ハワイでの海外研修「2017 HIBISCUS」が終了し、参加学生からこのプログラムに参加した約5か月間を振り返るレポートが届きました。英会話スキル以外に、コミュニケーションスキルや積極性を伸ばすことができたようです。

Become Positive
Yukino Mishima

I learned that it is important to become active from the three things that I experienced in this study-abroad trip.
The first thing is to communicate with the host family and local people. I was not good at English, and in the beginning of my homestay, I could not say what I wanted to say in English. However, my host family listened to my stories when I tried hard to talk about them. Although I confronted myself so much, I still felt frustrated that I could not speak well. That was regretful. One day, I thought that I should talk a lot even if I make lots of mistakes, and I decided to stay in the living room to talk with my host family until I went to bed every night. As a result, I increased the time I have with my host family. After three months' learning and trying, my host parents told me that they can understand that I am improving my English proficiency. At that time, I thought that I was glad I did not let go of my English skills. I got a lot of confidence, so that I can enjoy daily conversations with local people.
The second thing is the HELP classes. In Japanese classes, students did not often express their opinions. However, the teachers here often asked us questions because there are fewer students in HELP's classes. Not everyone tried to answer by themselves too much in the beginning. I was not confident in English either. However, I noticed that classes will not progress in this way. Everyone began speaking by themselves since everyone became accustomed to this class, so the atmosphere of the class improved. I could enjoy the classes. Do not be afraid of making mistakes! I often hear the phrase, I thought that was really true. There is a huge difference between my abilities to speak two months ago and now.
The third thing is how to spend the weekends. On weekends in Hawaii, I was able to do a lot of activities with my friends and host families in many places. On weekends in Japan, I was doing the same things such as shopping, housework and part-time job. I preferred spending time more slowly and indoor, rather than going out. However, in Hawaii I actively went outside and had lots of experiences for the first time. By talking to various people, I was able to know a different viewpoint from myself, and the range of my thoughts had expanded.
Now that I have learned that being active can be very beneficial, after I return to Japan, I will act actively myself and I also want to challenge things that I have never experienced or was not interested in.