語学力上達のコツ

語学力上達のコツ　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　長光一寛

１９９８年１０月２６日作

（信越化学の特許部に在籍していた頃、社報編集部が「語学力上達のコツ」という連載を企画した折、依頼されて載せた一編）

　「長光さん、このスピーチは英文のほうを読まれるそうですが、何分くらいかかりましょうか？」同時通訳嬢が英文と和文の原稿を受け取りながらぼくに質問した。

　「１５分です、きっかりと」ぼくはこの答えの正確さに自信があった。練習で計測したわけではないが確かに１５分で終わるのだ。

　「あすはこの原稿のとおり読まれるのですね。」

　「そうです」読むというのは正確ではなかったが、スピーチは原稿のとおりだ。

　昨年の秋、岡山でぼくはある特許関連の日米定例会議において日本側の代表の一人として最終日の３日目にスピーチをする予定だった。この数年来米国側より、日本側の英語スピーチは判りにくく、通訳の英語をイヤフォーンで聞いたほうが理解しやすいので日本語で発表してもらいたい、という要望が出されていたためか、岡山での日本側発表者はみな自国語で発表していた。米側のスピーチには巧みにユーモアが盛り込まれ迫力の点でも日本側を圧倒していた。一日目にある米側代表者が、米国では特許クレームを攻撃武器として書くが日本人は防衛武器として書いているようだとチャレンジした。ぼくらは憤った。ぼくの用意していたスピーチは、統計によると日本企業もこれからは特許権を積極的に攻略兵器として行使することになるだろうという布告であった。このスピーチを米側に女性通訳者の軽快な英語でではなく、ぼくのなまりを込めた英語で聞かせねばならない、また英語で話すにしてもただ下を向いて原稿を読むだけだったら迫力に欠けよう、彼らの視線を見返す状態で発せねばならないと思った。ぼくはトリックを使うことにした。

　三日目の午前、三人目のスピーカーとしてイヤフォーンを左耳に押し込みながらぼくは原稿なしで演壇に上がった。米人たちはぼくが英語で話すというので耳からイヤフォーンを外した。最初少しあがってしまって声がうわずったがすぐに持ち直したぼくはサーチライトのように会場の聴衆に満遍なく視線を回遊させながら演説した。原稿を見ないで正確な英語でスピーチするぼくに聴衆は好奇の眼差しを注ぐ。ぼくは中盤では一口水を飲む余裕さえできた。スピーチはきっかり１５分で終わった。拍手。そして昼食会では同胞のみならず米側からも何人かがスピーチをほめてくれぼくの手を握った。

　「語学力上達のコツ」を披露するほどぼくは上達していない。だから上のトリックのタネの披露でご容赦願います。

　学生時代よりぼくがなじんでいる英会話練習法はshadowing といって、あまり速くないnative speakerの英語をテープ等で聞きながらそれを影が追いかけるように瞬時にまねて自分でもしゃべるものだ。さて、岡山での一日目の夜ぼくは持参していた録音機能付ウォークマンで自分の発表する英文スピーチの原稿を丁寧に読んで録音した。真ん中あたりで水を飲むための空白も設けた。意外に長くかかり３０分テープの片面にかろうじて納まった。ぼくは本番までこのテープで何度もshadowing をしてそれに慣れた。そして三日目、演壇に上がる直前に同時通訳サービス用のイヤフォーンのプラグを携帯レシーバーから抜き、代わりにポケットの中のぼくのウォークマンにつないでその再生ボタンを押し、聴衆の前ではあたかも同時通訳のペースをモニターしながら話すのだというようにイヤフォーンを左耳に刺した。その後は壇上で左耳から流れてくる自分の声のリードにしたがってお手のもののshadowing をするばかりであった。

聴衆は好奇の眼差しを注ぐ

写真は、amazon.com/author/nagamitz-kazuhiro　へ

以下英語版

Written on October 26, 1998

“Tips on improving language skills” by Nagamitz Kazuhiro

(When I was working with Patent Department of Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd., Japan, the company’s Editorial Department started a series called "Tips for Improving Language Skills" on the employee magazine, and I was asked to write for this as the first contributor. I wrote the following and submitted the photo also. This is a translation of the original Japanese text.)

"Mr. Nagamitz, I understand you will read the English version of the manuscript in your speech, and how long will it be?" Ms. Simultaneous Interpreter asked me while receiving from me the English and Japanese manuscripts.

"Fifteen minutes, exactly" I was confident of the accuracy of this answer. I had not measured the time during practices, but it definitely would end in 15 minutes.

"Tomorrow you will read this exactly as written?"

"Yes," I answered, for the speech would be exactly in accordance with the manuscript, although I would not “read” it.

Last autumn, in Okayama, Japan, I was scheduled to give a speech on the third day (the final day) as one of the representatives of the Japanese side at a regular Japan-US convention regarding intellectual properties. In the past few years, the US side had expressed a desire that Japanese speakers give the speeches in Japanese, for our English was rather difficult for them to catch the meaning of and it would be easier to hear the English of the interpreters through the earphones, so that so far this year all the Japanese speakers had presented their speeches in the native language.

The US side’s speeches skillfully included humor and were overwhelming the Japanese side in terms of power. A US delegate on the first day challenged that the Japanese seemed to write patent claims as a defensive weapon, although in the US it was written as offensive weapons. It seemed not far from the truth, but we felt offended to hear this. My prepared speech was sort of a declaration that, according to statistics, Japanese companies would now actively exercise patents as strategic weapons. I felt this speech should not be thrown to the US side in fluent English of a female interpreter, but it should be in English weighted with my “namari” (Japanese accent), and I thought that even if I speak in English, I should not just read the manuscript without looking at the audience, for that would lessen the power. I should keep fixing my eyes on the audiences’. I decided to use a trick.

On the morning of the third day, as the third speaker, I pushed my earphone into my left ear and went up to the podium without the manuscript. Americans removed earphones from their ears as I would speak in English. I began by saying “Excuse me for speaking…not in Japanese,” which was not in the manuscript. Then I started my speech. I was so nervous that my voice faltered at first, but soon I recovered and gave my speech while like a searchlight I swerved my eye lines at the audience evenly. The audience poured curious eyes to me, as I spoke in slow but accurate English without looking at the manuscript. I could afford to drink water in the middle of the speech. The speech ended in 15 minutes. Applause. At the luncheon, not only from my cohorts but also from the US side some praised my speech and held my hand.

I am not so skilled in English as to show off "tips for improving language skills" to the readers. So, please acquit me of the duty, for I will disclose the secret of the above trick instead.

The English conversation practice method I have adopted since my university days is called shadowing. It is to listen to a relatively slow English spoken by a native speaker using a player such as cassette tape recorder and say the same English simultaneously as you hear it like a shadow follows a person. It is not the “repeat after me” practice where the voices of the teacher and the student do not overlap. As the voices overlap in shadowing, it is also called overlapping. (In fact I developed this method myself and it was only several years later that I found the practice method had names.)

Now, at the first night in Okayama, I carefully read the manuscript of my English speech and recorded it with Walkman with recording function. I also provided a silent space for drinking water in the middle. It took an unexpectedly long time and the speech was barely contained on one side of the 30-minute cassette tape. Then, I practiced shadowing with this recording many times to get used to it up until the time of my presentation on the third day.

On the third morning, just before going up to the podium, I pulled off the earphone plug from the mobile receiver for simultaneous interpretation service, and connected the plug to my Walkman in my pocket, and pushed the play button, while putting the earphone into my left ear, pretending as if I intended to monitor the pace of the simultaneous interpreter. After that I merely did the shadowing guided by my familiar voice coming from the earphone in my left ear on the platform.

The audience poured curious eyes

Photos & video: amazon.com/author/nagamitz-kazuhiro

For the original Japanese version please go to

http://p.booklog.jp/book/103769/read