EEC NEWSLETTER

October 2021
Volume 45

ENGLISH EDUCATION CENTER, EHIME UNIVERSITY

ContentsStudying English Online/Abroad Reports■ Studying English

What I Got from Online LessonOnline/Abroad Re-Yuna Sawada (Faculty of Law & Letters)

ports

Hello, my name is Yuna Sawada. I joined
the online studying abroad program during
this summer vacation. I will talk about myexperience.

■ 5 Speaking Strategies■ Beware of Japanesemade English Words!

First, the contents of this course were suitable for me. I had three classes in a day andeach day has one interesting topic. I
gained bountiful knowledge of British culture and systems such as history, entertainment, and education. Discussions related tothe topics were also extremely fascinating.
Especially, we have big difference as regards the medical system. There is NHS(National Health Service) in England andthey have to go registered hospital having
no choice to decide hospital freely like Japan.
Also, I had many opportunities to speak in
English with the volunteers and it was reallyenjoyable. One of them is as old as me, so,
we could share our future careers anddreams. When I asked one of the volunteers
why she could understand my English, she
told me that I should have confidence because my skills were high enough. Since
then, I became much more confident.
Before this program, I wanted to study
abroad twice, it was unsuccessful. However,this program gave me the opportunity to
get that experience. I think someof you are frustrated because you
can’tstudy
abroad during thepandemic, howevMe (upper right) having discussion wither, there is always
volunteers
another way.

My Days in the UK -Episode 1Tatsuya Kobayashi (Graduate of Faculty of Law & Letters)

English Learning Materials of English Education
CenterAre you looking for English
learning materials? Wehave plenty of English
readers, study reference
books, grammar books,
workbooksofTOEIC,TOEFL, Eiken, or other English exams, and listening
materials.
If you are interested, visit
the EEC office and ask office staff (when the alertlevel is lowered and you
are allowed to enter thecampus).

I have always wanted
to go to the UK since I
was little. Finally, itcame true 10 years
later as a university student. I chose Liverpool
where it is famous forthe Beatles and Liverpool F.C. This was thebest choice for me.
Leicester Square,
Although the stay wasLondon
only for 2 months, thismemorable experience motivated me togo back to Liverpool again.
After graduating from Ehime University in2019, I started working in a hotel, with a purpose of saving up enough money to go tothe UK again. Everything was going asplanned until COVID-19 changed everything. I was still getting paid. In my sparetime since I had plenty of time, I researched
meticulously what exactly I would need forgetting a VISA and deal with other paperwork. Needless to say, it gave me more time
to study English, too.
In February this year, an email was in my inbox. When I opened it, it was as if I had won

the lottery. It said, “This email confirms thatyou have been successfully chosen to apply for the 2021 Youth Mobility Scheme.”
With this VISA, one can stay in the UK for up
to 2 years and do almost whatever he/shewants. Because of its flexibility, it is so competitive that in 2021 only 1000 people in Japan are eligible. I was overjoyed that I waschosen.
Things got trickier due to the pandemic, including my flight being canceled in the lastminute. Yet I was rather surprised how calm
I was. Probably deep down I knew that anything could happen under any circumstances.
Not everything was a piece of cake, but I
managed to work out everything in theend. Having eaten okonomiyaki at the airport, I stepped into
the plane off toLondon.

King’s Cross Station,London

To my surprise, whatwelcomedme
there was NOT thegloomy and darksky, but the sun.
(To be continued...)October 2021 Volume 45Upcoming Events
School Festival
Nov 12 - 15

Winter School Holiday
Dec 25 - Jan 6

University Entrance Exam
Jan 15 - 16

GTEC Academic (Online)
for 1st year students
Jan 24 - 28

5 Speaking Strategies
Ian Downer (Assistant Professor)
Becoming a more fluent speaker of English
does not have to involve spending lots oftime or money. The following strategies canhelp you to improve your speaking skills,
while also fitting into your schedule andbudget.
1.) Set aside time each day for speaking
practice
You can improve your English speaking withas little as 15 minutes per-day. Start by making speaking practice a part of your daily
routine. For example, you may wish to listen
to podcasts and silently shadow the speaker(silently repeat exactly what the speakersays) when travellingon a bus or train, or
speak to yourself inEnglish while doing
your daily chores.
2.) Talk to yourself in English

English Education Center
Ehime University
2nd floor, Aidai Muse,
3 Bunkyo-cho,
Matsuyama, Ehime
790-8577

Phone & FAX(089)927-8340

E-maileec@stu.ehime-u.ac.jp

Webpage
http://web.eec.ehime-u.
ac.jp/[Eng. Page] http://web.
eec.ehime-u.ac.jp/english/

This technique is useful when you do nothave easy access to an English conversation
partner. To do this, you simply ask yourself aquestion in English and say your answers out
loud. If you want to improve your speaking
fluency, choose practice topics that are familiar and of interest to you.
3.) Record yourself speaking in English
Recording yourself on your cell phone is agreat way get feedback on your speaking.
One popular technique is to record a oneminute speech on your phone on a topic ofinterest. After recording your speech, listenback to the recording and try to eliminate

any unnatural pauses or expressions. Youmay also want to write down alternative
words and phrases to improve your speaking for next
time. Finally, repeat the taskwith the same or different
questions for another minute.
4.) Read aloud
Reading books aloud is a very good way toreview vocabulary and grammar. First,
choose a book that is at an appropriate level and looks interesting to you. Then, read a
few pages from the book out loud every dayand record and review the results.
5.) Find a teacher online
There are many good speaking resources
available online at reasonable prices. One
reasonably priced and popular way to connect with professional teachers is via thewebsite Italki. On this website, you canschedulelessonswith teachers at
yourlevel
andchoose times that fit
in with your schedule.
In summary, the key to success in all of thetechniques above is frequent and thoughtfulpractice. With time and a little bit of effort,
you should start to notice an improvement inyour English speaking abilities.
You can do it!

Beware of Japanese-made English Words!
With the progress of globalization, many foreign-language words come into Japaneselanguage. It is quite common to see katakana words in the texts, or hear English-soundwords in our Japanese conversation. However, some of the words and phrases which appear to be English are actually Japanesemade, and are sometimes incomprehensible
for native English speakers. Let’s take a look ata few examples.
If you have used those katakana words in
English conversations and your listener
seemed not to understand you, it is notyour pronunciation problem!

Katakana word

Correct English

モーニングコールwake‐up call

ベビーカー

stroller / pushchairマグカップ

mug

フライドポテト

french fries

ソフトクリーム

so ‐serve ice cream

ドクターストップdoctor’s order

ノースリーブsleeveless