I was taking a guided tour of a national park in Sapporo. The tour guide had been faithfully introducing Japanese culture, history and the scenery on this ten-and-half-hour trip. I thought she must do an excellent job because the bus was filled with laughter and questions. It was a pity that I was completely lost in her talk for I couldn’t understand a single word she said.
I have been traveling a lot with Shyi-Dong while he attends international conferences. I found traveling is the best way for me to widen my vision and learn new things. Usually I take local tours while Shyi-Dong is busy with his work. I rarely have trouble traveling alone because I can always find an English-guided tour. However, this time traveling in Japan I found I could only use body language or guess the words. Fortunately Japanese and Chinese characters are 50% the same. Even though I could read some of the writing but I couldn’t understand when people spoke. There were many times I laughed with people who couldn’t understand me when I asked for help. I remember one
day when I was in a beautiful park, I just had to take a photo. I asked a passerby to take a picture for me. However, instead of doing it, he quickly ran to stand by me. He thought I asked to have a picture with him. I would have been very happy to take a photo with him if he was a tall handsome man; unfortunately, he didn’t look too great and he was short, even shorter than me. Oops!
I am surprised that English is like an alien language from outer space to most people I met in Japan. It is hard to believe that Japan has such strong influence in the international marketplace, and many Japanese companies have occupied major market shares in the world. I cannot understand how it works in terms of international business if English is not a popular language there. One thing I noticed is that nearly everything has been translated into Japanese. Even the English TV programs had only Japanese captions and sounds. Perhaps there is no need for Japanese to learn English if all the information is already translated. I found Japan has remained its old self while the world has become a global village. People seemed to be happy with using only their own language and living their own way.
However, I also wonder whether the lack of using English might be one of the reasons for the severe economic recession in Japan. Some of their leading products have lost their competitive edge to products from other countries. For example, Sony has recently closed up its television production line. Japanese students usually spend six to ten years learning English, but why are there not better results? Japan is a very modern country with a very profound culture and rich history. It is supposed to be one of the best places for vacationing. However, many tourists are reluctant to go, not just because of the high expenses but also the difficultly communicating.
However when it comes to communicating in English, the Taiwanese are not doing much better than the Japanese. Taiwanese students’ TOFEL test score are low. This year Taiwan ranked the 18th out of Asian countries slightly above Japanese. Taiwan is a small island with limited opportunities. We need to keep ourselves active in the global village in order to survive. Besides, the beautiful landscapes and comfortable transportation can be a draw to the foreign tourists. Thus, good command in English is important. It is impossible to keep the economy strong if people cannot use English to communicate with the outside world or when they encounter foreign tourists in Taiwan.
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