Having taught English here in Japan for nearly 7 years now, there are numerous obstacles that stand in the way of, effective and clear communication that have come to my attention. Today though, I want to look at a strategy you can use to answer simple questions. Though you can use what you glean here for more difficult questions as well, but be aware that doing so may limit you to some extent. So let me show you an example of a question I often ask upon my meeting a younger student for the first time.
この７年間日本で英語を教えてきましたが、はっきりとコミュニケーションをとったり考えを伝えるのに、いくつかの妨げがあります。今日は、簡単な質問を答えられるようにストラテジー（作戦）を教えたいと思います。ここから学ぶものは難しい質問に対しても使えますが、少し限界されることもあるので注意してください。私が初めて若い生徒と会う時によくこのような質問を生徒に聞きます。
“Hello, my name is Mr. Bouget, what’s your name.
Inevitably the answer to this question would be something like this.
多くの場合、この質問には次のような答えがきます。
“Akio.”
Now, Akio has answered the question, but Akio has done little to flex his English skill up to this point. But I might continue on, perhaps Akio is a bit shy.
確かにあきおくんは質問に答えましたが、自分の英語力はあんまりチャレンジしていません。でもあきおくんはただ恥ずかしいからかもしれないでしょう。では次の質問。
“Nice to meet you Akio. Now Akio, how old are you?”
“Eight.”
I can see that Akio knows his age, I might be able to assume even that he knows his numbers in English. So I plod on.
あきおくんは自分の年は知ってますし、他の数字も知ってるかもしれませんね。
“What’s your favorite color?” or “What color do you like?”
“Yellow.”
And the introductory questions continue on for another 3-5 minutes as I ask about his favorite foods, drinks, anime, hobbies and so on. Each answer Akio gives is most likely minimal in its nature.
３〜５分間、このような会話が続きます。好きな食べ物、飲み物、アニメ、趣味、などについて聞きます。ほぼ全部の答えは単語一個で返事できます。
So what can be done to help Akio and anyone else who is in the same situation. My advise is to repeat a majority of the question in the answer. It looks something like this.
では、あきおくん見たいが人はどうやって助けることができるでしょう。私のアドバイスはこれです：答える際には、質問に出てきた言葉をそのまま繰り返して返事すること。
“Hello, my name is Mr. Bouget, what’s your name.
“My name is Akio.”
“Nice to meet you Akio. Now Akio, how old are you?”
“I am Eight years old.”
“What’s your favorite color?” or “What color do you like?”
“My favorite color is yellow.” or “I like the color yellow.
Now this might not be too ground breaking but another thing I’ve tried to teach my students, especially those who are not confident in their writing ability is to look at the words in a question and use those to help them write a proper response.
これは新しい発見ではないかもしれませんが、自分の英語書きに自身お持っていない生徒にはこのように教えます：質問にでてきた単語が助けになる、と。
For example:
If you could travel the world with a friend where would you like to go?
Let's imagine that the words “friend” and “would” might be a bit difficult for some individuals to write from memory, but they can and are welcome to look at the spelling of the word used in the question and use what is there to help them with their response.
もし「friend」と「would」は簡単に書けないかもしれません。でもスペリングを真似して返事でも使うことができます。
I would like to travel to South Korea with my friend, Josh.
In summery, when answering a question, repeat the question with the additional information being asked for included. If you lack the ability to write particular words, scan the question, or materials you have at your disposal and look for those words.
簡単に言うと、質問に答える時は質問の言葉に新しい情報を加えて返事することです。もし言葉を書けない場合、文章をスキャンしたり手元にある辞書などを使いながら調べることもできます。
