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What English Has Taught Me
Anna Sawada
Today I'm going to tell you what English has taught me so far. I have learned that it is very important to express your own opinions. Can you imagine living in the world without any opinions ? I believe that we should think for ourselves, have our own opinions, and express them in public. I have learned this through studying English.
I have been studying English for 5 years. When I was 10 years old, I started learning English at a private English conversation school. One day an American teacher of English said to me, "Very few Japanese children can express their opinions." I had never thought of such a thing before, and I thought I could do that easily. I noticed that many of my classmates couldn't express themselves in class very well. When they were asked to say something, they just looked down or asked friends sitting around them for help. I wondered why they couldn't say anything. I still remember how much their behavior disappointed me. Now I think that they had no courage and confidence to speak up and express themselves.
There is another thing which has disappointed me recently, that the voter turn out at elections is getting lower. This shows that less and less adults are expressing their opinions in Japan as well. I believe that any society consists of various individuals. If nobody expresses their opinions, what would the world be like ? I wonder if certain politicians will control the world with their opinions. I don't want to live in a world like that. I want to live in a world where everyone can express their own opinions.
Finally, I'd like to say that everyone should have enough courage and confidence to express their opinions. At the same time, it's quite neccesary to listen to others very carefully. I want to continue to study English in order to exchange opinions with people overseas. If everyone can express their opinions, the world will surely change. This is my opinion. Thank you very much for listening.
Many Friends or Only One Close Friends ?
Mai Shimomoto
Hi, everyone. Which do you think is better, to have many many friends, or to have only one close friend? Today I'd like to think about friends.
In my junior high school days, I had a great friend. We could talk about anything and kept no secrets from each other. I really liked her and we always had a good time together. At the time I thought "She is my only true friend!" However a trivial thing estranged us from each other. That was the division of classes.
After being placed in separated classes, we remained good friends, finding time to talk between lessons and after school. Being in different classes, we gradually grew apart and had fewer things in common. After a while, I found her becoming closer with her new classmates. I was shocked. "Aren't we best friends? Oh God, she is going to betray me." Maybe I was being narrow-minded for not being happy that she was getting along well with her new friends. However, it couldn't be helped at that time because I had no one, expect her, that I could call a friend.
Luckily it's not my nature to worry too much, so I made up my mind to make new friends. I started to talk with people whom I'd never spoken to or who I thought I wouldn't get along with. As it turned out, people I had believed not to be my type turned out to be really nice. Having conversations with these people was really fun and interesting because they all had different perspectives. How small my world had been!
Through this experience, I've come to believe that the more friends you have, the better it is. Suppose you have only one friend, you might believe their opinion is the only one, so you neglect to explore different points of view. On the other hand, if you have many friends, you can exchange your opinions with them and discuss the matter from various viewpoints.
How can you make new friends? Actually it's quite easy. First, don't limit your range of activity. Try getting involved in anything you are interested in. This way you will have the chance to meet many people. As for me, I now belong to the school counsil and the swimming club at my high school. Through these activities, I keep company with many people whose ages, classes, and ideas are different from mine. Since my high school life has just started, I don't know what is going to happen, but I'm sure the friends around me will help me when I need them as well as help me grow. I believe the most important things we need to know in life we will learn not from schoolwork but from our friends.
What do you think? Which do you prefer, many friends or only one close friend? Either way, friends play a vital role, especially in the process of growing up. Now take a careful look around you. The person next to you might become a good friend and in some way change you life.
My Big Dream
Nana Furuya