by Sorne　Basic　Principles　and　Problems　of　English

Sorne Basic Principles and Problems of English

Language Teaching in Japan       甲

by

HIRosuMI YAsuHARA       、

1． Retrospect of the Past Three］Decades

Anew cra of English language tcaching in Japan dawned in l922， when H…1dE・P・lm・… B・iti・hli・gui・t，…iv・dh・・et・t・k・・ver hi・n・w p・・t・・

th・Lingui・ti・Advi・er t・th・Mini・t・y・f Edu・ati・n． Du・ing his sub・equ・nt

fbu・teen y・a・・t・y in thi・c・unt・yl h・m・de ev・・y・任・・t t・imp・・v・Engli・h language instruction， through speeches， books and T乃θB％1」θ≠勿θissued from The Institute for Rcscarch in English Teaching （1． R． E． T．）which hc founded in 1923・As thc director of the Institute， he challenged the Japanese teachers of Engli・h・dh・・ing t・th・age−・ld g・ammar−t・an・1・ti・n m・th・d t・ad・pt a n・w scientific approach to English， thc Direct−Oral Mcthod as he called it． It was he that advocatcd language lcarning through 5ρθθo乃or dircct language experience

・a・her・h・n by・・4…鉛・m・l g・amm・・i・al・naly，ill）Whil。、，a。hing。、、ev。，al

Indeed no onc would deny his great contribution to the mod『rn language tcach一

．  ．       （り）

高〟@m th圭s country． But as a whole his success was rather lim五ted． A majority

reluctance to approve the new method， partly because of the difficulty of master一 ing spoken English and partly due to their lack of sympathy for practicaP know一 lcdge of the language．

In l928， the late Dr．．Saku Huzimura， then Profbssor of Japanese Litcrature at Tokyo Imperial University， publlshed in a Japanese magazinc an article advo一

       7

モ≠狽奄獅〟@the abolition of English as a required subjcct in the secondary school

2      茨城大学教育学部紀要 第五号

created a sensation， followed by heated controversics， involving all those concerned 一teachers， educators， men of lettcrs and businessmen．

Although the disputc soon came to an end without having caused any note一

・g・in・t it by th・1・t・d・・t・・b・・ught・ut・・m・p・・bl・m・w・・th・e・i・u・c・n・id・・a一

t五〇n．It is of interest to notc that almost the samc situation was also pointed

（偶）

out by the authors of／1 1％ 85彦6gσ∫ゴoπo／Sθoo％4−Lσ％g％αgθTθα01診伽g， in which

they concluded as follows：

Language lcarning remains a long， hard road， and the average student，

despite possible improvements in teaching procedures， will probably not get very

The rigid framework to thc extent of dead fbrmalism of English languagc

instruction in secondary schools and colleges prevented the student from develop一 ing all−round knowledge and skills in English． In spite of the efforts made by

the exponents of the New Method， Palmer and others， the general tendency was       ・

such that emphasis was chiefly laid on the grammar−translation method or rather deciphering the texts and wrestling with small−sized Japanese・English dictionaries．

Students in general received little encouragement to foster a true understanding

language teaching helped them littlc to broaden their mental vision and get rid of deep−rooted insularism． It is no wonder that those students in the main failed to develop themselves into peace．loving and broad．minded citizens of the world 一the ultimate goal of English language learning． This failure， which cannot be deplored too much， might well be ascribcd， among other things， to the wrongly一

national education．

In the meantime， dark clouds were hoverirlg over international horizons，

while at・homc ultra．nationalism and militarism were becoming rampant， driving

this country tQward isolation and eventual defcat・

The Pacific War， declared in l941 by the militarists， regime upon the English一

speaking nations， completely shook off the long cstablished positions and prestigc

YAsuHARA：Some Basic Principles and Proble血s of English Language Teaching in Japan 3

bcen・ut d・wn・th・t・a・her・・f Engli・h w・・e f・・ced t・t・k・t・・th・・di・ciplin・・

in whi・h th・y h・d litt1… n・t・a・hing・xp・・iρn・e・． Th・・tudy・f Engli・h w・・

regarded as not only unnecessary but even injurions to national interests． Tea一

・h・…fEngli・h w・・e・・m・tim・・b・and・d・・public en・mi・・・…m・・ccret・g・nt，

of the hostile countries．

Th・・e circum・tan・c・m・d6・fl・g・ant・・nt・a・t with th・・e・f th・Unit。d St。t。、，

       ，

翌??窒?C as we learngd latcr， intensive language prQgrams such as thc ASTP and      噛

ACLS w・・e・uccess餌lly b・ing・arri・d・n und・・th・j・int・upP・・t・f li・gui・ti・

specialists and military authoritics． In this connection；it must be noted that Dr． Sanki Ichikawa， King of English in Japanうas he is called by H．1．． Mencken，

an・t・d American lingui・t・h・・c・n・lud・d th・t it w・・a・c・i・u・blun4er・f p・ew・・

Japan to fail to utilize fbreign language teaching for her national wclfare and

（4）

intcrests． It is quitc significant to read thc following passage by Havelock Ellis，

which Dr． Ichikawa has quoted by way of prefacc in his articlc that should be r君ad by all Japanese teachcrs of English：

The immence vaiue of bccoming acquainted with a foreign language is that we arc thereby led into a new world of tradition and thought and fecling．，

@       し

Thc end of the hostilities in l945 and the subsequent Occupation of this

country by the American and British troops brought about， as a matter of coursc，

an over−all revival of English language teaching and learning． It seemcd as

th・ugh Engli・h・1・n・・P・n・d・a・ee・・t・y・ung P・・pl・． Whil・・lder p・・pl・w・・e slow in adapting themsclves to thc new situation， young men and women success一

「    fully m・n・g・d・…P・wi・h it・Thu・th・y b・g・n t・a・quire a n・w langu。g。

habit， new knowledge and new skills hitherto ncglectcd， under thcse auspicious

 ●モ撃窒モ浮高唐狽≠獅モモ刀D Constant broadcasting of the Armed Forces Radio．in thc homes，

innumerable Occupation personncl on the city streets， floods of roadsigns and directions all written in English， together with American movies， books and

journals−all these hclped to stimulate young Japanese毛o start learning， without

sounded strange to the ears of the old−timers who had beeh accustomed to the

avai董able attracted great numbers of cnthusiastic students of both sexes， while

4      茨城大学教育学部紀要第五号

in the c・unt・y y・ung・・pi・ant・hung・n th・・adi・f・・th・Engli・h・・nv…ati・n

a・ily・cndered・ervi・e t・t・a・hing・・nv…ati・n in Engli・h in…y l・wer−sec・nd・・y

It might be argucd that this fad of English was rather superficial． It is true th・t p・i・・t・the end・f th・Occup・ti・n th・ Am・・i・an b・・m di・d d・wn・1・aving

y・ung P・・pl・lcss enthu・i・・ti・ab・ut th・・tudy・f Engli・h・L・t it b・n・t・d・

h。w，v。，， th・t int・・e・t in Ameri・an lit・・atu・e and langu・g・h・d・・wid・ly・p・ead

@      ㍉、

       、

Bm・ng th・・tud・nt・・f・ll l・v・1・th・t・・m・1・ading Engli・hJ・p・n・・e di・ti・n・・ics℃

w，，e th…ughly revi・ed・・a・t・meet th・n・w need・in p・int・f v・・abul・・y・

P・・nun・i・ti・n・nd u・ag・． Alth・ugh Am・・i・an Engli・h h・・n・t wh・lly t・k・n th・

pl・・e・f B・iti・h Engli・h whi・h w・・p・evailing b・f・・c th・w…th・f・・mer h・・

cea、ed t。 b・n・gl・・t・d…c・・n・d・・it u・ed t・b・・Thu…仔ectiv・u・e・f・・nvrr一

，ati。n。I Engli・h m・・e・・less in th・Am・・i・an・tyl・a・w・11・・m・・t・・y・f・urrcnt lit・・a・y Engli・h・・i・i・w・itt・n in・・nt・mp・・a・y Am・・ican・nd B・iti・h publicati・ns

now has its proper place in the study of English．

Moreover， the unprecedented development of air transportation， connccting

J。p・n wi・h・h・uni・・d s・・…and・・h・・place・・f・h・w・・ld h・・n・1・ng・・1・ft us isolated and self−satisfied． We are no longer to be bound to this tiny island

（5）

country・

All thβ，e c。nditi・n・， n・v・・d・eam・d・f b・f・・e th・w・・， m・k・u・realize th・t

Engli，h・・a・ec・nd l・ngu・g・i・an indi・p・n・abl・v・hi・1・・f・・mmuni・ati・n・by

      「『

香Ban、。f whi，h we can n・t・nly under・tand・ther p・・pl・・and th・ir cultu・e・

but also make ourselves better understood by the rest of the world．

In l947， th・J・pan・・e G・v・・n…t， f・ll・wing th・・ec・mm・nd・ti・n m・d・in

・h。R。p・・t・f・h・uni・・d s・・t・・Edu・a・i・n Missi・n・・J・p・n・f l946・d・a・ti・ally

。h。ng。d h・・edu・ati・n・1・y・t・m by・d・P・ing・h・6−3−3−4 P・・9・am・thereby

       馳

@      ・       o

??狽?獅р奄獅〟@hcr compulsory education from slx years to nlne years．

Al。ng wi・h・he cdu・a・i・n・1・e・・g・ni・a・i・n・・h・J・p・n・・e l・ngu・ge ref・・m・a 1。ng−P・nding n・ti・n・l p・・bl・m， w・・al…任i・i・lly ini・i・t・d in・h・f・・m・f（1）

，implifi・a・i・n・f K・na and K・n・i・・Chin・・e ch・・a・ter・・（2）・d・P・i・n・f・・ll°一

qui・I J・p・n・・e f・・u・e in・缶・i・l d・・um・n・・in・luding・h・Imp・・i・l messages

YASUHARA：Some Basic Principles and Problems・of English Language Teaching in Japan 5

（which wcre never written exccpt in high−flown and difficult Chinese c耳aracters befbre the end of the war），（3）rapidly increased instruction in Ro〃2σzゴ（or Ro甥σブのin the clementary schools．

This last point is one that will merit a little emphasis． All．advocates of

      「

qo粥傭ゴhave Iong maintained that Japan will never bccomc fully democratized

until her language has become Romanized． Again there is good reason to believe that the hard， laborious task of learning by rote the thousands of Chinese cha一

of the intcrest of Japanese children， hindering their developing a sound rcasoning

It is quite reasonable on the part of the United States Education Mission to

f・・t・th・int・・du・ti・n・fR・脚・ゴt・a・hing in the curri・ulum・f thc el・m・nt・・y school has paved the way fbr the furthcr development of spoken Japanese as some Japancsc language teachcrs conf量rm it・At the same timc it is unquestioned that

Romanized Japanese presents a basic understanding of the written fbrm ot English in・cg・・d t・pun・tu・ti・n・nd・en・e・f w・・d…ent・nce・Thi・p・ssibili重y・f th・

t・・n・f…ft・aining行・m R。粥傭tq Engli，h mu，t n。t b。 und。。e、tim。t。dlの Under the ncw cducational program， English has bcen set aside as an elective course in the lower−sccondary school， as against English as a requircd subject in

・du・ati・n in p・e−w・・d・y・w・・limit・d t・a・elect min・・ity． It i・cert・inly

「    in・vit・bl・th・t th・・c・h・uld b・ag・eat div…ity・f need・釦・Engli・h・m・ng th，

lower−secondary schools of widcly diffbrent location． Besides， acute shortage of well−qualified Enghsh teachers as well as a great variety of interests， needs and aptitudes qf schodchildren has necessitated English as an electivc course， with a considerable lowering in standard． But， owing to the ever incrcasing matriculants for the best universities， both upper and lowcr secondary schools are now obliged to．intensify their English instruction so that the students may pass「the entrancc

cxaminations． In many pref6ctures English， along with the required su切ects， is

upper secondary schools． This means， no doubt， a much greater burden must be

6       i茨城大学教育学部紀要 第五号

shouldercd by the lowcr−secondary school English teachcrs． The question arises二

（1） In l927， he published his wel1−known article The Five Speech−Learn三11g Habits as the supplemcnt of the Bπ〃顔〃θNo．30， in which he enumerated the five linguistic habits of the child， stressing that they must bc fbstercd and developed under class−room conditions．

（2） His folmal approval to the Japanese system， of Ro初僻 三n stead of Ro摺砂or the English system irritated many English teachers． Although、配o〃望￠ノ had been more popular since the publication of Dr． James Hepburn s Japanese−English Dictonary in l886， the Japa一 nese system Ro佛8z6， advocatcd by Dr． Tanakadate and others was steadily gaining ground．

Not only Palmer but such distinguished fbreign scholars as Dan量el Jones， otto Jespersen，

G．B． Sansom， wilhelm Gundert came to supPort the Japanese system・

（3） F．B． Agard， H． B． Dunkel：11〃1㎜θ蛎8α毒oηo／S660π4・五απg鋸gθτθ80玩 g p．296

（G三nn；1948）

（4）  Eigo・ky6iku S6setu （General Remarks of English Languagc Teaching）3加E go．勿o護肋

1くo灘VoL 1（Kenkyusha， Tokyo；1948）

（5） One of thc most remarkable， and consequently encouraging phenomena s量ncc the resto一 ration of pcace is that while ever increasing number of食）reigners， most of them English一

・peaki・g P・・pl・， h・ve c・m・t・vi・it thi・cQunt・y y・a・after yea・・…ntless・PP・・tuniti・・a・

never known before have become available for Japanese people of all ages， sexes， social

・ank・…cc・p・ti…t・9・t・th・Unit・d St・t・・and…量・u・・ther c・・nt・i…      ，

（6）Ad・・cat…fRα師・ft・n d・im th・t Rα綱ゴh・・agreatcr t・a・・琵・v・1・・th・・R㈱・

i・p・i・t・fp・・n…i・ti・n． B・t・n・m・・t b・aware・f th・f・・t th・t th…i・・i・・pit・・f

・pP・・ent・三mila・ity，・f・・d・m・nt・l difference i・・nun・i・ti・n b・twee・E・gli・h・nd J・p・n・・e・

II． Some Basic Princip互es and Problems Conceming Methodology

It has been duly pointed out by many language specialists that the tcaching

α）

i・p・・b・bly th・m・・t di鉦i・ult・nd・・mpl・x・f・ll・ubject・in the curri・ulum・

In th・i・j・int・ep・・t加1獺∫ゴ9α伽・ノ8・ω％4・L・％脚96 T・薦％9・Ag・・d and

YASUHARA：Some Basic Principles and Problems of English Language Teaching in Japan 7 Dunkel， two American linguists， set fbrth their views：

Since language is an intricate mechanism which operates in nearly all human

highly complicated．，（p．300）

It is no wondcr， therefbre， that there is a long history of var五〇us controversies

．      as to the best method or the single technique neithcr of which has been verified yet． H． E． Palmer， the author of T乃607α1 M6 乃040／Tθσ6砺η9五伽9一

％αgθ5affirms in another work that the language be approached simultaneously

from many dif琵rent sides in many dif飴rent ways， by means of many dif飴rent      ／

forms of work，， thus advocating the multiple line of approach， which he calls

（2）

the complete method． The philosophy underlying this principle of cclecticism，

Rousseau−likc bclief in the infallibility of a patent method， either the Natural，

Dircct Method or the much favored Structural Michigan Method， should bc taken

with a grain of salt． But if， on the other hand， the compromisc and rcscrvation should Icad to language teaching as a mental gymnastic， accompanicd by inertia and lack of enthusiasm， the whole meaning of thc language curriculum in the new

education would be destroyed． The success of teaching depends not so much      、

upon the method as upon the teacher， his natural gifts， his previous training，

his own energy and pcrsonal cxpcrience． The modern language teacher， says Vernon Mallinson， is， and must be， primarily a sympathctic student of human

n。・u，ま睾）Th。，e飴。e，・h。 id。al t。a。her mu，t n。・。nly b。 a w・ll−t・ain・d・ch・1・・，

，    bu・。、。，・。f。。t五、tl4）B。，id。、 hi、 a。ad。mi。 t，aining。nd p，cp。，a・i・n，・h・・eachcr must be awakened to the artistic and creative aspects of languagc learning．

Mere proficiency in a Ianguage does not constitute a good teacher・What he

nccds is， first of all， arl intense imagination， a clear vision of that brave new world into which he will lead his young pupils by the magic of a strange speech．

He himself must take an inquiring intcrest in the language and in the life and

「      （5）

and cultural and social horizons and so adding to the charm and variety of life．

Amodern language properly taught， says Mallinson， makes the pupil livc through

←       」

8      茨城大学教育学部紀要第五号

anew and exciting experience that offers opportunitics of enriching his whole

P。，、。nali・ジ1〜Sin，61。ngu。g。1，a，ning i， a、kill・・an。・・，。nc cann。・di、p，n、e      L

       ㌦

翌奄狽?@drill or discipline． Unless the teacher is stronglyly motivated， and has a genuine love of humanity， his language class will dcgcneratc into a li￡cless drud一 gcry， a horrible burdcn both for the teacher aud pupils． As it is hard for an

empty bag to stand upright， so lack of insight and imagination is fatal to an

English as a modern language， thereforc， should be approached much morc

       r

モ窒モ≠狽奄魔?撃凵@and rcalistically than it is the casc hcre in this country． In othcr

words， much grcatcr stress must be laid on thc languagc as a伽勿g and 5ρoんθπ

     ．（㍗0「ganlsm・

From the linguistic point of view， language−learning， as Palmer strcsscs， is a 、

（8）

habit−forming process．うSince speech is the primary form of language， learning

（9）

the oral production and reception．， But there is such a strong tendency on the part of thc learncr to fall back on his own spcech habits of so血nd and structure

the teaching techniques used in the class−room must bc designed in such a way as to exposc thc studcnts to the ncw language so that their native speech habits

（10）

do not influence thc formation of the Ilew spcech habits which must be learned．

And this is the warrant for the use of the principle of oral．aural drills． Both

fundamentally the samc principle−oral work of continuons imitation and repeti−       ・

otlon．

It is a well．known fact that the remarkable succcss of ASTP was due to cnormous emphasis on imitation and practice of language patterns， called the

・mimi・・y−m・m・・i・ati・n ・・ mim−m・血 m・th・d． It i・， h・w・ver， P・d・g・gi・ally

unsound to conclude that  endlcss drill and repctition should constitute the o多zJ夕

（11）

way in which new linguistic habits m乱y be strcngthened． Sincc lcarning a

foreign language is an extremely complicated process， exacting as it docs strenuons

eff6rts from the lcarner， mcre exposure of the learner to the foreign language

by no means results in successful learning． As Dunkel asserts， practice without

YASUHARA：Some￡asic Princ三ゴ1es． and Problc血s of『Engllsh Language Teaching in Japan 9

（12）

cffort or exposure without a def玉nite set to learn produces slight learning． Forccd 艶cding by thc teacher， howevcr， crcatcs nothing but registance， indigcstion or indifference on the part of the student． This is whcre motivation−that is making the student want to lcarn−becomcs thc central problcm in language learning．

Thc psychology of adolescence tells us that the adolescent is prcdominantly

utilitarian and hedonistic in action and ambition， and that he is anxious about thc amount of pleasure to be derived from any imposed or contemplatcd task or

（13）

action． Though he occasionally suffers intcnsely from cxpcrien、ccs arousing anger and fヒar， the normal teen−ager is a happy person， finding pleasure in many of

（14）

his activities． Too much catcring for thc studcnt s cmotions will no doubt produce aspoonfed egoist． But his intellcctual growth and change is surc to be thwarted if he is not allowcd while in class to find vent fbr his rightful pleasure．seeking

energy， unless he takes pleasure三n it． And what one likes to do， one geherally

Mallinson divides motivation in the process of learning into two forms：thc

盒1nction is to strcngthen and perpetuate the other， and through the combination of the two thc student can derive the fullest benefit and pleasure from his work．

And in this second motive， he says， lies interest， the influencc of which makes a

（15）       ・一

child like or dislike a su切ect．

This rcminds us of C． H． Handschin，s statemcnt that pleasure， manifested

（16）

itself as intcrest is an important incentivc to permanence of learning．， As a matter of fact， without interest thcrc can be no attention， no eagerness， and no endeavcr to achicvc−all of them are essential to c餓うctivc lca±ning． The most vital problem in any classroom，， says the author of the Cleveland Plan， is how

       ノ

狽潤@stimulate and retain the intcrcst of the pupils． And he quotes A． France：

The art of tcaching is only the art of interestir｝g， of arousing curiosity， and

（17）

curiosity is active only in happy minds． What the Cleveland Plan has verified is that intcrcst is maintained always at its highest pitch through speaking， or

（13）

oral。aural use of the language without recourse to memorization． A direct．oral

method lesson will only succecd when it is so aptly managed that the student s

P

10      茨城大学教育学部紀要第五号

      卜 モ窒モ≠狽奄魔?@activity may be stimulated．

The adolescent，， writes Prof6ssor Fr． Clossct， not only、1ikes discovering a new world， but wants to use the f6rcign language as soon as possible， so as to

（19）

bc ab聖e to speak about what intcrests and stirs him．，

As the．chief things making負）r interest Palmcr suggests the fbllowing six

factors that he considers rational and reasonable，：

1．Thc climination of bcwildcrmcnt．

2．The sense of progress achieved．

3．Competition．

4．Game．like exercises．

        5．Thc right relation between teacher and student．

（20）

6・Variety．

Being himself an expcrt in thc scicnce of phonetics， Palmcr naturally laid

had， it must be rcmcmbcred， enough sense as a psychologist to maintairl that

one of the most important duties of the language．teacher is to make the Iesson

        （班）

奄獅狽?窒?rting．

It is of interest to compare his list with that of Laura Johnson ag cited by

℃      （，F，d」）

R．D． Cole in his Mo4θノηFoノθゴgηLσπg岬gθ5翻4彦乃θゴノTθσo雇％g．

1． Provide t）leasure in all class activities．

2．Present challenges in the fbrm of compctition．

3．Permit freedom to progrcss at pupiPs own speed．

4・Give oPPortunity fbr cooperative pr（オccts．

5． Show application of the fbreign language by（a）using it in class，（b）integ一

6．Use illustrative materials fbr cultural teaching．

7．Give opportunity for pupils to measure their progress．

8．Relate classwork to some immcdiate or ultimatc objcctive．

One may well notice here that there is in Palmer s theory and practice a

refer．      

Thcre is no doubt that in language teaching thc pcrsonality of the teacher

一

YAsuHARA：same Baslc Principlcs and Problems of English Language Teaching ill Japan ll

counts much． And while scrious discipline and daily drill are necessary， as

Mallinson aptly stresses， an atmosphere of fun and jollity is indispensable fbr

（29）

・middle．school adolcscent． In this rcspect，丁乃θ7「θαo勉πg o／E耀1つ5乃∠46／oα4 by       1

F．G． French（Oxford University Press，上ondon；1950）proves to be a valuable

manual for every f6reign teacher of English． The art of match．stick drawing as exemplified in his book is ccrtainly an effectivc technique to be utilizcd in any langUage ClaSS．

E．V． Gatcnby， another British expert who had taught here for some time       ヤ

befbre the war， shows a due sympathy for the pupil，s psychology， saying：

Any l（ind of work which is essentially boring， such as specch driUs， repetition

for memorizing， the use of substitution tables， etc．， should be confined to short

（24）

interest flags．

It is an apt rcmark that every tcacher is in danger of becoming a dictator in his own classroom． The teachcr should takc particular care so that children

prison house where children are fbrced to sit still and listen to the teacher during the whole period． Bear in mind，， says Gatenby， in the classroom teaching of a

（25）

chiefly by doing．

In this connectio孕， dramatizat三〇n of short dialogue in a daily−lifb setting as explained by W． V． Kaulfers would be a uscful suggestion f6r all fbreign

（26）

languagc tcachers． It is also cndorsed by H． B． Dunkel that dialogues and pl・ys st・nd・n・fi・mer g・・und・h。n m。t。，i。1、。f。、her kind飴Dunk，1， h。w，v。，，

maintains that in oder to be at homc ih the』forcign tongue the studcnt must

have a sufficient range of patterns at his disposal so that he can meet varicd

And he warns the teacher not to undcrestimatc the immcnse amount of labor

（213）

required to accomplish these two o切ectives．

It goes雨thout saying that the student should be provided with carefully

selected and organized materials based on esscntial spccch patterns to be mastered．

12       茨城大学教育学部紀要 第五号

But it is often the case with the student of English convcrsatoin that mere me一 morizing of sample sentenccs causes him to lose naturalness of speech， freezing

      ●       ・

奄獅狽潤@awkward， isolated or inappropnate expresslons．

What is important， therelbre， is to stimulate the student，s desire to com一

and to provide Iife−lik6 situations meaningful enough to overcome self．conscious一

In l952， the Ministry of Education issUed T乃θ8％8965 θ4 Co％ア5θoプ8伽の

book is wcll worth carcful perusal by all Japanese teachers of English・Aglance through the pages will revcal that there are a great many kinds of activity in and out of class in which pupils may well bc interested and actively participatc．1 It will also help remove the prevailing misconception among the English teachers that the school textbook is the only source of curriculum materials．，Actually， many teachers are chiefly occupicd during their lesson−periods with reading and translat一

．   ing the tcxts sentencc by sentencc， paragraph by paragraph． That situation， we find in thc third volume， arises from a lack of clear understanding of the aims of

・h・E・gli・h l群ngu・ge curri・ulum・f・・m・f・ilu・e・・realize th・t th・・e・ught t・be grcat diversity in teaching mcthods if thc interest of pupils is to be aroused and

（29）

differences among pupils a variety of experiences must be provided． The use

of the textbook as thc core of the English course， so long as it does not lapse into a me￠hanical routine， is by no mcans objectionable． But at the same time，

asupplcmentary use is to be made as freely as possible of non．textbook sourccs

The aim of thc audio．visual approach is to establish an association between

can bc achieved also by amplc use of pictures has been shown by E． A． Lawson，

aFiries Methodist， at the Lower Secondary school attached to Tokyo University．

YASUHARA：Some Basic Principles and Problems of English Language Teaching in Japan l3

He is correct in saying that・the teacher must vary the drill tcchniques and

contexts enou帥to maintain interest，， and that invention of drill techniques is a

That children should be taught to work for grades， credits， and examinations is another moss−grown belief still current among many teachcrs as well as parents．

It is a good teacher who is resourceful and original cnough in his teaching plan and technique that his pupils will never be intimidated into learning stereotyped

（32）

lessons in chain−gang fashion． It is a gratifying tendency that more and more

games， intcrnational correspondcnce and various English contests， all as a motivat．

（器）

ing force in thc study of English．

Although the process of Iearn童ng a language is chiefly thc proccss of、 learning by heart innumerable forms from the langua窪e， all language work will be sure to become dull unlcss the student，s intellectual interest and curiosity are stirnulatcd

According to D． H． Stottl the problems of interest and attention consist in nothing more than the inducing of an activc mental attitude on the part of the

（㍗4）

pupil， and this active attitude entails the enjoyment of intellectual achievement・，       F

R（麺ecting the notion of H． R． Huse that learning a language is essentially a memory problem， a task as precise as learning the multiplication table， Stott advocates instcad the inductive method，， a method which makes the pupil dis．

cover or induce each law anew by observation and cxperiment．

It is easy to see that the inductive method as proposed by Stott is superior to thc ordinary deductive method in which the rulc is first explaincd and thcn the learncr practises its apPlication until thc dcsired standard of perfor皿ance is

（1駈）

reached．， The point is， as J． o． Gauntlett indicatcs， that lcarning is never entirely inductive or entirely deductlve， although the emphasis in teaching must

（？，6）

be on the inductive side．，

It must be added， however， that Stott s philosoply upon which his method is ba一 sed is distinctly worthy of consideratlon． What he stresses is that through some ac一

        「

狽奄魔?@method， inductive』or otherwisc， the pupil should be schoolcd in independence

and originality rather than in blind obedicnce so that a languagc can be educativc

14       茨水大学教育学部紀要 第五号

獅盾煤@only in thc scnse of training the intellect but as preparation fbr lif℃in a modcrn democratic societジ Vicwed in this light， fore五gn language lcarning in．

volves a vcry s量gnificant cducational value， especially in this country wherc the ncw democratic education has only recently begun in thc true scnse of thc word．

of latc Japancsc students of English have more or lcss bccn infbrmed of the theory of descriptive analysis of the structure of language， chiefly through thc works「of Pro￡ Charlcs C． Fries． Also the results of actual application of the

IFrics techniqucs in a Japanese secondary school have becn made widely known

       脚

≠高盾獅〟@Japanese teachers by Mr． E． Lawson through his several articles and

Since Fries Mcthod is basically the same as that， advocatcd by Palmer as

（蛎）

Mr． Gauntlett asserts， there is nothing particularly new in his approach to lang一

       「 浮≠№?@training， exccpt this：

lt is not enough to have teaching matcrials bascd upon a descriptive analysis

       L

盾?@the language to be learned． Such a dcscriptive analysis must bc carefully and systematically compared with a similar description of English structure−the native language of the learner． On】y in this way will one arrive at thc kinds ）f new

habits to be informed， and， perhaps more important still， at the kinds of things    、

（fS3）

the student must lcarn to ignore in dealing with the負）reign languagc．

Thc importance of comparative study of two languagcs， thc mother tongue and

（鴇9）

aforeign language to be learned， has long bccn noticcd by only a few specialists．

It was sir G． B． sansom， a British authority of note on Japancsc culture and her language， who first pointcd out with convincing argument some basic differcnces

（40）

between English and Japanese．， In his little book， he briefly touched on the fundamental difFerence in the philosophy between the two languages． This， together with his other cxplanations of colloquial or informal English， has made the book

Tokyo University was perhaps the first Japancse to make a comparativc study of

（41）

English and Japanese， publishing a trcatise in Japanese in l940・

Since the end of thc war， this field has comc tobe explorcd by morc specia一

insight and interest in what might be callcd a psychosemantic or metalingnistic

YASUHARA：Some Basic Principles and Problems of English Language Teaching in Japan l5

（42）

approach to language teaching． According to W． V。 Kaul艶rs， the psychosemantic approach in the teaching of a language is an ef｛brt to replace fbrmal grammatical rules and explanations， wherever possiblc， with insights into the past and present

（4？）

ways of thinking which diffbrcnces in language rcpresent．， The approach， at

lcast in theory， has been introduced into the English teaching circle by Mr．

（44）

Gauntlett through his book alrcady rc艶rred to． As Kaulfbrs admits， psychose一

1illguistic scientists are generally reluctant to accept it as a science・

Pro￡J． B． Carrol， in his comprehensive work T乃θ5伽のoノ加％g％αgθ， takcs up the basic ph五10sophy upon which Kaulfer s⇔sychosemantics is based， in relation to metalinguistics，， linguistic typologゾand the linguisticレ7θ1如η56肋％観g Pro一

blem，， and states as foilows：       、

In principle， the idea that linguistic structure and catcgories in some way influence our modes of thought is an attractivc one．．．．．For various reasons，

however， this notion has never become one of the gcnerally acccpted doctrincs

（4r））

of gcneral linguistic thcory． Pro￡Humio Nakazima of Tokyo University also

（46）

r（麺ects the notion， condemming it as a widely circulatcd linguistic superstition．

Whether or not it is authenticated from the linguistic scienstist，s point of vicw，

the psychosemantic approaρh on the basis of a comparative study of languagc

will challengc all competent teachers to emerge from their old type as stereotyped drillmasters． The English teacher should help the student to determine the points of d三f￡ercnce and thc arcas of similarity bctwcen English and Japanese both in respeet to thc sound systcm玖nd linguistic structurc． Thus it is incumbent upon thc Japancse teacher of English⑩be so well versed in the two languages as to be able to guide the effbrts of thc studcnt effbctively and efficicntly． Of late

（47）

teachers．

As it is often pointed out， one of the chief d五fficulties for the Japanese

studcnt in mastering English sounds lies in the richer variety of both consonants      1

and vowcls and their combinations which are far more irregular than Japanese．

Anothcr difficulty lies in the diff6rence in stress systcm betwccn thc two languages．

16       茨城大学教育学部紀要 第五号

In Japanese all syllables are pronounccd with equal force， so that we are liablc

aptly said that an Englisn sentcncc is like an artillery barrage， while a Japancse

（43）

sentence is like machinc−gun fire． Onc of the commonest weaknesscs among

Japanese speakcrs of English says sir G． B． sansom， is their failure to make proper use of vocal emphasis． This shortcoming often leads them into elaboratc，

roundabout methods of exprcssion where a simple shift of strcss， a risc or fall of

（49）

tonc， would scrve their purpose bctter． With Otto Jcspersen we may rightly

・h・・a・…izc Engli・h， ph・n・・i・ally・p・aking，・・p・sse・sing m。le en。，gワ1° Ag。in i・

is the Danish scholar who asserts that the English language is a methodical，

・n・・g・・i・，bu・iness−lik・and・・b・・1・ngu・g・…reg・・d・t・i・s syn・ax and m。，ph。1。§号1

Any student of a fbreign language must have felt acutely the truthfulness of imperf6ct translatability of languages because of thc di晩rencc of mental attitude，

of psychological patterns and of linguistic responses， as thc saying is Tノσ4勿μ07ゴ

〃α疏o舩While dcnotation may be rendered， connotative meanings are only

approximately translated into a diffbrent language of a dif琵rent culturc and environmcnt・since the Japanese languagc is anything but a cognate languagc of English， the dif艶rence is all the more striking．

Thus， the English word 408「， which is， according to T乃θPo6々θ 0覇o／4 ヱ万o距oηαノタ，a quadruped of various breeds allicd to wolf or fox，％o∫θ4／bノ 5θグ伽6α∂18π855≠o粥侃ぎ7z乃％〃励g，5乃θρ乃θグ4伽8， guarding， and companionship，

andプわ7α窺勿α〃砂≠o oσ」∫，（undcrlined by the writer）is even denotatively diff6rent 丘om thc Japanese equivalent I筋， which is traditionally associated with antipathy

・・m・nk・y・， having h・d littl…d。 wi・h hun・ing。。、h。ph。。din§〕助

It has been widely known that in both English and Japanese there arc some

唐浮モ?fwords and expressions which defy translation， thus， gentlemanラ， lovc ， homc ，

play the琴ame， ctc・are no morc adequately rendercd into Japanese than wabi，，

sabi ， giri−ninzyδ ， tadaima ， okaerinasaiうetc． Words are the means l says H．

R．Huse， by which our civilization is devcloped， maintaincd， and passed．on．

       （59）

nur language determines largely thc character of our loyalties and dlsloyalties．

Th・di鉦erence・f th・tw・1・bgu・g・・， Engli・h and J・p・n・・e， h・w・v・・， i・m・・t

conspicuous in word−ordcr and sentence structure． Thc ground−pattern fbr English

YASUHARA：Some Basic Princip；es．and Proble卑s．of旱ngllsれLanguage Teaching in Japan l7

as well as other Western European languages is the fbrm s呵ect−←vcrb十〇切ect while the normal order in Japancsc is su切ect十〇切ect十verb ． And the su切ect in aJapancse scntcnce is in most cases dircctly fbllowed by a postposition such as

are ever satisfied with any grammaticaP explanation of it． Besidcs， thc su切ect in Japancse is very often omitted or dispensed with so that the central part of the Japanese scntcncc hes mainly on the prcdicatc， namely， the object or com一 plcment plus the verb with its conjugatcd fbrm of some honorific expression in

       ．

≠モモ盾窒р≠獅モ?@with the situation． These facts tend to cause Japanesc speakers． or

writers to depend to a considerable degree on the atmosphere or the situation，

．     thus making their languagc rather suppressive or suggcstivc than cxact， precise，

clear−cut and logical． This is easily undcrstood by the traditional peculiarity of thc Japanese people who arc fond of naturahastc， color or actual state of things

      ．．

窒≠狽??秩@than artificial， scientific utilization or transformation of physical naturc．

In other words， the Japanese， bcing attracted more often than not by individual things， often Iack a strong will．power toward uinity and Iogical consistency． As the present Japancsc culturc on the whole is a mixture of the old and the new，

the native and the foreign， the Oriental and the Occidental， so it iミwith the

Japanese language， which has no doubt helped to mould the peculiar， somcwhat      「

illogical and scntimental way of thinking which characterizcs the people。

In praising thc logic of the English language， Jespersen asserts that there is perhaps no language in the civilized world that stands so high as English， and refcrs to the use of the tenses and especially the expanded tenses the development

（r）4）

valuable distinction．，

       r

mot only thc tcnse−system but also the number−concept and the development of the use of relative pronouns and advcrbs as well as comparatives have no doubt helped to make English a、far more precise and logical language when compared with the Japanese language。 Here indeed are pitfalls for Japancse

students of English the system of which is so thoroughly dif色rent from that of thcir own language．

In this connection， a very suggestive research has lately been carried on by

一      ．

18      茨城大学教育学部紀要 第五号

（55）

Pro￡Obonai and his collaborators at Tokyo Univcrsity of Education． It is to

be noted that the research starts fbm the assumption that it the learners start to learn English， thinking and recognizing the dif色rence between Japanese and

Onc of the findings is that in general， in English the metaphorical cxprcssions that is personificational exprcssions are distinctly more compared with thc Japanese language， and also in the catcgories of the English verb， a considerable high percentage was shown・，

stating that  in the Japanesc language the expressions using the auxiliary verb are more in each case， compared with English ， the researchcrs ascribe this

noun centered， and as the sentencc functional element， the other parts of spccch are connccted in the sentence with all thc verbs，（in Japarlesc）．

Next， thc report says， the error in the use of prcpositions by Japanese students is caused also by the difference between the two languages． Here the study

analyzes the important po五nts of those errors according to the following items：

1．Noun expression（English）and verb expression（Japanese）．

2．Active expression（English）and Passive expression（lapanese）．

3．The su切cctive， expression（English）and the objective， expression（Japanesc）．

4． Personification．

5．The diff6rentiation of preposition（English）and undiff6rentiation of prcposition or postposition（Japancse） （including the differentiation of thinking）・

etc．

In thc light of the findings of this research， it is now a foregonc conclusion that in order to acquirc proficiency in a foreign language one must ne母ds be familiar with the system of perception and the way of thinking， to say nothing of the manners and customs， the history and literature， of the peoplc who spcak

（56）

serious consideration by Japanese teachers of English：

         」

u

YASuHARA：sm二e Basic Pri肌lples and Problcms of English Language Teaching孟n Japan l9 一・alargc share of its justificat量on of thc place of thc modern languagc study at all levels of thc curriculum is based upon the value of such study in

insight into the contcnt， the intellectual framcwork， and the behavior pattcrns

Again it is stimulating to find the followillg passage：

In the elementary stagcs of languagc instruction， most fruitful procedure has

It goes without saying that， in view of the inadcquacy of translation， language

       ・

高≠唐狽?窒凵@ls a nccessary prcrequisite for cultural insights．．No civilization can be       rightly understood without sufficient knowledge of its language as speech． It is

of no small significance here to rcflect upon thc fundamental aims of fbreign

language study in the curriculum of Japanese secondary schools．丁乃6 S囎g65∫θ4 Co％ノ5θ6ゾS劾4ツrcads as fbllows：

The manifbld aims of thc English curriculum as a foreign languagc curricu』

lum demand that the students should be trained in thc four major languagc arts of hcaring， speaking， rcading， and writing勿鋭∫1 they can use English as an

should be introduced through English to the English−speaking nations， their people，

their lands， and achievements（manners and customs， literature， social institutions

（57）

etc．）

The remark is quite relevant bccause thcrc is at present no less danger than

，before that the cultural aspcct is apt to bc slighted owing to the overemphasis of the functional or linguistic aspect in English instruction．

The general standard of English language instruction in the secondary s￠hools in postwar Japan has not been as high as it was before the war． This is justii一 fiab豆e in view of the fact that the secondary school education in prewar days

Bcsides， various difficultie貫， financial and political， caused by def6at in the war，

have hindercd， more or less， spontaneons and rational dcvclopment of our national

20       茨城大学教育学部紀要 第五号

well as that of school buildings was critical as was pointed out by the United Statcs Education Mission． They havc been， in fact， greatly improved， but， strange to say， the problem of thc Iargc class size has never been seriously questioned．

Whereas in the IUnited States and Grcat Britain twenty−five to thirty pupils is gcnerally considcrcd the maximum size， here in this country no less than fifty

she disadvantages especially in language classes arc sclfLcvident：

small opportunity for studcnt participation， a lesscned amount of individual atten一 tion or guidance， and an increasing indifference or even hatred of the lesson on

The teacher，s」oa（玉also has greatly increased， because of a far wider range of ability and needs within classes in postwar schools． In many rural schools English teachers are obligcd to cover two or more subjects， working from morning till dark every wcck−day． The allotment of time in some schools is such that

periods each；thc schedule has never been altercd in spite of protcsts from the English teachcrs of the same schooL Besides， their classrooms often lack a proper heating system so that the pupils are sometimes fbrced to study in the freezing

undoubtedly hes beyond the powers of the English teachers． A much greater portion of the national resources should be devotcd to education・education for peacc， aimed at promoting international understanding and goodwill through the

（5D

acquisition of thc skills of one foreign language or morc．

In the meantime， however， every effort should be cxerted by all the teachers

depends upon creative talent on thc part of the teacher・Methods and techniqucs

language is a hard but worthwhile task through which thc language teacher can make a most efゼective contribution to a full comprchension of thc major

（56）

problems of human relationships that confront us today．

、