[Overseas Graduate School] #1 Challenges I Faced Despite Having a Foundation in English

In my previous article, I wrote about why I chose to come abroad instead of finding a job in Japan.

In this article, as a follow-up, I will write about "English," which I was concerned about even before coming to an overseas graduate school.

To be honest from the start, it is not that I could not speak English at all.
Although I am not a returnee, I think I had a certain level of basic English proficiency through exam preparation. About a year or two before studying abroad, I had a TOEIC score of nearly 900 and an IELTS score of about 6.5.

I will write about what I stumbled upon in terms of English as someone like that.

My basic English skills were honestly quite helpful

When it comes to going to an overseas graduate school, I don't want to say anything reckless like “you can manage even if you can't speak English.”

Graduate school is a place to learn a specialized field.

Professors and classmates alike basically treat you as someone who can communicate in English. Of course, there are times when we teach each other things we don't understand about class content or help each other out. However, I think it is a bit off to assume that they will be your practice partners for basic English, unless you are in a very special situation.

In the first place, many overseas graduate schools require English test scores when applying, so I think it is unlikely that you will enter an overseas graduate school without knowing any English at all.

In my case, I had a foundation in reading and grammar, and I could listen to a certain extent.

Thanks to that, even after coming to an overseas graduate school, reading class slides, understanding assignment texts, and following the class content itself were not such big problems.

Of course, not everything was easy. There were technical terms I didn't know, and sometimes the class content itself was difficult.

Even so, I was not in a state where I couldn't understand anything because it was in English.

English preparation I did while in Japan

Even when I was in Japan, I tried to expose myself to English as much as I could.

I watched YouTube and movies, but in my case, it was closer to studying than a hobby. I watched with English subtitles and did shadowing to increase the time I spent in contact with English as much as possible.

Also, I used to take classes on Coursera. Looking back now, I think I was practicing learning content close to my specialty in English even before going to an overseas graduate school.

I plan to write about specific English study methods in another article in the future.

What I was worried about was talking to people, rather than understanding classes

Before coming to an overseas graduate school, what I was most worried about was whether I could debate in English.

Can I express my own opinions on the spot? Can I react immediately to the opinions of others? Can I clearly convey my thoughts when deciding on a group's direction? Will I eventually be able to speak English well enough to pass interviews at overseas companies?

For me, that was exactly where my anxiety about English lay before coming to an overseas graduate school.

In reality, opportunities to speak were created naturally

Once I actually arrived at the overseas graduate school, I found that there were more natural opportunities to speak English than I had expected.

At my graduate school, there were not many classes that consisted solely of lectures.

The structure was to learn theories and concepts in class, and then actually work with them in subsequent exercises. We would write code, use tools, or solve theoretical problems, and ask TAs or classmates about things we didn't understand.

During exercises, it was natural to consult with classmates sitting nearby. Rather than working completely alone in silence, there were many situations where we would proceed while checking with the people around us.

If you sit in a seat next to someone, you basically end up talking to that person.

“How did you think about this?”
“Is this the right way to use this tool?”
“How far have you gotten with this problem?”

Such small interactions occurred on a daily basis.

I wasn't able to speak fluently from the start. However, situations where I had no choice but to speak English in class and during exercises gradually accumulated.

Also, besides classes, I participated in several club activities.

I think my English ability gradually improved through those experiences as well.

However, rather than suddenly becoming able to speak English, it felt more like I simply got used to it.

In these situations, this is how you should ask. When you don't understand, this is how you should confirm. If you don't understand the other person's explanation, this is what you should say to have them explain it again.

It wasn't that my English suddenly got better, but rather that the psychological distance to interacting in English gradually shrank.

What was difficult was getting my own opinions across

Just because there were natural opportunities to speak didn't mean everything was easy.

What was difficult for me was participating in discussions with my own opinions during group work.

When deciding on a direction for group work, if the other person spoke confidently, I would sometimes think, “Ah, that makes sense,” and end up backing down.

Of course, there are times when the other person's opinion is truly correct.
There are also times when my own thinking is shallow or incorrect.

However, what was difficult was that I couldn't always judge on the spot whether the other person was speaking with solid evidence and confidence, or if they just appeared to be confident.

When someone speaks confidently in English, it can sound persuasive just by virtue of that delivery.

If I had even the slightest bit of hesitation within myself,

"Well, maybe they are right."

I would end up thinking that.

As a result, there were times when I couldn't fully express my own ideas.

What I felt here was that what is needed in an overseas graduate school is not just English proficiency.

Being able to speak in English is important.
But that alone is not enough.

Researching the content covered in class as deeply and broadly as possible on my own.
Forming my own opinions based on what I have researched.
Not being too easily swayed by others' opinions, and confirming things when necessary.
Correcting myself properly if I am wrong.

Those kinds of skills were also necessary.

From then on, I started preparing more than before before discussing strategies in group work.

Reviewing the content covered in class once more.
Reading related materials.
Researching similar cases.
Comparing several ways to proceed and thinking about the merits and weaknesses of each.

As I researched in that way, I was able to gradually form my own opinions.

Preparing to discuss in English.
Deepening my understanding while preparing.
As my understanding deepens, I become able to express my opinions with a little more confidence.

I think the ability to do this kind of preliminary research is certainly a skill required in Japan as well, but in my case, I think it was one of the major skills I gained after coming to an overseas graduate school.

There is English that you can only learn by going to the local area

Looking back, having a foundation in English was definitely helpful.

On the other hand, the ability to discuss in English and the ability to get my own opinions across were things I largely learned after arriving here.

You can improve your English proficiency in Japan. On the other hand, the ability to discuss in English and the ability to get my own opinions across were things I largely learned after arriving here.

So, if you are currently considering an overseas graduate school, meet the application requirements, and have had some exposure to English, I don't think you need to be overly afraid.

If you think too much about "waiting until I can speak more perfectly,"
"waiting until I can follow all conversations between native speakers,"
or "waiting until I can speak fluently about specialized topics,"

you will never be able to take the plunge.

You can prepare for English.
But there is also English that you can only get used to on-site.

Things I want to write about in the future

In future articles, I plan to write about specific English study methods.

How I used shadowing. How I used materials like English subtitles and Coursera. What English learning was actually useful for overseas graduate school and overseas employment.

I would like to organize those topics separately from this article, focusing a bit more on practical application.

Also, I plan to write in future articles about the points and comparisons I looked at when deciding on an overseas graduate school, and how I felt my English ability improved after several years of working at a local company after graduate school.

Next time, I will try to write a bit more realistically about I'm glad I came to an overseas graduate school. But I was anxious the whole time until I landed a job..