171113_たったひとつのルール_About the only rule of "gardeN"

English below（英語版は日本語の下です！）

今日は第2回gardeN開催の予定でしたが、参加予定者の都合が合わず、断念！残念！
参加者随時募集中っ！英語に興味ある西和賀の方々に届けー！！

ということで、今日は活動報告の代わりに、gardeNで大切にしたいたったひとつのルールについて書こうと思います。

前回のブログ(171106_幕開け_gardeN's curtain up)にもちらっと書きましたが、たったひとつのルールはずばり、

「失敗にビビらず、英語で話すことを楽しむ！」  です！

日本人の多くが、「英語で話そう！」ってなった瞬間に、「間違ったらどうしよう」「私、できないし」と、話すことにビビります。普段使わない言語だし、英語学習の中で正解を求められることも多いので、ある種仕方ないのかもしれません（もちろん、正解を求められることも大事ですが）。


僕もそうでした。

僕が進学した学部は、授業の1/3くらいが英語で行われるような学部で、留学生や帰国子女が周りにうじゃうじゃいました。「英語」「国際」が好きだなーと思い、その環境に憧れて入学したわけですが、入ってみると、全くついていけない。特にディスカッションやディベートの授業は地獄でした。

目立たない位置に座って下を向いたり、留学生の近くに行かないようにしたり。

留学生や帰国子女に比べてうまく話せないのは当たり前。そう割り切って、積極的に喋れば良かったのですが、間違えてると思われるのが怖くて、頭の中で何度も何度も文法を組んでは捨てて、全然喋れない日々。

「たくさん勉強してきたはずなのに、全然話せない。話すの怖い。」

そんな状況が辛くて、大学2年の夏にフィリピンに語学留学に行きました。
期間は1か月ほどでしたが、帰国後は積極的に英語で交流できるようになり、ディスカッションの授業でまとめ役を務めたりもしました。


別に、英語に関する知識が飛躍的に増えたわけでも、発音が劇的に良くなったわけでもありません。変わったのはただひとつ、

「圧倒的にビビらなくなった」

これだけでした。

そのおかげで以下のようなサイクルが生まれました。
①ビビらない
②話す機会が増える
③うまく伝わらなくて悔しい
④練習する
⑤話してみたくなる
⑥また話す
・・・
・・・

今も間違えることは多々ありますが、そんな時は「あ、次はこう言おう！」と前向きに捉えます。話す度にこれを繰り返しているので、話せる幅がどんどん広がっています。

何事もうまくなる唯一の道はたくさんやってみることなのです（当たり前笑）!!

ちなみに、学校では主要5教科に入る英語ですが、「英語は実技だ！」という人もいます。
つまり、体育や美術や音楽と同じで、やってみなきゃできん！ということです。
（ずっと「跳び箱の跳び方」を読んでても、跳べるようにはなりませんよね？）

ということで、gardeNはこれからも、「失敗にビビらず、英語で話すことを楽しむ！」を大切に、毎週楽しんで学べる時間を作っていきたいと思います！

「私、うまくしゃべれないからなー」って方！だから「やってみる」んです！
「やってみれちゃう」チャンス、gardeNにありますよっ＾＾

次回は11月20日月曜日18:30-20:00！
湯本地区公民館で待ってます＾＾

---
Today we planned the 2nd "gardeN" but participants had another plan to do, so it was a pity but we couldn't hold.

We allways welcome newcomers!
I hope Nishiwaga people who are interested in English watch this blog and know "gardeN".

In this post, instead of a report, I wanna write about the only rule that we really wanna take it important.

I already wrote down a little in the previous post (171106_幕開け_gardeN's curtain up). The only rule of "gardeN" is...

"Don't Be Afraid of Making Mistakes. Just Enjoy Talking!!"

Many Japanese tend to be afraid of talking in English like "I'm really afraid of making mistakes..." or "I absolutely can't speak..." in the situation that "Let's talk in English!". English is not our mother tongue and we are often needed to think right answers in learning English, so it can't help to be afraid (Of course I don't wanna say that we don't have to think right answers).


In my case, it was same.

A faculty of university I chose was the one in which 1/3 lectures were held in English and there were a lot of international students or returnees from abroad. I chose this faculty because I had been interested in "English" or "internatinal" and such a situation had been really attractive for me.
However I couldn't follow up them, especially lectures of discussion and debate were like Hell for me.   

I tried not to be paid attention by teachers and not to sit down near international students. I always tried to escape.

"It is reasonable that I can't speak more fluently than them." I wish I could think so and enjoy talking a lot with them, but I was freaking afraid of making mistakes and I composed a sentense and destroyed it again and again ,and finally I could do nothing.

"Although I've studied English hard for about 8 years, I can't speak at all..."

I couldn't bear such a situation, so I went to the Philippines to study English.
The term was just a month, but after I came back to Japan, I came to be able to talk in English actively, and I came to take a role of discussion leader in a discussion lecture.

I can't say that such a change came to me like..
・I got a lot of knowledge about English in the Philippines
・My pronunciation became really better in the Philippines

But I can say at loud,

I dramatically came not to be afraid of speaking English!

That's all.

But thanks to this dynamic change, I could get such a positive cycle.
1. Not to be afraid
2. To increase chances of speaking English
3. To feel disappointed that I couldn't tell enough what I wanted to tell
4. To practice harder
5. To want to try talking in English
6. To talk to someone again
...
again and again

Even now, I often make mistakes but I can take it positive like "Next time, I wanna say such a way!". Because I always keep it in my mind and do this over again whenever I talk in English, my possibility to speak English is getting bigger and broader.

All you need to do something better is "Just Do It" (too obvious lol)!!

By the way, English belongs to main 5 subjects in school in Japan but some people say that English is a practical subject same as P.E, art and music.
That means "If there is no try, you can't do this."
(No matter how hard you read "how to vault over a buck", you definitely will not be able to do, won't you?)


Yes, This is I wanted to tell.
We are gonna make "gardeN" a better place in which we can enjoy learning with the simply only rule, "Don't Be Afraid of Making Mistakes. Just Enjoy Talking!!"

"But I can't speak English well.... so I'm afra.."
No, you can't say that. Yes, that's the great reason why you should try!!
There are great chances that you can try again and again in "gardeN" !!

the next "gardeN" will be held on 20th of November, Monday, 18:30-20:00
in Yumoto community center!!

We can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Only Rule of "gardeN"

文責：早川大輝/Daiki Hayakawa