How to acquire English skills even if you don’t want to. Chapter 3 Work and English (1) 3.2 Reporting the research work in English at the Research Institute
In 1970, my fifth year with the company, I passed the company's domestic university study selection examination and was allowed to study at Kyoto Institute of Technology.
I was assigned to the Personnel Department from the Research Institute. From then on, I was not involved in company business and my student life was unrelated to company life. Since I was a university student and paid well, I was able to enjoy an elegant and meaningful student life as long as for two years.
When I returned to the institute again, the laboratory section chief changed and, as mentioned earlier, we were instructed to submit monthly research reports in English.
While studying outside of the company, I took the English Proficiency Test, checked foreign magazines, and continued self-learning through English conversation programs on the radio and TV. I also always tried to improve my English skills by actively speaking to foreigners whenever I saw them.
Thanks to this, I felt no particular discomfort in writing monthly research reports in English after returning to the research institute, and inwardly I was glad I did it. At that time, there were many graduates of famous Japanese universities working at the institute, but not many of them excelled in English, and they were all at the same level as me. I thought I might be able to show my presence.
Since the monthly report is a summary of monthly researches, the title and headlines can be written in the same style of newspapers, and there is no need to write lengthy sentences.
I was sometimes asked to check the report even by my colleagues with poor English skills, and I was really glad that I had studied so hard. I felt like my hard study paid off.
Of course, the need to read foreign technical reports in its original language was far greater than before my study at Kyoto Institute of Technology, and I continued to obtain the latest information from abroad widely., and I continued to obtain the latest information from a wide range of foreign countries.
Serially posted in English every Tuesday.
毎週火曜日に連載中
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写真データ、写真資料は以下のサイトを参照下さい。
