Kenji Kitao and S. Kathleen Kitao
PREFACE
The relationship between Japan and the United States has been an important
one for several decades. In fact, Mike Mansfield, former US Ambassador to
Japan, has described it as the most important bilateral relationship in the
world. The importance of this relationship was demonstrated when President
George Bush made his decision to represent the United States at the funeral of
the late Emperor. This is to be his first trip abroad as President, and the
United States was among the first countries to announce its representative to
the funeral.
In recent decades, contact between Americans and Japanese has increased
greatly across a variety of areas, including economic, technical/scientific,
interpersonal, and academic. Americans and Japanese are coming into contact
in greater and greater numbers, and there is every likelihood that this trend
will continue. There has recently been pressure on Japan to take a position
of leadership in world affairs commensurate with her economic position. This
would involve closer contact and increased communication with people of many
countries, including the United States.
Even though the Japanese have more contact with the people of the United
States than those of any other country, Japanese people do not know very much
about the United States. As these contacts between Americans and Japanese
increase, the potential for misunderstanding increases. This misunderstanding
can be caused not only by language barriers but also by cultural differences
between the two countries. The purpose of this book is to increase the
understanding of these differences and the potential problems that they can
cause. We hope that a better understanding of the differences will help
Americans and Japanese communicate more effectively.
This collection of papers is divided into three sections. The first
section, "Introduction to Intercultural Communication," describes the
background of the relationship between Japan and the United States, the
history of the study of intercultural communication and some of the problems
related to it--barriers that make communication between Americans and Japanese
more difficult. The first paper, "The Study of Intercultural Communication in
the United States: A Brief History to the early 1980's," the history of the
study of intercultural communication is examined. Various aspects, including
organizations, publications, development of theory, and education, are examined.
"The Background of Japanese-American Relations" looks at the development of
the relationship between Japan and the United States from 1853 when Commodore
Perry arrived to the present. The need for better understanding between Japan
and the United States is emphasized. In "Barriers to Intercultural Com!
munication Between Americans and Japanese," some of the difficulties that
Americans and Japanese have in communicating and the sources of those
difficulties are discussed.
The second section, "Influences on Culture and Cultural Influences,"
includes seven papers on various aspects of communication between Americans
and Japanese. "Effects of Natural Environment on American and Japanese
Communication" discusses how the differences in the natural environment of
Japan and Britain have influenced the development of the values and attitudes
of Japanese- and English-speakers. These values, in turn, influence the
language. "Effects of Social Environment on Japanese and American
Communication" discusses differences in the social systems in Japan and the
United States and how these differences affect communication between and among
Americans and Japanese. "The Group in Japan and the United States" examines
differences in the ways that Americans and Japanese interact in groups and the
problems that these differences may cause in communication between Americans
and Japanese. In "Differences in the Kinesic Codes of Americans and Japanese,"
the stu!dy of kinesics (communication through movement, including facial
expression and gaze) is discussed. Factors that influence the kinesic codes
of Americans and Japanese are discussed, along with differences between the
kinesic codes of Americans and Japanese. In addition, how kinesics can be
used in the English classroom is explored. "Differences between Politeness
Strategies Used in Requests by Americans and Japanese" examines issues related
to politeness, particularly in requests. While the systems of politeness are
similar in English and Japanese, there are differences in the way that rules
are applied. "Differences in Color Association of Americans and Japanese"
deals with the connotations and meanings that colors have in Japanese and
American culture. In "Difficulties that Japanese have Reading English," the
process of reading and why it is difficult for Japanese to read English is
discussed.
The third section, "Japanese Students' Knowledge of American Culture," is
made up of five studies related to Japanese students' contact with Americans
and American culture, their knowledge of American culture and the problems that
they face in the United States. "The Teaching of American Culture in Secondary
English Courses in Japan: Analysis of Junior and Senior High School Textbooks"
reviews studies of junior and senior high school textbooks in Japan. It also
includes an analysis of the American culture taught in current junior high
school texts in Japan. "Awareness of American Culture: A Survey of Japanese
College Students in the U.S." reports on a survey of Japanese students at an
American university, their knowledge of American culture and their adjustment
to life in the United States. "An Evaluation of English Teaching in Japan: A
Survey of Japanese High School Exchange Students" reports a series of surveys
of Japanese exchange students one month after their arr!ival in the United
States, seven months after their arrival, and after their return to Japan.
The survey covered such areas as students' knowledge of American culture and
the methods of English study that they felt were most helpful. "Japanese
Students' Knowledge of American Culture and Life" reports on the administration
of "The Test of American Culture" in 1976 and in 1988. This test, which covers
fifty aspects of American culture, is intended to measure how well Japanese
students know American culture. Last, "Practical Adjustment of Life in the
United States: Interviews with Incoming Japanese Students at an American
University" reports the results of in-depth interviews with twenty Japanese
students in the United States. Students discuss their knowledge of American
culture, and the interview brings out the practical problems that they face in
the United States.
Some of the papers included in this book were originally written in 1976.
However, we do not believe that the situation has changed greatly. For example,
we administered "The Test of American Culture" again in 1988 to a second group
of Japanese students in Japan (see Japanese Students' Knowledge of American
Culture and Life). We found that, although the sample included more English
majors and more four-year college students and consisted entirely of full-time
day students, the students' knowledge of the United States was not much greater
than the sample of Japanese students in Japan in the original study, which
included night students and more junior college students and non-English majors.
Also, when we were in the United States from 1985 to 1987, the Japanese
students that we knew there had many of the same problems as those described in
"Practical Adjustment to the United States: Interviews with Incoming Japanese
Students at an American University."
In addition to updating the two studies mentioned, we have rewritten some
of the papers for unity of form and clarity. Also, an abstract was written for
each paper.
A number of the papers in this book are based on research originally done
for Kenji Kitao's dissertation (The Teaching of American Culture in English
Courses in Japan; 1977 [University Microfilms No. 77-28,886]). Most of the
papers in this book have been published in other publications. The following
is a list of citations for these publications.
I. Introduction to Intercultural Communication
1. A Brief History of Intercultural Communication (1987)
Human Communication Studies, 14 & 15.
ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 278 212
3. Barriers to Intercultural Communication (1985) In M.-L. Liebe-Harkort
(Ed.). Linguistics across historical and geographical boundaries. Vol. 2,
Descriptive, contrastive and applied linguistics (pp. 1257-1271). Amsterdam:
Mounton de Gruyter.
II. Influences on Culture and Cultural Influences
4. How Does Natural Environment Affect American and Japanese Ways of
Expressing Themselves (1982) Doshisha Studies in English, 28.
ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 278 054
5. Effects of Social Environment on Japanese and American Communication
(1985) Speech Education, 12.
ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 260 579
6. The Group in Japan and the United States (1988)
7. Differences in the Kinesic Codes of Americans and Japanese (1988)
ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 282 400
Differences in the Kinesic Codes of United States and Japanese Nationals
(1988) World Communication, 17 (1).
8. Differences between Politeness Strategies Used in Requests by Americans and
Japanese (1988) Doshisha Studies in English, 44 & 45.
ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 280 118
9. A Study of Color Association Differences between Americans and Japanese
(1986) Human Communication Studies, 13.
ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 273 134
10. Difficulties Japanese Have Reading English (1987)
ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 278 214
III. Japanese Students' Knowledge of American Culture
11. The Present Situation in the Teaching of American Culture in English
Courses in Japan--Analysis of Junior and Senior High School English
Textbooks in Japan (1979) Doshisha Studies in English, 21.
ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 179 098
12. A Survey of the Teaching of American Culture with KU Japanese Students
(1978)
Doshisha Studies in English, 19.
ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 179 097
13. Japanese Exchange Students' Evaluation of English Teaching in Japan
(1980) Doshisha Studies in English, 25.
ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 202 211
14. The Test of American Culture (1980) Doshisha Studies in English,
22.
NALLD Journal: Technology & Mediated Instruction, 15 (2),
Communication, 9 (1).
ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 191 331
Bibliography
A. Intercultural Communication Bibliography, Parts 1 & 2 (1986)
ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 273 125
B. Intercultural Communication Bibliography, Part 3 (1987)
ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 282 271
C. Intercultural Nonverbal Communication Bibliography (1988)
ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 285 402
D. Culture and Education: A Bibliography (1988)
ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 290 319
The bibliography was compiled primarily for English teachers who are
interested in the influence of culture and intercultural communication on
language teaching and learning. However, it is also useful to those interested
in various aspects of intercultural communication.
* * * * * * * *
We would like to express our appreciation to the people who over the years
have helped us with the original papers that are included in this book and also
to the participants in our studies. In particular, we would like to thank Ms.
Catherine Duppenthaler of Seibo Women's Junior College and Dr. Nicholas J.
Teele of Doshisha Women's College for reading the manuscript and making
valuable suggestions.
Kenji Kitao, PhD
S. Kathleen Kitao, PhD
Kyoto, Japan
February, 1989
If you find any problems, let me know.