Second of two parts
The main problem with Japan's English-language education lies in its sterile approach to words, as if a grasp of their exact meaning is sufficient preparation for understanding and speaking the language. It isn't. You can't look at a box of paint tubes and visualize a Rembrandt. Words have no meaning outside the context of culture, history and the personalities of native speakers.
Every language presents its own special difficulties for the non-native. For those of us who came to Japanese from the outside, the multi-readings of kanji and the length of vowels are killers. Chinese has its tones. And, if you take on Polish, you must conquer clusters of jaw-breaking consonants. But, of the major languages studied around the world, when it comes to complexity, English tops the lot.