Elainor

Elainor Tutor Interview

Q. I know that you can speak more than five languages. That’s quite amazing! To you, what is the significance and advantage of learning many languages?

A. I think the best thing about knowing other languages is that it expands your mind and helps you learn more about people and the world in general. When you learn a language, you’re also learning about the people who speak that language – their culture and traditions, beliefs, politics…Often these will be very different from your own. This helps you to develop a broader perspective on things and become more understanding and tolerant of others, which can be useful for getting along in the world.
Having studied a few languages, I also feel fairly attuned to the needs of students and have a pretty good idea of what works and conversely, what doesn’t! Students can feel rest assured that this know-how and experience is going into the planning of their lessons.
Of course, one mustn’t forget to mention the many career advantages to be had by knowing another language, especially now in a world made small through the Internet and other modern technology.

Q. May I ask about your other jobs? You are a singer! Where, when do you sing?

A. I’m with a great jazz band called “Nota Bene” (‘note well’ or ‘take note’ in Latin). We started off as a trio, but have just enlisted an excellent bassist and are now a quartet, with Richard on piano, David on sax, Cristiano on bass and myself on vocals.
We perform at weddings, corporate functions, restaurants, parties and other events in Southeast England – mainly in and around London. We recently started working on our debut CD, which will include about twelve popular Jazz standards. I’ll be uploading samples to our website soon so stay tuned for announcements.
This year we’re also aiming to work on cruise ships and at hotels overseas. Most hotel residencies are in the Mediterranean and the Far East… Yes, I do have my eye on Japan and am hoping we’ll be able to work there sometime in the future!

Q. Also could you introduce your narration job?(I will add your you tube video, if you are OK)

A. I worked as a narrator in Japan for about five years after training in the US and took part in all kinds of interesting productions: promo videos for top Japanese companies like Sony, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, NTT and Panasonic; announcing for TV shows like AXN Bite and 極上の月夜 on 日テレ; educational materials for NHK, ALC, ECC and many others; GPS voice guidance for Sanyo, Zenrin and Honda; game and anime voices for Sega, Konami, Namco, etc.; telephone voice guidance for Japan Airlines, Asahi-Net and Nokia Japan, and lots more.
One of my commercials that some of you may remember is the Toyota “New Way iQ” commercial, which aired in Japan from late 2008 until around May, 2009. This seems to be quite popular on Youtube now.
My biggest commercial while in Japan, however, was the Panasonic “New Tomorrow” global branding commercial. I voiced the English language version, which was shown outside Japan in the US and UK, etc., from 2008-2010. Many of you have probably seen the Japanese version, which featured a theme song by the famous Japanese pop group, Dreams Come True.
Since moving to the UK in 2009 I’ve been working for clients in various countries from my home studio near London.

Q. What would you say are the biggest features of your lessons?

A. I try to maintain a balance of structure and flexibility in my lessons: In planning a lesson I follow the Trinity College teacher training methodology. This gives them a logical order and flow. Within that framework I like to remain flexible in order to address individual student needs. For my ビジネス英語 and 仕事用の英語 courses I use specialized textbooks, which have proven to be popular with students. I also like to create extra practice exercises based on the target language in a given chapter. This means that students who have bought their own copy of a textbook are kept on their toes! More than anything, I want to provide lessons that are enjoyable and useful for students. Many of my lessons have been created in direct response to requests from students and I always welcome their ideas and suggestions.

Q. What level of English should students have before taking your lessons? And what kind of person might benefit most from them?

A. It really depends on the lesson. For example, my 仕事用の英語 and ビジネス英語 courses are designed for professionals working in a particular field or aspiring to do so, and assume a good grounding in English grammar and vocabulary (intermediate to advanced level skills).For elementary to intermediate level students who just want to improve their general English skills or practice English conversation, I offer a variety courses including 日常英会話, 英文法, トラベル英会話 and of course, フリートーク. These courses consist of lessons on different topics so students can pick and choose the ones that interest them.

Q. Can you give some comments or words of advice to our students?

A. 1. Try to surround yourself with English as much as possible every day – read books in English; listen to English news broadcasts; watch TV programs and films in English, etc. At the same time, keep in mind that language is about communication – you can’t learn a language in isolation, which brings me to my second point:
2. Find a native English speaker to practice conversation with. There are many international clubs and business groups in Japan where you can meet native English speakers who are genuinely interested in Japan and Japanese people. Be sure to choose a native speaker, so you can be assured of natural English and correct pronunciation.
3. Use English in your moment-to-moment thinking. As you go about your daily activities, try to think about what you’re doing in English: “right now I’m reading an interesting article in the morning (news)paper;” “now I’m making myself a cup of tea;” “now I’m off to catch the train to work,” and so on. This is something you can do by yourself any time of the day and it can be a helpful supplement to conversation practice in learning to think in English.
4. One thing I don’t recommend is spending money on the various courses and products that claim you can speak English fluently “in just two weeks,” or “just by listening to a tape while you sleep/work,” etc. Sometimes these products are advertised by so-called foreign「タレント」, which makes it even more confusing for Japanese people eager to learn English, but don’t be fooled! There is no substitute for regular study and practice.
5. Have fun! A whole new world is opening up for you. Enjoy

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Elainor

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