Finding My Voice

Learning English changed me. I played baseball in high school and didn’t really attend classes, but still I wanted to go to university.

That meant taking examinations and English was one of them. I had to improve my English and found a school that was considered the strictest school in Japan, where speaking Japanese was forbidden.

My first Toastmasters speaking contest speech was about my resistance to answer the teacher’s roll call at that school. When the teacher said my name, I couldn’t answer “Here!” because the sound was so different and I was afraid of making mistakes. Some people enjoy the challenge when they try something new, but I was an introvert.

One day, I was late for school and the door was locked. There was a strict school policy that latecomers weren’t allowed in. I was trying to listen to the class at the door when suddenly the lights went out and people started shouting. I realized I had accidentally pressed the light switch. At that moment, the door opened and the teacher said, “Ah, Mr Ishiwata.” In shock, I replied, “Here!” That changed my life.

Then I learned English through reciting speeches that changed the world, like John F Kennedy’s inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s “I have a dream” speech. To get rid of my fear of speaking, I used to go to Shibuya crossing, stand in front of the crowds waiting for the signal to change and recite these speeches.

I really appreciated that change in myself, and I thought that teaching English was more than teaching language, it was about helping people to change themselves and getting them to understand their potential through learning the language. After I graduated from that particular school, I volunteered as a teacher for a year. I own that school now.

In last year’s table topics category at the Toastmasters contest, the question was difficult for me to understand, but I started speaking. I got into the speech and felt like I was making a point. But I went overtime, was disqualified and had a sleepless night. I learned so much from that experience and wanted to share the joy of failing in another speech at TAC Toastmasters.

I wanted to tell people that when we try hard and fail, we are, of course, disappointed, but when we don’t give up, we have a chance to learn and improve. Often in life, we just feel disappointed and don’t progress. I wanted to encourage people to continue, because we always have the potential to overcome difficulties.

After I overcame my fear of a simple English word, I came to know a different world.

Words: Makoto Ishiwata
Illustration: Tatia Gimmig