June 24, 2026
Foreign Languages
In Japan, full-scale English education starts in junior high school.
(In fact, pupils also study English in elementary school. However, according to a former elementary school teacher I know, there were no teachers who had majored in formal English education at her school, and the teachers struggled to teach English. So, she wondered whether English education in elementary school is really effective.)
Grammar in Japanese is quite different from that in English.
In general, English is seen as a very difficult language for Japanese people to acquire, and vice versa.
I can think of some reasons why Japanese people are not good at learning foreign languages.
From my perspective, one important factor is that English is the first foreign language most Japanese people study.
In order to prevent them from developing an aversion to foreign languages, I suggest that they should be exposed to relatively easy foreign languages in compulsory education, for example, Chinese.
Although the forms of Chinese characters differ between Japanese and Chinese, both languages use them.
There are many words that share the same form and meaning.
Of course, there are also words that look the same but have different meanings.
To be honest, speakers of Romance and Germanic languages can acquire English relatively easily.
So, isn’t it unreasonable to criticize Japanese people for their poor English compared with them?
日本では中学生から本格的に英語を学習します。
（現在では小学生から英語の授業があります。しかし、知人の元小学校教師に聞いたところ、正規の英語教育法を学んだ教師ではなく、既存の小学校教師が悪戦苦闘しながら教えているそうで、「学習効果は疑問」だそうです……苦笑）
日本語と英語は言語構造が大きく異なります。
一般的に、日本人にとって英語は習得が非常に難しい言語に分類されます。その逆も然りです。
日本人が外国語を苦手とする理由はいくつか考えられますが、個人的には、「（大半の日本人にとって）初めて学ぶ外国語が英語である」という点も大きいのではないかと思います。
外国語アレルギーを防ぐためにも、義務教育の段階で、日本人にとって比較的学びやすい外国語に触れる機会を設けるべきではないでしょうか。
日本人にとって比較的学びやすい言語としては、やはり中国語が挙げられます。字形の違いはあるものの、同じ漢字を使用しており、意味を共有する同形の単語も多く存在します。……もちろん、意味が全く異なるものもありますが。
そもそも、ロマンス語族・ゲルマン語族の話者にとって英語の習得は比較的容易です。それにもかかわらず、彼らと比較して「日本人は英語が下手だ」と批判するのはナンセンスだと思いませんか？
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Foreign Languages
In Japan, full-scale English education starts in junior high school.
(In fact, pupils also study English in elementary school.
However, according to a former elementary school teacher I know, there were no teachers who had majored in formal English education at her school, andso the teachers struggled to teach English.
However, according to a former elementary school teacher I know, there were no teachers who had majored in formal English education at her school, so the teachers struggled to teach English.
So, she wondered whether English education in elementary school is really effective.)
Grammar in Japanese grammar is quite different from that in EnglishEnglish grammar.
Japanese grammar is quite different from English grammar.
In general, English is seen as a very difficult language for Japanese people to acquire, and vice versa.
In general, English is seen as a very difficult language for Japanese people to acquire and vice versa.
I can think of some reasons why Japanese people are not good at learning foreign languages.
From my perspective, one important factor is that English is the first foreign language most Japanese people study.
In order to prevent them from developing an aversion to foreign languages, I suggest that theythink that Japanese students should be exposed to relatively easy foreign languages in compulsory education, for example, Chinese.
In order to prevent them from developing an aversion to foreign languages, I think that Japanese students should be exposed to relatively easy foreign languages in compulsory education, for example, Chinese.
Although the forms of Chinese characters differ between Japanese and Chinese, both languages use them.
There are many words that share the same form and meaning.
Of course, there are also words that look the same but have different meanings.
To be honest, speakers of Romance and Germanic languages can acquire English relatively easily.
So, isn’t it unreasonable to criticize Japanese people for their poor English compared withto them?
So, isn’t it unreasonable to criticize Japanese people for their poor English compared to them?
Feedback
When I worked in Japan, I also suggested that Japanese students should have the option to learn Chinese or Korean instead of English. But my coworkers told me that offering those languages could cause political problems in Japan, so they aren't offered even though they would probably me more useful to Japanese speakers.
June 25, 2026
Thank you for your feedback.
In fact, in some politically biased schools, not only Chinese and Korean but also history may be taught from a particular perspective. Because of this, some people have negative impressions of Chinese and Korean language education in schools.
However, some private schools offer German or French as second languages.
If political ideology is not imposed on students, Chinese and Korean language education would likely be more widely accepted in public education.
June 25, 2026
Thank you for your feedback. In fact, in some politically biased schools, not only Chinese and Korean but also history may be taught from a particular perspective. Because of this, some people have negative impressions of Chinese and Korean language education in schools. However, some private schools offer German or French as second languages. If political ideology is not imposed on students, Chinese and Korean language education would likely be more widely accepted in public education.
I completely agree. Hopefully, Japanese students will have more language education options in the future.
Foreign Languages
In Japan, full-scale English education starts in junior high school.
(In fact, pupilschildren also study English in elementary school.
(In fact, children also study English in elementary school.
Just word preference; "pupils" sounds archaic and a bit overly bookish to me. (From an American perspective)
However, according to a former elementary school teacher I know, there were no teachers who had majored in formal English education at her school, and the teachers struggled to teach English.
So, she wondered whether English education in elementary school is reactually effective.)
So, she wondered whether English education in elementary school is actually effective.)
"Really" isn't wrong, but I feel that "actually" better highlights the difference between how something works in theory and in practice
Grammar in Japanese is quite different from that in English.
In general, English is seen as a very difficult language for Japanese people to acquire, and vice versa.
I can think of some reasons why Japanese people are not good at learning foreign languages.
From my perspective, one important factor is that English is the first foreign language most Japanese people study.
In order to prevent them from developing an aversion to foreign languages, I suggest that they should be exposed to relatively easy foreign languages in compulsory education, for example, Chinese.
Although the forms of Chinese characters differ between Japanese and Chinese, both languages use them.
There are many words that share the same form and meaning.
Of course, there are also words that look the same but have different meanings.
To be honest, speakers of Romance and Germanic languages can acquire English relatively easily.
So, isn’t it unreasonable to criticize Japanese people for their poor English compared with them?
Feedback
Meanwhile in the US, despite Chinese being the third most spoken language, you don't see it taught in high school. Nope, it's always Spanish (understandable), German, and French. Like you said, learning a language that is so different from English would be much more difficult. But English is so widely used, I can see why they want to force it down your throats in Japan.
June 25, 2026
Thank you for your feedback.
I agree with you.
I studied English hard when I was a student, so I find it easier to learn similar languages.
However, from a practical perspective in Japan, languages used by immigrants are also useful, for example, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Brazilian Portuguese.
June 25, 2026
Np!
Yes I think there's value in that too. It'd be nice if the students at least had the choice.
Foreign Languages
In Japan, full-scale English education starts in junior high school.
(In fact, pupils also study English in elementary school.
However, according to a former elementary school teacher I know, there were no teachers who had majored in formal English education at her school, and the teachers struggled to teach English.
So, she wondered whether English education in elementary school is really effective.)
So she wondered whether English education in elementary school is really effective.)
Grammar in Japanese is quite different from that in English.
In general, English is seen as a very difficult language for Japanese people to acquire, and vice versa.
I can think of some reasons why Japanese people are not good at learning foreign languages.
From my perspective, one important factor is that English is the first foreign language most Japanese people study.
In order to prevent them from developing an aversion to foreign languages, I suggest that they should be exposed to relatively easy foreign languages in compulsory education, for example, Chinese.
Although the forms of Chinese characters differ between Japanese and Chinese, both languages use them.
There are many words that share the same form and meaning.
Of course, there are also words that look the same but have different meanings.
To be honest, speakers of Romance and Germanic languages can acquire English relatively easily.
So, isn’t it unreasonable to criticize Japanese people for their poor English compared with them?
Feedback
Great job!
I agree it is unreasonable, and I'd go further and say I don't think anybody should be criticized for having trouble with any foreign language. Unfortunately I know that's not generally the case, but it would be nice if people were better about being constructive in their language learning criticism.
June 24, 2026
Thank you for your feedback.
I agree—criticism alone isn’t very helpful. People should also suggest constructive and practical ways to improve.
Unfortunately, in Japan, many commentators just lament the general level of English proficiency without proposing effective solutions.
Another issue might be that Japan already has a rich domestic entertainment industry, so foreign content doesn’t strongly motivate children to learn English.
Even Disney animated films are almost always shown in dubbed versions, and it’s quite hard to find theaters that screen them in the original language.
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Foreign Languages This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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In Japan, full-scale English education starts in junior high school. This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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(In fact, pupils also study English in elementary school. This sentence has been marked as perfect!
(In fact, Just word preference; "pupils" sounds archaic and a bit overly bookish to me. (From an American perspective) This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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However, according to a former elementary school teacher I know, there were no teachers who had majored in formal English education at her school, and the teachers struggled to teach English. This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect!
However, according to a former elementary school teacher I know, there were no teachers who had majored in formal English education at her school, |
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So, she wondered whether English education in elementary school is really effective.)
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So, she wondered whether English education in elementary school is "Really" isn't wrong, but I feel that "actually" better highlights the difference between how something works in theory and in practice This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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Grammar in Japanese is quite different from that in English. This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect!
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In general, English is seen as a very difficult language for Japanese people to acquire, and vice versa. This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect!
In general, English is seen as a very difficult language for Japanese people to acquire |
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I can think of some reasons why Japanese people are not good at learning foreign languages. This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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From my perspective, one important factor is that English is the first foreign language most Japanese people study. This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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In order to prevent them from developing an aversion to foreign languages, I suggest that they should be exposed to relatively easy foreign languages in compulsory education, for example, Chinese. This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect!
In order to prevent them from developing an aversion to foreign languages, I |
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Although the forms of Chinese characters differ between Japanese and Chinese, both languages use them. This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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There are many words that share the same form and meaning. This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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Of course, there are also words that look the same but have different meanings. This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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To be honest, speakers of Romance and Germanic languages can acquire English relatively easily. This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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So, isn’t it unreasonable to criticize Japanese people for their poor English compared with them? This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect!
So, isn’t it unreasonable to criticize Japanese people for their poor English compared |
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