私はニューヨーク駐在員の妻で子供はいません。ニューヨークに来る前はそこまで英語に自信ないし、生活していけるかな？と不安に思っていました。こちらでは子供がいたり、働いたりしない限り、基本的にスーパーと家の往復になるので英語の出番はそこまでありません。ただ、イレギュラーで英語のコミュニケーションが必要になる場面があり、その時に英語がうまく喋れなくて相手に嫌な顔されると、結構しんどいです。なので英語ができた方がストレスが減るし、楽しく生活できます。
しかし問題は、普通に生活していても英語を話す機会がほとんどないので、英語を上達させるにはそういう環境を自分で作りにいかないといつまでも話せるようにならないと言うことです。一番手取り早いのが英会話教室に行くことですが、ニューヨークの図書館ESLに行くと、日本の駐妻の多さに驚きます。また、多くがグループでの授業になるので、積極的に話さないと練習にならず、ただ時間だけが過ぎていきます。私も積極的に話すタイプではないので、あまりグループレッスンには向かず、結局マンツーマンのネイティブキャンプを併用しています。色々試しながら自分に合う学習法を見極め、効率的に会話力を伸ばせると良いですね！
I'm the wife of a New York expatriate, and I have no kids. Before I came to New York, I didn't have much confidence in my English speaking skills and I was wondering if I could live there. As long as you don't have kids or you don't work, all you have to do is to go a supermarket and go back home, so you don't need to speak English. However, there is a scene where you have to communicate in English irregularly. If you couldn't speak English well at that time and people you talked with became bad mood, It would be stressful. Therefore, life would be less stressful and more fun if you could speak English more.
The problem is that you barely speak English in daily life, so you can't develop your English skills as long as you don't try to make such a surrounding by yourself. The easiest way is to go to English conversation classes, but surprisingly, ESL classes have many Japanese wives. Moreover, most classes are preceded by group work, so if you don't speak actively, it can't be a practice and you just waste time. I'm not the type of speak actively, so I'm not cut out for group classes and I also take classes on Native Camp. I hope you will develop your English conversation skills by trying various ways.
by chat GPT
I am the wife of an expatriate in New York, and we don't have children. Before coming to New York, I wasn't very confident in my English skills, and I wondered if I could manage to live here. Since life here revolves mostly around going to the supermarket and home, I don't use English unless there are irregular situations that require communication. However, in those instances, when I can't speak English well and see other people react negatively, it can be quite stressful. So, being able to speak English would reduce stress and make life more enjoyable.
The challenge is that even in ordinary life, there are very few opportunities to speak English. To improve my English, I need to create such an environment; otherwise, I won't become proficient. The quickest way is to attend English conversation classes, but I was surprised the number of Japanese expat wives at the ESL classes in the New York public library. Most of these classes are group lessons, so if you don't actively participate, you won't get much practice, and time will just pass. Since I'm not the type of speak actively, group lessons were not the best fit for me. In the end, I've been using both group lessons and NativeCamp. It's essential to experiment and find effective ways to improve conversation skills effectively.