Hip Editorial Thinking

The 13thlanguage ability

I wrote last time about going abroad, but it is more desirable to go alone if possible.

You can change your travel plans at will and go where you want to go. You can spend all day in a museum you just wandered into without worrying about anyone else. You can drink and eat whatever you want, and you are free to go to bed and wake up whenever you want. But more than that, it is a good opportunity to look at yourself.

As those who have traveled alone will know, being alone in a foreign country where you do not speak the language can sometimes make you feel as if you have become invisible. Is it the effect of a kind of alien atmosphere that one does not feel at home in? In "Englishman in New York," Sting sings about the pride and alienation of being an alien.

Life is thin without a little homesickness once in a while. Being in a place you don't always belong is a good time to come face to face with the philosopher in you.

When traveling alone (even if you are not traveling alone), it is very important to interact with local people. Whether shopping or ordering food at a restaurant, it is better to have the ability to converse with the locals. You may hear useful information and interesting stories.

The conversation here is, of course, in English. The shared language of the world. Lingua Franca. About 1.5 billion people use it as a tool for communication, either as their native language or as a second language. If you are an English speaker, you will have no trouble anywhere in the world.

As we are all painfully aware, we are not very good at English. Many people laugh at themselves and wonder why they cannot learn to speak English after studying it for six years in junior high and high school, but it is only natural. Research has shown that acquiring a new language after a certain age requires tremendous effort. Moreover, if the language system is similar to that of the original, it is almost as if it were the opposite.

Most people who return from a few days in a foreign country for sightseeing or work say, "I should study English," but I have never heard them put it into practice. They have to do it, but they don't.

It's like the towering "F chord" wall when you start learning to play the guitar.

The guitar is played by holding the strings with the left hand and plucking them with the right hand, and there are several forms that are specific to the left hand. The first obstacle is the valley chord, in which all the strings are held with the index finger of the left hand, and each finger must be held in its designated place with the rest of the fingers. Most people are discouraged by this difficulty and never go on. It is like a last boss that suddenly appears when you are at level 2 or 3. It is so strong in relation to the level that everyone says, "I can't play this damn game! I can't play this shitty game!

English is no different.

Everyone knows basic grammar and vocabulary because they learned it in compulsory education. They remember a few difficult words due to the remnants of examinations, but in practice they are at a level where they cannot even defeat slime, so when they decide to study, they give up before the level 2 level-up sound is heard. I think most of them give up because they can't improve at all.

However, learning a language, like learning a musical instrument, is something that can only be acquired through repeated practice, layered thinly like applying poison oak over and over again, until it becomes thicker, and then you have to make a mind-boggling effort to learn it. Only those who can play the guitar day in and day out, and in their free time, can become professional guitarists. A certain guitarist, when asked in an interview how many hours he plays guitar every day, replied, "I play all the time except when I go to the bathroom, have a meal, or go to bed.

Surrounded by native speakers and chatting with them!

There are several prominent English conversation schools in front of train stations, and there is always an English section in every bookstore. While neighboring South Korea is also said to have a high fever for English, the people of East Asia, including China, have special feelings toward this language. It is a complicated love-hate relationship. It is frustrating, however, that we cannot ignore it.

Then we have to change our minds around here and really learn.

There is a law called the Law of 10,000 Hours. It is a phrase from a book written by Malcolm Gladwell, a former newspaper reporter, that says it takes 10,000 hours to master something. Three hours a day for a year is about 1000 hours. ×X 10 years. It certainly sounds like you can master anything. This applies to musical instruments and languages as well.

It is indeed a mind-boggling time, but those who do it, do it, and those who don't, stay still forever. Then they come back from overseas and mumble the same line again.

Some people think that you have to study abroad to master the language, but this is not true. There are those who study abroad but never come out of Japanese society and cannot speak at all.

In short, it's a matter of motivation. I know a number of people who have never left Japan but speak fluent English.

Don't look for excuses, if you want to do it, do it.

In many cases, especially in editorial work, we are forced to use English. This is true for communication with foreign models, but it is also not uncommon for them to go abroad for interviews.

So where should we start?

That depends on your English ability at the moment, but the following is the truth.

...a sentence you don't understand when you read it, you don't understand when you hear it.
I can't hear a word that can't be uttered.
...Can't form sentences if you don't know the grammar (can't ask or answer questions)

There is no end to what I can write, but it seems to me that a shortcut, albeit a roundabout one, is to start over properly with junior high school English.

Just like a musical instrument or a sport, you don't get good at it just by reading a book. You have to practice repeatedly. Memorize the Japanese sentences in your junior high school English textbook by speaking them out loud until you can instantly say them in English. It may take months, but this will definitely improve your conversational ability. Or rather, you will be able to speak.

This is level 1.

Once this is cleared, the rest of the levels will go up and up and up. At the same time, the study load will decrease, so it will be easier to continue.

Then, if you repeat this for years, you will be able to clear even a small rathole lightly.

Do you want to join the circle of native speakers and have a frank chat with them?

Let that be a goal for the next life.