前回の入賞スピーチ　３位

Theme: How I can help to promote two-way tourism between Japan and Hong Kong.

Supporting Students in Building a Bridge between Japan and Hong Kong

Takayuki Minami / Kumamoto University

I wish I were a talented person, but I’m not. I wish I were a millionaire, but I’m not. I’m no different from most other university students. I’m just a university student dreaming of being an English teacher. For a person like me, there seems to be very little that I could do to promote something as big as tourism between Japan and Hong Kong. However, I’m sure that there must be something that could be done by an ordinary person like me.

For me, tourism is not simply a matter of business or a matter between nations. In my view, the pivotal part of tourism is human interaction. Authentic tourism has the power to move not only money but also people’s hearts. As the two leading economic powers in Asia, Japan and Hong Kong have been good business partners. Accordingly, from now on, the key to better tourism between Japan and Hong Kong lies in establishing and maintaining intimate relations between their people. Keeping this in mind, I‘d like to consider what role I can play as a future English teacher for the further development of two-way tourism.

In building this intimacy, language plays a crucial role. When a Japanese and a Hong Konger try to communicate, the language employed is, in most cases, neither Japanese nor Chinese. It is English. It is at this point that I, as a future English teacher, can contribute. If more Japanese are able to use English confidently, more interactions and smiles will arise among individuals. But, I’m not going to teach English as a British or an American language. I have a vision of teaching English as an Asian language which encourages closer relations between Asian people.

This view of wanting to teach English stems from my experience in New Zealand as an exchange student. For the first few weeks in New Zealand, I hesitated to speak in English believing that I had to sound like a native speaker. However, over time, I found that each non-native speaker I met spoke their own English confidently in spite of its differences from the native standard. It seemed to me that they used English, consciously or unconsciously, not only as a communication tool but also as an indicator of their identity. I noticed that this was particularly true for students from India, Singapore, Nigeria and Hong Kong−countries where English was introduced as the colonizer’s language.

Interactions with them gave me a different perspective on English; Now I no longer aspire to be indistinguishable from a native speaker of the language. As long as I can communicate, I’m satisfied. This way of thinking is extremely important as long as English functions as a global language. Along with other Asian people, Hong Kong people’s attitude toward English is a good example for Japanese students and teachers. In other words, I want my students to use English with confidence as a speaker of Japanese English and as a force for uniting Asian people.

In addition to English usage, my friends from Hong Kong seemed to be very confident and to take pride in their behavior, their family, and the places they were born and raised. In short, they seemed very proud of their identity. On the other hand, while interacting with them, I felt very inferior, and at times I almost began to hate everything that made me what I was, for some reason. But now, thanks to them, I have come to think that Japanese people should feel more proud of themselves and should consider their differences from other cultures more positively as unique characteristics, like the people of Hong Kong. I’d like to teach these notions to my students.

However, for two-way tourism, just learning from Hong Kong is not enough. Learning should be interactive. Japanese people need to learn more about Hong Kong and vice versa because people in Japan and Hong Kong are the same Asians, but different Asians. With a view to establishing mutual understanding, I’d like to give my students opportunities to communicate with people in Hong Kong. For example, using the internet, I can link a classroom in Japan and one in Hong Kong easily. Through these educational practices, I hope my students will be motivated to learn more English and more about both countries. This will be the foundation for the further development of two-way tourism. As a consequence, I hope my students will act as bridges between Japan and Hong Kong, and I would like to act as a pole which supports those bridges.

Up to now, in this speech, I have contemplated what role I can play as an English teacher emphasizing human interaction is at the core of tourism. I think that authentic tourism starts and ends with constructing intimate relationships and sharing smiles. Although my contribution may be a tiny one, I’m sure that when those tiny practices are accumulated, it will have a significant effect on the promotion of interactive tourism between Japan and Hong Kong.

Thank you very much for your kind attention.

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