Linguistic/Cultural Research Chart: Japanese, Hindi and Chinese

Linguistic/Cultural Research Chart

English contrasts with Japanese

Phonology 1.     The Japanese language contains only five vowels and 17 consonants which are pronounced basically with regular lengths, so Japanese speaker find the English sound system confusing (personal knowledge). 2.     Consonants in Japanese are always followed by a vowel (personal knowledge). “Most Japanese beginners of English therefore tend to attach vowels after English words which end in consonants” (Kavanagh, 2007). 3.     “English has nine phonemes, while Japanese has only five. This fact can be a major source of problems for Japanese students of English” (Kavanagh, 2007). For example, Japanese have difficulty saying the differences between /b/ and /v/ and /l/and /r/. 4.     Word and syllable stress and intonation are not so important in Japanese as in English, so English speech made by Japanese learners may sound flat (personal knowledge).

Morphology/Syntax (Grammar) 1.     The Japanese word order is subject-object-verb, so Japanese learners have difficulty constructing English sentences (personal knowledge). 2.     Japanese does not have articles so Japanese learners struggle with English articles (personal knowledge). 3.     In Japanese, each morpheme is represented by one Chinese character and alphabetic writing is not employed, so Japanese learners need to start with learning alphabets and often struggle with English spellings (personal knowledge).

Culture of Japanese Issues for teachers/students/parents 1.     “Japanese students often regard making mistakes in their communication in English as inappropriate” (Furuhata, 1999, p.140). Therefore, the teachers should have a positive attitude when they correct the students’ mistakes so that they do not feel embarrassed. 2.     “The Japanese tendency to avoid direct and plain statements, their inclination to silence, and the different way they use backchannels in conversation” (Cutrone, 2010), so teachers should explicitly explain how they should answer and give ample time.

English contrasts with Hindi

Phonology 1.     “Unlike English, vowel length and vowel nasalization are meaningful in Hindi” (Gambhir, 2009). Therefore, Hindi speakers may face several problems of English pronunciation, for example, distinguishing phonemes in words such as said/ sad; par/ paw etc. (Shoebottom, 2017). 2.     “Hindi script is largely phonetic (one sound per letter and one letter per sound)” (Gambhir, 2009) and “the pronunciation of new words can be reliably predicted from their written form” (Shoebottom, 2017), so Hindi speakers may take time learning English spelling. 3.     “The phoneme /ʒ / as exemplified by the s in pleasure is missing in Hindi and so pronunciation of such words is difficult” (Shoebottom, 2017). For example, “the s in pleasure is missing in Hindi and so pronunciation of such words is difficult” (Shoebottom, 2017).

Morphology/Syntax (Grammar) 1.     “The basic word order in Hindi is Subject-Object-Verb. The word order in Hindi is not fixed like English” (Gambhir, 2009). Consequently, Hindi speakers may face problems of word order in English sentences. 2.     “Hindi has postpositions and not prepositions, as they are placed after their nouns and pronouns” (Gambhir, 2009). Hindi speakers tend to struggle with choosing appropriate English prepositions. 3.     There are no articles in Hindi (Gambhir, 2009). Therefore, English article usage presents Hindi speakers some problems.

Culture of Indian Issues for teachers/students/parents 1.     “The concept of 'Indian culture' is a very complex and complicated matter. Because Indian citizens are divided into various ethnic, religious, caste, linguistic and regional groups. It makes the realities of "Indianness" extremely complicated” (Wikipedia, 2017). Understanding each Indian student’s difference is important.  2.     “Religion plays a central and definitive role in the life of many of its people” (Wikipedia, 2017), so teachers should know Indian students’ beliefs.

English contrasts with Chinese

Phonology 1.     In Chinese, the meanings of words are clarified according to four main tones. Therefore, Chinese speakers may struggle with acquiring English stress patterns and intonation (personal knowledge). 2.     Chinese does not have some English phonemes. Chinese speakers often have difficulty distinguishing the pronunciations of /l/ and /r/ (personal knowledge). 3.     The use of Pinyin, spelled sounds may confuse Chinese speakers when they pronounce English words, because Pinyin is the Romanization system of Chinese (personal knowledge).

Morphology/Syntax (Grammar) 1.     The Chinese language does not have articles, so the use of English articles is confusing to Chinese students (personal knowledge). 2.     Adverb phrases are placed differently in Chinese and English sentences. Chinese students may struggle with word order in English sentences (personal knowledge).

Culture of Chinese Issues for teachers/students/parents. 1.     “In China, arguing with the teacher is often considered challenging the credibility and authority of the teacher” (Yuan, 2011), so creating a welcoming classroom environment where Chinese students feel free to express their opinions is necessary. 2.     “English education in China mainly relies on written tests to evaluate students’ performance with less emphasis on speaking and listening skills. Hence, many Chinese students didn’t feel confident to speak English in class” (Yuan, 2011). Teachers should to try to provide instruction effective for developing their oral English skills.