英語で学ぶ理科の時間
Science class in English

あなたはこんな経験はありますか？

Hello Everyone! It’s Ethan.

Have you ever traveled abroad and been to a hospital? Have you ever tried to have an in-depth conversation with someone regarding space, the planet, or the human body?

I have, but in Japanese. And, truth be told, I was not ready for these topics. A lot of native vocabulary regarding these subjects is learned in elementary and middle school science classes.

However, I learned Japanese in America in a Japanese program that was aimed at helping foreigners speak basic Japanese, not native Japanese.

Consequently, I was lacking a lot of vocabulary that was required to accurately convey my thoughts in Japanese.

For example, the first time I went to the doctor in Japan, I had an extremely bad headache, an itchy throat, and watery eyes. To me, they were clear signs of pollen allergies, which is a problem I have never had before coming to Japan!

Thinking in English, my native language, in my head, I clearly knew how to explain my symptoms. But, when I went to the doctor, my vocabulary level was so lacking that all I could say were general things like “頭痛があります” and “喉がかゆくて目も痛いです”.

Sure, these explained my basic symptoms, and the doctor was able to figure it out, but here is what I probably would have said had been able to describe my symptoms in my native tongue:

“I have a really bad headache from my sinuses being clogged, and I am also experiencing an itchy throat and watery eyes. I think it might be the pollen, but I have never had an issue in America before.

I’m not sure if maybe the pollen count or something is different here or what, but could you give me a little more information? What kind of pollen is the most common here? Tree pollen? Grass pollen? Ragweed pollen?”

If I were able to speak in English, I could give specific details about my symptoms and my body that I just didn’t have the ability to do in Japanese.

I also would have been able to ask about specific types of pollen, and then probably continue the conversation with the doctor to narrow down all my symptoms and causes. Instead, my limited vocabulary caused me to just say “頭痛があります” and other simplistic phrases.

A big difference between native speakers and non-native speakers is that they learn these specific sets of words in school, in class, and a lot of vocabulary comes from science courses.

Had I the knowledge of elementary science courses that are taught in Japanese, I probably could have perfectly exactly what parts of my body hurt, what the pain felt like, different types of pollen, and anything else related to my body or basic science that is necessary to talk about. Alas, my vocabulary was just too limited.

However, Nic先生’s course is designed to give you the opportunity that I didn’t and overcome this vocabulary gap by teaching you the more specific words, phrases, and scientific prowess that regular English textbooks won’t teach you!

Science is all around us.

While some students think science is ’scary’, it doesn't have to be! All you need is a quick introduction to the world of science, and you'll be able to understand so much more about the world around you.

You’ve probably lots of science ‘bits’ around you. Have you ever read an article, and found it was full of scary words like ‘endocrinology’ or ‘climatology’. Well, I’ll give you the secret ‘code’ for understanding these phrases.

Science is full of these short ’stems’, that you can add to words. You can quickly recognise the meaning, and it will be just like decoding Japanese kanji. You’re already familiar with the process.

Plus, you’ll learn about the science background of some of the biggest advances in society. Have you ever heard your native friend shout ‘Eureka’, and wondered what it means?

You probably hear all about climate change, greenhouses gasses, and the carsink capture technology, not to mention photovoltaic cells.

Plus, Japanese people should all be familiar with the concept of radioactivity, and the discharge of tritium into the ocean.

Science is all around you, and it’s the true universal language. So, learn it in English!