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English group riding high: Fluency up at advanced study session

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(Nov. 22, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/language/20071122TDY14001.htm

Kiyomi Arai / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer

It may not be appropriate to say that the group of people gathered in a room at an Osaka hall in mid-October were learning English, as the level of their English was impressively high. But the study session has been active for more than eight years because people keep coming back.

Bijinesu Eigo Kenkyu-kai (Business English Study Group) is a group in which people who listen to the NHK radio program Bijinesu Eikaiwa (Business Communication) gather and review the program's lessons together. Its members include those who have interpreter-guide licenses, those who work as translators, and others who use English daily in their workplaces.

"It's pretty hard to find a place to brush up your skills once you reach a certain level," Toshihiro Asaka, founder and leader of the group, said. "But there are people who are motivated to improve even when they're already very good--so good that they could probably be teachers at language schools--and we provide a place for them."

The session, held on Sundays three times a month, has a basic program of its own, such as interpreting the radio program's English dialogue into Japanese, and then summarizing the same dialogue in English.

"Here's another CEO [chief executive officer] who made a laughingstock out of himself. This guy circulated a snarling e-mail message urging his employees to milk their clients..." Ten members listened carefully as the dialogue was played during The Daily Yomiuri's visit to the group. When asked to reproduce the dialogue or interpret it into Japanese, most members promptly gave answers, although the dialogue was not easy for nonnative speakers.

Kei Ito, an engineer with a major heavy industries firm who worked in Singapore until recently, came back to the study session he used to attend before going abroad. "Right now, all the projects I deal with involve foreign clients," he said. "I have to talk about designs with my clients, and the study session has been a great help for me."

Ito, 37, added: "I listen to the radio program with more concentration because I want to be prepared for the next study session. When I can't give the right answers here, I go back home and try to find out what I did wrong."

But more importantly, he said, the sessions are not only a place for improving his skills, but are a source of motivation for him to do so. "Learning English with members who have high-level English skills makes me want to try harder to be better."

Another member, Sayomi Toyoshima, agreed with what Ito said. "It's a nice-sized group that still has a homey atmosphere, but very inspiring," she said.

Toyoshima has worked for a major agricultural chemicals firm as a researcher for about 20 years. She also spends her days off as a volunteer English tour guide at Himeji Castle.

She had earned an interpreter-guide license through self-education before she started attending the sessions, but said she decided to become a member of the group because "studying with people who are making an effort is inspiring."

The group has demanding requirements for those who wish to attend its sessions, such as a Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) score of 730 or more, or passing the pre-level 1 Eiken English exam administered by the Society for Testing English Proficiency, or an interpreter-guide license.

However, some members did not meet these conditions but showed enough enthusiasm and guts to persuade Asaka to let them join.

Kayo Nomura thought she could never keep up with what was going on at the session when she first visited the group in 2003. She had passed the pre-level 1 Eiken English exam, but her TOEIC score was around 700 at the time. "Of course I felt awkward to join such a high-level group, but I also had a feeling that my English skills might improve dramatically with these people."

Nomura, 34, who used to be a dance instructor, stayed in the United States for 1-1/2 years for dance lessons. But the stay convinced her that she wanted to study English more.

After coming back to Japan, she attended several English language schools. It proved effective, she said, but the improvement was not quick enough for her. "I wanted to improve quickly and significantly," she said. "So after the first visit to this group, I challenged myself and gathered the nerve to come to the next session."

She got her current job at a software trading company after becoming a member of the group. Now she works for the company's overseas department and frequently writes e-mails in English about trade contracts, using phrases she learned from the radio program and at the study sessions.

"Repetition is very important in language learning," Asaka said. "Members learn a lot more by preparing for the sessions and coming here than by just listening to the program on their own. And it has a multiplying effect because they get more motivated by interacting with other members that have different backgrounds."

Asaka himself started listening to NHK radio programs when he was in middle school. English was always his favorite subject, so he studied at Dokkyo University's Department of English.

After graduating from the university, he joined a major electronics manufacturer, and since then has worked for the firm's foreign sales department and product planning department, always doing work that involves English during his about 15-year-long career.

"When clients from overseas suddenly visit Japan, or when you receive international phone calls, or when you have to write business letters in English, there usually is very little time for preparations. Only constant practices that improve your average skills would prove useful in these situations," Asaka said.

The group, which started with about five people gathering at a hotel tearoom, has now grown into a group of about 30 members.

Asaka said, "I hope the group will continue to be the place where members stimulate each other and further develop their skills through friendly competition."

Members pay only 500 yen per session to pay for the use of the room. Those interested in joining the group should e-mail businessenglishosaka@gmail.com.