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Black_Beer_Man
Joined: 26 Mar 2013 Posts: 453 Location: Yokohama
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Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 12:57 pm Post subject: Where's The Great Surge of Pre-Olympics Teaching Jobs? |
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A couple of years ago, there was this buzz in the air about how the 2020 Tokyo Olympics would give the English teaching industry here a boost. Where is it? I don't see it.
And if it's coming at the last minute, this is very un-Japanese. This is a country that plans and starts everything early.
I argue that this great surge in ESL jobs is not coming.
It didn't come to Seoul for the 1988 summer Olympics nor did it come to Beijing for the 2008 summer Olympics.
Japan is up to its ears in debt, so I don't see the feds opening up its purse strings to provide English lessons for Tokyo city employees.
What do yuu think? |
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taikibansei
Joined: 14 Sep 2004 Posts: 811 Location: Japan
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Harp
Joined: 09 Jan 2014 Posts: 46 Location: As far north as you can get, before you hit Saitama
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Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2018 1:19 am Post subject: |
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I remember the football world cup here in 2002 - I was working for an eikaiwa and there was a general climb in student numbers (and concomitant income and profit) for about the 2 years before the event; it was slow and gradual, not a surge, but still noticeable above the normal expansion that was seen.
It lasted for 8-12 months after the end of the world cup and then the drop off was far more pronounced, so if there is any sense in the ministries they will focus all their English leaning promotion efforts in the years after the Olympics, not before. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world
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Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 1:39 am Post subject: |
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Preparing for 2020 / Initiative under way to fill Tokyo with ‘omotenashi volunteers’
The Japan News | June 29, 2018
Source: http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0004460440
Keiko Shibata works as a volunteer guide at a museum in Tokyo, but often finds herself frustrated when foreign visitors ask for help. “I have many opportunities to be exposed to English, but I’m not confident about my English. So I end up saying a magical phrase: ‘Please ask the help desk,’” said Shibata, a 61-year-old Tokyo resident.
That frustration led her to take a course that trains “omotenashi volunteers,” a program run by the Tokyo metropolitan government as part of preparations for the 2020 Games. The program is designed for those who lack confidence in their English ability but are willing to help foreign visitors.
The metropolitan government hopes to fill the capital with omotenashi Japanese hospitality, through volunteers who offer a helping hand to foreigners who are lost, do not know how to buy train tickets and encounter other problems. More than 30,000 people have participated in the program, which was launched in 2015. The metropolitan government aims to increase this figure to 50,000 by fiscal 2019.
The free-of-charge program offers two courses: 1) A class focusing on hospitality and communication with non-Japanese speakers; and 2) a set of five classes that center on simple English conversations.
Those who live, work or attend schools in Tokyo are eligible to take the courses regardless of their nationality. Participants must be aged 15 and older, excluding junior high school students. After taking the courses, no specific dates and locations are set for their volunteer activities. They are simply encouraged to help foreigners whenever they encounter those who need assistance.
(End of excerpt)
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rxk22
Joined: 19 May 2010 Posts: 1629
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Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2018 6:01 am Post subject: |
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Good question, I think the hype is too much. That is, it's an event that's still far away, and will only at most last 3ish weeks(people coming here). Which means, save for some older ladies, I haven't gotten many people interested in English because of the Olympics. I have kids whose parents are worried about English edu and want them to have a leg up.
The older people have seen the massive influx of tourists, and are interested in English through that.
But the Olympics probably won't be a catalyst until a good 4-6 months before the event actually starts. Start having torches being carried in japan, and there wil be some excitement imho |
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