They are busy, but they enjoy both.
My son is not shy, he wants to speak in English and has made a lot of friends in school.
My daughter is shy and not good at speaking.
She had a very hard time at the local school in her first week.
(I will write about this later, it's a long story.)
But she has been getting used to being there little by little and could make good friends there.
They started learning English in January from online Japanese teachers.
The teachers were amazing and very kind to my children.
My son seemed to be good at remembering language, he learned very quickly.
But my daughter didn't.
She enjoyed the English lesson, she liked her teacher, but she forgot what she learned easily.
Actually, she didn't even know ABC's.
I think she tried her best.
But she needed more courage to speak in English.
When we moved to the US, it was during the summer vacation.
Even though I took them to the park, supermarket, museum, and so on, my children didn't have any opportunity to speak in English because I had to speak instead of them.
For example, I let them buy something at a food stand.
I told them,
"Say 'one hot dog and one French fry, please' to the staff."
My son tried to say it to the staff, but the staff couldn't understand him because his pronunciation was not good.
My daughter tried to say it to the staff, but the staff couldn't understand her because she was shy and her voice was too quiet.
In this case, the staff asked me with troubled face what we wanted to order.
I thought that was too difficult for them, so I suggested to them:
"Why don't you try to say hello to people who pass on the street?"
I thought it would be an easy thing for them to try.
Actually, we don't have such a custom in Japan.
If people we do not know say hello to us in Japan, most of us would be surprised and think:
"Oh, who was she/she? Did I see them before? If so, I might have ignored him/her. I wonder who he/she was..."
Of course, NOT all Japanese people have this reaction.
Some of us would say hello and some of us would ignore it.
But here in the US, people tend to be more social and say hi more often than the Japanese.
I like this custom very much.
They named this the "Hello Project" and started trying to say hello to the people who met on the street, near our house, at the park, and so on.
The reactions from the people who were said hello to by the children were very interesting.
Some of them seemed to be surprised at first, then smiled and said hi to them.
Some of them didn't say anything.
My children were disappointed to see such a reaction, but I explained this to my children like this:
"There are various kinds of people. Some people say hello, but some don't. That's same in Japan, too. You don't have to be disappointed even if they don't react to you."
One day, they said hello to a young man who was walking near the supermarket.
He answered "Hi, how are you?" so fast.
My children took some time to understand what they said.
A while after we passed the man, my son finally said "I'm good, thank you. And you?".
But he already had gone far from us by that time, but he said to them in a loud voice:
"Good thanks!"
We were very glad to see his reaction.
This event encouraged my children very much.
I think language learners need courage when we try to speak in foreign languages for the first time.
But when we find that they can understand what we say, we feel very happy and it encourages us a lot.
I wanted my children to experience a small success and a sense of grafual achievement little by little.
I believe that little improvement will build up and they will become confident.
And the same goes for me.
After I moved to the US, I had to adapt to the new environment.
I sometimes hesitated to try speaking and was disappointed because I couldn't do it well.
I didn't want my children to hear my complaints, but it made me drive into a corner.
When I felt tired and troubled, I shut myself in my house and didn't go out all day.
I called to my mother using my iPad and told her how I had a hard time getting used to my new life.
She listened to my story patiently.
Thanks to her, I was able to feel better.
I believe it's sometimes OK if I want to take a rest.
Little by little, I want my children to enjoy their life, and I also want to enjoy my life in the US.
Hello !
ReplyDeleteI totally understand you and your children. I am shy too and used to be terrified to speak in english (or japanese since I have been learning it). It's even more difficult with american people as they hardly understand non-American speaking people. I use english everyday in my job (I'm an air traffic controller) and I don't have much trouble with english people (even if I have a quite strong french accent) but Americans make me repeat all the time...
For you and your children : "Gambatte kudasai". You are doing a great job and think you are all very brave !
Hi HélèneM, thank you for the comment.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised that you speak English well but Americans make you repeat all the time. I guess they just reconfirm you.
It was good to know that not only we but also you and other a lot of language learners might have the same feeling.
Thank you for your encouragement.
"Arigatougozaimasu, ganbarimasu!"
Hello Kumi,
ReplyDeleteThe "Hello Project" sounds fun, though I do not think it would work very well in England, which is unfortunate. I am glad your children and you are growing in confidence.
Here is the list of issues I found with the post:
Part 1:
This line:
But she has been getting used to there little by little and could make good friends there.
Should be:
But she has been getting used to being there little by little and could make good friends there.
This line:
They started learning English from January from online Japanese teachers.
Could be reworded:
They started learning English in January from online Japanese teachers.
This line:
The teachers were very amazing and kind to my children.
Should be:
The teachers were amazing and very kind to my children.
This line:
My son seemed to be good at remembering language, he could learn very quickly.
Should be:
My son seemed to be good at remembering language, he learned very quickly.
This line:
Actually, she even didn't know ABC.
Should be:
Actually, she didn't even know her ABC's.
This line:
For example, I let them to buy something at a food stand.
Should be:
For example, I let them buy something at a food stand.
This line:
My daughter tried to say it to the staff, but he also couldn't her because she was shy and her voice was too small.
Should be:
My daughter tried to say it to the staff, but she also couldn't because she was shy and her voice was too quiet.
Part 2:
ReplyDeleteThis line:
In such case, the staff asked me with troubled face what we wanted to order.
Should be:
(As a result/In this case), the staff asked me with a troubled face what we wanted to order.
This line:
I thought that was still difficult for them, so I suggested to them like this.
Could be reworded:
I thought that was too difficult for them, so I suggested to them:
This line:
I thought it was easy for them to try.
Should be:
I thought it would be an easy thing for them to try.
This line:
If we are said hello from strangers in Japan, most of us would be surprised and think like that,
Should be:
If people we do not know say hello to us in Japan, most of us would be surprised and think:
This line:
"Oh, who was she/she? Did I see before? If so, I might have ignored him/her. I wonder who he/she was..."
Should be:
"Oh, who was he/she? Did I see them before? If so, I might have ignored him/her. I wonder who he/she was..."
This line:
Of course, this reaction is NOT for all Japanese.
Should be:
Of course, NOT all Japanese people have this reaction.
This line:
But here in the US, people tend to say hi friendlier than Japanese.
Could be reworded:
But here in the US, people tend to be more social and say hi more often than the Japanese.
This line:
They named this "Hello Project" and started trying to say hello to the people who met on the street, near our house, at the park, and so on.
Should be:
They named this the "Hello Project" and started trying to say hello to the people who they met on the street, near our house, at the park, and so on.
Part 3:
ReplyDeleteThis line:
The reactions from the people who were said hello by children were very interesting.
Should be:
The reactions from the people who were said hello to by the children were very interesting.
This line:
My children were disappointed to see such a reaction, but I persuaded my children like this.
Should be:
My children were disappointed to see such a reaction, but I explained this to my children like this:
This line:
"There are various kinds of people. Some people say hello but some don't. That's same in Japan, too. You don't have to be disappointed even if they don't react to you."
Should be:
"There are various kinds of people. Some people say hello, but some don't. That's the same in Japan, too. You don't have to be disappointed even if they don't react to you."
This line:
My children took time to understand what they said.
Should be:
My children took (a while/some time) to understand what he said.
This line:
After we passed each other a while, my son finally said "I'm good, thank you. And you?".
Should be:
A while after we passed by the man, my son finally said "I'm good, thank you. And you?".
This line:
But he already went far from us at that time, but he told to them in a loud voice,
Should be:
But had already gone far (by/from) us by that time, but he said to them in a loud voice:
This line:
This happening encouraged my children very much.
Should be:
This event encouraged my children very much.
Or:
This encouraged my children very much.
This line:
But when we find that they can understand what we say, we feel happy very much and it encourages us a lot.
Should be:
But when we find that they can understand what we say, we feel very happy and it encourages us a lot.
Part 4:
ReplyDeleteThis line:
I wanted my children to experience a small success and achievement little by little.
Should be:
I wanted my children to experience a small success and a sense of gradual achievement.
This line:
I believe that it will pile up and become their confidence one day.
Should be:
I believe that little improvements will build up and they will become confident.
This line:
I sometimes hesitated to try and was disappointed because I couldn't do it well.
Should be:
I sometimes hesitated to try speaking and was disappointed because I was unable to do it well.
This line:
I didn't want to hear my complaints to my children, but it made me drive into a corner.
Reason: I do not know what it means.
This line:
When I felt tired and troublesome, I shut myself in my house and didn't go out all day.
Should be:
When I felt tired and (troubled/stressed), I shut myself in my house and didn't go out all day.
This line:
I called to my mother using my iPad and told how I had a hard time to get used to the new life.
Should be:
I called my mother using my iPad and told her how I had a hard time getting used to my new life.
This line:
She listened my story patiently.
Should be:
She listened to my story patiently.
This line:
Thanks to her, I could feel better.
Should be:
Thanks to her, I was able to feel better.
This line:
I believe it's sometimes OK if I want to do so.
Does it mean:
I believe it's Ok if I get stressed that I talk over my problems with my mother.
Thank you Terry, I didn't know that the voice is "quiet", not "small"!
DeleteSorry for the late reply, glad I was able to help. 😃
Delete