An interview with Kento Maruyama, who works in corporate planning at a Japanese precision equipment manufacturer, about his deep fascination with the “sound” of English—music, voice, and pronunciation—as well as the lessons learned from setbacks and struggles, and the feeling of realizing his skills had improved almost without noticing.
丸山賢人 Kento Maruyama
Originally from Gunma Prefecture. His parents gave him a name with the hope that it would be recognized internationally, which sparked an early interest in the wider world. As a child, he became familiar with English by singing along to the Beatles. In junior high school, during his first trip abroad—a homestay in Australia—he experienced the frustration of being unable to communicate. This setback strengthened his resolve to master English, and he devoted himself to study, ultimately passing university entrance examinations largely through his English ability and enrolling at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. While at university, he spent a year studying in the United States.
After graduation, with the goal of building an international career, he joined a Japanese precision equipment manufacturer. From 2012, he spent five years on assignment in New Jersey, USA. After six years of working in Japan upon his return, he was posted to Manchester, UK, in 2024, where he is currently based. He now works in corporate planning at a regional headquarters overseeing sales companies across Europe.
Kento Maruyama, originally from Gunma and currently based in Manchester, UK, works for a Nagoya-based company with overseas assignments. He reflects that his given name, “Kento,” chosen by his parents with care, works internationally without difficulty.
Kento’s first contact with English came in kindergarten, when he joined a Yamaha English school. The lessons, full of songs, games, and recitals, felt playful and enjoyable. Later, he attended another language school until grade four. Although his parents encouraged him to take part in various extracurricular activities, he never resisted English because it was fun.
When English became part of the school curriculum, he found it easy thanks to his early exposure. Junior high reinforced his confidence, and English quickly became his best subject.
During elementary school, Kento fell in love with The Beatles through his parents’ records. He memorized lyrics, sang along, and even tried playing guitar. Later, when learning grammar in school, he realized many structures were already embedded in his memory through the songs. This connection between music and language learning reinforced his fluency and sense of rhythm in English.
At age 14, Kento joined a one-week homestay program in Australia. Despite excelling at school English, he struggled to hold conversations with his host family. Although he understood many questions, he couldn’t respond smoothly. The frustration was overwhelming, leaving him determined to truly master English and one day return to converse confidently.
Back in Japan, Kento focused heavily on academic English, preparing for high school and university entrance exams. He later rejoined an English conversation school in high school, where he realized he could speak more fluently than before, likely thanks to years of reading aloud and practicing sounds on his own.
Kento recognized that what drew him to languages was their sounds—intonation, pronunciation, and even mimicking accents. He enjoyed shadowing phrases, reading texts aloud, and imitating different languages, which enriched his spoken fluency.
At Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Kento majored in English language and explored diverse fields: phonetics, cognitive linguistics, pragmatics, history, and literature. He disliked highly abstract areas like generative grammar and struggled with classic English literature, but he thrived in phonetics and pragmatics. Phonetics allowed him to analyze and reproduce accents, while pragmatics deepened his interest in how language works in real contexts.
During his fourth year, Kento studied abroad in the United States. Already comfortable with daily communication, he immersed himself in academic courses such as economics, management, and marketing. While the pace and specialized vocabulary were challenging, he describes the experience as developing “muscles in the brain,” strengthening his ability to use English in professional and academic contexts.
Kento’s journey eventually brought him to Manchester, where he now works and continues to learn. Living in the UK has shown him just how diverse English really is. From the strong local Manchester accent to the many varieties spoken by colleagues across Europe—French, Spanish, Italian—he has had to sharpen his ear once again. What once felt like a setback during his teenage homestay in Australia has now become a source of curiosity and even joy, as he finds himself imitating sounds and comparing rhythms of speech.
For Kento, this is more than just language study; it’s about communication across cultures. “English isn’t only about textbooks,” he reflects. “It’s about using your five senses—listening, imitating, singing, placing yourself in environments where the language lives.” His story shows how sound, music, and openness to diversity can transform English from a school subject into a lifelong tool for connection.
