10/04/27 02:59:11
>>124
"This is a pen." is the most notorious sentence which is a good example of poor English education in Japan back in
old days. Believe it or not, it was on an English text book in Japan used at school.
The common understanding is that this sentence was created for 7th graders who starts
learin English in Japan only for the sake of teaching students "This is ------." structure
but as you notice there isn't almost no occasions where you use it in real pracical situations, unless the pen has
an unusual shape like these USB memories. URLﾘﾝｸ(pc.watch.impress.co.jp)
If a pen has an unusual shape like the USB memories, "This is a pen" (even though it looks like sushi)"
can be used in a real setting, but "This is a pen." sentence alone with an illustration of a pen
on a page of Japanese English text book is a nightmare from a perspective of practical Engish use.
Everybody knows what a pen is and what it looks like so "This is a pen." is so artificial sentence
which you have no chances to use.
"This is Ken. Ken, this is Jenifer." are very practical example sentences because they
can be used when you introduce two persons to each of them, while "this is a pen"
couldn't be usd in a real setting except the cases like Sushi shaped pen.
>>113's response to >>112 doesn't make sense at all but I think the background
reason why he used "pen" just out of nowhere comes from this common understanding among Japanese
English learners of this stupid and notorious "This is a pen." sentence used in
a English textbook back in old days.
Fortunately, Japan's English education has focused a lot more on pratical use of
English for quite a long time, this type of stupid sentences just for the sake of teaching
a sentence structure without contexts are all gone.