i have a japanese friend, she is only 15 but speaks english JUST fine. i really wonder when apanese people start studying english at school. thank you.
Japan - 5 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Grammar school.
2 :
as far as compulsory education Now maybe ... when they are 11 or 12(elementary school 5th grade or 6th grade(last grade),they start to study it our generation(20's)....when we were 13(junior high 1st grade) ,we started to do it more elder people...im not sure some parents hire tutor for their children before they started to study english in their school someone take private lesson at english conversation school when they are in kindergarten , elementary school.
3 :
If your friend speaks English just fine, then I very strongly suspect she hasn't learnt her English from the schooling system only (or she's gone to an international school). In one study of English lessons, it was not unusual that students were never asked to speak English. The main activity in many classes is translation. For the record, they usually start aged 12 (Junior High school), although some elementary schools teach it, and children can be sent to English classes.
4 :
Mostly it depends on what the parents pay for. If the parents pay for the child to go to a kindergarten with English lessons, it starts then. (Kindergartens can start while the kid's still a baby, or a bit bigger.) Otherwise they usually have grotesquely simple classes with foreigners (but not usually native speakers of English) in elementary school, or if the parents pay for a particular school they might get much better lessons. Then in middle school the lessons start in earnest, most of the time with a Japanese teacher with an outrageously strong accent but sometimes with a native speaker. Throughout all of this there's the potential for parents to pay for special classes outside of any school that just teach English (or a science, math, Japanese lit etc.) which may or may not be very helpful to the child, it depends on the child, the personality and quality of the teacher, and the atmosphere in the class on the day. Why don't you ask your friend where she learnt to speak such excellent English? I'm sure she'd be flattered, and probably enjoy telling you about her experiences. (As has been said, she sure as hell didn't learn good English in mainstream schools by 15 years of age.)
5 :
Japanese people learn English at the age of 13 when they are in Junior High School. (Or middle school, in other words.) She's 15...so she must be in 3rd year Junior High School. :D But...it really depends on someone. Some people start learning some basic English phrases at a young age while some have a tutor. ^_^
