I have studied English since I was in elementary school when I started to go to a conversation school. I learned English through playing games or talking with my English teacher. Since that time, almost every week I come in contact with English and I began to like English.

When I was a JHS student, of course, I was interested in English. It was interesting for me to study it. I read an English textbook with a loud voice many times. Until I could get the sentences of the textbook by heart, I read it again and again. Not only could I get good marks in English, even now I can use the sentences or phrases that I memorized when I was in JHS. When I was 14 years old, I went abroad to study in England for two weeks. It was my first trip abroad and I had a wonderful time. At that time, my English skills were not strong, so it was difficult to speak in English. But my English abilities improved during my stay in England. I changed a lot in only two weeks. Before I went to England, I was a negative person. I was afraid of mistakes and I had no confidence in myself. However, I noticed that the most important thing is to speak English positively and not to be afraid of making mistakes. I am Japanese and not English or American. So it is natural not to speak English fluently like local people. Since then, I speak without getting tense or feeling fear. I have become an aggressive person. After I came back to Japan, I was interested in learning English more and more. Studying abroad broadened my horizons and I could enrich my education through study abroad.

In my high school days, my English abilities were advanced. I studied harder than before and made every effort to learn English. I didn’t give up reading the English textbooks and fell into the habit of reading. Not only reading, but also I started listening to English songs. Although it was hard to keep up the pace and understand, I continued to listen. I listened to music and memorized the lyrics. There were a lot of people who liked English songs in my class, so we exchanged CDs quite often. I also started listening to the English news on the radio. At first, I couldn’t listen and understand at all. But I recorded the news on tape and listened many times until I could understand. Besides listening, I watched English movies without Japanese subtitles. I delighted in movies, so I watched a lot of movies I liked. I bought imported videos on the internet and watched many times. Almost everyday I listened to English, so my listening skills were developed step by step. It is said that, “Many a little makes a mickle.” So I think listening to English everyday is very good way to improve our English.

To improve my English ability, I entered the university. My heart was filled with expectations for the new life. I had thought that if I go to the university I would speak English more fluently. But the school life and the classes were quite different from what I imagined. I thought most students would participate in the class with positive attitudes. But in reality we took a passive attitude during the classes. In addition, I was surprised that we have to get information by ourselves. Nobody tells us, so if we want to get information we have to get into action on our own initiative. One year has passed since I entered the university. However, my English abilities were not so improved. At first I didn’t know why, but I noticed that I haven’t had time to do much reading or listening to English lately. I used to come in contact with English almost every day when I was in JHS and SHS. From now on I should study harder than before. So I will try to use English everyday. I also will try to participate in the classes aggressively. Especially I want to improve my speaking skills because I’m going to study abroad next year. So, I am not afraid of making mistakes and I hope to speak positively.