ごきげんよう。
最後の先生インタビューは初の英語バージョンでお届けします！
わかりやすい英語でお話ししてくれましたので、ぜひ最後までお読みください♪ Let’s try!
Mr.Joshua（English）
Live in Japan for 8 years
Interviewer: Hello! GOKIGENYO! First of all, I’m not good at English. So…please use simple English. Well then, please introduce yourself.
Mr.Joshua: OK. My name is Joshua and I’m from the United States of America. I have lived in Japan for 8 years. I’ve been teaching at Takinogawa school for 5 years.
Interviewer: So long.
Mr.Joshua: Yes, I feel very lucky to teach at this school. I studied History in University, but now, I teach English. And my hobby is reading books and going hiking.
Interviewer: What kind of book do you read?
Mr.Joshua: I like mysteries and I’m reading a Miyuki Miyabe book now.
Not only learning English but also speaking ability
Interviewer: Thank you. Then, what classes do you teach?
Mr.Joshua: I teach all grades, from junior high school to high school. My classes are conversation classes. So, I want to teach students English conversation skills. So they can practice speaking and talking together.
Interviewer: So they speak only English in class.
Mr.Joshua: Yes, only English.
Interviewer: What is the point of the lessons?
Mr.Joshua: I hope that, in my class, students can get confident in speaking English. And I hope they feel comfortable, even if they make mistakes, to keep trying and trying to speak more. And I hope that they learn English skills as well as speaking skills.
Interviewer: I think everyone doesn’t want to make mistakes, so everyone will not talk.
Mr.Joshua: Maybe they are nervous. I’m from America, in our schools, all students must speak a lots and share their opinions. I hope, even though we are in Japan, I can help students share their opinions and talk about their ideas and their dreams. I hope they can feel comfortable talking in my class.
Interviewer: It’s important to talk a lot.
“I really like the teamwork, the power of supporting each other.”
Interviewer: Then, what is your impression* of Takinogawa students?(*印象)
Mr.Joshua: I think Takinogawa students are very polite* and very kind. I really like the teamwork, the power of supporting each other, and I enjoy their energy.(*丁寧）
Interviewer: Are students actively taking classes?
Mr.Joshua: I think so. Even if the class is difficult, they always try their best. So I hope even if English is difficult or confusing*, they continue to try their best and keep talking. （*まぎらわしい）
Interviewer: It’s important to keep talking.
Mr.Joshua: I think so, too.
“I loved learning about different places”
Interviewer: Next, I want to ask about your junior high school and high school experience. What were you interested in?
Mr.Joshua: When I was a student, I loved books and stories. So now, in my class, I like when students can tell stories and can read and talk about books. That makes me happy. And when I was a student, I loved music.
Interviewer: What kind of music?
Mr.Joshua: I played in a Jazz band, I played jazz trumpet.
Interviewer: Really!
Mr.Joshua: Yes, I loved jazz music.
Interviewer: Are you still playing the trumpet?
Mr.Joshua: I’m very bad, but I enjoy playing it.
Interviewer: You said that you studied history in university, so history was your favorite subject?
Mr.Joshua: Yes. Even though I’m now English teacher, I loved reading books about history and stories.
Interviewer: What history?
Mr.Joshua: I loved World history. I loved learning about different places, Africa, Asia…it was very interesting.
”Don’t stop studying”
Interviewer: Then next question, when did you start learning Japanese? You speak Japanese very well.
Mr.Joshua: Hahaha, I’m very bad! When I was high school student, my school had a Japanese class. And, my older brother studied Japanese and he showed me KANJI. I thought “KANJI are beautiful!” and “I want to learn Japanese!”. So tried Japanese, but it was very difficult. After I finished school, I forgot a lot.
Interviewer: Hahaha
Mr.Joshua: So when I moved to Japan, I had to study more. So I try to tell students ”Don’t stop studying”.
Interviewer: I have to study English more and more, too.
Mr.Joshua: I have to study Japanese, too.
Teaching English in Japan
Interviewer: Why did you decide to teach English in Japan?
Mr.Joshua: Well…I was working as a butcher*. It was very fun, but very cold and very dangerous. My father recommended going to Japan. So I thought it was a good chance to experience a new culture, and I wanted to study Japanese again. I came here and met many kind people, so I’m very happy to have a new start.（*お肉屋さん）
Interviewer: Is that so?
Mr.Joshua: I love books and stories, so teaching English is a chance to share stores and talk together. I think it’s really fun and interesting to do that.
Interviewer: Is it difficult to teach English in Japan?
Mr.Joshua: I think Japanese and English are very different, the grammar and the vocabulary. So I know it’s a challenge for students. English is different from Japanese. When I teach, I try to built from very simple English so that they can start with something easy and then become more and more interesting.
Interviewer: In Japan, I think, everyone feels that English is complicated*. (*複雑な）
Mr.Joshua: In America, we think Japanese is very complicated!
Interviewer: Hahaha, that’s right.
Mr.Joshua: Maybe both languages are difficult.
Message for preparatory students
Interviewer: Finally, Please give a message to preparatory students*.(*受験生)
Mr.Joshua: Even though English is difficult, I think learning to speak English is very fun. When you speak English, it’s OK to make mistakes and it’s OK to have trouble, so keep trying and trying. That is the best way to build confidence* and to enjoy communication with people.（*自信）
Interviewer: Thank you very much!
いかがだったでしょうか？
「間違ってもいいからたくさん話しましょう」というお言葉には勇気づけられますね。
私も英語の勉強をし直そうと思いました！
