Overcoming a Fear of English: A New Self, Discovered at Disney

I Was Bad at English. So, I Chose Meiji Gakuin University.

Throughout my school years, English was the subject I hated and struggled with the most. At the same time, my mother had studied abroad during her own university days, and hearing how much she had enjoyed it gave me a longing to go overseas and a sense that the ability to speak English would be something to be proud of. I wanted to overcome my biggest weakness during university, so I began looking for a school with a strong study abroad program.

Meiji Gakuin University attracted me not only for its wealth of study abroad programs, but also for the opportunities it offered for intercultural exchange on campus, including its “Buddy System” (a program in which Japanese students support international students in their university life in Japan). I also learned about the UCR Disney Internship Program, which combines English study at UCR Extension (University of California, Riverside Extension) with work at Walt Disney World in the U.S., and I set that as my goal after enrolling. I wanted to experience firsthand, while actually working at Disney, its world-class service and the inner workings of the business.

The reason I chose the Department of International Studies in the Faculty of International Studies to study English was its academic breadth, which covers the world from multiple angles, as well as the opportunity to take courses in the Department of Global and Transcultural Studies, where all instruction is conducted in English. The Faculty of International Studies also includes students with roots abroad, international students, and returnees, which has enabled me to engage in intercultural exchange and broaden my circle of friends.

The Road to the Internship

Right after enrolling, I attended an information session about the UCR Disney Internship Program and began studying with the goal of joining the program in the fall semester of my second year, the earliest possible departure. To be eligible, I first needed to achieve the language proficiency and academic requirements for the internal selection process before the application deadline.

To ease my anxiety about English, I started watching Disney movies with both audio and subtitles in English, and listening to plenty of Disney songs to keep my motivation up. When alone, I would talk to myself in English about things that had happened that day or what I was thinking, and I made a point of spending at least two hours a day in contact with English during idle time, like my commute, while also studying for the TOEFL and IELTS tests. The Department of International Studies has many students with overseas experience, and feeling a sense of urgency in that environment was another motivation to push myself.

By around the summer of my first year, I had met the required scores and passed the internal selection process. After that, I participated in a training session organized by the International Center to prepare for interviews with the UCR program coordinator and Disney recruiters. Participants practiced interviewing each other, and I received feedback from instructors on my statement of purpose. To maintain my motivation, I also watched vlogs on YouTube from people who had done the Disney internship through the same program, imagining what it would actually be like to work there.

The interview was extremely nerve-racking and felt like it went on forever. I remember talking about how much I wanted to interact with the wide variety of people who come to Walt Disney World, the most-visited theme park in the world, and mentioning that I had part-time experience working at a restaurant. The acceptance notification arrived by email early one morning. I woke up to find an acceptance letter waiting for me and broke down in tears from sheer relief.

When Nothing Got Through: Starting Over After Setback

In September of my second year, I flew to the United States and began three months of English classes at UCR Extension to sharpen my skills. Early in my stay, even basic English would not get through to people, and I was overcome by a crushing sense of failure at the thought that I would not be able to manage life in America. From there, I practiced pronunciation before presentations, read my essays aloud over and over, and kept grinding away steadily. By the second month, I began to feel my English getting through to people and my vocabulary growing. In the latter part of the program, I took courses on hotels and tourism alongside participants from other countries who were also joining the Disney program, and I worked on group presentations.

The Pride I Built as a Cast Member

The internship began in February, and during the first half, I was assigned as a cast member to Quick Service Food and Beverages, selling snacks and light meals. I started by learning service procedures and regulations from a trainer, and could only step onto the floor after passing something called an assessment. I was stationed at the park’s busiest spot, a food stand with a view of Cinderella Castle, so things were constantly hectic, and I handled guest interactions while communicating with the other cast members.

In the second half of the internship, I juggled the role of Seater across three reservation-only restaurants. Few interns were placed there, and everyone else on the team was a local employee. Handling guests in a busy environment with no easy camaraderie among the cast, I found the formal and tense atmosphere a difficult adjustment at first. The pressure to deliver quality service to guests who had paid a premium was also intense. Because of the reservation format, failing to seat guests efficiently could mean their reserved time had already passed, and there was indeed one occasion when I found myself apologizing to a group over and over.

Adding to the complexity, each restaurant has its own backstory, and cast members are expected to perform their roles accordingly. At an Italian restaurant, Italian phrases might be used; at the restaurant inside Cinderella Castle, staff are expected to interact with guests as if attending to members of the nobility. Staying in character while following each restaurant’s specific rules was genuinely challenging.

The most memorable moment of the internship was watching the nightly fireworks with a guest who loved Japan. We had been talking about Japan when the fireworks began, and we watched them together. The guest was so genuinely moved they were in tears, and before I knew it we were embracing and sharing the joy. In that moment, I felt a deep and heartfelt pride at the thought that I was working as a cast member in a place where such wonderful memories could be made. It struck me, in a moment I will never forget, that my presence and behavior might be adding a small splash of color to someone’s life story.

Assumptions Shattered, Horizons Broadened

Through interacting with so many different people in this program, I came to realize that many ways of thinking are valid, and I developed a greater sense of openness. For example, the path I had always taken for granted was graduating from university and getting a job, but people I met through the program held a wide range of views: some thought it would be fine to keep working at Disney, others thought about going back to university and starting over. It came as a shock. The realization that what I thought was normal was not universal, and that it was perfectly okay to take a different path, dismantled my sense of what was standard. My threshold for taking on new challenges also dropped. Going abroad for a year had taken real courage, but with a newly broadened perspective, I found myself thinking there were things I was allowed to do, and I became able to take new kinds of action.

For Those Thinking About Studying Abroad

After graduation, I plan to continue working in a Disney-related field. I hope to leverage what I gained from the UCR Disney Internship Program to eventually have a role that involves working with the head office.

Studying abroad offers the enormous benefit of learning living English, and, as in my own case, it can help you rethink your values and broaden your horizons. One of the defining features of the UCR Disney Internship Program, I think, is that it gives you access to truly living English, directly connected to daily life, because you are actually using English on the job. Many guests who visit are also non-native English speakers, and finding ways to communicate with them is yet another rewarding aspect.

If you’re interested in studying abroad but think your English isn’t good enough, please don’t let that stop you. I myself grew from having no overseas experience at all when I entered university to where I am today. “If you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true*” Please go ahead and try, rather than holding back and living with the regret of never knowing. *From the Cinderella theme song, A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes.