English and Intercultural Communication | Ayame Mochizuki | TEDxGKA

Thank you. Hi, guys. I'm Ayame and I'm 13. I'm in seventh grade, my first year in junior high. And this is like the biggest event I've had so far in my life. And I got to tell you, I've been looking forward to this for a long time. But now that I'm really here on this red circle carpet, I am so nervous. I really am. But I'll be fine. OK, anyway, today I'm going to talk about English and intercultural communication. As a student of an English immersion school, English has always been a common thing for me, even as a Japanese person. However, the current English level of Japan is disappointingly low. In 2015, Japan was 15th out of 18 non-native English-speaking Asian countries for the TOEFL IED score, which tests your understanding of English at a university level. This year, Japan's EF-EPI score, which ranks countries by the English level among those adults who took the EF test, was 49th out of 88 non-native English-speaking countries. 11th out of 21 Asian countries included in those 88 countries. And it doesn't stop here. Even worse, according to the latest IMD World Talent Ranking, Japan was 61st out of 63 countries, last place in 21 non-native English-speaking Asian countries for language skills necessary to meet the needs of enterprise. This graph on the screen shows the score out of 100 for these Asian countries converted from its ranking out of 63 countries. The blue color shows the score for the overall ranking and the orange color shows the score for its language skills. Japan, in the red letters here, as you can see, has a moderate score for the overall ranking, but has a very, very low score for the language skills, even comparing with countries with a lower score for the overall ranking, such as the Philippines, which is the second from the right. If Japan had higher language skills, Japan's overall ranking would also be much higher, like Singapore, the very left, which is sad to say. Because I had been using English almost all my life, I never realized that the level of English in my country was so low. And honestly, I was a little shocked when I found this out. So what are the difficulties of learning English for us Japanese people? Well, there are various matters related to this problem. First of all, our culture is, in a way, an obstacle for us. Many of us are shy and not so assertive when speaking in English. It is important that we make our points clearly, not vaguely, but some of us feel hesitant in doing so. Secondly, most Japanese people have little opportunity to use English in daily life. Because Japan is an island country, there are few foreigners living in Japan, so the majority of us do not need to use languages other than Japanese. These two pie charts show ethnic groups and languages spoken in Japan, as you can see. The green color for the left and the blue color for the right is over about ninety nine percent, as you can tell. And these two colors are Japanese. And the other two, the rest of the colors, by the way, are Korean and Chinese. So English isn't even listed on this graph. So this tells us how much our daily lives are, well, Japanese. Also, Japan is advanced in academics and technology. So many of us do not feel the need to have to use English to learn new concepts. Therefore, we have little opportunity to use English. So why do we have to improve our English level? We don't need it in daily life. And to be honest, some of us don't really need English. Some of us can have a successful life without speaking a single word of English. However, for the most of us, sorry, for most of us, English is vital in our globalizing world. As globalization advances and we have more and more opportunity to as we have more and more contact with people from foreign countries, English, the importance of English is likewise increasing even here in Japan, where English is not so used. In the aforementioned IMD research in 2017, Japan was last place out of 63 countries for general significance of international experience of senior managers. This problem is also seen in world market capitalization rankings. As you can see, in 1999, there were two Japanese companies that were in the top 10 companies with the highest market capitalizations in the world. And in 1989, there were even more companies, seven, in fact, that were in the top 10 companies. However, if you look at the one on the right, Japan's flag isn't listed anywhere. One place do you think Japan is right now? 20s? In the 30s? In the 40s? Well, they're all wrong. The top Japanese company is now in 44th place after only two decades. So this shows us how much Japan is lagging behind on globalization and how much globalization and English is affecting our economy. Back in the late 1900s, Japan had one of the most developed economies in the world, and we did not need to rely on other countries so that we could improve our economy. However, this idea is already out of date. Now, we cannot improve our economy without interaction with foreigners, and if we cannot catch this wave of globalization, Japan's economy will just keep worsening. OK, this is a major problem now, how can we improve our English level then? Well, there are ways to improve our English level, and in my experience, the most important thing is to create interpersonal opportunities using spoken English. Interaction with foreigners is especially beneficial because it allows us to understand how native English speakers use English, such as colloquialisms, idioms, slang, and even body language, like rolling our eyes. My English ability owes most of its success to the many conversations I've had with foreigners since kindergarten. However, this isn't always easy, especially in Japan, where there are few foreigners. Therefore, we have to try to use English amongst ourselves. Now, I know some of you in the audience may be thinking, speaking English with Japanese people? What? Well, I understand how you feel because I've had the same feeling before. It is unnatural to speak in our second language with people whose first language is the same as ours, and I just played by the rules of the school without really understanding why I had to speak English with Japanese people. Because I had so much experience having conversations and interacting with foreigners, I couldn't really find the importance of speaking English with Japanese people. However, after learning about the English level of Japan, I finally realized the value of all the interactions I've had with foreigners, and I learned that I had to try to create these opportunities so that I could find more of them. There are other ways to improve our English and immerse ourselves in English, such as reading books and watching English movies, obviously, but also through the Internet. The Internet can lead us out to the world, and we do not need to stay in our country anymore. By just opening a website, we can have a connection with people from around the world. English is beneficial for many other reasons, not only for us Japanese, but for people around the world. English is one of the most spoken or used languages in the world, and it is the official language of over 50 countries. But Japanese is only used in Japan, and it is spoken five times more. Now, if you thought five times more wasn't much of a difference, I have to admit Japanese is the ninth most spoken language in the world. However, Japan also has the 10th largest population in the world, so 10th largest population and ninth most spoken language. Is it surprising? No. English is also the language of most media and entertainment. Over 25 percent of Internet users, which is over one billion people, use English, but only 2 percent, which is less than 200 million, use Japanese. Also, when I researched world population ranking in both English and Japanese, there were 28 million results in Japanese, while there were 190 million in English, which is 6.8 times more. Furthermore, English is the language of business, like I mentioned before, especially with globalization and outsourcing. Finally, and maybe even most importantly, English is the language of intercultural communication. Intercultural communication. What is intercultural communication? Well, intercultural communication is to communicate with people from different cultural backgrounds or social groups as ours. This is becoming increasingly important nowadays as we have more and more contact with people who are culturally different from us. And intercultural communication can offer us the ability to deal across cultures and accept the differences. This can help us thrive in a global world as a global leader. Intercultural communication has changed me positively. When I talked to a Japanese person, I used to feel like I was being shy and conservative. However, when I talked to a foreigner in English, I felt that I was being more assertive and I could open up to them more. This is due to cultural differences. Japan has a culture of humility and respect in general, whereas most foreign countries, such as the United States, have a very open minded culture. Most Japanese people tend to adjust our point of view to the other person's and not reveal our true feelings. However, when I am with foreigners, I can speak more freely, even to the point of saying what I like or don't like without sounding or feeling rude. Or at least I think I wasn't being rude. Anyway. Although these two sides of me were distinct at first, over time they gradually began to blend together and now I think I've become a more confident and assertive person. Now, this doesn't mean I have forgotten Japanese culture, it's still a big part of me. I bow, I'm still sometimes shy and I sometimes still have trouble expressing myself and I certainly do not like bragging. Moreover, intercultural communication has helped me develop in a very positive sense, a greater awareness in myself. So to sum up, there are three main points I'd like you to keep in mind. Number one. Japan's English level is low and mainly due to our cultural background and lack of opportunities, and this situation can be proved by emerging ourselves in English. Number two. English is important for various reasons, such as commonness and advancement in globalization, and its importance will keep increasing as globalization advances. Finally, number three, intercultural communication is a crucial skill because it allows us to reach out across different cultures and acknowledge their value. Having a second language has helped me greatly, not as a Japanese, not as an English speaker, but as a person. Some people may be unwilling towards this change. Undoubtedly, having a second language should not change us into a completely different person. However, that doesn't mean it won't make a difference in us. Having a second language should improve us by preparing us for a globalizing world, widening our view of the world, along with deepening our understanding of the unique and different identities of others and ourselves. By interacting with many different people from various cultural backgrounds, we can combine all the good aspects of these cultures and build up our own one of a kind, unique identity that will make us a person free from the narrow view of a single nationality and make us global individuals. Thank you for your attention.