Icciv's notes in Japan

Watashi wa nihon-go benkyo shimasu.

If I was making a New Years resolution this year, it would definately be to study Japanese...and study hard! I've breezed through my 6 months here learning phrases and words as I go, but now I need to study. When I first came to Japan I have to admit the language was not my priority. I certainly wanted to learn Japanese, but the motivation to sit down everyday and study was not very strong. More recently I've been compelled to study, mainly because I want to communicate with the kids. My poor language ability has been particularly highlighted by spending more time at Elementary school. All I can talk about is food (which possible says alot about me!). Here is a usual scenario as I ate lunch with the first year elementary students (English isn't really an option), here one boy, who had been trying to speak to me for 5 minutes in rushed Japanese, finally found a topic we could communicate on.

Him: You like carrots?
Me: Yes, I like carrots
Him: Sushi?
Me: Sushi is ok.
Him: Sashimi?
Me: I really like sashimi?
Him: Really?
Me: Yes, but I don't like shrimp.
Him: I don't really like little shrimp, but big shrimp is good.
Me: Tempura shimp is ok.
Him: Do you like grilled meat?
Me: Yeah, it's really good. Do you like grilled rice balls?
Him: (turns to friends) Teacher Victoria knows grilled rice balls (turns back to me) I like it. Do you like grilled apple?
Me: Grilled apple! Really?
Him: Really.
Me: Grilled apple?
Him: Grilled apple.
Me: Wow. Are you sure?
Him: Yes, grilled apple!
Me: Wow.

And so, the limits of my conversation is exposed, the only other topics we could have covered would have been weather, heating methods, and television. It's a sorry state of affairs!

I know I'm going to try my hardest, but learning another language is not one of my strongest skills (I ditched French and Welsh as soon as possible in high school). This has lead me to look at the debate about how important the language of a country really is. While browsing the net today looking for information about straight perms and highlights (can they co-exist on my hair type?) I came across a forum where the conversation had somehow slipped into a debate about ingnorant foreigners in Japan who can't speak any Japanese. This Japanese guy was argueing that some foreigners don't speak Japanese and that it was extremely disrespectful to the Japanese and Japan. He argued that Japanese people must find it draining and time-wasting to act as a translator for some idiotic gaijin who can't speak enough Japanese, and equated it to 'not knowing how to pay your taxes'. What seemed ridiculous to me initially was that this guy appeared to think learning an entire language (with three different forms of writing (one of which many Japanese find very difficult)) was something that could done in the time it took to learn how to pay your taxes. Surely I was doing well after 6 months in that I was trying, and could at least talk about something, be it heaters and food. Then it ocurred to me that maybe I should have been fluent before I took a job here, before I decided to move abroad. It had struck me before that this scenario would never happen in Britain, can you imagine a Japanese assistant language teacher who could only speak a small amount of English! The Daily Mail would have a field day. 'Government pays to fly 5800 teachers from Japan, China, etc who can't speak English!'...'statistics show that the money used for flights has seriously effected the NHS. A Mrs.Jones from Galgate, Lancaster, has been on the waiting list for her hip replacement for 12 months and has been forced to go private and pay 1,000 pounds for her operation. This would have been avoided had we not shipped over these teachers who can't even speak the language of the country they will work and live in'. Of course all info would be biased and manipulated, but no doubt a moral panic about public spending and the loss of national identity would ensue.

I concluded, however, that this wasn't a strong enough arguement to think moving to Japan with my poor language ability was wrong. If anything, it only emphasized the flaws in British attitude towards immigrants and asylum seekers. Of course in an ideal world anyone moving to a new country would rather speak the language, but thats not the case. And although I agree that everyone should try their hardest to learn the new language, I don't think a community should be berated because the language ability isn't great. I had my reasons for coming to Japan (new culture, better pay, good job) but at no point did I really consider the importance of learning Japanese to a high level, and many ALT's who have been here a while still only have a basic Japanese ability. At no point did anyone question my language ability in regard to my ability to do a good job while in Japan. Why so is it a consideration for immigrants moving to Britain? Whether we are both wrong for heading to new countries with a pathetic language ability, or both right in trying our hardest to work somewhere different and challenging and learn a new language as we go, this arguement is maybe not the issue. Instead, maybe the fact that a westerner travelling across the world to a new country, and an immigrant moving to Britain are viewed differently is the problem.

posted by Icciv @ 2:54 pm