Make a breakthrough in English Education (Ver.12)
Nobuo Adachi (2014/12/20)
What if all Japanese engineers were fluent in English? Our engineers would win back the lost market share, and Japan would be once again a top player in the world of technology. But the reality is opposite. It is quite heartbreaking to see the Japanese economy falling behind our Asian neighbors such as Korea and China. We are falling behind them in terms of productivity and profits.
It is too painful to see the Japanese electronics industry loses their global market share. The industry sector is ill prepared to meet global needs. Hitachi, Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic and NEC are no longer leading companies. They are far behind Samsung of South Korea and Huawei of China. When all of the five Japanese manufacturers were suffered in a huge deficit, a Korean electronic maker reported a net profit of 1.3 trillion Japanese yen in2013.
This is partly because of poor quality of English spoken by Japanese Engineers. By comparison, their Korean and Chinese competitors are doing remarkable job in this industry because they study technology subjects in English. This education enables them to explain their products more effectively to their customers in global markets. Surprisingly, Samsung has 74 employees who hold Ph.D. degrees in electronics from US universities and several hundreds of employees who hold Master of Science degrees.
You might have heard that Rakuten and UNIQLO have adopted English as their official corporate language. In the case of my previous company NTT Data, the ratio of non-Japanese Employees may reach 50% in a few more years. This trend requires Japanese staff to use English every time when they hold weekly staff meeting. When the performance of individual employees is evaluated, they may need to talk with their managers in Singapore, Shanghai and New York.
Unfortunately, Japanese university graduates can hardly speak English. Their average TOIEC score is below 600. They simply regard English as an examination subject and not as a global medium of communication. They focus their attention on translation, but not on how to use it.
Who is to blame for this poor result? Is it the schoolteachers? Yes, to a certain extent. After all, in general, they don’t practice speaking and unable to teach how to speak. Is it the Ministry of education? Yes, of course, absolutely!
Recently, the ministry took two initiatives in the field of English education. The first one is the introduction of “activity based training to the 3rd and 4the grade class in elementary school with the view to exposing children to the English culture. The second is to conduct English classes in English. You may feel that it is too late? It’s never too late to do something good. Let us welcome theses changes.
How about us! Who has acquired the knowledge and skills to express things in global situations? Can we do something? Yes, definitely we can! But, the questions is… WHAT? How can we help graduates students to effectively communicate on any science and technology subjects?
I have a good idea. How about teaching science and technology (S&T) subjects in English? Isn’t it an effective solution? Imagine teaching math, physics, chemistry and geography in English! More than that, as a means of communication, writing, speaking and presentation should be practiced in English. Study abroad program give them opportunities to exchange ideas and communicate with different people from all walks of life.
Why don't we establish an S&T academy in the form of an NPO? I need volunteers who have mastery of the English language like you, my fellow Toastmasters. I am asking each and every one of you to be my partner in this endeavor. The aim is to secure a brighter future, not only for our country's economy, but, more importantly, for our children. Together, we will develop a wonderful curriculum for science and technology subjects in English.
How can we realize this program? Yes, there should be a plan. In the first phase, we conduct a survey on how the Science and Technology are taught in the UK, America, Korea and China, and then we develop our own program. Move on to the second phase: yes, let us raise a fund to establish an academy. The last and most important phase is to market our education program and demonstrates its effectiveness in major universities in Tokyo.
Finally, we teach them on the Science and Technology subject in English in such a way to enable them to talk about scientific subjects and technical issues in English as fluently as they do in Japanese.
Does this sound workable? Whether this will succeed or fail entirely depends on your support. Who knows? It is, to say the least, worthy of your endeavor. Now, join me in launching this pioneering enterprise. “Let us get together and make a breakthrough in English Education”.
Nobuo Adachi (2014/12/20)
What if all Japanese engineers were fluent in English? Our engineers would win back the lost market share, and Japan would be once again a top player in the world of technology. But the reality is opposite. It is quite heartbreaking to see the Japanese economy falling behind our Asian neighbors such as Korea and China. We are falling behind them in terms of productivity and profits.
It is too painful to see the Japanese electronics industry loses their global market share. The industry sector is ill prepared to meet global needs. Hitachi, Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic and NEC are no longer leading companies. They are far behind Samsung of South Korea and Huawei of China. When all of the five Japanese manufacturers were suffered in a huge deficit, a Korean electronic maker reported a net profit of 1.3 trillion Japanese yen in2013.
This is partly because of poor quality of English spoken by Japanese Engineers. By comparison, their Korean and Chinese competitors are doing remarkable job in this industry because they study technology subjects in English. This education enables them to explain their products more effectively to their customers in global markets. Surprisingly, Samsung has 74 employees who hold Ph.D. degrees in electronics from US universities and several hundreds of employees who hold Master of Science degrees.
You might have heard that Rakuten and UNIQLO have adopted English as their official corporate language. In the case of my previous company NTT Data, the ratio of non-Japanese Employees may reach 50% in a few more years. This trend requires Japanese staff to use English every time when they hold weekly staff meeting. When the performance of individual employees is evaluated, they may need to talk with their managers in Singapore, Shanghai and New York.
Unfortunately, Japanese university graduates can hardly speak English. Their average TOIEC score is below 600. They simply regard English as an examination subject and not as a global medium of communication. They focus their attention on translation, but not on how to use it.
Who is to blame for this poor result? Is it the schoolteachers? Yes, to a certain extent. After all, in general, they don’t practice speaking and unable to teach how to speak. Is it the Ministry of education? Yes, of course, absolutely!
Recently, the ministry took two initiatives in the field of English education. The first one is the introduction of “activity based training to the 3rd and 4the grade class in elementary school with the view to exposing children to the English culture. The second is to conduct English classes in English. You may feel that it is too late? It’s never too late to do something good. Let us welcome theses changes.
How about us! Who has acquired the knowledge and skills to express things in global situations? Can we do something? Yes, definitely we can! But, the questions is… WHAT? How can we help graduates students to effectively communicate on any science and technology subjects?
I have a good idea. How about teaching science and technology (S&T) subjects in English? Isn’t it an effective solution? Imagine teaching math, physics, chemistry and geography in English! More than that, as a means of communication, writing, speaking and presentation should be practiced in English. Study abroad program give them opportunities to exchange ideas and communicate with different people from all walks of life.
Why don't we establish an S&T academy in the form of an NPO? I need volunteers who have mastery of the English language like you, my fellow Toastmasters. I am asking each and every one of you to be my partner in this endeavor. The aim is to secure a brighter future, not only for our country's economy, but, more importantly, for our children. Together, we will develop a wonderful curriculum for science and technology subjects in English.
How can we realize this program? Yes, there should be a plan. In the first phase, we conduct a survey on how the Science and Technology are taught in the UK, America, Korea and China, and then we develop our own program. Move on to the second phase: yes, let us raise a fund to establish an academy. The last and most important phase is to market our education program and demonstrates its effectiveness in major universities in Tokyo.
Finally, we teach them on the Science and Technology subject in English in such a way to enable them to talk about scientific subjects and technical issues in English as fluently as they do in Japanese.
Does this sound workable? Whether this will succeed or fail entirely depends on your support. Who knows? It is, to say the least, worthy of your endeavor. Now, join me in launching this pioneering enterprise. “Let us get together and make a breakthrough in English Education”.
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