Tsukuba Toast Masters Club ( 5814-76)
Minutes of #418 Meeting
Date: March 17, 2007, 14:00 〜16:30  Venue: Onogawa Public Hall

Attendance: TM Hayashi, TM Kaneko, TM O.Kondo, TM Nagata, TM Negi,
                 TM Ohno(early-left), TM M.Suzuki, TM S.Suzuki, TM Hashida,
                 TM Nakamura, TM Takahashi, TM Pang, TM Tashiro,
                 TM Sakaki, TM Tamura

Guests: Ms.Zukhra, Mr.Irwandi, Ms.Shirota,  Ms.Yu , Mr.Brano, Ms.Lowell

President Officer: TM Kaneko
Thought for the Day: TM Hayashi
Toastmaster of the Day: TM O.Kondo
Timer: TM Nagata
Ums&Ahs Counter: TM Takahashi
Grammarian: TM M.Suzuki
Vote Counter: TM Tamura
General Evaluator: TM Sakaki

Table Topic Session: TM Tashiro" Sports"
1. TM Tamura ......... 1'51"
2. TM Hayashi ......... 1'39"
3. TM Takahashi .... 1'29"
4. TM M.Suzuki ....... 1'35"
5. TM Nagata ........... 1'52"
6. TM Ohno ............... 2'10"

Prepared Speech Session
1. TM Nakamura  " Was she really bad?" ........6'59"
2. TM Kaneko     "History never forgets"........7'20"
3. TM S.Suzuki   " Foreigners' eye" ...................7'13"

Evaluation Session
1. TM Negi for TM Nakamura.......... 3'29"
2. TM Pang for TM Kaneko ............. 3'15"
3. TM Hayashi for TM S.Suzuki ......3'11"

Award
Table Topic Session ................TM Nagata
Evaluation Session  .................TM Negi
Prepared Speech Session... TM Nakamura

***********************************************
Thought for the day by TM Hayashi

Japan must learn other languages
By T.H.
Whatever the reasons for the start-and-stop attitude to learning, the
typically
self-effacing attitude of most Japanese is little help in the competitive
world
of tourism, business and communications.  Speaking another language must
become
a cause for neither embarrassment nor pride -- but it is just an everyday
thing.
　　
Many countries around the world have already benefited from knowing English
and
foreign languages. India has built an entire industry in computer services,
all
in English. From Manila to Caracas to Riyadh, products, information,
investments
and workers all move back and forth across global borders in English. But in
Japan, English too often remains less a bridge than a hurdle.  Japan must
learn
other languages, then, not only to understand other ways of thinking and
feeling, but also to understand itself. Japan has too long remained an
island
linguistically. Geography is no longer an adequate excuse. Nowadays,
language is
what leaps borders with the greatest force and speed via the Internet or
trade
policies or popular films.  If anything, the luxury of speaking only one
language will be an increasing rarity in the future.  Only the poorest, or
ironically, the wealthiest countries, will live monolingually.

The diversity of languages is a testament to the beauty and ingenuity of the
human species, but the future is likely to rest on humankind's ability to
create
an international culture of communication.
No country can afford to relish its uniqueness at the expense of working
with
others in a common language.

                                             back to TOP