Studying Japanese

It is interesting that I have studied a lot of theory about how a language is acquired, both first and second etc., and have a good idea about the standard strategies to suggest to students studying English, but am not so successful in following my own advice when studying Japanese.

I find myself making the same (supposed) mistakes many students do when learning English. (Focusing too much on form/grammar etc.) when speaking---in class anyway. It is nice to tell someone not to do this, but damned hard advice to follow. It is hard to define what "too much" is. Of course, one has to be somewhat cautious about being too dogmatic with these theories. They are mostly just the best evidence, not a universal truth.

I have found that reading a lot---in addition to listening practice---has helped my listening comprehension considerably. I can't say it is definitely because of the increased focus on reading, but my listening ability has improved at a faster pace since I started it. It hasn't helped my speaking as much, but speaking improvement usually follows listening improvement. They are rarely concurrent, and speaking improvement rarely precedes listening improvement.

I just passed the nationwide Japanese test, but have a ways to go to pass the next and probably the most challenging level. I studied Japanese in college via grammar-translation which does little to help one communicate. I studied at Nichibeigakuin in Tokyo for 3 months in 2000, but quit mainly because of too many people in one class (13) and the huge amount of homework given daily. (4 hours minimum. Too much for someone working full time. It was more than 4 hours if one had any problems.) I only got back into serious study just over a year ago.

Results of 4 Berlitz classes on a private student.

I have been teaching a intermediate-level student for the past 10 months. When we first started, she lacked confidence and had the common problem of focusing on perfect grammatical accuracy first, rather than communicating an idea. This resulted in her over-correcting constantly and causing problems in comprehension for listeners because she was so hard to follow. She slowly improved over that period as I worked to get her focus off of form and on fluency.

Well, one month ago she started a Berlitz eikaiwa class at her company. Her fluency and speed have deteriorated to the point to which they are worse than when we first started working together. She cannot get half a sentence out without correcting things which are not even wrong to begin with. She is constantly stopping and searching for the "right" words. Frankly, most native-speakers would not be able to talk with her for long if she spoke like that.

It is obvious why this happened. She told me that her "teacher" is a 10 year Berlitz vet who is very strict on grammatical errors, correcting them all immediately, critical or not. Berlitz itself claims to have gone to a communicative approach in which this type of error correction is not done because the vast majority of modern research indicates that it is counter-productive. But in fact, most Japanese students have been incorrectly conditioned to believe that grammar is the most important part of acquiring a foreign language and that 100% correction is the best way to achieve accurate grammar. Sort of like this is still 1940, which conveniently matches the era that Berlitz operates in. And, of course Berlitz doesn't care as long as "the students enjoy the class and think they learn something." And come back and waste another $3000 for 50 40 minute "classes."

I would never go to Berlitz for language lessons. Mere exposure to the language and use of it generally will provide some benefits for most. The question is, is it the most efficient, effective use of one's time and money. Personally, I want someone who can effectively teach instead of being forced to follow a one-size-fits all model.


Unfortunately, I cannot do much for her if she continues to go to this class with such incompetent teaching, and then come to mine to practice what amounts to stuttering instead of speaking. I may have to stop teaching her as long as she is with Berlitz. It will be a waste of her money and my time to try to again get her off the conscious focus on form. It is a shame as she was making progress.

Update: 2 March 2006. She finished the Berlitz classes in December and has just gotten back to the point where she is able to speak much more quickly and fluently. She began to realize what she was doing, so she has made an effort to get off the excessive worrying about grammar and form. Her knowledge of grammar was already well above average, but she occasionally makes the normal grammatical errors when speaking, most of which are insignificant.