Name: Miho Masuda

Year: 1997

 

 

     Before I started to study English in JHS, I was worried very much about studying English. However, I found it interesting after I entered JHS.

     The first English teacher was an old Japanese man. He taught us English in Japanese so we could hear him speak English only when he read the textbook. I liked to repeat English after him. I always tried to imitate his pronunciation, though he had a Nagoya accent, I did not notice it at that time. At home I read the textbook loudly over and over again and it helped me memorize words and phrases.

     I was good at English in JHS so my mother forced me to go to a private English conversation school when I was in eighth grade. But I did not like to go and I could not enjoy talking with other students who were four or five years older. For one year, I had been going to the school twice a week without enjoying it. I liked studying English at JHS, but on the other hand, at the conversation school I was not so positive toward English.

     English was my favorite subject in HS, too. I had confidence in my English. But when I heard one of the classmates speak English, I was so shocked. She had studied in New Zealand for a year and came back in the third term when I was a first-year student. She talked with the AET in English fluently. I had never met such a person who spoke English so well and who was as old as me. Therefore, it surprised me. And I lost my confidence.

     Then I tried to improve grammatical things and memorize words because I was good at these, whereas I did not try to improve listening and speaking skills. I never forgot my homework. I translated the reading textbook, did exercises, and memorized new words for every class. It may sound boring but I liked these. Because of them, I got good marks on the tests and I was satisfied with that.

     But when I was a third-year student, I regretted that I had studied only for classes. I started to study for the entrance exams and it was too difficult for me. So it was not attractive and I became less interested in English.

     After entering this university, I was puzzled and shocked. At first, I could not do well on the Michigan Test because I was poor at listening. Next, I could not understand what teachers said in English. Third, I did not remember almost all of the words and  grammar which I studied in HS. And what surprised me the most was the difference of abilities in English between the classmates who had lived abroad and me.

     However, I was encouraged by learning that "it is natural to make mistakes". Then I decided to do my best and tried at least to speak only English during OC class. I gradually got used to speaking English and became not to be afraid of making mistakes. Although all I did was to attend the class and do my homework, I learned many useful ways. Shadowing and summarizing helped me understand and remember the stories. I could not always catch what the teacher said, but I got to understand little by little. I was glad of my progress, but I sometimes got nervous talking with the classmates who spoke English very well. Their English brought so much pressure on me that I did not want to talk with them. But I told myself not to compare them with me. "I have never been abroad like them, so it is natural I cannot speak as fluently as they do."

     In the middle of June, something special happened; I met the SEAHORSE soccer team. They were the first foreign friends for me. While I spent time with them, I spoke only English and thought in English. Even when I came home, I could not stop speaking English. It is much more attractive than studying for the entrance exams.

     After I knew how interesting it is to communicate with native speakers, my desire to study abroad became bigger. I want to go abroad for my third year. This is one of my goals. And two other goals which are more specific are to get more than 550 points on TOEFL and to visit my friend in England. So I want to improve my listening ability and have a large vocabulary.

     Since I entered this university, I have experienced many things. And I will learn more and more in the next three years. I want to say to next year's first students, "Compare yourself only with yourself!"