Hi, everyone! This is one of the key articles on this blog.
I cover a variety of topics on this blog, but originally, it was launched to improve my English.
In this article, I talk about why I want to study English, sharing a bit about my past and the vision I’m currently shaping.
So I hope you’ll take a moment to read it — it’s essential to understand where I’m coming from in learning English.
The Reasons I Study English
Here are the main reasons:
- To overcome my past self
- To make new friends around the world
- To work with people beyond Japan
- To experience new people, cultures, and values
Simply put, I want to broaden my inner world!!
I believe that new encounters broaden my values and vision, and that those updated perspectives lead me to even more meaningful experiences. I hope that someday, all of this will guide me toward a more international career.
If you resonate with my vision, feel free to follow or reach out via the links below!!
What does learning English mean to me? / What do I hope to achieve through it?
I have two main goals:
- To get my positive energy back
- To shape my future
I believe that stepping into the new world will bring me amazing experiences and encounters I’ve never had before and my life will become even more fulfilling.
Here, I’m going to talk a bit more about “1. To get my positive energy back.”
Getting My Positive Energy Back
I want to live a life where I get my energy back from boring work and productivity-focused weekends, and clarify what I truly want to do.
Learning English means I can connect with people around the world.
I believe that inspiring myself and broadening my perspectives are very meaningful steps toward regaining the positive and ambitious version of myself.
Boring Work and Productivity Obsession
It might sound like a joke, but seriously — the company I work for has no vision for its future.They’ve just been lucky to ride the market trends so far.It seems that not only the company lacks a vision, but the employees do as well.
I wonder…
Are you really enjoying your work?
Do you feel passionate about it?
What kind of person do you want to be through your work?
To me, my coworkers seem to have a very passive attitude toward their work.It feels like they’re just completing tasks, not really working with purpose.
I often wonder why they don’t question the meaning of their work or how they live without any vision or true purpose. But perhaps staying in their comfort zone simply feels safest to them.
So I guess that’s why similar types of people end up gathering here.
Somewhere along the way, I realized my soul had dimmed, and I’d lost sight of who I really wanted to become.As a company employee, not only my job but my whole life has started to feel like a routine.
Living through such monotonous days, these thoughts began to come to me.
I have to consider how I can make my life more fulfilling.
－How can I spend my weekend time more efficiently?
－What time should I get up to get more free time?
－How can I cut down the time I spend on shopping and cleaning?
－How much time should I set aside for each thing I want to do?
“How to Be More Productive”
I pursued productivity too much, and living through days without emotional fulfillment has become my routine －even on weekends.
Leaving the Company to Find Myself Again
I’m confident that I’m someone who enjoys taking on new challenges, at least in my current workplace.
So, I can’t accept that my drive to take on challenges is being used by unwilling people in my company.
Even though they only do the bare minimum, they always question me about the purpose and cost-effectiveness whenever I try to start something new.
Once I’ve improved my English and broadened my perspective, I’ll leave my current job and start a new life.
My English Learning and Personal Memories
I’d like to talk about what made me start taking English learning seriously.
When I was in high school, there were two experiences that really stuck with me.
- I failed the speaking test of the English exam.
- I was always jealous of the students in the English course.
In short, my envy and lack of confidence have turned into energy for learning English.
Now, let me go into a bit more detail about these stories.
Failing the English Speaking Test
I was the only one who failed the speaking test in the English exam among all the classmates who took it together.
That exam was the Eiken test, an official English exam in Japan. The level I took was for junior high to high school students, so it wasn’t that advanced.
In the speaking test, we’re required to describe a story based on an illustration and share our opinion on a simple topic.
At first, my teacher said we all passed the test, but actually, I didn’t pass. To be honest, I didn’t think I had done very well on the test, so while I was disappointed, I felt it was only natural.
Fortunately, I passed the test on my second try. However, this experience made me firmly believe that my English speaking ability was poor.
To be honest, since then, I’ve been avoiding facing the fact that my English speaking skills need improvement.
I was afraid of not being able to speak English well. I tried taking online lessons a few times, but I gave up soon after. My mind and body tense up in a strange way when the lesson starts.
Now, I’m gradually changing.
Jealous of the English Course Students
At the high school I attended, there was a special program called the “English course,” where students spent much more time studying English than those in other classes.
I didn’t have confidence in my English, but the students in that class always spoke it with confidence.
What’s more, they not only studied abroad, but also had many opportunities that regular students didn’t — like interacting with students from top schools around the country and participating in special events where they could use English.
They seemed very special to me, and I had always been jealous of them.
And deep down, I had always believed that one day I would connect with the world, just like them — with confidence in my English.
How I’m trying to overcome my past self
I believe what’s most important is not just improving my English skills, but having a clear vision after becoming fluent.
But that wasn’t the real problem.
Rather than trying to speak English well, what is it that I really want to say?
What do I want to know about people?
What do I want people to know about me?
Now that I’m in my 30s, I’m at a life stage where I need to consider how I really want to live.
And I’m happy because I feel that I can approach learning English more seriously and with more ease than in the past.
Isn’t it very important for me to overcome my fear of speaking English?
It took me a long time to realize what’s truly important, but I’ve finally started to take a step into the wider world through learning English.
Beyond Being Japanese
Even now, few Japanese seriously learn English to communicate with people around the world.Strictly speaking, even if many study English, few try to use it practically or change their environment.
But, I believe that further globalization in Japan is inevitable.Because Japan’s declining birthrate and aging population are steadily increasing the need for foreign labor.
Nowadays, we can see many foreign workers in big cities like Tokyo.
For now, most foreign workers in Japan are hired at lower wages than Japanese, but it may only be a matter of time before the roles are reversed.
Compared to the West, Japan offers a reasonably good quality of life at a much lower cost. Services and products are high in quality, and most areas are very safe.
Once Japan creates a more welcoming environment for foreign workers, there will likely be a sharp increase in people coming from Europe and the West.
In such an environment, I believe Japanese people should be open to learning new values and perspectives from around the world.
For me, learning English is deeply meaningful, as it helps me gain a global perspective to understand the future of Japan and the world.