What do you think?

I've been getting my ni-nen see's (grade 11's) to write journals on various "provocative" (I hope, that is) topics. First, we did "Sumo is boring." Then, "Girls are stronger than boys." Then, "School uniforms are necessary." I want to teach them that they can express opinions in English, even if they can only write three or four sentences. So, we start with "I agree/ I disagree" and then, each class, I write "WHY?" in huge letters on the blackboard to try to get them to follow through and "back up their ideas." I've gotten some pretty excellent responses. This is not an attempt to mock anybody, but I can't resist posting this response to my last (very imperialistic, very dicey) topic, "It is important to learn English." I got the range of responses I was expecting- "Yes, it's important because English is necessary to promote global communication, understanding, etc" (a response about which I felt uneasy because I've begun to feel guilty, in a way I can't really explain, about being a speaker of a language that is so globally dominant) and, of course, the "No, I don't want to learn English. I am Japanese. I don't want to travel. I want to speak Japanese." In many ways, I can't really blame them for begrudging having English shoved down their throats the way it is. Because, truthfully, many of them never will leave this island (Amakusa, I mean) or need to speak anything other than Japanese (and the local dialect, which is spoken by the ladies at my flower arranging class and which, to my ear, is one of the most elusive tongues I can imagine existing.)

Anyway, with no further delay, here's the gem I referred to:

"I agree. Because I think don't important to learn English until now. But alien visits in Japan now. So we should talk with them."