RWY TRANSGRESS. LANGUAGE BARRIER.

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I CAME TO US IN AUGUST; AND I STARTED TRAINING WITH AN INSTRUCTOR AT FBO IN LONG BEACH ARPT TO BE CHKED OUT IN A ROBINSON R22; BECAUSE I WANTED TO RENT A HELI TO TAKE MY WIFE FOR LUNCH. SINCE I HAVE NOT FLOWN FOR 3 YRS (SINCE I GOT A PRIVATE LICENSE); IT TOOK ME A FEW DAYS TO COMPLETE THE RENTAL CHK OUT; FLT REVIEW; AND AWARENESS TRAINING WHICH IS REQUIRED IN SFAR 73. I WAS TOLD TO FLY TO SANTA MONICA ARPT WITH MY INSTRUCTOR TO SHOW MY PROFICIENCY OF FLT AND NAV SKILL. I LANDED AT SMO WITHOUT ANY PROB; SO I COULD RENT A HELI NEXT DAY. MY WIFE AND I FLEW TO SMO. AFTER CONTACTING THE TWR; I HEARD THE CTLR SAY THAT I COULD PROCEED TO THE HELIPAD; BUT I ALSO HEARD THE WORD 'SOUTH' WHICH I COULD NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT MEANT. WHILE APCHING TO THE RWY 21; THE CTLR GAVE ME ANOTHER INSTRUCTION. I THOUGHT HE TOLD ME TO GO OVER THE RWY; BUT HE ACTUALLY SAID NOT TO OVERFLY THE RWY. ALTHOUGH I KEPT ASKING TO 'SAY AGAIN;' I JUST HEARD THE SAME PHRASEOLOGY WHICH I COULD NOT UNDERSTAND. MY COMPREHENSION IS NOT AS GOOD AS WHEN I WAS TRAINING 3 YRS AGO. THEN I REALIZED THAT I HAD BEEN TOLD TO TURN L AND CLR THE RWY IMMEDIATELY; SO I DID SO. SINCE I HAD PASSED THE CTR LINE WITHOUT CLRNC; THE SECURITY WHO HAD BEEN INFORMED THE SIT CAME UP TO US AT THE HELIPAD AND LET ME KNOW THAT WAS A MAJOR MISTAKE. I CALLED MY INSTRUCTOR AND NOTIFIED HER ABOUT THE PROB. SHE TOLD ME TO STAY AT THE PRESENT PLACE; AND CAME TO PICK US UP LATER. I NOW KNOW WHAT I HAVE DONE WAS A HUGE MISTAKE AND IT COULD HAVE CAUSED A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. I SHOULD HAVE ASKED THE CTLR TO SPEAK SLOWER. I SHOULD HAVE READ BACK EACH INSTRUCTION TO VERIFY IF MY COMPREHENSION WAS CORRECT. 'WHEN I AM NOT SURE ABOUT THE INSTRUCTION; I SHOULD NEVER PROCEED UNTIL I UNDERSTAND.' THEN OF COURSE; I MUST STUDY ENGLISH EVEN WHILE I AM IN JAPAN.