Member’s Essay
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Summarizing JCP2005 (Closing address at Joint Christmas Party 2005) |
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Learning English With NHK’s Radio Program Text Book and Colleagues of English Clubs |
Sentences
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I happened to learn about an English club where some English learners meet and talk on the given topics in English. Checking its location, I found some more in the Yokohama area. One of them was the KEC near my town, where I visited last Saturday. To my surprise, I found some elderly people who looked retired, actively discussing on the given topics. One thirds(1/3) of the members were women. I saw few young people, the kind who have to study English even after getting their jobs for better international communication. The club was established about 30 years ago and well organized, having three(3) sessions to study English - free discussion on the given topics, translation of the columns of famous newspapers and magazines such as New York Times, or Economists , and the English games that were new to me, similar to " words expectation " with no gestures allowed - all of which was very interesting to me. On my way home, I was wondering why these people have been studying English so hard. To kill time ? No. I concluded they might have been always bothered with English study during high school or university days. This struggle in their youth urged them to study English again when they were free of various daily jobs. What I saw there was old folks' power, energy, and ENGLISH. (Kobayashi) |
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NO6: A Report from a 1000-Hour English Hearing Marathon Runner Page Top |
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In my age of 65, thirteen years ago, by chance, I listened to native speakers’ speeches on a tape, and to my surprise and disappointment, I was not able to catch up their speaking speed. They spoke so fast that I could understand next to nothing to my shame. Soon strong anger gushed up in my mind to blame myself for my being poor in listening comprehension of English. This led me to take a 1000-hour English Hearing Marathon Program, distributed by ALC. As I joined it, The started to send me monthly two cassette tapes with English dialogue brochures attached. In this program, the speech for 1000 hours, or three hours a day hearing to complete within the following one year. Every month, the participants had to sum up the routine listening hours and report it to ALC, together with the card-marked his or her answers to the HEMHET, the abbreviation of Hearing Marathon Hearing Test, that consisted of questions given just in the similar manner to the TOEIC Test. In the following month, the test result was sent back with the delivery to next month’s issue, and the ranking of the test was shown by the curve line, so that the trainee could see how good his or her result was among the total participants. In the first stage, my marking ranged around 65, and as continued the curriculum, it became rising up gradually to reach 80-85 level. And during the third year course, I succeeded in getting 100 full mark two time by chance. As for the practical efforts of English hearing, it was very hard to keep on. Although the context of the speeches was given in the attached brochures, their speaking pace was so fast that I fest myself being left alone in the space darkness as if I was shot out of the planet earth on board of the space shuttle, where nobody else could help me to support. Yet I has to keep on hearing to the quickly spoken speeches to accumulate hearing hours. It was the time of being left in solitude. However, after exceeding 700-800 hours of hearing, I felt I could catch up a little portion of the speaking sometime during hearing. I felt a little released when the first cycle of 1000-hour hearing was attained. I felt as if I has reached the entrance gate into English speaking kingdom so to say. This feeling encouraged me to the continue it into another one 1000-hour listening cycle. So I renewed the contract to keep on and when I finished the second, renewed it again for the third cycle. Then, I finalized it at a total of 3272 hours of hearing. It has been said that English hearing practice will enhance to improve English speaking skill. Because the physical function to control such skills in two fields is located in the neighboring brain category nest to osseous semicircular canals—SANHANKIKAN—and through this mechanism, the oral skill signals are inter-relatively exchanged to support mutually. I once read this theory in a medical report some years ago. I am now finding that my speaking skill might have been brought up a little better. Since I retired and joined KEC Kamakura English Club 10 years ago, where I’ve been enjoying English speaking every week, and then I joined Toast Masters’ Club two years ago. Before I come to close my speech, I’d like to tell you of one leaning, I got through my experience. That is “Never give up in a half way before you reach you goal,” (YN) |
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NO5: Summarizing JCP2005 (Closing address at Joint Christmas Party 2005) Page Top |
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We have had an excellent party
today. It is quite impossible for me to summarize the activities, but I would
like to mention some of the principal points that have learned at this party.
First of all, we could have a
wonderful reunion at this party, reunion that is the happiest moment in this
Christmas and end-of-year season, and confirmed that we are still alive and
kicking. The second, some new friends joined us this year. We welcome them with
our whole heart. The third we have been stimulated by the energy and
enthusiasm emerged from the performances, the messages, the games and the
active participation from the floor. This would really inspire us to be eager
English learners and keep up studying Now we have come to the end of
the party. The members of JCP committee are deeply grateful for the hearty
cooperation of all participants. Let’s get together again in Hiratsuka next
year. Thank you.(TY) |
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It’s been 2 years and 7 months since I came to Korea. Here, I am living well and happily everyday. I am living in a city called Daejeon. It’s the 5th largest city in Korea. Since I am working at a national laboratory, I meet highly educated researchers
everyday. I usually communicate with them in Korean, but when it comes to
written communications, I always use English while they use Hangul. Actually I owe English a great
deal for everyday communications. When I meet foreigners here, no matter
their nationalities are, it is always English we use. So, English is very
important for me to live. Since I can speak Korean good
enough to communicate, I got Korean friends of various generations. When I
get young Korean friends, I always emphasize the importance of learning
English. Most of them are aware of it. Yet it is difficult for them to find
an inexpensive “training” place like KEC, Day KEC, SESS and Mr. Uchida’s
“dojo” like classes. Looking back on my life up to now, it’s one of my best decisions to start KEC and JCP 32 years ago. Since I began
to learn English, it was my dream to go business trips abroad. It became true
about 10 years later. It’s been my next dream to live in Korea. The dream became
true eventually. My dream now is to speak Chinese freely. I keep my dream in
the coming new years. Thank you very much, Mr. Uchida, KEC and JCP friends! |
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Technologies of computerized
dictionaries have been advanced quickly so that they have become very
user-friendly. This is seen from the fact that sales floors of electric
dictionaries are so crowded in every shop of electric appliances lately. They
provides customers with a variety of products. However, a many of them are
high performance ones that includes quite many kind of dictionaries and books
and cost more than thirty thousand yen even in the discount prices. The sales
campaigns of those products seems to be a good cost performance that provides
consumers with far cheaper price for the total value of so many dictionaries.
That would be true. If you buy them separately in a book type, they would
cost one and half or double. However, I do not agree to this policy, highly value added products, as a thrifty consumer. I do not need so many dictionaries and books at once. I would like to select and buy a electric dictionary like buying a dictionary in the book type in a reasonable price that hopefully less than double of the book type. The producer should make effort in developments of the e-dictionaries for elementary, junior high and high schoolers so that they can buy them with their allowances and enjoy the advantages of using such dictionaries. They can save time to pick up words in dictionaries and don’t feel bothering with consulting with the dictionaries to understand their correct meanings.(TY) |
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As I introduced myself at KEC meeting, I am a engineer and don't have many chances to use English. So I don't get used to write in English. But anyone can improve foreign language without using it. So if you don't mind, I will send e-mails in English as many as possible and let you know about some news or events in Kansai especially in Shiga prefecture. Today I am off duty and drove to Kyoto with my wife. We drove to Jingoji temple, where is famous for its red or yellow turned leaves. There were so many tourists from all around Japan. We also heard much Chinese. Parking fee is 1000 yen and entrance fee is 400 yen for adult. It was reasonable, I thought. The scenery and view was excellent and gorgeous. The up-and-down stairs were really hard to both of us. But the view of changing colors were worth of it. We throw tiles from the hill to stay away from bad luck. I think we can find this kind of custom everywhere. Does anyone know its origin? Anyway it's not bad weather in Kyoto. So we enjoyed sightseeing drive tour to Kyoto. These days in many temples red or yellow turned leaves are lighted. So how about coming to Kyoto to enjoy it? (SO) |
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NO1：ＮＨＫのラジオ英会話テキストと学ぶ仲間と共に進んできた Page Top Learning English With NHK’s Radio Program Text Books and Colleagues of English Clubs |
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ＮＨＫのラジオ英会話の番組を知ったのは中学性のときだった。英語が教科の一部に加わったが、単にほかの科目と同じように知識として覚えるとしか考えられなかったときに、そんなに親しかったわけでもない友人がラジオの番組がありこれを聞いていると教えてくれた。そのときの番組での先生の名前は松本亨さんと言ったと思う。この番組を聞いている中学生は周りにほとんどいなかった。高校生活ではまた会話としての英語を忘れて受験勉強の一科目でしかなかった。大学一年生の夏休みにユースホステルを転々として奈良の古寺めぐりをしたときに、夜の集まりで自己紹介をすることとなり、海外からの宿泊客が何人かいたので、つたなない英語でやったら通じることがわかり感激した。これが英会話を学ぶきっかけとなった。大学ではサッカー部とＥＳＳクラブに入ったが途中で挫折し、続いたのはユースホステルクラブと、ＮＫＨラジオ英会話を学ぶ学生中心の学外のサークルだった。就職して横浜に住むようになって、同じようなサークルを探していたら、「英語をものにする本」でＫＥＣを知って２、３年通った。引っ越して、この会への参加を途中で中断し、別の同様なサークルにも参加していた。再度引越した結果鎌倉に近くなって、またＫＥＣにくることになった。結局、自分の英会話の勉強は、ＮＨＫの英会話のテキストとサークルへの参加ということになる。一人では続かない勉強も、同じ仲間がいれば、何とか続けられると言うことなのだろう。（ＴＹ） When I knew the NHK radio program of English conversation, I was in junior high school. English was added as a new subject to the curriculum from junior high, but I thought it as the same as other subjects to be learned for building a knowledge. Then I was told by one of my class mates, who was not that mach close to me, there was a radio program of English conversation and he was an eager listener of it. I remember that the teacher in the program was Mr. Matsumoto. There were seldom students around me who listened to it. Leaning English through a radio seemed to be very special thing for junior high school students. In high school, I forgot leaning English as a conversation and it was one of subjects that we had to learn for the entrance exam of colleges or universities. I made a trip to Nara during a summer vacation when I am in a freshman of a university. I stayed there rather long period to visit many old temples spending nights in some different youth hostels. When I attended a gathering of guests after dinner in a youth hostel, I had a courage to introduce myself in my poor English, because there were some foreign guests among us. They seemed to understand it and smiled at me. It was a very impressive experience of using English. That occasion made me interested in English conversation. I enrolled in a soccer club and an ESS club at first, but gave them up halfway. The ones I kept attending were a youth hostel club and an ESS club of the out side of the university that were organized mainly by college students to lean the text book of the NHK radio program.
Getting a job and moving to Yokohama, I was looking for a similar club
around and found the Kamakura English Club (KEC) though a guide book for English
learners. I kept going there for a couple of years. Then moving to a
different district in Yokohama, I joined the other club in the neighborhood
of the residence Moving again to a place close to Kamakura, I returned to
KEC. After all I have been leaning English conversation through the NHK text book and attending the clubs of using that textbook. I have been able to keep the leaning owning to the colleagues of the clubs, which would be difficult if I work alone.(TY) |