MACRO-ANALYSIS: A TECHNIQUE FOR HELPING JAPANESE STUDENTS OF ENGLISH TO COPE WITH THE CULTURE BARRIER

One of the main causes of the difficulty experienced
by many Japanese in expressing their
ideas and opinions effectively in an English speaking
situation is the great difference in attitudes in
Japanese and Western cultures toward the nature
and function of discussion. Comparative studies
of Japanese and American culture show that while
in the U.S.A. discussion and debate playa vital
and dynamic role in the social, academic and
political spheres, in Japan the spoken word has a
much less prominent function. This writer has
used macro-analysis techniques in several intermediate
and advanced oral English classes as a
means of providing Japanese students with experience
in planning and carrying out their own
democratic goal-oriented discussions in English.
Macro-analysis techniques are a useful means to
this end because they encourage an equal distribution
of leadership among the members of
the group and encourage a democratic atmosphere
in which the group can seek to