It’s been 5 years since I started living in Australia. When I first came to Australia, my English was low and I could hardly speak. I didn’t even know what the other person was saying, and I often cheated with a friendly laugh. If you live in Japan, you rarely have the opportunity to speak English, so your English ability will not improve naturally. Here I would like to talk about why I was able to improve my English.
Going to local school
Go to working holiday
Recently, thanks to a system called Working Holiday, I can easily get a visa and can go abroad. The visa allows me to go to local schools, work, and is a dream visa for anyone who wants to live abroad and experience a lot.
By the way, it may be a little wrong to say that if you go to a local school, you will definitely improve your English. Because it depends on the person and the school. For example, even if you go to a local school, your English will not improve if you are only with Japanese friends. Schools also have different lesson content depending on the teacher, so you have to choose carefully. For example, there is a problem that there are many simple lessons, such as a lesson in which only shiritori games are played in English and a lesson in which something is examined on a personal computer.
Language schools have fairly high tuition fees, so even if you can say “touch English” in these classes, you can’t say “speak English”. I regret not choosing a school that suits me properly by understanding the content of the lessons.
Recommended schools where you can get qualifications
For me, if I go to a local school, I think it would be better to go to a school where I can get some qualifications instead of a language school. TAFE, a school mediated by the famous Australian country, also offers classes with various qualifications.
For example, there are courses where you can qualify as a childcare worker, where you can learn cooking for a chef qualification, or where you can qualify as a car mechanic. It will be good for the future, and since the school will also give lessons to get qualifications, we will not develop “classes that only let you experience English”. The quality of the teacher will also be high. Therefore, your English ability will improve!
Get the local job
Getting the local job is the shortcut to study English
I think working locally is the quickest way to improve your English. However, the kitchen hand of a Japanese restaurant is an exception because it only speaks Japanese. However, if you work in a hall at a Japanese restaurant, you will have to answer the phone and serve customers, so you will have the opportunity to learn business English and customer service English and speak English.
You can also work in the kitchen at a local restaurant. Since there will be few Japanese staff, communication skills in English will inevitably be required.
Work at a working hostel
I was working as a receptionist at a working hostel. I think this job has helped me improve my English considerably. Multinational guests come to the hostel. Accents are completely different depending on the country, and some people are easy to hear and others are not. Some people spoke slowly when I couldn’t hear English, while others wondered why such a person was working at the reception.
As you repeat such things, your ears will gradually get used to it, and you will be able to remember and hear the pronunciation habits of each country. By being able to hear, you will be able to have a conversation and improve your English conversation skills.
You have to put some effort!!
No matter how much you study writing for someone who wants to speak English, your speaking ability will not improve. Similarly, if a person who wants to improve his / her grammar skills keeps talking, no matter how much he / she talks, he / she will not acquire the correct grammar. My friend who is fluent in English was as good at English as a native speaker. However, whenever I was walking around or spending time in a cafe, I was always trying to learn new words, write them in the palm of my hand, and memorize them. Thinking that her studies are endless, I am also influenced by her and try to find out the meaning of words she does not know.
In the end, the final conclusion is that it’s up to you. Schools and workplaces support studying English and are a shortcut to learning English, but it is difficult to improve your English without your own efforts.
