サインボードは正確に

Put the test mentality behind you

I was aware of the big problem in Japan before seeing my own children battling through it. It hinders language students from the beginning. It remains, wrongly, the criteria that companies use to gauge success.

Japan's education system is anchored around a focus on tests. Every course, every textbook is centered around the students taking and passing exams. It is very common that the children will go to cram schools called juku, where they essentially are trained the ins and outs of how to pass the tests to get to the next tier of education. And this stands in the way of their ability to actually speak the language that they speak, because schools don't set a curriculum based on activating the language they use.

This continues on to the adult level. TOEIC, the Test of English for International Communication is the standard that companies and some institutions measure people's ability to communicate. Which means that company workers are bound by a similar constraint of a system focused on the wrong thing, the ability to actually speak. I have taught students with strong TOEIC scores in the 700's (990 is best) but are unable to string together a few sentences. Similarly I have taught students in the 400's who manage to communicate consistently. It is just not the right focus.

English training, or any language for that matter, needs to be centered around a focus on actually speaking and relaying information. Classrooms need to be loud with students using the target language in structured, productive, activities. And it needs to be the students' voice you hear the most, not the teachers'. Activating and getting practical experience can help push Japan towards a stronger average level of proficiency. Japan is ranked at #87 in the world in the global English proficiency rating (LINK), which is labeled as 'Low Proficiency'. It would help to see this over-reliance on tests change from the Elementary level, but as trainers of Adult Speakers we can make a difference by giving our students every chance to speak, but ensuring that the lessons are productive and there is always a takeaway.

I should qualify that tests are not all bad. They do provide a motivation to study and some people really grow their vocabulary trying to do well in their tests. Also companies do need some way to measure people's progress, especially if they are spending money on English training programs. But the current test systems are insufficient and there needs to be a way to measure people based on their ability to communicate. I don't have the easy answer to this, but my eyes are open to how we can achieve this. Either way, for now, I am focused on improving the opportunity to speak while ensuring the students have multiple takeaways from each class.

What is the best rate of study?

I had an epiphany while I was standing in the rain watching my son's team practice for soccer. My son was in junior high school at the time and he has been doing soccer since he was in kindergarten. I had been a teacher and language coach for around 16 years at the time but I never could settle on how much was the best amount of time to study to really achieve results. So, there I was standing in the rain watching my breath dissipate in the air in front of me wondering why the heck they had to practice every day. My mind flashed to Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers and his theory about needing 10,000 hours to become proficient at something. That was it, not only the amount of time but the total immersion of the mind and commitment to a regular rhythm were a key to reaching the next level.

Doubtlessly the more time you dedicate to something, the more you can see improvement, but the rhythm of soccer practices suggested to me that constant and frequent repetition is also important. I thought this was the way to get the students at the company I was teaching at to remember some words for their TOEIC goals. I set up a practice sheet where every three days they had to focus on a single word. The first day, they look up the word in English (afterwards Japanese was permitted) then on the second day they had to come up with a practice sentence. If they followed this program, they would think about the word on successive days and interact, making a better chance to remember. On the third day they would get another chance and they would find some synonyms for the word. The following day was a new word and the cycle began again. The problem is that the students didn't follow the theoretical path and only studied everything on one day, before their class. The most serious students did follow it and I thought it was a good program. The beauty of it was that the students should be thinking about English everyday. They established a rhythm, even if just for 10-15 minutes. If I were stricter about it, I think we would have seen more results.

Looking through the Internet at ideas about how much to study, theories range between 20 minutes and 3 hours per day. An interesting post by Ouino (We know, get it?) language says 30 minutes of active studying and 1 hour of exposure is good. Of course they are promoting their business so it's merely a theory. If you don't subscribe to Medium, you will be trapped by the pay wall, but this post says 1-2 hours is best for rapid language acquisition.

I will say it again though, I believe that the true key lies in the daily rhythm more than the amount of study, though logically more time spent should yield more results.

Time to bring humanity back to the classroom

COVID 19 has had a profound effect. It really goes without saying. But I am not talking about the heart-shattering loss of life or the cabin fever inducing 3 years we spent locked in our homes. I am talking about the way business is conducted and how foreign language training has evolved here in Japan. With an increased acceptance of video meeting software such as Zoom, Teams or Meet, the classroom shifted into the virtual world as well.

Companies were forced to move the office to people's homes while the pandemic raged and after companies grew to accept that style, many have stuck to Work From Home. Nikkei Asia estimates that nearly 40% of workers are still doing a hybrid style of work (link), saving transportation and even electricity costs for businesses. This shift to video meetings also impacts on the number of business trips as communication can be achieved for a fraction of the cost. This research positively talks about how 64% of companies still find business travel important, but that means that 36% don't.

Of course, what I am leading up to here is that this has impacted the general attitude towards studying foreign languages, particularly English. More private students or companies are turning to more reasonably costing online English training meaning there has been a step back from the beneficial environment of face-to-face English lessons. Aside from the obvious lack of technical issues that sometimes crop up, there are many benefits to a more intimate training environment. A teacher can have quicker reaction times to questions or problems and has a better capability of reading learners' body language. There is a better sense of connection between all members when you are in a live environment, with more live tools at the teacher's disposal. Last, but not least, there are less chances of succumbing to distractions such as pets, children or that temptation to turn the TV on. This website also talks about motivation and focus as a couple of benefits of being in a classroom as some other potential benefits.

Companies offering English training need to embrace a commitment to quality lessons with practical contents set up in a way that is enjoyable for the students. And most importantly, we need to bring the humanity back to the English study environment and get back in the same room. The teacher needs to work closely with the students to help them realize their goals and use all the tools and signs at their disposal. This is at the heart of what Lowrey Global Consultants strives to do.

IELTS is one of the important language tests out there, knowing good synonyms helps you succeed!

Finding that a bridge is needed in the first place

He made it happen himself. He built the business from the ground up and put in the hard hours to get the income coming in like blood from stone. He relied on his business sense and his understanding of the culture that he lived in. He knew that being direct with the people he brought on board was a key because that was what people in his country expected. He knew how to establish good relationships and market his products and he did it his way. He was a cowboy, a maverick and nothing could stop him.

Now his business was running like a well oiled machine and there were more zeros at the end of his profit numbers. He had a healthy number of employees and he even managed to branch the business out across America. This time his sense paid off but he also had a number two that he could trust for valuable input.

The elephant entered the room and stood in the corner solemnly, waiting to be noticed and staring blankly at the men. Finally it was brought up, international expansion. It turns out that Japan was a great potential market for their product and they decide to seek out an area to do business there.

The men thought that the first meeting went well, the business owner spoke frankly and aggressively pitched their dream and what they wanted from the partner. The potential Japanese partners were very polite and left the meeting briskly. Nothing came from it. What went wrong?

American culture is an independent culture and free thinkers are considered important. Similarly having a bit of initiative and strong mentality can translate to good business acumen, but Japanese culture is structured differently. Different country. Different rules. Japan is a collectivist culture and typically follow the trend. That also means that the first people you meet are likely not the decision makers. When they reported to their boss that the company was very aggressive and seemingly demanding, this did not fly in the face of the level of respect needed to conduct business with Japanese companies.

This is one example but there are other areas where either side may underestimate and end up failing to strike a good business connection. The truth is that when you are stepping away from your comfort zone, be prepared to work hard to have a deeper understanding of what you are getting yourself into. Understand that it might take longer than you expect to get something done or that more attention needs to be paid to some loose talk before business. This goes on top of the necessary market research that can help you understand market trends better.

That is why you seek out a bridge, a foreigner who understands both sides and can be an effective middle man to communicate with both sides. On top of this, remember that it is not necessarily automatic that you will succeed in the same way you did back home, adapt and think on your feet. With your partner or consultant, you can land firmly on your feet and gain an advantage over the others. Giddyap!

blood from stone is an idiom meaning that you are trying to get results out of a very hard situation. Almost impossible.

a well oiled machine is a process that runs smoothly

the elephant entering the room means that there is a topic that everyone is thinking about but no one wants to talk about

Chat GPT in language learning (part 2)

My previous post relied heavily on my opinion drawing on my long experiences as a teacher, but what of outside sources, what other issues do people see with using ChatGPT for your English language communication needs?

This article highlights the risks of sharing your company's sensitive data since the service relies on machine learning. That means that the extremely powerful AI system is learning from everything we tell it. Many are questioning whether the information people have asked ChatGPT to write their reports about is suddenly available to anyone who enters the right question in the site. The site claims that one research into this probability showed that there is indeed a likelihood of it happening.

Long running tech news site ZD Net highlighted 6 potential ways that the AI service can be used. Aside from the obvious composition of phishing e-mails or clickbait articles, they also suggested that people could use the service to more efficiently gather data to help support them in committing a crime, such as finding what IT systems a bank uses. While this seems unrelated to your language needs, imagine if you are feeding company information into the interface to help explain your new technology to internal stakeholders. That is now inside Chat GPT's data resources.

One LinkedIn user asked ChatGPT the pros and cons of using it for blogging, which I also feel can be applied to using if for your language needs. ChatGPT questioned its ability to write creatively, which to me suggests that readers may be able to detect when they are answering correspondence sent by the AI engine. A lack of depth, a lack of context, and a sub-standard quality of writing may also damage the reputation of a company.

While IBM may have a bias against ChatGPT, since they would prefer to promote their own WatsonX, they do have a couple of other compelling points about the usage of the trendy AI. Intellectual property issues may come up due to ambiguity or ownership of the content rights as well as what the answers they generate are based on. Similarly the ownership of different open source libraries could be contentious and lead to legal issues.

All these are different angles from the reliability I talked about in my previous post and should also factor into a company's weighing of the decision whether to use it for your language needs. To me, there are a lot of potential issues that go on top of the questionable reliability of Chat GPT in this method of usage, but I would be at fault if I did not explore some of the pros associated with this topic. Therefore that will be next in this series of posts.

Use that idiom properly

So you just learned a new idiomatic expression and you know that the best way to remember is to try to use it. You have to tread carefully and make sure it comes out sounding naturally. While most people will forgive you for making a mistake, you run the risk of forever using it incorrectly after that.

For instance Jun picked up the phrase, " a fish out of water", which means to feel out of place in a setting. It is usually used when talking about a human's feelings but he accidentally used it talking about an object that was out of place in the office. "That clock next to the door is like a fish out of water," he says. His colleagues know that he is trying, so no one corrects him and just nod awkwardly. After that he continues to use it in the same context to the point that it becomes habitual and it is tough to stop once he becomes aware of the situation.

So how to avoid it? Here are some ideas;

Listen actively, try to catch how other people use the expression

Google the new phrase, maybe you will find a video using it.

Ask a teacher or strong English speaker

Read! It's a great way to feed not only new vocabulary but also ideas of how to use words and phrases.

And, on the other side, if you are a bit higher level than your friend or coworker, it doesn't hurt to correct them.

Don't let this post make you feel anxious about using the new expression, you have to make mistakes to learn. Just take the time to research it and always communicate with open ears and an open mind.

Enjoy every moment

I heard some sad news today. The kind of news that will dramatically alter the course of a long time friend's life. But without getting into specifics, a lot of soul searching comes from it. The takeaway is that we should make every effort to make the best of every moment of our life.

Say thank you to anyone who makes an effort. Tell your family you love them. Hug your kids. Pet your cat on the head when you pass her. Stop and smell a beautiful flower. Take a picture of that interesting scene you pass that leaves an impression on you. Most importantly, go after what you want.

If you want to learn a language. Do it. Do it properly. Do the boring memorization and then activate it. Make opportunities to speak in that language. Don't be shy. Help a stranger or join a social group. Stop worrying about being perfect and focus on improving your communication abilities.

Life is short. The little things we worry about, are they that big? Was it a big deal that you made a grammatical error when speaking? What does matter is the connections that we have made, the appreciation of life and satisfying our curiosity and desires.

Life is short and unpredictable. Be prepared to make the most of everything you experience.

Are movies good for English study?

Many students over the years asked if it is good to use watching movies as a way to study. Essentially I would say that it is a good thing. I have always believed that we need to enjoy studying English which acts as a self motivator. So interacting in English in a way that we enjoy is a great enabler for your language skills.

That's the key though. There has to be something active to the process. You could, for instance watch the movie once purely for entertainment and at that time you can pick up some listening practice and basic comprehension if you aren't focused on the Japanese subtitles. But they you should watch the movie again. Either with English subtitles or none at all. Have a notepad nearby and take notes of words, difficult to hear points or idioms that you encounter as you go. Pause the movie. This time you are studying. After you finish, watch it again, purely in English with no subtitles at all and just practice listening and use the points you took notes about as review opportunities.

The key to any study success is to do it actively and to review what you have learned, or even better use the new expressions. Studying passively can get some results but it will take far longer for them to be noticeable than if you actually approach it as a learning opportunity.

That being said, just watching the movies with English voices and hopefully subtitles is better than not doing it all. This is just my suggestion for how to get the best results.

The bridge

Why did Lowrey Global Consultants settle on a title as a consulting company as opposed to just a language training one? Because there is so much more that my 19 years in Japan have taught me, so much more that I can help foreign companies with. Conversely, my deep understanding of foreign culture and my connections make our business a convenience conduit to foreign businesses in Canada or North America.

One of the keys that can see a lot of companies tend to fall face first is in a lack of understanding of local conditions. A famous example is the French supermarket giant Carrefour when they tried to expand into Japan and gave up in only 4 years. They started in 2001 and had exited by 2005. They didn't understand that Japanese consumers prefer to buy small quantities of food to make sure that they are always eating fresh food. So they shop more often but buy smaller amounts which did not fall into the plans of the European company used to high volume sales. Walmart saw similar disappointment though they gave their majority share in Seiyu 20 years before giving up.

Understanding the local mindset, not just business conditions is a key to success. On top of this giving things time is essential here. A company can't try to enter into a highly competitive industry and expect to have success in a half year. Relationships need to be built, successful smaller connections can lead to more openness to business from other companies and move up the ladder from there. These insights plus an ability to communicate and research in the local market gives us a chance to arm you with the right expectations and strategies in coming into a market such as Japan.