Name: Aki Matsuo

Year: 1997

 

     Looking back on my English learning history, it began when I was eight, in third grade. My father was transferred to the United States by his company and I had to go there with my parents. We lived in a small city, Fullerton, California. My parents decided to put me in a public school, since they thought it would be a good experience for me.

     I remember not even knowing how to spell my last name on my first day of school. However, since my third grade teacher as well as classmates helped me out and there were no other Japanese around, I got used to English gradually. I did attend ESL (English as a Second Language), but for most of the time, my teacher let me stay in class with other native students. In addition, she gave me lots of chances to show and tell Japanese culture in class. For example, I showed them how to make things with origami paper, how to make haiku, how to play with ayatori, and other things. This activity of “show and tell” helped me to make friends a lot, to improve my speaking ability and also not to feel afraid or left out in class. She also welcomed me anytime after school to help me with anything I had trouble with.

     My fourth grade teacher helped me learn new vocabulary. She taught me the difference between words which were similar in meaning and had me draw pictures of them. She was known as a strict teacher, but I liked her and visited her often.

     School studies became harder every year, but I tried hard to keep up with my classmates with the help of my teachers and friends. As a result, I was able to communicate with others without thinking in Japanese first in my last year in the U.S. I was also able to enjoy American TV programs as well as English books for our age then.

     I actually lived there for almost four years and met wonderful teachers and friends. Everything was new and interesting so I never felt uncomfortable or homesick. I even did not want to come back to Japan after all those years. In fact, all the experience in the U.S. influenced me to want to major in English.

     Entering Nanzan International JHS and HS after coming back to Japan was good to keep up and learn English. This is a school that accepts returnees and foreigners. There they have many native English speaking teachers and we had more than six English classes a week. Classes were leveled, since there were students coming back from all over the world, including non-English speaking countries. There were three different classes, one for grammar, another for reading, and the other for writing. I personally liked grammar, but that was only when I was in JHS. I had a hard time memorizing for entrance exams for universities. For reading and writing, we had native English speaking teachers. In those two classes, we had five hundred word essays on different themes, debates, and read poems. Yet, at first I did not speak English at all in class, because I did not have any confidence to speak English in front of students who spoke just like the natives.

     Oral communication class has helped me a lot to bring back my English. In the beginning of the year, I was so shocked to find out my poor English speaking ability. I also felt ashamed of myself not speaking fluently, despite over ten years of involvement with English. However, I am beginning to feel free to speak English after my first year. I have learned that I should not feel afraid to make mistakes or feel that I am inferior to others.

     From now on, I want to improve more of my speaking ability and learn about other countries’ cultures and life styles, especially that of the U.S. I also want to study the differences and the similarities of their culture and mine. I hope some day, I could lead a quiet life in the countryside in the U.S.