【Document】Can aspirations be realized!? What I've seen after continuing morning English conversation for 3 months with "If I could speak English"

I love traveling abroad, so every time I go on a trip, I think, "If only I could speak English, it would be cool." When someone gives me directions or when I want to chat a bit with store staff. Each time I travel, I can only speak Japanese, and it ends with me just saying thank you with a smile. When I return to Japan, that feeling gets lost in my everyday life, and I forget it again. I've been repeating this for decades.

I really enjoy talking to people, so I've thought it would be fun to make friends by talking to various people while traveling. That's why I always thought, "I should study English conversation," but the timing was difficult.

However, after I sent off my kids in July, I realized that I had free time every day from 9 to 10 in the morning. So I finally decided to give online English conversation a try.

My ultimate goal is to "become fluent in English." I want to communicate over the language barrier, make friends, and learn about the culture and way of thinking of that country. A routine to gradually shape that longing has begun.

There are various ways to learn English nowadays, including apps and methods to talk to AI. I haven't compared it to AI yet, but since I enjoy talking to people, I started with an online English conversation program that focuses on "talking to people" from the beginning.

The online English conversation program I signed up for has a "premium plan," which allows unlimited "immediate lessons" for a monthly fee of 7,480 yen. Each lesson lasts up to 25 minutes. I take two lessons each day, but the monthly fee remains the same.

After sending the children to daycare and elementary school, I take lessons between 9 and 10 in the morning. Since English requires a lot of mental effort, I wanted to finish it in the morning before I get tired.

There were countless teaching materials available, but after consulting in counseling, I decided to structure it as news for the first session and speaking for the second. In the first 25 minutes, I use news that is updated daily. I read articles on current events, check any unfamiliar words with the teacher, and discuss my thoughts on the news in English with the teacher.

After a 5-minute break, the second 25 minutes are spent using speaking materials. We answer questions in English based on pictures. For example, in the material about "makeup," it starts by answering what the person in the picture is doing. Then the questions progress to why people wear makeup, how they view beauty, and how they feel about men wearing makeup nowadays.

Both the news and speaking topics change every day. Because the topics are different every day, I can continue without getting bored. Many questions do not have a single answer, which allows me to express my thoughts in English. After sending the children off, I sit at the desk and open my computer. I book the lessons in advance, and at 9 o'clock, I connect with the teacher and talk while seeing each other's faces on the screen. The second session ends just before 10. Exactly one hour, and the day's English conversation concludes.

I have chosen a favorite teacher. It seems wasteful to start with self-introductions every time the teacher changes, considering the limited time. With the same teacher, I can continue the conversation from where we left off last time.

The teaching materials I decided on during the free counseling were chosen according to my level by conveying my current situation and goals. During the lessons, I sometimes ask the teacher what kind of materials would be suitable for my level.

Before starting, I thought that just speaking in English would make me a bit tense. I was overly concerned about making mistakes or not being able to express myself well.

What surprised me when I actually tried it was that even when speaking through the screen, talking while looking at the other person's face conveys more than I expected. Even if I couldn't find the right words, sometimes I could communicate through expressions and gestures, and I realized that “conversations can progress even if you can't say it perfectly.”

Among the moments I was happy to experience while continuing every day, it was that as I continued talking with the same teacher, our small talk gradually got longer. Hearing about the teacher's country and their daily life made me feel a little closer to my initial goal of "wanting to know the culture of other countries."

And the biggest change might be that I no longer resist speaking English. Because I continue every day, there are times when I can use what I learned yesterday in today’s lesson. When I was able to naturally use phrases I learned the day before in the next day’s small talk, I felt a small sense of achievement. I'm feeling like what I've learned is gradually taking root.

Of course, I haven’t become fluent in three months. However, the feeling of words flowing smoothly from my mouth has increased compared to when I started.

I feel that there are three key points that make it easier to continue.

The first point is to set a specific time. I have decided that from 9 to 10 a.m. after sending my children off is when I will study.

The second point is to stick with the same teacher. It saves time that would be spent reintroducing myself, allowing me to make the most of the limited time.

The third point is to choose the study materials during a free counseling session at the beginning. There was almost no time spent wondering where to start.

In my case, the cost is fixed monthly, and it doesn’t change if I take lessons twice a day. The ability to continue every day without worrying about the number of lessons was a significant advantage for me. Since online lessons can be completed at home, there is no travel time involved.

Even though I continue daily English conversation, my work, life, and conversations with people are mostly in Japanese in my daily routine. Considering that, I feel that 25 minutes is not enough, and even 50 minutes still feels insufficient. So, once my work settles down a bit more, I would like to try dedicating about three hours in the morning for English conversation in a "one-person home study abroad." If I actually do this, I hope to share the experience on another occasion.

It may still take time until I become fluent and can talk to various people from around the world. Even so, continuing every day gives me the feeling that I am gradually getting closer to that ideal. For a little while longer, I plan to continue my one hour of study on weekday mornings.

Interview and text by SYURI