo haha. Japanese is the only language I’m interested in learning anyway so I’m sure I’ll be fine
I’ve been an English teacher in Japan for over 20 years, and taught at various levels of the public (and private) education system. While there certainly are points about the system that are less than ideal, I think the main reason most Japanese people never become fluent in English is cultural. (I’m actually working on a video on this topic now!) Basically, people are taught implicitly from a young age not to express their opinions and feelings (especially if they are negative) in front of others.
As well, they really don’t like making mistakes, and have a tendency to not say anything in class unless they are completely sure it’s correct. Add that to a cultural myth that there is something biologically different about Japanese people that prevents them from learning foreign languages (a lot of people here actually seem to believe this) and your have a huge barrier against gaining fluency in any foreign language, not just English. Some people manage to break the barrier, but not many.
Wow, I never knew they had that belief about a biological difference!
Sometimes ppl just cant learn English. Been told by many its more challenging and difficult even more so than Mandarin
@@LittleLulubee It’s not something that gets mentioned too much in public, but quite a few people have said that to me when we were taking about the topic in private.
@@erickmiranda3600 Depends on what your native language is.
@@erickmiranda3600 Yeah, I do think it’s one of the more challenging languages to master…especially if your native language is something with a totally different structure like Japanese. But I think as long as they put the time in, most people can eventually achieve ‘communicative competence’. (Being a perfectionist doesn’t help in this case.)
People make fun of Japan by saying ''Even students at high-level universities in Japan can't speak English''. But the opposite is true. It should be regarded as ''In Japan, even students who only speak their native language are able to access higher education and engage in advanced science.'' I rather think that it is a risk for the country if highly educated and talented people can speak English well. This is because there is a risk that such highly skilled people will eventually migrate to abroad countries (particularly to the United States, where attracts talent from all over the world).
What people should not misunderstand is that students majoring in science at high-level universities in Japan have good ability of reading and writing English. They have sufficient ability to collect information in English and write thesis in English.
English education in Japan produces "people who can read and write English, but cannot speak or listen". Worlds should realize that those people are the greatest benefit to non-English-speaking countries. Of course, I don't deny that people study English conversation on their own to make foreign friends and expand their world to enjoy life.
The same thing happing in India. Here there are various school systems. Private schools(all English education) where privileged people study mostly go abroad. Then comes state public school where they learn English as a subject like japan. I studied from a state public school, where all my subjects were in native language except English. Till class 12, I was able to read and write English but not speak or listen. Then I went to engineering college where all my subjects were in English. Then I started to work with Americans everyday, now after 10 years, my English has become standard. I was so embarrassed as a 18 yr old in college that my fellow students could (who were from private schools) fluently speak English where I couldn't.
We are doing a program to open young people in Japan to the outside world by having native English speakers teaching Japanese students on English as well as cultural knowledge.. it's only focused on speaking and listening skills which is fully online, bringing the world to them
I'm totally agree with your final message at the end of the video. If you go to japan learn some japanese before.
I am french and I have a friend who came to japan without any skills in japanese language and he was disappointed because his trip was cool but he misses a lot of things because he wasn't able to communicate with japanese people (he even end up to order food he didn't like in restaurant)
For my first trip to japan I learn some japanese I'm not fluent at all but I can read hiraganas and katakanas and about 150 kanjis and I learn some grammar to be able to make sentence like : my name is ... where is this temple ? what type of food is it ? and it gave me the opportunity to communicate with japanese people in izakaya and I had a lot of fun !
So I came back in japan last year because I love it here and I will go back in japan next year !!!
This is one of my favourite regular guests Takashi has.
I'm a high school teacher in Australia and we are starting to get groups of Japanese students amongst others, coming for short visits or to study a regular school programme for varying periods of 5 - 10 weeks throughout the year.
My school is a very multicultural school (about 70 different cultural groups represented) so we have a strong English as an Additional Language faculty.
These visits also give the students the opportunity to meet other students from so many different places and circumstances that they may not get to meet otherwise (for example, students from refugee backgrounds and Australian indigenous students). So English is really the only way they can communicate with teachers and other students and I guess also their host families in most cases.
I had a similar experience also in Australia.
For a brief period in my high school, we had a Japanese university student affiliated with a local university who was studying to become a teacher.
It feels like there is more push for engagement between Australia and Japan.
I actually had one of the senior Japanese students in my art/design class for a term and her plan was to go back to Japan, finish her schooling and then move to Australia to attend university as her sister had done before her. Immersion is really the only way to learn a language effectively.
This video is really interesting 😂😂
Super interesting video. I once talked to a kind Japanese guy in a mobile game and I think that his English is pretty good. It is really nice.
Videos like this are always interesting
Personally, as a half-Filipino and half-Japanese, who is now an English teacher at a high school, I think most Japanese don't feel motivated to learn because there is NO NEED. You can live well here in Japan without knowing any English. You can have a good job and a comfortable life without English...
When I was growing up in the Philippines, the adults around me put an emphasis on doing well in English studies/communication because it was necessary in order to have a good job in the future. Also, Filipinos are exposed to a lot of English daily on tv, radio and outside signs/advertisements. Some newspapers are in English and even news/dramas mix Tagalog and English. (I'm sure there are also a lot of problems with the "English Imperialism" vibe there... but meh. You gotta do what you gotta do to live and eat.)
I think the last person said it well, English is something most people feel is a subject you need to pass uni exams here in Japan. Most students study like crazy and memorize English for the exams but when they graduate and start working, they forget whatever they've learned because most of them don't really need English in their work or their life. There's barely any exposure outside the English lessons in class, too, unless the students themselves are motivated enough and put in the effort to watch/listen to English movies/music/news etc.
Sometimes I do feel that we should stop forcing English to the students and just let them choose any foreign language they like. 😂
Language is so interesting. It's a living culture that changes all the time along with the people who use it. Without even a little bit of interest/motivation to actually use the language, there's no way to really acquire it.
日本語と英語は大きくかけ離れている言語だし、日本は島国なので英語を喋らなくても生活する上で困らないから私みたいに英語が苦手な人が多いです。
発音があまりにも違うから、喋る時に海外の方に笑われるのでは、と心配になる人も多いですよ。
違う言語を学習して使ってみるのはとても勇気のいることです....。
My daughter is Japanese and bilingual in both Japanese and English, having lived in Australia since the age of 5. Although she studied French for six years starting in grade 3, she doesn't speak the language. She found the French classes to be somewhat challenging as she lacked interest in France and did not perceive a personal need for it. In my view, acquiring a language is most effective when it becomes necessary or when there is genuine interest in the culture of that country, even if the classroom structure and teachers are of high quality. On the contrary, she speaks perfect Japanese despite not having any friends with whom she can converse in Japanese. She only needs to use Japanese when she is with us. The primary reason, in fact, for her proficiency in Japanese is her deep pride in being Japanese and her appreciation for Japanese culture. This strong sense of identity has been a significant source of motivation for her.
I understand how hard learning english is as we have words that are spelled differently but sound the same and sometimes even a word that is written the same can sound different like Read & Read and Lead & Lead. Plus you have words where one letter difference changes the whole pronunciation of a word like Bomb, Comb, and Tomb. It is definitely hard to learn and I who speak it as a primary language respect that the people who don't it well try their best as I understand the struggle of learning a second language as I've been learning Japanese on and off for over 10 years and am still basically as novice as it comes.