DIANE MAKAR MURPHY Japanese student finally gets into the swim of things

Shingo Tanaka had been studying English in Japan just about his whole life -- in middle school, high school and through two years of college. So, when he came to the United States in April 2000, it was quite a shock to discover he could barely communicate.
It didn't take long to figure out he needed help. When he arrived at his first American airport, nobody understood what he thought was a clearly pronounced, "Where's my luggage?"
By the time he made himself understood by writing down his question, his plane was taxiing away.
His first night in a Youngstown State University dorm consisted of him wondering why no one, anywhere, was using the appropriate American greeting -- "Hi. How are you? I am fine. How are you?"
"It was 'Whaz uuuup?' First time roommate say, 'Whaz uuup!' even his tongue was sticking out. And, 'How you been?' I couldn't get it," Shingo said. "I just stayed in the dorm. I was embarrassed and freaked out. My English was totally useless."
ELI helps
English Language Institute to the rescue. Down a flight of stairs, tucked into the corner of YSU's Tod Hall is a set of rooms that made Shingo's life easier. In Tuesday's column, Aylin Ulus of Turkey was introduced, along with ELI, where students from across the world are taught English.
When a student from another country chooses YSU as his or her college, those stairs, that hall, those rooms, may become frequent stomping grounds.
Shingo, unable to attend ELI until the next day, ventured out that first night only to find food. "I was hungry. ELI hadn't started yet. I thought, I know, McDonald's!" he said of the restaurant that is as common in Japan as in the United States.
He asked but was told no such restaurant was nearby. "But I wandered around and found it. thought, 'American people are mean. They wouldn't tell me how to find this.'" (Shingo later discovered from Lynn Green, ELI coordinator, that his pronunciation of McDonald's was different from the American one. Shingo had asked for "mac-don-o-wuh.")
Matters got worse the next day at ELI when a Chinese student told Shingo, "I don't understand a word you say." "He was Asian; he was supposed to be nice to me!" Shingo said and laughed.
He stuck it out though and is now three years into an exercise science major and doing well enough with English to get good grades and converse easily with a reporter.
Looking to the United States
"In Japan, the economy is bad. I wanted to be a peace officer. When I took the test, 30,000 people applied for 30 positions," Shingo said. "I was disappointed and at the same time teaching swimming in a sport gym, thinking, this is fun."
Shingo started looking for a program in Japan, but not finding one, contacted an uncle in New Jersey. "I wanted to live with him, near New York City. He said [YSU] would be better, smaller. He had a friend at YSU."
It took a semester for Shingo, who is clean cut, tall and well-built, to feel comfortable in the United States. After three years, he's nearing completion of his degree. One thing is certain, the American lifestyle is slower paced than that in Japan, where Shingo's friends go to school year round and graduate to 100-hour-a week jobs, he said.
"I think maybe I try to get a job here," he said. "If I go back there my degree will be useless."
Shingo's English has turned into American, and the only sticking point he seems to have now is in pronouncing his R's and L's. "Every time the phys-ed teacher picks on me. He calls on me for L words," he said. But unlike that freaked out kid in the airport, Shingo is comfortable about it. "I really enjoy it," he said.
murphy@vindy.com