2013.07.13
Question 11 ”Where can I have a chance to use English?” 英語学習法
ビジネス英語の学習法やポイントについて聞く Q&A 第11弾は、
“Where can I have a chance to use English?” です。
Q． 英語をつかうチャンスはどうやって作るのか？
Hikaは次のように言っています。
『よく「私は普段から英語を使うチャンスがないんです。」と言う人がいます。
本当でしょうか？ 確かに本当にそういう人もいるかもしれませんが、
ほとんどの人はそんなことないと思います。
チャンスはやってくるものではなく、作るものなのです。
一緒に働いていた人でこんな人がいました。
彼女は日本人で、本当に短い間だけ海外に住んだ経験があるだけなのですが、
英語はほぼネイティブ並みに上手に話せるのです。
私は「なぜ彼女がそんなに英語を上手く話せるのか」不思議に思っていたのですが、
数ヵ月間一緒に働いてその謎が解けました。
彼女は同じ会社の外国人に対し、エレベーターの中では積極的に話しかけ、
一緒にランチに行き、英語を使う機会を自ら作っていたのです。
日本語を流暢に話せる私に対してですら、英語で話しかけてきました。
おそらく彼女は「英語を使うチャンスがない」などと不満に思ったことはないはずです。』
それでは、
「英語をつかうチャンスをどうやって作ればいいのか？」
Hika は動画の中で、そのチャンスの作り方について、４つの例をあげて説明しています。
４つの例については、ぜひ動画をご覧下さい！
Hello and welcome to this Bizmates question and answer
video series for Japanese businesspeople.
And today's question,
Where can I have a chance to use English?
Yeah, this is a difficult one.
Especially in Japan when 99% of the population is Japanese,
it's like where Hika, where can I use English?
Well, let me try to answer this. OK.
So are there places in Japan to use English?
Are there? Because so many people say this.
Hika, I have no chance to use English in my daily life.
I think really?
I think with some people, yes maybe it's true.
But with many of them, I don't think it's true.
I think you need to make the chance.
The chance doesn't come to you.
You've got to go out there and get it. OK.
Let me just give you an example
of someone I used to work with.
She's Japanese and she had lived overseas
for just a short time. And...
But her English was amazing,
It was so good, near native.
And I wondered why she, and I asked her.
You know, were you born overseas?
And she said, no, no, no. I grew up in Japan.
I studied overseas for a short time.
And I wondered why her English was so good.
But after working with her for a few months,
I realized she would make every,
she would take every opportunity to use English.
You know there we had of course
we had many foreigners in our company.
But didn't avoid them, she purposely went up to them,
started talking to them, by the elevator she would talk to them.
She'd go to lunch with them.
And she made all these opportunities and to speak English.
Even with me. I speak near fluent Japanese,
but she would speak English to me.
And I think that's that attitude you need.
And...
And she never complained about
not having opportunities to use English. OK.
So how do I make that chance?
Well first thing, people around you.
Look around you.
In your office, in your company,
around in your neighbors.
You know, are there English speakers there?
Maybe your sister's husband, you know, speaks English.
OK, people around you.
Parties and events.
You go to a party or some sort of business event.
You exchange businesscards with an English speaker.
You know follow up, write that email.
You know how many emails I send out?
I send an email to everyone that I meet
and exchange businesscards with in English.
But maybe about 90% of them,
they don't respond, you know.
And I'm not angry. It's OK because I understand.
It's very intimidating to receive an English email.
But I wish people would take that chance.
This is your chance to use English; take it.
OK, so write that email, respond.
Sudden encounters. You go on a business trip.
You go on vacation.
You meet someone, the waiter at the restaurant
in another country was very nice to you.
You know, it's OK to exchange personal information,
an email address, keep in touch.
There's a foreigner who's lost at the station.
You helped them out, you know.
It's OK to, if they seem like a professional person, you could
you know, exchange email addresses or something.
Yeah and keep in touch.
Make those opportunities, OK?
And of course, in this IT world,
there's you can meet people online. OK.
You know whether it's dating service
or socializing, some social networking.
There're so many ways to meet people. OK.
So I hope you become a little bit more active
in creating that opportunity to use English. OK.
So I hope I answered your question
about making chances to speak English.
OK, and we'll see you in the next lesson.
Thank you.
video series for Japanese businesspeople.
And today's question,
Where can I have a chance to use English?
Yeah, this is a difficult one.
Especially in Japan when 99% of the population is Japanese,
it's like where Hika, where can I use English?
Well, let me try to answer this. OK.
So are there places in Japan to use English?
Are there? Because so many people say this.
Hika, I have no chance to use English in my daily life.
I think really?
I think with some people, yes maybe it's true.
But with many of them, I don't think it's true.
I think you need to make the chance.
The chance doesn't come to you.
You've got to go out there and get it. OK.
Let me just give you an example
of someone I used to work with.
She's Japanese and she had lived overseas
for just a short time. And...
But her English was amazing,
It was so good, near native.
And I wondered why she, and I asked her.
You know, were you born overseas?
And she said, no, no, no. I grew up in Japan.
I studied overseas for a short time.
And I wondered why her English was so good.
But after working with her for a few months,
I realized she would make every,
she would take every opportunity to use English.
You know there we had of course
we had many foreigners in our company.
But didn't avoid them, she purposely went up to them,
started talking to them, by the elevator she would talk to them.
She'd go to lunch with them.
And she made all these opportunities and to speak English.
Even with me. I speak near fluent Japanese,
but she would speak English to me.
And I think that's that attitude you need.
And...
And she never complained about
not having opportunities to use English. OK.
So how do I make that chance?
Well first thing, people around you.
Look around you.
In your office, in your company,
around in your neighbors.
You know, are there English speakers there?
Maybe your sister's husband, you know, speaks English.
OK, people around you.
Parties and events.
You go to a party or some sort of business event.
You exchange businesscards with an English speaker.
You know follow up, write that email.
You know how many emails I send out?
I send an email to everyone that I meet
and exchange businesscards with in English.
But maybe about 90% of them,
they don't respond, you know.
And I'm not angry. It's OK because I understand.
It's very intimidating to receive an English email.
But I wish people would take that chance.
This is your chance to use English; take it.
OK, so write that email, respond.
Sudden encounters. You go on a business trip.
You go on vacation.
You meet someone, the waiter at the restaurant
in another country was very nice to you.
You know, it's OK to exchange personal information,
an email address, keep in touch.
There's a foreigner who's lost at the station.
You helped them out, you know.
It's OK to, if they seem like a professional person, you could
you know, exchange email addresses or something.
Yeah and keep in touch.
Make those opportunities, OK?
And of course, in this IT world,
there's you can meet people online. OK.
You know whether it's dating service
or socializing, some social networking.
There're so many ways to meet people. OK.
So I hope you become a little bit more active
in creating that opportunity to use English. OK.
So I hope I answered your question
about making chances to speak English.
OK, and we'll see you in the next lesson.
Thank you.
