B2-24 / CEFR B2 / EPISODE 24

Scholarship Interview

Explaining motivation and plans under different budgets

SceneTina is at a graduate scholarship interview. Two panel members have her research proposal.

Tina discussing documents at a scholarship interview.
Select the illustration to view it at full size in a new tab.

STORY English with optional Japanese translations

Narrator

Tina is at a graduate scholarship interview. Two panel members have her research proposal.

ティナは大学院奨学金の面接を受けている。二人の審査員の手元には、彼女の研究計画書がある。

Panel A01

What drew you to this research area?

この研究分野に関心を持ったきっかけは何ですか?

Tina02

I moved far from home. I want to understand when a new place starts feeling like home.

私は故郷から遠く離れた場所に移り住みました。新しい場所がいつ自分の居場所に感じられるようになるのか、知りたいんです。

Panel B03

How would you study that?

どのように調べるのですか?

Tina04

I'd ask newcomers what they unpack first and whether it helps them feel at home. Then I'd interview them again six months later to see what's changed.

新しく移ってきた人に、荷ほどきで最初に取り出す物と、その物があると居場所だと感じられるかを尋ねます。半年後にもう一度聞き取りをして、どう変わったかを調べます。

Panel A05

What did you unpack first when you moved here?

こちらへ移ってきたとき、あなたは何を最初に取り出しましたか?

Tina06

A star map. Once it's on the wall, the room starts to feel like mine.

星図です。壁に掛けると、その部屋が自分の居場所に感じられてきます。

Panel B07

What's your research plan, if funded?

資金を得られた場合の研究計画は?

Tina08

Two years, sixty newcomers, three cities. Then a handbook for dorm staff and volunteers on helping new residents settle in.

2年間で、3都市の新しい住民60人に聞き取りをします。その後、寮の職員やボランティア向けに、入居者が新しい生活になじめるよう支援する手引きを作ります。

Panel A09

What if you received less funding than requested?

希望した額より少ない資金しか得られなかったら?

Tina10

It depends how much less. For a small cut, I'd drop one city. For a large cut, I'd stay in one city with thirty people. That's still enough to answer the same question.

減額の幅によります。少しの減額なら、都市を一つ減らします。大きな減額なら、1都市・30人に絞ります。それでも、同じ研究の問いに答えるには十分です。

Panel B11

Why this institution specifically?

なぜ、ほかでもなくこの機関を?

Tina12

Your dorms have students from forty countries. I could interview newcomers and work with researchers across departments.

こちらの寮には40か国の学生がいます。新しく来た人への聞き取りを行い、ほかの学科の研究者とも協力できると考えています。

Panel A13

Thank you. Thirty people can answer one question? Our budget committee has thirty members, and it can't answer any.

ありがとうございます。30人で一つの問いに答えられる? うちの予算委員会は30人いても、一つも答えが出ませんよ。

WORDS & CONTEXT

Words & context

“What drew you to this research area?”

Draw someone to something means to attract them. What drew you to …? asks what first created their interest, a standard question about motivation in interviews.

“settle in”

Settle in means to become comfortable in a new environment, such as after moving home or changing jobs. It involves finding a rhythm in life or work. The phrase is central to Tina's research into when a new place begins to feel like home.