English Diary 2026
☆ April 15 A friend of mine is trying to connect me with some very intelligent people in the US, but to be honest, I feel a bit intimidated by the difference between us. I can’t help wondering whether I might be taking up their time. Because my English listening and speaking are still quite halting, at least from a native speaker’s perspective, almost at a beginner’s level. I’m worried I might be so embarrassed that I could practically faint. Of course, when I stayed with a host family in Hawaii about fifteen years ago, I also struggled a lot to hide how poor my English was, since I was in an environment where no one knew that I wasn’t good at English. Since I can’t fully move on to serious speaking practice unless I pass the first stage, I’ll focus on improving my listening and reading for now. To begin with, my lack of effort in English is partly to blame. I feel somewhat ashamed. However, my life in the past was so demanding that I am simply grateful to have made it through....