This is something I've found interesting for the past couple of weeks. People in Japan are buying a book, The Speeches of Barack Obama, thinking they can learn English from his speeches.
I think it isn't useful for language study. Please let me explain why.
In 5 conversations with students about this topic, the students all asked me "Justin, why don't you think it is useful study material?" I replied with "Do you think I could learn useful and practical Japanese by studying the wartime speeches of Tojo Hideki or by watching Aso Taro lie to everybody on TV right now? Do you think I should speak Japanese like that? Would it sound natural?"
"No."
If I spoke Japanese like a wartime soldier or a politician, it would sound pretty strange, wouldn't it? For the same reason, Japanese people should never try to speak like Barack Obama.
I'm sorry, but in my opinion, I cannot recommend this book to any of my students for language study. Students need good, practical English - not presidential speeches.
Here's an article:
Japanese to learn English from Obama speeches
www.chinaview.cn 2009-01-20 14:50:48
BEIJING, Jan. 20 (Xinhuanet) -- An English-learning textbook "The Speeches of Barack Obama" has sold more than 400,000 copies in two months in Japan, media reported on Tuesday.
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's speeches are proving a best-seller, a big hit in Japan where few hit novels sell more than a million copies a year.
The 95-page paperback features Obama's speeches in English from the 2004 Democratic National Convention and during the Democratic Party primaries, in which he defeated Hillary Clinton. They are accompanied by Japanese translations.
The 1,050 yen (11.6 U.S. dollars) book, which includes a CD of the speeches, tops the bestseller list on bookseller Amazon's Japanese Website.
"Speeches by presidents and presidential candidates are excellent as listening tools to learn English." said Yuzo Yamamoto of Asahi Press, which produced the best-selling text book.
"Obama's is especially so. His speeches are so moving, and he also uses words such as 'yes, we can,' 'change' and 'hope' that even Japanese people can memorize," he said.
Speeches by U.S. President George W. Bush did not have the same appeal, however, and nor do those made by Japanese politicians, Yamamoto said.
Following Obama's inauguration Tuesday, Asahi Press plans to issue a sequel that includes his inaugural address.
As you can see from reading the article, Yamamoto refers to words that "even Japanese people can memorize". "Even Japanese people can"???? To me, this sounds like he is saying that Japanese people aren't smart enough to learn English and his company needs to make things simple for them. This is a very condescending attitude for him to have and it makes me upset because I see the fine work and study of my good students. None of my students are seeking the easiest way because I have told them that there is no easy way to learn a language.
So what if somebody can remember the phrase "yes we can" or "hope" or "change" in English? If they cannot use that in conversation or written communication, knowing those words is meaningless. My guess is the phrase "Yes we can" will find its way into Japanese English and we'll see talents on television saying it, to try and make people laugh.
SOME KANJI GAMESHOW
Host: "Shinjo, your team has 20 seconds to read this kanji. Can you do it?"
Shinjo: "Yes we can!"
Audience: "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
I think the Asahi Press has a good gimmick for selling these books. They're very good salesmen and saleswomen.
I welcome any student comments on this topic.
Jus
