Name: Atsuko Kusano 

Year: 1997

 

 

     I have been learning English for about seven years. At first, I was not so interested in English though I was good at English. I was taught vocabulary and grammar and I did not have many chances to talk with foreigners.

     It was when I started to go to a conversation school that I became really hungry for English. Then, I spoke with foreigners in English for the first time and I was impressed. Teachers were very nice and I enjoyed talking with them. I was always looking forward to going there and I had never felt that lessons were boring. So I decided to go to Nanzan University and study more.

     In this university, I learned many ways to improve English. I think shadowing and summarizing are very useful. When our OC teacher told us to shadow and summarize, I hesitated. But as I tried to do these things, They became natural. By shadowing and summarizing, we can know how much we understand and inform partners what I do not understand. And making stories with new words is very good for me. I have poor vocabulary and I am not good at remembering new words. But if I make some stories, I can remember them easily.

     Now, I want to pronounce better. I always try to imitate the good pronunciation of natives or classmates. Now I am going to pronounce with a big open mouth. By moving my lips largely, I can learn how to pronounce well.

     My biggest goal is studying abroad. I want to live where I have to speak only English and learn different cultures. So I will study hard for this to come true. And I want to study abroad when I am a junior. After I graduate from this university, I want to work using my English or study more in a graduate school. I need more information about jobs. Anyway, I want to use English. Now, I am thinking about jobs at an airport or a telephone office. But I am not sure.

     Being hungry is the most important thing to learn English. Even if we know how to improve or we have many chances, unless we want to do them, we can not learn it efficiently. Since I started to learn English in Nanzan, I had many troubles and sometimes, I felt I would give up learning because I was too busy to have free time. I have made many mistakes. But whenever I was in trouble, I remembered my dream of studying abroad. When I was not in touch with English, somehow, I became to feel like listening to English or speaking English. Then, I realized I was hungry for English. I think having goals helps us a lot. Studying something without goals will not last long. I often remember why I study English and why I entered this university.

     I learned much not only from teachers but also from my classmates. They have the same dreams as me and they make a lot of effort every day. Studying alone is not good because if you study alone, you can not know efficient ways to improve English that other classmates might know. Classmates also help mentally. When we are in trouble, we can help each other. So I could learn how important friends are.

     This university gives me many chances to use English. By reading through Action Logs, I can know how much I improved and how I felt in classes. And many other things helped me. Until I entered this school, I had not been confident and I was afraid that I could not keep up with classmates who have been abroad for a long time. But I know even if I have never been abroad, I could improve a lot and I can find chances to speak English. So I am going to do my best in classes and outside classes. I am sure I can make my dream come true.