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Sweetsee · Joined: 11 Jun 2004 Posts: 2302 Location: ) is everything

I said nothing about foreigners greeting each other.
I said nothing about Japanese co-workers.
Why do you bring it up?

I have apologized to you before and you never accepted my apology.
Why do I bother trying to be nice to you? It's my nature.
Why are you unable to return my kind words? It's your your nature.

Perfect.

Like a Rolling Stone · Joined: 27 Mar 2006 Posts: 872

Hump day? like a hump in the road? Gotcha!

Like a Rolling Stone · Joined: 27 Mar 2006 Posts: 872

I said "hump in the road"! Laughing

canuck · Joined: 11 May 2003 Posts: 1921 Location: Japan

Like a Rolling Stone · Joined: 27 Mar 2006 Posts: 872

cornishmuppet · Joined: 27 Mar 2004 Posts: 642 Location: Nagano, Japan

A few weeks ago a woman I met wanted me to teach her Cambridge Advanced English in exchange for 'teaching' me Japanese. After one demo 'lesson' in which I taught her difficult grammar for two hours she presented me with a workbook completely devoid of Japanese and told me we'd be starting with 'My name is..' etc. This is despite her knowing I've lived in Japan for almost two years, study Japanese every day, read almost 500 hundred kanji, etc....

When I told her that an exchange wouldn't work and that I would charge her for classes (I was completely straight up about it), she ran a mile. When I pointed out that no one in my city would teach CAE for less than 4000 an hour (I offered 3000, which considering I'd spend an hour just preparing the demo class I thought was a pretty good deal), she jumped down my throat and told me that because I hadn't had an immediate answer to some grammar question or other that she asked me the first time we met (playing darts in a bar, I was a little drunk) then I could hardly call myself a teacher and justify charging her for CAE lessons.

The point I'm trying to make is that despite 2.5 years experience of teaching grammar classes as well (as the usual eikawa b.s), and a teaching certificate, she felt herself to be equally qualified, despite being an office worker and not having a clue how to teach, nor a minute's experience. But like my friend said, I shouldn't have given her a sniff of free English. My own fault really.

This was a once off, though. I've not had anyone else look down at me about being an English teacher. I'm an ALT now, direct hire, and proud of it.