Posts Tagged ‘Motivation’

Not a big enough problem to worry Auntie Alex with, so will deal with this reader enquiry myself:

Some good-looking internet resources on said topic, have no more than skimmed them myself but the sites they are on are well respected.

http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Kilickaya-AutenticMaterial.html

http://www.readingmatrix.com/articles/berardo/article.pdf

http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/51/2/144

http://www.amazon.com/Motivational-Strategies-Language-Classroom-D%C3%B6rnyei/dp/0521793777/ref=sr_1_4/002-8179833-2881649?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185616833&sr=8-4

The last one is the Amazon page of a classic book by a great author with a great name- Zoltan.

No, not TEFLtastic- Toyota. Now that Toyota is top of the world, it seems all some analysts can see is the inevitable decline. Understandable in a way, but it is not as if the Japanese gave up their number one position in most other products in a hurry, so after quickly consulting my dartboard I’d say Toyota shares are a buy.

So as the Japanese are number one in cars, video game machines, animation etc. etc, why not English? It is understandable that the immense differences in the vocabulary, writing systems, grammar and pronunciation of the languages makes it a lot harder than switching from English to Dutch- but why at least haven’t they come up with a language learning method that helps them catch up with the same ease and convenience as a (Japanese-owned) 7-11?

Part of the reason for the lack of Japanese progress with English, despite millions of dollars spent on ALT*s and millions of books bought every year is actually connected to that convenience store thing- language learning does not lend itself to clever effort saving solutions in the same way as toilet technology. Another problem lies in those millions of books, as authors are judged the same way as salarymen and churning out books reliably is seen as the height of a writer’s skill. The main problem, though, is the one Toyota is facing- a lack of a clear goal where to go next.

Most Japanese students come into a language school classroom convinced by high school English lessons, impossibly obscure university entrance tests and the above named ungraded English learning books that they will never be able to communicate in any way in English. When they find out they can, they are so happy they don’t seem to know where to go next. As the Toyota article says: “What do you do when you pass a rabbit you’ve been chasing for 70 years?”

* ALT, Alien Language Teacher- a native speaking assistant teacher who helps give lessons in Junior High schools etc. Not to be confused with ALF, which is Alien Language Friend- someone who gives informal English conversation lessons in cafes.

Don’t know if the exploding posh hot springs resort in Shibuya (of 8 directions at once crossing and Lost in Translation karaoke fame) made the news abroad. It was another quiet news day in Japan (apparently news of Africa cannot reach east of the Maldives due to some physical law or another), so we were convinced it was a yakuza hit and on the edge of our seats. But it was not to be, just pure incompetence.

Much as I might have been confused and interested by a story of built up volcanic gases destroying a shopping centre a couple of years ago, I lost interest pretty quickly in this one due to no surprises- neither the incompetence that lead to the explosion (the Japanese are as serious and hard-working as they could possibly be, but if their boss isn’t focused on safety neither are they) nor the fact that there as a hot springs resort in the equivalent of Trafalgar Square.

The Japanese really do love their mineral baths. One theory* of why is that they can’t actually relax unless they are told it is good for you and virtually a moral duty to do so. Hence the fact that you can’t reply “Oh no, that’s fine. I enjoyed it” when your boss thanks you for doing some work and you have to make strange noises all the time to show how much effort you are making. And hence the appeal of doing something right and sitting around in radioactive water etc.

And so it often is in the language classroom. As they know they are doing something they should (learning English), they finally feel they can justify chatting, relaxing and generally enjoying themselves. However, they certainly won’t be saying that is their motivation if you ask them, hence the difficulty of doing needs analysis in Japan and students who keep on asking for more homework but not doing any of it.

There might be some everyday human good intentions seeing the light of day there, of course, but where is the fun in not making gross generalisations???

That will officially be the only Google search result for “exploding baths and English teaching”. Coming up next- “Bananas and error correction”

* Vague summary of what I remember from the book “Getting Wet- Adventures in the Japanese Bath”, Eric Talmadge, Kodansha. Highly recommended for those who wonder what the appeal of getting naked and pink with strangers of the same sex could be