Living & Teaching English in Japan

Grade 3 Japanese Kanji Shape and Meaning preparing for the JLPT test video

2012-01-09T02:29:00.000-08:00

Studying for the N3JLPT means allocating a large part of your study time to kanji. To make your kanji study easier we have put together some proven learning aids to help you slowly adjust, learn and memorize the many characters, their shape, meaning and related meanings.

The following is Grade 3 Japanese Kanji Shape and Meaning.

The best book to help you with kanji is the proven Heisig method which teaches you not only the kanji but how to memorize them. That is you have study the kanji by writing it a hundred times, then you see it in a written passage next to another kanji and crunchtime, can you rember the shape, on, kun and meaning. DO you remeber the 2, 3 or 4 kanji meaning when its in a combination.If you have days like these, like we all do.Then Heisig's method maybe for you

Heisigs method comes in two books book 1 and book 2.THese books also include the new 196 joyo kanji added to the list of required kanji in late 2010. SO you know you have the most up to date list of required kanji when you study.

Book 1
Remembering the Kanji, Volume 1: A Complete Course on How Not to Forget the Meaning and Writing of Japanese Characters [Paperback]

"In the book, Heisig presents a method for learning how to associate the meaning and writing of 2042 kanji, including most of the jōyō kanji. There is no attention given to the readings of the kanji, as Heisig believes that one should learn the writing and meaning first, before moving on to the readings in Volume II."

Book 2
Remembering the Kanji, Vol. 2: A Systematic Guide to Reading Japanese Characters (Japanese Edition) [Paperback]

"Unlike the first volume, this book does not rely on "imaginative memory". The book is mainly focused on the Chinese readings, however one chapter does suggest a mnemonic device for learning the Japanese readings. Heisig splits the kanji into various chapters, according to the most appropriate method to learn their readings. For each Chinese reading of a kanji, an example compound word is given."

The video below also plays a part in getting you familiar as a first step with the total kanji by a grade, their shape and their meaning.

Sony about to change recruitment process in Japan so new techniques for English on the way?

2012-01-08T02:49:00.000-08:00

“We want to find the individual quirks of each applicant,” said Sony spokeswoman Satsuki Shinnada. “We want them to come at us with opinions and thoughts indicative of their individuality instead of an answer they read in a book that says ‘Sony will consider you to be a good match (with the company) if you answer like so.’”

Source:Sony Throws Away Japan Recruitment Rulebook

By Yoree Koh

JANUARY 7, 2012

http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2012/01/07/sony-throws-away-japan-recruitment-rulebook/

Rakuten's English language policy generates plenty of dicussion in Japan as globalization impacts

2010-12-24T01:17:00.000-08:00

".. a group of online grammar sticklers has emerged at Rakuten that enjoys correcting Mr. Mikitani's English. "Let's stop discussing about our policy to convert our main language to Eng. We are going to do this to become strong global company," Mr. Mikitani tweeted after his Twitter account was flooded for days with discussion of the company's language policy.Someone replied in Japanese: "For your reference, one doesn't usually put 'about' after 'discuss.'"Mr. Mikitani immediately wrote back: "Let's stop being picky."

Source: English Gets The Last Word In Japan
WSJ
By DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI
Saturday, August 7, 2010
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100807D06NY261.htm

English menus at Rakuten food for thought as emplyees embrace English as internal language by 2012

2010-12-17T01:15:00.000-08:00

"Even the Japanese food options on the menu are listed in English. During a recent lunchtime, workers debated what they might get if they ordered "tofu hamburg steak curry" or "Chinese noodles with pork vegetables in miso-based soup spicy."

Source: English Gets The Last Word In Japan
WSJ
By DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI
Saturday, August 7, 2010
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100807D06NY261.htm

Rakuten guides employee behaviour & English language ability as it attempts t

2010-12-10T01:12:00.000-08:00

"The CEO freely admits "resistance doesn't mean anything to me." He presides over a company that has rules about almost everything, down to the number of napkins a worker can take from the company cafeteria -- "two pieces to each," says a sign in stilted English. Another sign in the cafeteria, where employees can get free breakfast and lunch, warns in similarly strained English that rice is limited to one portion: "Sorry another serving is not accepted."

Source: English Gets The Last Word In Japan
WSJ
By DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI
Saturday, August 7, 2010
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100807D06NY261.htm

Rakuten supporting employees in Japan as they make switch to English by 2012

2010-12-03T01:10:00.000-08:00

"The company has compiled a vocabulary list of 5,000 words for its workers to learn, including terms like "monetize" and "functional." While executives will lose their jobs if their English isn't up to snuff by 2012, other workers will be passed over for promotions, Mr. Mikitani says."

Source: English Gets The Last Word In Japan
WSJ
By DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI
Saturday, August 7, 2010
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100807D06NY261.htm

English driving Rakuten to recoup foreign investment

2010-11-26T01:08:00.000-08:00

"Mr. Mikitani says comfort with English is especially important at Rakuten since its acquisition this year of U.S. online retailer Buy.com for $250 million and French Internet marketplace PriceMinister SA for EUR200 million ($264 million)."

Source: English Gets The Last Word In Japan
WSJ
By DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI
Saturday, August 7, 2010
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100807D06NY261.htm

SHane English School Japan acquired by Eikoh as it strengthens its operations ahead of 2011 compulsory English

2010-11-20T16:25:00.000-08:00

"Cram school operator Eikoh Inc... has acquired Shane English School.....
Shane English School, a British English school owned by Saxoncourt Holdings, Ltd. ... operates 199 branches across the Kanto region, of which 46 are franchised.....one reason for the buyout was Eikoh's desire to strengthen its English-teaching operations in time for the planned implementation in 2011 of English as a compulsory subject in elementary schools.....Shanes English School and its roughly 20,000 students will continue receiving the same services...Eikoh operates 380 cram schools and has 67,000 students."

Source:Cram school buys out Shane English School
By ALEX MARTIN
The Japan Times: Saturday, Nov. 20, 2010
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20101120a2.html

Japanese companies offering discounted internal English classes as they scramble to catch up on English ability in global market

2010-11-19T01:07:00.000-08:00

"Since April, when Rakuten announced its plan to convert to English, 220 employees have signed up for the discounted English conversation class the company offers at night. Others have formed impromptu English study groups after work."

Source: English Gets The Last Word In Japan
WSJ
By DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI
Saturday, August 7, 2010
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100807D06NY261.htm

Japan had lowest score on top 34 advanced countries English ability

2010-11-12T01:04:00.000-08:00

"Among the 34 countries designated as "advanced economies" by the International Monetary Fund, Japan had the lowest scores last year on the Test of English as a Foreign Language, a proficiency test given to foreign students who want to study in the U.S.
It had the second-lowest score among Asian nations, outperforming only Laos."

Source: English Gets The Last Word In Japan
WSJ
By DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI
Saturday, August 7, 2010
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100807D06NY261.htm

Japan lagging the world & Asia in English skills, key business leader explains

2010-11-05T01:03:00.000-07:00

Mr. Mikitani. "Japan is the only country with all these well-educated people who can't speak English,"
he says. "This is a huge issue for Japan."

Source: English Gets The Last Word In Japan
WSJ
By DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI
Saturday, August 7, 2010
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100807D06NY261.htm

Rakuten gets tongue lashing from other companies for using English as an internal language

2010-10-28T01:59:00.000-07:00

"Rakuten's so-called English-ization has stirred a frenzy of debate in Japan. On Twitter, blogs and mainstream media, pundits have weighed in on how Japanese schools teach English and whether Japan's language barrier is putting it at a global disadvantage. At a recent news conference, Takanobu Ito, chief executive of auto maker Honda Motor Co., called forcing Japanese workers to speak to one another in English "stupid."

Source: English Gets The Last Word In Japan
WSJ
By DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI
Saturday, August 7, 2010
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100807D06NY261.htm

Reduced growth opporunities in Japan seen as stimulus for English as a business language in Japan

2010-10-21T01:57:00.000-07:00

"The company's move comes as many businesses in Japan are expanding abroad at least partly because their home market, which has been sluggish for years, is expected to shrink as Japan's population declines. The trend has intensified the pressure many Japanese feel to learn English. Most of them have studied the language for six years by the time they graduate from high school, yet relatively few feel comfortable holding a conversation in it."

Source: English Gets The Last Word In Japan
WSJ
By DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI
Saturday, August 7, 2010
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100807D06NY261.htm

Rakuten not the only Japanese company to finally embrace English

2010-10-14T01:55:00.000-07:00

"Rakuten isn't the only Japanese company to have embraced English. It is widely used at some multinationals, including Sony Corp. and Nissan Motor Co., which both have non-Japanese CEOs. Fast Retailing Co., which operates Uniqlo, Japan's largest clothing chain, with stores in New York, London, Paris and Beijing, recently said it plans to hold meetings in English by 2012 if they include non-Japanese participants."

Source: English Gets The Last Word In Japan
WSJ
By DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI
Saturday, August 7, 2010
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100807D06NY261.htm

English already the standard language at many firms in Japan as Rakuten braces for change in strides to go global

2010-10-07T01:53:00.000-07:00

"In the mid-1990s Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp. considered making English its standard language, but decided it was unnecessary. These days it says it uses English when it makes sense to do so, such as in dealings with foreign customers or its foreign units. Some lesser-known companies, including Nippon Sheet Glass Co. and electronics-components maker Sumida Corp., have used English for years as a common language for documents and meetings."

Source: English Gets The Last Word In Japan
WSJ
By DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI
Saturday, August 7, 2010
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100807D06NY261.htm

Rakuten follows other Japanese companies who have already switched internal language to English as way to grow their business

2010-09-30T01:51:00.000-07:00

Rakuten's founder imposes English on Japanese employees as a way to lift companies success

2010-09-23T01:50:00.000-07:00

"The policy was imposed by Rakuten's 45-year-old leader, Hiroshi Mikitani, a banker turned Internet billionaire, who speaks nearly flawless English. "Some people were a little hesitant, but they realized that we were going to do it whether they liked it or not," says Mr. Mikitani, a Harvard Business School graduate who left a prestigious job at the Industrial Bank of Japan to build a Japanese rival to Amazon.com Inc. His company has grown into a sprawling Internet mall with more than 35,000 merchants, an online bank and travel site and net sales of nearly 300 billion yen ($3.5 billion) in 2009."

Source: English Gets The Last Word In Japan
WSJ
By DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI
Saturday, August 7, 2010
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100807D06NY261.htm

Employees at Rakuten in Japan cramming as new English policy takes hold

2010-09-16T01:48:00.000-07:00

"To be honest, I was a little surprised at first," says Hideki Kamachi, who has worked at the company for about a year, as he studies English vocabulary words to prepare for the Monday morning meeting. "Sometimes I don't understand everything that is being said, but every week I understand more."

Source: English Gets The Last Word In Japan
WSJ
By DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI
Saturday, August 7, 2010
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100807D06NY261.htm

English crucial to Rakuten becoming a global company & recouping its investments

2010-09-09T01:47:00.000-07:00

"Rakuten, which has made recent acquisitions in the U.S. and Europe, says the English-only policy is crucial to its goal of becoming a global company. It says it needed a common language to communicate with its new operations, and English, as the chief language of international business, was the obvious choice. It expects the change, among other things, to help it hire and retain talented non-Japanese workers."

Source: English Gets The Last Word In Japan
WSJ
By DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI
Saturday, August 7, 2010
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100807D06NY261.htm

Learning Japanese? - Amra-Faye Wright talks about learning Japanese - Video

2010-09-03T01:30:00.001-07:00

"The actress Amra-Faye Wright talks about learning Japanese in order to play Velma in a Japanese production of "Chicago."

Source: All That Japanese
Accessed 3/9/2010
New York Times
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/04/29/arts/1247467738711/all-that-japanese.html

Rakuten sets 2012 as date for Japanese employees to be proficent in English or face being fired

2010-09-02T01:45:00.000-07:00

"By 2012, Rakuten's employees will be required to speak and correspond with one another in English, and executives have been told they will be fired if they aren't proficient in the language by then."

Source: English Gets The Last Word In Japan
WSJ
By DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI
Saturday, August 7, 2010
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100807D06NY261.htm

In house business, meetings, cafeteria signs all in English at Rakuten

2010-08-26T01:37:00.000-07:00

"Rakuten Inc., Japan's biggest online retailer by sales...like much of Rakuten's other in-house business, has been conducted in English, by order of its founder and chief executive. Not only must work documents be written in English, so must the menus in Rakuten's cafeteria and signs in its elevators."

Source: English Gets The Last Word In Japan
WSJ
By DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI
Saturday, August 7, 2010
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100807D06NY261.htm

Rakuten now conducts meeting in English in Japan

2010-08-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

Here is a very good embedded story by Daisuke Wakabayashi who goes into Japanese companies who are mandating English for their employees, so they "are not segregated" in the business world.

Source:Japanese Firm Mandates Employees to Speak English
8/5/2010
http://online.wsj.com/video/japanese-firm-mandates-employees-to-speak-english/E790F417-C7D4-4CB4-BF82-DA7449AF6C50.html

Ownership of leading eikaiwa schools in Japan transfers hands to food importer

2010-08-17T17:54:00.000-07:00

"Nova and GEOS are under new management. The new boss is Kobe-based food and beverage importer and distributor Hanshin Shuhan. According to the Yomiuri shimbun, Foodys, the current parent company of Nova and GEOS, is to hand over its 50.98% share in the eikaiwa schools to Hanshin Shuhan by the end of August(2010)."

Source: Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss
Mon, 08/16/2010
Shawn
http://www.letsjapan.org/shawn/2010/08/16/meet-the-new-boss-same-the-old-boss.html

Japan's ranking in TOEFL scores compared to other countries

2010-08-12T01:55:00.000-07:00

What is Japan's position as compared with other countries in Asia that study English and took the TOEFL test in 2009. View an interactive chart here to find the answer

Source:Struggling with English
Wall Street Journal
Accessed Friday 6th August, 2010
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703748904575411513294781150.html