Job Discussion Forums

flyer · Joined: 16 May 2003 Posts: 539 Location: Sapporo Japan

yes, why so much negativity?

anne_o · Joined: 30 Nov 2005 Posts: 172 Location: Tokyo

excellent point flyer.....you are your own boss, and the parents know what they're doing. as i said, i've had so many parents ask to teach the kids together because they are more comfortable and it saves time....very important in tokyo.
even if the kids are at different levels you can often practice 2 targets at once using games, books, etc.....
99% of the requests i've had for lessons have been to practice conversation, natural conversation... the parents want their kids to have fun and be comfortable; if they are then they will learn much more easily.
there is no reason someone should not give teaching kids a try. i hadn't taught adults until i moved here, but i took a class from someone and it turned out to be a nice change from the daily routine of children.

gaijinalways · Joined: 29 Nov 2005 Posts: 2279

Teaching kids is not for everyone, but sometimes I do enjoy it. It really depends on how you interact with the kids and the kinds of activities that you have planned. As to teaching a 7 year old and a 9 year old together, it partly depends on the kids, but as other people noted, what the customer wants is an important issue here. If you can convince the parents to do them seprately, fine, but often it is easier to teach a small group of kids than do one on ones.

As to those who don't want to teach kids, don't! It will make your life and ours (those who want to teach them) easier.

TokyoLiz · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1548 Location: Tokyo, Japan

anne_o wrote

anne_o · Joined: 30 Nov 2005 Posts: 172 Location: Tokyo

i happen to NOT think that it would be 'really difficult for a noob'....especially here in japan. most parents requesting private lessons for their kids want you to chill with their kid, speak some english, and have fun.....not plan a detailed curriculum!

i'm so sorry if my opinions offended you.

and.....i don't take myself too seriously, so i'm certainly not offended if you or other members of this board don't!

markle · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Posts: 1316 Location: Out of Japan

pity the children.....

saloc · Joined: 04 Jul 2003 Posts: 102

anne_o · Joined: 30 Nov 2005 Posts: 172 Location: Tokyo

Ok....you're right.
It just seems that from my experiences here in Tokyo, that the pace of learning is so slow. You can't really learn to speak a language studying once a week which is what many of these kids are doing. Once a week comes out to be about 2 days a year.
The progress is so slow and many of the students are very shy. Of course, this situation changes if you have been with them for 5 years, but that is not the norm.
You do have to follow what the parents want...they are the customers (now I sound like my old boss, an ex-Nova guy!).
Anyway, I think that many people on this board just take things too seriously, and it makes me wonder how they can get down to the level of a child and loosen up enough to make the lessons fun and beneficial.
That's the key!

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

If I may add a few words.

Kids, especially young ones, aren't in it for the language. Learning a new one from a foreigner is a very unique experience for them, whether at school or home. Do they want something fun? Yes, of course. Will they learn to be fluent in a couple of years of weekly lessons? Probably not.

Good teachers realize this. They also understand how much to cater to parents and how much to get parents to realize reality. Teachers who don't dictate the lesson plans are not teaching but just babysitting according to the parents' whims.

Like that? Fine. Keep it up.

Don't like that? Fine. Make sure it doesn't happen, or don't take on such lessons. That's my 2 cents' worth.

Are kids "slow learners" in Japan? Depends on how you see it. Once a week is hardly enough for anyone to progress, but very young kids have an innate ability to remember stuff. Do they all? No. Again, it takes a good teacher, too, to help remind them of the previous lesson points.

Are Japanese kids shy? Yes, of course, when faced with a foreigner, but after they get to know them, things can change. J kids are raised on being under the thumb of authority most of their lives (including through university), so western teaching techniques need to be applied delicately to break them of their shyness.

Serious teachers take their lessons seriously. They can be fun, enjoyable, musical, energetic, etc.

TokyoLiz · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1548 Location: Tokyo, Japan

In terms of second language acquisition, it's not the kids who are interested in language learning. It's the administrators, parents, teachers and community that want them to have language. Kids just want to explore, play and push limits. They're sponges for ideas and communication and language.

So of course, your classroom atmosphere has to be engaging, inspiring and still satisfy the expectations of parents and/or administrators.

I used to teach a 6-session course at a community center. The children, 15-20 elementary school kids, were eager to please and to demonstrate the English they had acquired from the elementary school ALTs.

These kids were hardly shy and sometimes unstoppable in contact activities and group games, all the while using the target language. They talked to me and helped each other out when the younger ones got stuck.

This took a great deal of preparation and refinement over several sessions (I think I gave the course 4-5 times). The children had the advantage of interested parents who would occasionally participate in activities, and were practicing with their children at home. We were also fortunate to have an administrator who gave an explanation of the program in Japanese, telling the parents that the approach was communicative and that the children were going to talk to each other as much as with me.

I also taught a 6 year old girl for 6 months, and adjusted my lesson approach for one on one. The girl was already learning her numbers and romaji in school, so many of our lessons were about counting objects, naming objects, spelling and singing. I hardly ever did an activity for more than 8 minutes, we moved from table to floor to kitchen and back again to keep it interesting.

There were lots of laughs, and I enjoyed it. And she showed me how fast children make connections. The example that stands out for me, is when she had just learned colours, pronouns and colour/clothing (blue pants, green shirt, etc.), she stunned me by pointing to a picture and telling me "She is blue dress Jane."

Circumstances meant I couldn't teach her anymore, but we still correspond a few times a year - Halloween, Christmas and New Year cards.

So, yeah, I take the kids very seriously. I also take communication with fellow teachers very seriously, too. We can learn from each other.s