はじめに

ワーホリ生活も18周目となります。日記を書いたり、バイトしながら英語力を向上させていく中で、細かい違いが大きな違いになることに気がつきました。”beside”と”besides”の違い。生活の中でこの表現に出会い、当時の自分はこの２つの違いが疑問になり、調べて日記に追加してノートに書くことにしました。今回の記事はその日記と勉強したノートの記録となります。

またこの週には、自分の性格を根本から変える必要があることを、ストレートに伝えてくれた仕事の同僚との運命の１日を迎えます。言い訳ばっかりしていた自分と、この日に決別をすることとなります。ワーホリ中には様々な出会いが、「本音と建前」を大切にする日本の文化の中で、「言い訳ばっかりするのをまずはやめろ」とストレートに言われたことをキッカケに、さらに自分を変えることができました。英語学習も言い訳無用！オーストラリア放浪日記18スタートです！

July 26th

I had to take a job interview even though I couldn’t sleep at all last night. Besides, I didn’t practice taking an interview. But I did well more than I had expected. I was able to say a joke whilst taking it. The interviewer was very kind and pointed out my mistake of English grammar, and the school was so nice that I really want to work there.

After the job interview, I went to school. I was dying of sleepiness. All teachers today asked me why I came to school when I talked about staying up at MacDonald last night.

In my share house, I could finally talk to English man who is very very tall. I made friends with him. In the living room, I watched “Spirited Away.” It is “Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi”. I was so impressed by it though I’ve watched it a lot, because I watched it in English for the first time.

July 27th

In the first lesson, I got irritated by the grammar questions. It was very difficult for me to answer them, so they got on my nerves.

When I studied English in a lounge, Ken-san told me to take business English lessons because a teacher had skipped a class the day before. I’m a quite lucky man.

I had a day-off today, so I enjoyed watching movie. I watched the same movie with subtitle in order to make sure the contents more than before. Whilst I was watching movie, some inspectors came to see our share house. I talked to Ken. We want to welcome to beautiful women!!

July 28th

In the third lesson, I found it difficult to use adjectives and describe pictures. Vicky, who is a teacher at the time, had four pictures. She told me to explain and describe them. I had to get a lot of information from those pictures. For example, colours, texture, size and so on. I have to study many adjectives in order to be a good English speaker.

I had to finish working rather earlier because we didn’t have many customers today, so I ate the free meal and went home as soon as possible.

July 29th

I’ve finished taking my private lessons. It means that I’m supposed to be the purple class. There are two students and one speak English well, but I think private lessons are much better. I miss it.

It was the busiest day I had spent in Kasumi. The restaurant was crowded with plenty of customers. Some customers were waiting outside until they can sit down. In addition, I had to close our restaurant. After all, I finished working at 2:15 am. But the owner of the restaurant was still drinking with his friends. My forebodings proved true. I had to drink with them until at about 6 am even though I have to work too!

July 30th

I came home at 5:30 p.m. then I sent e-mails to my juniors in Toriton. I hope they can play tennis in the perfect sunny day.

When I finished sending them, John, who is my flat mate, came to our room. We took three pictures of us because it was the last time we can talk with. We shook hands before he left.

The workers in the kitchen was already in a bad mood when I started working. If I made a mistake in working, it’s natural that I am scolded by them, but I did’t make any mistakes, but I was scolded. I didn’t understant why I was scolded. I really want to quit this job.

July 31st

I went to Aroma Festival in the Rocks with my share mates today. I did not have my private time to enjoy Australia, so it was very fun for me to go to the festival. There were a lot of coffee stores and cake shops there. Plus, we saw people dancing and singing there. I felt that I was going sightseeing after a long time, so I took a hundred of pictures today.

Before going home, we had a cup of coffee there. I usually drink coffee which I bought in Coles, so the coffee was pretty nice. I can’t drink coffee in Coles any more.

After the festival, I worked at Kasumi Japanese Restaurant. I have a lot of things to buy, so I was a little late. When I worked, I didn’t make big mistakes. But my senior told me to come to the locker room and he said directly to me, “You often make excuses when you are scolded. It is your fault which you should change.”

Tonight, another senior told me to come and see me. We went to a bar in order to drink and talk about our job. I thought I was scolded again, but he encouraged me to do my best, and he said to me, “I’ll stand by you. I’ll train you as long as you have a mind to work and the will.” I was sobbing when I listened to what he was saying because I was glad to hear that. I’ll be able to do my best for a long time.

Aug 1st （8月1日〜4日の日記）

I had to be in the purple classroom and I had to study Stage 8 I had already studied before. It was a little boring for me. In addition, we have three pupils in this room. The opportunity to speak English became less because one of the pupils is Japanese and the other is a person who is interested in Japan and always tries to speak Japanese. I think I have to study English myself.

After school, I worked at Kasumi Japanese restaurant. It was my first time to close the restaurant myself. I was nervous because of it, but I managed to close it with some small mistakes. After working, I went to Karaoke with my friends. We sang lots of songs until 6 am. I really had a good day.

I have something special to write down. I got a new job as a receptionist today. Although wage is very cheap, I can take lessons for the test of IELTS for free before working. I did it!

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ネイティブならこう言う！日記のブラッシュアップ・アドバイス

1. もっと自然な単語選びをしよう

• 「私的な時間」 → “time for myself” などのほうが自然
  • あなたの英文: “I did not have my private time to enjoy Australia…”
  • アドバイス: “private time” は少し堅苦しい表現です。ネイティブは、自分のための時間という意味で “time for myself” や “personal time” を好んで使います。
  • 改善例: “I haven’t had much time for myself to enjoy Australia, so…”
• 「数百枚」 → “hundreds of” が正解
  • あなたの英文: “…so I took a hundred of pictures today.”
  • アドバイス: 「100枚」なら “a hundred pictures” ですが、文脈から「たくさん（数百枚）」撮ったことが伝わります。その場合は、複数形にして “hundreds of pictures” と言います。
  • 改善例: “…so I took hundreds of pictures today.”

2. 冠詞（a/an/the）の使い方を意識しよう

• あなたの日記では、冠詞の抜けや、”the” の使い方が少し不自然な箇所があります。
• 例えば、”Aroma Festival” のような特定の大きなイベントには “the” をつけたほうが自然です。
  • 改善例: “I went to the Aroma Festival…”

3. 「ネイティブらしい」表現への言い換え

• 「これ以上飲めない」 → “can’t go back to” (もう戻れない) のニュアンス
  • あなたの英文: “…so the coffee was pretty nice. I can’t drink coffee in Coles any more.”
  • アドバイス: 意味は通じますが、Colesのコーヒーが「もう飲めないほど美味しくない」という強い意志や感情を伝えるなら、“I can’t go back to Coles coffee now”（もうColesのコーヒーには戻れない）という表現がとてもネイティブっぽいです。「良いものを知ってしまった」というニュアンスが強調されます。
  • 改善例: “…so the coffee was pretty nice. I can’t go back to Coles coffee now.”
• 「私に会いに来て」 → 仕事場でのシチュエーション
  • あなたの英文: “Tonight, another senior told me to come and see me.”
  • アドバイス: これだと「彼が私に会いに来るように私に言った」という少し奇妙な文になります。「彼が（私に）声をかけてくれた、呼び出してくれた」という意味なら、“pulled me aside” (横に引っ張る＝少し離れたところで話す) がぴったりです。
  • 改善例: “Later that night, another senior pulled me aside.”

4. 感情を表現する言葉のチョイス

• 「励ます」 → “encourage” だけでなく “talk to me” も効果的
  • あなたの英文: “…but he encouraged me to do my best…”
  • アドバイス: “encourage” は良い言葉ですが、この文脈では「真摯に相談に乗ってくれた、話してくれた」というニュアンスを含めて、単に “talked to me” や “gave me a pep talk” (激励のスピーチをする) とするほうが、上司との距離感が近く、より感謝の気持ちが伝わります。
  • 改善例: “…but he really talked to me, and gave me a pep talk, telling me to…”

5. 強い意志を表す熟語

• あなたの英文: “I’ll train you as long as you have a mind to work and the will.”
  • アドバイス: この部分はとても感動的です。”have a mind to work and the will” はあなたの気持ちを表現していますが、より強く「やる気がある、その気がある」というネイティブらしい表現として “if you’re up for it” や “as long as your heart is in it” があります。
  • 改善例: “…telling me to do my best, and said, ‘I’ll stand by you. I’ll train you as long as your heart is in it.'”

改善後の日記（一例）

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I went to the Aroma Festival in the Rocks with my flatmates today. I haven’t had much time for myself to enjoy Australia, so it was so much fun. There were tons of coffee stalls and cake shops. Besides, we saw people dancing and singing. It felt like I hadn’t gone sightseeing in a really long time, so I took hundreds of pictures.

Before going home, we had a cup of coffee there. I usually drink coffee that I buy at Coles, but the coffee here was so nice. I can’t go back to Coles coffee now.

After the festival, I worked at Kasumi Japanese Restaurant. I had to buy a few things, so I was a little late. While I was working, I didn’t make any major mistakes. However, my senior pulled me into the locker room and told me straight, “You often make excuses when you are scolded. It’s a habit you need to change.”

Later that night, another senior pulled me aside. We went to a bar to grab a drink and talk about our job. I thought I was going to get scolded again, but he really gave me a pep talk, encouraging me to do my best. He said, “I’ll stand by you. I’ll train you as long as your heart is in it.” Hearing that made me sob because I was so happy. Now, I feel like I can give it my all for a long time.

英語力向上に役立つ表現・英単語まとめ表（８月１日の日記より）

英単語 / 表現	品詞	日本語の意味	例文	類義語 / 関連表現
flatmate	名詞	シェアメイト （主に英・豪語）	My flatmate makes a lot of noise late at night.	roommate housemate
time for myself	熟語	自分のための時間	After a busy week, I just need some time for myself.	my own time personal time
tons of 〜	熟語	たくさんの〜 （カジュアル）	I have tons of things to do before my trip.	lots of 〜 a lot of 〜
besides	接続詞的に使用	さらに、それに加えて （文頭で）	I’m not hungry. Besides, I’m trying to lose weight.	in addition plus
It felt like 〜	構文	〜のように感じた	It felt like I had known her for years.	It seemed like 〜 I got the feeling that 〜
hundreds of 〜	熟語	数百の〜 （「たくさん」の意）	Hundreds of people gathered in the square.	thousands of 〜 countless 〜
pull into 〜	熟語	(車などが)〜に到着する (人を)〜に引き入れる	The police officer pulled me into the station for questioning.	draw into 〜
make excuses	熟語	言い訳をする	Please stop making excuses and apologize.	Rationalize give a reason
pull aside	熟語	(人を)脇へ呼ぶ (内密に話すために)	The teacher pulled the student aside to discuss his grades.	call aside take aside
pep talk	名詞	激励の言葉 （やる気を出すための）	The coach gave a short pep talk to the team before the game.	motivational speech encouragement
stand by someone	熟語	〜の味方をする 〜を支える	True friends will stand by you through thick and thin.	support someone back up someone
one’s heart is in it	熟語	本気でやる 熱意がある	I can tell that your heart is not in this project.	be motivated be enthusiastic
sob	動詞	すすり泣く （感情的になって）	She was sobbing when she read the bad news.	weep cry silently
give it one’s all	熟語	全力を尽くす 精一杯やる	I am going to give it my all and pass this exam.	do one’s best go all out

たった1文字で大違い！「beside」と「besides」の使い分け完全ガイド

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1. beside（〜のそばに）

「beside」は主に「場所・位置」を表す前置詞です。

「物理的に横に並んでいる」イメージを持つと分かりやすいですよ。

• 基本的な使い方：
  • A town beside the sea.（海辺の町）
  • The boys were sitting beside the wall.（少年たちは壁のそばに座っていた）
• ちょっと応用編：位置関係から派生して、比喩的な表現でも使われます。
  • He looked young beside his brother.（兄と並べると、彼は若く見えた ＝ 比較）
  • The question is beside the point.（その質問は核心から外れている ＝ 的外れ）

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2. besides（〜に加えて / 〜以外に）

一方、末尾に「s」がつく「besides」は、「追加」や「例外」を表します。 物理的な場所ではなく、「情報のプラスアルファ」と覚えましょう！

• 「〜に加えて」のパターン（肯定文）：
  • Besides advising him, I gave him some money.（彼に助言しただけでなく、お金も貸してあげた）
  • She had four sons and an adopted one besides.（彼女には4人の息子がいて、さらに養子が1人いた）
• 「〜以外に」のパターン（否定・疑問文）：
  • He has no friends besides me.（私以外に彼には友達がいない ＝ exceptの意味）
  • What else can I do besides talk?（話すこと以外に何ができるっていうんだ？）
• 文頭で使う「さらに / そもそも」：会話を付け加える時の「それにさ、」というニュアンスです。
  • It’s too late to go out; besides, it’s raining.（外出するには遅すぎるし、その上雨も降っているよ）

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覚え方のコツ

最後に、この2つを混同しないための魔法の覚え方をご紹介します。

beside ＝ 横（サイド）にある。

besides ＝ 「s」が**「追加」されているから、意味も「追加（〜に加えて）」**。

まとめ

• beside：場所（〜の横に）
• besides：追加（〜に加えて）、除外（〜以外に）

2. 冠詞（a/the）の使い分け

特定の文脈において、なぜ “the” を使うのかという論理的な理解を深めています。

• 自然な関連性: “A car hit the tree and the driver hurt himself.” という文において、車（a car）が登場すれば、その「運転手」は特定される（車がいれば運転手もいるのが自然）ため、“the” を使うと説明されています。
• 同様に、面接（an interview）の話をしていれば、その「面接官」は当然存在するため “the interviewer” となります。

3. 句動詞と前置詞の組み合わせ

特定の動詞が、目的語や後に続く内容によってどの前置詞を伴うかを整理しています。

• write の使い分け:
  • write with a pen: 道具（ペンで書く）
  • write in English: 言語（英語で書く）
  • write on paper: 土台（紙に書く）
  • write about contents: 内容（内容について書く）
• break の自動詞用法:
  • broke into pieces（粉々に壊れる）、broke away（（嵐などで）外れる、取れる）といった、物理的な状態の変化を表す表現です。

4. 日常会話・日記で役立つ感情表現

自身の感情や状況を伝えるための、こなれた表現が多用されています。

• be fed up with: 「〜にうんざりしている」（I’m fed up with unreasonable orders）。
• get on my nerves: 「（神経に触って）イライラさせる」。
• manage to: 「（困難ながらも）なんとか〜する」（managed to make a lot of drinks without complaints）。
• dying of sleepiness: 「死ぬほど眠い」。

5. 学習姿勢に関するヒント

ノートの記述からは、文法だけでなく「コミュニケーション」の本質についても触れられています。

• Confident Communication: 完璧な文法よりも「自信を持って話すこと」が、相手に「英語ができる」という印象を与えるために重要であると気づきを記しています。
• Know vs Know about: “I know English” と言うと「英語のすべてを知っている」という傲慢な響きになりかねないため、“know about”（〜について知っている）を使う方が自然であるというネイティブ感覚の学びも記録されています。

6. ratherの多様性

• rather の多義性:
  • 程度: 「予想以上に」「いつもより」という意味で、ネガティブ（rather tired）にもポジティブ（rather well）にも使えます。
  • 比較・選択: 「〜ではなく」「むしろ」という意味で、rather than の形でよく使われます。

最後に

最後までご一読ありがとうございました。今後も英語力向上に役立つブログ記事を作成していきますので、一緒に英語学習にお付き合い頂ければ幸いです！