これまでの経験Life Experience
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Talk about things you have and have not experienced, using expanded 「ことがある」.
- Describe a change that happened over time, using 「ようになった」.
- Express an ongoing personal belief or intention, using 「と思っている」.
- Connect a series of past events into a smooth narrative using narrative connectors such as 「そして」、「それから」、「その後」、and 「〜てから」.
- Read and listen to short accounts of personal history and reflect on your own experiences in Japanese.
- Recognize and produce kanji for experience, life, history, challenge, growth, and reflection.
- Narrate a connected account of a personal experience, spoken and written, that reflects on what you learned from it.
Communication Scenario
With the community event now finished, Emma, Yuki, and their volunteer team gather for a casual debrief. Someone suggests that everyone share a memorable personal experience related to volunteering, travel, study, or a challenge they once faced. As the conversation moves from the event itself into life stories, the group naturally begins comparing what they have and have not tried, describing how they changed over time, and reflecting on what they learned. This chapter opens Unit IV by moving from managing a single project into narrating a life story — the first step toward the connected, independent Japanese that will carry through to the end of the volume.
- Someone asks whether another person has ever done something unusual or difficult.
- A speaker describes how their feelings or habits changed after an experience, using 「ようになった」.
- The group reflects together on what they learned, using connectors to link the events of a story in order.
Core Vocabulary
The following vocabulary supports talking about life experiences, study history, travel, hobbies, milestones, and challenges. All items are productive at this stage.
| Japanese | Reading | English meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 経験 | けいけん | experience | often paired with する |
| 人生 | じんせい | life; a person's life | broader than 生活 (daily life) |
| 歴史 | れきし | history | personal or general history |
| 挑戦する | ちょうせんする | to challenge oneself; to take on a challenge | する verb; often with に |
| 成長する | せいちょうする | to grow; to develop | intransitive する verb |
| 振り返る | ふりかえる | to look back on; to reflect on | Group 1 verb |
| 感じる | かんじる | to feel | Group 2 verb |
| きっかけ | きっかけ | a turning point; a trigger for change | often with で or に |
| 当時 | とうじ | at that time; back then | marks narrative time |
| 初めて | はじめて | for the first time | reviewed from Volume I |
| 失敗する | しっぱいする | to fail; to make a mistake | する verb |
| 乗り越える | のりこえる | to overcome | Group 2 verb; often with を |
These twelve items form this chapter's productive core. Vocabulary from earlier chapters, such as 勉強する、旅行、趣味、and 大変, continues to be available and is expected to appear alongside this chapter's new words.
れんしゅう — Practice: Choose six words from the table above and write one true sentence about your own life for each one.
Script and Kanji Focus
This chapter introduces new kanji for experience, life, history, challenge, growth, and reflection. Because these characters are new, they appear with furigana throughout this chapter, following this volume's furigana policy. Kanji from Unit III, such as 記事、意見、理由、方法、and 場合, continue to appear with reduced or no furigana, matching the reduction schedule established through Chapter 15.
The verb 振り返る (ふりかえる, to look back on) keeps the okurigana り after the kanji 振, distinguishing the stem from the ending that changes in conjugation: 振り返ります、振り返って、振り返った. Write the full word, kanji plus okurigana, rather than dropping either part. The same principle applies to 乗り越える (のりこえる, to overcome), which keeps the okurigana り after 乗.
れんしゅう — Practice: Write each of the six kanji above once from memory, and use each one in a short phrase, such as 「初めての経験」 or 「自分の人生」.
Pronunciation Focus
Several words in this chapter combine long vowels and moraic ん in the same word. Practice the following pairs carefully:
- 経験 (けいけん): a long vowel in the first syllable (けい) followed by moraic ん; keep both distinct from a short け and a plain な-row consonant.
- 人生 (じんせい): moraic ん in the first syllable, then a long vowel in せい; do not shorten either.
- 成長 (せいちょう): two long vowels in a row (せい and ちょう); keep phrase rhythm even rather than rushing through the second one.
When narrating a story aloud, maintain steady phrase-level rhythm across longer sentences, rather than speeding up toward the end of a long clause.
Grammar and Sentence Patterns
This chapter develops three systems for narrating personal experience: expanded 「ことがある」 for past experience, 「ようになった」 for change over time, and 「と思っている」 for an ongoing belief or intention. It also introduces narrative connectors that link a sequence of past events smoothly.
1. Expanded ことがある — talking about experience
Purpose: to say whether you have or have not had a particular experience, using the plain past form of a verb plus ことがある.
- 日本に住んだことがあります。I have lived in Japan (before).verb (plain past) + ことがあります
- 一人で旅行したことがありません。I have never traveled alone.
- こんなに大変な挑戦をしたことがありますか。Have you ever taken on such a difficult challenge?
This pattern was introduced formulaically in earlier chapters; in Chapter 16 it becomes fully productive, meaning learners are expected to form it independently with a wide range of verbs, not just memorized examples.
2. ようになった — describing a change over time
Purpose: to describe how a situation, ability, or habit changed from one state to another, usually as the result of an experience.
- その経験をしてから、日本語で話せるようになりました。After having that experience, I became able to speak in Japanese.
- 失敗したきっかけで、もっと注意するようになりました。Because of the failure, I came to be more careful.
ようになった most often follows a potential form (話せる) or a verb describing a habit or state (注意する). It marks a change, not a single completed action; contrast it with simple past forms, which describe one event.
3. と思っている — an ongoing belief or intention
Purpose: to express a belief, plan, or intention that the speaker holds over time, rather than a thought that occurred only once.
- その経験のおかげで、もっと成長したいと思っています。Thanks to that experience, I've been thinking I want to grow more.
- 来年、また挑戦しようと思っています。I'm planning to try again next year.
と思っている describes a standing belief or plan; と思う, reviewed from Chapter 13, describes an opinion at the moment of speaking. Both remain productive, but they answer slightly different questions: 「今、何を思いますか」 versus 「最近、何を考えていますか」.
4. Narrative connectors — linking a sequence of past events
Purpose: to connect a series of past events into a smooth, ordered narrative.
- 大学を卒業してから、一年間、外国で働きました。After graduating from university, I worked abroad for a year.
- 最初は不安でした。それから、少しずつ慣れました。At first I was anxious. After that, I gradually got used to it.
- 友達ができました。そして、日本語が好きになりました。I made friends. And I came to like Japanese.
- その後、日本語の勉強を続けています。After that, I have continued studying Japanese.
「てから」links two clauses within one sentence and emphasizes the first action as a starting point; 「それから」、「そして」、and 「その後」 link separate sentences within a narrative. Vary these connectors rather than repeating the same one throughout a story.
Grammar Practice
- Write one sentence about something you have experienced, using ことがあります.
- Write one sentence about something you have never experienced, using ことがありません.
- Write one sentence describing a change in yourself, using ようになりました.
- Write one sentence expressing an ongoing belief or plan, using と思っています.
- Combine your sentences from items 1 through 4 into one short connected narrative, using at least two different narrative connectors.
Model Dialogue
Setting: After the event, Emma, Yuki, and サトウさん relax over tea and share personal stories.
ないようりかい — Comprehension questions:
- What experience did Emma have as a university student?
- How did Emma change as a result of that experience, and what does she now think or plan to do?
- How did Satō change as a result of this volunteer project?
Guided Practice
タスク１ — Ask about experience. Write three questions asking a partner whether they have ever done something, using ことがありますか.
タスク２ — Describe a change. Write two sentences describing a change in yourself or someone you know, using ようになった.
タスク３ — State an ongoing belief. Write two sentences about something you have been thinking or planning for some time, using と思っています.
タスク４ — Connect a short story. Combine your answers from Tasks 1 through 3 into a short connected narrative, using at least two narrative connectors from this chapter.
Listening Practice
Ask your instructor, a partner, or a text-to-speech tool to read the following passage aloud at a clear, moderate pace.
きくタスク — A volunteer's story
私は学生の当時、一度も海外に行ったことがありませんでした。ある日、友達に誘われて、初めてボランティア旅行に参加しました。最初はとても不安でしたが、それから、少しずつ現地の人と話すようになりました。その経験のおかげで、新しいことに挑戦するのが好きになりました。今でも、また同じような経験をしたいと思っています。
聞くタスク — Listening task: Identify what the speaker had never done before, what triggered the change, how the speaker changed, and what the speaker is thinking now.
This script combines experience, change, and reflection in one connected passage, as expected on this chapter's Practical Performance Task.
Speaking Practice
コントロールされた練習 — Controlled practice: Quick answers
- 一人で旅行したことがありますか。
- 何かの経験のおかげで、どんなふうに変わりましたか。
- これから、どんなことに挑戦したいと思っていますか。
コミュニケーションタスク — Life-experience interview
With a partner, interview each other about a memorable experience: something you have or have not done, how it changed you, and what you now think or plan to do because of it. Use at least one instance each of ことがある、ようになった、と思っている, and one narrative connector.
ひとりでもできる練習 — Solo practice: A recorded personal story
Record yourself narrating a two- to three-minute personal experience, following the Building Block pattern from the Grammar section: a starting point, an experience, a change, and a reflection. Listen back and check your use of long vowels, moraic ん, and phrase rhythm, along with the accuracy of this chapter's grammar systems.
Reading Practice
Read the following short personal essay, then answer the questions below.
私の経験 — My Experience
私は子供の当時、人前で話すのが苦手でした。失敗することが多くて、あまり自信がありませんでした。しかし、高校生になってから、学校の行事で発表することになりました。それは、私にとって初めての大きな挑戦でした。最初はとても緊張しましたが、練習を続けて、少しずつ上手に話せるようになりました。その経験を振り返ると、失敗を乗り越えたから成長できたと思っています。今でも、新しいことに挑戦し続けたいと思っています。
Notice that 記事 and 担当, from Unit III, do not appear in this reading, while this chapter's new kanji, such as 経験、当時、挑戦、and 成長, keep furigana throughout, following the Chapter 16 support level.
ないようりかい — Comprehension questions:
- What was the writer like as a child, and why?
- What challenge did the writer face in high school, and how did it go at first?
- How does the writer feel about that experience now, and what does the writer want to do in the future?
Writing Workshop
In this workshop you will write a short connected personal narrative that combines experience, change, and reflection, following the Building Block pattern from the Grammar section.
- Set the scene by naming a time in your life, using 当時 or a similar time expression.
- Describe an experience, using ことがある or 初めて.
- Describe how you changed because of that experience, using ようになった.
- Reflect on what you think or plan now, using と思っている.
- Connect your sentences smoothly, using at least two different narrative connectors, such as てから、それから、そして、or その後.
- Revise and check using the checklist below before finalizing your text.
チェックリスト — Editing checklist:
- My text sets a time or starting point for the narrative.
- My text describes an experience using ことがある or 初めて.
- My text describes a change using ようになった.
- My text reflects on the experience using と思っている.
- My text uses at least two different narrative connectors to link the events in order.
- I kept furigana on this chapter's new kanji and followed the reduction schedule for earlier kanji.
- I ended each sentence with 。 and used consistent script and punctuation.
Culture and Communication
Sharing a personal experience within a group, as the volunteer team does in this chapter's dialogue, is common in many settings in Japan, including workplaces, schools, and community organizations, though the amount of personal detail considered appropriate can vary by relationship, setting, and individual comfort. A reflective closing comment, such as 「その経験のおかげで成長したと思っています」, is often valued as a way of connecting a personal story to a broader lesson, but this style of reflection is not required or universal.
Milestones such as graduating, starting a first job, or traveling abroad for the first time are common topics for personal narratives, but the typical age, order, and significance of these milestones vary across regions, generations, and individual families in Japan, just as they do elsewhere. Avoid assuming that any one life path is the standard one.
The Model Dialogue in this chapter uses reflective language such as 振り返ってみて and と思っています within an otherwise casual, polite conversation among colleagues who have become friends. This kind of reflective turn is a natural feature of many everyday conversations, not only of formal speeches or written essays, and it remains comfortably in ordinary です／ます style.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Error: *昨日、映画を見たことがあります。 using ことがある to describe something that happened once, at a specific, recent time.
Correction: 昨日、映画を見ました。 — use the plain past tense plus ことがある only for general life experience, not for a single event at a known, specific time; use the ordinary past tense for that instead.
Error: *日本語を勉強するようになりました。 intended to mean simply "I studied Japanese," but ようになった always implies a change from a previous state.
Correction: 日本語を勉強するようになりました。 is correct only if it means "I came to study Japanese (when I did not before)." If the intended meaning is simply "I studied Japanese," use 日本語を勉強しました。 instead.
Error: *旅行に行きました。友達に会いました。日本語が好きになりました。 presenting three events with no connectors linking them.
Correction: 旅行に行ってから、友達に会いました。それから、日本語が好きになりました。 — as this chapter teaches, connectors such as てから、それから、and そして keep a personal narrative clear and connected for a listener or reader.
Chapter Review
Section A — ごい (Vocabulary)
1. Use 経験, 人生, 挑戦する, and 成長する each in one sentence about yourself.
Section B — もじ (Script)
1. Write 経験, 人生, 歴史, 挑戦, 成長, and 当時 from memory, and use each one in a short phrase.
Section C — ぶんぽう (Grammar)
1. Write two sentences about experiences you have and have not had, using ことがある.
2. Write one sentence describing a change in yourself, using ようになった.
3. Write one sentence expressing an ongoing belief or plan, using と思っている.
4. Combine your sentences from items 1 through 3 into one connected narrative, using at least two narrative connectors.
5. Explain, in your own words, the difference between と思う and と思っている.
Section D — どっかいりかい (Reading comprehension)
1. Look again at the personal essay in the Reading Practice section. Write two sentences summarizing it in your own words.
Section E — かくこと (Writing)
1. Complete your own personal narrative, following the Writing Workshop steps.
Section F — はなすこと (Speaking)
1. With a partner or instructor, narrate a personal experience, including a change and a reflection.
Practical Performance Task
パフォーマンスタスク
これまでの経験 — A personal narrative
Choose a real or imagined personal experience: a trip, a challenge, a milestone, or a hobby you took up. Complete all four components below.
- Written narrative: Write a connected account of at least eight sentences that sets a time or starting point, describes an experience (ことがある／初めて), describes a change (ようになった), and reflects on it with an ongoing belief or plan (と思っている), using at least two narrative connectors, following the Building Block pattern from the Grammar section.
- Spoken narrative: With a partner, instructor, or recording, tell the same story aloud as though sharing it with a friend.
- Listening check: Listen to a partner's or instructor's personal narrative and correctly identify the experience described, the change that occurred, and the speaker's current thoughts or plans.
- Reading check: Read a short personal essay provided by your instructor or partner and summarize its experience, change, and reflection in your own words.
Assessment focus: accurate and natural use of ことがある、ようになった、and と思っている; smooth use of narrative connectors; correct recognition and production of this chapter's kanji with appropriate furigana; and comprehensible pronunciation with attention to long vowels, moraic ん, and phrase rhythm across a longer connected narrative.
Answer Key
Grammar Practice
1. Model: 外国に住んだことがあります。 2. Model: 一人で山に登ったことがありません。 3. Model: 前より料理が上手にできるようになりました。 4. Model: これからも新しい言語に挑戦したいと思っています。 5. Open-ended; check that models combine the four sentences with at least two different narrative connectors, such as てから、それから、そして、or その後.
Model Dialogue — Comprehension
- Emma traveled to Asia alone for the first time as a university student to volunteer, and the language barrier was difficult at first.
- Emma gradually came to talk with local people and to feel different ways of thinking; she now wants to grow more and plans to challenge herself with a new country next year.
- Satō came to take an interest in community activities because of this volunteer project.
Listening task — Model summary
The speaker had never been abroad as a student. A friend's invitation led to a first volunteer trip, which was frightening at first. Gradually, the speaker came to talk with local people, and the experience led the speaker to enjoy trying new things. The speaker still hopes to have a similar experience again.
Reading — Comprehension
- As a child, the writer was bad at speaking in front of others and often failed, which left the writer without much confidence.
- In high school, the writer had to present at a school event; it was a big first challenge and was very nerve-racking at first.
- Looking back, the writer feels that overcoming failure led to growth, and the writer wants to keep challenging themselves with new things.
Chapter Review — Section A and B
Open-ended; check against the Core Vocabulary and Script and Kanji Focus sections above.
Chapter Review — Section C
Open-ended; models follow the patterns shown in the Grammar section above. For item 5, a correct explanation notes that と思う expresses an opinion at the moment of speaking, while と思っている expresses a belief, plan, or intention held over a longer period of time.
Chapter Review — Section D
Model answer: 子供の当時、人前で話すのが苦手でしたが、高校の発表がきっかけで、少しずつ上手に話せるようになりました。今でも、新しいことに挑戦し続けたいと思っています。 (Other accurate answers accepted.)
Chapter Review — Section E and F, and Practical Performance Task
These are open-ended production tasks. Evaluate written work against the Writing Workshop checklist above, and evaluate the spoken narrative, listening check, and reading check against the assessment focus listed under the Practical Performance Task.
Looking Ahead
いまできること — What you can do now
You can talk about experiences you have and have not had, describe how you changed as a result of an experience, and express an ongoing belief or plan about the future. You can connect a series of past events into a smooth narrative using a variety of connectors, and you can read and listen to personal accounts of life experience that combine narration with reflection.