I have already written my greetings, my thoughts on this site, and details of the content I would like to share on this site in the “About” section, so here I would like to write a little bit about myself, especially about my encounters and realizations with English.
The Story of Me and English
I am neither a smart person nor a graduate of a famous university, but how was I able to become a self-taught guide interpreter?
It was after I finished raising my children and began to have doubts about my job as an English teacher for children, which I had been doing for about 20 years, that I learned about this job.
I wondered, “Did I really want to teach English?”
The ultimate question arose from the depths of my heart. Grammar, English tests…
“It’s not like that, is it?”
I liked talking with foreigners. It was simply fun.
I remembered that feeling.
I was born in the countryside of Nagano, but I remember learning English for a short period of time in the sixth grade from a woman in my neighborhood who was attending Shinshu University.
It was so long ago that I have forgotten the story, but the sound of her English was so pleasant and fresh that it was like something from another world.
I was a child, and I remember something growing in my heart.
It was my first encounter with English.
From then on, I found myself liking English.
It wasn’t that I was an outstanding student, but I enjoyed studying it more than any other subject. Or rather, I simply could not do too well in other subjects.
It’s not so rare now, but when I was on a school trip to Kyoto, I would speak to foreigners in English even though I couldn’t understand them.
After getting married, I lived in Los Angeles for about five years due to my husband’s job transfer.
However, if you ask me if that was the main reason why I improved my English, I don’t think it was necessarily yes. The evidence of this was the score of the STEP English test I took right after returning to Japan.
Having said that, my stay in the U.S. still has an important meaning in my English life.
It was the friends we met there and the many people we interacted with during our five years there.
They taught me new words, rephrased easily when I didn’t understand, and spoke slowly and clearly.
Most importantly, they did their best to understand my poor English and gave me a lot of confidence.
The five years in the U.S. was a second encounter!
As I already mentioned, right after returning to Japan, I took the STEP English test with full of confidence but failed.
I tried again, but failed the second time as well.
I couldn’t read, I couldn’t hear… There were many words that I had never encountered before.
I was so depressed because I realized how poor my English was!
So, I knocked on the door of a small English class.
The teacher I met there was a new encounter, or rather a shock.
She had no overseas experience, but her listening skills were divine!
Divinely awesome!
What I learned there is that listening is not only about listening skills.
Listening skills = listening + grammar + vocabulary ( + background knowledge is even better )
Thank God for this third encounter!
Looking back now, I think I was able to raise the level of my English ability during this period. I should have continued a little longer if I had wanted to.
And so the story of me and English continues, slowly and leisurely.
Biography and Qualifications
Career summary and qualifications
- National Government Licensed guide interpreter (English)
- Freelance English Instructor
- Foreign Language Volunteer Guide, Fujisawa City Tourism Association
- Onsen Sommelier
- Member of Enoshima and Fujisawa Guide Club
・Born in Nagano City, Nagano Prefecture
・Graduated from a fourth-year university in Tokyo with a degree in English Literature.
・Worked in the Personnel Section and Trade Section of a company listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
・After leaving the company, our son was born
・Moved to Los Angeles due to my spouse’s job transfer, stayed there for 5 years.
・During the stay in the U.S, our daughter was born there.
・Ran an English class, and taught as a main teacher for 22 years with unique curriculum and annual events till I became a guide.
・Foreign Language Volunteer Guide (English) of Fujisawa City Tourism Association Served as an instructor for a guide training course organized by the Tourism Association.
・Passed the Guide Interpreter Examination (English), a national qualification.
・Freelance English instructor
Examples of recent work
1) English seminar for station attendants, organized by the Passenger Section, Enoshima Electric Railway, since 2015 – present
2) Radio Lecture series “Enoshima Tourist Information in English”, organized by Fujisawa City Lifelong Learning Division, in 2019
3) English seminar “For 2020 Tokyo Olympics”, organized by Mutsuai Community Center, Fujisawa City,” in 2019
YouTube