What do you want to say?
During my last two years of High School, I started studying Russian. I had two very good teachers - a man and a woman - though their styles were quite different. The man enjoyed deviating from points of grammar to tell us an anecdote about his experiences, while the lady was much more focussed on the language itself.
deviating from ~ - 〜から離れる・偏向する / anecdote - 逸話
One day, as we were studying, one of the teachers gave us a challenge that I found very motivating; he said to us, “It’s all very well studying Russian, but you need to have something to say in it!”. Of course, what he was pointing out to us is that no matter how many lessons you take, no matter how perfect your grammatical knowledge, unless you put some energy into thinking about what you want to say your linguistic knowledge will never be of much use. I found that a very deep observation - not just about being able to make conversation - which started me thinking about “Why am I learning Russian?”, “What am I going to say to people when I go to Russia?”. The teacher’s comment helped me to realize that it is a luxury, an honour, and a responsibility to be able to speak another country’s language. He was encouraging us to make the most of this opportunity. It also made me aware of the way that speaking a foreign language gives you a chance to change your identity, even to change your personality.
challenge - 挑戦・呼びかけ・チャレンジ / motivating - 刺激的・動機をもたらすような
it’s all very well ~ing - 〜するのは良いんだけど / point out - 指摘する
no matter how many lessons you take - レッスンをいくつ受けても
no matter how perfect your grammatical knowledge - どれだけ完璧な文法知識をもっていても
unless you ~ - 〜しなければ / never be of much use - いつまでも役に立つものにならない
I found that a very deep observation - とても深い発言だと思った
realize - 気がつく・気づく / a luxury - 贅沢な事 / an honour - 光栄
make the most of this opportunity - この機会を逃さない（ように）
made me aware of ~ - 〜と言う事を意識化させた
The reason I am writing about this here, is to share with Japanese students of English this very deep idea. You should never underestimate the importance of your English; especially if you go abroad, the way you behave and the things you say will live on in the memory of the people you meet. Every government has a ‘Foreign Ministry‘ of some kind or other, but the real, and most important, diplomats or spies or ambassadors of the world are the numerous ordinary people who have mastered another language to the point that they can communicate their feelings and ideas effectively in it. To a certain extent, if you are Japanese and you go to stay for some time in an English-speaking country, for the time that you are there, you are like a VIP, or an ambassador; no-one will probably pay you any money, but it is still a great responsibility and honour to represent your country, AND, perhaps more importantly, represent yourself and the ideas you care about in a foreign land.
underestimate - 過小評価する
live on in the memory of the people you meet - 会った人の記憶に残ろ
government - 政府 / Foreign Ministry - 外務省
of some kind or other - ある種類の〜 / diplomat - 外交官 / ambassador - 大使
numerous - 多数 / to the point that ~ - 〜が出来るところまで
to a certain extent - ある程度 / you are like a VIP - あなたは、VIPのようです
represent - 代表する / the ideas you care about - あなたが大事に思っている考え
Travelling abroad has become a commonplace activity, but communicating with people in a foreign language should never be.
commonplace - 平凡な
should never be - （平凡）になるべきではない・なってはいけない
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