Hello everyone! I have perhaps a bit of an unusual question.
So, there’s a boy at the karate dojo I go to who is a first-year in high school, really into English, wants to go to college in America, etc. He’s a good and dedicated and hardworking student, but he’s… well, been learning English through the Japanese public school system, and we all know how effective that is.
I’m looking for some good self-study materials I can recommend to him that’ll really help him get ahead with English if he puts his mind to them. For example, when I first studied Japanese, many people recommended me the Genki books (which I used in the two college Japanese courses I was able to take before graduating and definitely formed a solid basis to build from), Tae Kim’s Grammar Guide, various helpful YouTube channels, WaniKani, et cetera. Stuff that was all really quite useful, and helped me get to a basic-conversational level from which I started taking one-on-one conversation lessons to really get into it and then moved to Japan and continued going up from there.
My question is, are there similar materials for self-studying English as a Japanese person? Ones that are generally agreed to be high-quality, that are written by native English speakers, that don’t treat you like a child the way a basic elementary school textbook would despite being made for complete beginners, good video channels and other learning tools that one can use to self-study effectively and learn actual communication beyond the Eiken-focused, often mistake-riddled, generally shit-tier textbooks they generally use in schools here? Any recommendations would be appreciated – I want to help the kid find the tools to push himself to where he wants to be.
5 comments
Get him reading in English for pleasure and using English outside the classroom like watching shows and something that can get him communicating. Anki and cards to increase vocab. Japanese education has plenty, more like too much explicit learning (should be no more than 25%). I wouldn’t suggestion more unless its for a very specific purpose like how to write essays or studying for a specific test.
What they need isn’t learning more vocab/grammar, they do plenty ar school. He should focus on immersion, active listening, and having real conversations often, maybe read some English books too
He needs ways to enjoy English casually and use it, not more study material. The study material at school is adequate, the delivery style (zero communicative activities, rote learning, lessons held in silence aside from reading passages) is why kids don’t progress properly.
I’m not sure about actual textbooks, but I remember seeing some English books like the stuff we read in high school (Mark Twain’s books for example) that had Japanese notes or Japanese translations with it. I think there were more current books as well. Also maybe fairy tales or something of that level that he likes. That’s how I started with reading Japanese.
Anything by Raymond Murphy and/or Felicity O’Dell. The thing is: yes, the kids learn a lot of grammar/vocabulary at school, but this knowledge is neither structured nor put into context. The grammar they learn – they learn in Japanese; the vocabulary – by rote memorisation. If he is indeed interested in English and enjoys it, he will greatly appreciate the ability to finally put all those structures he’s been taught at school into context. Naturally, all the other advice about reading books and other age- and level-appropriate materials is golden.
Afterwards, when he gains sufficient skills, he would benefit from books by David Crystal who explains the logic behind grammar – not just what kind of structures we use in language, but WHY do we use those particular structures.