An interview with Yumiko Murai of the MIT Media Lab, covering her memories of learning English from childhood in Japan to preparing for study abroad, her graduate school life in New York, and the renewed challenges of English she encountered while living in Boston.
村井 裕実子 Yumiko Murai
Postdoctoral Researcher at the MIT Media Lab. Her research focuses on how human connections develop within online learning communities, and how these connections influence learners’ motivation and confidence. Currently, she is working on themes such as leveraging online learning communities for teacher training in creativity education and STEM fields, as well as supporting non-native English speakers’ participation in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). After earning a B.A. in Environmental Information and an M.A. in Media Design in Japan, she moved to the United States in 2010 to pursue graduate studies, receiving her Ph.D. in Education in 2015.
Although raised in a Japanese-speaking household, Yumiko was exposed to English as a child because her mother, an English teacher, and her father, a researcher, sometimes used it as a “secret code” in front of their children. This sparked Yumiko’s curiosity—she wanted to know what was being said. This early sense of exclusion became her first motivation to learn English.
When her mother studied in the U.S., Yumiko spent several summers in Seattle as a young child, attending a local preschool. Although she remembers being scared to enter a new environment, she gradually enjoyed the activities and interactions with American children. She recalls learning and using simple phrases, which became her first attempts at real communication in English.
Back in Japan, Yumiko officially began studying English in junior high school. She felt a strong excitement—“finally I get to study it properly.” She enjoyed classes, memorized textbook dialogues, and loved the sense of accomplishment when she could read simplified English books. English quickly became her favorite subject, though she found vocabulary tests more difficult.
In school, Yumiko often translated English into Japanese using a dictionary, even though teachers discouraged it. Later, while studying in the U.S., she realized that thinking in Japanese sometimes helped her fully understand difficult material. Over time, she developed a flexible “hybrid” approach—translating when necessary but not relying on it exclusively.
Before graduate school in the U.S., Yumiko worked hard to prepare for the TOEFL and other application requirements. To improve her listening and summarizing skills, she regularly practiced with TED Talks—listening without transcripts, summarizing in writing, and treating them as real lectures. This method proved both effective and enjoyable.
Starting graduate school was a shock. Yumiko felt like information in lectures was “slipping through her fingers”—she could catch words, but not full meaning. To cope, she took extensive notes, often without fully understanding them, while also relying on programming classes where language was less central. Over time, she noticed gradual improvements, especially in listening. Speaking developed more slowly, while writing improved through academic training.
After completing her Ph.D. in New York, Yumiko moved to Boston for her postdoctoral position. Surprisingly, she again struggled with communication, feeling as if she were “back to square one.” The new environment—with colleagues from different fields such as engineering and computer science—demanded faster, clearer, more professional English. At first, conversations felt difficult, but gradually she adapted by preparing more for meetings and adjusting to her colleagues’ communication styles.
Looking back, Yumiko sees a recurring pattern: new environments bring struggles, awareness of difficulties, and then gradual adaptation. Her main advice:
– Don’t get discouraged—it’s natural to struggle in new settings.
– Keep speaking with confidence, even if your English feels imperfect. Speaking openly helps both you and those around you understand each other better.
– Observe and adapt—learning English is also about adjusting to new communities and communication norms.
Yumiko’s story shows that even advanced English users face ongoing challenges when entering new contexts. Her experiences highlight that language learning is less about reaching a final goal and more about continuously adapting, observing, and engaging with others.
