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blueberry1
Joined: 16 Feb 2009
Posts: 7
Location: CA, USA
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 Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 8:16 pm Post subject: |
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Glenski,
I appreciate your thorough replies and I can see where you're coming from. I am serious about my writing so the more time the better. I think ALT dispatch is the way to go for me. I know it's not ideal, but it's the best situation for me.
And from some other posters, it even seems that US teachers don't get paid a full 12 months. I just hope my salary isn't cut deeply enough that I can't pay basic living expenses. Besides, it doesn't sound like eikaiwa is significantly better in pay/benefits. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 9:58 pm Post subject: |
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| JET makes no bones about placements. Which is one reason why I didn't go JET. |
Most of the big eikaiwas have the same situation. Do you feel the same about them? It's a business, and you go where they have the vacancies. Like I wrote earlier, it's a buyer's market, not a teacher's.
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| Also the application process is crazy long, and even after doing all that is required, you can still not even be invited to the interview. Yes they pay for your ticket, but again, I think the chances of getting into JET are slim for me. So why even bother? |
Easy answer. Slim chance is better than zero. If you don't try, you will never know.
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| Yes, you can be placed in an urban area, but I think at this point it is not going to be very likeily. I think being placed on some small islands is prolly in the cards for most JETs. I lurk on Bigdaikon, and many of those there are in the super Inaka. Which I think is not the real Japan. As they deal with some kids, and some 40+yearolds. Dealing with not 20/30 year olds is not the real Japan. |
Who are these 40+ year olds? And, what is your idea of "real Japan"?
| Quote: |
| While I do agree being banished will help your language skills. But as you have said many have zero ability, and to learn from nothing in such an enviroment is most certianally stressful. I would not want to be in such a placement, and I have pretty good Japanese for not having been in Japan for long. I would be lost, and would have trouble doing daily stuff. Now imagine some ALT with IRL no real Japanese skills. Said ALT would prolly be stressed out at the fact that he couldn't speak to ANYONE at all, as no one would be able to speak English, and he couldn't speak Japanese, nor could for at least a solid year. |
This is the most confusing part of your post. Yes, for people with no Japanese to be placed in a rural environment can be stressful. Depends on one's outlook, of course. Some may enjoy the challenge. As for yourself, though, with some Japanese already under your belt, why on earth would you write that you would "be lost"?
As for people speaking no English, it's not really like that, you know. Despite the complaints we foreigners make about how poor the Japanese are after 6 years of secondary school English training, there are many, even in the most rural areas, that can cope with a smattering of English, whether spoken or written. The world is getting smaller.
As for someone being unable to "speak Japanese for at least a whole year", well, I find that very difficult to believe or imagine. JET ALTs have lots of spare time during the work day and afterwards. If someone is in a JET situation and cannot speak the language even to a small degree, there is a problem. It's easily possible to gain some bare bones survival Japanese, and living in the countryside is impetus enough. |
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elkarlo
Joined: 08 Dec 2008
Posts: 240
Location: Maryland
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| Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 2:56 am Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
| Quote: |
| JET makes no bones about placements. Which is one reason why I didn't go JET. |
Most of the big eikaiwas have the same situation. Do you feel the same about them? It's a business, and you go where they have the vacancies. Like I wrote earlier, it's a buyer's market, not a teacher's.
| Quote: |
| Also the application process is crazy long, and even after doing all that is required, you can still not even be invited to the interview. Yes they pay for your ticket, but again, I think the chances of getting into JET are slim for me. So why even bother? |
Easy answer. Slim chance is better than zero. If you don't try, you will never know.
| Quote: |
| Yes, you can be placed in an urban area, but I think at this point it is not going to be very likeily. I think being placed on some small islands is prolly in the cards for most JETs. I lurk on Bigdaikon, and many of those there are in the super Inaka. Which I think is not the real Japan. As they deal with some kids, and some 40+yearolds. Dealing with not 20/30 year olds is not the real Japan. |
Who are these 40+ year olds? And, what is your idea of "real Japan"?
| Quote: |
| While I do agree being banished will help your language skills. But as you have said many have zero ability, and to learn from nothing in such an enviroment is most certianally stressful. I would not want to be in such a placement, and I have pretty good Japanese for not having been in Japan for long. I would be lost, and would have trouble doing daily stuff. Now imagine some ALT with IRL no real Japanese skills. Said ALT would prolly be stressed out at the fact that he couldn't speak to ANYONE at all, as no one would be able to speak English, and he couldn't speak Japanese, nor could for at least a solid year. |
This is the most confusing part of your post. Yes, for people with no Japanese to be placed in a rural environment can be stressful. Depends on one's outlook, of course. Some may enjoy the challenge. As for yourself, though, with some Japanese already under your belt, why on earth would you write that you would "be lost"?
As for people speaking no English, it's not really like that, you know. Despite the complaints we foreigners make about how poor the Japanese are after 6 years of secondary school English training, there are many, even in the most rural areas, that can cope with a smattering of English, whether spoken or written. The world is getting smaller.
As for someone being unable to "speak Japanese for at least a whole year", well, I find that very difficult to believe or imagine. JET ALTs have lots of spare time during the work day and afterwards. If someone is in a JET situation and cannot speak the language even to a small degree, there is a problem. It's easily possible to gain some bare bones survival Japanese, and living in the countryside is impetus enough. |
Glen please take this as debating and not me being a jerk. Not sure how I come off on the net.
Anyhow. I should have said that in the Inaka there is a lack of young adults. I don't think that is a good representation of a society, one that lacks young adults.
As for the speaking part. Sure I can get around fine on basic stuff. What I should have said was conversing. It's one thing to be able to know the basics, and have a smattering of words understood, it's another to have a meaningful conversation. Without an indepth conversation I would go crazy. That is really my point, I am in no way prepared to have massive amounts of conversation in Japanese. To be honest I have well above average Japanese for an arriving ALT、but I still won't be able to do much indepth discusscussion. Which is about the level of a JET who spends a good year studying. That's not all that great, hey I can talk about simple stuff.
Oh and what I meant about JET is not to depend on it, as it is no longer a reliable vehicle to come to Japan on.
BTW I am also not bragging. I am just using me as an example so you know. |
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JL
Joined: 26 Oct 2008
Posts: 241
Location: Las Vegas, NV USA
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| Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 3:10 am Post subject: Re: US public school teachers |
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| chinagirl wrote: |
Just to clear this up:
The vast majority of teachers are paid for 10 months of work, not 12. Some school districts spread the checks over 12 months, and some do not. |
Just to clear that up, public teachers are paid annual salaries. Perhaps that's what Chinagirl was saying; I'm not clear whether she was intending to agree, or disagree with my previous post. Whether the school district a teacher is employed by is on a conventional calendar (eg. September to early June), or a year-round track system (eg. six weeks on, six weeks off), the school year consists of a roughly 180 days. Teachers, of course, report to work slightly before classes begin, and don't finish until slightly after students do. But not by much. Some school districts may offer teachers the option of taking their salaries in ten installments, instead of twelve. But teachers with that option, that then actually exercise this option, are in the minority, in my experience. But that's neither here, nor there, anyway. Teachers are paid annual salaries. However, close to three months out of the year, they don't have to report to work.
| chinagirl wrote: |
| Some teachers then teach summer school for an extra hourly rate. |
That can be so. That's a separate point, though. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 3:19 am Post subject: |
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elkarlo,
I never saw your posts as being the mark of a jerk. Debate mode is always on for me.
I'd like to start with your last point, if you don't mind. I don't understand why you call the JET programme "unreliable" to depend on any longer. Can you elaborate?
I understand what you wrote about speaking in a country environment, and everyone has their own preference for where they feel they'd excel, city or countryside. Personally, I think you overrate the average JET ALT's ability to hold deep, meaningful conversations, though. Way overrrate! As for anyone else, including yourself, I say give it a chance. Unless you have massive amounts of time on your hands that you can devote to studying and language exchange (because book learning is not the same as conversational street talk), or unless you are very adept at learning languages, a year is not enough to work in Japan and get to the level you seem to desire, even in the city. Just my opinion.
Anecdote of my own.
Coworker of mine spent 2-3 years in the countryside of Hokkaido, working for GEOS. Zero preparation in Japanese before he came. He learned everything from a book or two and from attempts at conversation with students, gym associates, and a girlfriend (who was more into trying to learn English than teach Japanese). After that time, he had a meager level of comprehensible casual Japanese. Almost zero writing/reading ability. It got him through the day and through barroom conversations, but people would tell me on the side that his casual level of speaking was not suitable/appropriate for most of the occasions he spoke.
Could he have meaningful conversations? To a degree, yes, but I guess that depends, too, on just what you and he call meaningful and deep. What sorts of things do you expect to want to discuss and on what level? Again, I think you are overestimating the effect of city living on being able to come up to a level of speaking that you may want. Don't know for sure, though.
Last thought on meaningful conversations.
They may not always be what you hope them to be. Once the J speaker opens their mouth, you might find them to be shallow or completely lacking in opinions (or reluctant to give you one). Been there. |
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JL
Joined: 26 Oct 2008
Posts: 241
Location: Las Vegas, NV USA
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| Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 3:21 am Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
"Better variety"? Well, you get people from all walks of life in eikaiwa, yes, and some eikaiwas teach babies to senior citizens, if that's what you mean... |
Yeah, that's what I mean. Especially for a newbie to Japan, but even for a returnee like Yours Truly, I think this is one of the pluses to the language school experiences. |
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elkarlo
Joined: 08 Dec 2008
Posts: 240
Location: Maryland
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| Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 2:55 pm Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
elkarlo,
I never saw your posts as being the mark of a jerk. Debate mode is always on for me.
I'd like to start with your last point, if you don't mind. I don't understand why you call the JET programme "unreliable" to depend on any longer. Can you elaborate?
I understand what you wrote about speaking in a country environment, and everyone has their own preference for where they feel they'd excel, city or countryside. Personally, I think you overrate the average JET ALT's ability to hold deep, meaningful conversations, though. Way overrrate! As for anyone else, including yourself, I say give it a chance. Unless you have massive amounts of time on your hands that you can devote to studying and language exchange (because book learning is not the same as conversational street talk), or unless you are very adept at learning languages, a year is not enough to work in Japan and get to the level you seem to desire, even in the city. Just my opinion.
Anecdote of my own.
Coworker of mine spent 2-3 years in the countryside of Hokkaido, working for GEOS. Zero preparation in Japanese before he came. He learned everything from a book or two and from attempts at conversation with students, gym associates, and a girlfriend (who was more into trying to learn English than teach Japanese). After that time, he had a meager level of comprehensible casual Japanese. Almost zero writing/reading ability. It got him through the day and through barroom conversations, but people would tell me on the side that his casual level of speaking was not suitable/appropriate for most of the occasions he spoke.
Could he have meaningful conversations? To a degree, yes, but I guess that depends, too, on just what you and he call meaningful and deep. What sorts of things do you expect to want to discuss and on what level? Again, I think you are overestimating the effect of city living on being able to come up to a level of speaking that you may want. Don't know for sure, though.
Last thought on meaningful conversations.
They may not always be what you hope them to be. Once the J speaker opens their mouth, you might find them to be shallow or completely lacking in opinions (or reluctant to give you one). Been there. |
Ok good, never sure how one comes off on the net.
As for JET being unreliable. The amount of people they send over to the amount of people apply, makes it too competative for someone to rely on. I decided to not apply for it, as I wanted to go to Japan this year, and not wait on JET. I figure that the cahnce for the average person being accepted by JEt are low enough now, that one should not use JEt as the primary means to go to Japan.
I am not overestimating JET ALTs. I said that the would not be able to hold a real coversatio even after a year of studying. Well I would assume the ALT would mix book learning with real life practice. Heck I don't plan on having any real conversation ability after a year. So I agree with you Japanese for an English speaker is very hard to learn.
As for enviroment, I would prefer actually where I am going. The outer burbs, and the ability to get to the city on a decent basis. But I feel that the country side in general is a bit devoid of culture, as Japan is still suffering from a rural flight.
I do like your story. I think it is hard to learn daily Japanese, as most books teach some silly words. I wish they'd have a book that used more common words. I belive I use some odd sentence structures, as well as word patterns. I also find that when I'm trying to use new grammar, I go way out of my way to use it appropiate or not  Poor guy though.
As for living in a city, I was saying that is reagrds to being around other English speakers. That way I could actually talk to someone, and not go crazy. I have no dillusion to the point where I will be upper level conversational anytime soon. So I think for at LEAST the next year anything meaningful that I say will be in English. Now if that happened to the average JET ALT who has 2 smesters of Japanese, then well they way farther to go, and have no option to speak anything in Japanese.
So basically my point is that the average JET ALT living in the super Inaka will not be able to converse in Japanese, nor find anyone to do so in English. To me that'd be a terrible situation. I found that even speaking to Japanese with decent English, that my English actually got worse over time
Oh I know about Japanese being boring. They really don't have much to say.
PS is there any langaue rating system that we could use outside of the JLPT? I would like to be able to explain levels, and not have to go on and on with examples. Saying I'm JLPT3 or what ever is not correct, as I don't know that much kanji, but I can speak well. I also think that speaking/listening should be a seperate category from reading. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 10:18 pm Post subject: |
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| elkarlo wrote: |
| As for JET being unreliable. The amount of people they send over to the amount of people apply, makes it too competative for someone to rely on. I decided to not apply for it, as I wanted to go to Japan this year, and not wait on JET. I figure that the cahnce for the average person being accepted by JEt are low enough now, that one should not use JEt as the primary means to go to Japan. |
Since nobody but JET knows the actual percentages, that's one reason I think you are being unreasonable here. Also, how many people who apply are "average people"? Plenty of anime geeks out there, and I don't call that an average person. Lastly, and this is just a reiteration with a twist, if you don't apply, you have zero chance. Taking this a step further, think of applying for any job back home. Do you ever really know the odds of success in landing it? No, not usually. It just seems to me that when you look at JET, you are thinking of only a sure or near-sure thing, and that is fantasy.
| Quote: |
| I am not overestimating JET ALTs. I said that the would not be able to hold a real coversatio even after a year of studying. Well I would assume the ALT would mix book learning with real life practice. Heck I don't plan on having any real conversation ability after a year. |
You really didn't answer my question, and this is as good a place as any to ask it again. How would you define a "real conversation"? With moderate studies, whether you live in a rural or urban setting, anyone should be able to have a meager conversation in a year's time. It just depends on what you want to talk about and how deeply.
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| As for enviroment, I would prefer actually where I am going. The outer burbs, and the ability to get to the city on a decent basis. But I feel that the country side in general is a bit devoid of culture, as Japan is still suffering from a rural flight. |
Devoid of culture? What do you want? Culture can mean many things. If you want to see the average Joe or Jane in the USA, would you compare Peoria, Illinois (which the Nielsen ratings on TV used and may still use for many years as a typical piece of American pie) with San Francisco? Frankly, I choose not to be offended at the above remark, but it does smack one on the face. I come from a small town and have lived in larger cities, both in Japan and the USA, so I have learned what is in both. Devoid indeed!
Also, suburbs being a hop into city central is one thing. That hop may still be an hour or more train ride, I hope you realize. Depending on where the rural setting is for JET, it may not be that much farther. Besides, you will still have to pay for the train ride in either situation.
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| As for living in a city, I was saying that is reagrds to being around other English speakers. That way I could actually talk to someone, and not go crazy. |
Do you want to learn Japanese or not? Being around foreigners puts people in a "gaijin bubble". The tendency to continue hanging with them is very attractive, and it becomes harder and harder to tell them "no thanks" to invitations to outings when you really ought to hit the books.
Culture shock hits people differently. With the Internet and things like Skype these days, it is not that hard to maintain an English lifeline with other foreigners. Besides, if you want to immerse yourself in the culture, you'll be better off in a place with no foreigners, but sanity depends on you. I always tell people to plan ahead, know what you are going to face. That is half the battle.
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| So basically my point is that the average JET ALT living in the super Inaka will not be able to converse in Japanese, nor find anyone to do so in English. |
Ask the people on Big Daikon and let us know their responses. I just find this hard to believe. You use such strong words in this post. "Devoid". "nor find anyone". Nope, can't really get my head around that.
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| Oh I know about Japanese being boring. They really don't have much to say. |
So, what are you going to converse about? This is a rhetorical question with a little jab to it, based on what you've written on both sides of the fence so far. No malice intended. Just a bit ironic on your part to say you want to learn enough of the language to have a meaningful talk (whatever that means), yet you admit they have nothing to talk about.
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| PS is there any langaue rating system that we could use outside of the JLPT? |
Not that know of. Probably most Japanese don't even know what JLPT ratings mean so why bother using them except with other foreigners anyway? |
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Apsara
Joined: 20 Sep 2005
Posts: 2142
Location: Tokyo, Japan
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| Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 11:25 pm Post subject: |
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So basically my point is that the average JET ALT living in the super Inaka will not be able to converse in Japanese, nor find anyone to do so in English. To me that'd be a terrible situation. I found that even speaking to Japanese with decent English, that my English actually got worse over time
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elkarlo, remember that a number of JETs are from Australia and NZ, where Japanese is the most common foreign language studied at high school and many people continue it through university as well, meaning that a lot of JETs from those two countries (a reasonable percentage of the total) will have 8 years of Japanese study under their belts before they arrive- not all JETs arrive with minimum Japanese.
I hear you about thinking your English might be deteriorating though- I can go days or sometimes even weeks without speaking to another native English speaker and I occasionally wonder if my English might be suffering! |
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flyer
Joined: 16 May 2003
Posts: 539
Location: Sapporo Japan
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| Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 11:58 pm Post subject: |
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| yes, good points. I am a kiwi and Japanese is very common at High School! |
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elkarlo
Joined: 08 Dec 2008
Posts: 240
Location: Maryland
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| Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 12:33 am Post subject: |
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| blueberry1 wrote: |
| elkarlo wrote: |
That's my plan use the dispatch to get here, not that I am doing to ditch out on them. AFter I am here on a Visa, I will see what my options are. I actually have it somewhat laid out. I plan on going after the new JLPT2 in 2 years. After that if I don;t see Japan going anywhere back to warehouse managing for me.
Thanks man. I didn't mean to throw poop at you btw |
What dispatch agency do you plan to go with? |
I went with Interac. There really aren't that many that will hire you outside of Japan, so it's not like we have a lot of choices.
To everyone else I'll get to that post tomorrow. My Mom wants to tuck me into Bed Bed now. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:11 am Post subject: |
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What do you call a person who speaks 2 languages?
A bilingual.
What do you call a person who speaks 3 languages?
A trilingual.
What do you call a person who speaks only one language?
An American.
There are roughly 10 times more Americans than Aussies on JET. Hard to imagine that all of those Americans speak or studied Japanese, considering the joke above (which smacks of a lot of truth).
Stop worrying about the language issue! |
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elkarlo
Joined: 08 Dec 2008
Posts: 240
Location: Maryland
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| Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 2:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
| elkarlo wrote: |
| As for JET being unreliable. The amount of people they send over to the amount of people apply, makes it too competative for someone to rely on. I decided to not apply for it, as I wanted to go to Japan this year, and not wait on JET. I figure that the cahnce for the average person being accepted by JEt are low enough now, that one should not use JEt as the primary means to go to Japan. |
Since nobody but JET knows the actual percentages, that's one reason I think you are being unreasonable here. Also, how many people who apply are "average people"? Plenty of anime geeks out there, and I don't call that an average person. Lastly, and this is just a reiteration with a twist, if you don't apply, you have zero chance. Taking this a step further, think of applying for any job back home. Do you ever really know the odds of success in landing it? No, not usually. It just seems to me that when you look at JET, you are thinking of only a sure or near-sure thing, and that is fantasy.
| Quote: |
| I am not overestimating JET ALTs. I said that the would not be able to hold a real coversatio even after a year of studying. Well I would assume the ALT would mix book learning with real life practice. Heck I don't plan on having any real conversation ability after a year. |
You really didn't answer my question, and this is as good a place as any to ask it again. How would you define a "real conversation"? With moderate studies, whether you live in a rural or urban setting, anyone should be able to have a meager conversation in a year's time. It just depends on what you want to talk about and how deeply.
| Quote: |
| As for enviroment, I would prefer actually where I am going. The outer burbs, and the ability to get to the city on a decent basis. But I feel that the country side in general is a bit devoid of culture, as Japan is still suffering from a rural flight. |
Devoid of culture? What do you want? Culture can mean many things. If you want to see the average Joe or Jane in the USA, would you compare Peoria, Illinois (which the Nielsen ratings on TV used and may still use for many years as a typical piece of American pie) with San Francisco? Frankly, I choose not to be offended at the above remark, but it does smack one on the face. I come from a small town and have lived in larger cities, both in Japan and the USA, so I have learned what is in both. Devoid indeed!
Also, suburbs being a hop into city central is one thing. That hop may still be an hour or more train ride, I hope you realize. Depending on where the rural setting is for JET, it may not be that much farther. Besides, you will still have to pay for the train ride in either situation.
| Quote: |
| As for living in a city, I was saying that is reagrds to being around other English speakers. That way I could actually talk to someone, and not go crazy. |
Do you want to learn Japanese or not? Being around foreigners puts people in a "gaijin bubble". The tendency to continue hanging with them is very attractive, and it becomes harder and harder to tell them "no thanks" to invitations to outings when you really ought to hit the books.
Culture shock hits people differently. With the Internet and things like Skype these days, it is not that hard to maintain an English lifeline with other foreigners. Besides, if you want to immerse yourself in the culture, you'll be better off in a place with no foreigners, but sanity depends on you. I always tell people to plan ahead, know what you are going to face. That is half the battle.
| Quote: |
| So basically my point is that the average JET ALT living in the super Inaka will not be able to converse in Japanese, nor find anyone to do so in English. |
Ask the people on Big Daikon and let us know their responses. I just find this hard to believe. You use such strong words in this post. "Devoid". "nor find anyone". Nope, can't really get my head around that.
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| Oh I know about Japanese being boring. They really don't have much to say. |
So, what are you going to converse about? This is a rhetorical question with a little jab to it, based on what you've written on both sides of the fence so far. No malice intended. Just a bit ironic on your part to say you want to learn enough of the language to have a meaningful talk (whatever that means), yet you admit they have nothing to talk about.
| Quote: |
| PS is there any langaue rating system that we could use outside of the JLPT? |
Not that know of. Probably most Japanese don't even know what JLPT ratings mean so why bother using them except with other foreigners anyway? |
No, you are right, I have no idea what the %s are in JET. I can only guess.
But it does seem an awful lot of people are being truned down. Many are not anime geeks. Makes sense as JET is stagnant at best, and dispatch is up and coming.
When I looked into JET, I saw a low % chance of being hired. So I choose to beat the recession rush and go dispatch. It was a simple business decision. I felt that my chances with JET were too low for it to be wroth using as my vehicle to get to Japan.
For real conversations. OK this is hard, as it is in another language, and over the net. I guess it would able to talk about why I like a movie, instead of what movie I like. As for what I can do, have you Used Genki? I can do what's in I+II. In fact if you could please, take a look at this link and read the descriptions.
http://www.kansaigaidai.ac.jp/asp/03_academics/02/01/01.html
I am in the early stage of Level 4 according to Gaidai, as speaking goes.
As for how deep, I simple can't go all that deep, also my speed is a big factor, as a comprehensive response of mine is delayed.
To be honest it is easier to demonstrate. I lived with a host family, 3 of the 4 couldn't speak any English. Those 3 I could never really talk to about anything meaningful despite me living there.
I said devoid as in their is Rural flight. I even posted that. I really do think much of rural Japan lacks actaul culture, why? Because many people have out right abandoned the countryside. I don't mind the countryside, I do mind that there are no people my age there.
There are still many places where one can be placed that is very far from any city. I have seen this guys blog, who is a very interesting guyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9ZVUdN3IIc and having spoke and read, many JETs are hours aweay from a city. Jason in one of his vids states that he is a 3 hour drive from Hiroshima. That seems fairly common that, that could be a real problem.
I do want to learn Japanese. I also want to continue to be able to speak English. As for skype, I am 11 hours ahead of Japan. So that makes skyping about as impossible as it can be. I will be able to use it, but I doubt it will be all that often.
As for hanging out in the gaijin bubble, not for me thanks. On an occasion I will, but that is not something I want to be a part of.
Just so you know I am not a 22 year old fresh out of college. I am 27 have worked, put myself through college, have fought MMA on a fairly high level, and I also weight lift on a good level as well. I know how to have self disiplin, even if I can't spell th eword=)
I say this for other ALTs, many I think have trouble adapting to being only around non English speakers.
I don't wish to have an account on BD, but from what I read, many don't find actual English speakers in their areas. Face outside of the Metro areas it's hard for a Japanese person to know English. ANd let me cut you off, I went to an English college in Japan, and I had no idea that everyone's major was English. Why? Their English was terrible, and they majored in it.
You know to be honest, I am not sure what I want to talk about. All I know is that there are many things that trip me up, and many many words that I have no clue about. To be able to talk and it to not be really delayed or froced would be nice. Well how about you, when you were learning Japanese I'm sure that at one point you noticed that you ability had improved to the point where you could do more than idlely chat. |
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elkarlo
Joined: 08 Dec 2008
Posts: 240
Location: Maryland
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| Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 2:31 pm Post subject: |
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[/quote]
elkarlo, remember that a number of JETs are from Australia and NZ, where Japanese is the most common foreign language studied at high school and many people continue it through university as well, meaning that a lot of JETs from those two countries (a reasonable percentage of the total) will have 8 years of Japanese study under their belts before they arrive- not all JETs arrive with minimum Japanese.
I hear you about thinking your English might be deteriorating though- I can go days or sometimes even weeks without speaking to another native English speaker and I occasionally wonder if my English might be suffering![/quote]
That does make sense. Despite it being hard to believe. Japanese as a language program here in the US is Junk! It's not s erious program, and no one takes it seriously.
I did hang out with some Ozzies, their abilities were all over the place, from level 1 Gaidai rating(see my last post to Glenski), all the way to level 4. What does 8 years of Japanese get them to? Just curious? As I notice langauge programs are radically different from place to place.
Weeks? How? Really I spent the better part of last Fall recovering my college level English. I am sure you have lost your upper tier vocab, well at least actively. I still have trouble thinking of some more obscure words and concepts. Watch out, you might forget your english alltogether! |
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elkarlo
Joined: 08 Dec 2008
Posts: 240
Location: Maryland
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| Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 2:34 pm Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
What do you call a person who speaks 2 languages?
A bilingual.
What do you call a person who speaks 3 languages?
A trilingual.
What do you call a person who speaks only one language?
An American.
There are roughly 10 times more Americans than Aussies on JET. Hard to imagine that all of those Americans speak or studied Japanese, considering the joke above (which smacks of a lot of truth).
Stop worrying about the language issue! |
Having studied Japanese in college, I just have to say that even a Japanese major here is maybe at JLPT3 at the very best. Not to mention the average person that has no idea how underprepared they are to live in a different language culture.
Me? I'm not worrried, it does make for some interesting conversations, as well as it being something that affects or will affect us all here. |
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