Japanese needs to be taught in American high schools. Not teaching this language in school would be disregarding too many things that can profit America economically and socially. People from Japan need people to teach them English whither they are visiting or planning to stay in America. Japan also has a large influence in America’s history, good or bad. Learning how our countries interacted and corresponded with each other is important. There are willing students who want to learn this language for their own personal reasons. There are many jobs that can be useful by learning this language, from flight attendant to ambassador.
There are many job opportunities that are available that can use a person that can speak and translate Japanese. Anime, Japanese animation, and Manga, Japanese graphic novels, are very popular products in America. In the United States, 2003 figures for sales of Manga were $40 million dollars and Anime racked up to a whopping $500 million dollars. Do you think those items just magically translated English while to America? Being a translator for these things is a still
There are many jobs that require traveling which can also benefit from learning Japanese. Flight attendants going to and from Japan could tell people who only know Japanese what they should do incase of an emergency, ask them what they want to eat, and other things.
Sometimes the Japanese immigrants and visitors that come to America don’t have enough money for translators and need to communicate with Americans. Since there are 359,000 Japanese people in North America, including 127,000 permanent residents, only God know how many people are having a hard time learning the English language.
There are many business jobs that require a person to travel a lot so that they can have meetings with a developer, creator, or a group of people. Technology is one of those business jobs. 25% of the technology that is in America comes from Japan. Wouldn’t it helpful if you knew the language that your business partners in Japan spoke?
One very important job would have to be Ambassador to Japan who is currently J. Thomas Schieffer. An ambassador is a diplomatic official assigned to a foreign country or government, or to an international organization, to serve as the official representative of their own country. The country that receives the ambassador allows that person control of a specific territory called an embassy, whose territory, staff, and even vehicles are generally afforded diplomatic immunity in the host country. Keeping peace with Japan is a good thing considering what America has gone through these past few years. Any young person with the correct credentials could be the next ambassador.
Japan is also a vital part of America’s history. For example, December 7, 1941 the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Pearl Harbor can be easily recognized as an important event in America’s history. Yes, we can learn about Pearl Harbor in history class, but to learn about the culture and the intentions of those people during that time are informative.
America’s culture and language are based on many of those items from different countries. Because of those influences it had been decided to add languages from those influences into the curriculum. Japan has been a large influence in technology, culture, knowledge, and customs. If so, why are we ignoring this culture?
There are students willing to learn this complicated but important language. One group of people that are interested in learning this language are people that read manga and watch anime. Their interest in the previously stated items has led some to become intrigued in the Japanese culture in which most of those items are based in. Military families are coming in and out of America as well as Japan. Youth coming from Japan might want to continue learning the language that they were taught first.
A lot of people just want to learn the new language to add it to the other languages that they have been taught. Some just like to challenge themselves to learn more.
A petition has been going around in Mountain View High School to start a Japanese club recently and 25 people have signed the petition, including myself. Even though the number of signatures may be small and it may only be a club, but there is a sign of wanting to learn about Japan.
Japanese is an important language that should be taught in America. It is just as beneficial as any other language that is being taught in schools today. The country has influenced us as we have to them in the present as well as the past. The language will also beneficial to many economically, vocationally, historically, and mentally as well as to the speaker in the days to come.