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INDIRECTLY SPEAKING / How to beat habits that stifle English learning
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Mike Guest / Special to The Daily Yomiuri
There are four midlevel Japanese words that every English teacher in Japan should know: taisaku (precautions or preventive
measures), tamerai (hesitation), tetsuzuki (official or formal preparations) and tejun (formal order). These words have more in
common than the fact that they all start with a "T." They all represent approaches that when used in education, can have a
negative impact on student English development.
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I'm not going to argue that these qualities are uniquely Japanese. All societies employ them for order and stability, although few
to the degree that one sees in Japan. Let me explain them, and their impact upon acquiring English skills, one by one.
First, taisaku. Societies utilize "taisaku" to secure safety and social order, but few as obsessively as Japan. A good example of
taisaku (a term used much more frequently in Japanese than its counterparts are in English) can be seen surrounding university
entrance examinations.
Proctors are given an enormous how-to manual well in advance that focuses extensively on the crucial avoidance of the
dreaded "miss" (mistake). Steps for every possible eventuality are drawn up not so much to enable good performance or to
allow for a comprehensive measure of student ability but rather to avoid a "claim" ("formal complaint") based upon a "miss."
In fact, taisaku can go into so much detail that they eventually become unwieldy and bloated--and thus ignored. As with the
constant announcements on trains reminding you not to forget bags and umbrellas--you become inured to it. Due to the
numbing effect, the very problems that one hopes to avoid might actually be exacerbated.
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Students too fear English "misses." As a result, instead of taking chances, and making errors of commission while
communicating, many will choose to make errors of omission--by saying as little as possible or sticking to banal, well-rehearsed
formalized structures. It is a form of taisaku--a "preventive measure" to avert a "miss." Students remain in an English safety
zone, rarely venturing into more complex communication.
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How can teachers encourage students to escape this limiting approach? By rewarding risk-takers, by penalizing avoidance,
omission, or banality, and by focusing more upon content well expressed in dialogue rather than emphasizing formal
incorrectness.
What about tamerai? Some see this as good manners. For example, at take-out restaurants I'm puzzled by the Japanese way of
lining up. Unlike those societies in which people queue religiously or those that have "me-first" clusters, in Japan one usually
finds a vague, cloudlike scattering of people hovering near the counter. It's often impossible to tell whether they are just
checking the menu, waiting for an order already taken, or are waiting to place an order. It's as if actually getting in a line is too
bold, rough and ill-mannered. One shows delicacy by hesitating, appearing unsure, uncommitted. This is tamerai.
This hesitancy is highly civilized and refined but can also be annoying since being so unassertive means that no one knows
where to stand--or even wants to ask. Since I will invariably stand behind the last person who is forming a recognizable line
regardless of who is hovering nearby, I might come across as boorish--but also efficient.
The most obvious manifestations of tamerai in English classrooms are the habits of consulting with a partner before offering
even the most obvious response to the teacher, taking an inordinate amount of time to start group work or pair exercises (since
no one wants to look pushy), and in extreme cases, not even wanting to face your partner, staring elsewhere until the teacher
comes to get the task flowing. This hesitancy is hardly refined or delicate.
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Tamerai can also be seen in the habit of not being able to repair confusion or misunderstanding (even in Japanese) but instead
resorting to a chorus of "Eh!? Eh!? Eh!?" with complete comprehension breakdown. And don't start me on the habit of pulling
out dictionaries in midconversation!
One way of minimizing the negative effects of tamerai is to emphasize English strategic competence--a sociolinguistic skill that
involves knowing how to check, confirm, repair, or venture information or questions. If students have a better sense as to how
to manage--open, close and maintain--different types of interactions, the tamerai effect can be mitigated.
Tetsuzuki's most obvious manifestation is in bureaucracy wherein performing "correct procedure" can take precedence over
purpose, making that which should be simple, difficult. Once, at a previous job, I wanted to leave work immediately after
finishing to go to the airport by car. Normally, I walked to work but with a huge, empty parking lot and a need to get away as
soon as possible I parked my car in one of the hundred or so empty spaces. Not so fast. A bureaucrat saw me and explained
that I needed a permit to use the space. OK--Can I have one? Not yet. I had to fill in the forms first--three pages worth--
2/29/2012 10:22 AM
INDIRECTLY SPEAKING / How to beat habits that stifle English learni...
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http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/language/T120223001911.htm
including my insurance number, car model, dealer's shoe size and so on. When I finally completed it he added, "It will take
three days to get approval." Sigh. Classic tetsuzuki.
It pops up in the English classroom, as the related concept tejun, when you want to do something dynamic and active, like
brainstorming: "OK, in teams of three, think of and write down five typical reasons for hospitalization. Childbirth, for example.
Go!" Except that now procedural questions from students begin: Should each member write down the four items? Should we
write the numbers 1-5 beside each item? What size paper should we use? And when the writing finally begins it does with a
title: "Four typical reasons for hospitalization" followed by the full names of each member of the team. So much for your
dynamic brainstorm session.
I limit time-wasting, meaningless tetsuzuki/tejun in three ways. First, I set strict time limits in advance and keep to them so that
students focus on the actual task. I offer clear samples and models before starting any complex task. I also explain the purpose
of the task--students know that a quick warm-up does not have the gravity of a formal test.
Lest anyone say that these are "cultural" problems, or that I am questioning Japanese culture, I would argue that this is not
"culture." These are habits, and educationally unproductive ones at that. If the goal is to develop English skills, they have to be
challenged.
===
Guest is an associate professor of English at Miyazaki University. He can be reached at [email protected].
(Feb. 27, 2012)
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