I don't think that I have succeeded in learning English since I have still long way to go to achieve better English. However, it is also true that there are people who have not reached my level. If you are good enough at English, you better stop reading here. It's waste of time. But if you still want to improve, I hope that my writing can help you to learn English.

I work in a hotel where there are many guests from outside Japan. Most of the hotel clerks working with me did not study hard enough when they were students. At that time, they did not realize that they would need English in the future. When they started working in the hotel, they did not understand what the guests were saying and asking. But after one year or so, they can understand well enough to answer guests' requests. Of course, their English is not perfect but I am always impressed by them. I studied English really hard in high school and I am sure that I knew more vocabulary and grammar when I graduated from high school, but I did not speak English at all and I did not listen to it either. The reason why they can speak and I did not speak is that I did not have to speak English and my colleagues must speak English. Without English, the hotel does not run.

What is important when you are learning English is that you should feel that English is indispensable for your present or future life. Thus, the best way is to live in an English speaking country. You should put yourself in a situation where you cannot enjoy your life without English. One thing you'd better keep in mind is that Japanese speaking people are everywhere and it is easy to ask them for help. It is totally up to you whether you have an easy life with Japanese or struggle with improving your English.

If you don't have chances to live abroad, you've got to have clear reasons why you are learning English. You might say, 'I want to study abroad in future, so I have to improve my English' or ' I want to work in a international company, so I need English abilities,' Your reasons don't have to be reasonable for everyone else. Anything is fine, such as, ' I think that speaking in English is cool and I wanna be cool!'. Since there is a long way to go to learn a new language, those who know how to keep on learning everyday are the ones who will be successful at learning English. People with goals and clear reasons why they are learning English will continue to study.

Fortunately English is the most popular foreign language in Japan. It is not difficult to find English in our daily lives. I believe that one of the best ways to learn especially spoken English in Japan is with TV. There are many English movies and TV shows. You can tape and watch them many times till you can pick up each word. Of course you can buy tapes which are for English learning. But I don't recommend investing money only in these kind of tapes or only in English learning but use the same amount of money both for learning and for entertaining yourself. When you buy a new VCR, buy one which has the closed caption system, which definitely helps your listening. There is no relationship between how much you improve your English and how much money you spend on it. Also, there are so many learning materials which you can get for free, such as NHK(TV and radio) English conversation lessons. You should take advantage of it.

One of my friends who is living in the Netherlands told me that people there learn more from English TV shows than from schools. Actually, there are so many English shows on Dutch TV. On the other hand, for example, in Spain, almost all TV shows are Spanish and consequently only a few people can speak English in Spain. Learning foreign languages also includes learning foreign culture. TV gives us visual images, which is the most effective way of learning about new cultures. It is much easier to get some ideas about English culture than from books or radio programs. In this sense, it is worth using TV for your English learning.

An English teacher once told me that learning languages is just like pouring water in a huge bucket. At first, even though you pour water in it, nothing happens except the water lever is moving up. This is the same period when you are taking a lot of English shower but cannot understand. However, after a certain period, water starts overflowing from the bucket. This means that you start actually understanding what is said in English.

Keep on studying English with clear reasons and goals without spending a lot of money on it. The day when you feel comfortable with your English will come for sure. You just don't know when it will come.

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