The most important skill
A lot of students ask what is the most important skill for them to improve their English. When I ask them what they think, they say vocabulary. I agree, vocabulary is very important.
Mastering the correct pronunciation
However, I would like to argue mastering the correct pronunciation of English sounds is the most important skill for Japanese college students who want to improve their English conversation skills.
One of the serious handicaps of the Japanese English learners is their inability to hear English sounds. As you know there are only five Japanese vowels, while there are over vowels in English. There is only one shared vowel, which is “e.” All other vowels are different. For example, Japanese cannot tell the difference of “hat,” “hot,” or “hut.”
In terns of consonants, there are 15 consonants in Japanese, while 24 consonants in English. Some consonants are shared, but again there are many sounds Japanese cannot hear well such as “l” and “r.” In other words, Japanese are seriously disadvantaged because they cannot hear well. To be able to hear English sounds, the Japanese need to take a special pronunciation training unless they start learning English when they are very young.
If you are students of the University of Shimane, there are two ways to improve your pronunciation. The University of Shimane offers English pronunciation course in Spring semester. In her course the students will practice English vowels and consonants through theories of phonetics and minimal pair practices.
Learn English at LLSR!
The other way is learn from native speakers of English. The University of Shimane has many classes with native English speakers. Please schedule an appointment with the LLSR staff.
Improving your pronunciation will be the shortest way to master English. There are only 46 sounds to master. You will be able to “hear” English much better.