Japanese Learning Styles
Although there are a number of different learning styles in any culture, cultures often cluster around certain ways of learning as a result of linguistic requirements and educational traditions. Western education focuses on individual exploration and achievement, but many Asian education systems focus on group learning through rote memorization and a strong social hierarchy in education.
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Emphasis on Rote Learning
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The Japanese educational system focuses strongly on rote learning and memorization. This cultural trait is linked to the requirement for memorization of complex Chinese-based written characters and works well in the traditional teacher-student hierarchy of Japanese culture. The rote-learning method meshes well with examination-based school entrance examinations for most levels of Japanese education.
Information Transmission Style
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The Japanese educational system is hierarchical and depends heavily on the ancient master-student relationship. This relationship has been transmitted to modern times in the modern teacher-student relationship, with the teacher being primarily responsible for imparting information and the student being primarily responsible for receiving information. Self-study is not as common in Japanese learning styles.
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Book Centric Learning
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Books are central to the Japanese learning style. As with a teacher, a book imparts information in a more passive style of learning. Books are also conducive to rote memorization and, thus, play an important role.
Visual Learning Styles
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Often, the Japanese learning style is highly visual. Lectures are often accompanied by illustrations. Charts and diagrams play an important role in classroom-based learning. The visual learning style may be a result of pictographic qualities of some elements of the Japanese writing system that derive from the pictographic Chinese writing system.
Educational Techniques
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Because of the nature of many aspects of the Japanese learning style, people working with Japanese students may be well-served by providing many visual teaching aids to exploit the tendency toward visual learning in Japanese education. Teaching in a hierarchical method may be more effective than encouraging individual learning and exploration. In addition, working with a solid, curriculum-based text may help learners who excel at rote memorization and learning.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Photo: Kelvin Truong, stock.xchng
