G'day, how's it going mate? Today, I am going to talk about what experience I've achieved in the light of learning English. Of course everyone has some sorts of experiences, but I've also got some as well. So, I want to share with you. I hope my experience could be somehow a stimulant to learning English. Let's demystify.
Matriculating at the only national university in Australia, and one of the most prestigious Master's programs at the uni
I was so happy and lucky enough to be able to study at the Australian National University, simply because I was not that smart and hadn't had that excellent academic record in Japan. Backing in 2004, I was wavering between the ANU and Melbourne University. All things considered, I decided to come to Canberra to study a Master's program in International Relations in 2007. To be honest, Melbourne uni was already expensive at that time, I mean, the tuition fee for international students. I guess it was like AUD$22,000 per annum or something. Today, this fee has already doubled or more for sure. But, anyway, although Melbourne uni has much longer history than the ANU, I decided to select the ANU because of I having felt a kind of inspiration. And that decision was undeniably right.
I studied English really seriously, especially academic writing skills prior to starting the Master's program. But for that steadfast effort, I wouldn't have secured the program, and would have been doing something else in Japan without any future hope. Therefore, I wholeheartedly appreciate my dedication, steadfastness, and perseverance.
I was lucky enough to be able to forge an honourable relationship with some professors and of course colleagues
If I hadn't studied English seriously, I couldn't have had that opportunities to establish a sort of academia network in Australia. This is not an over-exaggeration event at all, and it's the real. To be honest, I wasn't raised and educated in any privileged member of community in Japan, but I just tried my best to devote myself to boosting English skills. I reckon such that consistent strategic orientation led me to make a triumphant return. For example, when I was working in Singapore in 2010, I got a place to live temporarily in one of the finest condos in the Holland Village precinct thanks to having my connection with an emeritus professor of the ANU. He was a visiting distinguished professor at NUS (National University of Singapore) at that time.
There were few International students at my Master's program, so I received immense stimulation and pressure from academically outstanding local students
Pardon me, this program is not the one I did study in 2007, but it is my second Master's degree, which is Master's degree in Strategic and Defence Studies at the same uni in 2011. As you can probably imagine, this program is largely for local students due to having national security elements. But, it's also got an Asia-Pacific security element as well, so it could be beneficial for international students coming from Asian backgrounds. Yes, so because of this sort of circumstance, I was frequently struggling to catch up with the speed of lectures, tutorials and seminar presentations. Now that I do feel I haven't got enough oral and aural English skills to be able to cope with such hectic and agile environments. If that situation is now, I should be able to deal with that more comfortably and confidently. But anyway, that's an unchangeable past event, so it's too late to lock the stable door.
To be continued.
Thanks for reading today.
Have a good weekend!