Our catch phrase is on its way.

Dear Fellow Earthlings,

Doing what I do best (teaching Jingles) continues to be the only thing that is making rapid advances. As I mentioned in my previous installment (on March 4, 2014), my major projects for this year are in the doldrums. That being the case, let me tell you a bit about an exciting prospect that could result if Jingles training were to be disseminated throughout the entire nation of Japan.

Recently, I spoke with one of my Jingles instructors about the necessity of teaching proper English pronunciation to native speakers of Japanese who teach English in Japan’s junior and senior high schools. I said to the teacher (Ms. S) that many teachers are actually harassed by their students because they have “Japanese English” pronunciation – and not nativelike pronunciation. Ms. S responded by saying that although students in Japan CAN notice that their teachers are using so-called “typical Japanese pronunciation” as they speak, those students are unable to describe or characterize what the individual points contributing to non-nativelike English pronunciation are.

Therefore, if teachers of English in Japan were required to enroll in Jingles training sessions on a regular basis, they would gradually approach levels of nativelike English speech motor skills application competency. This change would take place over a number of years (probably 3 to 5 years on average for most teachers). For this reason, students would never truly be able to follow their teachers’ progress. But eventually, all of the school systems in Japan would come to be staffed by English teachers who not only knew nativelike English, but who could actually produce it and “catch” it at exactly the same level of expertise as people from Australia, the United States, and England do.

Go JINGLES!

Steve Walker, Earthsaver and Jingles Creator

© 2013 Steve Walker, The Jingles-The Japan Foundation for English Pronunciation, Summit Enterprises.