LETTER FROM HAPPY ENGLISH SCHOOL　　April 21st, 2022

Hello, how have you been doing? Have you made it a habit to study English at home every day or, if not every day, at least once a week? If you do not use English almost every day, you are likely to lose it. You should consciously make efforts to listen to, read, write or speak English on a regular basis, otherwise your English might go rusty.

Learning English takes a lot of time especially for Japanese people as there are not many common expressions between English and Japanese and English word order and Japanese word order are quite different. Cultural differences between Japan and English speaking countries reflect on our ways of thinking, and naturally, so do they on the languages, which also makes the two languages distinct from each other. What is more, there is little chance of speaking English in Japan. People may find it unnecessary to practice speaking English.

Still, make English a language of everyday use so that you have a good command of it. Now that you come to study, spending extra time and money on the language, why don’t you try to become bilingual? We would like to generously support you in any possible way to master English. Our goals are to further improve your English to the extent that you use English like Japanese. I mean that you can use English more at home by speaking it and recording your speech on your smartphone or IC recorder. You listen to your recording and self-correct it or get a teacher to correct it. Indeed, you can practice speaking in such a way by yourself in addition to your reading, listening, and writing practice. You can also practice speaking with your like-minded friends. However, as for writing practice, you had better have a teacher check your writing because there is sometimes no one correct answer to it, nor to your speaking.

We had a very good time at Cindy’s farewell party. There were thirty-eight people at the party and we were enchanted by a street performer’s magic and acrobatics, and on top of that we were excited by a Japanese drum group’s dynamic and exciting beats.

After that, we had a flea market, selling and buying the items we brought to the market. Also, I asked for a donation to refugees from Ukraine and other parts of the world and the donation amounted to 5,030 yen. Thank you so much for your cooperation. I have sent it to the Mainichi Social Welfare Foundation. At the end of the party, we sang a good-bye song and Cindy delivered her farewell speech. She later sent me her farewell address.

★Here is Cindy’s farewell address.

I want to thank Becky for organizing a wonderful farewell party. Thank you to everyone who came and made it such a memorable occasion. I’m happy to have met and taught so many motivated and dedicated students who have made my job so interesting and enjoyable. Whether you are studying English for enjoyment, for brain health or for future employment, it is always a worthwhile activity.

I hope you all continue with your English studies and continue enjoying English. I will miss all of you and hope to see you in Australia in the future.

  春休みはどう過ごしていましたか。毎日英語を使う習慣がつきましたか。

毎日とは言わないまでも、少なくとも週に一度は家でも英語を使うことを習慣にしてください。日本で、英語を話す環境のないところで、英語を使うということはなかなか難しいと思うでしょう。しかしながら、自分で話して録音し、自分で聞いて修正することができるし、先生などに修正してもらうこともできます。また友達と練習することもできます。英語を聞く、読む、書くことも家でできます。ただ、書くことは話すこと同様、答えがないので間違いをチェックしてもらうほうが良いです。

Cindyのfarewell partyは長居のユースホステルで4月3日に行われました。

大道芸・Mr. Okuchiのマジックとアクロバットと、飛龍のの和太鼓は圧巻でした。その後フリーマーケットを行い、難民のための寄付も集めました。

5,030円集まり、いくらか足して毎日社会事業団に送りました。ご協力ありがとうございました。Cindyがいなくてさびしくなりましたが、残りのスタッフ、Shoko, Julia, Zak, Hamish、Becky, Yoshiで頑張っています。何でも英語に関することを気軽に質問ください。そして、とにかくいろんな英語を使うように私たちと練習してください。英語を日本語と同様に使えるバイリンガルを目指しましょう。