【オンライン英会話】Engoo Daily Newsの記事で準備した英文を公開【事前学習】

Using a Camera in Virtual Meetings May Increase Fatigue

Vocabulary

fatigue: extreme tiredness that is usually caused by physical or mental activity

He is suffering from mental fatigue.

engaging: involved in or doing something, especially in an interested way

She was so deeply engaged in her book that she didn’t hear a word I said.

correlate: to have a relationship or connection

A poor diet is correlated with a higher risk of heart disease.

counter: to act or speak in opposition to something

The government is looking at ways to counter the effects of the recession.

conventional: based on or relating to what is generally or typically done, believed, etc. Lots of people have been shifting from conventional cigarettes to electronic alternatives.

wisdom: the quality of having a lot of experience and knowledge

He is regarded as a man of great intelligence and wisdom.

Discussion

1. What are your thoughts on the study’s findings?
   1. The findings of this study made sense to me according to my own experience. I participated in a lot of video meetings in my previous job, and having the camera off allowed me to focus only on what was being said. Also, when the camera was off, I was not overly nervous before attending the meeting.
2. Do you have a lot of virtual meetings? If so, do you usually have your camera on?
   1. Yes and No. I used to have a lot of video meetings. Basically, in my previous job, I was supposed to turn on the camera during video meetings. If there was no particular reason, I would usually turn on the camera.
3. Do you find it surprising that 61% of people are required to have their cameras on during meetings?
   1. Yes, I do. I thought the result was less than I expected. It may be more in Japan. We have a culture that values rules and etiquette more than necessary.
4. Would you describe your work meetings as engaging? Why? Why not?
   1. Yes, I would. We don’t have a lot of rules, we have a chat a lot. We often find personality testing services and try them out together. It’s allowed as part of our internal communication.
5. How has the coronavirus pandemic changed how you do your job?
   1. When the Corona pandemic broke out, I was a classroom manager at a large cram school. A major cram school is a job that forces students to gather in the classroom. At that time, we prepared partitions and implemented thorough infection control measures. We also did online instruction like Cambly for families who had tablets and computers.

Further Discussion

To be precise, I quit my job just recently. So I’ll talk about that job.

1. What would you say is the most tiring part of your job?
   1. I mainly develop web applications for data visualization there. For example, I read the monthly sales data of a food company’s products from an Excel file and graph them under various conditions. In application development, I create various functions in order(or step by step), but I still like it best when there is no problem with the code I wrote and the application works as I expected.
2. Which of your colleagues do you get along best with?
   1. He is a senior who often takes me out for drinks. He is almost 40 years old, but he acts as if he is as young as I am, and has an active personality.
3. What would you miss most about your job if you were to quit tomorrow?
   1. As a matter of fact, the schedule was flexible and my colleagues were wonderful. What I miss the most is probably the work environment, including those things.
4. What companies would you most like to work for? Why?
   1. Without taking into account my current technical skills, I would like to work as an illustrator for a famous game company like Nintendo, doing character design.
5. The longer the meeting, the less is accomplished. — Tim Cook. What are your thoughts on this statement?
   1. He is the current CEO of Apple, isn’t he?(right?) I agree with this statement. Since the subject of the meeting is to decide something, I try to decide in advance what the goal of the meeting I am proposing is. Of course, this may not be necessary if the meeting is a regular debriefing.