How to acquire English skills even if you don’t want to. 　Chapter 5 Work and English (3) 5.1 Support for Overseas Expansion, Amateur Radio

　English is the backbone of my life. I believe that I have opened up a one-of-a-kind, unique world by adding or multiplying something to English.

One of my favorite hobbies in my 30s was amateur radio, or ham. Amateur radio used to be called the King of hobbies. The King of Jordan was a well-known radio enthusiast, and there must have been many people in the world who communicated with him and exchanged communication cards. Unfortunately, I was not able to communicate with the King.

Amateur radio enthusiasts can be divided into three categories: mechanics, conversationalists, and card collectors. I am a conversationalist, and my motivation for starting amateur radio was to converse with as many people in the world as possible. My station call sign is still JE4FTP.

Thanks to amateur radio, I have made many friends around the world, some of whom and I have now replaced their radios with computer Skype and are enjoying our conversations. These friends also took care of my daughter when she was studying at a university in the US. Also, when we traveled from the Canadian border to the Mexican border, from north to south along the west coast of the U.S., we visited the homes of our radio friends and had fun eye-ball QSOs (face to face conversations) with them. This was only possible thanks to my English skills. It can be said that this is the fruit of the English language.

As a rule, the use of amateur radio for business is prohibited. The frequencies are allocated for the purpose of improving radio technology as a hobby. However, I used amateur radio a lot instead of expensive telephones when I supported companies for their overseas expansion. Of course, we did not talk to each other about things that we did not want others to hear, but we used radio and English for casual communications, reports, and meetings, and it was very helpful.

Amateur radio is now available via personal computers and smartphones, and some people enjoy radio communication with friends around the world from their own cars. It is amazing to see how the times have changed and how technology has advanced. My huge antenna, 25 meter high tower, and radio equipment from those days are now fossils, but I still keep them because I cannot throw them away.

Communicating conditions of amateur radios is subject to changes in the propagation of radio waves due to solar activity, which can result in noise and poor reception. In many cases, we have to overcome these many difficulties to communicate with each other using only our voice. It is not an exaggeration to say that the ability to listen has been enhanced through communication under adverse conditions, although patience and effort are necessary at such times.

Skype can be used effectively in the educational field. I think it must be used effectively. It is a modern tool with great educational potential. It is important for schools, of course, but it is also important for students as learners to make active use of this tool.

Serially posted in English on Tuesdays every other week.

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For photo data and materials, please refer to the following websites.

写真データ、写真資料は以下のサイトを参照下さい。

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Postscript.

Due to a problem with the submission site, I had to stop submitting manuscripts for about two months, but it is almost to the end and I resume it this week to finish it completely.

In the meantime, thank you 100-400 people for having kept reading my past manuscripts each day.