Name: Yuko Niimi                                                                                                                                   

Year: 1996  

 

  When I was a fifth-year pupil, I was getting interested in English. I tried to read English words written on T-shirts,  notebooks, pencils and pencil boxes. I found them everywhere in my daily life. I tried to write English, too. But the words I wrote were just Roman letters. I did not understand the difference between English and Roman letters. But I showed great interest in English.

   I learned simple greetings, so I was eager to speak English with foreigners practically. When I went to Nagoya Castle, I found a foreigner and I ran to him and said, "How are you?" He showed a little embarrassment. But he answered my question, saying "I'm fine, and you?" I was very very happy. That was my first experience to speak English with foreigners.

     When I entered junior high school, I started to listen to a radio program. It was NHK basic English conversation program. I continued listening to it every day because it was very interesting to me. I enjoyed repeating English after an announcer. In my junior high school, I read textbooks over and over to learn by heart. In the class, I practiced conversation in textbooks with my classmates. I also wrote the English in

the textbooks again and again. I tried to learn all the words in textbooks. To write many times was a simple way to learn. But it was useful for me to remember. I think it was more useful to write while saying the words. English was my favorite subject. I kept these ways for three years in my junior high school. I did not do any special study to pass an entrance examination for high school because my learning in daily life was helpful.

     When I entered high school, I felt shocked. High school English was so difficult and there were many unknown words. I noticed that only knowing the words in textbooks was not enough. My high school was what is called "the school of college-bound." When I was a freshman, I was told to memorize example sentences in the grammar textbook by my English teacher. I only memorized them without understanding grammar. I took an examination in that. While on the examination, I was able to write sentences, but after it I did not remember these sentences at all. I found that only memorizing was not a useful way to learn English.

  Memorizing sentences with understanding grammar is important. Memorizing them in order to use that grammar pattern everywhere is more useful.

     By the way, when I was a junior, an exchange student from Australia came to my class. She came to Japan to study Japanese for a year. My classmates taught her Japanese and she studied hard. By the time she went back to Australia, she was able to understand most Japanese. I was surprised at her progress. She motivated me to learn English. I want to talk with her again.

     When I was a senior, I studied harder to pass an entrance examination. Then I succeeded in passing the entrance examination. I became a freshman at university. I expected to learn more about English. Above all, I wanted to learn listening and speaking. While I was in high school,  I was not taught by a native speaker. But I was surprised at the first class. Most people spoke English fluently and calmly. I felt an inferiority complex about speaking English. Gradually, I got used to classes. Speaking a lot is most important.

     At first, I was afraid of making mistakes but I learned it did not matter. I tried to think in English. The "English only" class was hard for me but this was good exercise for me. This university gives me many opportunities to use English.

     My goal for the next year is passing the Pre-first Grade Test of STEP. I am going to study during spring break. I want to go abroad sometime in the next three years. I have not been abroad yet. So I want to see foreign countries with my own eyes. I am going to take a group tour from this university this summer.

     Looking back on my language learning history, I met many people who motivated me to learn English. Especially my classmates in this university always help me. And in class I learned many learning strategies. They were good experiences for me.