Social skills programs for international students focus on interpreting ambiguous expressions and responding to indirect cues (“sassuru” – reading intentions from vague statements or silence). Role-play sessions teach students how to respond appropriately to multiple-meaning statements and ambiguous apologies, vital for real adaptation to Japanese campus life.
education
Classroom Instructions
Teachers seldom give direct orders; instead, they phrase requests as questions (“What do you think about…?” or “Can we try to…”), encouraging student participation in a non-confrontational way. Inductive reasoning prevails, with teachers explaining context and background before subtly guiding students toward the lesson’s thesis or goal.
Polite Criticism
Teachers provide feedback on assignments with elaborate introductory phrases (“you might try to…” or “perhaps consider…”), rarely outright stating errors to soften critique and maintain student dignity. Criticism between peers avoids direct personal comment, using non-specific language like “maybe this part could be improved” instead of identifying the author’s mistake.
Opting for silence
In classroom discussions, students frequently avoid directly opposing teacher viewpoints, opting for silence or indirect suggestions to express disagreement, protecting group harmony. Silence is often deliberately used to signal discomfort, disapproval, or disagreement, rather than vocalizing concerns.
Japanes students refuse
Students often refuse invitations or requests with vague replies like “maybe next time” or “I’ll think about it,” allowing the other person to interpret intentions without direct confrontation.
Flexibility and Independence
Under the title “What American universities can learn from German universities,” Mark Roche, Professor of German studies at the University of Notre Dame, writes:
“Intellectual independence, knowledge as an end in itself, high regard for the humanities: the German university system could serve as a model for the United States in many ways.
What can the United States learn? First, student flexibility and independence, both characteristics of the German university tradition, are important principles of learning. Students learn more when they have to demonstrate independence and initiative.
Before the reform of European universities (the so-called Bologna Process), German students had the freedom to devote themselves to intellectual questions in an organic way, in a manner quite different from the student mentality at most American universities.
There (in American universities), students are given a lot of homework that does not encourage them to delve deeper into a topic for its own sake or to pursue further questions arising from their studies on their own initiative.
Thanks to their education in independence, the best German students proved to be highly motivated and responsible. Self-education requires freedom.”
Source: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, June 13, 2015.
Duale Ausbildung
Apprenticeship System (Duale Ausbildung). The dual education system is a model of structured, objective feedback: apprentices receive regular, formal evaluations based on skill mastery and performance; feedback is standardized, unemotional, and focused on professional development; personal feelings are set aside; the focus is on competencies and meeting professional standards.
German elementary schools
Deutsche Welle – Do you know your Gymnasium from your Gesamtschule? The German school system is certainly complicated. For this week’s Meet the Germans, Rachel heads back to the classroom to get to grips with the different types of schools and to find out what kids like about going to school in Germany.
Rachel moved from the UK to Germany in 2016. As a relative newcomer she casts a fresh eye over German clichés and shares her experiences of settling into German life. Every two weeks she explores a new topic – from German books to German-Turkish culture or Germany’s obsession with cars. This week: German schools and the education system.
80% self-censor
7 April 2022. New York Times:
“There is now little doubt that students frequently bite their tongues because they feel unsafe. A 2021 survey of more than 37,000 college students — by far the largest on free expression to date — found that more than 80 percent of students censor their own viewpoints at least some of the time, while roughly one in five students regularly do so. Meanwhile, only 40 percent of students say that they are comfortable openly disagreeing with their professors.”
Yes, hypersensitivity on American university campuses is well-known. What does this have to do with communication and feedback within American companies? Everything. Political correctness, like it or dislike it, has been a growing force in the United States for several decades.
“Well, that was complete shit.”
Berliners respond to the question “Are we Germans direct?”:
And one of the comments from a German: “When I was in high school, I can remember, another student gave a poorly-prepared presentation. Directly thereafter the teacher simply looked at him and said in English: “Well, that was complete shit.”