I wanna use English

Though I've been studying English for roughly 15 years, I can neither speak English nor understand spoken English very well. I think this is partly because English education in Japan makes too much of reading skill, not writing, listening, or speaking.

I don't mean I'm not to blame. I may not have been very enthusiastic about studying English. I studied it hardest at high school, but at that time I had to study not only English but also math, Japanese classics, world history, chemistry and so on. I studied them equally and evenly. I must admit I was not eager about English.

But still I think the way of teaching English in Japan is another factor. For example, entrance exams that I took required reading skill the most. In most English classes, I always had to read textbooks and translate them into Japanese. To put it simply, here is the result: I can read enough but cannot speak or listen enough. When I take TOEIC tests, my reading scores are better than listening scores, though it is said that the listening part is easier than the reading part in the test.

I think the problem is that I have studied and read (and even taught) English but I've hardly used English. That means it has not been necessary for me to use it. Why not? Japanese was enough to live. All of my friends have been Japanese, or at least good Japanese-speakers.

Now I realize it's important for me to use English. This diary is where I try to use it.