Superstition in Industry and Adult Learning - My Journey with English

I delivered a prepared speech to my fellow Toastmasters during our regular club meeting this morning. My subject was about learning English, a popular topic among my fellow Toastmasters that I first thought I could cover in a single speech. After reflecting on it in my preparation for the speech, I realized that the subject has such profound influence on my life that I ended up making a new plan to cover it in two speeches. So, today's speech is only part one of the story.

It is the Ghost Festival in Taiwan—the 15th day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar—so we had a timely and interesting meeting theme: "superstition in industry, with the question: "Is there any superstition in your industry?" To this end, I shared the taboo I used to avoid in the shipping industry: never turn over the fish when eating it because it implies bad luck, symbolizing a ship capsizing.

After the meeting, we had a group meal together as usual. This is my favorite part because we can mingle and get to know each other better in person. That’s why we call it “the second round”—a continuation of learning from one another even after the meeting. It's another uplifting and fulfilling Saturday. 

Here is the script for my speech.

______________________________________________

Adult Learning – My Journey with English 

What’s your favorite hobby?

How long have you kept it?

Good morning everyone!

Though I'm not a native English speaker, I am excited to talk about my subject today because reading English is my favorite hobby, as I asked in my opening questions.

During my school years, however, I didn’t pay any attention to English, so I graduated from university with poor command of English. I did not feel anything wrong with that until I landed my first job after finishing military service in 1983. The job was Sales Representative for a Japanese shipping company. I loved the job, but was surprised to learn how unprepared I was for it, which required good command of English because we used it to communicate with customers and colleagues around the world. So, as an adult, I decided to improve my English, kick-starting my 42-year journey with English. That’s why I chose my speech title as "Adult learning – my journey with English."

I began by going to a cram school to learn English, and also studied on my own every day. At that time, learning materials were few, so I tried reading English newspaper China Post and magazine Studio Classroom. Gradually, my English improved and I could handle my daily work, but it was not enough for me to get a promotion or other career advancement. 

Luckily, in 1989, I passed an exam and was admitted to ITI, or International Trade Institute, for a two-year, full-time training program focused on English and International trade. Motivated to better my English, I quit my job and studied at ITI. Two years later, my English had improved so much that it became a strength, or an advantage, instead of a weakness that I used to struggle with. 

Knowing this, my previous company contacted me and hired me again as International Sales Representative, with major job description “traveling overseas to visit customers every month.” Five years later, I was promoted to Sales Manager, thanks to my English competency. At the same time, I also cultivated my new hobby – English reading, and continued exploring the world through English media, including Time Magazine, CNN News and BBC News.. 

In 2000, I left the shipping company and joined an American logistics company as Operation Manager. Five years later, I was promoted to Sr. Manager, and stayed there until I retired in 2022. Though my job title was Operation Manager, I was actually a people manager because I had to lead a big team with 20 to 30 employees. After I was promoted to Sr. Manager, I was responsible for five times as many employees because I had five operation managers reporting to me. So my job was essentially people management, with communication and leadership, alongside English competency, being the most crucial job skills. Therefore, during this period my English reading was extended to the fields of self-improvement, management , and leadership. In particular, I benefited profoundly from reading the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and the business bimonthly Harvard Business Review. 

Now, having reflected on my 42-year adult learning journey with English, I have three takeaways to share with you:

First, know your WHY and focus your resources on the right investment. In my case, it’s English.

Second, look LONG TERM and execute your plan patiently. 

Third, revisit and refine your WHY. In my case, I don’t need to use English as my livelihood now, but "learning through English" remains my favorite hobby, which I’ll elaborate on in another speech next week.

To conclude, I shared my 42-year adult learning journey with English, using my English competency to pursue my rewarding career and to form my favorite hobby. My Takeaways are: Know your why and focus, look long term and be patient, revisit and refine your why.

Thank you for your attention. Toastmaster of the Day!