Have you ever met someone who study Japanese as a second language? I visited and talked to students in SFCC and Shadle park high school last week who study Japanese as a second language. I felt very nervous because I had to talk to them in English. I had always been afraid of talking with someone whose mother tongue is English. I was really afraid of making mistakes in front of them. However this experience encouraged me to study other languages.
During this visiting, we could enjoy talking with many American students. We can practice speaking English, and they also can practice speaking Japanese. However I was really nervous. I thought when I talked with them, they would think I was poor at English. I love talking in English, but I always am upset when I talk with foreigner and I can’t make myself understood in English. But they talked to me a lot in Japanese! Of course, they made many mistakes but they didn’t seem to care about it. They tried to make themselves understood in Japanese. I was surprised at their effort. They study Japanese the same as I study English. But the biggest difference between them and me was confidence. I didn’t have confidence about my English skill and it hindered my communication with foreigner. However these students were different. Their confident encouraged them to speak Japanese. I learned that one of the importance features of speaking another language is confidence.
Since that time, I started to try to speak English without fear, and with confidence. When I spoke English before, I always tried not to make mistakes. Nevertheless now, I am trying to speak before thinking. The students gave me a strategy study English more successfully. I hope this experience help me improving my English skill.
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