Former member of Morning Musume, Riho Sayashi, on studying abroad: "It was very lonely". She explains her English learning method that led to a TOEIC score of 820
At the height of her popularity with Morning Musume, Riho Sayashi decided to graduate and study abroad. Her experience studying abroad allowed her to improve her English enough to score 820 on the TOEIC test. In the Spring & Summer 2021 issue of AERA English (Asahi Shimbun Publishing), which is currently on sale, Sayashi-san talks about her experience studying abroad, and the difficulties she had in learning English.
Riho Sayashi was known as Morning Musume's "absolute ace" for her outstanding performance skills. In 2015 she announced her shock graduation and left Japan, stating "I want to go abroad to study English and dance". That sounds cool, but she was only 17 at the time, and the people around her were quite worried. In addition to that, in middle school she had prioritized work over school. Her English grades were at a level that would give someone an "it's nothing but a waste" complex. So why did she all of a sudden decide to study abroad?
"In 2014 we performed in New York, and there was a handshake event after the live performance. Everyone spoke to me in simple English, but all I could say in response was "Thank you." I was embarrassed and I felt I should learn how to express myself in English."
But it wasn't just that. This was also a time when Sayashi-san was thinking about her future.
"When I was 17, I began to think I should have more experiences. I told myself, I don't want to grow up the way I am now. These feelings had become too strong, and I had to change my environment completely."
Being 100% serious about studying English and dance
She didn't want to simply say that she studied abroad. She wanted to be 100% serious about learning English and studying abroad. That was why she first went to English school to improve her English, and then to dance school. Doing both was a conscious choice, and as Sayashi-san tells us, a very good one too.
"I think I could have studied dance, even if I didn't speak English. The confidence however that I had after learning English was my "omamori"* when I began attending dance school. When learning for example a dance genre I had never tried before, I could ask detailed questions such as "How do I do this move?", which helped me improve my dance skills."
*omamori: amulets sold at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples said to provide luck and protection.
The "Wall" I encountered initially when studying abroad
However, during her first 3-4 months abroad, she ran into a wall, where she couldn't speak or understand English.
"There were days when I didn't talk to anyone at all, and I felt incredibly lonely. I was saved by being able to talk to my mother and my friends in Japan every night on SNS, and I thought I was really lucky to be able to study abroad at a time when the internet exists (laughs).
Sayashi-san admits that she has always been a shy person. Even when she was in Japan, she had the tendency to not ask people to repeat what they said when she didn't understand something.
"It was even more difficult to ask questions in English, so I simply pretended to understand, which led to mistakes and problems."
Sayashi-san began to think that while she had left Japan to improve herself, she had not accomplished anything.
"I realized that when I don't understand something, I can, ... or rather, I have to ask questions."
It is important to write down frequently used words, memorize them, and use them
Sayashi-san wrote down, in a notebook, sentences she would use often: "Please repeat that", "How do I get to ...?", "What does this word mean?" etc.
"I learned that if I am prepared ahead of time, I can ask questions more quickly. I don't even remember how many times I asked "What does it mean?"."
After a few months, she was able to respond without thinking. As her conversational skills improved, her relationships at the language school also expanded.
"Everyone had such a positive attitude, that I stopped being so shy. I was practicing my English with a girl from Saudi Arabia. The Arabic script is pretty amazing, right? I taught her a little Japanese too. Words like "omae" (=you) (laughs)."
Sayashi-san currently holds a TOEIC score of 820. To not let her English skills deteriorate, she makes time to watch American news programs or other English videos on Youtube.
While Sayashi-san accomplished her first goal, which was to improve her English, was she also able to achieve her second goal, which was to change and improve herself? She answers with a smile:
"To be honest, my personality hasn't really changed (laughs), but I realized that when I act, my way of thinking, accepting things, and my sense of accomplishment, will all change (laughs). Now, when I want to do something, I think about it carefully, and then, do it without hesitation."
Riho Sayashi: Born in Hiroshima prefecture in 1998. Made her debut as a member of Morning Musume's 9th generation in 2011. She graduated from Morning Musume in 2015, and moved abroad to study dance and English. She resumed her performing career in September 2020, and has been expanding her activities since.
Article: https://dot.asahi.com/dot/2021040700061.html?page=1
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