What caught my attention was his statement that the origin of English language learning in Japan began as a kind of translation initiative. In other words, during the Meiji period, academics were expected to translate and convey ideas from all over the world, ideas that were flooding in with the new openness of the Meiji era. In a nutshell, as Ken Mogi says, they were “importers of culture”. Because of this, the raison d’être of any English language learning was to translate from the outside to the inside. By extension, what this implies is that there was zero interest in any outgoing communication beyond servicing the primary need: to import and understand and incorporate.
He goes on to talk about how this need to translate has shaped the whole English education system here – he talks about the kinds of questions students prepare for on university entrance exams which require test-takers to translate, as he calls them, “nonsense sentences”. The translation of endless nonsense sentences, and doing it well, is what passes for success in the system here.
Ken Mogi on the problem with English education in Japan
Are these students on the road to global participation?
