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Taikowoman
Joined: 10 Dec 2005 Posts: 4 Location: Japan
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Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 6:30 am Post subject: Russian students |
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I am wondering what Russian students are like? I am working in Japan and if anyone has experience with that you know that English teaching is not a serious subject here and the kids treat it as such.... actually thats a generalisation, at least english oral in snr high schools. Uni exams are serious.
Also from a linguistic angle, what aspect of english do rushian speakers have the most trouble with? I heard ch and sh.... is that correct anything else?
Thanks a heap
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Brooks
Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1369 Location: Sagamihara
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Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2006 1:18 am Post subject: |
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compared to Japanese students, Russian try more and have a better attitude. I generalize, but overall, that is what I say.
My experience with Russians was mainly with university students and with adults, however.
for pronunciation, Russians have an easier time than Japanese students do, but there are some things to focus on:
th, w, vowels especially, stress (for words and sentences), and intonation.
Russian has letters for ch and sh, but also has a shch too.
Articles are tough and grammar, especially tenses, can be challenging.
Russian grammar has cases, and has masculine, feminine, and neuter endings.
Learning vocabulary takes time, because words just have to be memorized. |
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Zorba
Joined: 21 Nov 2004 Posts: 19
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Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2006 8:20 pm Post subject: |
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I can't compare with Japanese, but, as a gross generalisation, Russian students tend to be motivated, intelligent and talkative (at least in their own language!). However their international cultural awareness can be lacking. Often they have had little experience of communicative teaching methods and prefer teacher-centred lessons.
Would agree with all of these areas of difficulty. Word order is a big problem at lower levels, and tense formation (esp perfect tenses) is difficult too. Improper use of articles is often a serious obstacle for students, and it persists even at higher levels, where it can mar otherwise fluent speech/writing. |
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ricefigaro
Joined: 07 Apr 2005 Posts: 20
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Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2006 8:30 pm Post subject: |
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I finished a year with JET in osaka and am now in Saint Petersburg. In my experience the russian children I work with are light years ahead of their japanese counterparts. I suspect this is mostly due to two factors:
(1) Russia is much more part of the western world than Japan. I think the comparative proximity in pscychology makes it easier (and is more of a motivating factor) for russians to learn english as compared with the japanese.
(2) The approach to learning languages is much different. For one thing, almost all of the public schools are labeled as "German Schools", "English Schools", "Finnish Schools", etc. schools are identified in a very important way with the language they specialize in. This goes a long way towards impressing the importance of languages to the students. On the other hand, it wasn't uncommon for a japanese teacher to say to a student (in my presence) that english was essentially worthless. Additionally, Class sizes at the public school i work at in Saint Petersburg are amazingly tiny! The average class size is about 7. And from what I hear this is fairly normal. While the school system is vastly poorer than their japanese counterparts russian teachers are able to expend a lot more energy on a per student basis.
That's what I came with off the top of my head. I think I may have read in another post that you plan on arriving to Saint Petersburg sometime in september. I'll be gone by then but if you need help/advice I'll be plenty happy to oblige. Just send a message or post here. Where are you in Japan? |
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Brooks
Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1369 Location: Sagamihara
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Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2006 11:41 pm Post subject: |
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when I was in Irkutsk, at my university class sizes for foreign languages were limited to no more than 15 students.
But in Japan, I know a university that has English classes of 50-55 students or so. My wife had a TOEIC class of 45 students.
I think that is pathetic since Japan isn`t a poor country.
It just seems that Russia places a priority on learning foreign languages whereas in Japan, it is different. |
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Taikowoman
Joined: 10 Dec 2005 Posts: 4 Location: Japan
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Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2006 2:42 pm Post subject: russian students |
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Ok, all sounds good. Small classes, enthusiastic students, relevance. So I can use all the activities I have had in moth balls.
Yes, I totally agree with the coment about the teachers saying English is a waste of time. I spend my time telling teachers not to reinforce to the students that English is "musakashi" difficult. Its almost like they dont know the affects of negative reinforcement.
All I need now is to find a job.
Ev |
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Brooks
Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1369 Location: Sagamihara
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Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2006 12:04 am Post subject: |
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One thing you should know is that a lot of students learn English (or other languages) because they want to get out of the country.
This kind of depressed one man I knew who taught in Novosibirsk.
I knew a couple of university students who have left:
one is working in Turkey doing God knows what, and another is in Cambodia, working for the UNHCR.
The weather isn`t so good (and this winter especially) but I thought Russia was a good place to teach. You will make less money, than Japan, but it depends what your priorities are. |
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pc-pocket
Joined: 05 Nov 2005 Posts: 218
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Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2006 9:05 am Post subject: |
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Reading this, Chinese university students are definitely third in category; yet, so proud!!!
Is there a noticeable gap between Japan and Russia salaries? |
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Brooks
Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1369 Location: Sagamihara
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Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 1:38 am Post subject: |
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well of course salaries are higher in Japan. In Russia, I think people make the most money in Moscow, but they really EARN it.
I have heard that some people make up to $2,000 a month in Moscow but of course, many people make much less. |
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