Actually, my purpose I’m studying English is not to gain high salary or climb a corporate ladder.
Today, I would like to share about why I studied English seriously.
An oppotunity
I started studying English seriously when I was around 31 because I thought I wanted to handle English.
At that time, my English level was too poor to listen normal conversation spoken in English though I studied from a junior high school to university.
What do you think why I started studying English around 31? For my career or higher salary? Unfortunately, both of them are incorrect.
It’s for my mother.
My mother and English
My mother started her own business in her twenties, and was teaching English to local students as an owner and teacher everyday.
The area I was living in didn’t have opportunities touching English on a regular basis because of a rural area. I remember that even an English teacher of the school I went to couldn’t speak English very well.
Under the circumstances, she was focusing on teaching hands-on English because she thought it was really important to make use of English as one of the tools of communication. At the peak, half of local junior high school students were studying English in her class. I was also one of her students, so she was my mother and teacher for me at that time.
At that time, I loved English. However, when I was a high school student, I started feeling sort of a sense of inferiority against her because she could speak English better than me. Thinking about it now, it’s a very little thing, but I couldn’t accept that because I was too young. I think you know what I mean like a kind of a complicated feeling for teenagers.
From then, I had distanced myself from English, and reminded myself ” I don’t study English because I don’t like it.” Plus, I was really tired of English taught in school that was only for a test.
Unexpected incident
Having such a feeling, I became a grown-up.
One day, my mother called, and said to me,
“Ryo, Cancer was found in my ovary.”
I said to her,
“Really? but I think you don’t need to be worried about that because you go to the hospital for a health checkup every year.”
A week later, a laparotomy was performed to check the progress of cancer.I went back to my hometown from Osaka to witness it.
The surgery was scheduled for three hours, but somehow it ended in an hour and a half, and relatives were called in.
Our doctor said to us,
“I couldn’t do anything at all because the cancer was spread more than I expected. If anti-cancer drugs doesn’t work, you need to prepare her death within a year.”
We were sentenced to death.
A word changed my life
After that, there were many things, but she has been still alive luckily without compromising her QOL though it reoccurs occasionally.
She liked English and lived with it, but she didn’t force me or my sister to study English.
However, when she took the first anti-cancer drug, she didn’t seem to remember, she said to me,
“Ryo, you didn’t get a job that required English after all.”
It was the first word in my life.
At that time, I realized what is the happiest thing for parents.
That is “Children love what their parents love, and they will go to a world they couldn’t go to.”
Address English
Then, I tackled with English seriously.Around this time, I trained English for at least 2hours every single day, 365 days a year even if I was on trips.Also, I took part in some volunteering events as an interpreter to improve my English skill because my previous company was not required English at all.
A few years later, I wanted to work in a more global environment, so I changed my job, and moved to Tokyo with my family.
More important things than English
I know a lot of Japanese workers are required to study English from companies.I’m feeling that it is essential to fight global competitors.
On the other hands, I still don’t think I’m studying English for work.It’s because my mother enjoyed English, so I want to enjoy it and interact with people from different countries like her.
I believe that will make her super happy.
In my case, it was English, but I think anything is fine.
From parents to children, or parents to grandchildren.
I feel that if we have even one common thing, my life will be enriched and be brighter.
After COVID-19 settle down, I want to go for a oversea trip with my parents and family.
Thank you
Rio