Name: Ryoichiro Kamiya

Year: 1997

 

 

 

     I entered JHS to start learning English. I was so nervous about learning English because I could not even write my name. In the first year, my grades were normal and not so outstanding compared to other students. However I got a high score in a few exams, so I tried to keep the scores. By the end of JHS, I could read English without translating into Japanese. In HS, I wanted to study international politics in university. But I came to want to brush up my English skill so that I could use English as a tool to do business or communicate. Then I changed my mind to learn English at university.

     During JHS, I learned English by preparing for the next lessons and teachers corrected our translations. Many of my classmates found it boring; however, it was interesting for me. It caught my mind to communicate to people other than Japanese and it looks more smart and efficient. In HS mainly I learned Reading and Grammar. I like reading books, so naturally I became fond of reading English writings. I thought that was amazing to know opinions of others. Adding to that, I regarded Grammar exams as a fun quiz. That is because those who made grammatical questions tried to trick me, so I find it such an interesting and thrilling activity to answer the questions. In conclusion, I felt it was so interesting and I learned English in the way my school wanted students to for myself. I did not think it is bad to learn English in that way, if it is not so excessive.

     I had an experience that changed my idea and image toward people from different countries. When I was a JHS student, I had the idea that all foreigners were fine, talkative and hardworking, and so on. That is because I knew a few foreigners who came to my school as  English class assistants. However after I entered another English conversation school, I noticed that other kinds of foreigners existed. One teacher I had was so funny and far from formal. I could talk every thing with him, and I even went drinking with him. That is my positive experience in my English learning history.

     The most surprising thing since I entered university is the telephone homework. At first when I heard this assignment, I could not believe what the teacher said. It was so different from my idea about learning English. Action Log assignments and going out for class also surprised me. Because of these activities, my idea toward learning English and English itself has drastically changed. English is only an item, and I can utilize it in various ways, that is, for communicating with those who speak different languages, with foreign music, and for knowing other cultures through learning English.

     I think one of the most helpful ways to learn English is to write action logs. Moreover it must be better with pens, not pencil. When I make mistakes in writing action logs, I cannot erase my mistakes completely. It is just like when we talk with friend. However I cannot write even one line without thinking about making mistakes, so consequently it made me not care about making mistakes. Moreover it has helped me in English writing, and vocabulary building. When I write my action log, I have to consult a Japanese-English dictionaries and consider how I can use words and phrases I find in them. This is a good process to learn how to write a report in English.

     After graduating from university, I want to work for multinational enterprises or companies with capital participation by a foreign company. As another choice, I would like to learn international politics or international business in foreign universities.