This diary entry was written on Sunday, March 8, 2026, as a reflection on my high school years, when I tried—somewhat recklessly but passionately—to create my own English-speaking environment in a small town where opportunities to use English were almost nonexistent. Inspired by the unconventional learning methods described in a book by the late Michihiro Matsumoto, I attempted to imitate his bold approach, even pretending to be a foreigner in order to practice English. Looking back now, my actions were a mixture of youthful enthusiasm, naivety, and desperation to use the language I longed to master. Yet those experiences reveal just how strong my hunger for authentic English was at the time.
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Sunday, March 8, 2026
Creating My Own English Environment
（英語を話す環境を自分で作ろうとした高校時代）
I am writing this diary entry as a follow-up to my reflections on how I began my lifelong journey of learning English after encountering a book during my first year of high school[i]—and how hungry I was for unfiltered, authentic English[ii].
After reading the late Mr. Michihiro Matsumoto’s book, I became convinced that the key to mastering English was not studying abroad but creating an environment in which I could immerse myself in the language.
But there was one problem: there was no such environment in the small town where I lived at the time. So I tried to create one myself.
Youthful “Madness” (Wakage no Itari)
Looking back now, my enthusiasm sometimes went a little too far. I was young, foolish, and at times surprisingly—even comically—bold, even though I was naturally a timid and shy person.
In his books, Mr. Matsumoto described how he once pretended to be a Hawaiian tourist visiting the Kansai region for the first time. When speaking with Japanese people, he would use only English, as if he were a native English speaker from Hawaii. He trained himself to play the role so convincingly—mimicking the accent and way of speaking—that no one would discover his true identity.
On one occasion, he got into an argument with members of the yakuza in a local bar. Even though he must have been trembling with fear, he stayed completely in character and continued speaking only English, so the yakuza never blew his cover. In the end, he even managed to get along with them.
Inspired by Mr. Matsumoto’s story, I also tried to create my own English-speaking environment by pretending to be an American. The problem was that I couldn’t really speak English at the time. Still, I was desperate for any opportunity to use the language. In the end, my hunger for English got the better of me.
I picked up a telephone directory that listed the addresses and telephone numbers of every resident and business in my small town and looked up the number of my former junior high school English teacher.
It may be hard to imagine today, but forty-five years ago, privacy and personal data protection were not given much priority.
To my untrained ears, my English teacher’s pronunciation sounded perfect, especially with his deep baritone voice. I naturally assumed that he would be fluent like a native English speaker and that he would be the perfect person with whom to practice my English.
One Sunday afternoon, I mustered up the courage to call him, simply because I wanted to speak English with someone. To my surprise, he himself answered the phone, not his wife.
After taking a deep breath to compose myself, I introduced myself in “broken” English as a foreign student searching for information about our small town.p
Even more surprising was that he sounded completely flustered and seemed at a loss for words, unable to say anything in English. He didn’t even ask who I was, how I had learned about him, or why I was calling. He sounded apologetic.
After a while, I thanked him sincerely and ended the call. That was the first time I realized that even a good English teacher whom I had admired as a student couldn’t actually speak English. For a fifteen-year-old boy, it was quite a shock.
At the same time, however, I foolishly began to believe that speaking English gave a person a certain power. Even a teacher who had seemed authoritative in the classroom suddenly sounded apologetic and somewhat respectful toward me.
With the little confidence I gained, I got carried away and kept calling restaurants and service businesses in my town, inquiring about their food and services, all in English.
In Retrospect
Looking back now, I feel a tinge of guilt toward the people whom my youthful enthusiasm (or madness) may have troubled. If they are still alive and still remember those crazy incidents, I would like to offer them my sincere apologies.
I was simply desperate to use English at that time—that is how hungry I was for an opportunity to speak it. I hope they will forgive me.
[i] The Book That Changed My Life（私の人生を変えた本） | Papa Tom’s Lifelong Learning Journey ー 英語道 三段への道
[ii] The Hunger for English（英語に飢えていた高校時代） | Papa Tom’s Lifelong Learning Journey ー 英語道 三段への道