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CNN Saturday Morning News

Japanese Children Get Jump-Start on Learning English

Aired February 16, 2002 - 07:10   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Learning English is becoming a priority for many Japanese, and the motivation is economic. The interest in learning English is so intense, some Japanese children are getting a jump-start on the language.

Details now from CNN's Rebecca MacKinnon in Tokyo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: My mom can speak English, but I can speak English more better.

REBECCA MACKINNON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Six-year-old Kazuna Odate (ph) and her chattery classmates already have a head start over most Japanese professionals.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: So the report that you're working on is basically due for every month.

MACKINNON: Communicating with Americans and Europeans is not easy for accountant Timome Takahashi (ph), in her late 20s. Her American boss has to switch into Japanese to make himself understood.

Despite years of English in high school and college, these young professionals didn't take it seriously until they joined an American company.

"If I can't communicate directly with headquarters," says Ikuko Yokoyama, "I'll never be more than support staff."

(on camera): Walk down the street in downtown Tokyo, and you'll find a lot fewer people here who can speak to you in English than in many other major Asian cities, like Shanghai, Seoul, or Bangkok. But as the recession drags on and unemployment continues to rise, the Japanese are being forced to globalize like never before.

(voice-over): Which is why this ambitious mother brings her 2- year-old to her 4-year-old daughter's English class.

This mother had the same idea. She says her husband, a systems engineer, is struggling because he has to use more and more English at work. "We don't want our kids to have that problem," she says.

As Japan's prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, tries to fix Japan's economy and pull it out of recession, he's hitting great resistance from conservative politicians and bureaucrats who don't want to change the way they work. Whether he succeeds or not, many believe change will come with a new generation.

KUNIKO INOGUCHI, SOPHIA UNIVERSITY: Foreign companies coming in and recruiting enormous amount of young people is good news. Those people who are at the interface of globalization who has to acquire language skills, knows the new management skills, can control computer software, and be competitive in negotiations. Those young people, I think, will change this country, not Mr. Koizumi or his generation.

MACKINNON: Most of these 6-year-olds don't know about such high expectations. But for some, ambitions already have no borders.

Rebecca MacKinnon, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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