草の葉メソッド実践編　1　対話　　　　英語を自分の言葉にするトレーニング

対話レッスンは、まずテキストの本文を翻訳した英語を互いに発表することからスタートする。そして対話編をそれぞれAさんとBさんになって会話を展開していく。一時間のレッスンで、対話者が三人、四人と入れ替わって同じレッスンになるが、例えば山口さんが最初に組んだ人との対話ではAさんになっての会話だったが、二番目の対話者とのレッスンでは今度はBさんになって会話を展開していく。
テキストはいわば舞台で演じられるシナリオであるが、しかしこのシナリオにとらわれることなく、ランナーはこのシナリオから逸脱して自由に英会話が展開されていくことが求められている。

《草の葉メソッド》で訓練してきた山口さんと野田さんの英会話はもう十分にシナリオから逸脱していて、デタラメ英語が自由にのびのびと飛び交っている。そんな英会話をテープ起こしして採録してみるが、筆者には彼女たちの会話をとらえる文体を創造する力がないから、ここは英語という文字に強引に引き寄せて記することになる。さらに繰り返しや、意味不明の発語はそぎ落とし、しばしば日本語がでてくるがその部分は日本語表記にする。
　さて二人の中学二年生は英語だけでどのような会話をしたのだろうか。

A──You fast.
B──Okay, I fast. I live in Shinagawa. Shinagawa and Portland are sister city. Japan junior high school students and high school students go to American in this year, next year American junior high school students and high school students to come to Japan. I took part to the tour and I did homestay at Petersen's home. Petersen family are four person, four persons. You know, father, mother, daughter and son. Daughter’s name is Ann, Anne and I are the same age. Ann's brother John is two years younger. When we have meal, I put palm in front of the chest, and said いただきます. They wonder what that’s word. They asked me what does it’s mean いただきます. I also don't understand what that really means. But I thought words of thanks for giving us the meal maybe. I told them so. They moved felt in those words. So when we began eating, everyone said いただきます. I develop, I developed Japanese and Japanese culture to America. Thank you.
A──Woohoo, Great, you very good.
B──Thank you. And you.
A──Okay, you know, my town Shinagawa and America's Portland are sister cities, and exchange student tours are conducted alternately for middle and high school students every year. I took part in the tour. It was Petersen's family that I stayed at home. There were four people at Petersen. Anne, John, and father and mother. Ann is the same age as mine. John is two years younger than Ann. When I was eating, I always put my palm in front of my chest and I said いただきます. They were wondering that word いただきます. They said to me that what it meant. I did not understand the true meaning of the word, but maybe it was a word to express gratitude for being able to eat rice. The word いただきます is to sympathize with the people of the Petersen family, and when we were having a meal, we said いただきます with all got together. I will have told Japanese and Japanese culture to Portland.
B──Good. Fine. I understand.

A──Ok, you know, I have, I had homestay in summer vacation last year, too.
B──Oh, really. Where go?
A──Seattle.
B──Seattle? In America?
A──Yeah, in United States. And, my homestay family very very interesting about Japan, and they ask me a lot of question about Japan, Japanese culture.
B──Japanese food, Japanese fashion, Japanese history. Right?
A──Yeah, yeah. Tatami, Futon, Hachiko.
B──Hachiko? What’s Hachiko?
A──Shibuya station, ハチ公, you know, front of the station.
B──Oh, ハチ公. Dog, right.
A──You know, American’s movie about ハチ公. They know about Hachiko’s story very well.
B──Yeah, yeah.
A──So, they ask me a lot of question about Japan. But I can’t explain about that’s question, because my English is very poor.
B──Me too, I want to speak about Japan, but I can’t explain.
A──Yeah, I want to say, I want to answer a lot of question. I can to answer that’s question in Japanese. But I can’t to say in English, so I say I don’t know. I don’t know, I don’t know only. I hate such things, I always say I don’t know, and then our conversation is stop at that point.
B──Yes, that’s hit period, and become, ah, ah, しらってなるっていうか、What’s しらってなるin English?
A──しらってなる？　You know, しらける？　Right ?　Become white?
B──White atmosphere?
A──Or white air? Or white air in atmosphere?
B──That’s good. OK, OK, white air, became white air in atmosphere. When I said I don’t know, and then become white air, and our conversation is the end.
A──That’s right. All of us become white are at that time.

B──So I hate such thing, and I decide not to say I don’t know. And then I speak out one word, two words, three words, I can possible, instead of I don’t know.
A──Wow, you are great.
B──Just one word, just two word, but they can understand what I want I say.
A──Yea, yes, they can follow me. You want what you say? Do you want what you say?
B──That’s right. And I spread Japanese culture in the United States. Like the girl in the text.
A──What kind of thing?
B──豚骨 ramen. 豚骨、What’s say 豚骨?
A──Pork ramen?
B──Okay, pork ramen, and 味噌 ramen. What’s say 味噌in English?
A──味噌 is OK. Miso is international language.
B──OK, Miso ramen, and 醤油 ramen. 醤油 ramen is OK? And 塩 ramen, salt ramen. I make, I made cook four type ramen to my homestay family.
A──Oh, my gosh! That’s fantastic!
B──I cook ramen ten time, ten times to them. And then the family is, was, みんな、ラーメンにまっちゃって、はまっちゃって、 what’s はまっちゃって?
A──はまっちゃって?　 はまっちゃって, fall in down?
B──Yeah, yeah, fall in down is great. My homestay family fall in down in ramen. Four type ramen, TONKOTU ramen, MISO ramen, SHOYU ramen, and SHIO ramen, perfect fall in down in ramen.
A──Woohoo! It’s great!
B──But, but it is easy cook ramen. It is how to eat ramen not to be easy. I teach the way of holding chopsticks first. They can never use chopsticks.
A──Eating the ramen with chopsticks. You don’t use the fork.
B──Yes. You do not eat pasta. When you eat ramen, you use the chopsticks. It is basic. However, the American cannot use chopsticks. It is difficult for them to use the chopsticks.

A──I taught them how to use chopsticks. But they were not able to use chopsticks. American cannot slurp ramen. I was shocked by it. Did you know it? I was cultural shock when I did not know it.
B──They are people which cannot slurp ramen, soba and udon.
A──And a little boy, John, he like ramen, but he was alwaysのどにつまっちゃう、what’sのどにつまっちゃう?
B──のどにつまっちゃう、のどにストップする、
A──Ok. Ramen is stop in のど.
B──のどis throat
A──OK, thank you. Ramen is stop in his throat. And John took out scissors. John cut ramen with scissors and ate.
B──I can't believe it.
A──Therefore I noticed. It is difference between Japan and American culture.
B──The American's way of eating must never make a sound.
A──They are educated so since a child.
B──When they have soup, they sip soup without making a sound elegantly calmly. It is their way of eating and is the manner of the meal and is culture.
A──So, I eat, I slurp ramen with make sound, ズルズル、ズルズル sound, at that time, all family became, all families eye, 目が点になる, what is this?
B──Eye become the point, or Eye become the dot?
A──The dot is better, Ok, all member, family member’s eyes became the dot. They looked me with dot of eye, and they seem I came from barbarian country. So I think, I thought, at first, I thought they study of how to eat ramen was necessary. And I went to the rental store, video rental store. And I borrowed “たんぽぽ” and “ラーメンガール” of the English version. And we watched those video, videos.
B──Yeah, it’s great text.
A──They watched two videos, and then they knew how to eat ramen. Then they eat ramen, making sound making noise sound ズルズル sound, they can slurp ramen.
B──So did your homestay family become able to take slurp?
A──Yes.
B──Wow, it was exciting.
A──Yes, they broke American culture and all family make, made ズルズルsound and to slurp and eat ramen.
B──Wonderful. You were great job in America.

《草の葉メソッド》は、文法教育禁止である。間違ったデタラメ英語を大量に話せというトレーニングである。山口さんと野田さんの放つ英会話は、過去形も、現在形も、未来形も、完了形もごちゃまぜだし、単数形も複数形もごったまぜである。あるいはまた「I don’t know」を頻発すると、その場の雰囲気が「しらっ」となるといった表現や、あるいはラーメンをズルズルすすったらピーターセン一家の全員の目が点になった、その「点になった」といった表現を彼女たちはデタラメ英語ででっちあげていく。

彼女たちの放つ英語は完璧なデタラメ英語だった。しかし素朴で、大胆で、華麗で、繊細で、情熱的で美しい。彼女たちの放つ英語には未来があり、やがて出現してくる日本英語を予感させる。

「草の葉メソッド読本──英語を自由に話せる民族にするためのテキスト」は《草の葉ライブラリー》より近刊。