英語できますか ー Can you English?

I was meeting with an English student and friend recently, and we discussed the low English ability in Japan again. She made an interesting observation that I have thought of before. The question I posed to her a week ago is: why, after spending so much money, can't Japanese people speak English. She noted that the only time she speaks English is our time together each week. I take this for granted in the bilingual world I live in.

She noted that Japanese people don't speak English because they don't have opportunities. To a point, I agree. Japanese television is all in Japanese. Although Japan is Hollywood's second largest market, the movies are subtitled or sometimes dubbed and my Japanese friends tell me they ignore the speaking part in order to read the subtitles anyway. Often, the translations are incorrect, but I can't see how they even translate what Chris Rock says into Japanese. I know many students who simply do not speak English when they can, even though they are spending thousands of dollars to study English. Others go abroad to study, but don't try here at home.

I saw this in Europe where Germans, French, Spanish, and Italians (with their large populations) do not speak English as well as the Dutch, Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians who watch non-dubbed TV and movies. Is there a pattern here?

Perhaps TV is not the only source. There is certainly no shortage of English in Japan. JR (the train service) does a fine job of providing signage in roman characters, and many restaurants where I live have English menus, albeit with mistakes, typos, and outright mistranslations. Many Japanese artists incorporate English into their songs, or have English band names, but also with variability in accuracy and meaning, and usually with katakana sub-titles.

However, mistakes proliferate and no one seems to notice. My favorite is in Kyoto station where a sign will direct you to the "sabway." You can have your hair cut at several "Bar Bers." In Yokohama you can ride the "Sea Bass," but I am not sure if the mean bus or bass (the fish). My wife recently bought some wet towels that are labeled "cleaning seats" instead of sheets.

The local hand written signs by someone who really tried their best does not upset me. I commend them for the effort. Also, I understand when I see that a store is "close" rather than "closed." In Japanese this is communicated with the verbs 開ける and 閉める, not the English adjectives. However, misspellings of single words that can be found in a simple dictionary is a problem - like the barber or subway. Dictionaries are free online, and are much cheaper than the expensive sign.

At times I am extremely frustrated that after spending so much money, most Japanese cannot master a rudimentary level of English as is noted in the disparity of TOEFL scores. Some do quite well (like a couple of my students and a friend who writes for the Japan Times). However, so many get so little for their money. What needs to change?

English can no longer be the ends and not the means in Japan that it is today. Executives will no longer be able to slough off onto a translator or interpreter. The move from seniority to results driven promotions will reward the fluent. In short, the competition from China will force Japanese to become a necessity and no longer a luxury of bored but rich housewives.