Foreign Languages in Japan (2)\Hark Yeung（yeung@harkyeung.com）
The words written in English by the young Japanese woman running out from the hotel were quite well written. They told me her feelings and what she thought about Japan. Looking at the piece of paper, I wondered why she had not said that to me while I was staying in the hotel. She had been there all the time. But by then, she was very quiet. She just watched when I was talking and laughing with other people.
After reading the piece of paper I looked at her and found that she was looking at me with a very friendly smile. Yet she said nothing. Then I understood. She had difficulty to express herself with spoken words. So she chose to write. Perhaps she had tried to write those words several times before putting the final version on that piece of paper. It's possible that speaking to strangers was not what she felt comfortable to do.
The fact that she chose to tell me her feelings when I was leaving made me happy. After all, I was someone whom she felt she wanted to communicate with, though in a non-usual way. But I also felt sad because I was leaving and we would not have the chance to talk to each other any more. I hoped she would struggle to express herself and speak directly to me before I left. However, she said nothing.
Before meeting her, I had taught a young Japanese student. Her parents were then working in Hong Kong and they wanted her to speak better English. I found the problem with her was that she did not like to speak at all. I noticed that when her mother was talking to her in Japanese, she just answered with body language. It also appeared to me that her mother approved and was even in favour of her way of communication.
