My Resolution, My Story, My Solution!

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Your own best solution is out there, waiting for you, and you can find it, but not by chance. You can find it, and you can become bilingual, but only if you resolve to!

Teachers, classmates, and all Mayflower friends: I have come here tonight to make a resolution before you all.

I will become a bilingual speaker!

YES! I’ll achieve spoken, native-like fluency and pronunciation in English, equal to my fluency in Japanese. What has brought me here, to this dramatic moment? And furthermore, what will I do to achieve my goal?

Well, let me start by telling you my story!
Like many of you, I have a long history of studying English, full of ups and downs. And until a few years ago, I’d actually given up on becoming bilingual. But, a few years ago, I turned forty. And I realized something important:

I am not getting any younger!

That’s right! So I thought hard about how I could best use my time from here on out. It was then that I decided to restart my English studies.

Well, it has been a long and difficult struggle. At times, my own lack of ability, and my limited progress, have been disappointing to me. But recently, I have been able to see a small light far away at the end of this long, long tunnel. This light, I believe, is a coming breakthrough in my English studies. Seeing THIS light made me decide to devote all of my time and energy to learning English.

And that is why I have resolved to become a bilingual speaker.

So what made me see this light in the first place? Several things.

Have you ever heard of “critical period hypothesis“? Even if you have never heard of it before, you probably know what it means. This theory has been long debated by language acquisition experts.

Actually, I was one of the believers of this theory. Yes! I had some friends who became bilinguals by studying after they became adults. But I thought they where just exceptions; people with special abilities.

According to it, the most important window for learning the English language ends when we are about 12 years old. After this time, a language which we haven’t started to learn, cannot fully be learned. In other words, if we miss this window, we can never become bilingual.

Tragic…

Why? Because many people actually believe this bogus theory!

That is why many parents want their children to start studying English from an early age. And that is why the Japanese government decided to have English lessons at elementary schools. Actually, I was one of the believers of this theory. Yes! I had some friends who became bilinguals by studying after they became adults. But I thought they where just exceptions; people with special abilities.

I was wrong!

I recently found an interesting article in the “BBC learning English” website. It stated that this theory has recently been completely rejected by some linguists. That’s because they discovered many successful cases of bilingual people who missed the critical period window. That information helped me to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Of course, adult learners have a lot of disadvantages. One disadvantage is imitation. This is one of the key factors in learning English. Children can easily acquire this ability. Adults have difficulty with it.

Another disadvantage is that adults have too much experience using their mother tongue. That prevents them from easily acquiring a second language. For example, in my case, I tend to think in Japanese, even when I speak English. Additionally, adults are much busier than children. So they can’t spend so much time on studying English.

But, adults DO have some advantages! For example: having strong opinions, having a lot to say, or being capable of various modes of conversation.

Still, I have to admit that it difficult for adults to master English. I’m older than many of you here tonight. So achieving my goal will be a kind of experiment in this field. And that is why I am here tonight.

So, what will I do to achieve my goal of becoming bilingual?

The “BBC” website gave me some very simple advice: “Practice as much as possible. Try and totally immerse yourself in English”. Another article advised me that: “personal motivation, pressure, input and output skills, and making a time commitment” were are all necessary for language study.

Yes, yes! I knew these things already!

But what should I do to master English effectively? That is what I really wanted to know. Unfortunately, 95% of the time, I use Japanese. During my busy day, I speak Japanese, write Japanese, and think in Japanese.

So then, I should create some situation forces me to immerse myself in English, right?

OK!

I decided to make it a rule to do the following things:

1. Listen to English news, BBC or CNN, at least 30 minutes, but hopefully 1-2 hours, a day. If I do not understand something, I will try to check the video online. I will listen to it again and again, and read the script.
2. Read at least 5 English articles a week. I will try to read a variety of articles, from world affairs to local news.
3. Learn at least 10 new useful vocabulary words a week. This includes learning the definitions in English.
4. Do output practice at least 5 minutes a day. Besides pronunciation practice, I have started to practice summarizing. Trying to explain my thoughts briefly.

In order to increase my motivation, I have also set a goal for my English improvement. I want to use English with confidence in my work as an editor. I’d like to communicate with people in English effectively. Both in my work, and in my private life.

For me, what to talk about, and how to speak, are equally important. I’d like to be an English speaker who can talk about something meaningful. Meaningful for both for you, for me, and for anyone. In a pleasant way, and with natural pronunciation. So I need to practice all of these things.

It sounds like I’ll be busy, yes?

Yes, but this is what I have resolved to do.

It’s my solution. I’m sure that for each and every person, there is a best way. Of course, if I already knew this, I would be the author of a best-selling English book, and I wouldn’t be speaking here tonight!

So, practically speaking, I’d like to tell all of you here: please find your own best way to be come bilingual!

Your own best solution is out there, waiting for you, and you can find it, but not by chance. You can find it, and you can become bilingual, but only if you resolve to!

My name is Eriko, and I welcome your questions!

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Mayflower英語教室
週末は英語漬け!
http://msoe.jp/

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