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prlester
Joined: 08 Jan 2005
Posts: 92
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 Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2010 5:42 am Post subject: |
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I haven't gotten any antipathy in Japan as an English teacher. Is it increasing? In what way?
| Rooster_2006 wrote: |
I think this is all wishful thinking.
I'm sure that whalers said "this is a temporary problem" when the treaty against whaling, limiting the global whale catch to a few BWU, was signed.
I'm sure that just after Eli Whitney's cotton gin, the people who picked and sorted through seeds said "not to worry, once they realize these new-fangled machines just don't get all the seeds, they'll re-hire us."
I'm sure that Latin teachers once thought "no need to worry about the decline in jobs -- Latin is still the global language, spoken by all the elite and used all over the west!"
I call this "denial."
In the modern world, sectors are simply eliminated (or downsized so much that they are practically eliminated) all the time.
If it's a very big sector, society will actually care, and try to do something to absorb the laid-off workers, like when the construction industry is hit hard (for example, Korea's Green New Deal and the employment of construction workers to build a vast canal). Unfortunately, EFL is a fly on the back of China, Japan, and Korea. Since we are not viewed as having any inherent human right to be employed in said countries, no initiatives will be extended to help us transition, and most of us will either sink (the vast majority) or float (the bright few who managed to either get a PhD in education for the last few EFL jobs, or wiggled their ways into IT jobs, business jobs, the diplomatic corps, etc.).
Face it folks:
1. Declining birth rate
2. Declining relative importance of English to Chinese (English is still the best one to learn, but this will change)
3. Increased antipathy against foreign teachers
4. Vastly increased interest by westerners in coming to Asia and learning Asian languages
5. Vastly decreased job opportunities in western countries, and no matter what the politicians say, the economy is not improving |
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ShioriEigoKyoushi
Joined: 21 Aug 2009
Posts: 364
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2010 10:44 am Post subject: |
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Last edited by ShioriEigoKyoushi on Tue Jun 08, 2010 3:25 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Mr_Monkey
Joined: 11 Mar 2009
Posts: 661
Location: Kyuuuuuushuuuuuuu
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| Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2010 12:43 pm Post subject: |
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It will keep happening - students will learn the language with the most currency for them.
English for no obvious purpose is dead. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 12:38 am Post subject: |
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| Mr_Monkey wrote: |
It will keep happening - students will learn the language with the most currency for them.
English for no obvious purpose is dead. |
Look, science uses English far more than any other language. Far more!
Businesses use English probably more than any other.
I can cite stories where students felt they didn't need English for various reasons, usually because they thought their careers were going to be in Japan with local businesses. But, sometimes they learn differently -- businesses can change to become more international, thereby needing English. Also, people can be transferred to English-speaking branch offices, like in Thailand.
So, I really don't think that people should say English is dead or has no purpose. |
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Mr_Monkey
Joined: 11 Mar 2009
Posts: 661
Location: Kyuuuuuushuuuuuuu
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| Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 12:54 am Post subject: |
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I'm saying quite the opposite from that, Glenski!
English is not dead; English as a fashion/lifestyle accessory is dead - that's how the big 4 marketed themselves. I'm talking about the kind of English study advertised by Ewan McGregor in a hideous yellow shirt beaming out at you from a NOVA poster on the subway, that hideous manzai duo 99 being daft in bookshops. That kind of marketing for English learning no longer seems relevant, as that kind of market no longer exists (or is certainly significantly smaller than it once was). |
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gaijinalways
Joined: 29 Nov 2005
Posts: 2279
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| Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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Mr Monkey posted
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| English as a fashion/lifestyle accessory is dead |
I agree, and it's not a bad thing. Sometimes I wish I had only the really motivated students to teach, though I'd be afraid that my salary would be cut. The economy is bad enough as it is at the moment, so I guess I'll have to be a better 'coach'. |
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steki47
Joined: 20 Apr 2008
Posts: 1029
Location: BFE Inaka
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| Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 3:29 am Post subject: |
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| gaijinalways wrote: |
| Sometimes I wish I had only the really motivated students to teach, though I'd be afraid that my salary would be cut. |
Not sure if that would cut salaries, but it would probably cut the number of jobs in Japan. Which also has its ups and downs. |
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gaijinalways
Joined: 29 Nov 2005
Posts: 2279
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| Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 4:36 pm Post subject: |
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Some teaching jobs do get salaries based on the number of seats filled (doesn't address if these students are sleeping or not). So in that sense, less students, less money.
Currently in unis, we're facing the beginning of the extra hours for no additional pay for part-time lecturers. I am now being asked to give both final exams during exams periods, 1 per semester. I guess my summer vacation just got shorter. |
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