Name: Hiroshi Sakata  

Year: 1996 

 

                                                                                                                             

    Until I entered university, I had been studying English in the same way as other students. I had little interest in English or curiosity about foreign cultures. But I was not reluctant to study English because I was good at memorizing in JHS and what we studied in the class was not difficult at all. So I became good at English. And English became my favorite subject. Because I could get high a score in the examination. This is how I got to study English.

     In JHS days, I did nothing special. Teachers taught us only how to learn grammar and how to read. Only once a year, for a month, a foreign teacher came to my school and had classes. But I usually had only one or two classes. And we sang songs and played games. But they were not fun at all for me. Because I rarely could speak English or listen to English. What was worse, I was afraid of making mistakes and felt embarrassed to speak English in front of others. So the circumstances were rather awful for me to enjoy English.

     In high school days, I did nothing special except my first stay in New Zealand. I studied English as other students did in the school. Teachers taught us how to read and to write English, grammatical English. In the tenth grade, I had a kind of LL class. But it was not interesting at all. I just studied grammar and increased my vocabulary. So the class was usually boring for me. But it was still easy for me, I therefore could get a high score in English.

     In the eighth grade, I went to New Zealand. And that was my first experience abroad. The Youth Hostel organized the tour and I stayed at a YH dormitory. There I went to a language learning school, where other foreign languages were not allowed. If I spoke another language I was fined a dollar. I enjoyed classes very much. Then, it was during summer vacation, there were so many Japanese students. But I got to know not only Japanese, but also foreigners. I made many friends, Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Germany. And I tried many things. I experienced Bungy jumping, skiing, farm staying and so on. Also I planned a short trip by myself. I booked transportation and accommodation in English all by myself. They were great fun for me.

     After coming back to Japan, I wrote to my Korean and Japanese friends. Since then, I got to like English and decided to go to university to learn English. In the same year, I met a teacher. He was rather old, maybe he was just retired. He was sometimes strict but he taught us English in an interesting way. I can not describe him enough, he became one of the greatest teachers for me. He taught us not only foreign culture but also other things about everything in English. And, of course, English became my favorite subject.

     So I decided to go to YMCA to keep up speaking English. There, the teacher was a native English speaker, but students were all Japanese. Soon I began to dislike to go because I hated the atmosphere and I could not enjoy the class at all. So I gave up going there.

     Next year, I started to study for the entrance exam. The class became boring again. We all studied grammatical things and vocabulary. Also I started to go to Kawai Prep. school. There I took university English course. And I found the teacher was good and he taught us in an interesting way. Since university has a listening comprehension test, I began to listen to NHK Radio English Program. It was more interesting than I had expected it to be. And I owe those things to what I am now.

     Now I am in university and my English seems to have improved very much in various ways. I do not hesitate to watch the movies or read magazines in English. Moreover, I recently buy videos which are bilingual. Now I think they would be of help to learn English in an enjoyable way.

     This past summer, I went to America and Canada on the tour organized by Logos Center. We visited many famous places and my interest in American culture and history has grown. I tried to get as much information as I could in English. Also I experienced my first home stay. I was not that good of a boy for them, but I had a very good time with them.

     At University, many things surprised me, especially the classes and the Internet. I did not expect English class to have not only conversation but also mental strategies, that is, everything in the book Language Hungry. I just thought I would have the class as I had in New Zealand, like role-playing conversation in certain situations. Language Hungry and my teacher's lectures affected my way of learning everything. They are very influential and beneficial for me. Owing to them, I began thinking in English about everything that happens in my routine day.

     Also I did not expect to have such an interesting class as Workshop class. Each topic we learned was very informative and interesting for me. Especially, I got to like The Beatles. I bought their CDs, biography and eight volumes of their Anthology videos in English. Now I enjoy learning English very much.

     Since I had talked about future plans in OC class, now I really think about studying abroad and future jobs. I want to have a job concerning English or foreign culture.