カテゴリ： English Essays

2024年09月05日

【英語エッセイ】Where My Wrong Bias Comes From

前に通っていた大学・大学院準備講座で提出したエッセイたちです。私はエッセイではできるだけシンプルな言葉を使うように心がけているので、他の論文より読みやすいと思います。参考までにどうぞ！

今日は私の日本が嫌いってことがわかるエッセイです。
「Where My Wrong Bias Comes From」

When I lived in Japan. I didn't have any uncomfortable moments in my life. Because I was born in Japan, I grew up as Japanese having Japanese parents.

Even I never imagined about how do many foreigners feel living in Japan until I met my partner.

My situation was a bit changed after I got married with my partner who identifies half American and half Japanese. We speak English and Japanese both when we make our conversation. That's our communication way.

But when we speak English in the bus or train, Some people glance at us, and murmur as if they saw an English speaker at the first time. That happens often so we're fed up with that. As a result, My partner and I stopped speaking in English when we are in Japan, even in front of my Japanese family. But then I thought, why do I care about that?

We might be able to continue to speak English in the train. But "Why" I did choose that result. Because I wanted to identify as Japanese speaker in that moment . Because I felt a little bit embarrassed .

Why was I embarrassed when everyone looked at me ? It's not happened in the US. I always speak both language with my partner. This is because it was just unusual for Japanese people to speak English in public.

The reason why is some Japanese believe that they have only one race. If I have a dad from overseas or other nationality, or speaking the other language in Japan, I am considered as a foreigner or not standard Japanese.

I think then I didn't have my confidence as I am not standard. I was afraid of being thought "I am not Japanese ". At the same time, I thought" I'm not a good English speaker enough". Now I rethink about that moment, I realized that it was not a big deal.

That standard is not official, and just because some people trust without deep thinking. I just want to communicate with my important partner. I should have ignored them for my conversation.

I am unique among Japanese people because I speak two languages. I realized that the biases that Japanese people have are also caused by their historical background.

It's not wrong to have an opinion or point of view that is completely different from mine.We know that there are so many differences in ideas and beliefs. Therefore, it may be difficult to understand someone's opinion or why they think the way they do. 

Also when you might feel someone 's opinion is really wrong,They might have a stigma.The reason we can't change it easily is because they have beliefs too.

We can't totally "understand" each other's belief or opinion. But We CAN know our differences. We need to rethink where that their thinking comes from. I believe that learning from the history and being tolerant of many different opinions is the first step to understanding those who have different opinions than you.

ジロジロみてくる日本人がいるのもだよねえ、というエッセイです。

＊以前、英語できるからってマウントしてる？家族にって言われたんだけど、え？英語話せるだけだけど…？それだけでマウントになるの…？って思った。英語が話せることは確かに価値のあるスキルだけど、他人と比較して「えらい」と感じさせる必要はありませんがな。

英語を話せることは国際的なコミュニケーションやキャリアの機会を広げるのに役立つけど、それが全てではありません！！！英語が話せても中身空っぽな人もいるんだし、話せなくても日本に住んでいるんなら、困らないならいいのでは？と思っている私です。

エッセイ書くの本当に好きだな〜。我ながらいいこと書いているわ。

今日も読んでいただき、ありがとうございました！面白いと思ったら、ポチッと押してくださいね〜！

※ブログ文章やイラストの無断転写禁止。誤字脱字は報告しなくて、私なんかに時間を使っていただかなくて、大丈夫ですよ〜！他のことに時間使って下さい笑

2024年07月21日

【英語エッセイ】Change The Way I Think〜環境問題を考える

今通っている大学・大学院準備講座で提出したエッセイたちです。私はエッセイではできるだけシンプルな言葉を使うように心がけているので、他の論文より読みやすいと思います。参考までにどうぞ！

今回は環境問題についてです。

【Change The Way I Think】

I first became active in environmental issues when I lived in New Zealand. About ten years ago, I was a consumer, as many people are, because of the environment I grew up in. My mother didn't grow up in a very wealthy family, thus she always had to hold back.

Consequently, she often buys a lot of things and throws them away when she gets tired of them. Every day she prepares more food than we could eat; she never allows leftovers. She obviously makes a lot of waste each day without thinking.

Coming from such a background, I literally threw away countless things before I cared. However, although New Zealand is an island country like Japan, where I grew up, it had a completely different mindset and they gave me a chance to rethink my lifestyle.

First of all, I am working on an activity called No Meat Monday. This is an activity advocated by Sir Paul McCartney, which started in the UK in 2009, for the purpose of protecting the global environment. As of 2023, 36 countries have announced their membership. This activity is very simple: just stop eating meat on Mondays.

Around the time I learned about this activity, I adopted a cat from an animal shelter. Therefore, I started questioning the idea of eating the same animals as my beloved pets. So, my idea was for my partner and I to start eating less meat.

However, I wondered if we were relying too much on animal protein. Surely, eating meat is easy to get protein. As I searched deeper, I learned about water pollution from livestock waste and carbon dioxide emissions from meat processing plants.

In particular, we discovered a report stating that methane gas emitted by animals such as cows has about 25 times the greenhouse effect as carbon dioxide.

After learning this, I went to the meat section of the supermarket and saw a lot of meat, and not only that, also a lot of processed meat. Most of them inevitably use plastic trays and plastic wrap.

Furthermore, at the cash register, the staff will use two plastic bags to pack the meat product. Based on these facts, I thought that reducing the consumption of animal protein is one way I can combat global warming.

Eating is something that everyone does every day, so it is easy to make small changes. Moreover, if we don't buy meat, we don't use gas or electricity, and we don't use a lot of plastic.

Next, as much as possible, I don't buy new things. In New Zealand, reuse system has been the norm, because there is no major online shop like Amazon.

So many people often use thrift shops. They call them "opportunity shops". In other words, it has the meaning of giving clothes, furniture, etc. a second chance.

I believe that fast fashion that we often see in shopping malls are cheap and very easy to find. However, they are produced in large quantities, sold, and thrown away. In my country, Japan, clothing is often separated and recycled as much as possible, before they go to the dump, but most of it is still incinerated or sent to landfills.

That's reason to use opportunity shops, where you can donate and purchase at the same time, greatly contributes to reducing waste.

On a related note, I like buying antique furniture. I think that cheap furniture made for single use is fragile, difficult to repair, and even easier to dispose of quickly. However, furniture made using genuine, high-quality materials and through proper processes can be repaired and used a long time.

In fact, I have grown attached to it, even with the scratches that appear with each use. Also, since I have used it with great care, when I no longer need it, I will look for someone to use it with care again. In this way, by being used repeatedly, fewer items are burned as garbage. In island countries, there is very little land that can be used as landfill, so it is not uncommon to find huge opportunity shops next to garbage incineration facilities.

For me, living in New Zealand is to change my mind to rethink environmental issues. When you become conscious, you become able to see many problems, and consciousness also leads to changes in behavior, and one person's actions lead to someone else's actions.

When you buy something, think even a little bit about whether the old item can be restored. It may be a small change, but it would be a big change. In my country, there is a word called "Mottainai.'' It has the meaning of reusing, reducing, recycling, and respecting things.

The literal translation is "waste,'' but mottainai can be used not only for things, but also for time, and for all waste. This phrase was introduced in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in 2004 by Wangar Maathai, a Kenyan political activist who was the first African to win the Nobel Peace Prize in the environmental field.

She tried to tell us even if you don't engage in global environmental protection activities, if you can find the "mottainai" hidden in your everyday life, you can change the global environment for the better little by little.

We repeat this small choice often. At that time, you can choose and purchase from companies that are doing good things for the environment, and if it's food, you can think about the quantity and packaging. If we choose the way we consume, big companies will adapt to our desires.

Based on my observation, it is important that we share what we want to do about environmental issues and what kind of future we want to create for no mottainai, rather than choosing between whether we can do it or not. I can't solve all environmental issues only by myself, and they will also not be solved tomorrow. Environmental problems are a result of our daily lives, so depending on our awareness, we should be able to gradually stop them from occurring.

この課題は割と簡単だったと感じます！得意分野かも！
評価100/100

今日も読んでいただき、ありがとうございました！面白いと思ったら、ポチッと押してくださいね〜！

2024年06月18日

【英語エッセイ】 Bitter And Better Class Experiences

今通っている大学・大学院準備講座で提出したエッセイたちです。私はエッセイではできるだけシンプルな言葉を使うように心がけているので、他の論文より読みやすいと思います。参考までにどうぞ！

【Bitter And Better Class Experiences】
I have taken many classes in my life. This is not limited to compulsory education in Japan, where I grew up, but I was also taking classes to obtain qualifications and studying abroad in New Zealand. I'm currently taking classes at a community college to improve my English skill in the United States. While taking various classes, I have experienced both good and bad classes. I would like to compare two foreign language classes I have taken and discuss how they influenced me.

First of all, I would like to talk about my attitude towards learning a foreign language. I attended every class with a high desire to improve. I paid the school fees which were not cheap by myself. I looked up information about the schools myself on the Internet and if I could tour the facility, I would. After I was satisfied, I planned to enroll the classes. I prefer a small class where the teachers are knowledgeable and very professional. So I'll let them know my request as much as I can. This is common for me before attending any school. Even if I have prepared so far and am highly motivated, there are many things I won't understand unless I actually take the class. Next, I would explain what a good class means to me.

For me, a good class is always welcoming. Usually when I speak a foreign language in class for the first time, I'm so nervous. But I feel much more relaxed when other students welcome me in a tolerant manner. For example, when I was in New Zealand, I entered in the classroom at the English institute for the first time. Some students asked me a question "Where are you from?" When they found out I was from Japan, they became very interested. The teacher, who was from Hungary, understood how difficult it was to learn English, because English was also a second language for her. So we spent a lot of time talking with them about our different values and cultural differences. When we opened our hearts to each other, we were able to express various things freely.

If the atmosphere in the class is good, it would be easier to ask questions about things I didn't understand. Everyone was very tolerant of my English, so I didn't feel embarrassed when I made mistakes. I really enjoyed learning English and made friends who are from different countries and have different cultures. Learning in a class where peace of mind is guaranteed makes it easier to maintain motivation. As a result, my English skills improved well after studying English at an institute for three months.

On the other hand, I have a bad experience too. In the English classes I took at other times, unlike a good class, I was left feeling uninvited. I felt that the level of the class did not match my English ability. Because at the moment, my classmates were mostly European whose English skills were far better than mine. They didn't understand what I said, moreover, my teacher was so upset that I didn't understand what she said. She treated me like it was a pain. I felt like I was being bullied by her, then I was scared to speak English in front of the other students. After that incident, I lost my confidence in my abilities and in my growth. If that happens, my motivation will simply disappear. This damage I took was following me like a shadow.

However, we can also learn from bad experiences. I became more careful in choosing classes or schools and realized that what was important to me was that someone recognized me. Although it's common to make mistakes or be a little confused in class, I thought it was embarrassing. But at the same time, I thought someone might want to ask the teacher a question just like I do, but they may be too shy to ask. So I decided to follow up on the parts I didn't understand.

From that tough event, I learned from my teachers to not be ashamed to listen to my concerns. Because it is school, we can make many mistakes. Even in an atmosphere where it is difficult to ask questions or fail, I can create a good the environment if the class isn't welcoming. Learning a second language is like going on a long journey. No matter how much I prepare, sometimes things don't turn out the way I expected.

Bitter experiences can make us sad. However, there are many things we can grow from. I believe that having a good learning environment and people can help keep you motivated. If no one else was there to do it, I think I should try myself.

評価：100/100

今日も読んでいただき、ありがとうございました！面白いと思ったら、ポチッと押してくださいね〜！

　
※ブログ文章やイラストの無断転写禁止。誤字脱字は報告しなくて、私なんかに時間を使っていただかなくて、大丈夫ですよ〜！他のことに時間使って下さい笑

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