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I’ve
noticed that Japanese students rarely seem to voluntarily ask questions
in class, either when they don’t understand something or when they are
curious about something. Being educated in America, where students often
ask such questions, I was surprised by this and curious to know why it
seems to be different in Japan. I have two theories as to why the difference
occurs.
First, I think Japanese schools have traditionally emphasized a lecture-style
format in the classroom, where teachers lecture and the students take
notes, listening and receiving the information but not necessarily adding
information of their own or asking many discussion questions, while American
students are more often expected to contribute to class discussions and
raise questions of interest or concern as part of learning.
Second, through things I have read and through my own experiences, I have
come to have the impression that the attitude toward asking questions
differs in some ways in Japan and America, at least in certain situations.
In Japan, it seems there is often the attitude that asking questions in
a classroom or after someone gives a speech shows a lack of understanding
or a lack of intelligence, and thus could be an embarrassment or a sign
of weakness. In America, on the other hand, asking questions in such a
setting shows interest in the speech or lecture, demonstrating that the
listeners were able to understand the speech and were interested enough
in the content to want to ask questions to learn more deeply about it
or to clarify and better understand certain points. If no questions are
asked after a speech or lecture, the speaker may feel that the audience
is not interested in or didn’t understand the speech, and thus may feel
awkward and uncomfortable.
In conversations too, particularly when the language spoken is not the
native language of one of the participants, Americans seem to interrupt
with questions to clarify things they don’t understand more often than
Japanese too. Perhaps Japanese feel it’s rude to interrupt to ask such
questions or that showing a lack of understanding is a sign of weakness.
Americans, in contrast, assume that people will ask questions if they
don’t understand something; I think we see questions as a normal and necessary
part of learning and understanding rather than a sign of weakness. (There
is the expression, “There are no stupid questions”, although some people
would agree that there are:).) In Japan, it seems that it’s more the speaker’s
job to make sure that the listener understands what he or she said, while
in America it is more the listener’s responsibility to clarify things
he/she doesn’t understand.
These differences in the style of communication and the way in which one
receives information could potentially lead to miscommunication and misunderstanding
between Japanese and Americans. For example, a Japanese person may not
interrupt to ask clarification questions even if he/she doesn’t understand
all of an American’s English in order to be polite. But since no questions
were asked the American will probably assume the Japanese understood him/her
and may be surprised and disappointed to find, after he/she is finished
talking, that the Japanese understood little of what he/she said, and
wonder, “Why didn’t you just say so?” If we can understand cultural differences
and different communication styles, however, or at least recognize that
they exist, we can be better prepared to adjust our own ways of communicating
if necessary to facilitate communication with others who may have a different
style from ours, and then such differences, rather than leading to misunderstanding
or conflict, can be learning experiences. If anyone is interested in cross-cultural
communication, please see my book recommendations for today under Rebecca’s
Picks. I would love to hear anyone’s thoughts on these issues and anyone’s
opinions about whether my impressions of Japan in this case are accurate
or not. Please tell me what you think. Or ask me a question).
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