Why the British Accent is Easier for the Japanese to Adapt

Having interacted with a lot of Japanese students, I've pretty much become aware of most of their weak points. I don't intend to point out anyone's mistake. For sure, every nationality has a weak point when it comes to the study of English. But what we intend here is to have some constructive criticism.

Of course, most Japanese admit that it's quite a challenge for them to pronounce 'r & l.' I usually give a couple of tips regarding this and some other letters:

1. For r: Your tongue should roll and its tip should touch the roof of your mouth.

2. For l: The tip of your tongue should touch the tip of your upper teeth (front).

3. Bite your f's & v's. This means that when you pronounce 'f or v,' your upper teeth should be biting the lower lip.

4. Kiss your p's & b's. This means that you should pucker your lips when pronouncing 'p or b.'

And as the title suggests, I really think that it's easier for most Japanese to adopt the British accent. With the latter, the vowels are pronounced longer, while some consonants are hardly pronounced. The British accent has long vowel sounds and shorter consonant sounds. Take for example the word 'unfair.' If we use the standard American accent, the 'r' at the end of the word should be clearly heard. But if we pronounce it using the British accent, we can get away even if we hardly pronounce 'r.'

The Winning Speech

A few days ago, I told you about the 16-year-old Filipino who won the International Public Speaking Contest in London. This has been the Philippines' second win. Back in 2004, the champion was a fellow student in the University of the Philippines.

Well, here's Gian Dapul's speech, printed in Alfred Yuson's column in the Philippine Star. You be the judge:

Fish Mucus and Foot Fungus

by Gian Karlo Dapul

When I was in 6th grade, I hated mathematics. You would have, too, if you had my teacher. He would drop huge workbooks on our tables and croak, "30 problems, 50 minutes." A lot of these problems seemed unsolvable, so we complained: "Sir, there are no answers to these!" But then he'd reply, "To every question there is an answer, to every problem there is a solution."

Although I'm only 16 years old and an incoming 4th year high school student, I know that my country has more problems than any mathematics book. Stranngely enough, the answers to some of our problems are fish mucus and foot fungus. These seemingly improbable items are products of what we call scientific research.

Research turns our guesses into real knowledge, serving as the sifting pan of our hypotheses. It challenges what we assume, because, as they say, if you only learn from what you ASS-UME, you make and "ass" out of "u" and "me."

In the early 1800s, someone warned that the streets of London would be filled with horse manure due to the uncontrolled use of horse-drawn carriages. Of course, that never happened. Combustion engines, products of research and invention, replaced horses, and the manure piled up in Parliament instead.

While on the subject, few people know that the most expensive coffee in the world is taken from the droppings of the Asian Palm Civet found in the Philippines and Indonesia. The small mammal excretes the coffee berries it eats, and forest trackers recycle the fruity feces to create what is known as the Kopi Luwak in Indonesia or Kape Alamid in our country. Research has led to a synthetic process that simulates the droppings' exotic flavor and quality.

So, who's had coffee with their breakfast? Well, soon nobody will have had coffee and breakfast if the looming global food crisis worsens. Are you all feeling fine? Well, nobody might be fine for long if some new disease creeps up on us.

Health can be enhanced and life can be extended. The nudibranch, a beautiful, soft-bodied creature unfairly called a "sea slug" - a favorite among underwater photographers for its marvelous colors and shapes - has actually been used in tumor research. Samples of fish mucus have also displayed certain antibacterial properties.

And as the Home Shopping Network would say, "Wait! There's more."

Certain types of infectious fungi that coat some of your toes form beneficial relationships that support plant growth. The International Rice Research Institute based in the Philippines continues to develop ways to improve rice growth and help alleviate the current food crisis.

New challenges are coming, and they will always confront us. What we need is an army of scientific researchers that will help find the solutions in advance. I want to be part of that army that would cross the new frontiers first.

If only we could make science fairs and contests as popular as the thriving "Idol" franchise - although I'm not sure if Simon Cowell's sardonic comments will sit well with my peers. But we need the same hard-hitting passion in research and invention.

To conduct research is to be innovative, avant-garde. Researchers are like artists with test tubes and lab gowns instead of paintbrushes and smocks. When I graduate from the Philippine Science High School next year, I want to begin my "masterpiece" and apply for a university degree in biochemistry.

Sometimes I am discouraged by those who say that a researcher from a Third-World nation is like a Jesuit adhering to a vow of poverty, or worse, like a Benedictine monk observing the vow of chastity. It is indeed a challenge, but it's also another frontier to cross, for me and many young people like me.

We Filipinos are well known for our dedication to service, in foreign homes, hospitals and hotels. (In our hotel, I found three Filipinos working at the front desk.) I want to be one of the pioneers that will make the Philippines known for its excellence in scientific research, as part of the driving force that will expand our horizons towards tomorrow. And I intend to have a lot of fun while doing it.

Going back to my math teacher, I eventually realized that, well, he was right. As he said, "To every question there is an answer, to every problem there is a solution." We just have to go looking for the right ones. Who knows? Maybe one day we'll be answering the questions that haven't been asked yet.

Will Be Silent for a While

Hello everyone!

I'm sorry if I haven't updated you for some time. I'm currently very busy writing my investigative report for my summer internship. I'm quite excited about how it will turn out.

I'm currently calling up people or emailing and interviewing them to get a lot more facts and information. It seems that I will be quite busy with my story for a few days. I want to give my best shot.

But, don't worry, I will be back pretty soon. Rest assured, I'll have a lot more time once I finish my summer internship with Newsbreak. I'm actually planning to add a new feature in this blog. If you're wondering, maybe you can stay tune and wait patiently. I hope a lot of you will find the new addition useful. Again, if you have any suggestions, please feel free to let me know.

I will let you know when I will be launching my blog about writing.

Meanwhile, I need to get back to work. Gotta write!

You Go, Gian!

Hey everyone!

I just got back from Subic. By the way, there's another reason for Filipinos to be proud of. Kudos to 16-year-old Gian Dapul for winning the English Speaking Union's International Public Speaking Competition held in London. He beat 57 other contestants from 35 countries with his speech "Fish Mucus and Foot Fungus," where he mentioned scientific breakthroughs that could enhance health and extend life spans.

He's an incoming senior at the Philippine Science High School. According to Philippine Star (newspaper): "Gian impressed the judges and audience with his relaxed and humorous delivery of a substantive speech with a clear message.

Peter Kyle, the chairman of the judges said Gian "impressed everyone with his speech, which from the start got the audience's attention." In November, Gian will be given a certificate at the Buckingham Palace, by no other than Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh. It's also likely that the Queen will be present.

2nd Question: Reading

I hope everyone's enjoying the weekend so far!

We have our next letter. Let's hear what our reader had to ask..

Question: Sarah先生 Only a few successful learners of English in Japan say that the best way to master English is to read aloud English texts until we memorize them. Being skeptical and lazy, I did not apply this method . I volunteer myself to read aloud in front of my English tutors. What is your view on reading books aloud?

Answer: Thanks for asking! There is no one surefire way of mastering English. To be proficient in all areas like speaking, reading comprehension, listening skills and writing, English learners should pay attention to different approaches in studying English.

For sure, reading English texts aloud is helpful, particularly for improving pronunciation and speaking. When you read texts aloud, you will know what your weaknesses are when it comes to pronunciation and intonation. But for you to determine the correct pronunciation in the first place, you must listen to and be familiar with (proper) spoken English. Because if your native language is not English, you don't automatically know the correct pronunciation.

It is not advisable to memorize texts because mere memorization would not be helpful if the student doesn't understand the logic behind the sentence. What is more important is to understand the pattern and the words that make up the sentences. It would be more helpful to read different texts because in so doing, you'll pick up a lot of patterns and learn different expressions. In fact, you can also learn how to express one idea in different ways. As they say, if you want to write well, you have to read a lot of well-written texts.

Reading silently also has its own advantages. Some students have mentioned that they couldn't understand the text when reading aloud because they tend to concentrate on pronunciation. It's true that in some ways reading aloud can minimize your concentration. I think English learners should both learn to read silently and read aloud. In comparison, I think students should allot more time in reading silently than in reading aloud, unless they're in a hurry to improve their speaking skills.

Reading silently gives the brain time to digest what is being read. It gives the brain freedom to imagine and to associate meanings with certain words and expressions. This is good for developing logic and reasoning. While this maybe hard work, it pays well in the long run because students will have a deeper learning of English. This is the more scholarly and intellectual way of learning.

See you next time!

1st Question

Hello everyone!

Today, one of our readers sent in a question. Let's see what he posted:

Question: Hello Sarah 先生
May I ask?
What do you recomend or　what is important?　for beginner　to study English？
Vocabulary, grammar, conversation？

Answer: Thank you very much for asking! You know you're always welcome here.

I think it's important first to know basic or simple words. As we know, language is symbol. The words & letters (alphabet) represent an idea. The word mother, when we analyze it, is just a combination of the letters 'm-o-t-h-e-r.' But English speakers have chosen to use that word to mean the person who has given birth to us and takes care of us. So before we study the structure or the form (grammar), we need to know the basic words that make up the language to help us study more complicated topics.

Without knowing the words, we wouldn't be able to tell which is the subject, the verb or the predicate. And essentially, those elements (subject, verb, predicate) are parts of grammar.

Let's take, for example, the case of a baby. The baby doesn't understand anything at first. Do you think it's reasonable if we immediately teach him the grammar? We couldn't tell the baby: "Oh baby, in constructing sentences, you have to include the subject, verb and predicate. The subject has to agree with the verb." Oh no!

In the natural order of things, the baby first learns the basic words that he often hears. Most babies learn to speak 'Papa' or 'Mama.' These words mean or represent something and the human brain learns it faster. Only when the brain learns to attach a meaning to the word, is it ok for it to move on to more difficult tasks, one of which is grammar. So this means that we need to memorize or remember simple words first.

Grammar and conversation can be studied at the same time. But ideally, grammar should be studied ahead. Because if we went straight to conversation, we might be able to speak, but the grammar might end up wrong. And, I think it's very hard to correct a mistake if you are already used to it.

So, try to study simple grammar first, and then be brave enough to practice speaking. As much as possible, try to talk to someone who has good command of English because if you hear grammatically incorrect sentences, you'll learn them. And, as I've said before, it's better to learn the correct things at first than to correct mistakes later when you are already used to them.

Did I answer your question? I hope it helped. Just keep the questions coming...

Addicted to Reading

So, you've found out when I started learning English. Now, let's move forward with the story.

At a very young age, I was very competitive. I wanted to be part of the class' top 10 students. But unfortunately, I was 11th when I was in Grade 1 & 2. Upon finding out, I cried buckets of tears. Haha.. I could just laugh at it now. But I was really that intense about it.

So, I've decided to do well in Grade 3. Perhaps then, I discovered that I had an aptitude in English. I enjoyed memorizing and reciting poems, as well as performing. It also helped that my aunt gave me a book as a gift. It was Michael Jordan's biography. I thought it was very interesting and I discovered the joy of reading - in English.

That started my quest for good English books or novels. I started rummaging through my grandma's bookshelves (I think she has the largest collection of books and magazines in the family) and picked up novels that seemed interesting. There, I found 'Apple Tree Lean Down' by Mary E. Pearce. If I'm not mistaken it had 698 pages. At that time, I thought it was quite I challenged but I was encouraged when my grandma said she enjoyed reading it very much.

So off to reading I went. The book brought me back to England a few decades ago. After just a first few pages, I was enchanted. At that time, it was rainy season and there came a major storm. So we had no classes. The flood reached our home, so we had to stay in the second floor. I would remain cuddled up, reading the book. I even forgot about lunch time.

I couldn't understand a lot of words so I kept on looking them up on the dictionary. It would irritate me that I still had to look up words I already looked up before. So I tried hard to remember them. I guess that was effective!

My Adventures with English 1

For starters, let me share with you my adventures with the English language. My parents told me that I really like studying. Proof of that is when I was three years old, I begged them to let me go to school. Because of my persistence, they let me attend nursery even if I was a year younger than my peers.

Mom said that I couldn't even pronounce all the letters of the alphabet correctly. My 's' became a 't.' At that time, I think we were just being taught the basics of English - the alphabet and numbers. The Philippine alphabet doesn't differ much from the English alphabet. But if we trace it back to history, we had our own system of writing which was called 'Alibata.' It basically look like simple drawings and had a lot of curves.

However, the Spanish, American and Japanese occupation have driven it out of existence.

I wasn't a fast-learner when I was young. My Mom got disappointed many times teaching me how to read (even Tagalog). Hehe.. Up until I was in Grade 1, I wasn't very interested in English. It was just a subject taught in class. In fact, we often got irritated when Dad would switch channels and watch American movies. I couldn't understand them and they were foreign to me.

But I guess overtime, I got used to it. Thanks to Dad, I got more familiar with English/American films. I think I even know more than he does nowadays.

Send in Your Questions About Learning English

Hey everyone! Once again, I'm up and blogging. I thought it would be better for those of you who are learning English to post your questions here and to get answers as from me as quickly as possible.

You can read about what's going on in my life at: http://asksarahsensei.blogspot.com. I also have another blog about writing well in English. I'm currently conducting English classes online and privately. I've been doing it for years, and loving it. So I've decided to help those of you who are really eager to learn the language. This site is all about you and your questions regarding learning English. Everyone is welcome!

So, what are you waiting for? Feel free to ask anything you want about learning English. This is a site dedicated to English learners. As I might have told most of you, I've been studying English since I could barely talk. Haha.. I think I've gone a long way from then. I'm sure you can too!

I would like to do my best and use my expertise to help you. So go ahead. Don't hesitate. No question is too simple. When you post comments, you can choose to include your name and contact info or you can choose to be anonymous. Either way, you can be sure that I'll provide you with answers.