tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33409496.post5456413054230250081..comments2008-08-04T16:07:45.247+09:00Comments on My So-Called Japanese Life: MannersUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33409496.post-70962707177237940542007-04-07T16:47:00.000+09:002007-04-07T16:47:00.000+09:00As I also pointed out, the students are given info...As I also pointed out, the students are given information to tell them how to begin the call and finish it. They are told to say:<BR/><BR/>"This is (name) of (company name). May I speak to (teacher name), please?" <BR/><BR/>and<BR/><BR/>"Thank you for your help, (teacher name). Goodbye."<BR/><BR/>So, they don't have a very good excuse beyond the terror of the situation or being illiterate in romaji. <BR/><BR/>The worst ones I've experienced will skip these steps multiple times. In the non-testing environment (teaching by phone), there are 6 lessons where some students repeatedly failed to follow the basic phone script despite being corrected and prompted by the teacher each time to say what was necessary.<BR/><BR/>These are the same types of people who can't be bothered to read the teacher's name (always written in katakana for their convenience and ease of understanding) off the page and make up some mutated hybrid or mumble out some mess. My boss, Darryl, was called "Mr. DeGraw" (a hybrid of his first and last name) and I get called a wide variety of names the most common of which is "Crary". <BR/><BR/>They simply don't attach the same level of attention and respect to speaking with a foreign teacher as they would a Japanese person and can't be bothered to make the tiniest effort to do things right even when it's all spelled out to them and they're spoonfed the necessary language.Sharihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17419851636570519145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33409496.post-34311864511823889682007-04-07T12:19:00.000+09:002007-04-07T12:19:00.000+09:00In defense of the students, they are speaking in a...In defense of the students, they are speaking in a foreign language, where simply getting across meaning often takes full concentration, not to mention they're probably nervous and often flustered, as you yourself pointed out. Observing the niceties requires further effort, not to mention one has to be taught these things as required courtesies and not just optional phrases. I continuously have to remind my students to add the word "mister" before my last name instead of just using the last name itself. True, this is a transference error of sorts. However, transference doesn't always happen, including positive transference, of say, telephone politeness or general cultural courtesies. This is not to say that students are blameless or that there's not some weird cultural thing going on here. However, I would guess that it's not intentional rudeness or neglect, and much more a simple language issue.Luishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08027590154507641968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33409496.post-8915905963882497472007-04-07T09:22:00.000+09:002007-04-07T09:22:00.000+09:00I'm pretty sure they'd be appalled if you worked i...I'm pretty sure they'd be appalled if you worked in Japan. They tend to be fairly "forgiving" of the ways of gaijins who are outside their range of influence. <BR/><BR/>My old company seemed to be constantly reissuing new business cards any time the tiniest of changes came up so they'd probably think it presented one poorly if one was writing one's own card. Fortunately, I was too low on the totem pole to ever be a part of that happy nonsense. :-)Sharihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17419851636570519145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33409496.post-88890384183211634752007-04-06T00:26:00.000+09:002007-04-06T00:26:00.000+09:00I am pretty sure that the Japanese would freak out...I am pretty sure that the Japanese would freak out over the fact that even though I can get new business cards anytime I want, I crossed off the old phone numbers on a good share of my business cards and wrote my new number on it.CMUwriterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07254107188568419537noreply@blogger.com