Pre-TOEFL Writing Suppose you had a chance to take a two-week trip to a foreign country. What country would you most wish to visit? (for recorded class)

Writing Topic

Suppose you had a chance to take a two-week trip to a foreign country. What country would you most wish to visit? 外国に2週間の旅行をする機会があったとしてください。どの国を一番訪れたいですか？

☆Let’s think

Name countries you would like to visit according to your interests.

興味に従って訪れてみたい国を挙げよう。

e.g.

1) English study―America, England, Canada, Australia, etc. 

2) food―Italy, Spain, China, etc. 

3) ancient history―Egypt, China, India, etc. 

4) animals―Australia, Brazil, Kenya, etc. 

5) familiarity－home stay, study abroad, living as an expatriate family

1.    Narrow down choices based on realistic or personal reasons.

現実的または個人的な理由に基づいて選択肢を狭めよう。

1) time constraint (two weeks)  2) cost 3) safety 

☆Sample Essay                                                                                                          

If I had two weeks to visit a foreign country, I would go to Indonesia because I want to improve my language skill and visit two places of my interest.

I would like to learn Indonesian used in daily life there. I have studied Indonesian for two years, and now I can have a basic conversation in it. However, I have noticed that people do not speak exactly in the same way as teachers do. They speak colloquial Indonesian and they have accents. I would like to be exposed to them by spending some time in Indonesia.

Indonesia is an attractive country with many magnificent structures and diverse living traditional cultures. Above all, I am interested in Borobudur and Balinese. Although Indonesia is famous as the biggest Islamic country, it has been influenced by many other religions. Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple in the world with some mysteries in its history. Balinese dance is related to Hindi religion. Although tourism has modernized it, it is still a part of daily life in Bali. I would like to see both of them with my own eyes.

As Japanese, I would not be a totally happy tourist in this country because Japan occupied Indonesia in the past. There are still some old people who speak our language and sing our songs. I cannot imagine how they feel about us and I do not know how I should behave when I meet such people. However, this issue may make the visit all the more meaningful if I communicate with the local people carefully and sincerely.

I would like to deepen my understanding of the language and the culture of Indonesia. Two weeks is not long enough to master the language and see all the cultures, but I think I can get the feel of them.