Signs, Signs Everywhere A Sign

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.

Get your restaurant menu right

My friends visited Japan a few years back and we spent a week exploring Tokyo. Overall the time was full of positive and memorable experiences. However I remember the horror we faced when I took them to a Yakiniku restaurant and we looked at the English menu. It sounded like the inventory list for a horror movie; chicken gizzards, sandy liver, entrails. It was thoughtful of the restaurant manager to try to provide an English menu for their international guests, but they missed some of the poetry needed for an English menu.

While there are no scary sounding menu items, this is a good example of how a typical Japanese menu looks, the dishes or ingredients are listed rather neatly. An English menu needs some descriptive words to help sell the items or entice their customers.

Duck with demi-glace and shiitake mushrooms would probably be written as 'Free range grain fed duck served with Fuji Mountain picked Shiitake mushrooms and drizzled with our chef's own demi-glace finished with Yamanashi port.'

Spaghetti bolognese -> Hand cut fresh spahettini in a wagyu bolognese topped with farm fresh basil leaves and shaved Pecorino.

Looking at this menu, you can see the menu features explanations everywhere, 'flame-torched ocean-wise steelhead', 'crispy tempura'. You can better reach your international guests with this same attention to selling the dishes. We can help with this!

Incidentally, for the Yakiniku restaurant, we could call the 'entrails' - 'Offal'. The gizzards and sandy liver (Japanese Sunagimo is gizzard) could be gigerium or ventriculus. Not familiar words, but they don't bring out the image of Nightmare on Elm Street when I read them.

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.

テスト中心の考え方を捨てよう

*前にこのポストは英語でアップロードしました。こちらです

私自身の子供たちが生まれ前から気にしていました。色んな日本の生徒さんたちは学び始めからつまずきます。今でもまだ日本企業において英語力を計る一番の手段はテストです。それは正しいか正しくないかわかりません。

日本の教育システムはテストに焦点おいています。すべての英語のレスんやテキストブックは生徒が試験を受けるそして取る目的のためにあります。塾の目的は次のステージの学校に受かるためです。生徒は自裁に英語を話す能力をはぐくむことができませんあぜなら学校のカリキュラム使用する言語を自裁に活用することをもっとにしていないからです。

大人でも同じパターンがあります。、現在、残念ながら様々な会社はＴＯＥＩＣ　を中心にしてスキルを計っています。何で大人になっても変わらないのでしょうか？全てのレベルで本当の英語でのコミュニケーションをかんがえられていません。私の経験の中で、ある生徒さんはTOEIC スコアが700点だが、あまり話せませんでした。一方、400点ある生徒は英語でコミュニケーションを取れました。TOEICのシステムは英語力を計る完璧システムではありません。

英語を含め全ての言語においてトレーニングの一番大事な目的はコミュニケーションです。クラスルームで生徒さんたちは賑やかにターゲットの言葉や文法を使う方がいい。それの方が生産的です。先生より、生徒たちの声を聞いた方がいいです。今、日本の英語力ランキングは全世界で８７番です（リンク先）。もし学生の頃から、テスト中心の学習を辞めたら、チェンジできます。先生は、大人を教える時、一生懸命スピーキングする機会をつくらなければなりません。でも会話だけでは生産的ではありません。いつもレッスンでは役に立つの情報を教える事が大切です。

もちろんテスト全てが悪いわけではありません。勉強のモチベーションを作れるためは単語すごく学ぶ人もいます。その上、会社は絶対英語のレベルを計る事は必要で。英語のレッスンを受ける事はもちろんコストが掛かるためマネージャーは生徒の英語力を知る必要があります。でも今のテストシステムは十分ではありません、もっと正確なテストがどの方法がベストなのかまだわかりません。いつも考えています。自分の力でクラスではたくさんのコミュニケーションチャンスを作っています。

Nominication for study?

For those unfamiliar with the expression 'nominication,' it is a Japanese portmanteau of the words 'nomu' meaning to drink and 'komyunike-shun' or communication in English. It refers to the phenomenon of enjoying communication over a drink and is a large part of Japanese culture.

Sometimes people I have met have mused over the idea of a lesson held while drinking to enjoy English communication. Overall my instinct has always been that this is an ineffective way to study, as the best way to take away results from an English lesson is through active involvement. This includes speaking and asking questions which we will achieve in a nominication- based lesson, but it also involves writing notes and clarity of mind to put together information and new language usage opportunities. I typically chuckle and say, 'good idea' because I know these spontaneous ideas rarely come to fruition.

That opinion is formed from the core of what I believe and how I plan my language lessons, but the problem is that there actually may be some benefit to such sessions. As a student of Japanese, early on I spent time making word lists, reviewing grammar points and writing out the same kanji (Japanese version of Chinese written characters) but I could barely communicate. Part of that problem was fear, but the other half was a lack of practice. It wasn't until I joined the local festival and a Bon Odori (traditional Japanese dance to honor the recently departed) called Enshu Dainenbutsu that I started to get some practice and grow my speaking skills. On top of this, my son started soccer and I took care of driving him and cheering for him, so I had many chances to interact with other parents. I discovered that after a couple of beers I was able to communicate more and it helped me make bigger steps in my speaking ability. A Time magazine article cites a research done by British and Dutch scientists where they concluded that there is a positive influence on foreign language skills after a few drinks (not too many!)

The reason is simple enough to imagine. When we are under the influence, we worry less and we speak more freely. By eliminating the overthinking factor, I found I could have longer conversations and activate words that I had thought I had forgotten. There is also room to experiment and, if we manage to ensure that we don't drink too much, we can stay aware of people's reactions and grow. I feel a reason why this can help is that language is more than math, more than science, there is an artistic element to it as well. The brain needs to grow on many different plains to increase our aptitude and confidence, which is such an important factor in reaching the next steps in communication.

So does this sway my hardliner opinion? A little. I still think structured lessons and practice are essential, especially in a business context. However students could separately enjoy the occasional session with a private teacher or language group which may help give the students a judgement free environment in which to practice their speaking capabilities. Even some classes I have taught like to have a seasonal party to relax and enjoy English communication, but a class still needs to be centered in a classroom with a pen or pencil in your hand.

Your global e-mail needs to include international cultural sense

When I first started receiving e-mails from Japanese students or work contacts, I didn't really notice it. But there is something different to the way e-mails are structured in regards to their communication. Understanding this, being open to it or even trying to follow the customs can go a long way to forging a good business relationship.

Western e-mails get down to business right away, Japanese ones start out with a little bit of friendly banter. I didn't realize I had taken to this habit myself until I tried to work with a Canadian company last year. I was met with short retorts and 'just coaching' messages telling me to cut the friendly chatter. Really? Are you that busy that you can't read 4 seconds of a friendly lead in or some natural commentary. Japanese people want to build trust and create good connections with their business contacts. Some friendly words never hurt anyone. Conversely, I would coach Japanese clients or students to be open to getting rid of the friendly lead in but in my honest opinion, the Japanese style feels a lot more comfortable. I get the impression that both sides are open to a long term business relationship if they approach communication in this way.

I was working within a company and more than a few times students (or just people in the office) would come up to me asking what they should do because their work connection wouldn't reply to their e-mails. It dawned on me that people back home might have taken to not answering e-mails in which they can not readily respond with the information needed. This is just rusty communication. Everyone is working on the same purpose and you have to understand that the Japanese staff are receiving considerable pressure from their bosses to get things done. Similarly, if you couldn't understand the gist of what the contact is asking, don't be afraid to ask them for clarification; "I'm sorry I'm not sure what this sentence means "Quote", could you help me understand?"

Japanese culture is collectivist and they face continual pressure to get everything right, especially in business. Because they are nervous about their English in the first place, understanding and acceptance of their style of communication are not only essential, they are non-negotiable standards that international companies should adhere to.

Get it right and make the right impression

When you are trying to communicate with your guests, it's great that you want to help your foreign guests feel at home by using English. However if you put the wrong words out there, it sticks out to your foreign guests and can do more harm to your brand image than it does good.

For example here are a couple of pictures;

This picture asks us to eat 'quiently' unfortunately 'quiently' is not a word. 'Quietly' is likely the target. Now, your foreign guests are having a chuckle and the importance of your message is diminished.

This water be good to drink. 'Be'? I have some elementary school students that can see the mistake, 'is' would be correct. The grammatical error may not stop people from drinking the water, but it, again, affects your brand.

It's easy to avoid such mistakes by checking your English beforehand. If you use our sign checking service, it will not only be done at a reasonable cost, but we can offer some more suggestions that might add a more authentic, native voice to your signs. For instance the first sign could be, "Please respect other guests and refrain from making loud noises." The second sign could be, " It is safe to drink this water, please enjoy!".

Let us know if we can help you.

So, what are the differences between face-to-face and online lessons

I will say right off the bat, that I am not against teaching English over Zoom. If there were no video conferencing options during the pandemic, I would be in a really bad place right now. There are many good tools that flow smoothly, especially the Whiteboard which is such a great tool to use in class. There are also Breakout Rooms and Polls which can be useful in classes. These features exist in Teams, but I have found them more difficult to find and activate, so Zoom is my tool of choice there.

But face-to-face?

Live!

There is just something so refreshing and so much more crisp about a lesson in the same room. Students seems to communicate and connect more with the teacher, everyone looks more comfortable and the classes just go more smoothly. Not even considering the occasional Internet connection issues that are experienced, things just seem to flow that much better! A teacher can make more dynamic use of the teaching environment, alternating between sitting, standing and whatever falls in between the two. When LGC started some lessons with a new client this year, I felt like I was coming home after a long absence. It was so refreshing! Everyone seems to connect better and the students are completely free of temptations to be distracted (I have caught a number of students with their televisions on as background noise in the Zoom era). It just feels like the right way to do classes.

Of course, we can do both types of classes and the students always get full effort from the teacher, but it was just so great to get back into the classroom again. If you are in Hamamatsu, where we are based, or nearby (Toyohashi, Kakegawa, Iwata, Fukuroi), you can take advantage of our experience, dedication to teaching and enthusiasm for making a difference with in-person classes. If you are elsewhere, we can still work out online lessons or I am open to offers of short programs within reach of a Shinkansen!