On Wed, July 15, Ms. H. visited the Fresher Seminar as a guest speaker. She graduated from EAGL March 2023 and now works as a Ground-staff Leader for JAL SKY Kyushu (JALスカイ九州).
Life at EAGL
Ms. H. introduced her school-life at EAGL. She spoke of her classes and how she worked hard to improve her English even though she had some difficult experiences. For example, she had to come back from her study abroad in Canada after only 2 weeks because of the CORONA virus. She also spoke of having to take on-line classes. But she was positive in her outlook and once face-to face classes resumed she joined various activities, such as, volunteering for the Asian High School Study Abroad Bridge Program. (アジア高校生架け橋プロジェクト) She showed great determination to overcome these difficulties and enjoy her university life.
Working for JAL SKY Kyushu
The day in the life of a Ground staff member is quite varied. The day starts with a meeting and ends with a reflection meeting. In between, there is preparation for the counter opening, then a briefing regarding the outgoing flight followed by check-in procedures. There are also gate duties as well. The Ground staff deal with many different airlines such as, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, China Eastern, Singapore Airlines and Malaysian Airlines. The day is certainly a busy one but also rewarding.
Ground staff
Ground staff work on a shift system. There is an early shift where you must arrive at the company by 5:30 am or a late shift starting at 12:50 pm and finishing at 21:40 pm. Of course, different days will have different duties, for example, one day may be check-in duties while the next day may be lobby duties, gate duties or taking care of transit passengers. All these operations are as the ‘face’ of the company – in other words, your face is the first face that the customer sees. While other duties, such as, station operations, road control duties, or duty of responsibility are all behind the scenes. Ms. H. explained to the students the variety of tasks that ground staff members must do.
A Good Workplace for women
The company is a supportive environment for working women. Particularly, for different life events, such as giving birth, taking child-care leave, shortened work hours and so on. So, it offers flexibility for working women. And more importantly, a career which is flexible and openly supportive of women in the workplace.
On-the-job English
Being able to read documents quickly and accurately in English is very important as customers are waiting. So, reading fluently, quickly, picking out key points are great skills taught in our university classes. Being able to listen carefully in a noisy environment is also so important. As is understanding different accents and focused listening skills which again are taught in our university classes. Being able to react quickly and strategically to different situations is also an important skill which is also learned at university. Naturally, there is also the need for English at check-in, when there are irregular situations such as cancelled flights resulting in new bookings or unexpected hotel stays for customers. Or seat changes for customers and taking care of child seats. All of these situations require great listening and speaking skills.
Great Advice for the students
Ms. H. really gave some great advice to the students when she talked about two things. First, don’t compare yourself to those around you who perhaps are better English speakers, but look upon them as people to aspire to and break away from the mindset of trying to speak perfectly. Secondly, act based upon fun! For example, sing your favorite western songs in English – enjoy it, and become more relaxed with the language. Or enjoy conversations with international students naturally. This will help you to move away from being anxious about using English. The joy of communicating successfully led to greater confidence for Ms. H.. She shared her TOEIC score with the students – jumping from 465 to 870 in her 4 years. Overall, what wonderful advice!
Finally, Ms. H. also gave the first years some advice in how to approach their university life. Where you start in first year will be different to where you finish in 4 years, so remember to pursue what you want to do and it’s ok to take your time in finding it. Working towards the finish line at your own pace is so important!
Student Comments:
今日はJALのグランドスタッフとして活躍している先輩が来校してくれました。一番驚いた話は、海外の空港のルールを全て理解し、パスポートやビザもすべて英語で表記されていることです。また、最初のTOEICのスコアから卒業までスコアがすごく伸びていて感動しました。自分も頑張れば追いつけるかもしれないと、目標にもなりました。私も希望を持って自分の目標を達成したいと考えています。とても有意義な時間になりました。（K.0.さん）
M.H.さんの入学当初のTOEIC得点からの卒業時の得点の伸びが凄まじくて、努力を怠らず勉強していたところに憧れを持ちました。私も今、周りの英語のレベルが高く、ついていけないような気持ちになることがよくあります。本日のお話を聞いて心が励まされました。これから、周りと比べて卑屈にならず、自分のペースで自分の理想に近づていく努力を続けていきたいと思いました。（M.Y.さん）
今日のお話で周りの人と比べるのではなくて真似をするようにしたということを聞いて私の今の課題の答えだなと思いました。私は周りのレベルの高さで不安と自信がなくてスピーキングも自信をもってハキハキ話すことができないので、すごいと思う人を自分の目標として考えるとがんばれるなと思いました。また、諦めない大切さも学んだので、恥をかいても授業で発表したり、英語を話したいと思いました。（R.M.さん）
お話を聞いて、お客様の安全を第一に考えながら、一人ひとりに合わせた接客をしていることがとても印象に残りました。また、語学力だけでなく、コミュニケーション能力や協調性も大切だと知りました。華やかな仕事というイメージがありましたが、その裏では多くの努力や責任があることを学びました。今回のお話を通して、相手の立場に立って行動することの大切さを改めて感じ、自分も日頃から周りの人への気配りを意識したいと思いました。（N.U.さん）
