Presiden Barack Obama mulai berkuasa 20 Januari 2009

Pidato Presiden Amerika Serikat Barack Obama menjadi sarana belajar bahasa Inggris yang populer di Jepang. Kumpulan khusus pidato Presiden Obama laku keras dalm waktu singkat. Berikut laporan Roland Buerk dari Tokyo:

Dengar ceritanya

It's been described by its publishers as a huge hit in Japan - a compilation of the speeches of Barak Obama has sold well over 400,000 copies, and students at an English class in Tokyo are even memorising the new President's words to improve their own pronunciation and understanding.

CLIP English class

'On behalf of the great state of Illinois let me express my deepest gratitude for the privilege of addressing this convention.'

Barak Obama's message of change has been well received in Japan where politics is often characterised by grey figures and backroom deals. The clear language of the speeches makes them an obvious choice for teaching material. But the new President's words are said to hold particular appeal.

CLIP English class followed by an English teacher

- Perseverance.

- Perseverance.

- Just practise like that.

It's from his personality, first of all. And also, his technique, his rhythm in English sound beautiful to the Japanese people who may not understand English well but still find his English as something they want to learn from.

And so, in shops across Japan the face of the new American President is a fixture on the bookshelves, as well as on the newsstands. And for students, the question of whether they'll succeed in improving their English can be answered - 'Yes we can'.

Roland Buerk, BBC News, Tokyo

Dengar kata-katanya

a huge hit
sangat disukai, sangat digemari, sangat populer bagi banyak orang

a compilation
di sini, buku yang memuat beberapa pidato terpisah, kompilasi

addressing
berpidato, berbicara kepada

convention
konvensi, pertemuan resmi yang melibatkan banyak orang

grey figures
pegawai negeri sipil atau polisi yang jarang muncul di depan publik, sehingga orang tidak bisa dengan mudah mengetahui pasti tugas mereka

backroom deals
ketika sesuatu disepakati secara tertutup, tidak diungkapkan secara terbuka

to hold particular appeal
disukai karena alasan tertentu

perseverance
kegigihan, tekad dan upaya berkelanjutan

technique
teknik, ketrampilan atau keahlian untuk melakukan sesuatu

a fixture
tokoh yang dianggap mapan di suatu tempat atau posisi