Cover photograph: Orion Press
Cover design: Jin Studio Inc.
Illustrations: Michelle Dominique Leigh

This textbook is accompanied by tapes and teachers' guide which includes an English explanation of how to use the textbook and answers for the exercises. For class adoption, we offer a complimentary tape and teachers' guide. Please contact us at the following address.

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Japanese people have several problems in communicating in English. One of the problems is learning the correct expressions to use for a given function. (Functions are acts that are performed in communication, including greeting, making requests, inviting, congratulating, and expressing sympathy.) For example, in learning to pay compliments, students of English need to learn certain standard expressions that are commonly used in paying compliments. Another problem that they have is knowing the level of politeness to use in various situations. A third problem is that students of English may not know when certain expressions are appropriate to use. For example, in Japanese, Dochira e? is used as a greeting, so when Japanese learn to say, "Where are you going?" they use it as a greeting in English. However, in English, "Where are you going?" is not used as a greeting, especially between people who do not know each other well. It is, in fact, considered rather "nosy" and therefore rude by Americans. Thus, students of English need to learn in what situations it is appropriate or inappropriate to use the expressions that they do know.

This book is divided into chapters according to functions. In each case, the chapter includes information about a function and how it is used in American culture, as well as what types of responses are appropriate in different situations. (The exception is requests, for which there is a separate chapter for responses to requests.)

Each chapter is divided into various sections. Each begins with a brief explanation of the function and its importance. This is followed by a Dialogue between a Japanese and one or more Americans in which the Japanese speaker uses expressions that are not appropriate in American culture, or uses expressions in a way that is not appropriate. The Comprehension Questions that follow this dialogue deal with the content of the dialogue, while the Analysis Questions deal with the form and appropriateness of the expressions, pointing out the problems that the Japanese speaker had and what Americans expect in those situations.

After the questions, there is a Revised Dialogue, in which the Japanese speaker uses English expressions appropriately. After reading the Revised Dialogue, students are asked to list the ways in which the Revised Dialogue is better than the first one. Next is an explanation of the function and its use in American culture, followed by Comprehension Questions. This explanation is written in easy English, and it is also useful for practicing reading skills. The Practice section provides pairs of expressions which allow students to practice using the function being emphasised in the chapter. Each chapter ends with Role Play situations, in which the students act out a situation where they use the expressions they have learned and the guidelines that they have learned for using them.

To the Students

In this textbook, we give you many general rules for communicating with Americans. However, you should keep in mind that American culture is made up of many subcultures. The ways Americans communicate may vary according to the part of the country where they live, their age, their social and economic status, the country that their ancestors came from, and so on. Therefore, it is impossible to tell you how to communicate with Americans in every situation. However, if you follow the guidelines in this book, you will usually not cause misunderstandings or offend Americans you are communicating with.

You should also keep in mind that we are not trying, in this textbook, to tell you that the way Japanese people communicate in Japanese is wrong, or that you should change the way you communicate in Japanese. The purpose of this textbook is rather to help you develop communication skills that will help you communicate more effectively with Americans in English and to help you avoid misunderstandings when you are communicating with Americans. Frequently, we try to explain why Americans express themselves the way they do. Again, this is not meant to imply that the way that the Japanese express themselves is wrong, or that the way Americans communicate is better. It is just to indicate that Americans think differently about these issues that Japanese do, and to help you understand something of values in American culture.

To the Teacher

We have used the manuscript for this textbook with Japanese students in a variety of English classes. The response of the students has been very positive. Many of the students felt that their ability to use English in communication had improved even after using the textbook for only a short time.

In using this textbook, we begin each chapter by explaining the function or situation that is covered in that chapter. Next, we ask two or three students to play the part of the speakers in the Dialogue. Students are divided into groups to work together on the Comprehension Questions and the Analysis Questions. (Having students work together in groups is useful because usually at least one student in the group is able to answer each question.) After discussing the answers to the questions, two or three more students read the Revised Dialogue, and then students discuss in their groups how the Revised Dialogue is better than the original dialogue. Students read the explanation of the function or situation individually and then discuss their answers to the Comprehension Questions in groups again. Expressions in the practice section are modeled by the teacher and then practiced by the students in pairs or groups. Finally, students are given time in their groups or in pairs to prepare for the role play situations. We found that students were uncomfortable at first with role playing in front of the class, but gradually, they became accustomed to it. After each role play is presented, the teacher comments on what the students did and points out any problems or inappropriate usages. We have found these techniques appropriate with our students, though other teachers may have other ways of approaching the material.

Table of Contents

Introduction ___________________________________________________ iii
1. Greetings and Leave-Takings _____________________________________ 1
2. Introductions _________________________________________________ 6
3. Getting to Know Americans _____________________________________ 12
4. Invitations __________________________________________________ 19
5. Compliments ________________________________________________ 25
6. Giving Feedback and Requesting Clarification _______________________ 31
7. Giving and Receiving Gifts _____________________________________ 38
8. Expressing Opinions, Agreeing, and Disagreeing ______________________ 43
9. Making Requests and Asking Favors _______________________________ 49
10. Responding to Requests _______________________________________ 55
11. Making Offers _______________________________________________ 61
12. Asking Preferences and Specifying Choices _________________________ 67
13. Apologizing ________________________________________________ 73
14. Making Complaints ___________________________________________ 79
15. Giving Advice and Making Suggestions ____________________________ 86
16. Correcting __________________________________________________ 91
17. Expressing Appreciation ________________________________________ 97
18. Congratulating and Expressing Sympathy ___________________________103

Dialogue

Rob and Shigeru are classmates in math class. One morning, Shigeru arrives early for class. Rob is already there.

___________________________________________________________

Rob: Hi, how are you?

Shigeru: Pretty good. (pause)

Rob: How do you like the class so far?

Shigeru: It's pretty interesting. (pause)

Rob: Are you a math major?

Shigeru: No. (pause)

Rob: What is your major?

Shigeru: Business.

Rob: oh, really? I'm an English major. Where are you from?

Shigeru: Japan. (pause)

Rob: I see someone I need to talk to. See you later.

Shigeru: Good-by.

__________________________________________________________

Comprehension Questions

1. Where do Rob and Shigeru meet?

2. Does Shigeru like the class? Does Rob?

3. What is Shigeru's major? What is Rob's?

4. What excuse does Rob give for leaving?

Analysis Questions

1. How many questions does Rob ask? How many questions does Shigeru ask? What questions could Shigeru have asked?

2. When Rob asks Shigeru questions, does Shigeru give any additional information? What additional information could he give?

3. What topics do Rob and Shigeru talk about? What other topics could they talk about?

4. What impression do you think Rob has of Shigeru by the end of this conversation? Why do you think he formed this impression?

5. Do you think this impression is accurate? Why or why not?

Revised Dialogue

Rob: Hi, how are you?

Shigeru: Pretty good. How are you?

Rob: Not bad. How do you like the class so far?

Shigeru: It's pretty interesting. Dr. Ryan is a pretty good lecturer, don't you think?

Rob: Yeah, it's easy to take notes from him. By the way, are you a math major?

Shigeru: No, I'm a business major, but I like math, so I wanted to take this class. What about you? What's your major?

Rob: It's English. We have a pretty good English department here. You should take Dr. Chou's class on Shakespeare, for example, if you're interested in Shakespeare.

Shigeru: Oh, yes, I am. I'll have to check into that.

Rob: By the way, where are you from?

Shigeru: I'm from Japan. Do you know Kyoto?

Rob: Wasn't it the capital before Tokyo?

Shigeru: That's right. (The conversation continues.)

____________________________________________________________

Make a list of the ways in which this conversation is better than the previous one.

If you want to get to know Americans, one important piece of advice is this: Make the first move yourself. In the United States, it is common and acceptable to start conversations, even with strangers or casual acquaintances. Don't wait around for an American to talk to you. Start a conversation yourself. Ask questions. Show that you are interested in getting to know them. Of course, not every conversation will result in a friendship, but if you don't start conversations, you will have much less chance of making friends.

If someone seems friendly but you have only exchanged greetings, try starting a conversation. There are a number of possible subjects for casual conversation. Americans talk about their work if they are employed, their classes and majors if they are students, their families, their hobbies and leisure time activities, sports, current events, and the weather, among other topics. If you are talking to a stranger, you can ask, "What kind of work do you do?" or "Where do you work?" If you know that the other person is a student, you can ask, "What classes are you taking?" and "What is your major?" You can ask whether the other person is married, whether they have children, and what their plans are for the weekend or an upcoming holiday, or what they did on a previous weekend or holiday.

You should also be prepared to answer questions like these in a conversation. For example, if you are a student, be prepared to talk briefly and generally about your major, your classes, and your future plans. Also, many Americans are interested in Japan, so you should be able to talk about Japan and Japanese culture in English. In addition, it is helpful to keep up with current events--what is going on in your school, your local area, the country, and so on--and be able to talk about them.

When you ask questions in a conversation, don't skip around from one topic to another (though finding a topic to talk about may require a few questions). Follow up one question with a related one. you might ask an American, "Do you have any children?" If the American says, "Yes," don't follow up with a question about work. Ask another question about the children, such as how many children there are or how old they are. (Of course, you do not need to continue with a subject if the other person's answers indicate that they are not interested in discussing it.)

It may be difficult to keep the conversation going, especially with a person you do not know well. you can do some things to help the conversation along, though. In addition, these three techniques show friendliness and interest in the conversation.

1) Give a little more information than you are asked for. For example, if someone asks you, "Are you a student here?" don't just say, "Yes." The other person will think that you are not interested in the conversation. If you say, "Yes, I'm a business major," it gives more information and shows interest in the conversation.

2) You should ask open-ended rather than closed-ended questions. Closed-ended questions are ones that can be answered with just "Yes" or "No." Open-ended questions are questions with the words who, what, when, where, why, or how. These questions must be answered with something other than "Yes" or "No." These questions help the other person participate in the conversation more, because it is necessary to give more information in the answer.

3) You should make the conversation a two-way conversation. Both people should ask and answer questions. One thing that you can do if you don't know what questions to ask is to ask the same questions that the other person is asking you. If the other person asks where you are from, you can ask the same question just by saying, "What about you?"

Sometimes Japanese people make the opposite mistake when they speak to an English speaker, they only ask questions. When you have a conversation, it is important to give information as well as ask for it, so tell the other person about yourself, and give them a chance to ask questions, too.

There are also some topics and questions that you should avoid, especially when you first meet someone. Some things that are not polite to ask are how much someone paid for something, what their salary is, how old they are, what their religion is, or when they plan to get married or have children (if they are not married or do not have children). In addition, it is impolite to make negative comments on physical appearance.

Americans don't usually directly ask, "What is your name?" They are more likely to introduce themselves, and they expect the other person to reply with their own name. For example, if the person you are speaking to says, "By the way, my name is John Jamison," you should reply by giving your own name.

Getting to know Americans is not always easy for Japanese people. There are barriers to communication, but with some effort, it is possible to overcome these barriers and make friends.

Comprehension Questions

T F ? 1. The only major problem Japanese have with getting to know Americans is that they may not speak English well.

T F ? 2. Americans sometimes start conversations even with strangers.

T F ? 3. If you want to get to know an American, you should wait for them to start talking to you.

T F ? 4. One topic that Americans talk about is the mass media, for example, movies and television

T F ? 5. When talking to Americans, you should mainly be concerned about answering the other person's questions.

T F ? 6. One thing that is helpful is keeping up with current events.

T F ? 7. You should not ask more than one question on each topic.

T F ? 8. When you answer a question, you should only give the information that is asked for.

T F ? 9. Asking an open-ended question helps the other person participate in the conversation.

T F ? 10. You can answer questions, but it is not polite to ask them.

T F ? 11. It is not polite to ask, "When are you going to have children?"

T F ? 12. The best way to find out the name of the person you are speaking to is to say, "What is your name?"

Practice in Making Conversation

Read the following expressions after your teacher.

A: Where are you from?
B: I'm from Fukuoka. It's in the south-western part of Japan.

A: Where do you go to school?
B: I'm a student at UCLA. How about you?

A: Are you married?
B: Yes, I am. My husband is a high school English teacher

A: What did you do last weekend?
B: Oh, I just studied. I have a math test today.

A: What kind of work do you do?
B: I'm a nurse. I work at Mercy Hospital.

A: Do you like baseball?
B: Yes, my favorite team is the Giants. Are you a baseball fan?

A: The weather's beautiful today, isn't it?
B: Yes, I think spring has finally come.

Close your book. With a partner, practice the expressions for making conversation, but use responses that are true for you. In your response, be sure to either ask a related question or give an additional piece of information.

Role Playing

With a partner, role play the flowing situations. Be sure to use the expressions that you learned in this chapter, and to flow the principles discussed in the explanation of making friends in American culture.

1. You arrive early for a class. A few minutes later, another student comes in. Carry on a conversation with the other student.

2. You are having lunch at work. Another employee, whom you know only by sight, sits down at your table. Carry on a conversation.

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