HighlyTrainedNovaTeacher 2 Posted June 30, 2009 Author Share Posted June 30, 2009 I forgot to come back to the thread. Interesting discussions thanks. They really working you there TB. Teachers with good attitude? Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 I get on fine with the teachers and in fact I don't really mind my day too much, it goes quickly! I just feel that sometimes my lessons aren't as good as they could be because I no real time to prepare Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver I get on fine with the teachers and in fact I don't really mind my day too much, it goes quickly! I just feel that sometimes my lessons aren't as good as they could be because I no real time to prepare 26/week is a $hitload TB...seems schools require diff hours eventhough you can be contracted by the same company. Tough draw I guess. I hear you on having little time (to prepare)!! Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Yeah, its more from Yokohama BOE than the company. What's happened is that the GOJ has brought out a recommended Elementary Level English textbook, so the BOE has decided to get the HRT's to use this and have increased the quota for English classes. However what the BOE told us at the start of the year was that we weren't to use this book as this was to be used in Extra English classes run by the Home Room Teacher's, when we weren't at the school. But the schools haven't understood this (or just thought screw it, we're busy enough let the ALT do these) and have received an increase in English lesson quota's and have passed this down onto my schedule. Other BOE's still have ALT's with empty schedules. TBH I don't wanna go back to only having 2 classes, 4 a day would be a nice number, giving me 2 lessons to prepare. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Interesting TB, I know that Monbusho will have all elementary schools to have English lessons in 5th and 6th grade next year - some have already started. The idea is good, but it feels like the approach is half-assed (by Monbusho) as there arent enough qualified English teachers to go around, and the curriculum doesnt seemed linked with anything that is going on in 7th grade. Elementary teaching licenses are the hardest to get in Japan, and forcing those HR teachers to teach English is bollox. I realize that many native teachers will be delivered out to schools, but I sincerely doubt many of the rural schools will be getting whats required of them and end up being something similar to the HS in Japan who dont fulfill the necessary hours required in each subject for students to graduate. Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 With the elementary schools starting the English lessons, who takes those lessons? Aren't elem lessons all done by the same teacher? Can see a lot of not happy teachers if they suddenly have to teach English. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 well I and bods like me do the lessons. The teachers are a mixed bag as you can magine, some have embraced it fully and are right into it, sometimes designing and prepping the lesson so the ALT is a talking box, BUT these are few and far between. Most are happy to be involved but are happy lettingthe ALT lead, design and prep the class (which is fine by me) and others are downright scared and that translates over to the students. This is the 3rd year in Yokohama of a concerted English programme, BUT its still half assed. The curricullum is different from one school to the next, some schools have a set of materials from the BOE others don't, the BOE still says the emphasis is on having fun with English, not necessarily being able to remember any. Link to post Share on other sites
gerard 6 Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 Might seem like the development of the curriculum and eigo note by Monkasho has been "half-assed" and they certainly seem to have moved slowly on elementary school English ed. Problem is there have been SO many conflicting opinions and compromises. Foreigners and Japanese in the private sector love to bash Monkasho. Actually, I'd say it's a pretty soft target but there's a lot behind "Eigo Note" and the whole plan. One thing is for sure at this point though. The official word is that they DON'T want to be dependent on "ALTs" for elementary school English and the homeroom teachers are expected to teach it. From what I've seen and heard, a lot of homeroom teachers seem to be stepping up to the plate. Some schools have also designated a Japanese teacher either from their staff or someone recruited from the community to oversee or teach their English classes. (And other schools seem to be leaving it up to ALTs ) I'm involved in the whole mess and it's interesting to read about what's happening in places like Yokohama here. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 You are right Ger, that is the way they want to go. The BOE is telling schools that the responsibility of designing and leading falls on the Japanese teachers....which really makes me wonder how long the ALT programme will continue....and in some cases the teachers have embraced it. It is just so different across the board though, from school to school. Yokohama recently spent a shed load developing its own curricullum, which was implemented last year. So they have really said that Eigo Note is to be a supplementary text. The idea, as I understand it, is for the 5th and 6th grade classes to dovetail into the start of the JHS curricullum. Which of course is a good idea. Eigo Note is ok, but the lessons are quite slow at progressing. For the kids that I've been teaching for the last 2 and a half years, the language is a bit easy for them so what I have tried to do is use the book and supplement it into my own lesson plans. I also have found that the games and activities are very repetitive, ie its the same games every class (almost) which will be boring for the kids. Another problem is more a cultural one, as the teachers have been told that they have to use this text, and they have been given official lesson plans, so they are extremely reluctant to diverge from these plans even although they can be crap. Each Ku in Yokohama has a designated English Coordinator and the ones I have met have been very supportive and interested in my take on the lessons. Link to post Share on other sites
Ctrl-Z 0 Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 I heard a few teachers (JHS) complaining of overlap and boredom when the kids come up to JHS. Will be interesting to see how that all develops. Link to post Share on other sites
griller 9 Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I may have missed this but what exactly are the elem students going to learn? It is just basically playing around with basic English words or something more than that? Link to post Share on other sites
gerard 6 Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 The focus "foreign exchange and experience" and on "communication" but not on specific skills. They basically want to ignite students' interest in language and foreign culture. The text is a mixed method book and the teachers manual presents supplementary games and stuff getting students to basically play with the language. The board of education is giving teachers a lot of freedom with respect to how to use the curriculum and "foreign langauge activities" is not a full subject like maths or Japanese but rather a "suject area" (ryoiki), similar to moral education. They recognize that the book will be easy for many students since a lot of schools have already been teaching English for years. Thus far there's been no consistency from school to school and the new curriculum, easy as it seems, represents a common base. It's up to induvidual teachers and schools to go beyond that common base as they see fit. Link to post Share on other sites
.co.jp 0 Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Doesn't that create problems with kids coming into JHS with different "levels" and experience with English? I can imagine the ones who have enjoyed English before then getting fed up starting over.. Link to post Share on other sites
gerard 6 Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 That's the problem now - kids comming to JHS with different levels. The new curriculum is the first attempt at providing a common base. Any way you look at it though, there are still heaps of problems - like how to connect ES and JHS. JHS teachers have never really given a toss about ES English but now connecting ES and JH is one of the new hot topics, it seems... Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Ah, lots and lots of long meetings then.. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 >JHS teachers have never really given a toss about ES English but now connecting ES and JH is one of the new hot topics, it seems... What? Link to post Share on other sites
gerard 6 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 I'm kind of going out on a limb a bit but what I mean is that there's been little coordination between the JHS group and the ES group and generally the JHS group had kind of assumed that the ES group would just supplement the JHS stuff. -So the JHS group wouldn't have to really change anything according to what's happening at ES. Now that it's becoming a reality though, everybody is suddenly interested in how to connect ES and JHS English. From my limited perspective it seems a little late, though. Perhaps better communication in the earlier stages would have been better. There's also a bit of snobbery involved too. There's a kind of implicit view that JHS teachers are supperior to ES teachers so why should JHS curriculum developers have to bend to fit the ES curriculum? Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver The BOE still says the emphasis is on having fun with English, not necessarily being able to remember any. Sorry to pick out part of a long message but wtf is it with all the "English has to be fun" prejudice in Japan? You don't get people complaining if other school subjects aren't presented in a fun manner. I can understand ECC Junior etc. doing it for sales but even then, you don't get music schools going out of their way to make music fun. Most Japanese people who've learnt piano all the know the same songs, none of which are particularly fun. The only Japanese people I've ever seen sit down down at a piano and give it some blues, for example, were cool dudes with leather hats and goatee beards. I'm not saying little kids should do drills all day, but surely there are different levels of stimulation aside from perma-genki that are effective. Steiner education, for example, focuses on engrossment and not over-stimulating the kids. You don't get the teacher pulling the crayons away after twenty minutes because it's c'mon happy happy happy and time to mix it up with something else. Link to post Share on other sites
bobby12 0 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 How hard can it be to get English education to work here? Just look at other countries that have done it successfully, then copy those that can be copied. India, Scandanavia... Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Um you do realise that the Brits imposed the education system on the Indian Culture? Link to post Share on other sites
bobby12 0 Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 I don't think that is relevant. The fact is that Indians with degrees can typically speak English much better than their Japanese equivalents. Link to post Share on other sites
AET 0 Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 I know what you are saying Mr Wiggles. I have a few friends who are simply seen as clowns, or almost like animals at the zoo - there to perform games and tricks. It's usually when the teachers have no interest in English or speaking English and just simply do not know what to do. Let's just play a game. Again. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 I know what you mean AET. One of my mates has his own school in Kyushu, but the way the parents treat him, and the school, is quite shocking. They complain about everything until theyre given something for free, like an extra lesson - for which they usually bicth about again. He is quite an able teacher, and is so good with elementary kids, so I dont see anything wrong with his classes (which I did see when I was in Kyushu), nor the way he and his wife run the school. There has always been a hierarchy here in Japan, look at Keigo and they way younger Japanese are "forced" to speak to elders - how often does it really happen though? How many of you are hearing girls using "omae, shine, ore, and the likes?" It seems male-female speech in Japan is going through a rapid change, and society, which moves like molasses, is having a hard time keeping up. In the same sense, University Profs have always been arrogant towards HS teachers, and HS teachers to JHS teachers, and JHS teachers to ES teachers. To me its all crap, but they really feel that they are superior to those who work in institutions lower than their own. Its laughable to me to even think that. I have been going to Uni "setsumeikai" the past 2 years, and have also partook in their demonstration lessons, and they were shite. Out of the 4 or 5 different profs from various uni's in Kansai like Ritsumeikan, Kangaku, Doshisha, Kwansei, and Osaka Gaidai, I only thought one should be teaching. I cant tell you how much I thought the entire Uni system needs to be revamped. ITS THE TEACHERS THAT ARE THE PROBLEM, NOT THE KIDS. As far as Japanese being able to speak English as well as other people Its a societal problem that until they learn to be more aggressive, and be able to say their opinions better, its something that just isnt going to happen. I personally feel that ES in Japan are pretty damn good, but when they get to 7th grade - 出るæã¯æ‰“ãŸã‚Œã‚‹ã€‚。。 and then they are vampireized into something non-living. Its a shame, but thats a different thread altogether in itself. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 I agree Mr W. Of course I want the kids to enjoy my lessons, but not to the detriment of them learning. In some classes, especially early on, I was expected to entertain. thankfully I have managed to change that and focus a little bit more on the kids actually remembering what I was teaching them. I'm actually very impressed with some of my kids and their recollection of previous taught vocab. Of course they aren't exactly letting go streams of englsh but small victories in a crap system is what gets me through the day!! I don't understand why they don't go an dhave a look at other countries, Sweden, Germany, Holland.....etc. There are many countries who have well established english programs and this is shown by the level of english Joe Bloggs on the Strasse can speak. Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Perhaps Japan and it's education system and students (as well as their snow and everything else) is unique. Link to post Share on other sites
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